Tag: engineering
Dragon has splashed down.
Dragon has unberthed from ISS and is on its way back to Earth.
Dragon has unberthed from ISS and is on its way back to Earth.
Dragon has unberthed from ISS and is on its way back to Earth.
After a day delay due to bad weather, Dragon’s return from space has been scheduled for Tuesday.
After a day delay due to bad weather, Dragon’s return from space has been scheduled for Tuesday.
After a day delay due to bad weather, Dragon’s return from space has been scheduled for Tuesday.
Curiosity marks the return to full science operations by producing a new panorama.
Curiosity marks the return to full science operations by producing a new panorama.
Curiosity marks the return to full science operations by producing a new panorama.
Virgin Galactic reports that the recent tests of the engine for SpaceShipTwo have been a complete success.
The competition heats up: Virgin Galactic reports that the recent tests of the engine for SpaceShipTwo have been a complete success.
It appears that they are getting very close to putting the engine on the spaceship for the first powered flights. Things should get very exciting when they do.
The competition heats up: Virgin Galactic reports that the recent tests of the engine for SpaceShipTwo have been a complete success.
It appears that they are getting very close to putting the engine on the spaceship for the first powered flights. Things should get very exciting when they do.
How big will the Stratolaunch first stage aircraft be? Big. Very big.
How big will the Stratolaunch first stage aircraft be? Big. Very big.
How big will the Stratolaunch first stage aircraft be? Big. Very big.
Implosion of the Marble Falls Bridge in Texas
An evening pause: The Marble Falls Bridge in Texas had been replaced and needed to be removed. This almost instantaneous demolition was accomplished on March 17, 2013.
Curiosity is out of safe mode and will be resuming full science operations by next week.
Curiosity is out of safe mode and will be resuming full science operations by next week.
It is imperative that the engineers clear up these computer problems now, as communications with the rover will be limited in April because the sun will be in the way.
Transmissions from Earth to the orbiters [Mars Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter] will be suspended while Mars and the sun are two degrees or less apart in the sky, from April 9 to 26, with restricted commanding during additional days before and after. Both orbiters will continue science observations on a reduced basis compared to usual operations. Both will receive and record data from the rovers. Odyssey will continue transmissions Earthward throughout April, although engineers anticipate some data dropouts, and the recorded data will be retransmitted later.
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will go into a record-only mode on April 4. “For the entire conjunction period, we’ll just be storing data on board,” said Deputy Mission Manager Reid Thomas of JPL. He anticipates that the orbiter could have about 40 gigabits of data from its own science instruments and about 12 gigabits of data from Curiosity accumulated for sending to Earth around May 1.
NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is approaching its fifth solar conjunction. Its team will send no commands between April 9 and April 26. The rover will continue science activities using a long-term set of commands to be sent beforehand.
Curiosity is out of safe mode and will be resuming full science operations by next week.
It is imperative that the engineers clear up these computer problems now, as communications with the rover will be limited in April because the sun will be in the way.
Transmissions from Earth to the orbiters [Mars Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter] will be suspended while Mars and the sun are two degrees or less apart in the sky, from April 9 to 26, with restricted commanding during additional days before and after. Both orbiters will continue science observations on a reduced basis compared to usual operations. Both will receive and record data from the rovers. Odyssey will continue transmissions Earthward throughout April, although engineers anticipate some data dropouts, and the recorded data will be retransmitted later.
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will go into a record-only mode on April 4. “For the entire conjunction period, we’ll just be storing data on board,” said Deputy Mission Manager Reid Thomas of JPL. He anticipates that the orbiter could have about 40 gigabits of data from its own science instruments and about 12 gigabits of data from Curiosity accumulated for sending to Earth around May 1.
NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is approaching its fifth solar conjunction. Its team will send no commands between April 9 and April 26. The rover will continue science activities using a long-term set of commands to be sent beforehand.
An expedition financed by Jeff Bezos has recovered two Saturn 5 F-1 engines from the ocean bottom.
An expedition financed by Jeff Bezos has recovered two Apollo-era Saturn 5 F-1 engines from the ocean bottom.
An expedition financed by Jeff Bezos has recovered two Apollo-era Saturn 5 F-1 engines from the ocean bottom.
ILS, the company that launches the Russian Proton rocket, has lowered its prices.
The competition heats up: ILS, the company that launches the Russian Proton rocket, has lowered its prices.
The reason they have given is that the insurance rates to use their rocket have risen due to the three Proton rocket failures in the past two years and that they want to offset that cost for their customers. I suspect a second reason is the price pressure that the Falcon 9 is placing on them.
The competition heats up: ILS, the company that launches the Russian Proton rocket, has lowered its prices.
The reason they have given is that the insurance rates to use their rocket have risen due to the three Proton rocket failures in the past two years and that they want to offset that cost for their customers. I suspect a second reason is the price pressure that the Falcon 9 is placing on them.
After 35 years of travel, Voyager 1 has finally left the solar system.
After 35 years of travel, Voyager 1 has finally left the solar system.
There is still some dispute among scientists about this, but the evidence seems clear that the spacecraft has entered regions outside the influence of our solar system.
Update: Since this morning the scientists seem to be backtracking. They now claim that Voyager 1 has not left the solar system.
After 35 years of travel, Voyager 1 has finally left the solar system.
There is still some dispute among scientists about this, but the evidence seems clear that the spacecraft has entered regions outside the influence of our solar system.
Update: Since this morning the scientists seem to be backtracking. They now claim that Voyager 1 has not left the solar system.
Another computer glitch has put Curiosity back in safe mode.
Another computer glitch has put Curiosity back in safe mode.
The problem this time appears to be different from the previous computer issue that shutdown Curiosity’s A computer. Since it occurred on the backup B computer now in use, however, it is a problem that cannot be taken lightly.
Another computer glitch has put Curiosity back in safe mode.
The problem this time appears to be different from the previous computer issue that shutdown Curiosity’s A computer. Since it occurred on the backup B computer now in use, however, it is a problem that cannot be taken lightly.
The space junk collision in January never happened.
The uncertainty of journalism: The space junk collision in January never happened.
The data instead shows that the Russian satellite merely broke up in orbit. The data shows that nothing ever came close to it or collided with it.
The uncertainty of journalism: The space junk collision in January never happened.
The data instead shows that the Russian satellite merely broke up in orbit. The data shows that nothing ever came close to it or collided with it.
Orbital Sciences has now set April 16-18 as the launch window for its first test launch of its new Antares rocket
The competition heats up: Orbital Sciences has now set April 16-18 as the launch window for its first test launch of its new Antares rocket.
The competition heats up: Orbital Sciences has now set April 16-18 as the launch window for its first test launch of its new Antares rocket.
Building a lunar base by baking lunar dust and shaping it with a 3D printer.
Building a lunar base by baking lunar dust and shaping it with a 3D printer.
Building a lunar base by baking lunar dust and shaping it with a 3D printer.
Visiting a nuclear missile silo
A fuel line for the Titan missile.
Last week my oldest friend Lloyd and his wife Denise came to visit Diane and I here in Tucson. One of Lloyd’s requests was to visit the Tucson Missile Museum. This museum is built at the site of one of the now disabled missile silos built in the 1960s as a means for launching nuclear weapons against the Soviet Union. Fifty-four silos total had been built and operated, with eighteen of those silos scattered around the Tucson, Arizona area. When the U.S. signed a nuclear arms treaty with the Soviet Union in the 1980s these silos were then shut down and sold. Some became private residences. Others remain buried and abandoned.
One silo, however, was kept as intact as allowed by treaty and made into a museum in order to preserve this artifact of history. Because Diane and I happen to know Chuck Penson, the archivist at the museum, we were able to arrange an augmented tour of the facility. Below are some of my pictures as Chuck took us down into the deepest bowels of the silo.
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The return today of three astronauts from ISS has been delayed due to an ice storm in Russia.
The return today of three astronauts from ISS has been delayed due to an ice storm in Russia.
The return today of three astronauts from ISS has been delayed due to an ice storm in Russia.
For the first time in 25 years the U.S. has begun producing plutonium, to be used in future planetary space missions.
For the first time in 25 years the U.S. has begun producing plutonium, to be used as a power source for future planetary space missions.
For the first time in 25 years the U.S. has begun producing plutonium, to be used as a power source for future planetary space missions.
Europe today inked a partnership deal with Russia for its two spacecraft ExoMars mission, planned to launch in 2016 and 2018.
Europe today inked a partnership deal with Russia for its two spacecraft ExoMars mission, planned to launch in 2016 and 2018.
Russia essentially replaces the United States, which backed out of the deal last year when the Obama administration eliminated the funding for most of NASA’s planetary program.
Europe today inked a partnership deal with Russia for its two spacecraft ExoMars mission, planned to launch in 2016 and 2018.
Russia essentially replaces the United States, which backed out of the deal last year when the Obama administration eliminated the funding for most of NASA’s planetary program.
Astronomers today celebrate the official turning-on of ALMA, the world’s largest telescope.
Astronomers today celebrate the official turning-on of ALMA, the world’s largest telescope.
ALMA is an array of 66 dishes tuned to wavelengths in the millimeter to submillimeter range of the electromagnetic spectrum, between the infrared and radio frequencies.
Astronomers today celebrate the official turning-on of ALMA, the world’s largest telescope.
ALMA is an array of 66 dishes tuned to wavelengths in the millimeter to submillimeter range of the electromagnetic spectrum, between the infrared and radio frequencies.
China says it will by 2015 do a re-entry test of the spacecraft it will use to return a lunar sample from the Moon by 2020..
The competition heats up: China says it will by 2015 do a re-entry test of the spacecraft it will use to return a lunar sample from the Moon by 2020..
The competition heats up: China says it will by 2015 do a re-entry test of the spacecraft it will use to return a lunar sample from the Moon by 2020..
Boeing is considering building a civilian version of the X-37B mini-shuttle.
The competition heats up: Boeing is considering building a civilian version of the X-37B mini-shuttle.
The competition heats up: Boeing is considering building a civilian version of the X-37B mini-shuttle.
The radiation from the Fukushima nuclear power plant failure in Japan has turned out to be less of a problem than predicted.
The radiation from the Fukushima nuclear power plant failure in Japan has turned out to be less of a problem than predicted.
[O]utside the immediate area of Fukushima, this is hardly a problem at all. Although the crippled nuclear reactors themselves still pose a danger, no one, including personnel who worked in the buildings, died from radiation exposure. Most experts agree that future health risks from the released radiation, notably radioactive iodine-131 and cesiums-134 and – 137, are extremely small and likely to be undetectable. Even considering the upper boundary of estimated effects, there is unlikely to be any detectable increase in cancers in Japan, Asia or the world except close to the facility, according to a World Health Organization report. There will almost certainly be no increase in birth defects or genetic abnormalities from radiation.
Even in the most contaminated areas, any increase in cancer risk will be small. For example, a male exposed at age 1 has his lifetime cancer risk increase from 43 percent to 44 percent. Those exposed at 10 or 20 face even smaller increases in risk — similar to what comes from having a whole-body computer tomography scan or living for 12 to 25 years in Denver amid background radiation in the Rocky Mountains.
The entire article is worth reading, as it outlines in detail the less than deadly consequences of both Fukushima and Chernobyl. This is the kind of information we should use to rationally decide whether we want to build more nuclear power planets.
The radiation from the Fukushima nuclear power plant failure in Japan has turned out to be less of a problem than predicted.
[O]utside the immediate area of Fukushima, this is hardly a problem at all. Although the crippled nuclear reactors themselves still pose a danger, no one, including personnel who worked in the buildings, died from radiation exposure. Most experts agree that future health risks from the released radiation, notably radioactive iodine-131 and cesiums-134 and – 137, are extremely small and likely to be undetectable. Even considering the upper boundary of estimated effects, there is unlikely to be any detectable increase in cancers in Japan, Asia or the world except close to the facility, according to a World Health Organization report. There will almost certainly be no increase in birth defects or genetic abnormalities from radiation.
Even in the most contaminated areas, any increase in cancer risk will be small. For example, a male exposed at age 1 has his lifetime cancer risk increase from 43 percent to 44 percent. Those exposed at 10 or 20 face even smaller increases in risk — similar to what comes from having a whole-body computer tomography scan or living for 12 to 25 years in Denver amid background radiation in the Rocky Mountains.
The entire article is worth reading, as it outlines in detail the less than deadly consequences of both Fukushima and Chernobyl. This is the kind of information we should use to rationally decide whether we want to build more nuclear power planets.
Seven sound recordings made before Thomas Edison.
Seven sound recordings made before Thomas Edison.
Seven sound recordings made before Thomas Edison.
Grasshopper flies again, but even higher.
The competition heats up: Grasshopper flies again, but even higher.
SpaceX’s Grasshopper doubled its highest leap to date to rise 24 stories or 80.1 meters (262.8 feet) today, hovering for approximately 34 seconds and landing safely using closed loop thrust vector and throttle control. Grasshopper touched down with its most accurate precision thus far on the centermost part of the launch pad. At touchdown, the thrust to weight ratio of the vehicle was greater than one, proving a key landing algorithm for Falcon 9.
The competition heats up: Grasshopper flies again, but even higher.
SpaceX’s Grasshopper doubled its highest leap to date to rise 24 stories or 80.1 meters (262.8 feet) today, hovering for approximately 34 seconds and landing safely using closed loop thrust vector and throttle control. Grasshopper touched down with its most accurate precision thus far on the centermost part of the launch pad. At touchdown, the thrust to weight ratio of the vehicle was greater than one, proving a key landing algorithm for Falcon 9.
A small Russian satellite has been struck and damaged by space junk created from a 2007 Chinese anti-satellite test.
A small Russian satellite has been struck and damaged by space junk created from a 2007 Chinese anti-satellite test.
A small Russian satellite has been struck and damaged by space junk created from a 2007 Chinese anti-satellite test.
Sand that is always dry
An evening pause: As Arthur Clarke said, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
Eight of the world’s most incredible swimming pools.
As a precaution engineers have shut Curiosity down to protect it from an oncoming solar flare.
As a precaution engineers have temporarily shut Curiosity down to protect it from an oncoming solar flare.
They have done this in conjunction with the rover’s recent computer memory problem.
As a precaution engineers have temporarily shut Curiosity down to protect it from an oncoming solar flare.
They have done this in conjunction with the rover’s recent computer memory problem.
For the past two years NASA and JPL have been under heavy hacker attack from China, according to NASA’s inspector general.
For the past two years NASA and JPL have been under heavy hacker attack from China, according to NASA’s inspector general.
For the past two years NASA and JPL have been under heavy hacker attack from China, according to NASA’s inspector general.