The U.S.’s most capable deep-sea unmanned research sub has been lost more than six miles deep in the Pacific.
The U.S.’s most capable deep-sea unmanned research sub has been lost more than six miles deep in the Pacific.
Author: Robert Zimmerman
The new American fascism.
Another day, another witch hunt — this time in duplicate. “Twin brothers David and Jason Benham,” CNN reports, “have lost their opportunity to host their own HGTV show.” On Tuesday, the pair was gearing up for their new role; by sundown the next day, the network had announced tersely that it had “decided not to move forward with the Benham Brothers’ series.” And that, as they say, was that.
Their real crime:
Per Right Wing Watch’s rather hysterical indictment, the brothers’ main crimes against humanity are to have “led a prayer rally,” talked a few times on the radio, written a few articles, and — shock! — been involved in “protests outside of abortion clinics” and “at a 2009 LGBT event.” In other words, to have taken to the public square and to have spoken — an activity free societies have traditionally tended to cherish.
The persecution shall continue until we are all free!
And then there’s this: A football player has been fined and suspended for posting tweets critical of a newly drafted homosexual football player.
A news story today reports that cracks have been discovered in the wings of WhiteKnightTwo.
More problems for Virgin Galactic: A news story today reports that cracks have been discovered in the wings of WhiteKnightTwo.
Sources tell me the cracks are along the spars that run the length of the wings. Specifically, they are located where the spars connect with the fuselage. My sources tell me the cracks have caused quite a bit of concern among the engineers at Virgin and Scaled. One particularly worrisome aspect is that nobody knows why or when they occurred.
I’m told there is some comfort in the repairs being made based on previous Scaled experience in patching composites. However, since the cause of the cracks is uncertain and WhiteKnightTwo is unique in terms of its size and the stresses placed on it by SpaceShipTwo, the engineers are in uncharted territory. They don’t know if they have addressed the root cause, or whether the problem will reoccur.
If this story turns out to be trie, it will likely be a disaster for Virgin Galactic. Not only can they not yet fly SpaceShipTwo because of engine issues, the mother ship that puts the spacecraft into the air can’t fly either.
Colorado’s new gun control law has forced police to steal a woman’s pistol.
Colorado’s new gun control law has forced police there to steal a woman’s pistol.
They appear to want to return it, but the law has created a situation where they can’t return it legally.
Does the auction sale of an Excalibur Almaz capsule signal the end of this manned space commercial company?
Does the auction sale of an Excalibur Almaz capsule signal the end of this manned space commercial company?
It certainly looks that way, which is tragic in that the company had a very smart and viable idea: Use already built Soviet-era manned space equipment to launch a space hotel and provide a ferry to it for a relatively low cost. The development was already done and the hardware already built. All they had to do is refurbish and update things.
Ground tests of SpaceShipTwo’s engines continue.
Ground tests of SpaceShipTwo’s engines continue.
No flight tests have occurred in four months, however, which suggests that they have decided to abandon their first engine design and are now doing these new ground tests to prove the reliability of the new engine before proceeding to flight tests. The lack of flight tests also suggests that Richard Branson’s most recent announcement that he will definitely fly as a passenger this year is most likely hogwash.
The trip of what is essentially a circuit breaker on ISS has reduced the station’s power by about 12.5%.
The trip of what is essentially a circuit breaker on ISS has reduced the station’s power by about 12.5%.
The cause and solution has not yet been isolated. The loss of power at this point is not critical, and has not effected any experiments or the safety of the crew.
The article itself gives a very detailed and informative outline of the system and what has happened, though you have to spend the time to wade through the alphabet soup of NASA terminology — SSU, SAWs, VDC, DCSUs, MBSUs, DDCUs, POR — that NASA uses.
The Yellowstone of Mars.
The 2013 Walter Duranty Prize for mendacious journalism was announced on Monday.
The 2013 Walter Duranty Prize for mendacious journalism was announced on Monday.
This prize – in honor (or, more accurately, dishonor) of Walter Duranty, the New York Times Moscow correspondent during the 1920s and 1930s – was first given in 2011 by PJ Media and The New Criterion. For various reasons of sloth and bureaucracy, it has taken the organizations a year and a half to award a second round, but the prize will now be put on an annual basis.
A second award – The Rather (after Dan Rather) — for lifetime achievement in mendacious journalism was initiated this year.
Sadly, the number of qualified candidates far exceeded the number of prizes.
Google tells a major conservative website to take a hike.
Google tells a major conservative website to take a hike.
It sure appears that Google has cut the website off for political reasons.
Building a scale model of the International Space Station — using matchsticks!
Building a scale model of the International Space Station — using matchsticks!
Recently completed by Acton, the wooden ISS is as impressive in size as it is in detail. Comprised of 282,000 matchsticks, the 1/26 scale model required 8 gal (30 L) of glue and took roughly 1,950 hours to complete. Whereas the actual ISS measures out at 108.5 m (356 ft) wide and 72.8 m (239 ft) long, Acton’s scaled down version measures out at an impressive 4.1 m (13.5 ft) and 2.8 m (9.2 ft) wide. Solar arrays, trusses, communication components, and even the Space Shuttle Atlantis, are all there in intricate detail.
With pictures.
Fact checking Elon Musk’s statements about his company’s efforts to reuse the Falcon 9 first stage reminds us of some space history and one of Musk’s chief competitors.
Fact checking Elon Musk’s statements about his company’s efforts to reuse the Falcon 9 first stage reminds us of some space history and one of Musk’s chief competitors.
The bottom line: Bringing the first stage back to Earth safely and vertically is doable, and has been done before.
Because of issues preventing a dress rehearsal countdown and launchpad static fire of the Falcon 9 rocket SpaceX has delayed Saturday’s launch.
Because of issues preventing a dress rehearsal countdown and launchpad static fire of the Falcon 9 rocket SpaceX has delayed Saturday’s launch.
No new date has yet been set, but I expect the delay will not be long.
In response to the Obama administration’s request a judge has lifted her injunction against the purchase of Russian rocket engines for the Atlas 5 rocket.
In response to the Obama administration’s request a judge has lifted her injunction against the purchase of Russian rocket engines for the Atlas 5 rocket.
More here. It appears that, at least for the moment, the Atlas 5 rocket will be allowed to buy these engines. Whether the Russians will continue to allow them to buy them however remains an open question, especially if things in the Ukraine get worse.
Bertha is stuck under Seattle and the taxpayers are going to have to pay millions, if not billions, to get the giant drilling machine moving again.
Bertha is stuck under Seattle and the taxpayers might be required to pay millions, if not billions, to get the giant drilling machine moving again.
Failures like this do happen, but to me they seem to happen routinely to modern big government projects. I wonder why.
Less than 24 hours after the House held Lois Lerner in contempt, the IRS has finally agreed to turn over all her emails to House investigators.
Less than 24 hours after the House held Lois Lerner in contempt, the IRS has finally agreed to turn over all her emails to House investigators.
Republican lawmakers have been demanding the documents for months and, in March, Oversight Committee chairman Darrell Issa threatened to hold IRS commissioner John Koskinen in contempt if he did not produce the e-mails requested by the committee. Koskinen had told lawmakers it might take years to produce them. [emphasis mine]
Years, eh? That’s suddenly changed, hasn’t it?
What happens next for Lois Lerner?
What happens next for Lois Lerner?
The article is an excellent legal analysis of the situation and what could happen next.
Ten modern conveniences we take for granted that didn’t exist before 1970.
Ten modern conveniences we take for granted that didn’t exist before 1970.
I especially like the picture of the audio cassette and the pencil with the caption, “Our children will never know the link between the two.”
How to turn an American spacecraft ferrying astronauts to ISS serve as a lifeboat as well.
How to turn an American spacecraft ferrying astronauts to ISS serve as a lifeboat as well.
A very interesting read, as it outlines the specific technical problems faced by engineers that one wouldn’t normally consider. The capsule has to be able to remain functional and reliable after months in orbit, but it also has to become functional at a moment’s notice, should an emergency happen.
The creation in the lab of an as yet unnamed superheavy element adds weight to the theory that there might exist even heavier elements that are stable in nature.
The creation in the lab of an as yet unnamed superheavy element adds weight to the theory that there might exist even heavier elements that are stable in nature.
The scientists did not observe element 117 directly. Instead, they searched for its daughter products after it radioactively decayed by emitting alpha particles—helium nuclei with two protons and two neutrons. “The heavy nuclei makes an alpha decay to produce element 115, and this also decays by alpha decay,” says Jadambaa Khuyagbaatar of GSI, lead author of a paper reporting the results published on 1 May in Physical Review Letters.
After a few more steps in this decay chain, one of the nuclei produced is the isotope lawrencium 266—a nucleus with 103 protons and 163 neutrons that had never been seen before. Previously known isotopes of lawrencium have fewer neutrons, and are less stable. This novel species, however, has an astonishingly long half-life of 11 hours, making it one of the longest-lived superheavy isotopes known to date. “Perhaps we are at the shore of the island of stability,” Düllmann says.
If these superheavy elements could be created, they would be the stuff of science fiction. They might have properties that we would find extremely useful.