NASA’s Stardust Burns for Comet, Less Than a Year Away

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NASA Stardust logo STARDUST Launch Artist rendering of Stardust-NExT spacecraft.
Just three days shy of one year before its planned flyby of comet Tempel 1, NASA's Stardust spacecraft has successfully performed a maneuver to adjust the time of its encounter by eight hours and 20 minutes. The delay maximizes the probability of the spacecraft capturing high-resolution images of the desired surface features of the 2.99-kilometer-wide (1.86 mile) potato-shaped mass of ice and dust.

With the spacecraft on the opposite side of the solar system and beyond the orbit of Mars, the trajectory correction maneuver began at 5:21 p.m. EST (2:21 p.m. PST) on Feb. 17. Stardust's rockets fired for 22 minutes and 53 seconds, changing the spacecraft's speed by 24 meters per second (54 miles per hour).

Stardust's maneuver placed the spacecraft on a course to fly by the comet just before 8:42 p.m. PST (11:42 p.m. EST) on Feb. 14, 2011 – Valentine's Day. Time of closest approach to Tempel 1 is important because the comet rotates, allowing different regions of the comet to be illuminated by the sun's rays at different times. Mission scientists want to maximize the probability that areas of interest previously imaged by NASA's Deep Impact mission in 2005 will also be bathed in the sun's rays and visible to Stardust's camera when it passes by.

"We could not have asked for a better result from a burn with even a brand-new spacecraft," said Tim Larson, project manager for the Stardust-NExT at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "This bird has already logged one comet flyby, one Earth return of the first samples ever collected from deep space, over 4,000 days of flight and approximately 5.4 billion kilometers (3.4 billion miles) since launch."

Launched on Feb. 7, 1999, Stardust became the first spacecraft in history to collect samples from a comet and return them to Earth for study. While its sample return capsule parachuted to Earth in January 2006, mission controllers were placing the still viable spacecraft on a trajectory that would allow NASA the opportunity to re-use the already-proven flight system if a target of opportunity presented itself. In January 2007, NASA re-christened the mission "Stardust-NExT" (New Exploration of Tempel), and the Stardust team began a four-and-a-half year journey to comet Tempel 1. This will be humanity's second exploration of the comet – and the first time a comet has been "re-visited."

"Stardust-NExT will provide scientists the first opportunity to see the surface changes on a comet between successive visits into the inner solar system," said Joe Veverka, principal investigator of Stardust-NExT from Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. "We have theories galore on how each close pass to the sun causes changes to a comet. Stardust-NExT should give some teeth to some of these theories, and take a bite out of others."

Along with the high-resolution images of the comet's surface, Stardust-NExT will also measure the composition, size distribution, and flux of dust emitted into the coma, and provide important new information on how Jupiter family comets evolve and how they formed 4.6 billion years ago.

Stardust-NExT is a low-cost mission that will expand the investigation of comet Tempel 1 initiated by NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages Stardust-NExT for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. Joe Veverka of Cornell University is the mission's principal investigator. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver Colo., built the spacecraft and manages day-to-day mission operations.

For more information about Stardust-NExT, please visit:

http://stardustnext.jpl.nasa.gov

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NASA Honors 2009 Centennial Challenges Winners

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NASA will honor the achievements of the 2009 Centennial Challenges prize winners and competition hosts with a technical symposium Feb. 25 and a recognition ceremony Feb. 26. Centennial Challenges is NASA's program of technology prizes for the citizen-inventor. Nine prizes totaling $3.65 million were awarded in 2009. Both events will be held at the James E. Webb Memorial Auditorium at NASA Headquarters, 300 E Street, SW, Washington.

The Centennial Challenges Technical Symposium will take place from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. EST Thursday, Feb. 25. Winners will discuss their accomplishments and future plans and answer questions from the audience. A one-hour panel discussion will be dedicated to each of the challenges, including the new Green Flight Challenge and ongoing Strong Tether and Power Beaming Challenges. The public is invited, and government, industry and media representatives interested in the technologies and incentive prize competitions are encouraged to attend.

The recognition ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 26. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will participate, as will winners of the Regolith Excavation, Lunar Lander, Power Beaming and Astronaut Glove Challenges. Reporters will have an opportunity to talk with the winners during a reception in the NASA Headquarters West Lobby immediately following the one-hour ceremony.

The competitions address a range of technical challenges that support NASA's missions in aeronautics and space with a goal of encouraging novel solutions from non-traditional sources. The partner organizations that conducted the competitions are: California Space Education and Workforce Institute (Regolith Excavation), X Prize Foundation (Lunar Lander), Spaceward Foundation (Power Beaming and Strong Tether), Volanz Aerospace Inc. (Astronaut Glove) and Comparative Aircraft Flight Efficiency Foundation (Green Flight). NASA's Innovative Partnerships Program manages the Centennial Challenges.

NASA Television will broadcast the events. For NASA TV downlink, schedule and streaming video information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For additional information about the Centennial Challenges, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/challenges

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Tesla Coil Construction

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Tesla Coil UK.

I am thinking of building a Tesla coil, the plans that i have obtained were made in the U.S. and refer to magnetic wire for the inner coils.

This wire is wound around a plastic pipe. so dose this mean that the wire itself is steel, I.E. as in fence wire, that becomes

Oak Trail Is Name Of Intel Atom Z-Series Replacement (Supposedly) [Intel]

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Intel is moving from conifers to deciduous trees as inspiration for its next Atom Z-series platform, if PC Watch is correct. The Z-series is residing in netbooks and ultra-portables such as the Vaio P from Sony, but with Moorestown not compatible with Windows it makes sense Intel would need a new processor.

Enter Oak Trail, which PC Watch admits is an unconfirmed rumor—but supposedly will be more energy efficient and perhaps even based on Moorestown, yet capable of running Windows. It's certainly not a replacement for Pine Trail, which only launched in December, as they're too large and use too much energy. [PC Watch via Pocketables]


If One Leech is not Enough, Try Two

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In response to concerns that unemployment remains high despite the stimulus, President Obama said this:

"You can argue, rightly, that we haven't made as much progress as we need to make when it comes to spurring job creation." ... "That's part of the reason why I expect Congress to pass additional measures as quickly as possible."

The President's response assumes that the first stimulus worked, just not enough. That is possible, but maybe the Keynesian model that underlies the case for stimulus is just wrong.

Non-Keynesian perspectives suggest that additional spending or poorly designed tax cuts will harm the economy by distorting resource allocation.  More broadly, stabilization policy instills a belief that governments can moderate recessions, which encourages risk-taking and larger booms and busts.  A steady stream of  policy "remedies" creates uncertainty that discourages productive activity.

So maybe the treatment is worse than the disease.

Rumor: Sony is Developing a Universal Gaming Controller For Use With Xbox and Nintendo Consoles [Sony]

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Sony. Working on a PlayStation controller that can also be used with Xbox 360s. And Nintendo consoles. Has hell iced over? Did the last 30 years never happen? Has Linus Torvalds replaced Kazuo Hirai at SCEI?

I know Sony's been working through its propriety issues of late, using the ePub format for ereaders and—heaven forbid!—launching its first range of SD cards. But opening the PlayStation up so the controller can be used with rival game consoles? Well I never.

GoRumors has dug up a patent suggesting Sony's working on a controller with a touchscreen LCD panel that would display commands for other consoles or players that have been set up to work with it.

The patent spells it out:

"A game console controller includes a hand-holdable housing and a touch sensitive liquid crystal display (LCD) on the housing. The LCD is caused to present, depending on what type of game console a user has selected, a controller key layout for a first type of game console or a controller key layout for a second type of game console. A key layout includes plural keys selectable by a user to input commands to a game console."

By the looks of the diagram, the controller wouldn't just be a remote control that would let you turn on the different consoles—it would be an actual gaming peripheral, with the X/Y A/B buttons displayed on the LCD. It certainly wouldn't replace the use of an Xbox 360 or Wii controller, as I can't imagine mashing my thumbs on a touchscreen display for too long, but could be handy when you've got extra friends around and not enough pads to go around. Or as I mentioned before, turning the consoles on to access media.

I'm just in a state of shock that Sony of all companies is proposing this idea. I need to go lie down for a while. [GoRumors - Thanks Anand!]


Sugar From Trees and Grass Will Be Made Into Plastic in Next 5 Years [Science]

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Those scientist types have been very active of late, between making ethanol fuel from orange peel and now tree-derived sugar being used to make plastic. Who'll be first to make trees from fuel?

The latter project is being worked on at the Imperial College of London, and unlike plastic made from corn it's looking like these tree and grass-derived molecules actually biodegrade faster and are better for the environment.

In the next five years we should be seeing plastic made from sugar on the market—whether it's the work of this particular project or someone else, it'll still benefit everyone. You'd be right in having doubts over how much more expensive it would be to produce, but at least it'd use less energy, and hopefully over time become cheaper the more it's adopted. [Telegraph]


Five Muslim men charged with Poisoning Food Supply at Ft. Jackson in SC

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Happened just weeks after Ft. Hood

"Our diversity, not only in our Army, but in our country, is a strength. And as horrific as this tragedy was, if our diversity becomes a casualty, I think that’s worse," -- Gen. George Casey, Army Chief of Staff.

The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) first broke this story early yesterday. It has now been reported by Fox News.

CBN News has learned exclusively that five Muslim soldiers at Fort Jackson in South Carolina were arrested just before Christmas and are in custody. The five men were part of the Arabic Translation program at the base.

The men are suspected of trying to poison the food supply at Fort Jackson.

A source with intimate knowledge of the investigation, which is ongoing, told CBN News investigators suspect the “Fort Jackson Five” may have been in contact with the group of five Washington, DC area Muslims that traveled to Pakistan to wage jihad against U.S. troops in December. That group was arrested by Pakistani authorities, also just before Christmas.

Coming as it does on the heels of November’s Fort Hood jihadist massacre, this news has major implications.

The libertarian-oriented/Ayn Randian blog BeJohnGalt.com asks:

Muslim soldiers trying to poison Troops... If it is true and the five Muslim soldiers were arrested in December, why are we just hearing about it two months later?

Shades of Ft. Hood???

Photo hat tip Debbie Schlussel and H/t to BeJohnGalt for background.

UPDATE!

Numerous blog sources are now reporting that the 5 soldiers may have been assigned to a special unit of "non-US citizens." The program was especially designed to recruit Arabic translators.

UPDATE!

According to AP and Breitbart (video), two of the soldiers, "are under investigation" by the Criminal Investigations Unit of the Army.

Muslim man who threw baby off the Bridge, worked for Holder’s AG office

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A devout Muslim man, and "aspiring lawyer" threw his baby daughter off the Driscoll bridge on the Garden State Parkway, across from Staten Island, NY last week. She is presumed dead, however, her body has not yet been found.

He had snatched the baby from the mother's home in East Orange, NJ. Afterwards he drove to pray at a Mosque in Atlantic City.

Shamsid-Din Abdur-Raheem had been involved in a custody battle with the baby's mother.

Now background on Abdur-Raheem is being revealed, including a short stint at the office of the US Attorney General in Washington D.C.

From WND:

He was also an intern in Washington, D.C., with the juveniles section of the Office of the Attorney General, according to March 2009 press release from Stockton College. He was fired after only a month for missing work and not completing assignments. He lashed out during his termination, and security personnel escorted him out of the building.

Photo of Driscoll bridge

Little-noticed Florida special election for State Rep. has libertarian Republican nominee

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Chris Christie, Bob McDonnell, and Scott Brown, provide Hunter Chamberlain inspiration

From Eric Dondero:

In Florida next Tuesday there will be a special election for a State House seat. The district is heavily Democrat; Hillsborough County (Tampa Bay).

But a Republican challenger is giving it all he's got. Hunter Chamberlain, the GOP nominee is knocking on doors, and trying to garner more attention for his underdog effort.

The main issue against his Democrat opponent Janet Cruz is light rail: Cruz is a big backer; while Chamberlain is totally opposed.

Quoted in (Tampa's) Creative Loafing:

"I think it’s a very bad idea (light rail) I don’t think it’s something that we can afford to do at the moment..."

Chamberlain has been inspired by other recent GOP winners. Continuing:

When asked what elected officials he admires, Chamberlin revealed his own ideology, saying he applauded the recent electoral successes of Scott Brown in Massachusetts, Chris Christie in New Jersey and Bob McDonnell in Virginia.

He says that those newly elected Republicans "cater to a more sort of Libertarian independence streak of the Republican Party, and I believe quite frankly that that’s something that the Republican Party needs to do a lot more of, is cater to folks who have a bit more of a Libertarian perspective like I do."

Chamberlain also favors off-shore oil drilling for Florida. On insurance reform he takes a principled capitalist stance:

"A lot of problems could be solved by the private sector rather than government funding or projects. I don't see there is anything wrong with people getting wealthy solving people's problems."

DELAWARE: Libertarian active in Senate race for Republican Michael Castle

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From Eric Dondero:

Libertarians are normally aligned with conservative Republicans on issues and activism. But libertarians can have a positive influence on moderate Republicans, as well.

In Illinois, former Libertarian Party executive committee member, and current Republican Liberty Caucus board member Jeff Wartman is heavily involved in the campaign of moderate Republican for US Senate Mark Kirk. Wartman reports that it has given him a chance to influence the campaign more in a libertarian direction.

Another well-known moderate Republican, like Kirk given a very good chance of winning a Senate seat from the Democrats, is Delaware Rep. Michael Castle.

Castle has a prominent Libertarian as a campaign volunteer: Tyler Nixon. Writes Nixon on the blog he now publishes, Delaware Libertarian:

I will be giving every effort I can to the Castle Campaign, which was the first campaign for which I volunteered as a very young person in 1984.

Castle's record of service to Delaware is simply unparalleled.

But he goes further. Nixon, who was a 2006 and 2008 Libertarian candidate for State House, co-hosted a recent Young Republicans event for Michael and Jane Castle at the Delaware-famous Dead Presidents Pub in downtown Wilmington.

Writes Nixon:

get used to calling Castle Senator, because he is bound for victory...

Note - Nixon serves as Acting Contact for the Republican Liberty Caucus in Delaware.

Obama’s economic policies lead to New Dusk for America

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Former Delaware Governor and one-time Republican Presidential candidate Pete DuPont wrote an editorial carried by Real Clear Politics yesterday; "Nightfall in America: Obama deficits portend a dark future."

Excerpt:

From the WSJ:

When the Democrats took control of Congress in 2007, the debt held by the public was 36.2% of GDP. It rose to 40.2% the next year. This year it will be about 63.6%, next year 68.6%, then 77% of GDP in 2020. And the Obama administration's budget estimates 218% in 2050.

The reason for these rising deficits is the huge increases in federal spending--the intended growth of the federal government--that Congress and the president are pushing. The deficit in 2007 was $160 billion. In the next year the Pelosi-Reid Congress took it up to $458 billion, and when President Obama came into office in 2009 it hit $1.4 trillion. The current 2010 projected deficit is $1.6 trillion, which will lead to a tripling of our national debt from 2008 to 2020.

Mr. Obama will have raised the debt burden as a percentage of GDP by more than President Reagan did in all of his eight years.

All of this means we are indeed beginning to see a new America, dusk rather than dawn...

Note - DuPont's 1988 Presidential campaign included a number of libertarian policy proposals such as privatization of Social Security, and Educational Choice. He was pegged an "economic libertarian" by many in the media.

Current GOP candidate for US Senate from Delaware Mike Castle served as DuPont's Lt. Governor for two terms.

Another Ghostly Puzzle

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Sorry, folks, for that magnet puzzle flop. Had I known it was already here, I would not have posted it. To compensate for that boo-boo, here is another puzzle. In a small rural pond grows a flower. It's head has 6 petals and it is exactly 10 cm above water level. Later in the day there blows a wind

Nanoparticle developed to boost anti-cancer immunotherapy

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One of the hallmarks of cancer is that tumors are able to suppress the immune system, preventing the body's own defense system from eliminating the disease, particularly as tumors spread through the body. Cancer researchers have identified the molecule responsible for this unwanted immune suppression, and have even designed an inhibitor of this molecule.