Monthly Archives: May 2017

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSPA)Three South Carolina high school students whose experiment was chosen for the International Space Station have gotten the results back. Tevin Glover, Parker Matthews, and Cedric McQueen are all sophomores at Keenan High in Columbia and had their experiment chosen after a contest.

The experiment used starch mixed with water to see if the microgravity of space would affect the transparency of the mixture, called its turbidity. They had a sample here on earth, called a ground truth, for comparison.

Cedric McQueen says, After we measured the turbidity, our ground truth and the experiment we sent up to space had the same turbidity, so it showed microgravity didnt really have any effect on the turbidity of the liquid, so basically that means the starch concentration, it wasnt affected.

The experiment has implications for the ability to grow plants in space or on other planets, something that will be crucial to mans ability to travel greater distances in space. Tevin Glover says, If all this light can pass through the substance on the ground and all the light can also pass through in microgravity, then that shows that we can have plant growth in space.

They plan to design other experiments to test other variables.

The fact that they had an experiment chosen for the space station has made them celebrities on campus, and their science and engineering teacher, Kareem Beckett, says hell use their example with other students. Theyre like the first ones to do it, and Im quite sure that were going to have other competitions for the students to actually be able to compete to do activities like this, he says.

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SC students get results back from space station experiment - WSPA.com

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A week after the successful launch of its first cargo spacecraft, the Tianzhou-1, China announced its plans to build its own permanent base in space similar to the International Space Station.

According to Chinese officials, the planned base in orbit will take them a step closer to becoming a major space power. Construction of the ambitious project is set to commence in about two years.

Chinas Tianzhou-1 spacecraft completed the first of three planned docking attempts with the orbiting space lab Tiangong-2 two days after it was launched on April 20. Directed by the China National Space Administration, the five-day refueling was successfully completed on Thursday, reports Daily Mail.

This again announces the ambition and aspiration of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese people, and our resolute confidence in becoming a major space power, Wang Zhaoyao, the space station projects supervisor was quoted as saying.

After completing experimental stage spaceflight missions, we will enter the development and construction phase. According to our plans, we will carry out the assembly and construction of Chinas manned space station between 2019 and 2022.

The announcement also comes after news of the Chinese and European space agencies reported possible collaboration to construct a base on the moon. The proposed Moon Village was disclosed by the director-general of the European Space Agency ESA, Johann-Dietrich Woerner.The report was later confirmed by CNSA secretary general Tian Yulong and verified by ESA spokesperson, Pal Hvistendahl.

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China to Start Building Its Own Orbital Space Station in Two Years - NextShark

By Chelsea Whyte

NASA is running out of space suits, and new ones are years away from being flight-ready. This was the finding of an audit released on 26 April by the NASA Office of Inspector General, relating to the agencys three next-generation spacesuit development projects.

Future missions might send humans deeper into space than ever before, so new suits need to be designed to handle the challenging conditions. Recent efforts, which have not been linked to a specific mission or destination, have cost almost $200 million since 2007 but have yet to produce a suitable option for deep-space missions.

The suits currently used during spacewalks from the International Space Station, called Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMU), were designed more than 40 years ago and were intended to last 15 years.

NASA currently uses 11 of the 18 original backpack-like life support systems, which were updated with glove heaters, improved lights and cameras, and an emergency propulsion module in the 1990s. The most recent loss of one of these suits happened during the 2015 explosion of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which was ferrying cargo to the ISS.

Yet US involvement on the space station is funded until 2024. NASA will be challenged to continue to support ISS needs with the current fleet of EMUs through 2024, a challenge that will escalate significantly if Station operations are extended to 2028, the report says.

Over the past decade, NASAs focus on developing new spacesuits has been split between three programmes. The Constellation Space Suit System was being designed for use on missions for the Constellation Program, which was canceled in 2010. Despite that, NASA continued to pay to develop spacesuit technologies for six years after the cancellation, ultimately spending $135 million.

The Advanced Space Suit Project was meant to develop suits with more mobility to sustain astronauts on a mission to Mars. The Orion Crew Survival System was a design for a spacesuit that could withstand fire, smoke or toxic chemicals if there was an emergency on the launch pad.

Any of these would need to be far enough along in the design process to be tested on the ISS before the end of the programme in 2024, and at current funding levels that may not be possible, according to the report.

Inspector General Paul Martin recommended that NASA end the Constellation spacesuit design contract and develop a plan for producing and testing next-generation spacesuits on the ISS before 2024.

William Gerstenmaier, head of Human Exploration and Operations for NASA, said in a response letter that the report is a fair assessment of the current state of extravehicular spacesuits and accepted the recommendations, although he said the report is overly critical of the Constellation Space Suit System and that the technology developed for it may be used to improve current suits.

Read more: NASA rushes spacesuit repair kit to space station

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NASA might run out of space suits before it quits the ISS - New Scientist

A Finnish research organization says it has come up with another way to put Microsoft's HoloLens augmented reality headset to use on the International Space Station (ISS).

If it works as advertised, the new augmented reality (AR) system will let ISS staffers "see" telemetry and other data that would otherwise be invisible to them. That in turn, frees them up to perform manual maintenance and diagnostic tasks, according to the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, which led the project for the European Space Agency.

This is not the first time HoloLens has been considered for work in space: NASA has been working with the technology as well.

AR technology mixes virtual elements with real-world surroundings. Many consumers experienced AR by playing Pokemon Go last year. But the technology is also touted by tech companies including Salesforce ( crm ) , IBM ( ibm ) , and Microsoft ( msft ) for use by businesses for repair, maintenance, and training.

Many maintenance taskson earth or in spaceare slowed down because technicians have to continually refer to printed or online data for instructions. AR technologywhich superimposes data in graphics, text, or video form into the field of vision (and audio into their earpiece)means they can focus on what's in front of them without having to look away. This also leaves their hands free for the task at hand.

Related: Microsoft HoloLens Goes Global

Per the VTT statement, the system "displays detailed visual instructions on the astronauts' AR glasses, guiding them step by step to perform the necessary procedures in the right order, such as 'now press this button, then turn the lever (B)." The biggest perk is the technicians now are shown exactly where the problem is and then what to do about it.

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VTT says the system, produced with partners including Thales Alenia Space, has been tested at the ESA's European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany. It is unclear if and when it will be deployed in space.

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Microsoft HoloLens Could Aid in Space Station Repair | Fortune.com - Fortune

HOLLYWOOD, CA--(Marketwired - May 2, 2017) - nFsz, Inc. ( OTCQB : FUSZ ), (formerly bBooth) the Hollywood-based digital technology company, is pleased to announce the continued expansion of its senior executive team to include notable NASA projects engineer Mohammad Amanullah, who joins nFsz as Director of Broadcast & Government Applications and a Member of its Advisory Board. In his new role, Mr. Amanullah will lead the Company's Interactive Video Broadcast & Government product strategy and related customer acquisition initiatives.

Prior to joining nFsz, Mr. Amanullah served as Senior Hardware Engineer for Lockheed Martin Corporation at Johnson Space Center in Houston responsible for video system design and development for NASA's Mission Control Center (MCC), including the MCCS, MCC-21 and the International Space Station (ISS). As video lead for NASA's MCC-21 and ISS programs, Mr. Amanullah redesigned the video systems and was the training coordinator for the platform engineering department.

With more than 40 year's experience, Mr. Amanullah also held senior engineering positions at Ford Aerospace Corporation, where he was responsible for systems design and development, configuration, coordination, implementation and testing of the data, audio and video transmission for the Space Shuttle Program. He also held a senior engineering position at the US Department of Treasury for the U.S. / Saudi Arabia Joint Commission.

"We're about to release notifiCRM version 3.0 of our interactive video-based CRM/Lead Gen application for sales based-organizations that seek a truly effective tool designed to help even inexperienced salespeople close deals -- not merely track and report sales activity to management," states Rory J. Cutaia, nFsz CEO. "Because we intend to lead and not simply follow the interactive video revolution, we've begun testing a soon to be released platform to expand beyond CRM and bring our interactive video experience to broadcast video. Imagine watching the Olympics and being able to click on your favorite athlete's jersey and buy it, or simply see his or her recent stats, without interrupting the action on screen. This capability and more is coming and it's coming soon," continues Mr. Cutaia.

"To execute plans of this magnitude requires bold, experienced talent. Mohammad Amanullah knows first-hand what it takes to be the first, to accomplish that which others only dream, and we are thrilled to welcome him to our team," states Mr. Cutaia.

"I've spent my entire career at the forefront of technological innovation," states Mr. Amanullah. "And I know very well what it takes to achieve it. I am inspired by the talent, dedication, ingenuity and leadership of this company and I am thrilled to be part of the nFsz team," states Mr. Amanullah.

About nFsz, Inc. nFsz, Inc. ( OTCQB : FUSZ ) is a Hollywood-based digital tech company. Our proprietary next generation interactive video technology is the core of our new broadcast and cloud-based, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) products. We offer subscription-based Customer Relationship Management (CRM), sales lead generation, and social engagement software on mobile and desktop platforms for sales-based organizations, consumer brands, and artists seeking greater levels of engagement and higher conversion rates. Our software platform can accommodate any size campaign or sales organization, and is enterprise-class scalable to meet the needs of today's global organizations. Our service is built around our proprietary 'Video-First' Notifi technology, which places interactive video front and center in all customer and prospect communications. We've re-invented what a CRM, lead-gen tool should be in today's video-centric business and social environment. Now watch for our live broadcast interactive video platform that will redefine what 'engagement' means in consumer video consumption.

For more information on nFsz, Inc., visit http://www.nFusz.com.

Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements

This press release may contain "forward-looking" information within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In accordance with the safe harbor provisions of this Act, statements contained herein that look forward in time that include everything other than historical information, involve risks and uncertainties that may affect the Company's actual results. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and there are a number of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by the Company, including, but not limited to, plans and objectives of management for future operations or products, the market acceptance or future success of our products, and our future financial performance. The Company cautions that these forward-looking statements are further qualified by other factors including, but not limited to, those set forth in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, and other filings with the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission (available at http://www.sec.gov). The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any statements in this release, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

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nFusz Adds Space Station Engineer to Senior Executive Team - Yahoo Finance