Bangalore's goal as aerospace hub

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7 October 2012 Last updated at 17:00 ET By Shilpa Kannan BBC News, Bangalore

A crowd of workers looks on proudly as a tractor tows a military helicopter across a huge field near Bangalore, in the Indian state of Karnataka.

This is the Rudra - one of the modern fighter aircraft produced at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (Hal), India's oldest and largest aircraft manufacturer.

The helicopter has been fitted with technology including laser rangefinder and thermal vision to enable the detection of targets in all weather conditions.

Armed with 70mm rockets, anti-tank guided missiles and air-to-air missiles, it is expected to play a major role in India's military industry.

Hal is state-owned and the major supplier to the country's armed forces. In the past 60 years, it has built more than 3,500 aircraft.

Hal has also helped to build an aerospace industry in and around Bangalore, where more than a quarter of India's air and spacecraft are produced.

Now the local authorities are hoping to attract more investment to turn the area into India's aerospace hub.

"Karnataka has its advantages - skilled manpower and engineering talent, and a lot of the supplier base is located here," says Karnataka's investment commissioner Maheshwar Rao.

National Aerospace Laboratories, Defence Research and Development Organisation and the Indian Space Research Organisation all have their offices in Bangalore. Leading private companies such as Boeing, Airbus, Honeywell and GE Aviation are also based in this city of 8.5 million people.

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Bangalore's goal as aerospace hub

Huron Technologies Awarded 1st Prize in Fluorescence Scanning Contest

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October 3, 2012 Waterloo, ON – Huron Technologies International Inc., recently was awarded 1st prize in two categories at the 2nd International Scanner Contest (ISC) held in Berlin, Germany and announced in Prague, Czech Republic, at the European Congress of...

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DigitalPathologyBlog/~3/i57tHcxkN8A/huron-technologies-awarded-1st-prize-in-fluorescence-scanning-contest.html

Meet A Pioneer in Digital Pathology and Virtual Microscopy

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Meet A Pioneer in Digital Pathology and Virtual Microscopy: Dr. Béla Molnár, Semmelweis University & 3DHISTECH Dr. Béla Molnár is an award-winning Physician at Semmelweis University’s 2nd Department of Internal Medicine in Hungary, where he specializes in gastroenterology and colorectal...

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DigitalPathologyBlog/~3/rEj6KgeNYCg/meet-a-pioneer-in-digital-pathology-and-virtual-microscopy.html

Definiens closes €10 Million Round to Grow its Clinical Digital Pathology Business

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Investments into the clinical digital pathology space continue to be made. Recent news of Definiens private funding, expanding on their portfolio and experience in research and development and pharmaceutical shows increasing interest in the clinical market. Good news for healthcare...

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DigitalPathologyBlog/~3/9rm_AjGl7kc/definiens-closes-10-million-round-to-grow-its-clinical-digital-pathology-business.html

MarketsandMarkets: Global Digital Pathology Market Worth $336.6 Million by 2017

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MarketsandMarkets: Global Digital Pathology Market Worth $336.6 Million by 2017 (via PR Newswire) The market size mentioned here comes in less (multi-billion dollar size) than was previously mentioned here, here, here, here and here. No way for me to know...

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DigitalPathologyBlog/~3/pl7kyd7N-QY/marketsandmarkets-global-digital-pathology-market-worth-3366-million-by-2017.html

Indica Labs Release HALO™ – Next Generation Image Analysis

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New Mexico, USA 9/30/2012 – Indica Labs, Inc. proudly announces the availability of HALO™, the next generation image analysis platform for digital pathology. HALO is designed to be the fastest, most scalable, user-friendly image analysis software the industry has witnessed....

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DigitalPathologyBlog/~3/XzaaQ6G1AUw/indica-labs-release-halo-next-generation-image-analysis-1.html

Ectoplasm, "Spirit Art," and Mars in the Edwardian Imagination: A Series of Events at Observatory Curated by Photographer Shannon Taggart

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I am very excited to announce a series of spiritualist themed events produced by my good friend, newest Observatory member, and extremely talented photographer Shannon Taggart. All the events are based around her current Observatory exhibition, The Spirit Art of Stanley Matrunick.

Full details follow; hope to see there!

The Spirit Art of Stanley Matrunick Viewing Event 
Sunday, October 14 - 2pm - 5pm 

Join us for a viewing event during Gowanus Open Studios Weekend. Music and Drinks! The Morbid Anatomy Library will be open also!

About the Exhibit: Stanley Matrunick (1906 – 1995) was a medium and Spiritualist minister who channeled portraits of Ascended Masters, guardians and loved ones from the other side. With the help of spirit guides, Rev. Stanley began creating spirit art in 1954 at the White Lily Chapel in Ashley, Ohio. He was then led to travel across the United States for 40 years doing portraits and readings. His work was often featured on television, radio and in print.  The art presented here is from the private collection of Ron Nagy, historian of Lily Dale, NY, the world’s largest Spiritualist community. Also included are materials about Stanley Matrunick provided by his former student, Sakina Blue –Star of Sedona, Arizona.  

About the Curator: Shannon Taggart is a photographer based in Brooklyn and a member of Observatory. Since 2001, she has been working on a project about Modern Spiritualism. Her images have appeared in publications including Blind Spot, Tokion, TIME and The New York Times Magazine. Her photographs have been shown at Photoworks in Brighton, England, The Photographic Resource Center in Boston, Redux Pictures in New York, the Stephen Cohen Gallery in Los Angeles and the New Gallery in Houston.

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A History of Ectoplasm: An Illustrated Presentation by Shannon Taggart
Date: Thursday, October 25th

Time: 8pm
Admission: $10
Presented by: Shannon Taggart 

Why Ectoplasm? - Harry Houdini famously wondered this in his scathing critique of Spiritualism. Since it’s first appearances in Victorian era séance rooms, this mysterious substance has continued to seduce, disgust and intrigue believers and skeptics alike. This presentation will consider some of the complicated situations in which ectoplasm played a provocative role including the work of Baron von Schrenck-Notzing, the documentation of the Goligher Circle and the infamous case of Margery the Medium. Shannon Taggart’s images that address the current pursuit of ectoplasm within Modern Spiritualism will also be discussed. This lecture is part of a series that seeks to explore the intrinsic connection between Spiritualism and Photography. 

Shannon Taggart is a photographer based in Brooklyn and a member of Observatory. Her images have appeared in various publications including Blind Spot, Tokion, TIME and The New York Times Magazine. Her work has been recognized by the Inge Morath Foundation, American Photography, the International Photography Awards, the Society for News and Design, Photo District News and the Alexia Foundation for World Peace. Her photographs have been shown at Photoworks in Brighton, England, The Photographic Resource Center in Boston, Redux Pictures in New York, the Stephen Cohen Gallery in Los Angeles and the New Gallery in Houston.   

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Are We Alone? Planet Mars in the Edwardian Visual and Scientific Imagination, An illustrated lecture with author Jennifer Tucker
Date: Saturday, October 27 
Time: 8pm 
Admission: $10 
Presented by: Shannon Taggart  

Astronomers, religious leaders, and members of the lay public had speculated about the possibility of life on other planets for hundreds of years before the first “proof” appeared, in May 1905, in the first successful photographs of Mars. Newspapers and magazines swiftly published reproductions of the photographs, made by the amateur planetary astronomer and wealthy businessman Percival Lowell, with accompanying descriptions of the “canals” of Mars and its imagined inhabitants. This illustrated talk shows how the intersection of science with new forms of observation and journalistic image display in the late 19th and early 20th century galvanized public interest in Mars, and how “Mars Mania” intersected and interacted with key trends and figures in art, journalism, spiritualism, astronomy, evolutionary science, and politics during a period that, noted the British writer H.G. Wells, was fascinated by the idea that “There are certain features in which [Martians] are likely to resemble us.” 

Jennifer Tucker is a historian of science and technology specializing in the study of visual representation, gender, science, and popular knowledge in Victorian England. She is the author of Nature Exposed:  Photography as Eyewitness in Victorian Science (2006) and editor of a special issue of History and Theory on “Photography and Historical Interpretation, “ as well as articles about the visual representation of science and technology in Victorian England. She is finishing a book about the photos and other visual representations that circulated across the wide social spectrum of Victorian society during the most famous legal case of imposture in modern Britain.

You can find out more by clicking here.

Source:
http://morbidanatomy.blogspot.com/2012/10/ectoplasm-spirit-art-and-mars-in.html

"Permit Bearer to Go to Hell and Return Unharmed": Coney Island Ticket Stub or Souvenir for Darkness and Dawn Cosmorama, Early 20th Century?

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Seller's Description:
This is a souvenir of a visit to a Coney Island Bowery amusement called Darkness and Dawn. It was a Cyclorama, and had been created for an exposition in Omaha, Nebraska in 1898. It was brought to the Coney Island Bowery at the turn of the century. The souvenir is card stock, in the shape of a coffin, and has a skull and crossbones illustration at top. It also has a quote from "The Devil." The same image and text is printed on both sides (shown). The attraction on the Bowery was destroyed by fire in 1903, and was rebuilt for Luna Park several years later.

Via the wonderful Anonymous Works blog.

Source:
http://morbidanatomy.blogspot.com/2012/10/permit-bearer-to-go-to-hell-and-return.html

"Ecstatic Raptures and Immaculate Corpses: Visions of Death Made Beautiful in Italy" Exhibition, Final Open Hours TOMORROW, Saturday October 6, Noon-7 PM

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Tomorrow--Saturday, October 6--is your last chance to check out "Ecstatic Raptures and Immaculate Corpses: Visions of Death Made Beautiful in Italy," an exhibition featuring photographs by myself (some of which can be seen above) and waxworks by artists Eleanor Crook and Sigrid Sarda, on view at The Last Tuesday Society, 11 Mare Street, London All photographs and waxworks are for sale, and quite affordable, if I do say!

The exhibition will be view from Noon until 7:00 PM. Also on view will be the wonderful collection of taxidermy, naturalia, erotica, books and curiosities which comprises the spectacular Last Tuesday Society Giftshop.

Well worth a trip, I promise! Full details follow.

Ecstatic Raptures and Immaculate Corpses: Visions of Death Made Beautiful in Italy
An exhibition of photographs by Joanna Ebenstein of the Morbid Anatomy Blog, The Morbid Anatomy Library and Observatory with waxworks by Eleanor Crook and Sigrid Sarda.
Date: TOMORROW: Saturday, October 6
Time: Noon-7:00 PM
Location: The Last Tuesday Society, 11 Mare Street, London, E8 4RP

In her many projects, ranging from photography to curation to writing, New York based Joanna Ebenstein utilizes a combination of art and scholarship to tease out the ways in which the pre-rational roots of modernity are sublimated into ostensibly "purely rational" cultural activities such as science and medicine.Much of her work uses this approach to investigate historical moments or artifacts where art and science, death and beauty, spectacle and edification, faith and empiricism meet in ways that trouble contemporary categorical expectations.In the exhibition "Ecstatic Raptures and Immaculate Corpses" Ebenstein turns this approach to an examination of the uncanny and powerfully resonant representations of the dead, martyred, and anatomized body in Italy, monuments to humankind's quest to eternally preserve the corporeal body and defeat death in arenas sacred and profane.The artifacts she finds in both the churches, charnel houeses and anatomical museums of Italy complicate our ideas of the proper roles of--and divisions between--science and religion, death and beauty; art and science; eros and thanatos; sacred and profane; body and soul.

In this exhibition, you will be introduced to tantalizing visions of death made beautiful, uncanny monuments to the human dream of life eternal. You will meet "Blessed Ismelda Lambertini," an adolescent who fell into a fatal swoon of overwhelming joy at the moment of her first communion with Jesus Christ, now commemorated in a chillingly beautiful wax effigy in a Bolognese church; The Slashed Beauty, swooning with a grace at once spiritual and worldly as she makes a solemn offering of her immaculate viscera; Saint Vittoria, with slashed neck and golden ringlets, her waxen form reliquary to her own powerful bones; and the magnificent and troubling Anatomical Venuses, rapturously ecstatic life-sized wax women reclining voluptuously on silk and velvet cushions, asleep in their crystal coffins, awaiting animation by inquisitive hands eager to dissect them into their dozens of demountable, exactingly anatomically correct, wax parts.

Joanna Ebenstein: New York based visual artist and independent scholar Joanna Ebenstein runs the popular Morbid Anatomy Blog and the related Morbid Anatomy Library, where her privately held collection of books, art, artifacts, and curiosities are made available by appointment.

For the past 5 years, she has traveled the world, seeking out the most curious, obscure and macabre collections, public and private, front stage and back, and sharing her findings via her the Morbid Anatomy Blog as well as a variety of exhibitions including  Anatomical Theatre, a photographic survey of artifacts of great medical museums of the Western World; The Secret Museum, a photographic exhibition exploring the poetics of collections private and public, front stage and back.

Other exhibitions using history as their muse include Savior of Mothers: The Forgotten Ballet of Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis  at the Center for Disease Control Museum and The Great Coney Island Spectacularium, an immersive investigation into the often bizarre spectacles of turn of the 20th century Coney Island at The Coney Island Museum.

She is the founding member of Observatory--a gallery and lecture space in Brooklyn, New York--and annual co-curator of The Congress for Curious Peoples, a 10-day series of lectures and performances investigating curiosity and curiosities, broadly considered and taking place at the Coney Island Museum.

Her work has been shown and published internationally, and she has lectured at museums and conferences around the world.

You can find out more about the show here, and view more images by clicking here.

Source:
http://morbidanatomy.blogspot.com/2012/10/ecstatic-raptures-and-immaculate.html

Nevada Rose: Inside the American Brothel: Illustrated Lecture and Book Signing with Photographer Marc McAndrews: Tomorrow, October 4, at Observatory

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Tomorrow night at Observatory! Hope to see you there!  

Nevada Rose: Inside the American Brothel: Illustrated Lecture and Book Signing with Photographer Marc McAndrews,  Nevada Rose: Inside the American Brothel
Date: TOMORROW, Thursday, October 4
Time: 8:00
Admission: $5
Produced by Morbid Anatomy

“…the themes are more prosaic than one might expect from a book about sex as industry, and they’re profoundly American. With “Nevada Rose,” Mr. McAndrews presents a story about work, commerce, capitalism and community. Mr. McAndrews was as interested in the landscape, the spaces, the mundane, the untouchables and staff members — as he was in the kinky and the taboo.”
– New York Times

Photographer Marc McAndrews spent five years living in and photographing "the landscape, the spaces, the mundane, the untouchables and staff members" of every legal brothel in the state of Nevada. One hundred and eighty nine of these stunning photographs, ranging in content from the prosaic to the sensational, are featured in his new book Nevada Rose: Inside the American Brothel.

Tonight, we invite you to join Mr. McAndrews for an illustrated lecture in which he will show many of these fabulous photographs, and share the stories behind them: what was it like living and working inside the Nevada brothels, how did he get access for the first time and what were his interactions like with the women, owners and customers. Books will also be available for sale and signing.

Marc McAndrews grew up in Reading, Pa. He received his BFA from the School of Visual Arts in 1998. Marc’s love of photography began when he received his first Polaroid camera from his Grandmother when he was 5 years old and he immediately began using it as a means of distraction during his family’s long drives on vacation every year. Photography and long car rides would become themes in Marc’s life. After returning from living and working in Europe, Marc began traveling the country, concentrating on photographing and documenting American culture. It was through these travels that Marc began his book project, Nevada Rose which captures the places and personalities of Nevada’s legal brothels. His work has been seen in the New York Times and magazines such as Interview, Time, Stern, D Magazine, The Observer, Inc., Exit, Fortune Small Business, Marie Claire South Africa and many others. Marc was a recipient of the Magenta Art Foundation’s 2006 “Flash Forward” award. Nevada Rose was nominated for the 2009 NY Photo Awards and was an official selection for the 2009 and 2011 Lucie Awards. His series “JROTC” and “Girl Scouts” (part of the larger “American Youth” project) were official selections for the 2009 and 2011 Lucie Awards. He’s lectured at The New School, Sarah Lawrence, New York’s International Center for Photography, Rutgers University, St. Mark’s Bookshop, The Museum of Sex and many other places His first monograph, Nevada Rose, was published by Umbrage Editions May 2011.

You can find out more about this event by clicking here.

Source:
http://morbidanatomy.blogspot.com/2012/10/nevada-rose-inside-american-brothel.html

Apologies for Scant Blogging AND Seville, Spain: Packed with Tormented Souls in Purgatory, Mortally Wounded-Christs, Holy Week Processions and Madonna Dolorosas

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Greetings, all. My apologies for being such a abysmal blogger this month. As many of you already know, I spent the entirety of last month in London, completing a residency at the fantastic Last Tuesday Society; I also took advantage of my geographical location to take a few mini trips to places like Berlin, Budapest, and Seville. Above are a few of my photos from wonderful souls in purgatory, wounded-Christ, holy week procession and Madonna Dolorosa-packed Seville. You can see the complete set by clicking here.

More to come soon, I promise!

Source:
http://morbidanatomy.blogspot.com/2012/10/apologies-for-scant-blogging-and.html

MusclePharm Taps Out as Beast Sports Nutrition Prevails in Trademark Infringement Suit

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BEAST Sports Nutrition announced that Denver-based MusclePharm has conceded and agreed to discontinue use and sales of any and all material referencing BEAST Sports Nutritions trademarks including Beast and Beast Mode".

Boca Raton, FL (PRWEB) October 07, 2012

BEAST Sports Nutrition announced that Denver-based MusclePharm has conceded and agreed to discontinue use and sales of any and all material referencing BEAST Sports Nutritions trademarks including Beastand Beast Mode".

BEAST Sports Nutritions trademark infringement claims were based on a MusclePharms alleged unauthorized use and representation of the BEAST trademarks. In a statement by company president Anthony Altieri, he said, Weve spent the last 17 years building BEAST into a well known and trusted brand and will enforce our trademark rights to the fullest extent of the law.

BEAST Sport Nutritions attorney, Ryan Kaiser of Amin Talati, LLC, commented, Were pleased with the results here. MusclePharm acknowledged the validity of BEAST's exclusive right to use its BEAST trademarks in connection with dietary supplements. Exact terms of the settlement agreement were not disclosed.

About BEAST Sports Nutrition

With headquarters in Boca Raton, FL, BEAST stands by its founding principles of bringing forth the highest quality products that are multi-purpose and manufactured under the strictest protocols while maintaining affordability.

BEAST products are for people who are serious about getting lean, being strong, keeping fit and staying healthy. Whether you are just looking to get in shape, or are an elite athlete, BEAST products are manufactured to fulfill your needs to help you achieve your goals.

This case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida (West Palm Beach Division). Case number 9:11-cv-80960

Tony Altieri BEAST Sports Nutrition 561-367-1474 Email Information

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MusclePharm Taps Out as Beast Sports Nutrition Prevails in Trademark Infringement Suit

DNA key to resolving decades-old criminal cases, both defense, prosecution find

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Yesterday at 10:16 PM It can clear a suspect or secure a conviction, as it did last week in Maine's oldest cold-case homicide.

By DOUG HARLOW Morning Sentinel

SKOWHEGAN - When physical evidence in the 32-year-old murder case against Jay Mercier seemed to bog down in court last month with tire tracks and old photographs, the state still had one trick left up its prosecutorial sleeve: DNA.

Rita St. Peter

click image to enlarge

Jay Mercier

HOWDNAISUSED

The past decade has seen great advances in a powerful criminal justice tool: deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA.

DNA can be used to identify criminals with incredible accuracy when biological evidence exists. By the same token, DNA can be used to clear suspects and exonerate persons mistakenly accused or convicted of crimes.

In all, DNA technology is increasingly vital to ensuring accuracy and fairness in the criminal justice system.

Read this article:
DNA key to resolving decades-old criminal cases, both defense, prosecution find

Posted in DNA

PC ports explained: Get to know the back of your computer

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From newcomers like DisplayPort to old standards like USB and dying breeds like FireWire, heres a quick and dirty guide to every port on your new PC.

Almost any modern communication need can be handled with a wireless solution. File transfer, streaming video, peripheral connections all of these can be accomplished without a physical connection. The future is now.

Yet the port persists. No, more than that: Its alive and well. Take a gander at your home office and youll likely find wires of all sorts leading to various connections: USB, HDMI, DVI, Thunderbolt, the list goes on.

Physical connections are still the quickest, most reliable way to transfer data. Which means its still important to know what goes where, and why. Lets clear the air and make room for some modern knowledge of old-fashioned connectivity.

The Universal Serial Bus would make a good role model for super-villains everywhere. It pledged to take over the world. Then it did so. It took well over a decade, but it has happened. FireWire is basically obsolete. External SATA is nearly extinct. Only Thunderbolt may provide a serious challenge but its years away from widespread adoption.

Modern USB essentially comes in two forms USB 2.0 and USB 3.0. The ports look the same and are compatible with each other, which is great. Except it makes separating the two difficult. Manufacturers the world over have tried to resolve the standard says that USB 3.0 ports should be blue or should be identified by super-speed USB 3.0 logo (see below).

If its not blue or identified by this logo, its not USB 3.0. Or at least it shouldnt be. Weve yet to encounter a computer that failed to identify USB 3.0 ports by at least logo, but we have run into a couple (both laptops) that didnt use blue.

The main difference between the standards is speed. The maximum bandwidth of 3.0 is over 10 times higher than 2.0. This doesnt mean transfer speeds are ten times better in the real world, but there is a huge difference. Youll see much quicker file transfers with a USB 3.0 drive plugged in to a 3.0 port. Transfer speeds are not better if you plug a 3.0 drive into a 2.0 port. Data can still be transferred, but only at 2.0 speeds.

FireWire was developed by Apple to solve the lack of high-speed connections available to peripherals during the early 90s. Speed was given high priority, and it showed in the resulting standard. FireWire which went through several revisions, and each was consistently quicker than USB.

Read more from the original source:

PC ports explained: Get to know the back of your computer

IIT-M computer system gets ‘fastest’ tag

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The super cluster a set of tightly-connected computers that work together at IIT-Madras has been declared the fastest among all educational institutions in the country.

TOP500, a global project that details the most powerful known computer systems in the world, has ranked the new IBM Virgo Super Cluster at IIT-Madras as the 224thin the top 500.

The other Indian entries ahead of the one at IIT Madras are the machines at an ISRO facility in Mumbai and the CSIR Lab in Bangalore. The cluster worth Rs. 9 crore, which will be put to use from Monday, will enormously increase the speed of computing and accuracy of results of research experiments.

This new system will be available to users, both professors and research scholars, across departments. Users can access it from wherever they are.

Five years ago, the institute was the first IIT to set up a cluster with a computing power of 20 teraflops, but Virgo has a computing power of 97 teraflops.

It took almost ten months for us to plan this, said P.B. Sunil Kumar, professor (physics), in-charge, high performance computing. The cluster will be of great help to various ambitious projects at IIT-Madras.

If a normal desktop CPU requires power of 300 units, this cluster works on 120 Kilo units per hour and is spread across 36 sq m.

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IIT-M computer system gets ‘fastest’ tag

SpaceX Capsule Ready to Launch to Space Station

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The California-based company SpaceX is set to launch the first of a dozen missions to deliver critical supplies to the International Space Station for the U.S. space agency. But, on the eve of the mission, the launch weather forecaster said there is a 40-percent chance that poor weather could delay the launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida Sunday night [Monday, October 8th at 0035 UTC]. The SpaceX unmanned Dragon capsule is set to launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket toward the International Space Station for the second time ever. The company made history in May when its space capsule became the first private vehicle to dock with the ISS.

SpaceX proved worthy in demo SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell told reporters at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida Saturday evening that the rocket and capsule in this first operational mission are largely the same as the ones used in the successful demonstration flight. "I'm not sure any [members] of the engineering team, frankly, or myself feels like this [mission] is substantially different than the last one with the exception that we got there once," said Shotwell. "We demonstrated we could do it. So there might be a teeny, teeny bit of relaxation. Uhm, not a lot though." NASA has awarded SpaceX a $1.6 billion contract to provide 12 supply flights to the ISS. Space station partners Russia, Europe and Japan have the ability to deliver cargo to the ISS, but their cargo vessels burn up in the atmosphere during reentry. The United States has not been able to send supplies to the ISS since NASA retired its space shuttle fleet last year. U.S. launch capability is not just a matter of national pride. "When you have a launch vehicle that is in your country, it just makes it a lot easier because literally shipping and customs can kill you when you're trying to get overseas, and this really makes the process faster and allows us to react to anomalies in real time," explained NASA's space station program manager Mike Suffredini.

Scientific & re-supply mission The Dragon will be filled with about 450 kilograms of supplies, including materials critical to scientific research. The capsule will also carry a freezer for experiments - prompting talk that NASA might send ice cream as a sweet surprise to the astronauts. At the end of the month, the capsule will return to Earth carrying space station hardware as well as scientific materials, including research samples. Julie Robinson, a program scientist at NASA, called the first commercial cargo launch "a momentous milestone for research." "The SpaceX Dragon is a really important vehicle for us because it supports the laboratory use of ISS both in bringing cargo up to the space station and in bringing research samples home, and it has a great return capability," said Robinson. "It essentially replaces that capacity that we lost when the shuttle retired."

NASA looking beyond Earth orbit The U.S. space agency is focusing on developing a new generation of space vehicle that can travel to an asteroid or Mars, and it is investing in private companies to handle low-Earth orbit transportation, such as trips to the space station. Howard McCurdy, a professor of public affairs at American University in Washington, says this strategy is a gamble. "It's a big bet, because what the United States is betting is that the commercial sector can do what NASA seemed incapable of doing in the last days of the shuttle flights, and that is developing a low-cost, high-reliability launch vehicle that can take people and cargo from the surface of the Earth to low-Earth orbit and bring the people back occasionally," says McCurdy. SpaceX says it expects to be ready to carry people into space within three years. If this first resupply mission goes as planned, astronauts will use the space station's robotic arm to grab and dock the Dragon capsule three days after launch. Dragon will return to Earth at the end of October.

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SpaceX Capsule Ready to Launch to Space Station

Astronaut Ice Cream: Frozen Dessert Launching to Space Station

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Ice cream is blasting off for the crew of the International Space Station (ISS).

The frozen confectionery not the freeze-dried souvenir version sold in museum gift shops is packed on board the first NASA-contracted commercial mission to resupply the orbiting laboratory.

The Commercial Resupply Services-1 (CRS-1) mission is scheduled to lift off on a Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) Falcon 9 rocket on Sunday (Oct. 7) at 8:35 p.m. EDT (0035 GMT Oct. 8) from Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The ice cream, which is now a not-so-secret surprise for the station's current three member crew, was confirmed as on board SpaceX's Dragon cargo capsule by NASA after a pre-launch press conference Saturday (Oct. 6) raised the possibility that it was included.

"We talked about flying ice cream," said NASA's manager for the space station program, Michael Suffredini. "We try to bring up what we call 'bonus food' for the crew, and this is one of those flights that will have that." [Space Food Photos: What Astronauts Eat in Orbit]

GLACIER goodies

The vanilla with swirled chocolate sauce ice cream cups won't melt on their three-day journey to the space station thanks to a freezer on board the Dragon capsule.

"We're very excited," SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell told reporters. "This is the first time we are taking powered cargo up. We are taking up a GLACIER freezer, which has refrigerated science samples in it."

The GLACIER, or General Laboratory Active Cryogenic ISS Experiment Refrigerator, is primarily used to preserve science samples that require temperatures between minus 301 and 39 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 160 and 4 degrees Celsius) on the way to or from the space station. The mini-fridge sized freezer previously flew aboard the space shuttle.

"Having been on a flight that had an empty freezer on it going up into space, we did fill it [with ice cream] and it's really nice!" Robert Cabana, former shuttle astronaut and the director of NASA's Kennedy Space Center, said.

More here:

Astronaut Ice Cream: Frozen Dessert Launching to Space Station

Space shuttle Endeavour ready for 2-mph trip through Los Angeles and Inglewood

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The space shuttle Endeavour's flight into Los Angeles last month brought hoards of people out of their homes, schools and offices, their eyes drawn to the sky as the retired orbiter buzzed past local landmarks.

This week, Endeavour hits the streets for a close-up.

Crowds are expected to track the shuttle's carefully planned two-day, 2-mph trek through Los Angeles and Inglewood to its permanent home at the California Science Center.

Endeavour's 12-mile journey starts early Friday, when it's expected to inch away from Los Angeles International Airport aboard a special transporter, following a path leading to Exposition Park.

Los Angeles and Inglewood police officials, with Science Center representatives, late last week offered details about the shuttle's schedule and limited public viewing areas. More information on road closures in both cities is expected to come out in the coming days and, in some cases, could change, police said.

One thing's for sure: The shuttle route will be well protected, making public access difficult in places. Police said they will conduct rolling closures along the path both days, working about a mile ahead of the orbiter, and will close some cross streets as a precaution. Given the shuttle's 78-foot wingspan, officials said sidewalks also will be off limits in many areas because they won't be large enough to accommodate the orbiter along with pedestrians.

LAX officials, meanwhile, are warning travelers who have

That's because the shuttle and its transporter will begin moving out of an LAX hangar about 11:30 p.m. Thursday, with the goal of clearing airport property by 2 a.m. Friday, said Nancy Castles, a Los Angeles World Airports spokeswoman.

The shuttle will then travel east on Northside Parkway to Lincoln, and turn left onto McConnell Avenue and right onto Westchester Parkway before ending up on La Tijera Boulevard.

"We're advising passengers that they need to be aware that the area northeast of LAX ... they should expect it to be impacted, along with Lincoln Boulevard," Castles said.

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Space shuttle Endeavour ready for 2-mph trip through Los Angeles and Inglewood

Private space station delivery to launch

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A private company is on the verge of launching another cargo ship to the International Space Station.

California-based SpaceX will attempt to send a Dragon capsule to the orbiting lab on Sunday night. Liftoff is scheduled for 8.35pm EDT (1235 AEDT Monday).

Forecasters put the odds of acceptable weather at 60 per cent. Thick clouds and rain are the main concerns.

A Dragon cargo ship successfully docked to the space station last May, but that was considered a test flight.

The coming mission is the first under a $1.6 billion contract with NASA that calls for a dozen resupply flights by SpaceX, essential in the post-shuttle era.

The Dragon will remain docked to the space station for most of October. Astronauts will fill the capsule with blood and urine samples, other experiments and old equipment, for its return to Earth.

The nearly 500 tubes of blood and syringes of urine have been stashed in space station freezers since the last space shuttle flight, by Atlantis, in July 2011.

The decommissioned Atlantis, and sister ships Discovery and Endeavour, are now museum relics.

NASA nutritionist Scott Smith said the blood and urine samples - part of medical studies - will be the first to be returned since Atlantis' final voyage more than a year ago.

"This is the first real return vehicle for this type of sample," Scott told reporters on Saturday.

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Private space station delivery to launch