Category: Points of Information
Very brief descriptions, with appropriate links, of current or recent news items.
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 โ in honor (or, more accurately, dishonor) of Walter Duranty, the New York Times Moscow correspondent during the 1920s and 1930s โ 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 โ The Rather (after Dan Rather) โ 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, Actonโs 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 particlesโhelium nuclei with two protons and two neutrons. โThe heavy nuclei makes an alpha decay to produce element 115, and this also decays by alpha decay,โ 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 266โa 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. โPerhaps we are at the shore of the island of stability,โ Duฬllmann 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.
SpaceX’s next Falcon 9 commercial launch, set for Saturday, will once again attempt a soft splashdown of its first stage.
The competition heats up: SpaceX’s next Falcon 9 commercial launch, set for early Saturday morning, will once again attempt a soft splashdown of its first stage.
If this launch happens as scheduled it will also be the fastest turn-around between launches for the company.
The House today voted to hold former IRS official Lois Lerner in contempt.
The House today voted to hold former IRS official Lois Lerner in contempt.
The case now heads to Eric Holder’s Justice Department. I would not hold my breath waiting for them to uphold the law.
The IRS audited 10 percent of all Tea Party donors, a rate much higher than for average Americans.
Working for the Democratic Party: The IRS audited 10 percent of all Tea Party donors, a rate much higher than for average Americans.
Republicans said 24 conservative groups were asked for their donor lists. The IRS initially told Congress that those lists were destroyed, but when they went through their files they discovered three lists that werenโt destroyed.
Rep. Dave Camp, Michigan Republican and chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, asked the IRS to review the names on those lists to see whether any had been audited. The IRS reported back that 10 percent were audited โ substantially higher than the average rate of 1 percent of average Americans who are audited each year.
In other words, the IRS acted as an agent of the Democratic Party to harass and strike fear into their opponents.
According to a GAO report, the sequester cuts that were going to destroy civilization as we know it resulted in exactly one layoff across the entire federal government.
According to a GAO report, the sequester cuts that were going to destroy civilization as we know it resulted in exactly one layoff across the entire federal government.
That is not a typo. Only one person total was laid off to meet the mandated cuts imposed by sequestration. Most agencies froze hiring or imposed furloughs, though even the number of furloughs was less than predicted.
Remember this fact the next time a politician screams dire warnings about any cuts in the federal budget.
Obama administration officials from three departments have asked a federal judge to lift her injunction against Lockheed Martin’s use of Russian engines in its Atlas 5 rocket.
Obama administration officials from three departments have asked a federal judge to lift her injunction against Lockheed Martin’s use of Russian engines in its Atlas 5 rocket.
Not much teeth in these sanctions imposed by the Obama administration, is there? They exempt ISS, which is the bulk of NASA’s effort with the Russians. Now they wish to exempt the Atlas 5. Pretty soon I expect them to exempt almost everything else.
Putin and the Russians are certainly watching this story unfold, and will use what happens here to help gauge how much they can get away with in the Ukraine. And based on some fascinating information conveyed by a caller to my appearance last night on the Space Show, the Russians are definitely going to have to grab more of the Ukraine to make their capture of the Crimea stick. Expect that situation to remain very hot for the near future.
I will again be discussing this subject in depth tonight on Coast to Coast with George Noory.
The sanctions against Russia imposed by the Obama administration could delay the launch of Iridium’s second generation communications constellation of satellites.
The sanctions against Russia imposed by the Obama administration could delay the launch of Iridium’s second generation communications constellation of satellites.
SpaceX continues to acquire land in Texas for its planned spaceport in Brownsville.
The competition heats up: SpaceX continues to acquire land in Texas for its planned spaceport in Brownsville.
Elon Muskโs Dogleg Park LLC picked up an additional five lots in late April, bringing the total number of lots it has acquired in Cameron County to 95. The total land area that SpaceX now owns is roughly 38 acres of land, public records show. This is in addition to 56.5 acres that SpaceX has under lease at the site of what would be the worldโs first private and commercial vertical launch site.
Compared to the acquisitions made by the federal government when it established its space centers in Florida and Wallops Island, these purchases are small. Nonetheless, they are likely sufficient for what the company plans to do.