LOS ANGELES — The aerospace company that built the solid rocket boosters for NASA's space shuttle fleet announced plans today (May 9) to develop its own private launch system — a spaceship and rocket — to fly astronauts to and from low-Earth orbit. The first manned flight could launch in about three years, company officials said.
Link:
Shuttle Rocket Booster Maker to Launch Private Space Taxi by 2015
Aerospace Utahs role is producing first-stage rocket booster.
While it may be some time before tourists can book space travel, an announcement Wednesday from Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK) puts that dream within reach.
During a late afternoon webcast, ATK representatives revealed completion of the Liberty commercial crew transportation system, which includes the spacecraft, abort system, launch vehicle and ground and mission operations. Initial test flights are slated for 2014, with a test flight carrying a crew in late 2015.
ATK is teaming with Europe-based Astrium, which has a record of 47 consecutive safe space flights with its Ariane 5 rocket. Liberty also receives support from Lockheed Martin.
"Our goal in providing Liberty is to build the safest and most robust system that provides the shortest time to operation using tested and proven human-rated components," Kent Rominger, Libertys vice-president and program manager, said in a statement.
Liberty will provide the United States with new launch capability, Rominger added, "and a schedule that we expect will have us flying crews in just three years, ending our dependence on Russia."
The system knits together established infrastructure and flight-proven elements in its aim to produce a simplified, safe and relatively low-cost commercial product although no prices were cited Wednesday since the company is competing in a NASA bidding contest that concluded in August.
According to John Schumacher, chief executive officer of Astrium in North America, the Liberty system will be capable of transporting both crew and cargo with payloads that could well include U.S. Department of Defense satellites. Space tourism is also in the offing, Schumacher added.
Libertys business model is expected to generate thousands of jobs across the United States and in Utah where ATK operates three facilities and employs more than 3,000 workers.
"The biggest thing for Utah is the five-segment solid rocket booster for the systems first stage," said George Torres, vice-president for ATK communications. Those boosters are produced at ATKs Promontory facility and have been successfully ground-tested horizontally three times so far, Torres said.
See more here:
The U.S. Air Force's secretive robotic X-37B space plane mission continues to chalk up time in Earth orbit, nearing 430 days of a spaceflight that while classified appears to be an unqualified success.
The space plane now circuiting Earth is the second spacecraft of its kind built for the Air Force by Boeings Phantom Works. Known as the Orbital Test Vehicle 2, or OTV-2, the space plane's classified mission is being carried out by the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office.
The robotic X-37B space plane is a reusable spacecraft that resembles a miniature space shuttle. The Air Force launched the OTV-2 mission on March 5, 2011, with an unmanned Atlas 5 rocket lofting the space plane into orbit from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Spectacular success
General William Shelton, commander of Air Force Space Command, briefly saluted the high-flying X-37B space plane on April 17 during his remarks at the 28th National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colo.
"Our second X-37 test vehicle has been on orbit for 409 days now" much longer than the 270 day baseline design specifications, Shelton said. "Although I can't talk about mission specifics, suffice it to say this mission has been a spectacular success," he added. [Photos: The X-37B Space Plane's Second Mission]
In a follow-up meeting with reporters, Shelton told SPACE.com: "It's doing wonderful." When asked specifically about when the craft will be brought back down to Earth, Shelton's response was guarded.
"When we're through with it it's going great," Shelton said.
U.S. Air Force Maj. Tracy Bunko, the Pentagon's spokesperson for the X-37B project, told SPACE.com that the space plane's current mission "is still on track and still ongoing."
Bunko said that a third flight of an X-37B spacecraft slated for liftoff this fall will use the same craft that flew the first test flight, the OTV-1 mission, back in 2010. That maiden voyage of the X-37B space plane lasted 225 days. It launched into orbit on April 22, 2010, and then landed on Dec. 3, zooming in on autopilot over the Pacific Ocean and gliding down onto a specially prepared runway at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
Read more:
Sparkly metallic gowns were all over the Met Ball red carpet -- see which stylish stars took part in the hot trend right here! Tons of stylish celebs turned heads in their gorgeous designer gowns at the 2012 Met Ball gala, but it was the stars in metallic who totally dominated the red carpet! A number of A-listers opted to shine in glittery gowns, including Jessica Alba, who stunned in Michael ...
Read the original here:
No other aid organization is as well-known as the Red Cross. It's even been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize more than once. The controversy is in the name - allegedly, a symbol of Christianity.
"Brain matter splatters from bursting heads, limbs are broken and crushed, bodies become formless masses. The earth is literally drenched with blood. And the plains are strewn with the unrecognizable remains of human beings," Swiss businessman Henry Dunant described the battle of Solferino in northern Italy that he witnessed on June 24, 1859.
It was one of the bloodiest clashes in the 19th century, and left thousands of Austrian and French soldiers dead, and tens-of-thousands wounded. Dunant was so shocked that he set up a military hospital in a near-by church, mobilizing the local population to help him care for the wounded.
A role model
Four years later, with the support of friends and politicians alike, Dunant founded the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Within months, he managed to get 12 states to sign the 1st Geneva Convention for the protection of wounded soldiers. In 1901, he was awarded the very first Nobel Peace Prize. His birthday, May 8, is commemorated as "International Red Cross Day."
A mobile Red Cross hospital
Henry Dunant proposed a red cross on a white background as a uniform symbol and protective sign. It was not meant to be a symbol of Christianity, Frank Mohrhauer of the Geneva-based International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies (IFRC) told DW: rather he was thinking of "the reverse colors of the Swiss national flag. In those days, people didn't take into account that symbols always trigger very strong emotions." Thus, the cross has been a cause for conflict from time to time throughout the organization's 149-year history.
Dispute over emblems
In the 1876-1878 war against Russia, the Ottoman Empire used a Red Crescent symbol, arguing that a red cross would offend the troops' religious feelings. The ICRC didn't object and both sides recognized the other's safety symbol.
Read the rest here:
Bruce Chen picked up his first victory of the season, Alcides Escobar drove in the go-ahead run and the Kansas City Royals held off the Boston Red Sox 4-3 last night.
Jonathan Broxton worked around a leadoff single and walk in the ninth inning for his seventh save in eight opportunities.
The Royals finished 4-3 on their homestand against Boston and the New York Yankees. The Red Sox have lost seven of eight after losing two of three to Kansas City.
Chen (1-4) gave up three runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings while striking out five and walking none. The Royals were winless in his first six starts this season.
The Royals beat Jon Lester (1-3) for the first time since Aug. 8, 2006. The left-hander came into the game with a 5-1 record and 1.30 ERA in seven career starts against Kansas City, including a no-hitter in 2008.
Escobars double in the fourth scored Irving Falu, who led off the inning with a double, to put the Royals ahead 4-3.
Lesters pitch count rose early with a 38-pitch first inning, but 12 of those were after center fielder Marlon Byrds error led to three unearned runs.
Lester was pulled after 108 pitches and five innings, giving up four runs on six hits and a walk.
In the first inning, Byrd misjudged Johnny Giavotellas two-out liner and the ball ricocheted off his glove as he jumped for it. The misplay allowed Billy Butler, who had walked, to score.
Brayan Pena then hit a two-run double to left-center that Cody Ross nearly caught. Ross had his glove on the ball, but it came loose and hit the wall. Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine debated Ross held onto the ball long enough the umpires held a conference on the field, but did not change the ruling.
See the rest here:
The Duke and Duchess, who have just celebrated their first wedding anniversary, were guests at a dinner hosted by the elite Thirty Club at Claridges Hotel in Mayfair, London.
The cream, floor-length dress worn by the Duchess had a dramatic split up the front, which showed off her slim legs. It is understood to be by French designer Roland Mouret, although experts speculated it must be a special creation as it had not been seen on the catwalk.
Stepping out from her car carefully, she greeted waiting fans with a smile before walking the red carpet into the event.
The Royal couple were guests at a private event for the Thirty Club, established more than a century ago and made up of members of advertising and media.
Read the original post:
The Duchess of Cambridge turns heads with glamorous cream dress
May 9, 2012
Image Caption: Interior of DragonRider mock-up, showing the seat configuration. Credit: NASA
Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) Dragon capsule has received NASA approval for their crew accommodations system, bringing the private-sector firms spacecraft one step closer to a commercial test flight, the US space agency announced Tuesday.
According to NASA, the primary purpose of the test was to find out whether or not the layout of the capsule would permit crew members to effectively maneuver around the vehicle. The aeronautics administration called it a key milestone in the SpaceX project, noting that a team of veteran space shuttle astronauts and NASA engineers conducted the evaluation as part of a pair of two-day-long reviews.
I am very pleased with the progress SpaceX and our other commercial partners are making during the CCDev2 effort, NASA Commercial Spaceflight Director Philip McAlister said in a May 8 statement. Together with NASAs development of beyond low-Earth orbit systems, commercial crew and cargo transportation is an integral part of our overall human spaceflight program.
This milestone demonstrated the layout of the crew cabin supports critical tasks, added SpaceX Commercial Crew Development Manager Garrett Reisman. It also demonstrated the Dragon interior has been designed to maximize the ability of the seven-member crew to do their job as effectively as possible.
NASA said that the Dragon prototype was equipped with seats, lights, an environmental control system, a life-support system, conceptual controls and display systems, cargo racks, and additional interior equipment.
During the review, former space shuttle crew members Rex Walheim, Tony Antonelli, Eric Boe and Tim Kopra conducted such evaluations as entering and exiting the vehicle under both normal and emergency scenarios, as well as visibility and reach evaluations, the space organization added.
As an anchor customer for commercial transportation services, we are happy to provide SpaceX with knowledge and lessons learned from our 50 years of human spaceflight, said Commercial Crew Program Manager Ed Mango. We appreciate the opportunity SpaceX gave us to provide feedback on these critical interior systems while the company maintains its flexibility to appeal to other customers.
This is the seventh of 10 milestones SpaceX must meet under the CCDev2 agreement, which continues through July 31, NASA officials said in their press release. This includes the development of a launch abort system for crew escape during launch or ascent. All of NASAs industry partners continue to meet their established milestones in developing safe, reliable and affordable commercial crew transportation capabilities.
Read the original here:
ScienceDaily (May 9, 2012) Engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center are testing parts of the Orion service module to ensure the spacecraft can withstand the harsh realities of deep space missions.
To date, Marshall has completed two structural loads tests, and another is under way. Structural loads tests prove the structural performance or material behavior of a design as weight is applied to it. Most of the time, the allowable weight is exceeded to test the material at extreme conditions to verify the tolerance of the material or design.
"Marshall was called upon to assist since we had the necessary test facilities and experienced team that could move out quickly to take on these very complex tests," said Scott Chartier, a test engineer in Marshall's Propulsion Systems Test Branch. "We were able to save time and budget since we had the facilities Orion needed and they didn't have to build a duplicate test facility."
To date, development tests have been performed on key structural pieces of the Orion spacecraft called the shear panel and the conical adapter. Both of these pieces can be thought of as the skeleton of the Orion vehicle. These tests validated the design and manufacturing processes that will be used for Orion's service module and verified the load-bearing capabilities of the components.
"The shear panel and conical adapter joint achieved all load conditions, and no permanent or visual damage was observed after the tests," said Chartier. "In addition, the conical adapter was successfully taken to the maximum capability, which concluded the test series."
The next set of tests will provide data that will be used for acceptance of the design and incorporated into the Orion Exploration Flight Test 1 (EFT-1). The results from these tests will be used to assess the materials and workmanship of the Orion service module's shear panels. The acceptance test is laying the groundwork for EFT-1, planned for 2014 that will launch an uncrewed Orion spacecraft on a Delta IV Heavy to an altitude of 3,600 statute miles above Earth -- a distance that has not been achieved by a craft intended for human flight since the Apollo missions. This test will ensure that several of Orion's systems, including the heat shield, can withstand a return to Earth from a deep space mission.
"We are excited to have the opportunity to do these structural tests at Marshall to help with NASA's Orion program," Chartier said. "It will help us get Orion to that first test flight."
The Orion spacecraft, managed by NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, will be launched on missions by NASA's Space Launch System -- a heavy-lift launch vehicle that will provide an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit. Designed to be flexible for launching spacecraft for crew and cargo missions, SLS will expand human presence beyond low-Earth orbit and enable new missions of exploration across the solar system. SLS is managed by the Marshall Center.
Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:
Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:
Read more here:
ScienceDaily (May 9, 2012) NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has revealed that movement in sand dune fields on the Red Planet occurs on a surprisingly large scale, about the same as in dune fields on Earth.
This is unexpected because Mars has a much thinner atmosphere than Earth, is only about one percent as dense, and its high-speed winds are less frequent and weaker than Earth's.
For years, researchers debated whether sand dunes observed on Mars were mostly fossil features related to past climate, rather than currently active. In the past two years, researchers using images from Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera have detected and reported sand movement.
Now, scientists using HiRISE images have determined that entire dunes as thick as 200 feet (61 meters) are moving as coherent units across the Martian landscape. The study was published online May 9 by the journal Nature.
"This exciting discovery will inform scientists trying to better understand the changing surface conditions of Mars on a more global scale," said Doug McCuistion, director, NASA's Mars Exploration Program, Washington. "This improved understanding of surface dynamics will provide vital information in planning future robotic and human Mars exploration missions."
Researchers analyzed before-and-after images using a new software tool developed at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, Calif. The tool measured changes in the position of sand ripples, revealing the ripples move faster the higher up they are on a dune.
The study examined images taken in 2007 and 2010 of the Nili Patera sand dune field located near the Martian equator. By correlating the ripples' movement to their position on the dune, the analysis determined the entire dunes are moving. This allows researchers to estimate the volume, or flux, of moving sand.
"We chose Nili Patera because we knew there was sand motion going on there, and we could quantify it," said Nathan Bridges, a planetary scientist at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., and lead author of the Nature paper. "The Nili dunes also are similar to dunes in places like Antarctica and to other locations on Mars."
The study adds important information about the pace at which blowing sand could be actively eroding rocks on Mars. Using the new information about the volume of sand that is moving, scientists estimate rocks in Nili Patera would be worn away at about the same pace as rocks near sand dunes in Antarctica, where similar sand fluxes occur.
"Our new data shows wind activity is indeed a major agent of evolution of the landscape on Mars," said Jean-Philippe Avouac, Caltech team leader. "This is important because it tells us something about the current state of Mars and how the planet is working today, geologically."
Go here to read the rest:
The lunar rover from the Apollo 17 mission on the moons surface. Where has NASA technology wound up since? [Credit: NASA]Last month, residents of Washington, DC and New York City watched as two Space Shuttles were ferried to their final homes. Even though these orbiters are no longer in service, humans now have a permanent home in space via the International Space Station, and over 500 people from almost 40 countries can say they have flown in space. But for the 6.8 billion residents of Earth whove yet to reach orbit, what benefits of space exploration do we see on a daily basis? What do US citizens get from our space agency, NASA?
The short answer is: quite a lot. Lets take a look at where NASA funding--at present, less than 0.5% of the US federal budget--shows up in our daily lives, and beyond.
Even more fun than a NASA database enumerating technologies, NASA City is an interactive site where you can explore spinoffs of space exploration, and see how they trace back to our homes and cities. As the site's slogan puts it, Space is everywhere you look.
A SanDisk Cruzer flash drive with a Liquidmetal outer casing. [Credit: Liquidmetal Technologies]Do you own a flash storage drive? NASA helped develop an alloy that shows up in thumb drive casings used by SanDisk for their Cruzer Titanium drives. Called liquidmetal, this alloy is a mix of several different metals that form a glass at room temperature and is incredibly resilient against corrosion and scratching. Liquidmetal shows up in baseball bats, skis, and medical equipment.
In your home, NASA technology has led to advances in food safety (including hyperspectral imaging of chickens to scan for diseases) and methods for removing carbon monoxide from buildings. Insulated paint helps reduce your heating bill, thanks to research toward finding ways to protect the Space Shuttle. Even athletic shoes and your memory foam mattress owe thanks to NASA tech.
Hyperspectral imaging of chicken products! [Credit: NASA]
When it comes to safety and health, NASA has improved heart monitoring devices as well as equipment for firefighters and first responders. Self-illuminating paint makes it easier to navigate out of darkened buildings in emergencies, again, because of NASA innovations. Advances in robotic surgery spring from NASA research.
The next time you go for a drive, thank a NASA engineer and a crash test dummy from space! The auto industry uses NASA tracking devices to better understand how dummies respond in crash tests. Brake and air conditioning systems are made more efficient by NASA-designed software.
If reading a big ole PDF is more your style, NASA has a 224-page booklet on its spinoff technology from 2011 alone. Perhaps youll read it while commuting as a passenger in a safer car or a more efficient airplane sporting tech from space.
If youre curious as to what NASA technologies in your life have origins close to home, NASA has a website that details spinoff tech in your area based on location, NASA center, and field of research. Since the NASA Ames Research Center is closest to San Francisco-based PCWorld, I checked to see what the latest and most local spunoff tech is: Advisory Systems [that] Save Time, Fuel for Airlines, which can save tens of thousands of flight minutes and millions in fuel costs and thousands of tons of carbon emissions for commercial airlines.
View original post here:
ScienceDaily (May 8, 2012) NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has detected light emanating from a "super-Earth" planet beyond our solar system for the first time. While the planet is not habitable, the detection is a historic step toward the eventual search for signs of life on other planets.
"Spitzer has amazed us yet again," said Bill Danchi, Spitzer program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "The spacecraft is pioneering the study of atmospheres of distant planets and paving the way for NASA's upcoming James Webb Space Telescope to apply a similar technique on potentially habitable planets."
The planet, called 55 Cancri e, falls into a class of planets termed super Earths, which are more massive than our home world but lighter than giant planets like Neptune. The planet is about twice as big and eight times as massive as Earth. It orbits a bright star, called 55 Cancri, in a mere 18 hours.
Previously, Spitzer and other telescopes were able to study the planet by analyzing how the light from 55 Cancri changed as the planet passed in front of the star. In the new study, Spitzer measured how much infrared light comes from the planet itself. The results reveal the planet is likely dark, and its sun-facing side is more than 2,000 Kelvin (3,140 degrees Fahrenheit), hot enough to melt metal.
The new information is consistent with a prior theory that 55 Cancri e is a water world: a rocky core surrounded by a layer of water in a "supercritical" state where it is both liquid and gas, and topped by a blanket of steam.
"It could be very similar to Neptune, if you pulled Neptune in toward our sun and watched its atmosphere boil away," said Michal Gillon of Universit de Lige in Belgium, principal investigator of the research, which appears in the Astrophysical Journal. The lead author is Brice-Olivier Demory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.
The 55 Cancri system is relatively close to Earth, at 41 light-years away. It has five planets, with 55 Cancri e the closest to the star and tidally locked, so one side always faces the star. Spitzer discovered the sun-facing side is extremely hot, indicating the planet probably does not have a substantial atmosphere to carry the sun's heat to the unlit side.
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled to launch in 2018, likely will be able to learn even more about the planet's composition. The telescope might be able to use a similar infrared method to Spitzer to search other potentially habitable planets for signs of molecules possibly related to life.
"When we conceived of Spitzer more than 40 years ago, exoplanets hadn't even been discovered," said Michael Werner, Spitzer project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "Because Spitzer was built very well, it's been able to adapt to this new field and make historic advances such as this."
In 2005, Spitzer became the first telescope to detect light from a planet beyond our solar system. To the surprise of many, the observatory saw the infrared light of a "hot Jupiter," a gaseous planet much larger than the solid 55 Cancri e. Since then, other telescopes, including NASA's Hubble and Kepler space telescopes, have performed similar feats with gas giants using the same method.
Go here to read the rest:
Nicholas Katzenbach, civil-rights policy defender, dies at 90
As deputy attorney general in 1963, Nicholas Katzenbach confronted Alabama's segregationist governor demanding he obey a federal court order to admit two black students to the all-white University of Alabama. Scott Pelley reports the trusted adviser to JFK and LBJ has died at the age of 90.
See original here:
NASA needs a new service after retiring space shuttle last year Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos runs of four companies research space taxi service
By Eddie Wrenn
PUBLISHED: 06:45 EST, 10 May 2012 | UPDATED: 07:53 EST, 10 May 2012
Two of NASA's biggest contractors are teaming up with a European agency to create a 'space taxi' for when astronauts need a quick lift away from this planet.
Currently, NASA must 'catch a ride' from the Russian space agency when astronauts want to visit the International Space Station, following the retirement of the space shuttle last year.
Exactly what fare Russia charges NASA for the 260-mile trip is unknown, but NASA will certainly want to be less reliant on another nation for space jaunts.
So now NASA is funding space taxi research with four separate companies - Boeing, Space Exploration Technologies, Sierra Nevada Corp, and Blue Origin, a startup owned by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos.
The Space Shuttle Enterprise, taking a quick trip through New York last month as it prepares for retirement at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York
NASA is reviewing bids for at least two design contracts, valued at $300 million to $500 million apiece.
The taxi service will be composed of recycled space shuttle parts along with a new NASA prototype spaceship.
Read more from the original source:
NASA 'space taxi' will reduce reliance on Russia to go to International Space Station
NASA announced yesterday that for the first time, it's seen the light of a planet outside of our solar system that is similar in size to the Earth. This planet, 55 Cancri e, is a "super-Earth" that is about twice the size of our planet with about eight times the mass. Although its surface does appear to contain water, it's much closer to its star than Earth is to the Sun, which makes its "year ...
See original here:
A 2013 spending bill that would fund NASA’s commercial crew program below the level President Barack Obama requested drew a veto threat Monday (May 7) as the U.S. House of Representatives was preparing to begin debate on the proposal.
Excerpt from:
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Two of NASA's prime contractors are teaming with Europe's Astrium to develop a commercial space taxi built from shuttle heritage booster rockets and a prototype NASA spaceship originally designed as an alternative to the deep-space Orion capsule, the companies announced on Wednesday. The system, known as Liberty, is among at least four contenders for the next ...
Read the original:
A roundup of news and events from northern Onondaga County
Read more from the original source:
Salina nanotechnology project delayed by air quality issues: Neighbors North Today
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) draft guidance on the use of nanotechnology in food and food contact substances represents only marginal progress towards regulation of the technology, a petition group has claimed.
In response to the FDA guidance, the Center for Food Safety (CFS), Friends of the Earth (FoE), the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (LATP) and the International Center for Technology Assessment (ICTA) have called for the introduction of further regulations to cover the food sectors use of the technology.
The FDA document pinpointed factors that should be considered when trying to determine whether changes in manufacturing process, such as the intentional reduction in particle size to the nanoscale, can affect the safety of food.
Once finalised, Draft Guidance for Industry: Assessment the Effects of Significant Manufacturing Process Changes, Including Emerging Technologies, on the Safety and Regulatory Status of Food Ingredients and Food Contact Substances, Including Food Ingredients that are Colour Additives will represent the FDAs current thinking on the topic.
The Center for Food Safety (CFS), which campaigns against harmful food production technology, has urged the FDA to issue more than just voluntary guidance on the issue.
Marginal progress
The campaigners, which are all currently working on nanotechnology oversight, have called on the FDA to further the so-far marginal progress toward regulation of products made with this new technology.
The draft guidance followed a lawsuit filed in December 2011 by the group, regarding the FDAs failure to respond to their 2006 petition. The FDA responded to the groups lawsuit in April 2012.
In its formal response to the groups lawsuit, FDA acknowledged that there are differences between nanomaterials and their bulk counterparts, and the nanomaterials have potential new risks and may require new testing, said the groups statement.
However, the agency declined to enact mandatory regulations at this time.
See the original post:
FDA nanotechnology draft guidance represents ‘marginal progress’ – petition group
In his visit to Albany Tuesday, President Barack Obama highlighted the nanotechnology initiatives in Upstate New York as the foundation for a new era in American manufacturing.
He spoke at the Albany College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, which is partnering with SUNYIT in Marcy to make New York a center for computer technology businesses and research.
The reason I came here today is because this school and this community represent the future of our economy, Obama said. Right now, some of the most advanced manufacturing work in America is being done right here in Upstate New York. Cutting-edge businesses from all over the world are deciding to build here and hire here.
Click here for entire speech.
SUNYIT President Wolf Yeigh, who attended the event, said Obama had hit it right on.
He said bring these outsourced jobs back to America, and it is happening right there in Albany, Yeigh said. He mentioned that semiconductors are the next wave of American greatness. The Mohawk Valley is poised to be on that wave.
Albany's nanotechnology sector was jump-started in the mid-1990s, as state dollars were poured into the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. It has been growing ever since.
SUNYIT was brought into the mix in 2009, when state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and other state officials announced $45 million to create a Computer Chip Commercialization Center and Center for Advanced technology.
Then, in September of 2011, $4.4 billion in government and private sector investments in nanotechnology statewide were announced. SUNYIT also is set to gain from that windfall.
All told, more than 900 jobs, many of them well paid, are expected to land in the Mohawk Valley, officials have said.
See the rest here: