Arianespace has successfully launched a commercial satellite with its new Vega rocket.
The competition heats up: Arianespace has successfully launched a commercial satellite with its new Vega rocket.
Category: Points of Information
Very brief descriptions, with appropriate links, of current or recent news items.
SpaceX has released video of its Falcon 9 first stage splashing down vertically in the ocean.
SpaceX has released video of its Falcon 9 first stage splashing down vertically in the ocean.
The video is not very good, but at one point you can clearly see for a flash that the first stage is vertical and appears to be hovering above the water.
For decades engineers and managers in the aerospace industry have said that returning a first stage vertically made no sense. Elon Musk insisted that SpaceX try. It appears he and his company are now going to prove that everyone else was wrong about this.
A doctor’s declaration of independence.
A doctor’s declaration of independence.
I don’t know about other physicians but I am tired—tired of the mandates, tired of outside interference, tired of anything that unnecessarily interferes with the way I practice medicine. No other profession would put up with this kind of scrutiny and coercion from outside forces. The legal profession would not. The labor unions would not. We as physicians continue to plod along and take care of our patients while those on the outside continue to intrude and interfere with the practice of medicine.
We could change the paradigm. We could as a group elect not to take any insurance, not to accept Medicare—many doctors are already taking these steps—and not to roll over time and time again. We have let nearly everyone trespass on the practice of medicine. Are we better for it? Has it improved quality? Do we have more of a voice at the table or less? Are we as physicians happier or more disgruntled then two years ago? Five years ago? Ten years ago?
Russia responds to new U.S. sanctions by threatening U.S. astronauts on ISS.
Uh-oh: Russia responds to new U.S. sanctions by threatening U.S. astronauts on ISS.
Moscow reacted with fury to the inclusion in the sanctions of high-tech exports to Russia and threatened reprisals. “If their aim is to deliver a blow to Russia’s rocket-building sector, then by default, they would be exposing their astronauts on the ISS,” Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said, according to the Interfax news agency.
“Sanctions are always a boomerang which come back and painfully hit those who launched them,” added Rogozin on a visit to Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in March. [emphasis mine]
Was Rogozin actually hinting that Russia might strand U.S. astronauts on ISS?
A man doing a 16-mile charity swim was surrounded and protected from a shark by dolphins.
Cool! A man doing a 16-mile charity swim was surrounded and protected from a shark by dolphins. With video.
More evidence that dolphins are much smarter than we think.
ATK is splitting off its aerospace division to merge that division with Orbital Sciences.
The competition cools? ATK is splitting off its aerospace division to merge that division with Orbital Sciences.
Alliant Techsystems Inc. ATK on Tuesday said it plans to split into two independent companies, one focused on outdoor sports and hunting products, the other centered on aerospace and defense. The outdoor sports operations–which produce commercial ammunition, hunting products and other related items–will be spun off to Alliant shareholders in a tax-free transaction, the company said. The segment generated $2.2 billion in revenue during 2013, Alliant said.
After the separation, Alliant said it plans to merge the aerospace and defense business–which produces rocket propulsion systems and satellite systems, among other things–with rocket and space-system developer Orbital Sciences Inc. The company will be named Orbital ATK Inc.
More here. The company press releases call this “a merger of equals” and do not make it clear what instigated the deal. Did Orbital offer to buy ATK’s aerospace division with its ammo business spun off, or did ATK want to sell off its aerospace division to focus on ammo? I wonder. The ammo business right now is booming, while aerospace remains a much more risky venture. ATK might have wanted to focus on ammo, where the money is, and proposed the idea to Orbital.
Arianespace today scrubbed the third launch of its new Vega rocket at T-minus 10 minutes due to a technical problem.
Arianespace today scrubbed the third launch of its new Vega rocket at T-minus 10 minutes due to a technical problem.
The reliability of Arianespace’s rockets has always been the company’s big selling point, so a launch scrub is very unusual for them. Then again, this is only the third launch of Vega, so we shouldn’t be surprised if they are still working out the kinks.
A proposed House bill would forbid use of Russian rocket engines in launching any American military payloads.
A proposed House bill would forbid use of Russian rocket engines in launching any American military payloads.
This bill is being put forth partly because of the Ukrainian situation and partly to support SpaceX’s effort to break the ULA Atlas/Delta monopoly on military launches. Whether it makes any sense or not is of course beside the point.
Meanwhile, the State Department has expanded the sanctions on satellite exports to Russia, which might threaten some future commercial Proton launches.
Both actions suggest that Elon Musk’s political clout is growing. Obviously his company’s concerns are not the prime motivation behind these decisions, but we should note that both actions hurt his direct competitors, while doing little harm to SpaceX.
ULA has accelerated delivery of its required Russian rocket engines in anticipation of worsening relations with Russia and with members of Congress.
The competition heats up: ULA has accelerated delivery of its required Russian rocket engines in anticipation of worsening relations with Russia and with members of Congress.
ULA presently is the only company the Air Force uses to launch its military satellites, and members of Congress are questioning this monopoly in the context of the situation in the Ukraine as well as SpaceX’s lawsuit challenging it.
Russia’s Proton rocket successfully put two satellites into orbit on Monday.
The competition heats up: Russia’s Proton rocket successfully put two satellites into orbit on Monday.
This is the first of a slew of Proton launches in the next few months as they work to catch up on their launch manifest.
Another conflict between local Utah residents and the BLM appears to be brewing in Utah.
Another conflict between local residents, this time in Utah, and the BLM appears to be brewing.
A man quotes Winston Churchill in England and is immediately arrested.
The fall of western civilization: A man quotes Winston Churchill in England and is immediately arrested.
At the end of a press conference Elon Musk lets slip the news that SpaceX has chosen Brownsville, Texas as the location of its commercial spaceport.
At the end of a press conference Elon Musk lets slip the news that SpaceX has chosen Brownsville, Texas as the location of its commercial spaceport.
They still have to get some FAA and environmental approvals, but expect to be launching from Texas in “a couple of years.”
A brown dwarf star has been discovered only 7.2 light years away.
A brown dwarf star has been discovered only 7.2 light years away.
This makes it the fourth closest interstellar neighbor to the Sun.
SpaceX sues to block ULA’s monopoly on Air Force military launches.
SpaceX sues to block ULA’s monopoly on Air Force military launches.
“It would have to be an extraordinary circumstance to convince me killing the bears in order to protect them makes a whole lot of logical sense.”
Just read it. The whole story will infuriate you.
Protecting interplanetary travelers from radiation will not be easy according to a recent study.
Protecting interplanetary travelers from radiation will not be easy according to a recent study.
The article is detailed and thorough, and outlines the engineering challenges quite accurately.
Want to find out which American company is winning the race to ferry astronauts to the ISS? Go here.
Want to find out which American company is winning the race to ferry astronauts to the ISS? Go here.
A new study confirms that increased atmospheric carbon dioxide lengthens the plant growing season.
Chicken Little was wrong! A new study confirms that increased atmospheric carbon dioxide lengthens the plant growing season.
Previous studies have documented a lengthening of the growing season in many parts of the world. In the United States, the time between the last spring frost and the first autumn freeze has gone up by nearly two weeks since 19002; in Europe, a study of more than 540 plant species found that, on average, spring events such as flowering had shifted about a week earlier from 1971 to 2000, and the onset of autumn had been pushed back by about four days3.
Such shifts have long been attributed to warming temperatures. But CO2 also plays a part, says study co-author Heidi Steltzer, an ecosystem ecologist at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado.
Putting aside the uncertainty about whether carbon dioxide can even cause global warming, the assumption that global warming itself will be a bad thing has never been demonstrated clearly, while there is evidence that it might actually be beneficial.
Orbital Sciences intends to use an upgraded Antares rocket as its contribution to Stratolaunch.
The competition heats up: Orbital Sciences intends to use an upgraded Antares rocket as its contribution to Stratolaunch.
Part of the upgrades appear to be making sure Antares has an available replacement engine for the refurbished Soviet-era engines Antares is now using.