Astronauts Plant Flowers in Space

http://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/2015/11/17/75966396/?utm_source=Today%27s+Deep+Space+Extra%2C+Wednesday%2C+November+18%2C+2015&utm_campaign=dailycsextra&utm_medium=email


Sent from my iPad

Fwd: RD-180 - the first fire test

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: November 15, 2015 at 8:14:40 PM CST
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: RD-180 - the first fire test

 

   

 

STORY. RD-180 - the first fire test

11.15.2015 8:56

19 years ago, on 15 November 1996, the NGO "Energomash" held its first firing test of the prototype engine RD-180 # 1A. Since then, the RD-180 has become the most sought-after in the international market of the Russian rocket engine. For 19 years, made 83 commodity RD-180.

In early 1996, a draft of the RD-180 NGOs "Energomash" was recognized as the winner of the competition for the development and production of first-stage engine for the upgraded "Atlas" of the American company Lockheed Martin Corporation («Lockheed Martin"). Creating a powerful engine of the first stage in the NPO "Energomash" was carried out in a short time.

Today RD-180 has established itself as one of the most reliable rockets in the world. Largely thanks to impeccable quality and unique characteristics of using the RD-180 US launches the most expensive payloads and companies Boeing («Boeing") and Sierra Nevada («Sierra Nevada") chose "Atlas" with the RD-180 as launch vehicle prospective manned spacecraft. Cooperation Roscosmos, NPO "Energomash" and American companies contracted deliveries of missile engines proved once again that the cosmos is international, and experts of our countries can do together to create unique products of the highest quality.

RD-180 is based on the legendary engine 11D520 (RD-170) designed for rocket "Energy". Encompasses all the best that has been created on the RD-170, RD-180, despite the differences in design while retaining the ability reusable and quality management system, implemented in the NPO "Energomash" in the production of the RD-180 and later spread all engines of the company to provide him with the reliability that has become legendary. Today, technology and experience gained in the development and operation of RD-170 and RD-180, used in the RD-190 engine developed for the new Russian carrier rocket family "Angara".

 

Государственная корпорация по космической деятельности "РОСКОСМОС"

107996, ГСП-6, г. Москва, ул. Щепкина, д.42 
Тел.: +7 (495) 631-97-61 
Факс: +7 (495) 688-90-63

 

---

 

Fwd: NASA vs. Cigarettes: A Numbers Game

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: November 17, 2015 at 12:00:15 PM CST
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: NASA vs. Cigarettes: A Numbers Game

 

 

NASA vs. Cigarettes: A Numbers Game

by Evan Gough on November 16, 2015

 

A photo of the full moon, taken from Apollo 11 on its way home to Earth, from about 18,520 km (10,000 nm) away. Credit: NASA

People often criticize the amount of money spent on space exploration. Sometimes it's well-meaning friends and family who say that that money is wasted, and would be better spent on solving problems here on Earth. In fact, that's a whole cultural meme. You see it played out over and over in the comments section whenever mainstream media covers a space story.

While solving problems here on Earth is noble, and the right thing to do, it's worth pointing out that the premier space exploration body on Earth, NASA, actually has a tiny budget. When you compare NASA's budget to what people spend on cigarettes, NASA looks pretty good.

Ignoring for the moment the fact that we don't know how to solve all the problems here on Earth, let's look at NASA's budget over the years, and compare it to something that is truly a waste of money: cigarettes and tobacco.

NASA is over 50 years old. In its first year, its budget was $89 million. (That's about $732 million in today's dollars.) In that same year, Americans spent about $6 billion on cigarettes and tobacco.

Buzz Aldrin on the Moon. Image Credit: NASA

From 1969 to 1972, NASA's Apollo Program landed 12 men on the Moon. They won the Space Race and established a moment that will echo through the ages, no matter what else humanity does: the first human footsteps anywhere other than Earth. In those four years, NASA's combined budget was $14.8 billion. In that same time period, Americans spent over twice as much—$32 billion—on smoking.

STS-1 Columbia on the launch pad. Image Credit: NASA

In 1981, NASA launched its first space shuttle, the Columbia (STS-1). NASA's budget that year was $5.5 billion. That same year, the American population spent about $17.4 billion on tobacco. That's three times NASA's budget. How many more shuttle flights could there have been? How much more science?

The Hubble Space Telescope in 1997, after its first servicing mission. It's about 552 km (343m) above Earth. Image: NASA

In 1990, NASA launched the Hubble Space Telescope into Low Earth Orbit (LEO.) The Hubble has been called the most successful science project in history, and Universe Today readers probably don't need to be told why. The Hubble is responsible for a laundry list of discoveries and observations, and has engaged millions of people around the world in space science and discovery. In that year, NASA had a budget of $12.4 billion. And smoking? In 1990, Americans smoked their way through $26.5 billion of tobacco.

MSL Curiosity selfie on the surface of Mars. Image: NASA/JPL/Cal-Tech.

In 2012, NASA had a budget of $16.8 billion. In that year, NASA successfully landed the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity on Mars, at a cost of $2.5 billion. Also that year, American lungs processed $44 billion worth of tobacco. That's the equivalent of 17 Curiosity rovers!

There was an enormous scientific debate around where Curiosity should land, in order to maximize the science. Scientific teams competed to have their site chosen, and eventually the Gale Crater was selected as the most promising site. Gale is a meteor crater, and was chosen because it shows signs of running water, as well as evidence of layered geology including clays and minerals.

Sunrise at Gale Crater on Mars. Gale is at center top with the mound in the middle, called Mt. Sharp (Aeolis Mons.)

But other equally tantalizing sites were in contention, including Holden Crater, where a massive and catastrophic flood took place, and where ancient sediments lie exposed on the floor of the crater, ready for study. Or Mawrth Vallis, another site that suffered a massive flood, which exposed layers of clay minerals formed in the presence of water. With the money spent on tobacco in 2012 ($44 billion!) we could have had a top ten list of landing sites on Mars, and put a rover at each one.

Think of all that science.

One of the JWST's gold-coated mirrors. Not even launched yet, and the golden mirrors are already iconic. Image Credit: NASA/Drew Noel

NASA's budget is always a source of controversy, and that's certainly true of another of NASA's big projects: The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST.) Space enthusiasts are eagerly awaiting the launch of the JWST, planned for October 2018. The JWST will take up residence at the second Lagrange Point (L2,) where it will spend 5-10 years studying the formation of galaxies, stars, and planetary systems from the Big Bang until now. It will also investigate the potential for life in other solar systems.

The L2 (Lagrange 2) point in space. Image Credit: NASA

Initially the JWST's cost was set at $1.6 billion and it was supposed to launch in 2011. But now it's set for October 2018, and its cost has grown to $8.8 billion. It sounds outrageous, almost $9 billion for a space telescope, and Congress considered scrapping the entire project. But what's even more outrageous is that Americans are projected to spend over $50 billion on tobacco in 2018.

When people in the future look back at NASA and what it was able to accomplish in the latter half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, they'll think two things: First, they'll think how amazing it was that NASA did what it did. The Moon landings, the Shuttle program, the Hubble, Curiosity, and the James Webb.

Then, they'll be saddened by how much more could've been done collectively, if so much money hadn't been wasted on something as deadly as smoking.

(Note: All amounts are US Dollars.)

 

 

---

 

 

Fwd: First satellite launched for Russia’s new missile warning network

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: November 18, 2015 at 7:22:56 PM CST
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: First satellite launched for Russia's new missile warning network

First satellite launched for Russia's new missile warning network

November 17, 2015 by Stephen Clark

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CI2Jn67gs4

Russia launched an early warning satellite Tuesday, deploying the first in a new fleet of military satellites to detect missile launches heading for Russian territory.

The secretive payload blasted off at 0634 GMT (1:34 a.m. EST) aboard a Soyuz rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, a military facility in northern Russia's Arkhangelsk region, according to a statement issued by the Russian Defense Ministry.

The launcher flew in the modernized Soyuz-2.1b configuration with an upgraded third stage engine and a digital flight control system. A Fregat upper stage was programmed to fire multiple times to guide the mission's satellite payload, believed to be the first EKS-class missile warning platform, into an elliptical Tundra-type orbit positioned over high latitudes.

The defense ministry declared the flight successful in its statement after the launch.

"All the required procedures and the Soyuz-2.1b space rocket launch were carried out as planned," the defense ministry said.

Russia did not release the satellite's orbital parameters or data on its specifications and capabilities, but U.S. military tracking assets indicated the spacecraft was placed in an orbit with a low point of approximately 1,626 kilometers (1,010 miles), a high point of 38,550 kilometers (23,953 miles) and an inclination of 63.8 degrees.

Russian authorities officially named the new EKS satellite Kosmos 2510, keeping with the country's nomenclature for defense-related spacecraft.

EKS is a Russian acronym that translates to integrated space system, according to RussianSpaceWeb.com. The EKS satellites replace Russia's Oko early warning system, which had its last satellite launch in 2012.

RussianSpaceWeb.com reported the last Oko satellite failed in orbit in 2014, leaving ground-based radars as the Russian government's only way to detect incoming missiles.

Russia's Novosti news agency reported last year that 10 EKS satellites will be launched by 2018 to complete the space-based early warning network.

Tuesday's launch marked the sixth space mission to lift off from Plesetsk this year, and the fourth using a Soyuz booster. It was the 13th launch of the Soyuz rocket family worldwide in 2015.

 

© 2015 Spaceflight Now Inc.

 

---

 

Fwd:

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: Bobby G Martin <bobbygmartin1938@gmail.com>
Date: November 19, 2015 at 11:30:40 AM CST
To: Bobby Martin <bobbygmartin1938@gmail.com>

Shuttle Risks Are Worth It -- Gene Kranz

From an op-ed piece by Eugene Kranz, former NASA flight director (of Apollo 13 fame), in yesterday's Houston Chronicle (paragraphing edited):

During the launching, foam fell off the external tank.   For the risk-averse, the only acceptable thing to do now is retire the shuttle program immediately and wait for the divine arrival of the next generation of spacecraft.   

I am disgusted at the lack of courage and common sense this attitude shows. 

All progress involves risk.  Risk is essential to fuel the economic engine of our nation. 

And risk is essential to renew American's fundamental spirit of discovery so we remain competitive with the rest of the world. 

*  *  *

I understand the tragedy inherent in risk-taking; I witnessed the fire aboard Apollo 1 in 1967 that killed three crew members. It filled us with anger at ourselves and with the resolve to make it right. After the fire we didn't quit; we redesigned the Apollo command module. During the Apollo missions that followed, we were never perfect. But we were determined and competent and that made these missions successful.

I see the same combination of anger, resolve and determination in the space shuttle program today. These people are professionals who understand risk, how to reduce it and how to make that which remains acceptable.

Most important, the current mission has demonstrated the maturity of the shuttle team that endured the Columbia disaster and had the guts to persevere. This is the most important aspect of the recovery from the Columbia accident, and is a credit to the great team NASA now has in place, headed by its administrator, Michael Griffin.

There are many nations that wish to surpass us in space. Does the "quit now" crowd really believe that abandoning the shuttle and the International Space Station is the way to keep America the pre-eminent space-faring nation? Do they really believe that a new spacecraft will come without an engineering challenge or a human toll?

The path the naysayers suggest is so out of touch with the American character of perseverance, hard work and discovery that they don't even realize the danger in which they are putting future astronauts — not to mention our nation.

Sent from my iPad

Commercial Space Freighters

http://www.spacetran21.org/


Sent from my iPad

Fwd: Spacewalk snapshots show recent station EVAs

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: November 17, 2015 at 8:44:58 PM CST
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: Spacewalk snapshots show recent station EVAs

 

Spacewalk snapshots show recent station EVAs

November 16, 2015 by Stephen Clark

Clad in white spacesuits, astronauts Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindgren recently floated outside the International Space Station on a pair of spacewalks, and the duo carried cameras with them to document the excursions.

NASA has released pictures from the Oct. 28 and Nov. 6 spacewalks showing Kelly and Lindgren snapping space selfies and working near the end of the space station's 357-foot-long (109-meter) truss to reconfigure an ammonia coolant loop.

The spacewalkers also laid cables for future commercial crew capsule docking ports and lubricated the latching end effector of the research lab's Canadian-built robotic arm.

The excursions marked the first spacewalks of Kelly and Lindgren's careers. The astronauts logged 15 hours and 4 minutes on the two EVAs.

Astronaut Scott Kelly snaps a space selfie while on an Oct. 28 spacewalk. Credit: NASA

Astronaut Scott Kelly is photographed just outside the station's Quest airlock at the beginning of his first spacewalk Oct. 28. Credit: NASA

Astronaut Kjell Lindgren works on a night pass during an Oct. 28 spacewalk. Credit: NASA

A maze of cables and wires along the space station's truss backbone is seen in this view captured by one of the astronauts on a Nov. 6 spacewalk. Credit: NASA

Astronaut Kjell Lindgren took this selfie during the Nov. 6 spacewalk. Credit: NASA

Astronaut Scott Kelly is seen working outside the space station in this picture from the Nov. 6 spacewalk. One of the outpost's giant solar array wings is in the background. Credit: NASA

Astronaut Scott Kelly during the Nov. 6 spacewalk. Credit: NASA

Dwarfed by the enormous power truss of the International Space Station, astronaut Scott Kelly works outside the complex Nov. 6. Credit: NASA

Astronaut Kjell Lindgren on his second spacewalk Nov. 6. Credit: NASA

Spot the astronaut. Kjell Lindgren works at the P6 truss at the end of the space station's structural backbone on Nov. 6. Credit: NASA

Astronaut Kjell Lindgren photographed at the P6 worksite Nov. 6. Credit: NASA

 

 

© 2015 Spaceflight Now Inc.

 

---