HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hundreds of millions of potentially toxic plastic pellets from containers knocked off a vessel during Hong Kong's worst typhoon in 13 years have washed up on its beaches where they lay for more than a week, activists said on Saturday. The Hong Kong government estimated that 150 tonnes of the pellets may have been spilled on its beaches, of which a third have been cleaned up ...
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HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hundreds of millions of potentially toxic plastic pellets from containers knocked off a vessel during Hong Kong's worst typhoon in 13 years have washed up on its beaches where they lay for more than a week, activists said on Saturday. The Hong Kong government estimated that 150 metric tons (165 tons) of the pellets may have been spilled on its beaches, of which a third have ...
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Hong Kong government criticized over plastic spill on beaches
Want to stay on top of all the space news? Follow @universetoday on Twitter
An impressive group of individuals from the space and astronomy community have teamed up to create an innovative, out-of-the-box concept to help solve what appears to be a growing problem for researchers, scientists, educators and students: how to get funding for research and other ground-breaking projects. With NASA and National Science Foundation budgets shrinking, a new start-up called Uwingu (which means sky in Swahili) will be working to provide ways to keep space science thriving. Founders of the project include notable names like Alan Stern, Andrew Chaikin, Pamela Gay, Geoff Marcy, Mark Sykes, David Grinspoon, and Emily CoBabe-Amman.
Stern told Universe Today that said the groups initiative is not so much in response to the current government funding troubles, but a way to expand resources for the space and astronomy community, which is just smart business, he said.
However, it is an indication of changing times. We couldnt do this without the internet, frankly, which provides a new avenue for reaching people, Stern said.
Additionally, Stern contrasted space and astronomy research, which mainly relies on NASA and NSF grants, to medical research, which has multiple lines of funding venues such as pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and the hundreds of medical foundations such as the American Cancer Society, in addition to government grants.
While Stern explained that he couldnt yet reveal all the details of Uwingu, he did provide a few hints.
The idea is to provide outstanding, innovative and cutting edge products, he said. We wont just be accessing space and astronomy people who want to give to a cause, but will be accessing the general public, which is a much bigger marketplace.
Dr. Pamela Gay wrote about Uwingu on her Starstryder website, saying Their ideas are so elegant that I cant believe they havent already been done.
While the team is still finalizing some of their concepts, part of their reticence is building suspense. Just like any new product line, its part of building suspense, just like Apple does when they release a new product. But we have a whole series of projects in work, and we want to do it right, too.
Stern said part of what they are doing is to be a safety net for the space and astronomy community and part of it is to do new things. But, he added, when people have the greatest need is a probably good time to launch a project like this.
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A Creative New Concept for Funding Space Exploration and Astronomy
Newswise WASHINGTON (July 30, 2012) Christina M. Puchalski, M.D., founder and director of the George Washington University Institute for Spirituality and Health (GWish) and professor at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, authored the first comprehensive reference text to examine the growing area of spirituality in healthcare. Titled the Oxford Textbook of Spirituality and Healthcare, the textbook will serve as a guide to multidisciplinary practitioners and professionals in the healthcare community on this emerging field.
Over the last few years, there has been a growing amount of articles in medical and healthcare journals on spirituality, as well as a wide range of literature, but there has been no attempt to publish a standard text on the subject. As a pioneer and leader in the movement to integrate spirituality into healthcare in both the clinical setting and in medical education, Dr. Puchalski saw the need for a textbook on spirituality and healthcare. The Oxford Textbook of Spirituality in Healthcare is poised to be the authoritative reference on this focus, providing unequalled coverage, critical depth and an integrated source of key topics. Divided into six sections including practice, research, policy and training, the book brings together international contributions from scholars in the field to provide a unique and stimulating resource.
As the founder and director of GWish, Dr. Puchalski has contributed groundbreaking work in the clinical, academic, and pastoral understanding of spiritual care as an essential element of healthcare. In 2009 she received the George Washington University Distinguished Alumni Award and in 2011, the Outstanding Colleague Award from the National Association of Catholic Chaplains. She is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and is also a member of the contemplative Carmelite lay community. Dr. Puchalski has authored many publications and been featured in numerous print and television media.
For more information, please visit the Oxford Textbook of Spirituality in Healthcare homepage at Oxford University Press: http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780199571390.do#.UBBjqGGXQ0N. To arrange an interview with Dr. Puchalski, please contact Lisa Anderson at lisama2@gwu.edu or 202-994-3121 or Anne Banner at abanner@gwu.edu or 202-994-2261.
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About the School of Medicine and Health Sciences Founded in 1825, the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) was the first medical school in the nations capital and is the 11th oldest in the country. Working together in our nations capital, with integrity and resolve, the GW SMHS is committed to improving the health and well-being of our local, national and global communities. http://www.smhs.gwumc.edu
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GWish Director Writes the First Comprehensive Textbook on Spirituality in Healthcare
August 3, 2012 3:29 PM ET
By SETH BORENSTEIN
WASHINGTON (AP) - NASA picked three aerospace companies Friday to build small rocketships to take astronauts to the International Space Station.
This is the third phase of NASA's efforts to get private space companies to take over the job of the now-retired space shuttle. The companies will share more than $1.1 billion. Two of the ships are capsules like in the Apollo era and the third is closer in design to the space shuttle.
Once the spaceships are built, NASA plans to hire the private companies to taxi astronauts into space within five years. Until they are ready, NASA is paying Russia about $63 million per astronaut to do the job.
In a statement, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said the move "will help keep us on track to tend the outsourcing of human spaceflight."
NASA hopes that by having private firms ferry astronauts into low Earth orbit, it can focus on larger long-term goals, like sending crews to a nearby asteroid and eventually Mars. The private companies can also make money in tourism and other non-NASA business.
The three companies are the Boeing Co. of Houston, Space Exploration Technologies, called SpaceX, of Hawthorne, Calif., and Sierra Nevada Corp. of Louisville, Colo.
They are quite different companies. Boeing is one of the oldest and largest space companies with a long history of building and launching rockets and working for NASA, going back to the Mercury days. SpaceX is a relatively new company started by Elon Musk, who helped create PayPal and runs the electric car company Tesla Motors. Sierra Nevada has been in the space business for 25 years but mostly on a much smaller scale than Boeing.
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This artist's rendering provided by Sierra Nevada Space Systems shows the company's Dream Chaser spacecraft docking with the International Space Station. NASA has picked three aerospace companies to build small rocketships to take astronauts to the International Space Station. This is the third phase of NASA's efforts to get private space companies to take over the job of the now-retired space shuttle. The space agency is giving them more than $1.1 billion. Two of three ships are capsules like in the Apollo era and the third is a lifting body that is closer in design to the space shuttle. (AP Photo/Sierra Nevada Space Systems)
Alliant Techsystems plan to use its Liberty rocket to eventually transport astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station was left unfunded on the launch pad Friday.
Instead, NASA announced Boeing Co. received a $460 million award; Space Exploration Technologies Corp., a Hawthorne, Calif.-based company also known as SpaceX and led by billionaire Elon Musk, got a $440 million contract to develop spacecraft capable of carrying astronauts into orbit; and Sierra Nevada Corp., based in Sparks, Nev., won a contract valued at $213 million.
ATKs Liberty rocket system
What is it? Its a 300-foot-tall, two-stage rocket system designed to be a low-cost method to put people and equipment into space. It was developed by Alliant Techsystems.
How it would be used It was designed with a crew module and originally scheduled to shuttle astronauts to the International Space Station.
The team The Liberty team spans 10 states, including Utah, and was expected to sustain thousands of jobs and create 600 new jobs, according to ATK.
First flights It was originally scheduled to conduct its first unmanned test flights in 2014 and 2015, followed by the first manned flight in late 2015. If it had been selected by NASA, it would have made its first commercial flights to the International Space Station in 2016.
Future of the project ATK says it needs to be debriefed by NASA before it can make any decisions on the long-term prospects for the program.
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02-08-2012 13:16 NASA and university scientists have made the first measurement-based estimate of the amount and composition of tiny airborne particles that arrive in the air over North America each year. With a 3D view of the atmosphere now possible from satellites, the scientists distinguished dust from pollution, and calculated that dust is the main ingredient of these foreign imports. This video is public domain and can be downloaded at: Like our videos? Subscribe to NASA's Goddard Shorts HD podcast: Or find NASA Goddard Space Flight Center on facebook: Or find us on Twitter:
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03-08-2012 18:08 The much-anticipated landing of the Mars Science Laboratory with Curiosity, the Red Planet's next resident rover, is this Monday, at 1:31 am Eastern. Having been configured by the MSL flight team for entry, descent and landing the spacecraft is on final approach for its targeted touchdown in Gale Crater. Coverage of Curiosity's landing begins Sunday at 11:30 pm Eastern on all three NASA TV channels, nasa.gov, AND, Xbox 360. Also, engineers at the Johnson Space Center have conducted test firings of the Project Morpheus Lander, the quickest trip ever to the International Space Station of an unpiloted Russian Progress resupply ship , Marking History at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility and more!
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03-08-2012 12:47 At a briefing from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden announces new agreements with three American commercial companies, Sierra Nevada, SpaceX and Boeing, to design and develop the next generation of US human spaceflight capabilities, enabling a launch of astronauts from US soil in the next five years.
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NASA Chooses Next-Gen Companies for Human Spaceflight - Video
On a cloudless morning, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden stood at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. where the U.S. dominated human spaceflight for half a century and revealed plans for the space agency's next chapter.
On Friday, NASA handed out $1.1 billion in contracts to three companies to privately develop a new generation of spacecraft that could one day ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
Now that the space shuttle fleet has been retired, NASA has no way to travel to the space station other than shelling out $63 million each time one of its astronauts rides on a Russian Soyuz rocket.
"By investing in American companies and American ingenuity, we're spurring free-market competition to give taxpayers more bang for the buck," Bolden said during the news conference. "We're also making important progress toward ending the outsourcing of American aerospace jobs and bringing them right back to Florida and other states all across this country."
Southern California's aerospace industry was a major beneficiary of the announcement. Hawthorne-based rocket maker Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, won $440 million from NASA to develop its hardware. And Boeing Co., which develops spacecraft in Huntington Beach and uses rocket engines made by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne in Canoga Park, won $460 million.
And $212.5 million went to Sierra Nevada Corp. of Sparks, Nev., which is building a space plane that resembles a miniature space shuttle.
The awards are part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, which lays the groundwork for a new reliance on private companies to transport astronauts.
NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver, who was visiting Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Caada Flintridge in anticipation of Sunday's Mars rover landing, said the companies have plenty of work ahead.
"We anticipate a lot of exciting things from these companies over the next 21 months," she said. "NASA is ready to loosen its grip and let these companies take over."
The overall design of NASA's previous space-going vehicles and their missions were tightly controlled by the government and contracted to aerospace giants.
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NASA taps Boeing, SpaceX, Sierra Nevada to develop new spacecraft
With just a few days before NASA's huge Mars rover Curiosity attempts its historic and record-setting landing, a blue-ribbon study group is taking a close look at America's space exploration future — and is seeking public comment.
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Washington — NASA picked three aerospace companies Friday to build small rocket ships to take astronauts to the International Space Station.
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PASADENA, California (Reuters) - PASADENA, Calif. Aug 3 (Reuters) - NASA will pay more than $1 billion over the next 21 months to three companies to develop commercial spaceships capable of flying astronauts to the International Space Station, the agency said Friday. The lion's share of the $1.1 billion allotted for the next phase of NASA's so-called “"Commercial Crew" program will be split ...
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NASA retired its 30-year shuttle program last year, but that doesn't mean Americans are done with space.
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NASA Makes $1 Billion Investment in Manned Commercial Spaceflight
WASHINGTON (AP) -- NASA picked three aerospace companies Friday to build small rocketships to take astronauts to the International Space Station.
This is the third phase of NASA's efforts to get private space companies to take over the job of the now-retired space shuttle. The companies will share more than $1.1 billion. Two of the ships are capsules like in the Apollo era and the third is closer in design to the space shuttle.
Once the spaceships are built, NASA plans to hire the private companies to taxi astronauts into space within five years. Until they are ready, NASA is paying Russia about $63 million per astronaut to do the job.
In a statement, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said the move "will help keep us on track to tend the outsourcing of human spaceflight."
NASA hopes that by having private firms ferry astronauts into low Earth orbit, it can focus on larger long-term goals, like sending crews to a nearby asteroid and eventually Mars. The private companies can also make money in tourism and other non-NASA business.
The three companies are the Boeing Co. of Houston, Space Exploration Technologies, called SpaceX, of Hawthorne, Calif., and Sierra Nevada Corp. of Louisville, Colo.
They are quite different companies. Boeing is one of the oldest and largest space companies with a long history of building and launching rockets and working for NASA, going back to the Mercury days. SpaceX is a relatively new company started by Elon Musk, who helped create PayPal and runs the electric car company Tesla Motors. Sierra Nevada has been in the space business for 25 years but mostly on a much smaller scale than Boeing.
NASA's commercial crew development program started with seven companies. The other companies that were not chosen can still build private rocketships and NASA still has the option to hire them to ferry astronauts at a later date, NASA spokesman Trent Perrotto said.
Boeing is slated to get the most money, $460 million for its seven-person CST-100 capsule. It would launch on an Atlas rocket, with the first test flight 2016. The company won't say how much it would charge NASA per seat, but it will be "significantly lower" than the Russian price, said John Mulholland, Boeing vice president. He said Boeing's long experience in working with NASA on human flight gives it a "leg up" on its competitors.
SpaceX is already in the lead in the private space race. The company earlier this year used their Falcon rocket to launch their Dragon capsule into orbit. It docked with the space station and successfully delivered cargo. NASA plans to give the company $440 million. The capsule holds seven people and will have its first test launch with people in 2015, said spokeswoman Kirstin Brost Grantham. The company will charge NASA about $20 million per seat, she said.
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NASA revealed new agreements with three private spaceflight companies today (Aug. 3) — deals that total $1.1 billion in funding support for new commercial spaceships to launch American astronauts into space.
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NASA Awards $1.1 Billion in Support for 3 Private Space Taxis
NASA said all was well ahead of its nail-biting mission to Mars, with its most advanced robotic rover poised to hunt for clues about past life and water on Earth's nearest planetary neighbor.
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Earlier today, NASA announced that it has awarded over $1.1 billion in contracts to the Sierra Nevada Corporation, Boeing, and SpaceX as part of its Commercial Crew Integrated Capability initiative.  The goal of the Initiative has been to develop crewed flight capabilities as a means to provide both government and commercial entities the ability to travel to the International Space Station and ...
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NASA Awards Over $1 Billion In Contracts To Develop Commercial Spaceflight
DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/pg5tbq/smart_textiles_and) has announced the addition of the "Smart Textiles and Nanotechnology - Issue 7, 2012" report to their offering.
Smart Textiles and Nanotechnology will provide you with all the latest news about ways to make functional fabrics.
Find out everything you want to know about:
- Wearable Electronics
- Smart Fabrics
- Nanofibres
- Nanocoatings
- Electrospinning
- Shape Memory Materials
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Research and Markets: Smart Textiles and Nanotechnology - Issue 7, 2012
02-08-2012 09:50 Introducing a insane new player that trickshots and feeds! A lot of his episodes are feeds at the moment but he is on a drystreak but should be hitting some insanely creative trickshots very soon! We are still recruiting editors, GFX and players! So go check out the recruitment challenge, there should always be an annotation on screen at the top so go check that out and hopefully we will hear from you! 🙂 Obviously we are trying to get big on YouTube so every view counts so tell everyone you know about us, maybe even give us a favourite just to help spread the word about us! There will be a promo out soon (Probably a few versions of it because a few of our editors wanted to make it, if you wouldn't mind uploading it to your channel it would be appreciated! (When they are released there will be a download link in the description!
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