Russians delay next manned launch to ISS
It’s now official: The Russians will postpone the launch of the next crew to ISS, as well as delaying the return of one crew presently on board.
Month: August 2011
New EPA regulations will shut down 8 percent of U.S. power generation capability
We’re here to help you! New EPA regulations threaten to shut down 8 percent of all U.S. power generation capability.
Nor should this be a surprise. During the campaign Obama admitted, but few reported, how he wanted to bankrupt any power plants that used coal to generate power.
An overview of the space war situation by Clark Lindsey
Clark Lindsey has written a very nice and short summary of the present political battles over NASA’s budget and its future manned space rockets.
Power still out
Update: Power finally returned at about 11:50 pm Sunday.
Power is still out here in DC (as of 11:43 pm Sunday), so my posting must remain light.
Why it takes Pepco so long to restore power to our area, and why this seems to happen ever time there is a storm of any kind, remains a very annoying mystery to me.
Big Sky Country – A Montana night sky time lapse
An evening pause: In Glacier National Park in August 2011. From Mark “Indy” Kochte.
Al Gore calls for treating climate skeptics like racists
Al Gore calls climate skepticism the same as racism and calls for treating skeptics the same.
“There came a time when friends or people you work with or people you were in clubs with — you’re much younger than me so you didn’t have to go through this personally — but there came a time when racist comments would come up in the course of the conversation and in years past they were just natural. Then there came a time when people would say, ‘Hey, man why do you talk that way, I mean that is wrong. I don’t go for that so don’t talk that way around me. I just don’t believe that.’ That happened in millions of conversations and slowly the conversation was won. We have to win the conversation on climate.”
In other words, no expression of skepticism is to be permitted, in any conversation.
I’ll have more to say about this later today or tomorrow.
Space station could be abandoned in November
The space station could be abandoned in November if the Russians haven’t solved their rocket problems by then.
Hunkering down during the hurricane
Update: We lost power at around 12:30 am, and as of mid-morning Sunday the power was still not back. Thus, my posting will be light today. At the moment we are out at a local restaurant that has power (and food!), so I am using my laptop to post.
As I sit here waiting for Hurricane Irene to speed past Washington, DC, leaving behind a lot of water, some fallen trees, and the likelihood of a power outage, I thought I’d mention that I will be doing a special 30 minute appearance tonight on the nationally syndicated John Batchelor radio show at 9 pm (Eastern). Should be fun, with New York City shut down and me possibly doing the interview in the dark, with no power.
Update and bumped. The hurricane where I live here in the DC area has so far been quite mild, with only a few short bursts of heavy rain and hardly any wind. However, John Batchelor had so much fun with our discussion at 9 pm that I am coming back for another half hour at 11:30 pm (Eastern).
One more note: I consider the decision of Mayor Bloomberg in New York to shut down the subway and buses for the weekend to be downright madness. The subway should run until the last minute, in case people need to leave. Closing it so the government employees can get out is like a captain deserting his ship ahead of the passengers.
Unfortunately, this kind of political overreaction is what you get when you cede too much power to politicians. They have to act, if only to appear as they are doing something.
Jetman flight at the Grand Canyon West may 2011
An evening pause: hat tip to George.
Gibson guitar Republican donar while its competitor – never raided – donates to Democrats
It appears that payback by the Obama administration against its political opponents is the main reason the Justice Department raided the Gibson guitar company. Its CEO donates to Republicans, while Gibson’s main competitor – never raided – donates to Democrats.
Residents Overturn Township’s Plan for New $1.5 Million Office
A citizen rebellion overturns a township’s plan to build a $1.5 million headquarters for itself.
The sun, cosmic rays, and the politics of climate change
The sun, cosmic rays, and the politics of climate change.
Massachusetts State Police Shutdown Twelve-Year-Old’s Green Tea Stand
The government’s war on freedom and children: Police in Massachusetts shutdown a twelve-year-old’s green tea stand.
The Mean Kitty Song
An evening pause:
Archeologists may have found King Arthur’s round table in Scotland
Archeologists may have found King Arthur’s round table in Scotland.
The new survey — funded by Historic Scotland and Stirling City Heritage Trust — used the latest scientific techniques to showing lost structures and features up to a metre below the ground. It also revealed a series of ditches south of the main mound, as well as remains of buildings, and more recent structures, including modern drains which appear at the northern end of the gardens.
Mr Harrison, who has studied the King’s Knot for 20 years, said: “It is a mystery which the documents cannot solve, but geophysics has given us new insights. “Of course, we cannot say that King Arthur was there, but the feature which surrounds the core of the Knot could explain the stories and beliefs that people held.”
Both the FAA and European regulators have certified Boeing’s 787 for its first commercial flight
Both the FAA and European regulators have certified Boeing’s new 787 airplane for its first commercial flight
Sponge in space
On August 25 Cassini did a close fly-by of the small Saturn moon Hyperion, getting as close as 15,500 miles. The mission has just released images from that fly-by.
Looks like a sponge, doesn’t it? This moon is small, only 168 miles across, which makes it about half the size of the asteroid Vesta that Dawn is presently orbiting. Why it is so peppered with craters is of course the big science question. I would guess this has something to do with the environment around Saturn, with its rings and the innumerable particles that come from it. Yet, other moons of Saturn are not as crater-filled, so there is obviously more to this than meets the eye.
This fly-by was the second closest of Hyperion that Cassini has done, the first passing over the the moon’s surface by only 310 miles. Because the irregularly-shaped moon’s rotation is more like a chaotic tumble, scientists could not predict what part of the surface they would see. To their luck the new images captured new territory.
Another fly-by is scheduled in only three weeks, on September 16, 2011. This time, however, the spacecraft won’t get as close, passing at a distance of about 36,000 miles.
Comets Elenin & Garradd Now Showing in Night Sky
Get out those binoculars! Two comets, Elenin and Garradd, are now showing in the night sky.
NSF hires Russian Icebreaker for Antarctic station
It’s not just space where we are dependent on the Russians: The National Science Foundation has just hired a Russian icebreaker “to escort resupply and refueling ships into McMurdo Station,” the hub of U.S. activities on Antarctica.
Russia plans two unmanned test launches of Soyuz rockets before using them to deliver crews to the ISS
Because of this week’s Progress freighter launch failure, Russia plans two unmanned test launches of its Soyuz rockets before flying crews on them to ISS.
One of these test launches will carry a new Progress freighter, with supplies for ISS.