According to a family spokesman, Neil Armstrong is to be buried at sea.
According to a family spokesman, Neil Armstrong is to be buried at sea.
Month: September 2012
SpaceX’s first official cargo flight to ISS could occur as early as October 5.
SpaceX’s first official cargo flight to ISS could occur as early as October 5.
Climate changes on Mars are driven by the Sun.
Who would have thought? Climate changes on Mars are driven by the Sun.
Snark aside, the article describes how scientists have made a first attempt to link the visible layers of ice and dust at Mars’ north pole with expected past changes in climate due to the planet’s orbital variations around the Sun.
FAA officials in Seattle have been accused of pressuring employees to vote for Democratic candidates in the November election
FAA officials in Seattle have been accused of pressuring employees to vote for Democratic candidates in the November election, a violation of the law.
“We write respectfully to request that the Office of Inspector General (OIG) initiate an investigation into Deputy Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety John Hickey and Deputy Director of Flight Standards Field Operations Ray Towles,” Epstein wrote. “We have been informed that during mandatory meetings of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees, Mr. Hickey and Mr. Towles encouraged employees to vote for Democratic politicians in upcoming elections, explaining their jobs may very well depend on a Democratic victory.”
The encouraging thing about this story is that it appears that the FAA is taking this allegation very seriously and appears willing to do something about it.
Delegates today booed the reinsertion of language into the Democratic platform supporting Jerusalem as Israel’s capital as well as the words “God-given.”
Some reality at a party convention! Delegates today booed the reinsertion of language into the Democratic platform supporting Jerusalem as Israel’s capital as well as the words “God-given.” With video.
As I’ve said, I normally don’t spend much time paying attention to these conventions because they are mostly staged propaganda. However, this moment was not staged, and it revealed a bit of truth about the Democratic Party: A very large percentage, possibly even a majority, of that Party is hostile to both the idea of God and to Israel’s hold on Jerusalem. Very revealing.
Andre Rieu – Annie’s Song
An evening pause:
A psychological guide to your dog
Science marches on: A psychological guide to your dog.
SpaceShipTwo is being readied for its first powered flights before the end of the year.
The competition heats up: SpaceShipTwo is being readied for its first powered flights before the end of the year.
The article also provides a good review of the last two years of glide tests, what was learned and what was done with that knowledge.
Engineers have now confirmed that Dawn has left the gravitational sphere of Vesta and is officially on its way to Ceres.
Engineers have now confirmed that Dawn has left the gravitational sphere of Vesta and is officially on its way to Ceres.
In a spacewalk today astronaut successfully overcame a stuck bolt to install a replacement power unit.
In a spacewalk today astronauts successfully overcame a stuck bolt to install a replacement power unit.
Science vs organic food. Science wins.
Science vs organic food. Science wins.
We have a choice
A website, ScienceDebate.org, submitted a wide range of questions to Barack Obama and Mitt Romney about their plans for science and technology, and the answers, shown in a side-by-side comparison, are interesting, though in general they demonstrate the ability of politicians to speak for a long time without saying much.
This ability to blather is especially apparent to their answers to the question 12: “What should America’s space exploration and utilization goals be in the 21st century and what steps should the government take to help achieve them?” Neither candidate adds much to what was said in the Republican and Democratic party platforms, making it obvious that neither really cares or knows that much about this subject.
Overall, however, the answers do reveal the basic and fundamental differences between the two candidates, which can be seen in their answers to the very first question about encouraging innovation:
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NASA engineers had postponed a planned midcourse maneuver of its Jupiter-bound Juno spacecraft
NASA engineers had postponed a planned midcourse maneuver of its Jupiter-bound Juno spacecraft due to unexpectedly high pressures seen in the previous engine burn.
A public memorial service for Neil Armstrong has been scheduled for September 13 in Washington, D.C.
A public memorial service for Neil Armstrong has been scheduled for September 13 in Washington, D.C.
Gorillaz – Melancholy Hill
An evening pause:
The Democratic Party platform’s position on space and NASA is one sentence long.
The Democratic Party platform’s [pdf] position on space and NASA is one sentence long.
President Obama has charted a new mission for NASA to lead us to a future that builds on America’s legacy of innovation and exploration.
This is even worse than the Republican Party platform, and is more inexplicable. Considering how much support the Obama administration has given to private commercial space, this was a great opportunity to sell Obama as supportive of private enterprise. Sadly, they do not, which suggests again that Obama and his party really aren’t that interested in it.
Because of the failure to replace a power unit during last week’s spacewalk, the U.S. portion of ISS is now in a brown-out, with a 25% reduction in power.
Because of the failure to replace a power unit during last week’s spacewalk, the U.S. portion of ISS is now in a brown-out, with a 25% reduction in power.
They plan a second spacewalk tomorrow to try to fix the problem.
In another attempt to win the $250,000 AHS Sikorsky Prize, the Gamera II human-powered helicopter successfully flew for more than sixty seconds
In another attempt to win the $250,000 AHS Sikorsky Prize, the Gamera II human-powered helicopter has successfully flown for more than sixty seconds Video below the fold.
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The debt of the federal government officially exceeded $16 trillion on Tuesday.
The day of reckoning looms: The debt of the federal government officially exceeded $16 trillion on Tuesday.
Two Russian companies have announced a joint plan to build a suborbital spacecraft for tourism.
The competition heats up: Two Russian companies have announced a joint plan to build a suborbital spacecraft for tourism.
Sounds great, but Clark Lindsey has a very informative review of the history of these announcements from Russia, none of which has ever born fruit.