Engineers have now confirmed that Dawn has left the gravitational sphere of Vesta and is officially on its way to Ceres.
Engineers have now confirmed that Dawn has left the gravitational sphere of Vesta and is officially on its way to Ceres.
Tag: engineering
In a spacewalk today astronaut successfully overcame a stuck bolt to install a replacement power unit.
In a spacewalk today astronauts successfully overcame a stuck bolt to install a replacement power unit.
NASA engineers had postponed a planned midcourse maneuver of its Jupiter-bound Juno spacecraft
NASA engineers had postponed a planned midcourse maneuver of its Jupiter-bound Juno spacecraft due to unexpectedly high pressures seen in the previous engine burn.
Because of the failure to replace a power unit during last week’s spacewalk, the U.S. portion of ISS is now in a brown-out, with a 25% reduction in power.
Because of the failure to replace a power unit during last week’s spacewalk, the U.S. portion of ISS is now in a brown-out, with a 25% reduction in power.
They plan a second spacewalk tomorrow to try to fix the problem.
In another attempt to win the $250,000 AHS Sikorsky Prize, the Gamera II human-powered helicopter successfully flew for more than sixty seconds
In another attempt to win the $250,000 AHS Sikorsky Prize, the Gamera II human-powered helicopter has successfully flown for more than sixty seconds Video below the fold.
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Two Russian companies have announced a joint plan to build a suborbital spacecraft for tourism.
The competition heats up: Two Russian companies have announced a joint plan to build a suborbital spacecraft for tourism.
Sounds great, but Clark Lindsey has a very informative review of the history of these announcements from Russia, none of which has ever born fruit.
Surgery in weightlessness?
Surgery in weightlessness? Two doctors and an engineer are about to test equipment that might make it possible.
The idea actually has more significance for controlling bleeding during brain and spinal surgeries here on Earth.
The Forest Products Laboratory of the U.S. Forest Service has opened a $1.7 million pilot plant for the production of cellulose nanocrystals, which have the potential to be stronger, stiffer, and lighter than Kevlar or carbon fibers.
The Forest Products Laboratory of the U.S. Forest Service has opened a $1.7 million pilot plant for the production of cellulose nanocrystals, which have the potential to be stronger, stiffer, and lighter than Kevlar or carbon fibers.
It appears that the lab has been researching the useful properties of these nanocrystals, which is a good thing. However, I can’t help wondering why they are now building a production plant. Shouldn’t this be left to the private sector? What business is it of the Forest Service to be a producer of this product? It could be that the plant is aimed not at production but at figuring out how to make it affordable and practical, a goal that might make sense for a government agency to pursue. If not, however, it seems inappropriate for a government agency to use taxpayer dollars to run a facility aimed at selling a product to the private sector.
The article, as well as the lab’s webpage, do not make this clear.
A family car for space.
Though this is a nice write-up describing Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser, the part where they talk about using the vehicle like the shuttle to repair other orbiting satellites is a bit of a stretch.
A California engineer and World War II veteran has developed a bat and bird safe wind turbine.
An 89-year-old California engineer and World War II veteran has developed a bat and bird safe wind turbine.
And it only cost him $550!
Eleven incredible navigable aqueducts.
Eleven incredible navigable aqueducts.
Not surprisingly, they are all in Europe, where the art of canal building has never died off.
Dawn’s farewell tour of the giant asteroid Vesta
An evening pause: As Dawn begins its journey away from Vesta, the science team has put together this stunning video tour of the giant asteroid.
Scientists have determined that the shape of a beer glass can influence how much beer you drink.
Science marches on! Scientists have determined that the shape of a beer glass can influence how much beer you drink.
After watching video of both sessions and recording how much time it took for the drinkers to finish their beer or sodas, Attwood’s team found that one group consistently drank much faster than the others: the group drinking a full glass of lager out of curved flute glasses. In a paper published this month in PLoS ONE, the team reports that whereas the group with straight glasses nursed their 354 milliliters of lager for about 13 minutes, the group with the same amount of beer served in curved glasses finished in less than 8 minutes, drinking alcohol almost as quickly as the soda-drinkers guzzled their pop. However, the researchers observed no differences between people drinking 177 milliliters of beer out of straight versus fluted glasses.
The last sentence reveals the large amount of uncertainty that surrounds this important research.
Two astronauts completed an eight hour spacewalk today, extended because of problems with several stuck bolts.
Two astronauts on ISS completed an eight hour spacewalk today, extended because of problems with several stuck bolts.
Williams and Hoshide initially progressed well through their tasks, but the astronauts struggled with difficult bolts when removing a faulty power box from the exterior of the space station, and then again when replacing the defunct unit with a new spare.
More information here. In the end they were forced to leave the replacement unit only temporarily attached because the bolts would simply not screw in. It was thought there might be debris in the screw holes.
The first open source plane you build at home.
Curiosity heads east 52 feet on the first leg of its exploration of Gale Crater.The journey begins: Curiosity heads east 52 feet on the first leg of its exploration of Gale Crater.
The journey begins: Curiosity heads east 52 feet on the first leg of its exploration of Gale Crater.
A scale that can measure the weight of a single molecule.
A scale that can measure the weight of a single molecule.
Nine substances that only exist in science fiction.
Nine substances that only exist in science fiction.
Until some engineer invents them, that is.
What every home needs: A home-built fire-breathing flying dragon.
What every home needs: A home-built fire-breathing flying dragon.
More rumors about a year-long mission on ISS
The possibility that NASA might finally agree with Russia’s repeated request to fly a year-long mission to ISS grew stronger this morning with two stories:
- NASA gets set for yearlong stints on space station
- A year on the ISS: Good for tourists – and science
The first, by James Oberg, digs into the underworld of NASA politics to find that plans might very well be more advanced than NASA is letting on:
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