The visionary industrial designer, urban planner and futurist is the subject of an exhibition at the University of Texas at Austin this fall.
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Freedom walk honors victims of 9/11
By: CBS4 newsroom newsroom@cbs4qc.com Quad Citians are walking in honor of the thousands of people who died on 9/11. The mile and a half Freedom walk is Saturday morning. It starts at 10:30 at the
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In Cuba, religious freedom remains a dream
BY TEO A. BABUN JR.
Five nuns from Our Lady of the Good Shepherds congregation returned to Cuba on Aug. 28 with a small statue they had taken 50 years ago when they left after Cubas communist revolution. As recognition of the Cuban governments advances toward freedom of religion, the Episcopal Conference of Cuba noted that the religious act was another sign of the improved relations between the church and the government.
Interestingly, this past summer, during remarks on the State Departments annual report on International Religious Freedom, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, Freedom of religion is not just about religion. For Cubans, in particular, this is very true.
In Cuba, every aspect of life is controlled by the state. Freedoms in general and specifically freedom of religion are not fully available, and persecution of those who publicly profess a creed exists today. Freedom of religion is a right that every human being should be allowed to enjoy without restriction of any government or political entity.
Religion in Cuba must be presented in the context of its recent history, in a spirit of truth and justice, putting aside our personal interests or agendas with no other objective except the truth.
When we talk about Cubans and religion, we must begin with what the people in Cuba have experienced and are experiencing today.
From the 1960s until 1990, discrimination against Christians slowed the growth of churches. Christians suffered under Cuban communism. In the early years some pastors and priests were placed in re-education camps a type of concentration camp where they were forced to perform manual labor in agriculture in order to survive and where many met their death. These so-called camps were part of a rehabilitation program known as military units to help agricultural production or UMAP by its Cuban acronym.
Christians and their families could not receive a good education or good jobs. This pushed religious people to the lowest levels of society. Even by the mid-1980s, Cubas government declared Christians could still not hold jobs where they would influence other people, especially children. This means no Christian teachers, social workers, counselors, etc. The result of these restrictions was that very few people wanted to be associated with Christianity as it would lead to the loss of job or status, as well as other discrimination.
One of the hardest realities of this strategy is that children are shamed by their teachers and others to disown religious symbols and renounce religious practices.
In his last newsletter published only a few weeks before his death, Oswaldo Pay, a Catholic, wrote that it is shameful that a child must feel fear in her school because she attended a church service.
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Coker: Strikeforce champ Rousey will want fight ahead of potential 'Cyborg' timetable
by Matt Erickson on Sep 07, 2012 at 7:30 am ET
Strikeforce bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey (6-0 MMA, 4-0 SF) and former featherweight champ Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos (10-1 MMA, 4-0 SF) is the fight most seem to want to see once Santos' current steroids suspension is lifted in December.
There are some well-known obstacles to be certain. But Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said if you're expecting "Cyborg" to be Rousey's next opponent, don't count on it.
"I'm sure Ronda would like to fight before that," Coker on Thursday told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "She barely broke a sweat in her last fight. It's something where she's been dominant and she's going to want to fight, I think, before Cyborg can actually get back in the cage off the suspension."
Of course, once Santos is eligible to return, there's still the matter of whether she's willing to drop to bantamweight. Rousey has been plenty vocal about Santos needing to move down to 135 pounds if she wants a fight, not believing she, as the champ, should have to go back up in weight especially given Santos' suspension.
Rousey also is of the belief Santos isn't a clean fighter and has said publicly she believes she never has been.
But Coker thinks the fight is destined to take place. Rousey really has yet to be challenged, and certainly wasn't this past month when she dispatched former champ Sarah Kaufman with an armbar in just 54 seconds. A fight with Santos could be her best current bet a test.
"That fight, believe me, is something I think should happen," Coker said. "I think it's something that will happen. And when Cyborg gets off suspension, the conversation is going to get very, very real about putting that fight together because I think that's the fight everyone wants to see."
But in the meantime, what happens with Rousey? True, she is only three weeks removed from her last fight. But if Santos is not likely to be her next opponent, given Coker's belief she'll want back in before a "Cyborg" fight realistically could be made, then who?
Strikeforce recently signed unbeaten Sara McMann (6-0 MMA, 0-0 SF), who like Rousey is an Olympic medalist. McMann won silver in wrestling at the 2004 games; Rousey was a bronze winner in judo in '08. She may be on the short list, perhaps after her debut if she comes up a winner.
Continued here:
Coker: Strikeforce champ Rousey will want fight ahead of potential 'Cyborg' timetable
Cyborg Cockroaches May Be Future Emergency Responders
Researchers say they've figured out a way to create cyborg, remote-controlled cockroaches, hoping one day the resilient creatures could be steered into disaster zones to gather information and look for survivors.
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Lake Mich. beaches: Best in the U.S.
Stephen Sabotka said he's not surprised that CNN named Lake Michigan beaches the best in the nation.
The St. Clair man lounged on the Grand Haven State Park beach Thursday afternoon, reading a magazine with a cold drink by his side.
We love the beaches over here, said Sabotka, who is camping at the state park. That's why we travel from Lake Huron to Lake Michigan. I love the view, love the sunsets and love the town of Grand Haven.
Sabotka said CNN made a good choice.
Lake Michigan has some of the best beaches in the U.S.," he said. "... We go to South Haven, here and all over. We've been coming to this side for years.
Joy Gaasch, president of the Chamber of Commerce Grand Haven-Spring Lake-Ferrysburg, said she's thrilled that the silky sands and stunning sunsets of Lake Michigan shoreline life were applauded by a national news organization.
When you think about who's in the competition in the United States, it's pretty awesome," she said. "When you think about beaches all the way up the shoreline Saugatuck, Ludington, Manistee, Sleeping Bear we're so blessed to have such wonderful natural resources available to us at a moment's notice.
The honor was part of CNN's 10 Best Lake Vacations rankings. Lake Superior won the best for fishing category.
The cable news network noted that with more than 1,600 miles of shoreline, Lake Michigan offers more beaches than any other lake in the country.
But it's not just quantity, according to CNN. There's a beach for nearly every taste.
Continued here:
Thousands of fish wash up on Lake Erie beaches
Ontario Ministry of Environment
These fish are among the tens of thousands found dead on 25 miles of Lake Erie beaches in Canada's Ontario Province.
By Miguel Llanos, NBC News
Tens of thousands of dead fish that washed up on Lake Erie beaches in Ontario, Canada -- and had locals wondering if something or someone had poisoned the water -- were likely killed by a lack of oxygen caused when lake sediment was stirred up, the province reported Friday.
Water samples "do not show evidence of a manure spill or anything unusual in terms of contaminants," Ministry of Environment spokeswoman Kate Jordan told NBC News.
Jordan said it wasn't known if the die-off was unprecedented, but that"it was a significant number -- tens of thousands."
The fish were found along 25 miles of beach, with locals first coming across them on Monday.
But three days earlier, residents had complained of a manure-like smell from the water, the Chatham Daily News reported.
"It was rank, so profoundly rank, that it was difficult to stay down there and the next morning we woke up to the smell," Neville Knowles said of his family's weekend trip to Rondeau Provincial Park.
Another park visitor,Frank van den Boorn, said he and his family were at the beach when he noticed the darkened water and smelled something wrong.
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Several beaches above algae guidelines
Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION
By: Staff Writer
Posted: 4:44 PM | Comments:
If you are headed to the lake this weekend, be careful around the water Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship reported algal blooms at a number of beaches this week, including some popular beaches on Lake Winnipeg.
Algae advisory signs can be seen at Hillside, Victoria, and West Grand beaches as well as at the lagoon of West Grand Beach.
Pelican Lake, which includes Ninette and Pleasant Valley beaches, has blue-green algal cells that are above the recreational water quality guideline, and the same can be said for the water Inverness Falls on Brereton Lake.The south pumphouse beach in that area, however, does not have algal cells that exceed the water quality guideline, and the concentration of the algal toxin microcystin is said to be safe.
On Lake Dauphin, Ochre Beach has blue-green algal cells that is above the guideline but the concentration of microcystin is safe here, too.
On Rock Lake and Killarney Lake beach, blue-green algal cells are said to be at a safe level and the concentration of microcystin is also said to be at a safe level.
Algae blooms are known to form and disperse quickly, which makes them difficult to predict. They also have the ability to last for several days or even weeks.
The reason for the high levels of algal cells is warm, calm weather combined with high nutrient loads in the water, as these are the perfect conditions for blue-green algae to develop, provincial officials said.
Excerpt from:
Meet Ms. Siri, Your New Teacher
A London-based startup, Kuato Studios, is expected to come out later this year with a newgameto teach kids computer programming.
This isnt a lightly "gamified" platform like Khan Academy's new computer science offerings or Codecademy. Kuato Studios is building an immersive, richly illustrated third-person shooter that will have 11- to 15-year-old players "terraforming a virtual world through coding and science," created by developers from companies like Konami and Rockstar Games.
The game boasts a special secret sauce: the next generation of "virtual personal assistant" technology from SRI, the research institute that created the iPhones Siri. (Frank Meehan, Kuato Studios founder, sat on the board of Siri Inc.) According to reports elsewhere, the updated Siri, called "Lola," is better at remembering the context of specific conversations, understanding natural speech, and reasoning--all qualities that would be nice to have in a virtual teacher who can answer direct questions, drop hints when a learner gets stuck, and dole out encouragement when she succeeds.
As edtech newsletter Edsurge points out, IBM just announced its own mobile version of AI engine Watson, in a push to build a $16-billion business analytics business. Putting AI into educational apps may not be far behind.
Anya Kamenetz is a senior writer at Fast Company, where she writes the column Life In Beta about change. Shes the author of two books, Generation Debt ... Continued
Link:
Letter To Shareholders from Creative Edge Nutrition, Inc.
MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich., Sept. 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Creative Edge Nutrition, Inc. (FITX), a nutritional supplement company focusing on active lifestyles.
We are at the dawn of exciting times for Creative Edge Nutrition, Inc. (FITX). Since I was appointed as CEO of the Company on April 6, 2012, our Board of Directors had a clear vision and strategy in mind: build a vertically integrated nutrition company that can conceptualize, create and sell direct to the consumer while leveraging strategic distribution partners globally. The foundation towards achieving this goal has been built and we are hard at work daily to execute to this vision. As recently announced, we had sales of $1,541,206, in the second quarter of this year and were profitable.
We will leverage our acquisitions and strategic partners to enable continued organic and inorganic growth to support our goal of creating long-term shareholder value. To support such value growth we also intend to become fully reporting under the requirements of OTC QB to enable FITX to move off the pink sheets by the end of this year.
We will be exhibiting at the Mr. Olympia Show in Las Vegas September 27-30 in booth numbers 281,282,381,382 island booth 20'x20', showcasing many of our new products to current and perspective customers distribution channels. Please stop by our booth if you are attending this event, we would love to meet you. We will also use this show to launch our newly formulated CENERGY brand line of products. http://fp37.a2zinc.net/clients/fpweiderpub/mrolympia12/public/eventmap.aspx?ver=html&shmode=E
I am very proud of our distinctive, innovative and hard working company and the many keen insights we have developed that have guided our bold moves over the past year. More important, I am profoundly excited about continuing to execute the vision of FITX.
Best regards, Bill Chaaban Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
About Creative Edge Nutrition, Inc.Creative Edge Nutrition is a holding company and a Nutritional Supplement Company focused on developing innovative, high quality supplements. The company offers a broad spectrum of capsules, tablets, and powders, as well as science based products in the principal categories of weight management, nutrition challenges, energy and fitness. The Company manufactures under strict GMP guidelines at GMP Certified and/or FDA registered facilities. http://www.CenergyNutrition.com and http://www.facebook.com/pages/Creative-Edge-Nutrition-Inc/115224738609211
Safe Harbor Notice This press release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, such as statements relating to financial results and plans for future development activities, and are thus prospective. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding intent, belief or current expectations of the Company, its directors or its officers. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's ability to control. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements are risks and uncertainties associated with the Company's business and finances in general, including the ability to continue and manage its growth, competition, global economic conditions and other factors discussed in detail in the Company's periodic filings with the Security and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
Contact: Paul Thomas (313) 655-1669 Email: Info@cenergynutrition.com
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Letter To Shareholders from Creative Edge Nutrition, Inc.
Red wine may reduce men's blood pressure – but only if it's non-alcoholic
(CBS News) Many have been touting the benefits of red wine, but a new study shows that non-alcoholic red wine may be best for men's cardiovascular health.
Large amounts of red wine compound resveratrol may help with balance in elderly people Study examines red wine's anti-aging ingredient, resveratrol
According to researchers at the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, drinking moderate amounts of non-alcoholic red wine for four weeks was able to reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Drinking alcoholic red wine, however, did not lead to any significant changes.
The study was published online on Sept. 6 in Circulation Research.
For the study, researchers asked 67 men with diabetes or three or more cardiovascular risk factors - including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, being overweight or obese, smoking or a family history of coronary heart disease - to spend four weeks drinking either 10 ounces of red wine, 10 ounces of non-alcoholic red wine or 3 ounces of gin daily. After the four week period, they switched to a different beverage and then switched again until they consumed all three beverages.
Men who drank the non-alcoholic red wine had an average deduction of 6mmHg in systolic and 2mmHg diastolic blood pressure, equaling a reduction of heart disease risk by 14 percent and stroke by as much as 20 percent.
The alcoholic and non-alcoholic red wine had the same amounts of polyphenols, an antioxidant that decreases blood pressure. This lead researchers to believe the alcohol in the red wine may be lowering the substance's effect to lower blood pressure.
"The non-alcoholic part of the wine -- namely polyphenols -- exert a protective effect on the cardiovascular system," researcher Dr. Ramon Estruch, senior consultant at the internal medicine department of the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain, said to WebMD. "Polyphenols also have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that may be useful to prevent other disease such as diabetes."
Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, attending cardiologist and the Director of Women and Heart Disease of the Heart and Vascular Institute of Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, told WebMD that she thinks the research will be welcome news to people who can't or don't want to consume alcohol. She was not involved in the study.
"Certain people don't want to drink alcohol, so here we have an alternative way for them to get the heart health benefits," she said. "It's not so much the alcohol as it is the polyphenols in red wine."
Originally posted here:
Red wine may reduce men's blood pressure - but only if it's non-alcoholic
Space station's toothbrush fix; astronaut breaks spacewalk record
Surrounded by expensive, high-tech equipment, astronauts Sunita Williams and Akihiko Hoshide had to resort to a toothbrush and elbow grease to fix a bolt on the International Space Station on Wednesday.
This added credence to a lesson NASA's Williams said she'd learned before: "You can't get married to a plan."
She added: "It seems like something you thought was going to be difficult turns out to be easy, and something you thought was going to be easy turns out to be hard."
PHOTOS: Awesome images from space
Williams wrote about the "sticky" bolt in a blog post earlier this week that revealed the patience and stamina of the Indian American astronaut, who reportedly holds the record as the woman with the longest space flight: 195 days. She's also now the woman with the most experience walking in space.
With Wednesday's outing, Williams broke the record for time spent spacewalking by a female astronaut, NASA spokesman Josh Byerly confirmed Thursday to the Los Angeles Times.
On Wednesday, Williams and Japanese astronaut Hoshide tackled the bolt, which was plugged with metal shavings, to install a new power-relay unit. The bolt problem had cut power to the space station that is gathered from eight solar wings, according to an Associated Press report. Astronauts had been forced to shut down some equipment.
During a 6-hour spacewalk Wednesday, the pair applied grease to the bolt and cleaned it with the toothbrush and a wire brush. They also just plain jiggled it.
Back on Earth, NASA scientists celebrated.
"Looks like you fixed the station," Mission Control told the crew on the radio amid applause, according to the AP.
See the original post here:
Space station's toothbrush fix; astronaut breaks spacewalk record
Astronauts used toothbrush to fix space station
It took hard work, determination and some MacGyver-esque ingenuity for a pair of spacewalking astronauts to fix a key power system aboard the International Space Station Wednesday.
NASA spaceflyer Sunita Williams and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide spent nearly 6 1/2 hours yesterday outside in the vacuum of space to properly install a pair of bolts that had caused problems for the pair during a previous spacewalk last week.
In addition to their regular spacewalking gear, Williams and Hoshide were armed with some makeshift tools including an improvised wire cleaner and a toothbrush to help them get the job done.
On Aug. 30, Williams and Hoshide completed a marathon spacewalk that lasted more than 8 hours, but the astronauts were thwarted by a stubborn bolt and were unable to finish connecting the so-called main bus switching unit (MBSU). The stuck bolt forced NASA to add Wednesday's extra spacewalk.
But, following last week's unsuccessful attempt, flight controllers, engineers and veteran spacewalkers worked around the clock at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston to devise a solution to the problem. Using only the supplies available on the space station, the teams came up with creative new tools for Williams and Hoshide to use to install the MBSU.
One was a modified toothbrush that was used to lubricate the inside of the bolt's housing after debris from inside had been removed. Another improvised instrument included a cleaning tool that had been made from wires that were bent back to form a brush, explained Kieth Johnson, lead spacewalk director at the Johnson Space Center. [Photos: Spacewalkers Fix Space Station Power Unit]
"We knew that we had particles down inside the socket, so they came outside with yet another tool that was developed by the ground team," Johnson told reporters in a post-spacewalk news briefing.
The inventive ideas that led to today's spacewalk success demonstrates how well the teams on the ground and in orbit work together, and shows the dedication of those involved in the agency's space station program, said flight director Ed Van Cise.
"It was really amazing to watch the ingenuity, to watch the flight controllers," Van Cise said. "It was amazing to see it all come together."
And with the MBSU now up and running, mission controllers are now able to breathe a collective sigh of relief.
See the article here:
ISS crew complete space station repair
Two International Space Station crew members successfully completed a spacewalk to install a new power switching unit, the US space agency NASA said.
The rest is here:
How a toothbrush helped fix the space station
It took hard work, determination and some MacGyver-esque ingenuity for a pair of spacewalking astronauts to fix a key power system aboard the International Space Station Wednesday.
NASA spaceflyer Sunita Williams and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide spent nearly 6 1/2 hours yesterday outside in the vacuum of space to properly install a pair of bolts that had caused problems for the pair during a previous spacewalk last week.
In addition to their regular spacewalking gear, Williams and Hoshide were armed with some makeshift tools including an improvised wire cleaner and a toothbrush to help them get the job done.
On Aug. 30, Williams and Hoshide completed a marathon spacewalk that lasted more than 8 hours, but the astronauts were thwarted by a stubborn bolt and were unable to finish connecting the so-called main bus switching unit (MBSU). The stuck bolt forced NASA to add Wednesday's extra spacewalk.
But, following last week's unsuccessful attempt, flight controllers, engineers and veteran spacewalkers worked around the clock at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston to devise a solution to the problem. Using only the supplies available on the space station, the teams came up with creative new tools for Williams and Hoshide to use to install the MBSU.
One was a modified toothbrush that was used to lubricate the inside of the bolt's housing after debris and metal shavings from inside had been removed. Another improvised instrument included a cleaning tool that had been made from wires that were bent back to form a brush, explained Kieth Johnson, lead spacewalk director at the Johnson Space Center. [Photos: Spacewalkers Fix Space Station Power Unit]
"We knew that we had particles down inside the socket, so they came outside with yet another tool that was developed by the ground team," Johnson told reporters in a post-spacewalk news briefing.
The inventive ideas that led to today's spacewalk success demonstrates how well the teams on the ground and in orbit work together, and shows the dedication of those involved in the agency's space station program, said flight director Ed Van Cise.
"It was really amazing to watch the ingenuity, to watch the flight controllers," Van Cise said. "It was amazing to see it all come together."
And with the MBSU now up and running, mission controllers are now able to breathe a collective sigh of relief.
Original post:
MacGuyver in space? Astronauts fix space station with toothbrush.
Using makeshift tools that included a spare toothbrush, a pair of spacewalking astronauts successfully fixed a vital power system aboard the International Space Station.
It took hard work, determination and some MacGyver-esque ingenuity for a pair of spacewalking astronauts to fix a key power system aboard the International Space Station Wednesday (Sept. 5).
Subscribe Today to the Monitor
Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition
Suni is currently taking part in a planned 6 Hour, 30 Minute spacewalk to install a new Main Bus Switching Unit (MBSU) on the truss outside the International Space Station.
NASA spaceflyerSunita Williamsand Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide spent nearly 6 1/2 hours yesterday outside in the vacuum of space to properly install a pair of bolts that had caused problems for the pair during a previous spacewalk last week.
In addition to their regular spacewalking gear, Williams and Hoshide were armed with some makeshift tools including animprovised wire cleaner and a toothbrush to help them get the job done.
On Aug. 30, Williams and Hoshide completed a marathon spacewalk that lasted more than 8 hours, but the astronauts were thwarted by a stubborn bolt and were unable to finish connecting the so-calledmain bus switching unit(MBSU). The stuck bolt forced NASA to add Wednesday's extra spacewalk.
But, following last week's unsuccessful attempt, flight controllers, engineers and veteran spacewalkers worked around the clock at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston to devise a solution to the problem. Using only the supplies available on the space station, the teams came up with creative new tools for Williams and Hoshide to use to install the MBSU.
One was a modified toothbrush that was used to lubricate the inside of the bolt's housing after debris and metal shavings from inside had been removed. Another improvised instrument included a cleaning tool that had been made from wires that were bent back to form a brush, explained Kieth Johnson, lead spacewalk director at the Johnson Space Center. [Photos: Spacewalkers Fix Space Station Power Unit]
Original post:
MacGuyver in space? Astronauts fix space station with toothbrush.
MacGyver in space? Astronauts fix space station with toothbrush.
Using makeshift tools that included a spare toothbrush, a pair of spacewalking astronauts successfully fixed a vital power system aboard the International Space Station.
It took hard work, determination and some MacGyver-esque ingenuity for a pair of spacewalking astronauts to fix a key power system aboard the International Space Station Wednesday (Sept. 5).
Subscribe Today to the Monitor
Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition
Suni is currently taking part in a planned 6 Hour, 30 Minute spacewalk to install a new Main Bus Switching Unit (MBSU) on the truss outside the International Space Station.
NASA spaceflyerSunita Williamsand Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide spent nearly 6 1/2 hours yesterday outside in the vacuum of space to properly install a pair of bolts that had caused problems for the pair during a previous spacewalk last week.
In addition to their regular spacewalking gear, Williams and Hoshide were armed with some makeshift tools including animprovised wire cleaner and a toothbrush to help them get the job done.
On Aug. 30, Williams and Hoshide completed a marathon spacewalk that lasted more than 8 hours, but the astronauts were thwarted by a stubborn bolt and were unable to finish connecting the so-calledmain bus switching unit(MBSU). The stuck bolt forced NASA to add Wednesday's extra spacewalk.
But, following last week's unsuccessful attempt, flight controllers, engineers and veteran spacewalkers worked around the clock at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston to devise a solution to the problem. Using only the supplies available on the space station, the teams came up with creative new tools for Williams and Hoshide to use to install the MBSU.
One was a modified toothbrush that was used to lubricate the inside of the bolt's housing after debris and metal shavings from inside had been removed. Another improvised instrument included a cleaning tool that had been made from wires that were bent back to form a brush, explained Kieth Johnson, lead spacewalk director at the Johnson Space Center. [Photos: Spacewalkers Fix Space Station Power Unit]
The rest is here:
MacGyver in space? Astronauts fix space station with toothbrush.
How astronauts used a toothbrush to fix space station
(Space.com) It took hard work, determination and some MacGyver-esque ingenuity for a pair of spacewalking astronauts to fix a key power system aboard the International Space Station Wednesday (Sept. 5).
NASA spaceflyer Sunita Williams and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide spent nearly 6 1/2 hours yesterday outside in the vacuum of space to properly install a pair of bolts that had caused problems for the pair during a previous spacewalk last week.
In addition to their regular spacewalking gear, Williams and Hoshide were armed with some makeshift tools -- including an improvised wire cleaner and a toothbrush -- to help them get the job done.
On Aug. 30, Williams and Hoshide completed a marathon spacewalk that lasted more than 8 hours, but the astronauts were thwarted by a stubborn bolt and were unable to finish connecting the so-called main bus switching unit (MBSU). The stuck bolt forced NASA to add Wednesday's extra spacewalk.
But, following last week's unsuccessful attempt, flight controllers, engineers and veteran spacewalkers worked around the clock at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston to devise a solution to the problem. Using only the supplies available on the space station, the teams came up with creative new tools for Williams and Hoshide to use to install the MBSU.
One was a modified toothbrush that was used to lubricate the inside of the bolt's housing after debris and metal shavings from inside had been removed. Another improvised instrument included a cleaning tool that had been made from wires that were bent back to form a brush, explained Kieth Johnson, lead spacewalk director at the Johnson Space Center. [Photos: Spacewalkers Fix Space Station Power Unit]
"We knew that we had particles down inside the socket, so they came outside with yet another tool that was developed by the ground team," Johnson told reporters in a post-spacewalk news briefing.
The inventive ideas that led to today's spacewalk success demonstrates how well the teams on the ground and in orbit work together, and shows the dedication of those involved in the agency's space station program, said flight director Ed Van Cise.
"It was really amazing to watch the ingenuity, to watch the flight controllers," Van Cise said. "It was amazing to see it all come together."
And with the MBSU now up and running, mission controllers are now able to breathe a collective sigh of relief.
Continue reading here:
MacGyver in space? Astronauts fix space station with toothbrush. (+video)
Using makeshift tools that included a spare toothbrush, a pair of spacewalking astronauts successfully fixed a vital power system aboard the International Space Station.
It took hard work, determination and some MacGyver-esque ingenuity for a pair of spacewalking astronauts to fix a key power system aboard the International Space Station Wednesday (Sept. 5).
Subscribe Today to the Monitor
Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition
Suni is currently taking part in a planned 6 Hour, 30 Minute spacewalk to install a new Main Bus Switching Unit (MBSU) on the truss outside the International Space Station.
NASA spaceflyerSunita Williamsand Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide spent nearly 6 1/2 hours yesterday outside in the vacuum of space to properly install a pair of bolts that had caused problems for the pair during a previous spacewalk last week.
In addition to their regular spacewalking gear, Williams and Hoshide were armed with some makeshift tools including animprovised wire cleaner and a toothbrush to help them get the job done.
On Aug. 30, Williams and Hoshide completed a marathon spacewalk that lasted more than 8 hours, but the astronauts were thwarted by a stubborn bolt and were unable to finish connecting the so-calledmain bus switching unit(MBSU). The stuck bolt forced NASA to add Wednesday's extra spacewalk.
But, following last week's unsuccessful attempt, flight controllers, engineers and veteran spacewalkers worked around the clock at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston to devise a solution to the problem. Using only the supplies available on the space station, the teams came up with creative new tools for Williams and Hoshide to use to install the MBSU.
One was a modified toothbrush that was used to lubricate the inside of the bolt's housing after debris and metal shavings from inside had been removed. Another improvised instrument included a cleaning tool that had been made from wires that were bent back to form a brush, explained Kieth Johnson, lead spacewalk director at the Johnson Space Center. [Photos: Spacewalkers Fix Space Station Power Unit]
Read the original here:
MacGyver in space? Astronauts fix space station with toothbrush. (+video)
'Mighty Eagle' lander aces major exam
Overcast skies didn't deter the "Mighty Eagle," flying high above the historic F-1 test stand - formerly used to test turbopumps for Saturn first stage engines. (NASA/MSFC/Dennis Olive)
(Phys.org)Completing this round of flight test objectives, the "Mighty Eagle," a NASA robotic prototype lander, flew to an altitude of 100 feet and descended gently to a controlled landing during a successful free flight Sept. 5 at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
Guided by autonomous rendezvous and capture software, the vehicle located an on-the-ground target using its onboard camera and flew to it. Last week's flight followed a preprogrammed flight profile, but today's operated "closed loop," with the vehicle seeking and finding its target using the onboard software to guide the flight.
"The 'Mighty Eagle' had a great flight, fulfilling the objectives we had for this testfinding and landing on its target using a closed-loop system," said Greg Chavers, test lead for the project. "Given this is one of our last tests in this series, it is a worthy finale of a lot of people's hard workincluding our young engineers. They did a remarkable job running today's flight."
New for this test, the "Mighty Eagle" project managers turned over the vehicle's keys to three young Marshall engineers, Adam Lacock, flight manager; Jake Parton, test conductor; and Logan Kennedy, systems engineer.
Nicknamed the "Mighty Eagle" after one of the characters in the popular "Angry Birds" game, the vehicle is a three-legged prototype that resembles an actual flight lander design. It is 4 feet tall and 8 feet in diameter and, when fueled, weighs 700 pounds. It is a "green" vehicle, fueled by 90 percent pure hydrogen peroxide, and is guided by an onboard computer that activates the thrusters to power the craft's movements.
"We've surpassed our expectations and flew the most challenging run to date," said Mike Hannan, a controls engineer in Marshall's Engineering Directorate. "It was an overcast, extremely humid day, and we were concerned steam might block the vehicle's camera. We didn't see that, and the lander sought and found its target successfully."
"It was an invaluable experience managing today's test," added Lacock. "This is the kind of experience young engineers, like myself, need to learn more about flight mechanics, vehicle hardware and project management. It was a good day for our team."
NASA will use the "Mighty Eagle" to mature the technology needed to develop a new generation of small, smart, versatile robotic landers capable of achieving scientific and exploration goals on the surface of the moon, asteroids or other airless bodies.
Provided by NASA
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