Space Station Live: Cyclops Hits the Target
NASA TV commentator Kyle Herring talks with Daniel Newswander, NASA #39;s Cyclops Project Manager, about the inaugural use of the Cyclops small satellite launcher, which successfully deployed...
By: ReelNASA
Read this article:
NASAs Parallel Path to Human Space Exploration
America #39;s human space exploration goals for the 21st Century include destinations both in low-Earth orbit to the International Space Station and deep space missions to an asteroid and even...
By: NASAKennedy
Read more from the original source:
C6 simulator is like nothing you #39;ve ever seen
A room at Iowa State University can transport you inside a house fire, active shooter situation or a fire in the International Space Station. Subscribe to KCCI on YouTube now for more: http://bit.l...
By: KCCI
Here is the original post:
Alien Isolation (Episode 2) What the hell happened here
And here we continue our journey on the Space station Sevastopol, which is obviously falling apart! Alien Isolation - Episode 2 - What the hell happened here.
By: Tanjeria
See the original post here:
Alien Isolation (Episode 2) What the hell happened here - Video
China continues to ramp up its space activities, which include a new launch complex, more powerful boosters and the construction of a large space station, as well as plans for complex robotic missions to the moon and Mars.
For example, China's "little fly" spacecraft looped around the moon and returned to Earth Nov. 1 (Beijing time) after eight days of flight, parachuting safely down in northern China's Inner Mongolia.
The capsule used seven kinds of thermal protection materials, returning data that will be applied to China's Chang'e 5 robotic lunar sample return mission, which is slated to launch in 2017 from the new Wenchang Satellite Launch Center. [Greatest Moon Missions of All Time]
In the human spaceflight arena, China's manned space agency is readying the Tiangong 2 space lab for liftoff around 2016, which will be followed by the crewed Shenzhou 11 spacecraft and a Tianzhou cargo vessel that will rendezvous with the lab.
Chinese officials expect that the core space station module will be launched around 2018, and the orbiting facility is slated to be completed by about 2022.
All of these plans form a comphrehensive space exploration agenda for the coming years.
Incremental steps
The Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG), an assembly of experts convened by NASA to assist in planning the scientific exploration of the moon, is eyeing China's growing lunar exploration capacity.
"China has had a well developed, focused plan, and they are using incremental steps to lunar exploration," said Jeffrey Plescia, chairman of LEAG. "Each mission has achieved the primary goal orbiters, landing, rovers leading up to sample return and then on to humans."
The objective of the recent test of the lunar sample return capsule was to demonstrate gear that can return from the moon and land safely.
See original here:
Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online
Cosmic radiation from space travel could be less harmful to astronauts than previously believed, data from experiments conducted on board and outside of the International Space Station (ISS) has revealed.
The MATROSHKA experiment, the first comprehensive measurement of long-term exposure of space travelers to cosmic radiation, brought together researchers from the European Space Agency (ESA) and colleagues from other institutions to determine precisely how much radiation astronauts are exposed to during long-term space travel.
The goal was to determine how long astronauts could remain in space without their health being threatened due to exposure to ionizing radiation. To do so, they developed a type of mannequin that was outfitted with several thousand detectors that recorded the doses of cosmic radiation from inside and outside the ISS over the course of several years. The data collected by those sensors has been analyzed, the researchers called the results surprising.
One may say that we found open space to be a bit less hostile to humans than expected. The effective doses, related to the health risk of the astronauts and calculated from measurements with our detectors, were lower than those indicated by dosimeters worn by the astronauts, Dr. Pawe Bilski from the Henryk Niewodniczaski Institute of Nuclear Physics (IFJ PAN), said in a recent statement.
Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov (left) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi, both Expedition 23 flight engineers, work with the European Matroshka-R Phantom experiment in the Kibo laboratory of the International Space Station. Matroshka, the name for the traditional Russian set of nestling dolls, is an antroph-amorphous model of a human torso designed for radiation studies. Credit: NASA
The mannequin, a legless torso described by the researchers as a specially adapted humanoid phantom used in medical research, contained real human bones places inside a plastic shell simulating the shapes and densities of soft tissues and lungs in an astronauts body. It consisted of 33 slices 2.5 cm thickness each, and each of them contained measuring equipment and sets of passive thermoluminescent detectors placed in plastic tubes.
Using a total of six thousand thermoluminescent detectors, the researchers created a three-dimensional rectangular grid of measurement points inside the phantom. The design allowed the authors to accurately determine how much radiation would be absorbed by each of the bodys organs, and to calculate the so-called effective dose, which is considered to be an estimate of the radiation hazard to humans, IFJ PAN explained.
The main hazard to the astronauts health due to exposure to cosmic radiation is the increased probability of developing cancer in his or her body, the institute added. This probability however is quite dependent on the type of radiation the astronaut is exposed to. Most of the natural sources of ionizing radiation on Earth produce electromagnetic radiation of high energy gamma rays. On the other hand, in cosmic rays, energetic protons or heavier ions dominate, which are much more effective in creating cancer cells.
Interior structure of the phantom used in the experiment MATROSHKA. White tubes contain sets of thermoluminescent detectors. Half of these detectors was manufactured by the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Krakw, Poland. Credit: DLR
Read this article:
Cosmic Radiation Less Of A Risk To Astronauts Than Previously Thought
If there are sad faces and tired eyes on the International Space Station this week, it's likely not a caffeine crash but the despair of knowing they're going to have to wait another few months for a freshly brewed cappuccino.
The ISSpresso machine -- a joint effort designed by coffee experts at the Italian manufacturer Lavazzo and engineers from Italian company Argotec -- pushes hot water at high pressure through coffee grounds and a long steel tube. The strongly flavored coffee is squeezed out into a pouch that's then sipped through a straw.
The machine, which will bring espresso-based drinks like lattes and cappuccinos to the space station for the first time, was supposed to arrive along with Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti last week.
But new reports suggest Cristoforetti arrived without the espresso maker; its shipment to ISS has apparently been delayed.
David Avino of Argotec said that, subject to launch openings, the company hopes to get ISSpresso aboard the station in time for Cristoforetti's birthday in April.
It's not yet clear what the reasoning for the delay is, but it would be understandable of space and weight was an issue. The rather large contraption weighs 44 pounds.
When it finally does arrive, astronauts may be able to enjoy their expertly brewed espresso in a more traditional fashion -- out of a cup. Earlier this year, a group of researchers at Portland State University presented a paper (called "The Capillary Fluidics of Espresso") on the possibility of sipping the dark-roasted elixir in a low gravity environment.
"Espresso is distinguished by a complex low density colloid of emulsified oils," researcher wrote. "Due to gravity, these oils rise to the surface forming a foam lid called the crema."
"To some, the texture and aromatics of the crema play a critical role in the overall espresso experience. We show how in the low-g environment this may not be possible," the scientists continued. "We also suggest alternate methods for enjoying espresso aboard spacecraft."
Read more:
Earthrise
Kids take on the first human space flight to the moon.
By: Gideon Bradshaw
Read more:
Day 8 EFT 1 Orion Launch for Dec 4, 2014
Brent Maney, Human Space Flight Contingency Medical Specialist, explains his primary role in the Dec. 4, 2014 launch, as the landing recovery director.
By: 45thSpaceWing
Excerpt from:
Cynthia Simmons Women@NASA 2014
Cynthia Simmons - Instrument Project Manager in the Flight Projects Directorate at Goddard Space Flight Center The Women@NASA project is the perfect opportun...
By: NASA.gov Video
Original post:
NASA Prepares for New Era of Manned Space Flight
As NASA prepares to launch and test a new spacecraft designed to carry humans to Mars, researchers and engineers are busy giving the Kennedy Space Center, a facility that has been at the center...
By: NTDTV
Go here to see the original:
Orion on its launchpad in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Mankind will take its first steps on the path to landing on Mars on Thursday, according to Nasa. The first test flight of the Orion spacecraft, the intended successor to the space shuttle, is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral just after dawn.
The unmanned $370m (235m) mission, formally known as Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1), will last about four and a half hours. The success of this test is crucial for the future of Nasas human spaceflight exploration programme, said Dr David Baker, a former Nasa engineer.
Once in orbit, the conical Orion capsule will circle Earth twice, reaching a maximum altitude of 3,600 miles. At about 15 times higher than the International Space Station, it will have travelled further into space than any crew capsule has gone since the 1970s.
Orion will then plunge into Earths atmosphere at 20,000mph. This will generate temperatures of around 2,200C, which is representative of a re-entry from lunar orbit. A newly designed 16ft-wide heat shield will protect the spacecraft from burning up, allowing it to splash down off the coast of Baja California, in the Pacific, from where it will be recovered by Nasa and the US Navy.
Really this is just a test of the Orion heat shield, said Baker, who worked for Nasa for 25 years, including during the Apollo moon landings.
Beneath the hype and the excitement, there are worries that Nasas Mars programme lacks focus. The Nasa PR machine is good at bigging things up, but I think to say that this is the road to Mars is a bit much, said Ian Crawford, an astronomer and advocate of human spaceflight at Birkbeck, Univeristy of London.
Nasa says it is aiming to carry out a Mars mission in the 2030s, but there are no definite plans at the moment beyond the present one a collaboration with Sesame Street. Items including Ernies rubber ducky, Oscars pet worm, Slimey, and the Cookie Monsters cookie are being taken into space by Orion and will later be displayed on the childrens television show in the hope that they could inspire the next generation of astronauts. Nasa predicts that the first astronauts on Mars will be todays pre-schoolers.
The capsule itself is largely devoid of anything required for a human crew, such as life-support and command consoles. Instead it will be packed with 1,200 sensors to test its durability.
Orion is the first new Nasa spacecraft designed to transport humans into space for a generation. Its predecessor was the space shuttle, retired in 2011 after a 30-year programme during which there were 133 successful flights and two fatal disasters. With the shuttles retirement, Nasa lost its ability to launch astronauts into space. For the last three years it has been forced to buy seats on Russian Soyuz launches.
Read the rest here:
Nasas space shuttle successor Orion set for first test flight
Nothing demonstrates the extreme inertia of space technology more vividly than the Orion space capsule, which NASA has been working on since 2006 and which, as my colleague Chris Davenport reports, will finally have its first test flight Thursday morning if all goes as planned.
The capsule has cost something like $9 billion so far and will cost billions more before it is ever flown with people inside. Orion will be launched this time atop a Delta IV Heavy rocket, one of the jumbo rockets owned by United Launch Alliance (a Boeing-Lockheed partnership that has a virtual monopoly on national security and military launches). This will be a quick flight, lasting just 4 hours, with a couple of spins around the Earth and a top altitude of 3,600 miles before the capsule splashes down into the Pacific Ocean.
Then, in 2018, Orion will have its first test flight atop NASAs new SLS heavy-lift rocket, which is still being built. The key detail about these first two test flights is that no one will be aboard. Finally, circa 2021 or 2022, Orion will have its maiden flight with human beings inside.
You dont need an advanced degree from MIT to grasp that this is a very stately, deliberate program, one free of the sin of haste and the vice of urgency.
Has there ever been a piece of human space hardware developed so slowly?
Or so expensively?
Serious question: Is it not a fact that Orion is the costliest capsule in human history?
Yes, it has lots of bells and whistles that the Apollo capsules lacked. This one has XM/Sirius radio built in, butt-warmers in the seats, four-way adjustable mirrors and Big-Gulp-sized cup-holders. Its got a guest room, a fully stocked bar, a laundry room and 24-hour concierge service. Its a really nice spaceship!
NASA will launch its newest spacecraft, Orion, into space for the first time Thursday, on a flight that will take it farther than any spacecraft built to carry humans has gone in more than 40 years. (NASA)
The great mystery is where it will go. If you have a big rocket (like the SLS) and this new capsule, where should you go?
See more here:
Space Angels Network and the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) announced their agreement today to promote angel investment in projects aboard the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory.
Space Angels Network Principal, Amir Blachman said, This relationship showcases the historic growth of private investment in space. We are excited to have our telescope focused on the ISS, and are honored to work with CASISs team members who are steeped in space flight, space economics and space science.
NASA has given CASIS the responsibility of inspiring the imagination of entrepreneurs and scientists alike, accelerating and facilitating space-based research. CASIS drives scientific inquiry toward developing groundbreaking new technologies and products that tangibly affect our lives, with results including new technologies and scientific knowledge in medicine, materials, and communications.
CASIS is proud to welcome Space Angels Network as a key partner in making investment dollars available to many of the startup companies interested in commercial space, said CASIS Director of Development and Partnerships, Ed Harris. Space Angels Network has a unique focus that allows its investors to understand commercial space trends and opportunities, and we look forward to working alongside them as we both push the limits of what is possible on our Nations only orbiting laboratory.
About Space Angels Network Space Angels Network is a professionally managed global network of seed and earlystage investors focused specifically on aerospace ventures. Space Angels Network members share a common passion for promoting the development of the aerospace industry and related technologies while also earning attractive returns on private investments. For the latest information, follow the companys blog and tweets.
About CASIS The Center for Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) was selected by NASA in 2011 to maximize use of the International Space Station (ISS) U.S. National Laboratory. CASIS is dedicated to supporting and accelerating innovations and new discoveries that will enhance the health and wellbeing of people on our planet. For more information, http://www.iss-casis.org
Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.
Read the original:
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. This week's first-ever test flight of NASA's Orion deep-space capsule is all about the future of America's space effort, but it's also about reviving the past.
"I feel like the Blues Brothers we're getting the band back together," Bob Cabana, director of NASA's Kennedy Space Center, said Wednesday during a news conference at the Orion's Florida launch pad.
The cone-shaped Orion craft is due for liftoff at 7:05 a.m. Thursday, atop a Delta 4 Heavy rocket at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Complex 37. Mission managers said there were no major technical issues standing in the way of an on-time launch.
Forecasters raised the chances of acceptable weather to 70 percent from 60 percent, with the possibility of rain or high winds looming as the only factors that could spoil the launch.
This Orion test vehicle won't be carrying a crew. The flight is meant only to check out the spacecraft's systems for the first time in space particularly its heat shield and parachutes. But a full-featured version of the spaceship is scheduled to send astronauts beyond Earth orbit in 2021, for the first time since the Apollo 17 moonshot in 1972.
NASA plans to use Orion spaceships to send astronauts to an asteroid by the mid-2020s, and to Mars and its moons starting in the 2030s.
"What you will see tomorrow is building upon the legacy of Apollo. ... If we didn't want to go to Mars, then we shouldn't have done Apollo," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden told reporters.
Even this crewless outing known as Exploration Flight Test 1, or EFT-1 carries echoes of Apollo: The 4.5-hour, two-orbit trip will send Orion 3,600 miles out from Earth, the farthest that a spacecraft meant for humans has flown since 1972. And it will splash down in the Pacific Ocean just like NASA's last Apollo spaceship, which returned to Earth at the end of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975.
"It's been close to 40 years since NASA has recovered a human-rated spacecraft from the ocean," said Jeff Angermeier, who manages ground systems development and operations for the EFT-1 mission.
Apollo veterans will be on hand on the recovery ship as well as in Mission Control. Angermeier said Milt Heflin who was onboard the recovery vessels for eight splashdowns during the Apollo and Skylab eras is aboard the USS Anchorage this time around. And Apollo flight director Gene Kranz (famous for "Failure Is Not an Option") will be a VIP guest at NASA's Johnson Space Center.
Read the rest here:
HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF) -
Orion is set to fly farther than any human-rated spacecraft since the Apollo moon program...
An estimated 26,000 guests were expected to jam Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the sunrise launch - many who just have an interest in space exploration and history, others whose connections to the Orion project run deep.
It has taken a lot of hard work to get the rocket ready for flight. About 100 folks at Marshall Space Flight Center had a hand in this mission. Some, like David Osborne, made small parts that made a big impact.
Osborne, 44, is a machinist at MSFC.
"We take something that is pretty basic, a solid material, and when we get finished with it - machining it, drilling it, cutting on it - it is a usable, functional part that will actually bolt some of the parts in the Orion," Osborne explained.
David makes small parts and big parts. He says the lighter the metal the better for space flight. Some parts are made on Apollo era machines like this huge green one ....others are created on lathes and milling machines using computers. David has made a lot of parts, hundreds by his account.
Osborne said the pride he has in his work will be passed down through his family.
"I'll be able to tell my daughter that I actually had a hand in some of what's going into space - now and for the future. I had a hand on it."
David was 2 years old the last time America traveled this far into space - too young to remember that flight. This time, he is packing up his family in New Hope and bringing them down to Cape Canaveral to see Thursday's launch in person.
Original post:
French shoe designer Christian Louboutin poses for photographers as he opens his first-ever retrospective exhibition at the Design Museum in London April 30, 2012. AP Photo/Jonathan Short
From the catwalk to the sidewalk, the name Christian Louboutin has come to define glamorous footwear to women around the world. The iconic designer showed CBS News' Charlie D'Agata the passion and vision behind his shoe empire.
Louboutin has been getting into women's heads and their shoes for the past two decades.
His towering heels have embedded themselves in popular culture - from hip-hop divas in racy videos to strong female characters in TV series, such as "Sex and the City."
Play Video
Christian Louboutin, famous for designing heels with red soles, shares why he thinks there is a sense of "liberation" going on in the domain of s...
"I am sometimes exactly to the same place to the woman in front of the mirror, looking at herself, looking at her a--, and thinking: 'OK, this looks good, let's go for the shoes,'" said Louboutin.
But it all began very small. He opened his first boutique in Paris in 1991. Back then, he dreamed that just maybe, one day, he'd open another shop in New York.
Now, his empire of 93 shops sells almost a million pairs of shoes a year worldwide to women and men.
Growing up in the French capital, he became intoxicated by the glamour of the Moulin Rouge. And at just 16 years old, he went to work for the famed cabaret Folies Bergre, where he began by sewing sequins onto costumes before honing his skills as a cobbler under legendary French shoe designer Charles Jourdan.
See the original post:
The critical areas that could be affected by typhoon Ruby if it continues moving west. INQUIRER.net
MANILA, PhilippinesThe National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council on Wednesday went on red alert status in preparation for Typhoon Hagupit (local name Ruby).
Yes. We have declared red alert today. It means we are [fully manning] our operations center wherein all member agencies have focal persons. We have representatives for full purposes of coordination, said Usec. Alexander Pama, NDRRMC Executive Director in a press briefing.
There are two scenarios for the typhoon: It would either make landfall in Eastern Visayas or recurve towards southern Japan. Based on current forecast models, there is a 75 percent chance of landfall and 25 percent of recurve according to the state weather bureau.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government has boosted its coordination with local government units.
Nagbigay ng kautusan na dapat andun ang local chief executives sa kanilang mga lugar at simulan na ang paghahanda ng disaster reduction machinery, said DILG Usec. Austere Panadero.
Pinag aabiso din sa mga mamamayan lalo na ang mga mangingisda na pumalaot na kung Sabado [ang landfall] starting tomorrow pa lamang huwag na pumalaot, he added.
Nais naming paalalahanan ang kababayan at local government na gumawa ng hakbang at ang mga pamilya na magkaroon ng sariling paghahanda. Wag kalimutan na dumadaan ang bagyo kahit nasa loob ng bahay, he also said.
One of the two scenarios for Hagupit is that it would slam Eastern Visayas, an area flattened by Super Typhoon Yolanda in 2013, on Saturday.
Visit link:
NASA Orion Team: #39;It #39;s Time to Go Fly #39;
NASA officials say they #39;re ready for Thursday #39;s planned flight test of the Orion spacecraft. With the launch window just hours away, Orion #39;s flight director says the team and the spacecraft...
By: Associated Press
See more here:
NASA counts down to Thursday spaceship test flight
NASA Chief Charles Bolden says the launch of Orion, a U.S. spaceship designed to fly astronauts beyond Earth #39;s orbit, is a #39;big deal. #39; Jennifer Davis reports. Subscribe: http://smarturl.it/reuters...
By: Reuters
Continued here: