February 02, 2006
Definition time!
CNN.com - Scientists: New 'planet' bigger than Pluto - Feb 1, 2006
If "UB313" (I assume they'll come up with another name eventually) is bigger than Pluto, don't you have to call it a planet? But a lot of astronomers think Pluto shouldn't be called a planet either.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:16 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 16, 2006
Wait a minute
CNN.com - Plutonium on Pluto mission worries anti-nuke activists - Jan 16, 2006
Why are you people upset? We're sending radioactive material all the way to the end of the solar system! I'd think you'd be thrilled.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:42 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 12, 2006
Ring around the moon
Weird phenomenon tonight. We have some high thin clouds, blocking out the stars. There's also a full moon. And the moon's bright enough to scatter a lot of light, so there's a distinct ring around it. A big one, too -- must be about thirty degrees in diameter. I don't really know how to describe what it looks like. Well, "cool", I guess.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:21 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
December 25, 2005
I can be juvenile
CNN.com - Hubble finds new moons, rings around Uranus - Dec 22, 2005
"Rings around Uranus"! Hee!
One of the moons is called "Cupid", which surprisingly hasn't been used before. It's Venus' fault for not having any satellites. Stupid Venus. In this case, "Cupid" is taken from Shakespeare rather than directly from mythology, in keeping with Uranian naming practices.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 11:53 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 08, 2005
Don't screw it up
Cullman company working on space telescope mirrors
You'll recall that the lenses in the Hubble were flawed. Let's do better this time, okay?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:05 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 06, 2005
Uh, Neil...
al.com: NewsFlash - Armstrong: Mars easier voyage than moon
You do know that Mars is what we call farther away than the Moon, right?
Okay, that's a cheap shot. What he means is that the technology of today is closer to enabling a Mars trip than the technology of 1961 was to enabling a Moon trip. I think he's underestimating the physiological and psychological problems, though.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:43 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 01, 2005
Freak
al.com: NewsFlash - Armstrong threatens to sue Ohio barber
Who would pay $3000 for a clump of Neil Armstrong's hair? Some guy from Connecticut. Anyway, this sure seems like a violation and I understand why Armstrong is upset. (Maybe he should send Buzz Aldrin to beat the guy up.) But I wonder. Why does it feel like a violation? The hair was just going to be thrown away anyway. Or burned. Whatever they do with hair. I like not to think about it.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:31 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
May 22, 2005
I'm surprised
CNN.com - U.S.: No billboards in space - May 20, 2005
Did they ask the White House first? Because that seems like the sort of thing they'd be in favor of.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:24 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
January 02, 2005
At least they didn't call it Armageddon
al.com: NewsFlash - NASA can't wait to smash and trash this comet-busting spacecraft
NASA has a probe scheduled to crash into and blast a crater in a comet. The probe is called, yes, Deep Impact, and is scheduled for the Fourth of July. It won't blow up the whole comet, just take samples of the nucleus.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 05:04 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 06, 2004
Good one, George
Marshall to offer buyout to 250
So in order to return to the moon, NASA is trying to get rid of researchers and support personnel in areas not relevant to the moon plan. About 250 would be bought out at Marshall in Huntsville, more than 1,100 in five facilities nationwide. To reach a purely symbolic goal, they're gutting pure science programs.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 06:42 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
November 14, 2004
Ha ha ha
Marshall hopes to put robotic probes on diet
Stupid jokey headline writer. (No, not me.)
Anyway, scientists in Huntsville want to reduce the weight of space probes so that they can get the probes moving faster with more instruments on today's wimpy rockets. They're developing solar sails as well.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 04:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 24, 2004
Old news
CNN.com - Galaxies collide with stellar bang - Sep 24, 2004
I mean, this happened 300 million years ago! Okay, we're only seeing it now.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:18 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
September 08, 2004
NASA is really on a bad streak
CNN.com - Genesis spacecraft crash-lands in desert - Sep 8, 2004
It's the biggest Genesis disaster since they cut an album without Phil Collins. The probe -- which was sent out to collect solar wind particles three years ago -- was supposed to be caught in mid-air by a helicopter, but its parachutes didn't open. NASA hopes there's enough of the capsule left to figure out why. The way things are going, it will be some sort of blindingly obvious mistake, like someone put them in backwards.
ADDENDUM: The image of the crashed capsule:
For whatever reason, they seem to have used a filter on this photograph that makes it look like Genesis not only crashed, it crashed into Mars. Talk about bad memories...
Posted by Mac Thomason at 11:32 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
August 17, 2004
Do they even name them anymore?
CNN.com - Cassini spies 2 new Saturn moons - Aug 16, 2004
Personally, I think an object needs a minimum size requirement before we call it a moon. Two miles across doesn't cut it.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 09, 2004
That's no good
CNN.com - Private spacecraft explodes in test launch - Aug 9, 2004
On the other hand, at least it was an unmanned flight.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 04, 2004
Is this really a good idea?
NASA looks to outsource space work
Haven't we already seen the results of cutting corners in space travel? I'm all for private enterprise in space, but it seems to me that government outsourcing almost always results in the worst of both worlds -- the efficiency of government combined with the attempts to maximize profit at any cost of businesses.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 03:47 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
July 09, 2004
Nazi memorabilia at work
Von Braun's desk to stay at Marshall
They love Wehrner Von Braun up in Huntsville. Higher-ups at the Marshall Space Flight Center (most recently, the Associate Director) have been using his old desk. It may not be in use with that AD's retirement, but it's going to stay in place. It's a matter of Von Braun's charisma, apparently. Also, it helps create links in a "Six Degrees of Hitler" game.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:44 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 27, 2004
Not "will", "is likely to"
Satellites can pinpoint where malaria will strike
Just a little correction there for the boys and girls at the Huntsville Times. The satellite pictures can't actually predict malaria. What they do is predict where weather condidtions will be ripe for mosquitoes. Getting the alerts out in poor areas in Africa or southern India is a whole other problem.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 03:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 19, 2004
Eventually
Probe to measure if time slows down as Einstein predicted
Today's launch, it turns out, was delayed. Which, if you think about it, is kind of ironic. I'd thought that time dilation was already proven, but I guess this is something different. It's one of those things that's completely over my head.
What I want is an experiment to find out if Joseph Heller was right about time slowing down if you're really bored. I say yes.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:27 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 10, 2004
Bush Push Smushed
Bush push to Mars may be slowed
To the surprise of... Well, nobody... returning to the Moon and visiting Mars would cost more money than we can conveniently afford at this time. The NASA Comptroller (ladies and gentlemen, the least glamorous but most important job at NASA!) told the NASA Advisory Council that domestic needs and that pesky war "might" force Congress to delay funding. Bush wanted a 5.6 percent increase in the NASA budget, but that's probably not going to happen.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:51 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 08, 2004
Great moments in Juxtaposition
Work on how to use nuclear power in space heating up at Marshall
Hint for the Huntsville Times: find a way to phrase this headline so it doesn't sound like they're trying to manufacture nuclear-powered space heaters. All I could think of were the fires every winter when those things set the carpet or the curtains ablaze. Imagine: "Tragedy struck today when Chicago was vaporized by an atomic fireball. Authorities blamed a faulty space heater."
They're talking about using nuclear power in space. That's just fine by me. If they're going to fission uranium and plutonium, that's a good place for it. I'm sure that if they actually tried to launch an atomic-powered vehicle everyone'd go nuts.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:51 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
March 02, 2004
Mooncrete a reality
UAH tests moon dust in concrete
Obviously, with it costing thousands of dollars an ounce to bring moondust to the Earth, using it for concrete here isn't very practical. But it would come in handy on the moon, especially since getting concrete up there is even more expensive. And concrete is a practical building material, of course.
By the way, I'd like to point out that the scientist doing this work, and proposing that concrete be used to construct any moonbase, was born in Syria. Occasionally, some nice news does come out of that part of the world.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 03:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 25, 2004
Too many options
Universe Today - Dummy Will Test the Effects of Space Radiation
Lamont Sanford in space! No, George Bush in space! No, Jessica Simpson in space! Me in space! Grady Little in space!
Oh, you get the idea.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:38 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 19, 2004
Life support
NASA plane jobs may stay in place
Development by the designers of the dead Space Plane project will continue at least until June. They'll be working on the new space module; local legislators and officials want to keep that in Huntsville. The transition contract makes that more likely.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 03:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 18, 2004
The Holy Roman Empire of launch vehicles
Space plane cancellation made official
It wasn't a plane, it couldn't get to space on its own, and like the Holy Roman Empire it is now officially extinct. An awful lot of work is now down the drain, but it was time to cut their losses, I guess.
They're moving onto the Crew Exploration Vehicle, and there's a good chance that the design work will be done in Huntsville again. I can't wait to see what's wrong with this one.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 03:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 04, 2004
That makes sense
NASA to cut 87 jobs here, but Marshall says no layoff
We're going to Mars, but first -- NASA job cuts! Is that Bush in a nutshell or what? Grandiose plans combined with fewer jobs. It's the entire administration in miniature.
Marshall will probably avoid actually firing anyone, relying upon retirements and transfers. They may offer some early retirement packages.
The Space Launch Initiative is dead. It was supposed to develop cheaper ways to get humans into space, but I guess that's not a priority anymore. Go figure.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 31, 2004
Well, that's morbid
Astronaut's husband wishes whole family had died in pre-Columbia plane crash
That way, he and his wife and their son would "be together". Uh-huh. And they would have postponed the mission and the shuttle might not have blown up.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 11:37 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 15, 2004
Huntsville space wrapup
Marshall will play role in future steps toward new worlds
NASA won't fly on extra $1B, Marshall ex-chief says
Huntsville space plane program to change course
Three stories in today's Huntsville Times relating to the new space initiative. The first is a promise by a local who's on a NASA advisory committee that the new priorities won't hurt Marshall Space Flight Center and that there will still be plenty of jobs there. The second is a claim by the former head of Marshall that the extra $1 billion promised by the President is, basically, nothing, that it can help with planning but won't go any further.
The last might be the interesting story, as the space plane (which isn't really a plane and for that matter can't even get to space on its own) will go through yet another redesign to become a crew exploration vehicle. Or, if you look at it another way, the space plane's been scrapped in favor of a new vehicle for deep space.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 03:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 12, 2004
Marshall Marshall Marshall
Marshall keeps generating ideas
One of the duties of the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville is to come up with wacky ideas. (For instance, they're the people NASA put to work on antigravity.) One of the things they're working on today is nuclear propulsion, which isn't wacky but would be really controversial I'm sure. (How dare we pollute empty space!) There's a bunch of other stuff any science fiction reader probably already knows about.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 11:41 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 10, 2004
Pigs Pork In Spaaaace!
I remain unconvinced that the Bush space initiative would be good for the country. But it would definitely be good for my poor depressed state. Huntsville is home to one of NASA's major centers and to a number of aerospace facilities, and a lot of the spending would come their way. In particular, the rockets (and we'll need new rockets, at least for a Mars mission) would probably be developed at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:43 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 09, 2004
Americans, get it?
ajc.com | News | Bush to announce bold new missions to send Americans to Mars and the moon
Maybe we'll let some allied foreigners come along. If they don't get in the way.
Just landing on the Moon, of course, would be nearly worthless. We know we can do that, and frankly there isn't much of interest there. But a permanent facility on the Moon -- as is suggested -- well, that might be a big deal. It would also cost real money, even by US Government standards, and I don't see how we could afford it. The same goes for a Mars mission. Not that it wouldn't be cool, but I don't think this is the time.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:35 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
January 04, 2004
USA! USA!
CNN.com - NASA rover lands safely on red planet - Jan. 4, 2004
NASA chief Sean O'Keefe: "We're back". Bill McCabe: "In your face, Europe!"
Spirit is down safely and sending back images.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:40 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 03, 2004
Twelve hours of life left
ajc.com | News | NASA all ears for Mars rover
Then, it will be time to land, and it will be lost like all the others.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:20 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
January 02, 2004
Break the streak
USATODAY.com - NASA Spirit set to rove across Red Planet
Tomorrow night (Earth/North America time) the first of NASA's two 2004 probes is set to land on Mars. Spirit is a rover and is supposed to land like Pathfinder in 1997 -- the last Mars probe that actually worked. Good luck, guys. The second probe, Opportunity, is scheduled for three weeks later. What will happen to it?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 07:25 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
December 30, 2003
I blame Marvin
CNN.com - Crater theory over missing Beagle - Dec. 29, 2003
The Euroscientists think that maybe the reason that Beagle 2 hasn't communicated with them is that it landed in a crater. A crater! On Mars! What are the odds?
Britain's science minister says that he doesn't consider the mission a failure. It was a smashing success, except that it didn't work, right?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:16 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
December 28, 2003
Let's hope
Unmanned space flights to take wing
NASA has a lot planned for 2004, primarily the long-awaited Cassini probe to Saturn and Titan and two Martian rovers. Hopefully at least one of the latter will work this time.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 07:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Hope, huh?
Scientists Hopeful Mars Probe Will Work
Three days of silence, and they're still hoping. I suggest giving up might be in order.
Remember Viking? And Voyager? You know, probes that actually worked? How is it that with all the progress we've made in cybernetics over the last three decades, our probes just keep getting worse? Who's designing these things, Microsoft?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:19 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
December 26, 2003
Speak, boy!
CNN.com - Beagle quiet, but Mars orbiter a success - Dec. 26, 2003
This is so European:
Even though a Mars probe has failed to signal it has landed, scientists at the European Space Agency said on Friday the primary mission goal to put a satellite in orbit around Mars was achieved.
You see, the mission is a success, even though we lost the probe!
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:19 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
December 25, 2003
Curse You, Red Baron!
Europeans Try to Contact Mars Lander
Yes, Beagle 2 has apparently been lost. At least for now. They're still trying to find it. The ESA Director of Science says that "We're sure Beagle is down on the surface, and we just need to hear from it." Maybe it values its privacy. We Earthlings are on a real losing streak for Mars missions right now.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 06:27 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
December 19, 2003
Woof!
CNN.com - Beagle 2 on final approach to Mars - Dec. 19, 2003
1). If this probe is lost like so many other Mars probes in recent years, I call the "Curse you, Red Baron!" headline.
2). It's a British robot. You know that an American one would never be named after the ship that carried Charles Darwin. Wouldn't want to offend the zealots.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:24 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
December 01, 2003
What an achievement
CNN.com - Report: China manned moon trip by 2020 - Nov. 29, 2003
Yes, by 2020, the PRC will be where the USA was in 1969.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:29 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
November 12, 2003
Some place had to be
Huntsville space center named best federal place to work
NASA was also named the top federal agency. There's two sides to this. The main reason seems to be that very few people leave jobs at Marshall, or in NASA generally. And one of the complaints about NASA is its insularity and lack of accountability. Marshall was apparently the NASA facility most at fault for Columbia; that the people working there still work there is nice for them, but not so great for the country.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:30 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
November 04, 2003
No, but yes... but no.
Can't cut NASA any deeper, Cramer says
Obviously, the Administration can cut NASA. It's discretionary spending. But if it wants NASA to be an effective Federal space agency, it can't.
But then, there's this... It's quite likely that the Bush Administration would in fact increase NASA funding, but only by a big investment in manned space flight, perhaps the rumored manned moon mission. And that would be a mistake. A Mars mission, in addition to its scientific value (both in seeing how people react in long voyages away from Earth and in human-eye surveys of the Red Planet) would inevitably involve new technology. A moon mission, however, would probably only involve slight technological upgrades to existing programs. Some moon mission advocates are talking about using an upgraded Saturn V as the rocket! (Why not? It worked before, and with modern computing would probably be safer and more effective.)
And for this, money would be taken from R&D, from satellite programs, and especially from unmanned missions. The moon landing era was probably the least scientifically rewarding period of the Space Age. When we stopped sending men to the moon, Viking and Voyager soon followed, and those little robots added more to human knowledge than a million Apollos.
I am not saying that manned spaceflight is not worthwhile. Ultimately, we will need humans in space if we're ever going to make it pay for itself. But right now we're better off with the status quo (and continuing development of the orbital space plane, flawed though it is) than spending a lot of money on lunar missions.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:11 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 01, 2003
If we can put a man on the moon, then
Is new lunar mission pie in sky?
Supposedly, the Bush Adminstration is considering a new wave of lunar missions, including human landings. Yes, after all this time, America has now reached a 1960s level of space exploration again. Good job!
I don't know if this is worth it, frankly. I'm all for space exploration. But if you aren't going to put some sort of permanent facility there, what's the point of going to the moon? I mean, it's fairly well known.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 05:45 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
October 31, 2003
Sweet job
Redstone ceremony installs new chief for Patriot project
Wow, head of the Patriot missile project. That's one heck of a job -- running a program that doesn't really work. Yeah, it shoots down low-velocity short-range missiles. Anything more advanced than a V-2 and it's helpless.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 03:00 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
September 24, 2003
Not really a plane
Space plane taking shape in Huntsville
But it will definitely be in space. The space plane is in many ways a step backward. It might be a huge step backward; they're talking about making it an Apollo-style capsule. But at least there will be a real way for the crew to escape this time.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:06 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
September 23, 2003
Do not look directly at the engine!
Model craft at Huntsville center is first powered by laser
A small balsa wood model plane at the Marshall Space Flight Center is the first aircraft powered by a laser. The laser beams light from the ground to a receiver on the plane, which uses it to move a propeller. Obviously, this isn't particularly useful right now, but it could lead to something big.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 04:13 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 23, 2003
How long did it take to reach that conclusion?
Panel says nuclear power only way to send deep space probes
Not long, I hope. I thought everyone knew that. You can't use solar power when the Sun isn't much more than a bright star. Obviously, we'd all feel a lot more comfortable about launching nuclear powered probes if NASA managed to stop blowing things up.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:25 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
July 07, 2003
I blame Kate Capshaw
Space Camp analyzing decline in attendance
Every year, attendance at the Space Camp at Huntsville's U.S Space & Rocket Center goes down. They're looking for a solution, but it's probably just one of those things.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 03:24 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
July 05, 2003
Except not
Similar Solar System Found Only 90 Light Years Away
What they found was a Jovian planet, orbiting roughly where the asteroid belt is in the Solar system. That's nice and all, and it is different from previous systems -- which have always had large planets either in the inner system or in highly eccentric orbits. But it's not really similar unless you find terrestrial planets, and we haven't found any of those yet.
"Only" 90 light years away? Sounds a lot closer than "500 trillion miles" (actually a little more, about 527,912,640,000,000), doesn't it?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:10 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
July 03, 2003
What a concept!
NASA Announces Sweeping Changes in Shuttle Management
They're bringing in people who are -- get this! -- "known largely for their engineering expertise" -- on board to replace the people canned after the Columbia disaster. What were the people running the shuttle program before known for? Catering? Maybe it's just me, but it seems like you'd want the people known for their engineering expertise to already be in charge of a twenty-year-old fleet using thirty-year-old designs.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:05 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 27, 2003
Nazi facilitator dies
Von Braun's brother dies; aided surrender
Magnus Braun was the guy who contacted U.S. troops to surrender to them, rather than wind up in the hands of the Reds. Okay, better than bastards work for us than the Soviets, but I'm sick of the hagiographies of the Von Braun team that keep appearing in the Huntsville Times. And I'll keep pointing out what these guys were doing before they entered American employ.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:19 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 24, 2003
Because nothing could possibly go wrong
NASA Hoping to Fly Shuttle as Early as December
Typical NASA. They can't wait to fly the shuttle again even though the engineering to prevent yet another disaster is still only in the testing stages. And they can't wait until April, but have to go in winter. Because it's not like cold weather has been a problem for the shuttle, is it?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:36 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
June 22, 2003
It makes all the difference
Missile office gets new name, space mission
I love the Federal Government sometimes.
The Huntsville-based Program Executive Office for Air and Missile Defense became the Program Executive Office for Air, Space and Missile Defense after a special renaming ceremony at the Sparkman Center on Redstone Arsenal.
Not just a ceremony, a special ceremony. For adding one word. Says the major general in charge of all this: "Without a doubt, the medium of space is paramount to any future operations of our Army." I wonder what the Air Force thinks of that. Is it a turf war when there's no ground?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:05 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
June 19, 2003
Nazi dies
Von Braun team member Hoelker dies
Okay, the story doesn't say he was a Nazi. But considering that he worked for Von Braun in Germany and got his doctorate in 1942, what do you think?
Oh, but that's okay then. You see, he was a scientist, not one of those bad Nazis who killed people. He just employed slave labor and tried to develop weapons for Hitler to take over the world.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 03:06 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
June 17, 2003
Do a better job this time
Marshall, UAH testing mirrors for huge new NASA telescope
I think we all remember having to give the Hubble corrective lenses. I don't think we want to have to do that again. Do we?
The James Webb telescope would be put into orbit in 2011. In theory. These things always seem to launch late.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:35 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
June 11, 2003
Space news
Space plane push eyed to aid station
This is a similar story to yesterday on NASA's plans to hurry development of the X-37 space plane. One good thing about the space plane is that instead of the tile system of the shuttle -- which never really worked right -- the plane will have a solid heat shield.
External fuel tank redesign planned
NASA is looking into changes in the external fuel tank to prevent another Columbia disaster. (Instead, they'll have all-new disasters.) A heater would be added to melt ice, like the ice that broke off a piece of foam and doomed Columbia. There will be other changes as well.
Some members of the NASA advisory council, meanwhile, were calling into investigating the whole way NASA puts people into space. One said that human error, not just foam, was the cause of Columbia's destruction.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 05:25 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 10, 2003
Sounds like a good idea
NASA to hurry space station crew rescue vehicle
NASA is going to accelerate development of the not-really-a-Space Plane-but-we'll-call-it-that-anyway, hoping to have it ready by 2008 rather than 2010. NASA being NASA, that probably means 2016 rather than 2017, but it's important. While not the reusable replacement for the Shuttle that I think of as a space plane, it's important as a space station rescue vehicle.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 06:11 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 07, 2003
Skyrockets in flight
Tomorrow afternoon, the first of two Mars Exploration Rovers will launch at Cape Canaveral. The rocket used will be a Delta II, built by Boeing in its plant in Decatur. So if it blows up on the launchpad you know who to blame. No, not Martians.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:26 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 01, 2003
Worms from space!
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Worms survived Columbia disaster
This would make an excellent B-movie... It's amazing, really. As small as they are and protected by a locker, it seems incredible that they could have survived both the breakup and the fall.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:39 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
April 15, 2003
Speaking of Cosmic Ray...
This is so cool. (Okay, I'm a nerd, I admit.) The $36 million lens is intended to be mounted on the International Space Station, where it will be used to (hopefully) determine the origin of the high-energy particles called cosmic rays.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:35 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 31, 2003
Starting from scratch
Marshall engineers re-creating historic Goddard rocket
If I were being mean, I would say that perhaps the engineers at the Marshall Space Flight Center would be building a replica of the world's first liquid-fueled rocket because they haven't been doing a very good job lately and maybe if they start with the basics they could build one that won't explode. But that would be mean.
Anyway, I just hope they're doing this on their own time.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:16 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 19, 2003
Meanwhile in the Bizarro Universe
Officer: Missile defense segment can defend before tests complete
"Missile defense system am terrible! It am so terrible, it fail tests but me use anyway!"
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:28 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack