Psychologist Speaks On Spirituality At Darien School – Darien Daily Voice

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DARIEN, Conn. -- Pear Tree Point School in Darien invites parents and community members to attend a talk given by psychologist and acclaimed author Dr. Lisa Miller on Tuesday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. in the Louise Parker Berry Community Room on the first floor at The Darien Library.

Dr. Miller presents the next big idea in psychology: the science and power of spirituality. She defines spirituality as being "an innate nature to seek and perceive transcendence, a connection to a larger universe. These abilities and drives can work together to develop a two-way relationship with a high power - God, the creator, the universe, or nature for example.

With the understanding that our community represents a range of beliefs and religions, her focus is on cultivating our childrens natural spirituality. She also shows that a person can be spiritual without being highly religious.

Dr. Miller explains the link between spirituality and health by demonstrating that children who have a positive, active relationship to spirituality are:

Space is limited and spots will be booked on a first come, first served basis. Guests are asked to RSVP to CDaifotis@ptpschool.org.

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Psychologist Speaks On Spirituality At Darien School - Darien Daily Voice

Russian cargo ship docks with space station – Anna Note (satire) (press release) (blog)

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NASA/AFP/File / HO Russia is currently the only country executing manned space flights to the ISS, which are also carried out using Soyuz rockets

A Russian cargo ship carrying food and equipment for astronauts docked successfully with the International Space Station on Friday after a similar craft crashed back to Earth in December.

Russia's space agency said the unmanned Progress freighter carrying 2.5 tonnes of supplies including air, food and fuel "successfully docked" with the orbiting station at 0830 GMT.

It had blasted off from Russia's Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard a Soyuz rocket on Wednesday.

In December, the previous Progress ship lost contact with Earth minutes after blast-off and burnt up in the atmosphere over Siberia.

A commission appointed to investigate the malfunction concluded in January that it was caused by the break-up of the Soyuz third stage rocket engine, either due to "foreign materials" getting inside or an "assembly fault".

The Progress cargo ship docked at the ISS less than a day after the arrival of a SpaceX cargo ship that was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The next manned launch to the ISS is set for April 20 from Baikonur, after being postponed from late March.

Russia is currently the only country executing manned space flights to the ISS, which are also carried out using Soyuz rockets.

Russia's space industry had suffered a string of setbacks and launch failures in recent years, while corruption scandals have plagued its new Vostochny spaceport in the country's far east.

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Russian cargo ship docks with space station - Anna Note (satire) (press release) (blog)

Space company praises Space Flight Act | Local News | The News – The News (subscription)

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WOODBINE The chief executive officer at Vector Space Systems has sent a letter to Gov. Nathan Deal congratulating him on the General Assemblys recent votes in support of the Georgia Space Flight Act.

We recognize that this is a major milestone in Camden Countys efforts to establish a commercial spaceport in Georgia, James Cantrell wrote in his letter to the governor.

He mentioned ongoing discussions with Camden County Administrator Steve Howard about a proposed site near the end of Harrietts Bluff Road, about 10 miles east of Interstate 95.

Vector fully appreciates the opportunities and benefits that such a non-federal range can offer to launch providers like us whose long term goal is to provide dedicated delivery services tailored to the needs of the emerging small satellite market, he said.

The company is especially interested in pursuing alternative concepts of operations that take advantage of new launcher technologies and commercial IT services.

He said his company intends to continue to support Camden Countys safety analysis currently conducted by the Federal Aviation Administration.

For the medium term, we are also keeping open the option of conducting on-site pathfinder operations with our prototype transporter-erector-launcher and full-scale mechanical engineering unit, he wrote. If there is anything else that Vector can do to help bring the spaceport online, please let us know.

Howard said Vector isnt the only company expressing interest in the proposed spaceport site.

There has been interest in the past and there continues to be interest now, he said. Several companies have approached me recently.

Howard said he cant disclose the identities of the companies that have expressed interest in the site because of confidentiality agreements. He was pleased Vector decided to go public with its interest in the Camden site.

I was thrilled Vector Space Systems was interested. Theyre an up and coming company, he said. This letter, it indicates from the space community the need for a commercial spaceport on the East Coast.

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Auto-destruct system seen as a key to ramping up launch tempos – Spaceflight Now

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Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Scriptunas Images

The U.S. Air Force says the demonstration of an automated safety system on last weeks Falcon 9 rocket launch will slash and costs and hasten turnarounds between missions from military-operated ranges in Florida and California.

The on-board safety system, relying on Global Positioning System satellite navigation data, replaces decades-old radars and tracking equipment that required military officers to manually send commands to destroy errant boosters, and their human and robot passengers, before they could threaten people and property.

The switch will save millions of dollars in infrastructure costs and allow for more launches from Air Force-run ranges at Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Air Force Base, officials said.

The Autonomous Flight Safety System, which previously flew in a shadow backup mode for several launches, was the prime destruct mechanism for the first time on the Feb. 19 launch of SpaceXs Falcon 9 rocket from pad 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center.

Implementing AFSS on future launch operations allows us to increase our flexibility, adaptability and efficiency while providing more launch opportunities and greater public safety without having to add additional people,said Brig. Gen. Wayne Monteith, commander of the Air Forces 45th Space Wing, which manages the Eastern Range at Cape Canaveral.These changes will not only simplify ground support requirements thereby increasing launch on-time probability, but substantially reduce launch costs.

Like the manual flight termination system used since the dawn of the Space Age, the on-board safety computer tracks the trajectory of the rocket, ensuring it remains within a predefined corridor and meets other parameters.

With the previous safety system, a Mission Flight Control Officer on the ground in Florida or California would issue the command activate pyrotechnic charges on the rocket if it strayed off course. In the case of the automated safety system, the command comes from a computer aboard the rocket.

Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceXs president and chief operating officer, said Feb. 18 that the on-board destruct trigger makes our operations here on the range much more streamlined.

The military is still responsible for other support functions for launches from Florida and California, such as weather monitoring, maritime and airspace patrols, and base security. At launch pad 39A, which lies on Kennedy Space Center property, NASA also supports SpaceX missions.

Other launch facilities operated by SpaceX and United Launch Alliance, which flies Atlas and Delta rockets, are on Air Force property at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Commercial launches from both coasts are licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates the public safety aspects of rocket flights.

We still need the Air Force, NASA and the FAA to fly, but it does tighten timelines, for sure, Shotwell said. I think the turnover to go from a ULA launch to a SpaceX launch, it should be much faster. It will be enormously helpful to getting things done.

TheAutonomous Flight Safety System should also reduce the risk that ground equipment malfunctions will delay launches.ULA and SpaceX launches already rely on GPS satellites instead of ground-based C-band radars for tracking, even for the older manual flight termination system.

Our role to ensure public safety during launches using this system is unchanged, said Howard Schindzielorz, the 45th Space Wings chief engineer, in an Air Force statement. Our Flight Termination System requirements still apply for design, test, operational performance and reliability. We still develop the mission rules to provide public safety, but the system works with mission rule data files loaded into the on-board AFSS units. This essentially shifts the workload to the front-end of the launch process.

Other benefits of the automated safety system include faster response times and improved monitoring as rockets fly downrange, providing over-the-horizon tracking capabilities not limited by line-of-sight tracking from instrumentation at the launch base, the Air Force said in a statement.

The Air Force currently requires several days to reconfigure its ranges between Atlas, Delta and Falcon missions. That turnaround time should be reduced with the introduction of auto-destruct mechanisms, according to Hans Koenigsmann, vice president of flight reliability at SpaceX.

We have this problem right now where we negotiate dates back and forth, but I think its actually going to get better, Koenigsmann said Feb. 8 at the FAA-sponsored Commercial Space Transportation Conference in Washington. The reason its going to get better is the Autonomous Flight Safety System. It does not need a lot of resources from the range, so the time it takes to reconfigure the resources from a ULA vehicle to a Falcon 9 or some other vehicle, that factor will basically go away.

While the range is still involved in launch operations, there is not an antenna pointing at the vehicle, so that in itself, I think, will make our lives easier, Koenigsmann said. Icould easily imagine that well have two launches on the same day because of that.

Same-day launches may be years away, but the Air Force said the Eastern Range at Cape Canaveral is aiming to be ready to accommodate as many as 48 launches a year by 2020. Thats around three times the number of annual launches the spaceport has hosted, on average, in recent years.

Cape Canaveral hosted two launches in one day during the Gemini program of the 1960s, but instrumentation constraints have restricted launch rates over the last few decades.

The auto-destruct system should also simplify range safety procedures for rockets returning to land at Cape Canaveral.

SpaceX intends to land two strap-on boosters launched on the companys huge triple-core Falcon Heavy rocket back in Florida simultaneously. A manual flight termination system could be overwhelmed in such a scenario.

This changes the expectation for legacy and new entrant companies of the space launch industry to implement AFSS at the earliest possible date, the Air Force said in a statement.

The Autonomous Flight Safety System could be on crewed flights as soon as next year as commercial companies begin launching astronauts to the International Space Station.

The commercial crew missions will be launched under contract to NASA, which will certify the on-board termination computer for piloted flights if engineers are comfortable the system will not issue an inadvertent destruct command.

This is the future, said Bob Cabana, director of NASAs Kennedy Space Center and a former astronaut. This is where the range is going. It makes sense to me.

Cabana, who piloted and commanded four space shuttle missions in the 1990s, joked about the relationship between astronauts and safety officers tasked with ordering the destruction of a failing rocket. The space shuttle had no launch escape rocket, and a termination command would have likely doomed the crew.

Prior to shuttle launches, we used to go visit the guys that sat on console that would push the button, and show them pictures of our kids and get to know them, Cabana said.

But the truth is, with a human in the loop, if youve got an envelope that rocket is to remain within as it goes out over the ocean, (as) it is approaching the edge of that envelope, a human may terminate it when the system is actually correcting to get toward the center, Cabana said. An automated system, done correctly, it can iterate fast enough that the system sees that the guidance system is taking it back before its going to exceed that limit.

So, in my opinion, if done correctly, an automated system is actually safer (and) more reliable than having a human in the loop, Cabana said. Weve still got some work to do before commercial crew is going to certify that this is the way to go, but this is the future.

Email the author.

Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.

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Name themes for Pluto system features approved by IAU – SpaceFlight Insider

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Laurel Kornfeld

February 26th, 2017

This composite of enhanced-color images of Pluto (lower right) and Charon (upper left) was taken by NASAs New Horizons spacecraft as it passed through the Pluto system on July 14, 2015. This image highlights the striking differences between Pluto and Charon. The color and brightness of both Pluto and Charon have been processed identically to allow direct comparison of their surface properties and to highlight the similarity between Charons polar red terrain and Plutos equatorial red terrain. Pluto and Charon are shown with approximately correct relative sizes, but their true separation is not to scale. The image combines blue, red, and infrared images taken by the spacecrafts Ralph / Multispectral Visual Imaging Camera (MVIC). Image & Caption Credit: NASA / JHU-APL / SwRI

A set of naming themes for features on Pluto and its five moons, informally used by the New Horizons mission, has been approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), which has overseen the naming of celestial objects and their surface features since 1919.

The themes chosen for each object in the Pluto system emerged from the missions Our Pluto campaign, organized in conjunction with NASA and the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California, in early 2015.

Our Pluto, which sought public suggestions for names of features the spacecraft was expected to reveal in its July 2015 flyby of the system, received IAU endorsement ahead of the flyby.

This image, taken by NASAs Hubble Space Telescope, shows five moons orbiting the distant, icy dwarf planet Pluto. Styx (initially designated P5) is the innermost of the moons found by Hubble over a period of seven years up to Styxs discovery in 2012. This image was taken with Hubbles Wide Field Camera 3 on July 7, 2012. Image Credit: NASA / ESA / L. Frattare (STScI)

Specific themes selected during the Our Pluto project were assigned to Pluto, Charon, Nix, Hydra, Styx, and Kerberos. Several continue the focus on mythologies of the underworld, ruled by the Roman god Pluto, while others commemorate both historic and fictional exploration.

New Horizons revealed Pluto to be an unusually active geological world with flowing glaciers, cryovolcanoes, ice mountains, canyons, cliffs, and a large nitrogen glacier. Charon is no longer geologically active, but many diverse features were found on its surface as well as on the surfaces of the smaller moons.

Imagine the thrill of seeing your name on a future map of Pluto and its moons. Months after the Pluto flyby, the New Horizons mission continues to engage and inspire, said Jim Green, director of NASAs Planetary Science Division.

Noteworthy names informally assigned to features on the systems worlds, such as Sputnik Planitia and Cthulhu Regio on Pluto have excited imaginations worldwide.

Mission principal investigator Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute applauded the successful partnership and process between New Horizons scientists and the IAU that resulted in approval of wonderful, inspiring, and engaging naming themes for features on Pluto and its moons and said mission scientists look forward to submitting specific names for individual features on each world.

Tagged: Charon International Astronomical Union NASA New Horizons Pluto The Range

Laurel Kornfeld is an amateur astronomer and freelance writer from Highland Park, NJ, who enjoys writing about astronomy and planetary science. She studied journalism at Douglass College, Rutgers University, and earned a Graduate Certificate of Science from Swinburne Universitys Astronomy Online program. Her writings have been published online in The Atlantic, Astronomy magazines guest blog section, the UK Space Conference, the 2009 IAU General Assembly newspaper, The Space Reporter, and newsletters of various astronomy clubs. She is a member of the Cranford, NJ-based Amateur Astronomers, Inc. Especially interested in the outer solar system, Laurel gave a brief presentation at the 2008 Great Planet Debate held at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab in Laurel, MD.

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Insider Exclusive: Space Center Houston inspiring new generation of explorers – SpaceFlight Insider

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Jason Rhian

February 26th, 2017

Saturn V rocket at Space Center Houston in Texas. Photo Credit: Jason Rhian / SpaceFlight Insider

HOUSTON With smartphones, the internet, and an array of ever-sophisticated electronic toys, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to hold the attention of the public. Space Center Houston is working to counter these distracting influences withan array of exhibits and interactive activities as well as a fleet of vehicles that helped make space travel a reality.

The operators of Space Center Houston provided us with the best setting from which to learn what the location is working on to highlight the historic achievements of the past, the promising events that are taking place at present, and the exciting possibilities that lie on the horizon.

To find out more about the centerseducational outreach efforts, click here.

Video courtesy of SpaceFlight Insider

Tagged: Johnson Space Center Space Center Houston The Range Tracy Lamm

Jason Rhian spent several years honing his skills with internships at NASA, the National Space Society and other organizations. He has provided content for outlets such as: Aviation Week & Space Technology, Space.com, The Mars Society and Universe Today.

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Insider Exclusive: Space Center Houston inspiring new generation of explorers - SpaceFlight Insider

Atlas 5 rocket to provide spacelift for US National Reconnaissance Office – Spaceflight Now

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The NROL-79 commemorative poster. Credit: United Launch Alliance

Taking a U.S. national security satellite payload into space is the primary objective of the 70th Atlas 5 booster that will be launched Wednesday.

The United Launch Alliance rocket, flying for the 35th time in its basic two-stage version with no solids, is scheduled for liftoff around 9:50 a.m. local time (12:50 p.m. EST; 1750 GMT) from California.

Although the launch windows duration is withheld, officials say the days liftoff opportunity will close by 10:30 a.m.

Space Launch Complex 3-East at Vandenberg Air Force Base is the point of origination for the mission, known as NROL-79.

The launch customer is the National Reconnaissance Office, the government agency responsible for the countrys spy satellites.

While the launch is hardly a secret, what the payload is atop the rocket is classified. The NROL-79 spacecrafts purpose and final orbit have not been disclosed.

Things are proceeding well on the booster side, doing some of the final closeouts that we have to do, working through the weekend to make sure all of those things are finalized, Lt. Col. Eric Zarybnisky, 4th Space Launch Squadron commander and the Air Force launch director, said in a telephone interview Friday afternoon.

Monday we have a pretty full schedule of readiness reviews. Then we go into what we call a crew sync day. Because the time of day of launch being early in the morning, we give folks (Tuesday) to get some rest and (then) go into the launch Wednesday morning.

The eight-hour countdown begins before 2 a.m. local time.

We are postured for another successful Atlas launch, said Col. Christopher Moss, Vandenbergs 30th Space Wing commander and the launch decision authority. These missions are critical, and our team is excited to be a part of something that will have a global impact.

The mission marks the 14th time an NRO payload has been launched by Atlas 5.

For its 70th launch, the Atlas 5 vehicle will be flying in its 401 variant with a four-meter-diameter nose cone, no solid rocket boosters and a single-engine Centaur upper stage. It will come off the pad generating over 860,000 pounds of thrust.

This is a pretty common 401, said Zarybnisky. It is the 35th 401 so far, so we have a lot of experience both here and on the East Coast with this particular version of the rocket.

Originally slated to launch Dec. 1, the flight was postponed by last Septembers massive wildfire and electrical grid damage at Vandenberg. That held up the previous Atlas 5 launch of the commercial WorldView 4 satellite and delayed the start of the NROL-79 campaign at the pad by two months.

We were actually able to deliver the booster during the fires. We were able to offload the booster, and there really was no issues for this mission, specifically, but the WorldView 4 mission was delayed due to the fires and the subsequent build back up of the Range and the electrical infrastructure, Zarybnisky said.

Then, a problem with the upper stage had to be rectified, causing a one-month slip.

This mission has obviously been a little protracted than we would normally have. We moved the launch date twice once due to the fires, that obviously drove some changes to our schedule, and then we had a technical issue during one of our wet dress rehearsals that we had to work through. We successfully fixed that issue, proved it out in a second wet dress rehearsal and we are moving forward, Zarybnisky said.

Still, the mission is occurring within three months of the launch date selected more than two years ago.

Schedule is important and we try to make sure things happen on time, but at the end of the day mission success is really what we are focused on, Zarybnisky said.

Zarybnisky added: The infrastructure is ready to support. We had a great WorldView 4 launch and I expect this one to go just as well.

The 4th Space Launch Squadron, a team of about 75 military and civilian personnel, is the governments on-site group that oversees the rocket preparations from the point it arrives at Vandenberg until liftoff. The engineers and missile maintenance professionals give assurance that processing and testing of the vehicle performed by United Launch Alliance goes properly.

For Capt. Albert Vasso, launch mission manager in the squadron, that means cat-herding issues as they arise and working across the base to efficiently resolve them.

Another squadron member, Capt. Jonathan Crow, EELV lead engineer, works with ULA during the launch campaign to make sure the rockets technical aspects are satisfactorily met.

I get to be on console during day of launch, give one of the gos that says yes, the booster is ready, the infrastructure is ready and we are ready to put this extremely important mission on orbit,' said Zarybnisky.

The 4th Space Launch Squadron was formed in 1994 to support Titan missions at Vandenbergs Space Launch Complex 4, then re-chartered in 2003 for the Atlas 5 and Delta 4 launch systems from Slicks 3 and 6.

This launch is the first of three that ULA has scheduled in a 19-day period in March from both coasts using Atlas 5 and Delta 4 rockets.

See earlier NROL-79 coverage.

Our Atlas archive.

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Atlas 5 rocket to provide spacelift for US National Reconnaissance Office - Spaceflight Now

EM-1 could become Apollo 8 for the 21st century – SpaceFlight Insider

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Derek Richardson

February 24th, 2017

NASA is looking into the possibility of adding a crew to the first flight of the Space Launch System. The EM-1 mission is currently planned on being uncrewed. Image Credit: Nathan Koga / SpaceFlight Insider

NASA is taking ahard look at having crew fly on the first integrated mission of the agencys Space Launch System (SLS) super-heavy-lift rocket and Orion spacecraft. At present, NASA is only undertaking a feasibility study, reviewing what risks would be incurred, what needs to be added to allow for this happen, and what potential benefits could be had.

Acting NASA Administrator Robert Lightfoot announced on Feb. 15, 2017, that he was ordering a study on the feasibility of adding crew. It was to be lead by William Gerstenmaier, NASAs Associate Administrator for Human Exploration System Directorate.

Should NASA decide to add crew to EM-1, its flight plan would essentially follow the proposed plan for EM-2. The main difference would be instead of the Exploration Upper Stage (which would not be ready in time for EM-1) performing a trans-lunar injection burn, the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion System would. (Click to enlarge) Image Credit: NASA

In a Feb. 24, 2017, teleconference, Gerstenmaier, along with Deputy Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems Development William Hill, addressed a number of questions and concerns about the potential crew addition stressing that this is only a feasibility study and the baseline Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1) flight is still moving forward as originally planned.

When we get done with this, we wont come out with a hard recommendation one way or the other, Gerstenmaier said. Were going to talk about essentially the advantages and the disadvantages of adding crew to EM-1.

According to Gerstenmaier, the White House asked NASA to look into the option, adding that there has been no guarantee of more money for a possible crewed flight.

The baseline schedule currently calls for a Block 1 SLS to send an uncrewed Orion spacecraft into a distant retrograde lunar orbit in late 2018 EM-1. The flight would last about 20 days. Then, in August 2021, the EM-2 flight would see a Block 1B SLS, with a new Exploration Upper Stage (EUS), send a piloted Orion on a shorter 8-day free return trajectory around the Moon.

The mission being studied would send two crew members in Orion on a similar trajectory that EM-2 would have performed. It would involve a day in high-Earth orbit to verify critical systems, such as life support, before performing a trans-lunar, free return trajectory burn using the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) a modified Delta IV upper stage.

Well get a chance to test systems in a very rigorous way with [a]crew on board, Gerstenmaier said. Some of the life support systems will get to see crew interaction with the vehicle, which helps us get to an overall readiness standpoint.

The study will look into what systems will need to be added to EM-1 which were not already included, such as life support, crew displays, and an active Launch Abort System (LAS) none of which are planned to fly on the baseline mission. Additionally, it will look into what hardware may have to be changed as well as additional tests that will need to be done.

The Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) is transported to a pressure test area at United Launch Alliances Decatur, Alabama, manufacturing facility. It will be used as an upper stage on the first SLS flight. (Click to enlarge) Image Credit: NASA

For example, the ICPS, while it is powerful enough to perform the mission requirements, is not human rated. The study will have to look at what will need to be changed to alleviate some risk. This might also include adding more debris protection for the highly elliptical orbit.

We think we can set up a profile that limits crew risk exposure, so if something doesnt go right with the upper stage, then we can abort out of that and send the crew home safely, Gerstenmaier said.

Gerstenmaier said that they might lose the mission, but they can still protect the crew. He has asked the team performing the study to look how feasible that is.

It is going to be a risk balance, Hill said. Well take a look at the risk versus thebenefits. If we can fly the EM-2 profile on EM-1, that opens up EM-2 to do more because we have at least some experience and we can do more with that as opposed to the profile we earlier anticipated with flying crew on EM-2.

Additionally, Gerstenmaier said that they are looking at ways to reduce the risks associated with this prospective mission. One way would be to accelerate theAscent Abort-2 test to early 2019.

Other ways the SLS and Orion team has already been attempting to buy-down risk include testing hardware on board the International Space Station. There is a carbon dioxide removal system on the outpost that has been running for over 2,000 hours so far. Later, a waste management system will be sent to the orbiting laboratory for tests as well.

An artists rendering of the SLS being assembled inside the massive Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. (Click to enlarge) Image Credit: NASA

We recognize this will be an increased risk, and we take that increased risk, and we take it against the benefits that we gain by doing this, and we say, hey, is that something thats worthwhile for us to go do?, Gerstenmaier said. Then we have an agency-wide discussion on whether this is the appropriate risk for us to take.

Gerstenmaier said that one of the main questions the study will be looking at is what the agency would gain by a crewed EM-1 flight. Does it significantly advance its overall capability to take people to the Moon regularly? He also said there are astronauts on the team that will be contributing directly to this discussion.

Knowing that adding crew to EM-1 will cause a delay from the current late 2018 launch date, Gerstenmaier said he arbitrarily limited the study to changes that would allow for a mission to launch no later than late 2019.

If it goes much beyond 2019, then basically the plan weve got today with EM-2 with [a]crew is probably as good of [a]plan as we have and theres not a tremendous advantage [to add crew to EM-1], Gerstenmaier said.

There was also an option of accelerating EM-2 instead of crewing EM-1, but that was ruled out because of the extensive changes to ground systems that would be needed. There simply isnt enough time between launching a 322-foot (98-meter) tall Block 1 SLS and the 364-foot (111-meter) tall Block 1B to change out the hardware.

Roughly 33 months is the minimum time between EM-1 and EM-2, Gerstenmaier said. Thats driven by the fact that we have to change the Mobile Launch Platform to accommodate the 40-foot taller rocket associated with EM-2.

Regardless of what the agency ultimately decides to do, however, Gerstenmaier said that this study gives NASA an opportunity to step back and evaluate what it is doing on EM-1.

This is a great opportunity for us to step back, reflect on what were doing, look at the overall plan again and see if [there are] any changes we want to make [while] moving forward, Gerstenmaier said.

Tagged: EM-1 EM-2 Lead Stories Moon NASA Orion Space Launch System

Derek Richardson is a student studying mass media with an emphasis in contemporary journalism at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. He is currently the managing editor of the student run newspaper, the Washburn Review. He also writes a blog, called Orbital Velocity, about the space station. His passion for space ignited when he watched space shuttle Discovery leap to space on Oct. 29, 1998. He saw his first in-person launch on July 8, 2011 when the space shuttle launched for the final time. Today, this fervor has accelerated toward orbit and shows no signs of slowing down. After dabbling in math and engineering courses in college, he soon realized that his true calling was communicating to others about space exploration and spreading that passion.

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6 things gay billionaire Peter Thiel could learn from straight … – Queerty

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One of the strange effects of the through-the-looking-glass presidency of Donald Trump is just who passes for a national icon. There was, of course, the spectacle of Trumps inauguration, which was a parade of B-list entertainers and has-beens.Then there are the Cabinet appointees, many of whom would not be counted among the best and brightest even in the event of being sole survivors of a nuclear holocaust (not to give the president ideas).

And then theres our Peter Thiel.

Thiel has rushed in to fill the vacuum left by all the business leadersespecially in Silicon Valleywho want nothing to do with Trump. With his weird ideas and dangerous beliefs, Thiel would be not necessarily be thebest America has to offer despite his well-established business acumen and intelligence quotient.

The problem with Trumps presidency is that things that would have seemed well outside the realm of normal just a year ago are now commonplace. Before we get too much further into Trumps term, its worth notingjust how bizarre the landscape is when Peter Thiel emerges as a giant. Just compare him to a true American icon, Warren Buffett, a billionaire many times over who like Mark Zuckerberg has joined Bill Gates pledge to donate 90 percent of his personal fortunein his lifetime.

Buffett is known as the Oracle of Omaha and is widely considered one of the most successful investors in the history of capitalism. Hes considered such a natural treasure that in 2008 both Barack Obama and John McCain both floated his name as a potential Secretary of the Treasury. Hes the subject of a fascinatingnew HBO documentary, Becoming Warren Buffett. Listening to Buffett talk, its clear something has changed from the time the heyday of his values. Concepts of sharing, civic duty and moral responsibility to the less fortunate dominate his conversation, values that rarely if ever come up among the new class of rich dominating the Trump cabinet and his inner circle.

Just how different is this new classfrom Buffett? Here are six ways to remind us just how far the rich have fallen.

1. Philanthropy

Buffett has given billions to charity and promises to give another $66 billion away during his lifetime and in his will, mostly to the Gates Foundation, to address global disease. By contrast, Thiels foundation is focused on his pet causes: sea steading, ending death and encouraging young people to drop out of college to join the start up world even before they learn about the world.

2. Commitment to community

Buffett casts a large shadow over Omaha, which he loves. He has long been the citys biggest booster and gives back to his hometown. Thiel is largelyMIAin the Bay Area, and gets an earful from his more liberal counterparts whenever he does venture out.In fact, Buffett does more for Thiels hometown, auctioning off a lunch with himself for the Glide Foundation, a San Francisco homeless charity. We dont really know much about the remarkabletapestry of LGBTQ orgs, even in his hometown, because he rarely if ever mentions them.

3. Willingness to pay his fair share

Buffett complains that there is a class war underway and the rich are winning. Noting that he pays a lower tax rate than his employees, Buffett has said, How can this be fair?As a libertarian, Thiel is all about shrinking government to a fraction of its current size. Of course, that would mean some nice savings on Thiels tax bill, which he complains amountconfiscatory taxes.

4. Patriotism

During the darkest days of the 2008 financial crisis, Buffett stepped forward to invest in Goldman Sachs and General Electric, companies teetering on the brink. Buffetts investment sent a strong signal to the market that the U.S. economy would eventually emerge intact. Thiel is hedging his bets about this country with is dual citizenship in New Zealand. He declared on his citizenship application that no other country that aligns more with my view of the future than New Zealand.Right.

5. Belief in democracy

On Election Day, Buffett rented a trolley in Omaha and shuttled people to the polls to help increase voter turnout.Im really hoping we get this big turnout, justgenerally forgetabout which side they vote for, Buffett said.Thiel, on the other hand,has declared I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible.

6.Rewarding others

Buffett would be the first to admit that hes made his share of mistakes. But on the whole, his track record is amazing. One thousand dollars invested with Buffett in 1964 would be worth about $12 million today, meaning hes helped not just himself the littleguy, too. The ones who invest their retirement savings in his funds.On the other hand, Thiels success rests largely on his PayPal and Facebook investments, which he largely hasnt duplicated. In fact, at one point he managed to lose90 percent of his hedge funds assets in just three years.

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6 things gay billionaire Peter Thiel could learn from straight ... - Queerty

Oscars Honor Real-Life NASA Hero Katherine Johnson, But Pass On ‘Hidden Figures’ – Space.com

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NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson (second left) is honored onstage with actors (left to right) Janelle Monae, Taraji P. Henson and Octavia Spencer - the stars of "Hidden Figures," which focuses on Johnson's work with NASA's Mercury program - during the 89th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 26, 2017 in Hollywood, California. NASA astronaut Yvonne Cagle is seen standing behind Johnson

The stars of "Hidden Figures," the 20th Century Fox film about NASA's early African American mathematicians, took to the stage at the Academy Awards Sunday night (Feb. 26), not to accept an Oscar, but to pay homage to the real-life "human computer" Katherine Johnson, who received a standing ovation.

"Movies about the lives of men and women in the history books have long been a staple of storytellers. Sometimes, the names and deeds are the heroes and their names are known to all," said actress Janelle Monae. [NASA's Real "Hidden Figures"]

"And then there are those films that shine the spotlight on those whose names are known to only a few, but whose stories are deserved to be told," added Octavia Spencer, who was nominated but did not win for Best Supporting Actress for her role as manager Dorothy Vaughan in "Hidden Figures."

We were honored to be in an inspiring film about three such women," continued actress Taraji P. Henson, "whose brilliance made our nation's achievements in space possible."

Henson then introduced Johnson, the mathematician she portrayed, as a "true NASA and American hero."

"Thank you all," said Johnson, 98, after being escorted to the stage by NASA astronaut Yvonne Cagle.

Worth seeing again. Nice that Katherine Johnson got a standing ovation. https://t.co/tMOVPSl44H

"Katherine Johnson on the Oscars!" tweeted NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, where Johnson and her fellow women mathematicians supported the early Mercury spaceflights and where "Hidden Figures" is set. "What a wonderful moment."

The segment was the space highlight of the night, which was few on awards for the nominated space-themed movies.

Despite being the top grossing film nominated for Best Picture, "Hidden Figures" lost in all three categories for which it was a contender. In addition to Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress (for Spencer), "Hidden Figures" was also passed over for Best Adapted Screenplay. The movie was based on the book of the same title by author Margot Lee Shetterly.

"Passengers," the Morten Tyldum-directed science fiction film about two people (Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt) who are awoken early on an interstellar trip to an exoplanet, had been nominated for Best Production Design and Best Original Score, but like "Hidden Figures" did not win.

"Arrival," the second highest-grossing Best Picture nominee, came away from the night having fared slightly better. The sci-fi film about Earth's first contact with an alien race was nominated for eight Oscars and won for Best Sound Editing (Sylvain Bellemare).

Anousheh Ansari, who funded her own trip to the International Space Station in September 2006, and Firouz Naderi, the former director for solar system exploration at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, accepted the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for "The Salesman," on behalf of Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, who did not attend in protest of the travel ban put into place by President Donald Trump. Ansari was the first Iranian and first Muslim woman in space.

Former NASA scientist Firouz Naderi (left) and engineer/astronaut Anousheh Ansari pose with the Best Foreign Language Film award for 'The Salesman' on behalf of director Asghar Farhadi in the press room during the 89th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on Feb. 26, 2017 in Hollywood, California.

Mahershala Ali, who portrayed Katherine Johnson's husband, Jim Johnson, in "Hidden Figures," won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Juan in "Moonlight."

Damien Chazelle, who won Best Director for "La La Land," will next helm Universal Studios' "First Man," based on historian James Hansen's biography of Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong.

Robert Pearlman is a Space.comcontributing writer and the editor of collectSPACE.com, a Space.compartner site and the leading space history news publication. Follow collectSPACEon Facebookand on Twitter at @collectSPACE. Follow us @Spacedotcom,FacebookandGoogle+. Original article onSpace.com.

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NASA officials discuss Trump’s push for first-term moon mission – Washington Post

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NASA generally proceeds slowly and incrementally especially when human beings are blasted into space. But President Trump apparently wants to do something bold with the space program, and his team has asked NASA to consider speeding up a long-planned moon mission.

So NASA has launched a feasibility study to see what the risks and benefits would be if the agency added two astronauts to the first test flight of a new rocket and capsule.

That flight, Exploration Mission 1, or EM-1, is scheduled for November 2018. The new Space Launch System rocket would blast off with a new Orion capsule on top. The Orion would orbit the moon, undergoing a kind of stress test, and then return to Earth, re-entering the atmosphere at tremendous speed and splashing down in an ocean.

NASA's current plan is to do this with mannequins aboard.

Only after this shakedown mission would it then put live astronauts into Orion and send them on toward the moon. That second mission is not scheduled until 2021.

On Friday, two NASA officials held a teleconference with reporters to discuss the feasibility study, and they avoided signaling whether they think adding astronauts to a test flight is a good idea.

I dont have a preconceived position as to whether I'm for this or against this, said William Gerstenmaier, an associate administrator who is the top official for human spaceflight. Echoing that sentiment was William Hill, a deputy associate administrator: We will let the identified risk and benefits drive this, as well as the data.

[NASA, heeding Trump, may try a first-term moon mission]

Gerstenmaier said the first flight, if astronauts are involved, would probably last eight or nine days.

The officials made clear that changing the current plan, and adding a crew to the first test flight, would increase the mission risk. Gerstenmaier said there are ways to limit the risk, including putting the Orion in an Earth orbit for a day or so to ensure that the life-support systems were working properly. If necessary, at that point the flight to the moon could be aborted. We might lose the mission, but we could still protect the crew, he said.

Gerstenmaier said adding a crew would offer benefits: Well get a chance to test systems in a very rigorous way with a crew on board. Hill seemed to contradict that a few minutes later, saying that NASA would like to stress the systems on Orion in the initial flight, which we probably wouldnt do with a crew on board.

The feasibility study should be complete in about a month. Adding a crew would probably push a launch date for EM-1 into 2019, Gerstenmaier said. If it proves impossible to launch with a crew aboard by late 2019, he said, NASA would stick to the current plan of a crew on EM-2 in 2021.

[How Trump could really disrupt NASA]

Trump has shown an interest in President John F. Kennedy's vow more than half a century ago to put a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s, and, eyeing his reelection prospects, Trumpcould potentially announce some kind of ambitious space mission for NASA, likely in combination with entrepreneurial space companies.

But a lot remains uncertain at NASA, including the top leadership posts. Trump and his team have yet to nominate anyone to run the agency, and NASA is currently guided by acting administrator Robert Lightfoot, a civil servant.

Read more:

With Trump, Gingrich and GOP in charge, NASA may go back to the moon

NASA under Trump is waiting for marching orders

Will trump echo JFK's moonshot and vow to send humans to Mars?

NASA has a spaceship, but where will it go?

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NASA officials discuss Trump's push for first-term moon mission - Washington Post

Two New NASA Institutes Will Prepare Us to Live Away From Earth – Futurism

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In Brief

With $30 million leaving the bank account over the next five years, NASA plans on setting up and supporting two institutes dedicated to extending humanitys reach in our solar system.

These Space Technology Research Institutes (STRIs) will each receive $15 million in NASA funding to develop technologies in biomaterials and biomanufacturing. Universities will lead multidisciplinary research programs in hopes of obtaining credible outcomes in the next five years. While the research is focused on expanding our species into space, the STRIs look to finding applications beyond just aerospace for the work.

Of the two STRIs, one is the Center for Utilization of Biological Engineering in Space (CUBES)which will focus on incorporating microbes into food, fuel, materials, and pharmaceuticals. This research is intended to ease the journey of space travel, by providing biomanufacturing for astronauts who can be more self-sustained.

The other of the two STRIs is the Institute for Ultra-Strong Composites by Computational Design (US-COMP), which aims to develop lightweight and super strong aerospace material with carbon-nanotube technology.

CUBES will be led by Adam Arkin Ph.D., a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, while US-COMP will be led by GregoryOdegard Ph.D.of Michigan Technological University.

While many outspoken voices on humanitys survival state that we need to leave Earth, one of the most compelling reasons was given by Tesla and SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk. He believes that an extinction event isinevitableand that we must spread our species out if we aim to survive.

Others like Stephen Hawking are even more specific.Hawking believes that we only have 1000 years left on the Earth, and our only chance at survival is by setting up colonies elsewhere in the universe. Unlike Elon Musk, Hawking is skeptical of our ability to land on Mars in the next 200 or so years and behooves us to make steps to more fully address climate change, threats of nuclear war, and antibiotic resistance.

All in all, projects created by the STRIs will bring us closer to one-day extending humanitys reach.

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Two New NASA Institutes Will Prepare Us to Live Away From Earth - Futurism

NASA Just Discovered Seven New Exoplanets… So What? – Forbes

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NASA Just Discovered Seven New Exoplanets... So What?
Forbes
On Wednesday, the scientists at NASA kind of freaked out. They announced the discovery of some seemingly Earth-like planets outside of our solar system, a group of rocky globes they're calling 'TRAPPIST-1.' How far away are these newly-discovered ...
This Discovery Could Give NASA a Good Reason to Boldly Go Where It's Never Gone BeforeMadison.com
Visit TRAPPIST-1e! NASA Travel Poster Advertises Exoplanet DiscoverySpace.com
NASA Is Turning TRAPPIST-1 Into Science Nerd FanficGizmodo
TechCrunch -GOOD Magazine -Stuff.co.nz -NASA
all 255 news articles »

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NASA Just Discovered Seven New Exoplanets... So What? - Forbes

Why Did the House Science Committee Overlook NASA’s Former Chief Scientist? – The Atlantic

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Last week, the House Science, Space and Technology committee invited four witnesses from NASAs past to discuss the agencys future endeavors, including a human mission to Mars, a possible return to the moon, and the commercial space sector. NASA consistently polls as Americans favorite federal agency, and its popularity cuts across party lines. The hearing could have been a brief respite from the bickering that has seized Washington of late. And it almost was.

Near the end, Ellen Stofan, NASAs chief science officer under President Barack Obama, gave Mars enthusiasts some reason for hope. Americans can expect a lunar habitat by the 2020s and humans in Mars orbit in 2032, she said.

Thats the clearest timeline on NASAs Journey to Mars in some time. Many space enthusiasts were, well, enthused. But then last Friday, Stofan shared this picture:

Where was she? Missing from more than the photo, it turned out. The House committees Twitter accountthe same one that has shared false climate-change information from Breitbart Newsdidnt mention her at all in its tweets covering the hearing.

The account posted 10 tweets total about the hearing, including a link to a video feed of the testimony. It shared sound bites from each of the panels other three witnesses: Harrison Schmitt, an Apollo 17 astronaut and former U.S. senator from New Mexico; Lt. Gen. Thomas Stafford, an astronaut on Apollo 10 and two Gemini missions; and A. Thomas Young, who was the mission director for the Viking Mars program and a former director of Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

There must be a permanent public and political commitment to deep-space exploration and development, the account quoted Schmitt saying.

It also quoted Representative Lamar Smith of Texas, the committees chair, and Representative Brian Babin of Texas, whose district includes NASAs Johnson Space Center, talking about American leadership in space. If youd read that feed for coverage of the two-and-a-half-hour hearing, youd be forgiven for thinking Stofan didnt show up at all.

But she testified at length. She gave detailed answers to numerous questions about the space agencys Earth science mission, about NASAs Mars trajectory, about human space exploration, and plenty of other topics, many of intense public interest. It was curious that she didnt appear at all in the committees Twitter feed.

I called the committees offices to ask about this omission. The person who answered the phone Friday paused and said, thats a good question, before referring me to the communications staff. At the time of publication, I had not heard back.

Stofan was nonplussed, both on Twitter and on the phone from her vacation home in North Carolina last weekend.

I understand that its probably mostly because they are the Republican witnesses. I was invited by the minority party, the Democrats. But the optics of being the only woman, she trailed off, with a rueful laugh. You know, I understand, thats the way the system works. I hope were turning away from that system.

Stofan was referring to the systemic mistreatment of women in science, as supported by a wealth of scientific papers in academic journals, which speak to the persistence of sexism, ossified gender roles, the prevalence and endurance of bias, and the underrepresentation of women (especially women of color). This body of research demonstrates the detrimental effect of these biases on Ph.D.s, salaries and careers and the importance of representatives and role models.

For these reasons and others, Stofans omission prompted an outcry. Dont ask questions about encouraging young people to get into STEM and then make it look like it's only for old white guys, one woman wrote to Stofan. As a woman seeking a STEM career, for that matter a human who cares about science ... this bewilders me, said another.

In this context, its worth noting the last tweet posted prior to the committee hearing. It highlighted the INSPIRE Act, a one-page bill that authorizes the NASA administrator to facilitate and support early-career female astronauts, scientists, engineers, and innovators to engage with K12 female STEM students and inspire the next generation of women. This is an admirable goal, and worthy of the committees support.

Of course, its possible that Stofans omission was unintentional, and an honest mistake. In our conversation, Stofan took great pains to praise the committee staff, saying they were all pleasant and welcoming, and she stressed that the questions from members of Congress were friendly and curious.

But its also worth noting that Stofan was the only witness who has worked at NASA recently. After leaving Goddard many years ago, Young spent two decades as the CEO of Martin Marietta and later Lockheed Martin. After losing his reelection in the Senate, Schmitt worked as a consultant and led an effort to encourage private companies to mine the moon. In 2008, he abruptly quit the Planetary Society because of disagreements over its Mars advocacy and its statements about a scientific consensus on climate change, which he said was ridiculous. As for Stafford, he worked for President Ronald Reagan as a defense advisor and later chaired a committee to carry out President George H.W. Bushs ambitious but short-lived Mars plan, before chairing the International Space Station Advisory Committee.

Stofan, on the other hand, served as chief scientist from 2013 until the inauguration. Previously, she spent 13 years as a planetary-geology professor and worked in the private sector as a research scientist. Before that, she spent a decade at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Stofan is the only witness to have worked at NASA since the 1980s.

It was a little frustrating to me that they were people who hadnt been involved in the agency in a long time, and in some cases werent entirely up to date on whats going on, Stofan said. When youre talking about the future of NASA, youd want to hear someone who was more recently involved.

In discussing her disappointment, Stofan quoted Sally Ride, the first American woman in space and a personal hero to many children of the space age, who said shortly before she died in 2012, You cant be what you cant see.

If we turn a blind eye, or dont show that women are there, what are we telling people about how women are valued? Stofan told me. What are we telling girls about their ability to go into different careers? The message it sends to women is not a great one.

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Why Did the House Science Committee Overlook NASA's Former Chief Scientist? - The Atlantic

An ‘Elite Dangerous’ star system closely resembles NASA’s TRAPPIST-1 discovery – Mashable

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An 'Elite Dangerous' star system closely resembles NASA's TRAPPIST-1 discovery
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David Braben, the CEO of Elite developer Frontier Development, highlighted the in-game system's similarity to TRAPPIST-1 in a new forum post. He also noted that a forthcoming update will tweak the star system to account for NASA's discoveries and ...

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An 'Elite Dangerous' star system closely resembles NASA's TRAPPIST-1 discovery - Mashable

NASA may send robotic spacecraft to Sun next year – Economic Times

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WASHINGTON: NASA plans to send its first robotic spacecraft to the Sun next year that is slated to get within six million kilometres of the blazing star to probe its atmosphere.

Humans have sent spacecraft to the Moon, Mars and even distant interstellar space. Now, NASA plans to launch the Solar Probe Plus mission to the Sun which is about 149 million kilometres from the Earth.

"This is going to be our first mission to fly to the Sun," said Eric Christian, a NASA research scientist at Goddard Space Flight Centre.

"We can't get to the very surface of the Sun," but the mission will get close enough to answer three important questions, Christian said.

First, the mission will hopefully unveil why the surface of the Sun, called the photosphere, is not as hot as its atmosphere, called the corona.

According to NASA, the surface temperature of the Sun is only about 5,500 degrees Celsius. However, the atmosphere above it is a sizzling two million degrees Celsius.

"You would think the farther away you get from a heat source, you would get colder. Why the atmosphere is hotter than the surface is a big puzzle," Christian said.

The scientists also want to know how solar wind gets its speed, 'Live Science' reported.

"The Sun blows a stream of charged particles in all directions at a million miles an hour. But we do not understand how that gets accelerated," he said.

The mission may also ascertain why the Sun occasionally emits high-energy particles that are a danger to unprotected astronauts and spacecraft.

NASA has designed a 11.4 centimetres carbon-composite shield, which is designed to withstand temperatures outside the spacecraft of 1,370 degrees Celsius.

The unmanned probe will have special heat tubes called thermal radiators that will radiate heat that permeates the heat shield to open space, "so it does not go to the instruments, which are sensitive to heat," Christian added.

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NASA may send robotic spacecraft to Sun next year - Economic Times

Nanostate-USA, Inc. is a leading edge nanotechnology company that provides protective nanotechnology coatings to … – MENAFN.COM

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Nanostate-USA, Inc. is a leading edge nanotechnology company that provides protective nanotechnology coatings to ...
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Nanostate-USa, Inc. uses the latest in nanotechnology to provide multiple layers of protection to smartphones, tablets, and all other manner of electronics. Water, scratch, and shock resistance can be applied in a matter of moments. We have spent years ...

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ZTE unveils the Gigabit Phone, the world’s first 5G smartphone with 1Gbps download speeds – BGR

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LG and Huawei both have exciting new flagship smartphones in store for us at this years Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona, Spain. In fact, the fresh new LG G6 might be the star of MWC 2017 this year, as you saw in our hands-on LG G6 preview. Nokia has a handful of buzzy new handsets to show off as well. Samsung wont take the wraps off of its new flagship phones at MWC this year, but the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are due to be unveiled late next month and if rumors hold true, theyre going to blow us away.

Out of all of those exciting new devices headed to the market in the current months, not a single one can pull off the feat ZTE just achieved with the new ZTE Gigabit Phone that was just shown off at MWC 2017: 1Gbps download speeds.

Remember how all of the major wireless carriers forced us off of unlimited data plans back between 2009 and 2011, so that they could push us onto more expensive tiered data plans? Well guess what: unlimited data is back well, unlimited data is back, at least and as you might have guessed, its even more expensive than the pricier tiered plans carriersforced us onto in recent years.

Why the sudden interest in unlimited data plans again? The answer lies in a joke I tweeted the other day:

The timing is a bit ambitious give me a break, it was a Twitter joke but as they say, truth is often said in jest. Carriers are retraining their subscriber bases to embrace unlimited data plans. With 5G on the horizon, a 4GB, 6GB or even 10GB plan wont hold up very well when youre dealing with download speeds that approach 1Gbps.

And speaking of 1Gbps download speeds, ZTE on Sunday took the wraps off its first 5G-capable smartphone, the ZTE Gigabit Phone.

ZTE calls the Gigabit Phone a forward-looking smartphone, which essentiallytranslates to concept phone that will never actually be sold. The Gigabit Phone isnt intended for retail, however. Instead, its intended to showcase 5G and the lightning-fast upload and download speeds that will come along with it once 5G networks begin to roll out. Remember, this isnt the distant future were talking about here; Verizon will fire up its 5G networks in at least 11 different markets this year in a just-announced test program.

The ZTE Gigabit Phone is powered by theQualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, which featuresan integrated Snapdragon X16 LTE modem. The solution combines wireless carrier aggregation with44 MIMO antenna technology and 256-QAM modulation to achieve download speeds of up to 1Gbps. These arent theoretical speeds, mind you the phone is on display right now in Barcelona, where show goers can watch live demos of the Gigabit Phone handling gigabit downloads.

We are thrilled to introduce the worlds first smartphone with download speeds up to 1Gbps. With the new device, the way people stay connected will be changed forever, a ZTE spokesperson said. Focusing on 5G technologies will be one of the key priorities of ZTEs global development. ZTE will be very glad to leverage its technology strength and experience in 5G to cooperate with government and business partners to discuss and facilitate the upcoming 5G era.

The question of whether the ZTEGigabit Phone is a true 5G phone is a bit foggy. ZTE calls it pre 5G, featuring technologies that will help provide massive speed boost to bridge the gap during carriers transitions from 4G to 5G networks. Think of it as being akin to HSPA+, the 3G technology that AT&T and T-Mobile spent so much timemarketing as 4G.

Of course to the end user, the technology behind 1Gbps download speeds wont matter very much while he or she is live-streaming 360-degree panoramic video and enjoying near-instant access to cloud-based content.

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ZTE unveils the Gigabit Phone, the world's first 5G smartphone with 1Gbps download speeds - BGR

Report: Vive Users Are 95 Percent Male And Spend 5 Hours Per Week in VR – UploadVR

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HTC has been conductingsurveys about VR in China and now the results are in.

The following data was sourced from 2,5000+ participants including 62 percent Vive users and 32 percent non-Vive users, according to the company. Keep in mind, therefore, that many of the findings will be Vive specific.

There are over a dozen reported findings here but lets focus on the most interestingfirst. The report can be accessed here. The first thing that should catch most peoples eye are the findings concerning VRs gender disparity. According to this study, 95 percent of Vive users and 87 percent of non-Vive VR users were male.

Both Vive and non-Vive user groups show male users to be the dominant number, with potential for female VR users remaininglargely untapped, the report states.

A second notable result from this survey has to do with how many hours VR users are spending inside their headsets. According to the survey, Vive users on the consumer level are spending around 5 hours in VR per week andthose on the enterprise level are spending around 12.

Consumers are apparently gobbling up content very quickly as well. According to the survey, 60 percent of Vive users download between eight and twenty four VR experiences every month.

What do you think of these figures? Do they surprise you? Let us know in the comments below!

Tagged with: data, gender, htc, results, survey, Time, Vive

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Report: Vive Users Are 95 Percent Male And Spend 5 Hours Per Week in VR - UploadVR

Is Your Hosting Provider Secure? 5 Things to Watch Out For – The Merkle

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The internet faces a big challenge when it comes to security. The world wide web rests at the heart of nearly everything we do in the digital age, yet that has only served to encourage cyber criminals to find ways to exploit this and get their hands on the valuable data we give away online. By 2019 its predicted that the global cost of cyber attacks will be $2.1 trillion.

So, with the problem growing, its vital that you do all you can to protect yourself and your interests online. That means protecting the website you run for you and your business. This doesnt need to be a lonely battle, though. Your website is nothing if its not hosted, and the choosing the right hosting company can not only ensure that your website can be accessed by customers but that it is safe too.But how do you choose the right hosting company that can look after security and performance? Here are five things to watch out for:

Cyber criminals are likely to be keen to get their mitts on your data, and if they can do this by intercepting the files you upload to your hosting account, they will. Many people upload files to their hosting account with file transfer protocol (FTP). You could therefore look for a provider that uses a secure file transfer protocol (SFTP) to add a layer of protection to this practice.

A secure sockets layer or SSL is a type of technology that establishes an encrypted link between a server and a browser. Essentially, its a way of protecting the data that passes between the two, ensuring that it stays private. If your website is one that needs to capture customer data (for example, you may have an e-commerce element to your website), an SSL will help to keep information secure. If you are using an SSL certificate, youll see a locked padlock in the address bar and your address will start with https:// instead of http://.

If a disaster strikes, you need to be able to bounce back quickly. That means having all of your information backed up. Clearly, youll want to back all of your data up for yourself but your host can help with this too if they have their own backup procedure.

If you have an issue, you need to know youll be able to solve it. The best web hosting companies are on hand to step in the moment you need them. Firms such as WestHost offer round-the-clock support and employ a team of experts who bring the benefit of their wisdom to your web presence.

If your website was a physical building, you might pay for a security guard to patrol the premises and keep an eye out for anything that might be awry. SiteLock is the virtual equivalent of this providing daily scans of your site for security issues and things such as malware. If you find a hosting company that can add this for you, youll even be able to display the SiteLock Secure Seal on your website to offer peace of mind to visitors.

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Is Your Hosting Provider Secure? 5 Things to Watch Out For - The Merkle