WATCH LIVE: Antares Rocket Explodes Shortly After Lift-Off From Virginia Launch Site – Video

Posted on by


WATCH LIVE: Antares Rocket Explodes Shortly After Lift-Off From Virginia Launch Site
Private Contractor Rocket Explodes After Takeoff NASA: Antares rocket explosion debris hazardous NASA Rocket Explodes on Launch Rocket Explosion: #39;Hazardous Materials #39; Warning Video: US ...

By: SEVA Activities Channel

Link:

WATCH LIVE: Antares Rocket Explodes Shortly After Lift-Off From Virginia Launch Site - Video

NASA rocket explodes after launch, creating fear over ISS supplies shortage – Video

Posted on by


NASA rocket explodes after launch, creating fear over ISS supplies shortage
NASA has played down the impact on the crew of the International Space Station following the explosion of a supply rocket shortly after take off from a commercial launch pad in Virginia. The...

By: euronews (in English)

Read the rest here:

NASA rocket explodes after launch, creating fear over ISS supplies shortage - Video

Everyday space flight a dream too far for Virgin Galactic

Posted on by

Sending humans into space is hugely difficult, insanely expensive and extremely dangerous.

The idea that space flight could be made as simple, risk-free and affordable as a high-end Antarctic cruise was always a fantasy. So the tragic loss of the Virgin Galactic spacecraft over the Mojave Desert may be the death knell for Richard Branson's dream of sending hundreds of wealthy but not necessarily super-rich people on short, sub-orbital hops into space for $US250,000 ($300,000) a seat.

Branson's biographer, Tom Bower, has since stated that the project was doomed, and claimed that an engineer had walked off just a few weeks ago, citing safety concerns over the engine technology. It wasn't supposed to be like this.

The project was founded at the turn of the century with the goal of opening up space to the paying public. Branson's company went into partnership with a brilliant American engineering firm called Scaled Composites, which won the $US10 million Ansari X-Prize in 2004 after it launched the first private ship SpaceShipOne (SS1) to the edge of space carrying a human passenger.

Advertisement

SpaceShipTwo (SS2), the spaceplane that crashed near the Mojave spaceport killing one pilot and seriously injuring the other, is an eight-seat version of SS1. Like the prototype, it is carried to 50,000 feet by a jet aircraft (called White Knight) and then detaches, firing its solid-fuel rocket to send it up to 100 kilometres (the arbitrarily defined limit of "space"). It then coasts for a few minutes in gentle free fall (allowing passengers to experience weightlessness) before gliding back to Earth.

Since the partnership was announced in 2004, Branson has insisted that the first commercial space flight will take place in about three years' time. But Virgin Galactic has been plagued by delays, technical problems and catastrophic loss of life. It is hard to see Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Justin Bieber or Tom Hanks all of whom have paid deposits taking to the air any time soon.

When I visited the Virgin Galactic headquarters a year ago, I was hugely impressed by the dedication and enthusiasm of the pilots and engineers. One or two sceptics had told me that Virgin Galactic was no more than a branding exercise for Branson's airline. This is not the case. I have no doubt that he was sincere in his belief that he can break the monopoly of NASA and the other state-funded agencies. And I have no doubt that Branson is sincere when he states that Virgin Galactic will persevere after this terrible setback.

But the truth is that the odds are against him. NASA has spent $US500 billion since its inception trying to make space flight safe and affordable. It has not succeeded. The statistics are skewed by the two shuttle disasters (which killed 14 people; 3 per cent of everyone who has been into space) but the reality is that your chances of dying on any trip into space are about one in 100: the same odds as dying while climbing Everest.

The odds of dying in a plane crash are in the low millions. The Virgin team said SS2 was "somewhere in between".

Originally posted here:

Everyday space flight a dream too far for Virgin Galactic

Branson Stops Short of Vowing to Continue Space Flights

Posted on by

Richard Branson, the Virgin Galactic Ltd. founder who vowed a decade ago to make the company a pioneer in commercial space flight, stopped short of saying he would continue the quest after an experimental craft exploded during a test flight.

Branson, 64, told reporters today near the crash site in Mojave, California, that officials from Virgin Galactic and the National Transportation Safety Board would have to determine the cause of the crash before Virgin proceeds with its plans for commercial space travel.

Its fair to say that all 400 engineers who work here, and I think most people in the world, would love to see the dream living on, Branson said. I would say we owe it to our test pilots to figure out what went wrong.

Branson, the long-haired billionaire whose career has been defined by expanding his Virgin Group Ltd. into diverse lines of business such as records, an airline, mobile communications and railways, founded subsidiary Virgin Galactic in 2004 with the goal of offering suborbital space flights for tourists, science missions and launches of small satellites.

With the crash of SpaceShipTwo over the Mojave Desert yesterday, Branson and Virgin Galactic face the most significant setback in the history of commercial space travel. The crash killed one test pilot and seriously injured another.

Looking downcast at a press conference at Mojave Air and Space Port, where the doomed craft began its flight a day earlier, Branson said his quest for commercial space travel would be delayed at least until the investigation is complete.

We do understand the risks involved and we are not going to push on blindly -- to do so would be an insult to all those affected by this tragedy, Branson said. We are going to learn from what went wrong, discover how we can improve safety and performance, and then move forward together.

He said hes received e-mails from would-be passengers urging him to forge ahead.

I think theyve been patient today and will continue to be patient, he said.

An aide then whisked Branson away from the press conference, saying he would meet next with the companys 400 engineers.

Read the rest here:

Branson Stops Short of Vowing to Continue Space Flights

Red Cadeaux in prime form in Australia as he sets out to win the Melbourne Cup after two near misses

Posted on by

Few would begrudge Red Cadeaux victory in an Emirates Melbourne Cup which has almost been marked for export already.

Eleven of the 24 horses going to post at Flemington in the early hours of Tuesday morning British time are trained outside Australia, and the likely favourite is the top-weight from Japan, Admire Rakti.

Twice runner-up, by a nose in 2011 and then when seemingly written off 12 months ago, Red Cadeaux appears to prefer the confines of the international quarantine centre at Werribee to his own Newmarket stable.

Red Cadeauxs trainer, Ed Dunlop, believes it is the individual attention the nine-year-old receives from assistant Robin Trevor-Jones and work rider Steve Nicholson on these overseas trips which encourages him to produce his very best on the track.

Whether we trail in at the back, just to be able to bring a horse from Europe to run in four Melbourne Cups, I doubt it will happen again. Of course it might do, but would be a long time before it does, Dunlop said. Were part of it, and weve got a shot. He doesnt win very often but he runs very well in Australia.

Both Roger Varian and Marco Botti, Dunlops near-neighbours in Newmarket, will be cheering on the chestnut if their respective runners Ambivalent and Seismos are unable prevail themselves. We would all like to have a horse like Red Cadeaux, Varian said.

While there has never been a British-trained winner, there is perhaps a better chance of a British-ridden one. Ryan Moore is flying across from Saturday nights Breeders Cup in California to partner the German challenger Protectionist, who caught the eye in a prep-run at Caulfield last month and is drawn well in stall 11.

Saeed Bin Suroor (Cavalryman and Willing Foe) and John Gosden (Gatewood) also have feasible chances, while Johnny Murtagh (Mutual Regard and Royal Diamond) is hoping to become only the second Irish trainer after Dermot Weld to claim the race that stops a nation.

Read more from the original source:

Red Cadeaux in prime form in Australia as he sets out to win the Melbourne Cup after two near misses

Fitchburg shocks St. John's

Posted on by

Fitchburg wide receiver Manny Payton, left, and Demetrice Williams celebrate Payton's fourth-quarter touchdown reception that gave the Red Raiders the lead. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE / GARY FOURNIER

Sentinel and Enterprise staff photos can be ordered by visiting our SmugMug site.

SHREWSBURY -- What upset?

Despite Fitchburg High's sub-.500 record and low No. 7 seed, it never doubted it could eliminate talented St. John's of Shrewsbury in the Central Mass. Division 2 playoffs.

The headstrong and confident Red Raiders turned more heads Saturday afternoon at a wet, cold and muddy Pioneer Field.

Manny Payton hauled in a 21-yard TD pass from Darius Flowers in the fourth quarter and the defense stood strong late, as Fitchburg shocked Central Mass. football with a come-from-behind 22-15 quarterfinal triumph over the second-seeded Pioneers.

"Obviously we're playing with a lot of confidence," Fitchburg coach Dan Walker said. "We didn't think this was going to be an upset if we won.

Sentinel and Enterprise staff photos can be ordered by visiting our SmugMug site.

The Red Raiders were covered in mud and soaked to the bone due to the constant rain throughout the game, but all were beaming with pride after advancing into the semifinal round.

"It wasn't an upset, but people forget about us," Payton said. "People forgot about us and people don't know what we're capable of. We knew it."

Originally posted here:

Fitchburg shocks St. John's

Crafted Artifacts Found In SOL 787 Images Of Mars From NASA’s Curiosity Rover – Video

Posted on by


Crafted Artifacts Found In SOL 787 Images Of Mars From NASA #39;s Curiosity Rover
Today I look at another amazing picture that although lacks consistency and shows almost every type of manipulation and obfuscation trick in book on it. That is when I know I have a good one...

By: WhatsUpInTheSky37

Originally posted here:

Crafted Artifacts Found In SOL 787 Images Of Mars From NASA's Curiosity Rover - Video

The Greatest Cover Up, The Moon and The Pyramids: NASA Apollo Anomalies – Video

Posted on by


The Greatest Cover Up, The Moon and The Pyramids: NASA Apollo Anomalies
LINKS TO A FEW OF THE NASA IMAGES USED HERE: The first image I use - what everyone calls the "green statue" can be seen here. http://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/AS17-137-20925HR.jpg Note ...

By: Stargazer Nation

Read this article:

The Greatest Cover Up, The Moon and The Pyramids: NASA Apollo Anomalies - Video