Category: Behind The Black
Power from poop?
Discovery launch delayed until February
It’s official: The launch of Discovery is delayed until February.
It’s official: The launch of Discovery is delayed until February.
CNN Reporter Put On Watch List After Criticizing TSA
Is this what we hired the TSA for? A CNN Reporter was put on the TSA’s security watch list after he criticized the security agency.
Is this what we hired the TSA for? A CNN Reporter was put on the TSA’s security watch list after he criticized the security agency.
SpaceX to offer NASA its own plans for a heavy-lift rocket
SpaceX is putting together its own plans to provide NASA a heavy-lift rocket. Key quote:
Fast-track development, multi-use and low cost are key, says [SpaceX owner Elon] Musk. “The development timeframe is on the order of five years and would come to fruition before Obama’s likely second term ends. It has got to fit within a NASA budget that fits in 2008 levels, and it’s got to have operational costs when functioning that is as close to zero as you can make it. That latter point demands that whatever components are in use for super-heavy lift must be in use for launching other satellites for say, geostationary commercial and government customers. If not, then the likelihood of success in my opinion is zero.”
SpaceX is putting together its own plans to provide NASA a heavy-lift rocket. Key quote:
Fast-track development, multi-use and low cost are key, says [SpaceX owner Elon] Musk. “The development timeframe is on the order of five years and would come to fruition before Obama’s likely second term ends. It has got to fit within a NASA budget that fits in 2008 levels, and it’s got to have operational costs when functioning that is as close to zero as you can make it. That latter point demands that whatever components are in use for super-heavy lift must be in use for launching other satellites for say, geostationary commercial and government customers. If not, then the likelihood of success in my opinion is zero.”
More info on man in prison in NJ for owning legal guns
Demonstrations planned in support of New Jersey man in prisoning for legally owning two guns.
Demonstrations planned in support of New Jersey man in prisoning for legally owning two guns.
A Croatian space mission to the Moon?
A Croatian space mission to the Moon?
A Croatian space mission to the Moon?
Root cause of shuttle external tank cracks still not clear
Bad news for the space shuttle: The root cause of the cracks on Discovery’s external tank is still not identified.
Bad news for the space shuttle: The root cause of the cracks on Discovery’s external tank is still not identified.
X-37B has returned successful to earth
After more than seven months in orbit, the unmanned X-37B space plan has successfully returned to Earth. Key quote:
“Boeing and the Air Force are building another X-37B vehicle scheduled for launch in the spring of 2011.”
Update: Since several different reports are listing slightly different totals for the number of days in orbit, I’ve edited my note above to be less precise. I could add up the days myself, but that involves more math than I prefer to do!
After more than seven months in orbit, the unmanned X-37B space plan has successfully returned to Earth. Key quote:
“Boeing and the Air Force are building another X-37B vehicle scheduled for launch in the spring of 2011.”
Update: Since several different reports are listing slightly different totals for the number of days in orbit, I’ve edited my note above to be less precise. I could add up the days myself, but that involves more math than I prefer to do!
More caves on Mars
And damn, do I want to rappel into them!
This week’s release of images from the HiRISE camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter included these spectacular photos of two deep pits, approximately 180 and 310 meters in diameter and located aligned with a series of depressions that suggest additional passages at their base.
The first image shows the pits in the context of the surrounding terrain. From the caption:
These pits are aligned with what appears to be larger, degraded depressions. The wispy deposit may consist of dark material that has been either blown out of the pits or from some other source and scattered about by the local winds.
The next two images are heavily processed close-ups of each pit in order to bring out the detail within. From the caption:
The eastern most and smaller of the two pits contains boulders and sediment along its walls and brighter aeolian dune sediments on its floor. The larger, western most pit contains sediment and boulders with faint dune-like patterns visible on the deepest part of the floor. Both pits have steep eastern walls and more gently sloped western walls that transition gradually into the pit floor. Steep resistant ledges containing boulders that overhang and obscure the pit floors form the eastern walls.
Hang gliding in upstate New York
The next to go — astronauts!
White House initiates a study on whether astronaut corps should be trimmed.
This story is more evidence that I was right when I said Obama was lying when he claimed he loved manned spaceflight. If he was serious about sending humans to asteroids and beyond, he wouldn’t be so eager to find ways to shrink the astronaut corp.
Update: I should emphasize that I am not criticizing the idea of trimming the astronaut corp. I just want it clear that Barack Obama is clearly not a supporter of manned space, and that I believe his proposals (the commercial space subsidies) are merely window-dressing to placate his opponents while he dismantles the program.
White House initiates a study on whether astronaut corps should be trimmed.
This story is more evidence that I was right when I said Obama was lying when he claimed he loved manned spaceflight. If he was serious about sending humans to asteroids and beyond, he wouldn’t be so eager to find ways to shrink the astronaut corp.
Update: I should emphasize that I am not criticizing the idea of trimming the astronaut corp. I just want it clear that Barack Obama is clearly not a supporter of manned space, and that I believe his proposals (the commercial space subsidies) are merely window-dressing to placate his opponents while he dismantles the program.
Woman Strips Down to Her Lingerie, Gets TSA Pat Down Anyway—Twice
More TSA abuse: A woman strips down to her lingerie and still gets a TSA pat down. And it happens twice, the first time forcing her to miss her flight!
More TSA abuse: A woman strips down to her lingerie and still gets a TSA pat down. And it happens twice, the first time forcing her to miss her flight!
Tea Party Caucus Takes $1 Billion In Earmarks
The pigs are everywhere! Members of the so-called Tea Party Caucus requested about one billion in earmarks during the now ending 111th Congress.
The pigs are everywhere! Members of the so-called Tea Party Caucus requested about one billion in earmarks during the now ending 111th Congress.
The EPA’s And Enron’s End-Runs Of Congress
Who needs laws when you can simply regulate? The EPA moves to bypass Congress.
Who needs laws when you can simply regulate? The EPA moves to bypass Congress.
When journalism runs wild…
A commenter to one of my other posts, ZZMike, asked this question today: ” What is NASA’s Secret Astrobiology Announcement?” and quoted this from another website, “Science fans across the Internet are eagerly awaiting an announcement from NASA’s astrobiology team. All NASA will say about the press conference is that it will “discuss an astrobiology finding that will impact the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life.”
Unfortunately, Mike, this great discovery is not the big news that everyone is hoping for, such as the discovery of life on Mars. Instead, it is about the discovery that a certain microbe can eat and digest arsenic, using it as one of the six vital basic components of life (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, phosphorus) in place of phosphorus. This is very significant since it tells us that alien life could very well be far more alien than previously imagined.
What makes this story interesting, however, is not the discovery itself (which is important). Instead, because NASA was so vague in its press announcement it allowed a large number of irresponsible reporters and bloggers to go nuts trying to guess what the story was about. When these rumors began to get out of control, the magazine Science finally sent out a notice to journalists noting the specific paper and discovery so that they at least would know in advance what the conference was about.
As Mike above as well as several other people noted to me in emails, I had written nothing about this story on behindtheblack. This was intentional. Without knowing what the conference was about, I wasn’t going to speculate about it. Once I knew, I still remained silent because the story was under embargo by Science and I respect these embargos. Now that the embargo has been lifted, I can speak.
What I want to speak about is the danger of speculation, especially among journalists. This is a serious problem today. Too often journalists speculate off the cuff, without knowing a goddamn thing about the subject, And all too often, they are downright wrong, and help contribute to misinforming the public. The result: the field of journalism has a terrible reputation with the public. No one trusts what journalists tell us. Worse, this lack of trust is helping fuel the ignorance and anger that seems to be rising in society, as no one knows what to believe about some of the most important issues of our time.
Journalists need to stop doing this. Rather than fantasize what they don’t know, journalists need to focus on what they do know. If they do that, they will significantly help repair the sagging reputation of their field.
Sierra Nevada Studying X-34 As Rocket Testbed
Sierra Nevada, one of the new aerospace companies competing for NASA’s commercial crew money, appears to be the frontrunner to use the two X-34 suborbital rockets recently taken out of storage.
Sierra Nevada, one of the new aerospace companies competing for NASA’s commercial crew money, appears to be the frontrunner to use the two X-34 suborbital rockets recently taken out of storage.
Airplane telescope flies its first observation mission
The telescope in an airplane flew its first observation mission today.
The telescope in an airplane flew its first observation mission today.
Three times more stars exist than previously thought
There are more stars in heaven and earth than have been dreamt of by scientists, three times more it turns out. And they are all dwarves!
There are more stars in heaven and earth than have been dreamt of by scientists, three times more it turns out. And they are all dwarves!
A Steamy Super-Earth?
Congress, Obama, and NASA fiddle while manned space burns
The space war continues to heat up again. In a hearing today in the Senate, several senators complained loudly that NASA isn’t implementing the details of the September authorization act.
What clowns. These same senators haven’t provided NASA (or anyone) with a budget. They have also given NASA an authorization bill that does not provide the agency with enough money while simultaneously demanding that things be done faster. And they’ve done this at a time the federal government is almost bankrupt. Moreover, the bill requires that NASA build things that the Obama administration doesn’t want to build (though in truth, the Obama administration itself is so confused that no one, including them, knows what they are going to do).
All in all, the whole thing is a mess.
As I’ve said earlier, it’s all pork. Even if NASA gets the money laid out in the authorization bill, it will accomplish nothing except spread some cash around to several congressional districts. Nothing will get built. And in the process of sending that money to new aerospace companies NASA will do much to squelch their creativity and innovation.
Better to cut it all, and let the aerospace industry sink or swim on its own. It will almost certainly do better that the government at this point. In fact, how could it do worse?
Shooting scene from To Kill a Mockingbird
An evening pause: As it is Wednesday and I am at the gun range, competing in bullseye pistol competitions, let’s look at some Hollywood shooting action.
Church Groups Harass Clyde’s Sport Shop – Plan Protest Demonstration
Battle of the protesters! Three Baltimore-based anti-gun church groups have begun a campaign to harass Maryland gun stores. In turn, the first store targeted has fought back. Key quote:
The religious leaders obtained a Baltimore County permit for an anti-gun demonstration from 2 PM until 7 PM in front of Clyde’s Sport Shop. They reportedly requested a permit for 1,000 demonstrators. The Baltimore County Police limited their permit to 75 demonstrators. In response to the planned demonstration, Clyde’s scheduled a Customer Appreciation Day featuring free hot dogs, hamburgers, soft drinks, side dishes, popcorn and a DJ to provide music.
The church groups were nowhere to be found but over 200 gunnies had a very good time and enjoyed good food. It seems that several local churches took the Heeding God’s Call group to task for harassing Clyde’s, whom they consider to be a good neighbor and law abiding business.
Battle of the protesters! Three Baltimore-based anti-gun church groups have begun a campaign to harass Maryland gun stores. In turn, the first store targeted has fought back. Key quote:
The religious leaders obtained a Baltimore County permit for an anti-gun demonstration from 2 PM until 7 PM in front of Clyde’s Sport Shop. They reportedly requested a permit for 1,000 demonstrators. The Baltimore County Police limited their permit to 75 demonstrators. In response to the planned demonstration, Clyde’s scheduled a Customer Appreciation Day featuring free hot dogs, hamburgers, soft drinks, side dishes, popcorn and a DJ to provide music.
The church groups were nowhere to be found but over 200 gunnies had a very good time and enjoyed good food. It seems that several local churches took the Heeding God’s Call group to task for harassing Clyde’s, whom they consider to be a good neighbor and law abiding business.
Deficit commission’s draft report released
Though they can’t get the votes yet to approve it, the co-chairmen of Obama’s deficit commission today did release their own draft report.
Though they can’t get the votes yet to approve it, the co-chairmen of Obama’s deficit commission today did release their own draft report.
Citizen Journalists Forcibly Removed From Van Jones “Open To The Public” Event
I wonder what he’s afraid of: Citizen journalists forcibly removed from Van Jones “Open To The Public” event.
I wonder what he’s afraid of: Citizen journalists forcibly removed from Van Jones “Open To The Public” event.
Amtrak lifts ban on guns
Victory for gun rights: Amtrak has lifted its ban on guns.
Victory for gun rights: Amtrak has lifted its ban on guns.
Debt Commission Agrees to postpone report
Sadly, the pigs are winning! Obama’s deficit commission apparently does not have the votes to release a report today. Key quote:
The New York Times reports that there is unanimous opposition from the six Democrat and six Republican members of Congress who sit on the president’s debt-reduction commission to issuing a final report today. . . . In order to issue a report, the commission must win support for its recommendations from 14 of the 18 members; but that is looking unlikely at the moment, even though the commission has extended its deadline to Friday. Predictably, Democrats don’t want to endorse many of the spending cuts, while Republicans are averse to tax increases.
Sadly, the pigs are winning! Obama’s deficit commission apparently does not have the votes to release a report today. Key quote:
The New York Times reports that there is unanimous opposition from the six Democrat and six Republican members of Congress who sit on the president’s debt-reduction commission to issuing a final report today. . . . In order to issue a report, the commission must win support for its recommendations from 14 of the 18 members; but that is looking unlikely at the moment, even though the commission has extended its deadline to Friday. Predictably, Democrats don’t want to endorse many of the spending cuts, while Republicans are averse to tax increases.
House May Block Food Safety Bill Over Senate Error
These guys are really idiots: The House may block approval of the Senate’s so-called “Food Safety Modernization Act,” because it includes various new taxes, and such bills are required by the Constitution to originate in the House, not the Senate. Key quote:
By pre-empting the House’s tax-writing authority, Senate Democrats appear to have touched off a power struggle with members of their own party in the House. The Senate passed the bill Tuesday, sending it to the House, but House Democrats are expected to use a procedure known as “blue slipping” to block the bill, according to House and Senate GOP aides.
These guys are really idiots: The House may block approval of the Senate’s so-called “Food Safety Modernization Act,” because it includes various new taxes, and such bills are required by the Constitution to originate in the House, not the Senate. Key quote:
By pre-empting the House’s tax-writing authority, Senate Democrats appear to have touched off a power struggle with members of their own party in the House. The Senate passed the bill Tuesday, sending it to the House, but House Democrats are expected to use a procedure known as “blue slipping” to block the bill, according to House and Senate GOP aides.
Scientists pinpoint where Venus’s sulphuric acid clouds come from
Apropos of the desire of IPCC chief Rajendra Pachauri to re-engineer the climate to battle global warming, including spraying “sulphate particles high in the atmosphere to scatter the sun’s rays back into space,” planetary scientists have pinpointed the source of Venus’s sulphuric acid clouds, and from this believe that the IPCC scheme might backfire badly, doing more harm than good.
Apropos of the desire of IPCC chief Rajendra Pachauri to re-engineer the climate to battle global warming, including spraying “sulphate particles high in the atmosphere to scatter the sun’s rays back into space,” planetary scientists have pinpointed the source of Venus’s sulphuric acid clouds, and from this believe that the IPCC scheme might backfire badly, doing more harm than good.
Links fixed!
Just a note to say that I have fixed the number of bad links posted earlier in the day. Sorry about that!
Just a note to say that I have fixed the number of bad links posted earlier in the day. Sorry about that!
Google Earth reveals Star of David on roof of Iran Air HQ
This is almost too good to be true: Google Earth reveals a Star of David
This is almost too good to be true: Google Earth reveals a Star of David on the roof of the Iran Air Headquaters, possibly put there by the Israeli engineers that helped build it back before the Islamic revolution.