Knee arthritis; 2 years after stem cell therapy by Harry Adelson, N.D.
Patricia describes her outcome two years after bone marrow and adipose stem cell therapy for her arthritic knee by Harry Adelson, N.D. http://www.docereclinics.com.
By: Harry Adelson, N.D.
Originally posted here:
Knee arthritis; 2 years after stem cell therapy by Harry Adelson, N.D. - Video
knowledge center home stem cell research all about stem cells what are stem cells?
Stem cells are a class of undifferentiated cells that are able to differentiate into specialized cell types. Commonly, stem cells come from two main sources:
Both types are generally characterized by their potency, or potential to differentiate into different cell types (such as skin, muscle, bone, etc.).
Adult or somatic stem cells exist throughout the body after embryonic development and are found inside of different types of tissue. These stem cells have been found in tissues such as the brain, bone marrow, blood, blood vessels, skeletal muscles, skin, and the liver. They remain in a quiescent or non-dividing state for years until activated by disease or tissue injury.
Adult stem cells can divide or self-renew indefinitely, enabling them to generate a range of cell types from the originating organ or even regenerate the entire original organ. It is generally thought that adult stem cells are limited in their ability to differentiate based on their tissue of origin, but there is some evidence to suggest that they can differentiate to become other cell types.
Embryonic stem cells are derived from a four- or five-day-old human embryo that is in the blastocyst phase of development. The embryos are usually extras that have been created in IVF (in vitro fertilization) clinics where several eggs are fertilized in a test tube, but only one is implanted into a woman.
Sexual reproduction begins when a male's sperm fertilizes a female's ovum (egg) to form a single cell called a zygote. The single zygote cell then begins a series of divisions, forming 2, 4, 8, 16 cells, etc. After four to six days - before implantation in the uterus - this mass of cells is called a blastocyst. The blastocyst consists of an inner cell mass (embryoblast) and an outer cell mass (trophoblast). The outer cell mass becomes part of the placenta, and the inner cell mass is the group of cells that will differentiate to become all the structures of an adult organism. This latter mass is the source of embryonic stem cells - totipotent cells (cells with total potential to develop into any cell in the body).
In a normal pregnancy, the blastocyst stage continues until implantation of the embryo in the uterus, at which point the embryo is referred to as a fetus. This usually occurs by the end of the 10th week of gestation after all major organs of the body have been created.
However, when extracting embryonic stem cells, the blastocyst stage signals when to isolate stem cells by placing the "inner cell mass" of the blastocyst into a culture dish containing a nutrient-rich broth. Lacking the necessary stimulation to differentiate, they begin to divide and replicate while maintaining their ability to become any cell type in the human body. Eventually, these undifferentiated cells can be stimulated to create specialized cells.
Stem cells are either extracted from adult tissue or from a dividing zygote in a culture dish. Once extracted, scientists place the cells in a controlled culture that prohibits them from further specializing or differentiating but usually allows them to divide and replicate. The process of growing large numbers of embryonic stem cells has been easier than growing large numbers of adult stem cells, but progress is being made for both cell types.
Continued here:
Spirituality and Religion: Similarities
http://www.concordwumc.org Wesley United Methodist Church, Concord, NH Rev. Peter Hey I Samuel 2:22-26 Spiritual but not religious is a fast growing portion of ou...
By: Concord Wesley UMC (NH)
See the rest here:
Including Spirituality in Assessment, Evaluation, and Person Centered Planning
The National Collaborative on Faith and Disability 2015 Webinar Series presents... Honoring Spiritual Needs and Gifts: From Inertia to Collaborative Action b...
By: VanderbiltKenndyCntr
Originally posted here:
Including Spirituality in Assessment, Evaluation, and Person Centered Planning - Video
I AM writing my columns under the motto The living Spirit. We believe that the Spirit of God is alive in our daily life. Whatever your religion is, as long as you believe in one God who created the world and all living beings, Gods Spirit is present in our daily realities.
Spirituality in public life is important because it makes us aware of the presence of Gods Spirit. According to some research studies the spiritual has been marginalized or even lost in debates between religion and aggressive secularism. There is no dichotomy between being spiritual and being religious. We need the spiritual to play a greater role in the public realm because it highlights the importance of connecting personal and social and political transformation.
Within organizations of all kinds, the spiritual deepens our vision or intrinsic motivation and gives structure and texture to human development and maturation. In our economy there is, for instance, the magic of economic growth. Spirituality helps us to see through the magic and see that economic growth is needed for the welfare of all people, the poor and the rich.
Other areas of concern are nursing, education and social and environmental activism. There are four basic human realities: 1) love with the promise of belonging, 2) death with the awareness of being, 3) our self on the path of becoming and transcendence and 4) our soul with the sense of beyondness.
I have here several quotations from spiritual people which are worth reflecting on:
An OND sister, Susan Bolano said: My spirituality strengthens the best and the beautiful in me so I could offer the best and the beautiful in me to other people.
My Carmelite confrere, Kees Waayman said: The core of the study of spirituality is: the God-Human process of transformation.
Stephan Bevans, a theologian said: Spirituality is like a reservoir from which a person or a community can draw to motivate action, to bolster commitment and avoid discouragement when times get rough.
Julio X. Labayen, the Carmelite Bishop of Infanta, Quezon once said: Spirituality calls our attention to the reality of the human spirit. The human spirit is that part in us, the capacity in us, to make us go beyond ourselves.
Dave Albano, an old friend of mine during the martial law years said: All poetry is spirituality.
Original post:
International Space Station (ISS): 1/28/15 Early AM
Here is a quick video of the International Space Station (ISS) passing overhead the NWS Jackson office on January 28, 2015, around 520am. -------------------...
By: NWSJacksonMiss
Excerpt from:
February is National African American History Month (HL02)
All Hands Update February 2, 2015 #1 February is National African American History Month; NASA Sailor Calls USS Theodore Roosevelt from International Space Station.
By: U.S. Navy
Read more from the original source:
February is National African American History Month (HL02) - Video
ATV-1 reentry
Europe #39;s space freighter ATV Jules Verne burning up over an uninhabited area of the Pacific Ocean at the end of its mission. ATV Jules Verne was the first of ESA #39;s Automated Transfer...
By: European Space Agency, ESA
Continue reading here:
Astronaut Barry Wilmore delivers a special message to USS Theodore Roosevelt
EARTH #39;s ORBIT (Jan. 26, 2015) NASA Astronaut and Navy Captain Barry Wilmore delivers a special message to the crew aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). Wilmore also provided a guided ...
By: U.S. Navy
View original post here:
Astronaut Barry Wilmore delivers a special message to USS Theodore Roosevelt - Video
The Heat discusses growth in space exploration
Space exploration has seen a resurgence of sorts with more countries and more planned missions to Pluto, Mars, Jupiter and beyond. In 1961, then U.S. President John F. Kennedy announced an...
By: CCTV America
Excerpt from:
Roblox PB Space Station
In Space!!! :D.
By: Innovator Inc
Originally posted here:
Drastic reductions in Arctic sea ice in the last decade may be intensifying the chemical release of bromine into the atmosphere, resulting in ground-level ozone depletion and the deposit of toxic mercury in the Arctic, according to a new NASA-led study.
The connection between changes in the Arctic Ocean's ice cover and bromine chemical processes is determined by the interaction between the salt in sea ice, frigid temperatures and sunlight. When these mix, the salty ice releases bromine into the air and starts a cascade of chemical reactions called a "bromine explosion." These reactions rapidly create more molecules of bromine monoxide in the atmosphere. Bromine then reacts with a gaseous form of mercury, turning it into a pollutant that falls to Earth's surface.
Bromine also can remove ozone from the lowest layer of the atmosphere, the troposphere. Despite ozone's beneficial role blocking harmful radiation in the stratosphere, ozone is a pollutant in the ground-level troposphere.
A team from the United States, Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom, led by Son Nghiem of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., produced the study, which has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Geophysical Research- Atmospheres. The team combined data from six NASA, European Space Agency and Canadian Space Agency satellites; field observations and a model of how air moves in the atmosphere to link Arctic sea ice changes to bromine explosions over the Beaufort Sea, extending to the Amundsen Gulf in the Canadian Arctic.
"Shrinking summer sea ice has drawn much attention to exploiting Arctic resources and improving maritime trading routes," Nghiem said. "But the change in sea ice composition also has impacts on the environment. Changing conditions in the Arctic might increase bromine explosions in the future."
The study was undertaken to better understand the fundamental nature of bromine explosions, which first were observed in the Canadian Arctic more than two decades ago. The team of scientists wanted to find if the explosions occur in the troposphere or higher in the stratosphere.
Nghiem's team used the topography of mountain ranges in Alaska and Canada as a "ruler" to measure the altitude at which the explosions took place. In the spring of 2008, satellites detected increased concentrations of bromine, which were associated with a decrease of gaseous mercury and ozone. After the researchers verified the satellite observations with field measurements, they used an atmospheric model to study how the wind transported the bromine plumes across the Arctic.
The model, together with satellite observations, showed the Alaskan Brooks Range and the Canadian Richardson and Mackenzie mountains stopped bromine from moving into Alaska's interior. Since most of these mountains are lower than 6,560 feet (2,000 meters), the researchers determined the bromine explosion was confined to the lower troposphere.
"If the bromine explosion had been in the stratosphere, 5 miles [8 kilometers] or higher above the ground, the mountains would not have been able to stop it and the bromine would have been transported inland," Nghiem said.
After the researchers found that bromine explosions occur in the lowest level of the atmosphere, they could relate their origin to sources on the surface. Their model, tracing air rising from the salty ice, tied the bromine releases to recent changes in Arctic sea ice that have led to a much saltier sea ice surface.
Continue reading here:
Mir Mir on 9 February 1998 as seen from the departing Space ShuttleEndeavour during STS-89 Mir insignia Station statistics COSPAR ID 1986-017A Call sign Mir Crew 3 Launch 20 February 1986 23 April 1996 Launch pad LC-200/39, and LC-81/23, Baikonur Cosmodrome LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center Reentry 23 March 2001 05:59 UTC Mass 129,700 kg (285,940 lbs) Length 19m (62.3ft) from the core module to Kvant-1 Width 31m (101.7ft) from Priroda to the docking module Height 27.5m (90.2ft) from Kvant-2 to Spektr Pressurised volume 350 m Atmospheric pressure c.101.3kPa (29.91inHg, 1 atm) Perigee 354km (189nmi) AMSL Apogee 374km (216nmi) AMSL Orbital inclination 51.6 degrees Average speed 7,700m/s (27,700km/h, 17,200mph) Orbital period 91.9 minutes Orbits per day 15.7 Days in orbit 5,519 days Days occupied 4,592 days Number of orbits 86,331 Statistics as of 23 March 2001 (unless noted otherwise) References: [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] Configuration Station elements as of May 1996.
Mir (Russian: , IPA:[mir]; lit.Peace or World) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, owned by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. Mir was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986to1996. It had a greater mass than that of any previous spacecraft. Until 21 March 2001 it was the largest satellite in orbit, succeeded by the International Space Station after Mir's orbit decayed. The station served as a microgravity research laboratory in which crews conducted experiments in biology, human biology, physics, astronomy, meteorology and spacecraft systems with a goal of developing technologies required for permanent occupation of space.
Mir was the first continuously inhabited long-term research station in orbit and set the record for the longest continuous human presence in space at 3,644 days until 23 October 2010 when it was surpassed by the ISS.[13] It holds the record for the longest single human spaceflight, with Valeri Polyakov spending 437 days and 18 hours on the station between 1994 and 1995. Mir was occupied for a total of twelve and a half years out of its fifteen-year lifespan, having the capacity to support a resident crew of three, or larger crews for short term visits.
Following the success of the Salyut programme, Mir represented the next stage in the Soviet Union's space station programme. The first module of the station, known as the core module or base block, was launched in 1986, and followed by six further modules. Proton rockets were used to launch all of its components except for the docking module, which was installed by space shuttle mission STS-74 in 1995. When complete, the station consisted of seven pressurised modules and several unpressurised components. Power was provided by several photovoltaic arrays attached directly to the modules. The station was maintained at an orbit between 296km (184mi) and 421km (262mi) altitude and traveled at an average speed of 27,700km/h (17,200mph), completing 15.7 orbits per day.[6][7][8]
The station was launched as part of the Soviet Union's manned spaceflight programme effort to maintain a long-term research outpost in space, and, following the collapse of the USSR, was operated by the new Russian Federal Space Agency (RKA). As a result, the vast majority of the station's crew were Russian; however, through international collaborations such as the Intercosmos, Euromir and Shuttle-Mir programmes, the station was made accessible to astronauts from North America, several European nations and Japan. Mir was deorbited in March 2001 because of a lack of funding. The cost of the Mir programme was estimated by former RKA General Director Yuri Koptev in 2001 as $4.2 billion over its lifetime (including development, assembly and orbital operation).[14]
Mir was authorised in a decree made on 17 February 1976 to design an improved model of the Salyut DOS-17K space stations. Four Salyut space stations had already been launched since 1971, with three more being launched during Mir's development. It was planned that the station's core module (DOS-7 and the backup DOS-8) would be equipped with a total of four docking ports; two at either end of the station as with the Salyut stations, and an additional two ports on either side of a docking sphere at the front of the station to enable further modules to expand the station's capabilities. By August 1978, this had evolved to the final configuration of one aft port and five ports in a spherical compartment at the forward end of the station.[15]
It was originally planned that the ports would connect to 7.5 tonne modules derived from the Soyuz spacecraft. These modules would have used a Soyuz propulsion module, as in Soyuz and Progress, and the descent and orbital modules would have been replaced with a long laboratory module.[15] However, following a February 1979 governmental resolution, the programme was consolidated with Vladimir Chelomei's manned Almaz military space station programme. The docking ports were reinforced to accommodate 20tonne (22short tons) space station modules based on the TKS spacecraft. NPO Energia was responsible for the overall space station, with work subcontracted to KB Salyut, due to ongoing work on the Energia rocket and Salyut 7, Soyuz-T, and Progress spacecraft. KB Salyut began work in 1979, and drawings were released in 1982 and 1983. New systems incorporated into the station included the Salyut 5B digital flight control computer and gyrodyne flywheels (taken from Almaz), Kurs automatic rendezvous system, Luch satellite communications system, Elektron oxygen generators, and Vozdukh carbon dioxide scrubbers.[15]
By early 1984, work on Mir had ground to a halt while all resources were being put into the Buran programme in order to prepare the Buran spacecraft for flight testing. Funding resumed in early 1984 when Valentin Glushko was ordered by the Central Committee's Secretary for Space and Defence to orbit Mir by early 1986, in time for the 27th Communist Party Congress.[15]
It was clear that the planned processing flow could not be followed and still meet the 1986 launch date. It was decided on Cosmonaut's Day (12 April) 1985 to ship the flight model of the base block to the Baikonur cosmodrome and conduct the systems testing and integration there. The module arrived at the launch site on 6 May, with 1100 of 2500 cables requiring rework based on the results of tests to the ground test model at Khrunichev. In October, the base block was rolled outside its cleanroom to carry out communications tests. The first launch attempt on 16 February 1986 was scrubbed when the spacecraft communications failed, but the second launch attempt, on 19 February 1986 at 21:28:23 UTC, was successful, meeting the political deadline.[15]
The orbital assembly of Mir began in February 1986 with the launch of the core module on a Proton-K rocket. Four of the six modules which were later added (Kvant-2 in 1989, Kristall in 1990, Spektr in 1995 and Priroda in 1996) followed the same sequence to add themselves to the main Mir complex. Firstly, the module would be launched independently on its own Proton-K and chase the station automatically. It would then dock to the forward docking port on the core module's docking node, then extend its Lyappa arm to mate with a fixture on the node's exterior. The arm would then lift the module away from the forward docking port and rotate it on to the radial port that the module was to mate with, before lowering it down to dock. The node was equipped with only two Konus drogues, however, which were required for dockings. This meant that, prior to the arrival of each new module, the node would have to be depressurised to allow spacewalking cosmonauts to manually relocate the drogue to the next port to be occupied.[6][17]
More here:
One may think that participation with the International Space Station would be restricted to an exclusive club of high ranking officials and agencies. In actuality, students, teachers and commercial companies have also been taking advantage of the station's unique environment for years. One of those commercial companies, Houston-based Odyssey Space Research, plans to bring the experience to the rest of us via our mobile devices!
International Space Station National Laboratory partner NanoRacks LLC has a collaboration with Odyssey and Apple. This relationship enabled Odyssey to send two iPhone 4's to the space station as part of the STS-135 mission on July 8, 2011. These phones are just like the ones you can find at the store, but with certain alterations to meet NASA flight certification standards. It took less than a year to make the necessary changes and launch the devices to the station.
The iPhone 4 was selected for its mix of features, according to Odyssey CEO Brian Rishikof. "It had a three-axis gyro, and accelerometer, a high resolution camera and screen, and the means to manipulate the image. We had done some projects in the past that used all those features, but of course it was big, dedicated equipment and suddenly here it is in this small little package," said Rishikof.
The smartphones use the same software as their Earth counterparts and Odyssey used standard tools to develop a new app called SpaceLab for iOS, which will enable the planned research aboard the station. The app is also available for people to download to their own devices.
These devices are part of an investigation called NanoRacks Smartphone, which looks at how the phones will operate in space. The hope is to use the compact hardware in future research studies and to augment crew performance and productivity in operational activities. Currently there are four separate experiments that will run on the smartphones via SpaceLab for iOS.
The first study is Limb Tracker, a navigation experiment using photos of the Earth and image overlay manipulation to match the horizon to an arc to give an estimate of altitude and off-axis angles. Next is the Sensor Calibration or Sensor Cal experiment, which uses reference photos and the three-axis gyro and accelerometer for calibration to improve measurement accuracy. The State Acquisition or State Acq experiment also uses photos, but this time to estimate spacecraft orbital parameters. After the first three investigations are complete, the Lifecycle Flight Instrumentation or LFI experiment will operate to track the impact of radiation on the phones. To do this, the devices will monitor radiation-induced single bit upsets, which are unintended changes in memory location values.
One of the other goals in sending the phones to the space station is to engage the public. The SpaceLab for iOS app for users on the ground is identical to the software that was downloaded onto the space devices prior to launch.
According to Rishikof, there is a setting in the application that indicates if the equipment is in microgravity or not. The software operates differently to accommodate the presence of gravity. "There are 200 million devices that run the operating system and could potentially run the application," said Rishikof. "Which means there are 200 million users out there that could get a sense of what it does; a sense of what an experiment in space might look like; a sense of participation."
The investigation is planned to run on the space station in the fall of 2011. The phones are not intended to have the same leisure appeal as they do on Earth, however, given the lack of iTunes, games and Internet or roaming connectivity. "People have asked me if we were loading games on the phones for the crew. No, we did not want them to be distracted, though certainly it would have been fun!" said Rishikof.
Once the investigation completes, the smartphones will return to Earth at the next opportunity. Scientists will then analyze the stored data to better understand how the devices can be used for future research on the space station and how the phones react to the space environment.
Originally posted here:
Feb 06, 2015 ATV-5 firing its thrusters on Station approach in 2014.Credit: Roscosmos-O. Artemyev
Next Monday, ESA astronaut Samantha Christoforetti will float into Europe's space ferry to install a special infrared camera, set to capture unique interior views of the spacecraft's break-up on reentry.
"The battery-powered camera will be trained on the Automated Transfer Vehicle's forward hatch, and will record the shifting temperatures of the scene before it," explains Neil Murray, overseeing the project for ESA.
"Recording at 10 frames per second, it should show us the last 10 seconds or so of the ATV. We don't know exactly what we might see might there be gradual deformations appearing as the spacecraft comes under strain, or will everything come apart extremely quickly?
"Our Break-Up Camera, or BUC, flying for the first time on this mission, will complement NASA's Reentry Break-up Recorder.
"Whatever results we get back will be shared by our teams, and should tell us a lot about the eventual reentry of the International Space Station as well as spacecraft reentry in general."
Every mission of ESA's ATV ferry ends in the same way filled with Space Station rubbish then burning up in the atmosphere, aiming at a designated 'spacecraft graveyard' in an empty stretch of the South Pacific.
But the reentry of this fifth and final ATV is something special. NASA and ESA are treating it as an opportunity to gather detailed information that will help future spacecraft reentries.
Accordingly, ATV-5 will be steered into a shallow descent compared to the standard deorbit path.
This ATV's fiery demise will be tracked with a battery of cameras and imagers, on the ground, in the air and even from the Station itself, and this time on the vehicle itself.
Originally posted here:
Washington, D.C. Members of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee today announced details of the NASA Authorization Act of 2015, legislation intended to reaffirm Congress's commitment to NASA as a multi mission agency with programs in science, aeronautics, exploration, and human spaceflight, and make clear that Mars should be NASA's primary goal. The bill will be introduced in the House the week of February 9th. Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) was joined by Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), Space Subcommittee Chairman Steven Palazzo (R-Miss.), Space Subcommittee Ranking Member Donna Edwards (D-Md.), and Space Subcommittee Vice-Chair Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) in praising the bipartisan bill.
Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas): "For more than 50 years, NASA has made the impossible possible and taken humankind to places we never before dreamed we would go. NASA is the only agency that exists to support our nation's space exploration and advancement. In Congress, we have the responsibility of ensuring that NASA has the resources and direction it needs to continue its mission for the next 50 years.
"The NASA Authorization Act of 2015 maintains sustainability of purpose and budget for NASA's programs. It balances our long-term goal of sending humans to Mars and the furthest reaches of our solar system, with the immediate needs of providing access for our astronauts to the International Space Station. It ensures NASA remains the world's premiere space agency.
"In the last Congress, this bill was approved unanimously by the House Science Committee and passed in the House by a vote of 401-2. The strong support this bill has enjoyed reflects the American public's strong interest in our nation's space endeavors. Next week, the House will have an opportunity to once more reaffirm its commitment to our nation's space programs."
The NASA Authorization Act of 2015 authorizes funding consistent with the Consolidated and Further Appropriations Act of 2015. The bill continues the consistent guidance Congress has given to NASA for nearly a decade by reaffirming a stepping stone approach to exploration. The bill focuses NASA's efforts to develop a capability to access the International Space Station so that America can once again launch American astronauts on American rockets from American soil. It also increases support for the Space Launch System and the Orion Crew Vehicle systems being developed to take astronauts to deep-space destinations like Mars in an attempt to keep the programs on schedule for a 2017 launch date.
Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas): "Building on previous NASA Authorization Acts, this bipartisan legislation affirms NASA's responsibility to be a multi-mission agency, one that includes productive programs in science, aeronautics, human spaceflight and human exploration. NASA is a crown jewel of our nation's R&D enterprise. NASA's space and aeronautics programs advance our technological competence and scientific understanding, challenge our industries and workforces in ways that promote their global competitiveness, and inspire the next generation to dream big and gain the skills to turn those dreams into action. That last point cannot be overstated, our children are our future science and technology workforce. They need to be prepared. This NASA bill is the product of intense bipartisan collaboration over the past year, and I am proud to be a cosponsor."
Space Subcommittee Chairman Steven Palazzo (R-Miss.): "I am pleased that the House will take up and consider a widely-supported, bipartisan NASA Reauthorization bill so early in this year's session. It shows that once again the House is willing to lead on sustaining our nation's space program. Congress has once again demonstrated support for SLS and Orion. While last year's bill, like so many other pieces of legislation, died in the Senate, I look forward to working with Chairman Ted Cruz and Senate leadership to get this year's version over the finish line. It's time we finally returned to being able to launch American astronauts on American rockets from American soil."
Space Subcommittee Ranking Member Donna Edwards (D-Md.): "NASA continues to inspire and is a testament to the innovative American spirit. This bipartisan legislation, crafted during the last Congress and passed overwhelmingly by the House, has been updated and provides NASA with important, timely policy direction to carry out its missions in aeronautics, science, and human exploration. This legislation sets the long-term goal for NASA's human exploration program of sending humans to the surface of Mars and directs NASA to provide a Human Exploration Roadmap outlining the capabilities and milestones required to achieve the goal. NASA needs this direction now to provide the stability that will enable maximum progress on its programs. I want to thank Subcommittee Chairman Palazzo, Chairman Smith, and Ranking Member Johnson for building on this bipartisan effort as we develop a comprehensive, multi-year authorization for NASA to sustain its important missions over the coming years."
Space Subcommittee Vice-Chair Mo Brooks (R-Ala.): "I'm proud to join my colleagues in a bipartisan manner to introduce the NASA Authorization Act of 2015, which is critical for the continued development and operations of America's space program. This bill is another step forward for NASA, strongly supporting human space exploration and groundbreaking scientific missions and research, while promoting our nation's leadership in space. I look forward to working with Chairman Smith and Space Subcommittee Chairman Palazzo as this bill proceeds to the House floor and enactment."
Continue reading here:
House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Leaders Announce Bipartisan NASA Bill
NASA Television will provide live coverage of the departure and the arrival of two cargo spacecraft at the International Space Station (ISS) this month. The European Space Agencys (ESA) fifth and final Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV-5) cargo craft will departure the station on Saturday, Feb. 14. Launch and docking of a Russian Progress resupply spacecraft will follow on Tuesday, Feb. 17.
NASA TV coverage of the ATV undocking will begin at 8:15 a.m. EST on Feb. 14. The George Lemaitre ATV-5, which arrived at the orbital laboratory last August, will undock from the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module at 8:41 a.m. After it undocks, the Georges Lemaitre will move to a safe distance from the station where it will stay for 13 days until it is deorbited on Friday, Feb. 27.
Georges Lemaitre is the fifth and final spacecraft in the series of European supply vehicles that began servicing the station in the spring of 2008. In all, the ATVs delivered approximately 34 tons of supplies to the complex while docked to the station for 776 days. The ships reentry into the atmosphere over the South Pacific Ocean will be documented by the Expedition 42 crew on board the station as well as NASA, ESA and other agencies around the world to gather detailed information on the mechanics of the breakup of a spacecraft reentering the Earths atmosphere.
NASA TV coverage of the ISS Progress 58 spacecraft launch will begin at 5:45 a.m. on Feb. 17. Docking coverage will begin at 11:30 a.m. The Progress will launch at 6 a.m. (5 p.m. Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with almost three tons of food, fuel and supplies for the station's Expedition 42 crew. Progress 58 will make its four-orbit, six-hour trip to the space station and dock at about noon.
For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, visit:
For more information about the International Space Station, and its crews and research, visit:
Link:
NASA TV Coverage Set For Partner Space Station Cargo Spacecraft Activities
SpaceX plans to try again Sunday night to land its used rocket on an unmanned barge in the Atlantic Ocean after launching it into space, an experiment seen as a big step toward making space launches dramatically less expensive.
The company is scheduled to launch its Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 6:10 p.m., to carry a space-weather monitoring satellite into space.
The satellite, called the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) will help NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Air Force better monitor events such as geomagnetic storms caused by changes in the Sun's wind.
Minutes after the rocket's launch, SpaceX will attempt to land its next big dream, with ramifications for the space industry worldwide. At stake is SpaceX's plan to make its rockets reusable, which would revolutionize launches and reduce costs.
"I don't think it's too strong to say it really is a game-changing event," said Eric Stallmer, president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. "I think it's going to have a huge impact on the industry from a cost perspective."
If SpaceX succeeds, Stallmer and others in the industry think a price-driven space competition could spur a new boom in private and government satellite launches. Worldwide, virtually all rockets are used only once, and the rockets themselves are by far the largest factor in launch costs.
SpaceX has been coy about what it expects to save. But industry observers note that the company now charges $61 million for most launches, which already is the industry's lowest rate, and say the company might be able to get that bill to less than $10 million.
Others, however, suggest the actual savings of recycling rockets might not be great because the rockets could need significant overhauls before reuse.
"I've heard a wild range of numbers [for savings] from nothing to an order of magnitude of 10," Stallmer said.
Roger Handberg, a University of Central Florida political science professor who specializes in space policy, noted that NASA and the United Launch Alliance were able to retrieve and reuse portions of the space shuttles' solid rocket boosters, but found little if any savings in doing so. Those boosters, however, landed in the water and were retrieved and towed back to land.
View original post here:
Moon Express has successfully tested acommercial lunar lander in flights at the Kennedy Space Center. MoonEx says it will continue flight tests using the newest version of its lunar lander test vehicle later this month.
The "MTV-1A" vehicle is an advanced version of the MTV-1X lander test vehicle that successfully completed a series of initial flights in December, earning the company a $1 million award from the Google Lunar XPRIZE. The MTV-1A vehicle utilizes flight software and a number of flight hardware components that will further demonstrate core features of the vehicle's innovative propulsion and avionics systems, paving the way for the company's goal of developing the world's first private spacecraft capable of landing on the Moon. The tests are being conducted at the Kennedy Space Center "Moonscape" test range located at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF).
On December 15th, 2014, NASA announced Moon Express as the first commercial user of Kennedy's SLF for vehicle flight-testing, citing it as a cornerstone moment in the transformation of the center to becoming a multi-user spaceport. NASA posted an update on January 27th, congratulating Moon Express for the successful initial flight tests.
The Moon Express team shared facilities and coordinated range operations with the NASA Morpheus lander test vehicle, built and operated by the NASA Johnson Space Center, which also had a successful flight test series. Moon Express is one of NASA's three private sector partners competitively selected under its Lunar CATALYST program designed to spur commercial cargo transportation capabilities to the surface of the Moon.
"We congratulate Moon Express on the successful flight tests of their innovative lunar lander test vehicle," said Jason Adam, NASA's Moon Express Partner Manager under Lunar CATALYST. "Moon Express is the first private company to build and operate a lander test vehicle at the Kennedy Space Center, and we look forward to working with them as they develop new U.S. capabilities to land on the Moon."
Through an increasingly complex series of tests following vehicle integration, the Moon Express "MTV-1X" proved out its fundamental guidance, navigation, and control systems. Moon Express has published a highlights video of the initial flight test campaign. The successor MTV-1A lunar lander vehicle is currently being readied by Moon Express engineers at the Moon Express SLF hangar for the next series of flight tests.
"NASA has been a remarkably helpful and proactive partner supporting our goals," said Bob Richards, Moon Express co-founder and CEO. "The NASA Lunar CATALYST team is outstanding and our direct collaborations with Ames Research Center, Kennedy Space Center & Marshall Space Flight Center are providing us additional access to key resources that will help us reach the Moon."
Later this year Moon Express will expand its lunar lander development and test flight operations to Cape Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 36 through an agreement with Space Florida, announced earlier this year. The company seeks to become the first private company to reach the Moon with an inaugural mission in late 2016. The company's first MX-1 lunar mission will carry a number of scientific instruments and other payloads to the Moon, attempt to win the $30M Google Lunar XPRIZE, and be followed by an ongoing series of robotic missions supporting commercial and government customers and in search of valuable resources.
Read the rest here:
A fresh start on a floating city could be just a few years away
For five years, The Seasteading Institute has been conducting research into the potential for permanent, innovative communities floating at sea.We are now able to apply this foundation of knowledge and our network towards an actual design, along with additional efforts to determine specific needs and desires of potential customers, and to select a practical location for what could become the worlds first city at sea.
The Floating City Project combines principles of both seasteading and startup cities, by seeking to locate a floating city within the territorial waters of an existing nation. Historically, The Seasteading Institute haslookedto international waters for thefreedom to establish new nations and spurcompetitivegovernance from the outside. However, there are several reasons we are now seeking a host nation: a) It is less expensive to engineer a seastead for relatively calm, shallow waters compared with the open ocean outside of territorial waters; b) it will be easier for residents to travel to and from the seastead, as well as to acquire goods and services from existing supply chains; and c) a host nation will provide a place for a floating city within the existing international legal framework, with the associated protections and responsibilities.
The Floating City Project Report
The first floating city with significant political autonomy may be established by 2020. The key findings of Floating City Project report are:
Go here to see the original: