NASA Reauthorization Bill Provides ATK with a Glimmer of Hope

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ATK Hopeful as they Prepare Ares DM-2 Test, SpaceRef

'Building on the success of their first static-fire, Alliant Techsystems (ATK) and NASA are preparing for the second Ares I first stage five-segment Development Motor (DM-2) test. As engineers and technicians prepare for the test, scheduled for September 2, the question is - will there be a use for it should the just announced NASA reauthorization bill passes? "Every test we do on these SRBs has relevance," said George Torres the Vice President of Alliant Techsystems' Aerospace Systems, "whether it's a new heavy-lift rocket or a crewed vehicle, that information gets utilized in some fashion."

Giant Underwater Volcano Discovered in Indonesia

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From Discovery News - Top Stories:

The deep ocean has many secrets, and scientists aboard the Okeanos Explorer just discovered a big one - an enormous volcano looming 7,000 feet below the ocean's surface off the coast of Indonesia. Exposing Kawio Barat volcano is the first major

Steampowered Flying Machines of Yesteryear

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From Boing Boing:

David ! of the Wondermark webtoon sez, "To make my comics, I collect all sorts of weird old books and mine them for images. I found these photos in a recent acquisition -- an attempt at a steam-powered flying machine from 1893! The entire article is very long, but

UFO in China's Skies Prompts Investigation

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From ABC News International:

An unidentified flying object (UFO) forced Xiaoshan Airport in Hangzhou, China to cease operations on July 7. A flight crew preparing for descent first detected the object around 8:40 p.m. and notified the air traffic control department. Aviation a

Don't Get Too Lean

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Lean systems save money and boost quality and efficiency, but an expert in Quality Digest cautions that some redundancy is essential. He cites acute shortages and supply chain disruptions caused by flight cancellations resulting from Iceland's volcanic activity. He calls for duplication of supplier

Small Earthquake Rattles Washington, D.C.

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From NPR Topics: Science:

A minor earthquake shook residents awake in the Washington, D.C., area early Friday. The quake hit at 5:04 a.m. EDT and had a magnitude of 3.6. It was centered in the area around Rockville, Md., said Randy Baldwin, a physicist with U.S. Geological Surve

What's Next For The Final Frontier?

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From NPR Topics: Science:

Planetary scientists are whittling down a list of potential missions to other worlds. And just about everything under the sun is on the table. "The solar system is completely wide open," says one astronomer. "Almost anywhere we go, I'm sure we would learn

Capping the Gusher with Green Energy

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Good news on two fronts: The oil gusher in the Gulf of Mexico is temporarily capped and the relief wells are nearly completed. If we are lucky this will be the beginning of the end. And green energy is growing in the U.S. and Europe more than most people are probably aware of. Who needs oil and coal? This is from PlanetArk. If we keep this up we won’t need offshore oil or any other kind of oil for fuel in a few years.

More than half of all new electricity capacity added in the United States and Europe last year was from renewable power such as wind and solar, a body backed by the International Energy Agency and the UN reported.

Last year was also a record year for the amount of new green power added to the grid, partly a result of shifting deployment and manufacture to emerging economies including Brazil, India and China, from flagging developed countries.

“In 2009, China produced 40 percent of the world’s solar PV supply, 30 percent of the world’s wind turbines, up from 10 percent in 2007,” REN21, or the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century, said in a report on Thursday.

REN21, launched in 2005, is supported by the International Energy Agency (IEA), which advises 28 industrialized countries — and by the United Nations Environment Programme.

Of an extra 80 gigawatts (GW) of new renewable power capacity added worldwide, China added 37 GW, more than any other country, said the study, titled “Renewables 2010, Global Status Report.”

Despite the impact of the financial crisis and lower oil prices, renewable capacity grew at rates close to those in previous years, including solar photovoltaic (PV) power at 53 percent and wind power at 32 percent, the report said.

Grid-connected solar PV power had grown by an average of 60 percent every year for the past decade, increasing 100-fold since 2000.

That boom has been largely on the back of support in European countries, where a recent pullback following recession has raised investor jitters. But the wind and solar sectors were still poised for a record year in 2010, operators and investors say.

While China is making great strides in renewable energy deployment, its carbon emissions also accelerated in 2009 — placing it further ahead as the world’s top emitter of the main greenhouse gas blamed for climate change.