CSF Congratulates SpaceShipTwo Team for Milestone First Glide Flight

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Washington, D.C. – The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to congratulate Scaled Composites, Virgin Galactic, and the SpaceShipTwo team for successfully conducting today’s first-ever glide flight of the SpaceShipTwo suborbital spacecraft. Over the Mojave Desert this morning, Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo was released from carrier aircraft WhiteKnightTwo at an altitude of 45,000 ft. and descended for about 15 minutes before landing at the Mojave Air and Space Port.

“First flight days are always extraordinary,” said Stu Witt, General Manager of the Mojave Air and Space Port. “This team effort by so many has been punctuated by a successful first test flight, and now everyone seeking a ride to space is a giant step closer.”

“This is a critical milestone in Virgin Galactic’s test program and a great day for the commercial spaceflight industry,” added John Gedmark, Executive Director of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. “At the end of the day, getting hardware off the ground is what it’s really all about. Today’s SpaceShipTwo test flight marks another key milestone towards opening the space frontier for private individuals, researchers, and explorers. Congratulations to the entire SpaceShipTwo team.”

SpaceShipTwo and WhiteKnightTwo are being developed for Virgin Galactic by legendary aircraft development firm Scaled Composites. The vehicles build on the success of SpaceShipOne, the first privately-built vehicle to fly a person into space, which won the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE for its achievements. SpaceShipTwo will carry six people in addition to two pilots, providing those on board with a view of space and several minutes of weightlessness once space flights begin. Eventual operational flights of SpaceShipTwo will occur from Spaceport America in New Mexico.

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation
The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever-higher levels of safety, and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. The Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s member companies, which include commercial spaceflight developers, operators, spaceports, suppliers, and service providers, are creating thousands of high-tech jobs nationwide, working to preserve American leadership in aerospace through technology innovation, and inspiring young people to pursue careers in science and engineering. For more information please visit http://www.commercialspaceflight.org or contact Executive Director John Gedmark at john@commercialspaceflight.org or at 202.349.1121.

John Huchra | Cosmic Variance

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jph.2005John Huchra, a leading astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, passed away on Friday. I’m not sure of the cause, but he had been suffering from heart problems; he was 61 years old.

John was most obviously known for his scientific accomplishments, especially as a guiding force behind the CfA Redshift Survey. For you youngsters out there, this project was the pioneering effort at mapping the large-scale structure of the universe. It revealed, to the surprise of many, that there was a lot of structure out there! The iconic image of cosmology in the 1980’s was the “CfA Stickman” reveal in the famous A Slice of the Universe paper by Valerie de Lapparent, Margaret Geller, and Huchra.

CfA Redshift Survey

The stickman was not the universe being playfully anthropomorphic, it was simply the Coma cluster as distorted in redshift space. (You measure positions on the sphere of the sky, but velocities along the line of sight; converting these velocities to distances is inevitably distorted because galaxies in a cluster have peculiar motions inside the cluster.) Before this map was released in 1986, many people assumed that the galaxy distribution would be basically uniform on these scales. They shouldn’t have thought that, in retrospect (you need to go to larger scales before the uniformity becomes apparent), but sometimes it takes real data to get a point across. The survey went on to discover the Great Wall of galaxies, arguably the largest known “object” in the universe.

John had a number of other important contributions, including measurements of the Hubble constant and the discovery of Huchra’s Lens, one of the most dramatic early examples of gravitational lensing. He was also very active in the community, serving as president of the American Astronomical Society and numerous other roles.

But many of us will remember him mostly for his spirit and good humor. When I was a graduate student at CfA, he was one of the most friendly and helpful senior faculty members around, someone you were always happy to bump into in the hallways. There is a guestbook here for people to leave their reminiscences about John; he will be greatly missed.


Photo safari – lion’s mane jellyfish (in an amusing case of tangled tentacles) | Not Exactly Rocket Science

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Have you ever been to an aquarium where large swarms of jellyfish swim around each other in a beautifully lit tank? Have you ever wondered how those drifting tentacles managed to stay untangled, when humans can’t even manage to put a set of headphones in our pocket without ending up with a series of mind-bending knots? Have you ever wondered what would happen if jellyfish did get their tentacles in a twist?

Well, thanks to Monterey Bay Aquarium’s jellyfish exhibit, I can tell you the answer to that last question: hilarity ensues. These are lion’s mane jellyfish. They have no brain or central nervous system, which is fortunate because otherwise, they would probably die of embarrassment.

I shot these photos/videos myself yesterday. The aquarium is incredible. More photos to come later today, and then tomorrow, some brand new science for you.

LA Times Story on the New Atheist/”Accommodationist” Showdown in LA | The Intersection

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I guess there were some reporters in the crowd for my debate on Friday with PZ Myers and Victor Stenger (and with Eugenie Scott, who was in my broad camp). Here’s from an LA Times story that just appeared:

With that background, and with the legacy of 9/11 providing impetus to those who see religious fundamentalism as a threat, there was a sense of urgency at the Biltmore conference about finding the right approach. Should nonbelievers confront the religious or try to get along?

Even “accommodationist” atheists are not known for mincing words, and although there were periodic reminders that those at the gathering shared “99% of our intellectual DNA,” as author Chris Mooney put it, the disagreements were not exactly gentle.

When Mooney, a leading voice for accommodation, said there was nothing to stop a nonreligious person from being spiritual, Myers’ reaction was nearly physical. “Whenever we start talking about spirituality,” he said, “I just want to puke.”

Mooney said nonbelievers need to pick their fights and to form alliances with religious people who share their views on particular subjects, such as the importance of stem cell research.

I’m pleased that my sound bite about how we share “99 percent of our intellectual DNA” got in there, because it was central to my message. And while there’s certainly still a sharp debate here, my sense at the conference is that it’s actually turning somewhat healthier, more dialogue-like.

That’s a good thing.

You can read the full LA Times story here. Meanwhile, the next episode of Point of Inquiry, which should be available shortly, will have much more about this….


"Le Livre de Sante," Joseph Handler, 1967 (Volume 6)

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All images from Joseph Handler's Le Livre de Sante (Monte Carlo: Andre Sauret, 1967)
volume 6: "La bouche et les dents. Le systeme digestif. Les reins" and found on the wonderful blog Journey Around my Skull. You can visit the full post--with additional images--by clicking here.

Images top to bottom:

  1. Dents temporaires et germes des dents permanentes, illus. Pasqualini
  2. Les levres, illus. Aslan
  3. Constitution du rein, illus. W. Hess

9 Months to East Africa

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Been on the road nine months now and been moving faster then ever attempting to see as much of east Africa as possible. Malawi flew by with highlights truly enjoyed it their experiencing many great people so friendly and generous. With a wonderful lake fertile land and the stunning Mt. Mulanje. Justin and I were fortunate enough to be accompanied by some students from the USA that have been

Raften und Pyramidenseen

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sarah sophie und tessa werden von tascha und ben in jasper rausgelassen. in einem internetcafe nisten sie sich den halben tag ein. waehrenddessen das paerchen wildwasser raften geht. schwierigkeitsstufe drei.die beiden fahren mit dem bus zum eiskalten Frasier River. Nach einer kurzen sicherheitseinweisung von dem gentlemanguide ben aus england geht das raften los. Der flussfliesst durch maleris

Sequoia Land of the Giants

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I must admit there is a slight guilt that has swept through me for not writing a travelblog entry for almost 10 months now. A yearning to put down some memories and thoughts of my return to US the reigniting of a career and a relationship which had kindled at my time away and continues to burn. It is not that trips have not been taken within this time lapse. One spectacular drive cross country

kalte Geltscher und ein Ohrloch

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Wir verlassen Jasper und noch vor dem fruehstueck gucken wir uns den Maligne Canyon an. Das ist ein riesiger spalt im boden der ca. 50m in die tiefe geht. unten laeuft ein reissender fluss ausser uns sind noch gefuehlte tausend andere touristen da. es ist halt ein sonntag in der hochsaison. unser zweites ziel an diesem tag ist der Maligne Lake. Ein weiteres stereotypisches postkartenmotiv der R

Day 40 Varanasi to Lumbini

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Day 40 Varanasi to Lumbini 12th AugSo today was another early start as we have a border crossing into Nepal. We are all ready for a change now too. Hoping for a bit of RR in Nepal.So as we were about to leave Varanasi at 0700 LJ our tour leader for those who forgot jumps onto the coach and in the space of less than 2 minutes informs us that he has a family emergency and will be leaving u

Chengdu A city you won’t leave once you come

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Chengdu is endowed with plentiful natural resources and sites of historic interest. The city of Chengdu is home to China's living treasures the Giant Panda as well as many other endangered species. With a history of over 2400 years it is home to many amazing historical sites and archaeological wonders and Chengdu's local cuisine is world renowned for its delicious spiciness. The life pace in Ch

Last Day and Hope for No More Owwies

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Scrambling to pack and I have two meetings with our agency guide today so have to get over to the island both times. Allen will stay here with the boys. Yesterday was great quietish breakfast a first with no screaming only moderate mess. Coming back from dinner Bao stuck his hand in the elevator door and Allen had to literally push the door back to get it out. It made the elevator inoperable

Underwater Tomb

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After leaving Jeju Island I returned to Busan where I stayed for five days or so just relaxing and enjoying the beach. From there I went to Gyeongju where I had a reservation at a hostel. When I showed up to the hostel they said that it was all full. I felt like Seinfeld trying to talk to this guy. He told me that if I wanted I could upgrade for 10 to another room. I told him that I wasn't going

First four days in japan

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Sooo today is my first day in the apartment where I am staying with Xander in Miyazaki after an entire day of traveling here. Spent about 4 hours on the bullet train fastest in the world 3 hours on the bus then a 10 minute car ride to get here from Tokyo. Day 1 The first thing you notice when you get to japan is how hot it is... You get sweaty just from walking around Tokyo which is

Ireland Portrush

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Sorry folks having such a good time we haven't kept up to date but will do so over the next day or so.The boys felt very guilty at not stopping for us to do some shopping at Galway when we left Sligo so we stood our ground and we did serious RT and the boys took off to the Royal Sligo Golf Course to have a look at a true links course. All was achieved with RT and the boys were happy too.Headin

Day one and two of my Alaskan Adventure

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Well Here we are I had a Unexpected Surprise that has me starting my travel blog a week late. Befor the trip I read on the cruise ships information page that WiFi woulf be available onboard but I apparently didnt read the fine print. It was at a cost of .75 per minute and was also informed that the connection speeds at sea were very slow so I had to make the choice of spendig all of my Tshirt