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Author	Topic: SPACE SCIENCE THREAD
VadersLaMent Registered: Apr '02	Date Posted: 12/22/03 12:00pm Subject: RE: SPACE SCIENCE THREAD
	COMMENTARY: 2003 -- The Year in Space By Elliot G. Pulham Special to SPACE.com posted: 07:00 am ET 22 December 2003 The vast majority of space-related news coverage in 2003 has been riveted on the woes at NASA following the loss of Space Shuttle Columbia. This mass media portrait of space activity at a standstill couldn’t be more wrong -- once again proving Garrison Keillor’s theorem that “if you watch television news you know less about the world than if you sat at home and drank gin from a bottle." In fact, 2003 has been a hectic, landmark year in space. The successful Dec. 17 launch of an Atlas III rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station was the 51st space mission launched this year. In launching these 51 missions (that’s a blistering pace of one space mission per week every week of the year) the world’s space agencies and companies have further opened the “final frontier” in many important respects. At this writing (Dec. 18, 2003), in addition to the 51 space missions already flown several more missions are on launch pads and poised to fly before 2004 rolls around. These include two commercial launches set to launch from the Baikonur launch complex in Kazakhstan and a satellite launch from China. The 51 space missions flown thus far in 2003 have launched 64 satellites and deep space probes, and five missions have gone to the International Space Station. A staggering total of 69 spacecraft were launched in 2003, including three deep space probes now in route to Mars, two Japanese military satellites lost and, of course, the tragic loss of Columbia. Despite what superficially seems like a “stand down” at NASA, science and research accounted for the largest amount of space activity in 2003, with 28 satellites or payloads dedicated to science, research or exploration. Military space operations ranked second with 18 satellites launched and the rebounding commercial space market was hot on the heels of the military, with 16 commercial satellites launched. Seven satellites were placed in orbit for satellite navigation systems, including both the American GPS and Russian GLONASS; these systems are operated by the military but have much broader civil and commercial use, providing both military and commercial benefits. The 16 new commercial satellites launched in 2003 will bring new or improved telecommunications, broadcast television, satellite television and other everyday space-based services to millions of people on virtually every part of the globe. The United States, Russia, China and Japan all flew military missions and payloads into space -- ranging from defense research experiments to military communications satellites to satellite navigation systems and surveillance satellites. 2003 marked Japan’s entry into full-scale military space operations. The liberation of Iraq entered the history books as the first “space war,” with coalition forces depending upon space systems for navigation, positioning, communications, targeting, surveillance, reconnaissance and more; paradoxically, 80 percent of the satellite bandwidth into Iraq was provided by commercial satellite companies. Of great historical significance, 2003 was the year the four-decades-old duopoly held by the U.S. and Russia was finally broken when China became the third nation capable of launching human beings into space. And while the shape of NASA’s human space flight program is changing post- Columbia, the government’s exclusive control of space travel is being challenged. Some two-dozen commercial companies are competing to win the X-Prize, which demands they successfully launch people into suborbital flight twice within two weeks. Important test flights took place in 2003 -- including the rocket-powered, Mach 1.2 flight to the edge of space by Burt Rutan’s Space Ship 1 on Dec. 17 -- the 100th Anniversary of the Wright Brothers first powered flight. It is widely expected that the X-Prize will be claimed in 2004. Taken collectively, the space enterprise is becoming a juggernaut. Weekly missions. Multiple nations. Commercial, civil, scientific and military purposes. Notwithstanding the temporary stand-down in U.S. human space flight activities, the juggernaut will move inexorably forward -- onward, upward, outward into limitless space. It is precisely because humanity’s evolution starward cannot be stopped that it is so important that the United States get over Columbia and get on with the human exploration and development of space. Our nation has reaped huge benefits from our four decades of leadership in space, but our continued leadership is not assured. It depends upon our willingness to put our losses in perspective and to continue to take risks that propel us forward. In so many ways, 2003 has been a seminal year in the exploration and development of space. If we can emerge from the shadow of Columbia with a strong vision and renewed commitment to the human exploration and development of space, 2003 could well be remembered as the year that launched the space millennium. Elliot G. Pulham is the President & Chief Executive Officer of The Space Foundation It will not be the 'launch of a space millenium'. Why not? Because people are still trapped here on Earth. True as this article says, there has been alot of space activity this past year...for satellites. I wonder, had the tragedy of Columbia not occured, would there be any of this talk of having a "Bold new vision" for NASA? Personally I doubt it. It took the cost of human lives to at least get the words going back and forth. I root for X-Prize contestants with all my heart, but still, space tourism will be a game for the rich and not me(although I did play the lottery this week) -----signature----- Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic-Arthur C. Clarke Any sufficiently advanced extraterrestrial intelligence is indistinguishable from God-Michael Shermer I'm a sexy shoeless GOD OF WAR! #347 on SLG's List Of Sexy Men
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VadersLaMent Registered: Apr '02	Date Posted: 12/23/03 2:32pm Subject: RE: SPACE SCIENCE THREAD
	Europe's plans: Aurora's long-term plan The latest version of this ambitious roadmap was presented at the third Aurora Working Meeting in Cologne in November. This long-term plan, which has been endorsed by Aurora's Exploration Programme Advisory Committee (EPAC), recently received the blessing of the Aurora Board of Participants. Aurora's long-term plan stems from two strands: the current human spaceflight experience in low Earth orbit (LEO) and the development of robotic planetary exploration. The former is to be continued and enhanced so that human spaceflight can be extended beyond LEO. The latter will be pursued throughout the Aurora Programme with the aim of extending capabilities towards larger spacecraft suitable for the human exploration of the solar system. The intertwined development of capabilities in the two strands will eventually result in Europe being able to play a key role in a future international human mission to Mars. The early robotic missions will build on the capabilities and discoveries of Mars Express and Smart-1 in order to acquire the scientific knowledge and technological expertise necessary to pursue more advanced missions. Meanwhile, ground-based studies (e.g. Concordia station in Antarctica) and experiments or demonstrations on the International Space Station will pave the way for in-flight demonstrations of human spaceflight technologies. Highlights of the Aurora roadmap include: 2007: an entry vehicle demonstrator mission to validate and demonstrate high-speed re-entry technology. 2009: ExoMars, an exobiology mission to send a rover to Mars in order to search for traces of life -- past or present -- and characterise the nature of the surface environment. 2011/2014: Mars sample return, a split mission to bring back to Earth the first samples of Martian material. 2014: Human mission technologies demonstrator(s) to validate technologies for orbital assembly and docking, life support and human habitation. 2018: a technology precursor mission to demonstrate aerobraking/aerocapture, solar electric propulsion and soft landing (formerly envisaged as a smaller Arrow-class mission to be launched in 2010) 2024: a human mission to the Moon to demonstrate key life support and habitation technologies, as well as aspects of crew performance and adaptation and in situ resources utilisation technologies. 2026: an automatic mission to Mars to test the main phases of a human mission to Mars. 2030/2033: a split mission that will culminate in the first human landing on Mars. "This plan is based on inputs from industry and previous working meetings, as well as deliberations with the Aurora Exploration Programme Advisory Committee," said Dietrich Vennemann, head of the Aurora long-term planning team. "It is a living document, not carved in stone, as the redefinition of the aerocapture demonstration mission demonstrates, " he added. "This means that the timeline will be updated regularly in order to take account of results generated within the programme. "This is Europe's roadmap, and its implementation will take into account co-operation with international partners. We see this objective as an ambition for humanity," he explained. "Aurora is Europe's opportunity to fulfil this ambition." It seems to me that other nations would like to try and pull ahead of NASA. China has deatailed long range plans that include men to Mars. Europe has done the same with the above. Despite what NASA has done in the last year, as shown in the previous post, there seems to be a perception that NASA is lagging. Rumors now are that Bush may make an announcment sometime after the new year concerning the future of NASA and missions to the Moon, perhaps later giving a go ahead to Mars. It sounds to me like NASA and the President have taken heed of the space activities of other nations and are poised to do something about it. As I said above, it may well be 2004 not 2003 that is marked as the year that "it all started" by historians. -----signature----- Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic-Arthur C. Clarke Any sufficiently advanced extraterrestrial intelligence is indistinguishable from God-Michael Shermer I'm a sexy shoeless GOD OF WAR! #347 on SLG's List Of Sexy Men
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obi_wan_kanathan Registered: May '01	Date Posted: 12/23/03 6:12pm Subject: RE: SPACE SCIENCE THREAD
	I hope so. And with the edition of the X-Prize being won, I can definitely see it happening. -----signature----- Dark Lord of the JC \|\| JC/DLC Ambassador ~~The NEW Dark Lords' Council~~ http://www.thedarklordscouncil.com/
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VadersLaMent Registered: Apr '02	Date Posted: 12/25/03 7:55am Subject: RE: SPACE SCIENCE THREAD
	A few snippets about the re-launch of the space shuttle from a space.com article: CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- When the next space shuttle lifts off, perhaps as early as September, an upgraded model of the decades-old spaceship will be doing the flying. A recent analysis showed that the changes will cost NASA an additional $280 million. Chief among those: incorporating the ability to detect damage to the shuttle's heat protection system of tiles and reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) material and then repair that damage while still in space. Another major task: redesigning the shuttle's external tank so large chunks of insulating foam won't fall and threaten the shuttle's heat shield in the manner that led to the Columbia tragedy in February. Expect these changes to the shuttle system when Atlantis or Discovery flies the STS-114 mission to the International Space Station in late 2004. The whole article: Space.com It will be a celebrated day when the shuttle flies again. It will be a bitter-sweet celebration day when they are retired and replaced by the OSP. The shuttle as is could be refurbished and used as the unmanned ShuttleC. -----signature----- Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic-Arthur C. Clarke Any sufficiently advanced extraterrestrial intelligence is indistinguishable from God-Michael Shermer I'm a sexy shoeless GOD OF WAR! #347 on SLG's List Of Sexy Men
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VadersLaMent Registered: Apr '02	Date Posted: 12/27/03 4:23am Subject: RE: SPACE SCIENCE THREAD
	New Composite Hydrogen Fuel Tank For RLVs Successfully Tested A few snippets: Liquid hydrogen is an essential but highly volatile fuel used in the combustion process that propels rockets. It must be stored and used at -423 degrees Fahrenheit, a temperature that causes most materials to become quite brittle. Liquid hydrogen also has an extremely fine molecular structure, which allows it to seep through the tiniest of holes. "Composite tanks offer a 10 to 25 percent reduction in weight over current aluminum tanks, so their use would allow us to consider larger payloads. They could also help us reduce costs associated with acquiring and operating a reusable launch vehicle." The contracts, collectively worth approximately $30 million, include work on permeation resistant composite cryotanks, development and refinement of new manufacturing processes that will allow the company to build large composite tanks without an autoclave; and design and engineering development of conformal fuel tanks appropriate for use on a single-stage-to-orbit vehicle. This is where the Venturestar failed. The composite tanks could not hold the pressure and the project was shelved. For one tenth the cost per launch that the shuttle uses up, it would have remade the launch industry. Lockheed was the developer, yet we have Northrop Grummen who have made these tanks work. Hello NASA and hello Congress, go fund this development and either use it in the OSP or renew the Venturestar project. -----signature----- Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic-Arthur C. Clarke Any sufficiently advanced extraterrestrial intelligence is indistinguishable from God-Michael Shermer I'm a sexy shoeless GOD OF WAR! #347 on SLG's List Of Sexy Men
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VadersLaMent Registered: Apr '02	Date Posted: 12/28/03 1:38pm Subject: RE: SPACE SCIENCE THREAD
	A SETI topic, or more properly a SETA(search for extraterrestrial artifacts) topic: Object 1991 VG. Alien Probe? by Patrick Huyghe In late 1991, astronomers may have detected an extraterrestrial space probe in near Earth space. Who makes such a startling statement? Some wild-eyed UFO believer? A renegade scientist? A tabloid psychic? No, not at all. His name is Duncan Steel. Who is Steel, you wonder? I'll quote from the jacket of his new book, Rogue Asteroids and Doomsday Comets (Wiley, 1995): "Duncan Steel, Ph.D. is a research astronomer at the Anglo-Australian Observatory and a research fellow at the University of Ad elaide, Australia. A world renowned authority on the comet, hazard, he has served on both the Detection Committee and the Intercept Committee created by NASA to assess the threat of comet and asteroid collisions and investigate technologies to avert such impacts." Not only that, but Steel is thought of as a "longtime skeptic" and "as someone who almost invariably has his facts right," according a reviewer in an Australian magazine (Colin Keay in The Skeptic, Vol 15, No.3, 1995). So how did Steel come to his startling conclusion? Here's the scoop. On Nov. 6, 1991 Jim Scotti using the Spacewatch telescope at Kitt Peak in Arizona discovered a body which he initially described as a "fast moving asteroidal object," a month befo re its closest approach to the Earth. Later, the object's heliocentric orbital elements suggested instead that "the object might be a returning spacecraft." As the approximately 30-foot object, now labeled 1991 VG, neared the Earth, astronomers at the Eur opean Southern Observatory tracked it and found strong, rapid brightness variations suggestive of reflections from a rotating spacecraft. His curiosity piqued, Steel decided to investigate the different probabilities for the nature of this object, according to his account "SETA and 1991 VG," published in The Observatory (Vol. 115, pp. 78-83, 1995). "SETA," by the way, stands for "Search for Extra-Terrestrial Artifacts" within our Solar System. Steel first wondered whether the object could be a returning spacecraft, given those brightness variations and its very Earth-like orbit. But he found that none of the handful of man-ma de rocket bodies left in heliocentric orbits during the space age have purely gravitational orbits returning to the Earth at that time. Besides, if 1991 VG was a man-made rocket body, then its return to our vicinity and its accidental detection by Spacew atch was, Steel calculated, a very unlikely event, on the order of one in 100,000 per year. So could it be a natural body, Steel then asked himself? One factor that strongly argued against this interpretation was the light variation the object exhibited, which resembled those of rotating artificial satellite trails seen in wide field astronomic al photographs. The second factor is that the object's pre-encounter orbit of 1991 would have made it unstable in close approaches to the Earth on a time scale measured in millennia. This means, that if it is an asteroid, it would have recently arrived in that orbit, which is, Steel states, very unlikely. Therefore, concludes Steel, we have to seriously consider the possibility that this object has "an alien genesis." Given our meager surveillance of near-Earth objects, there is little chance that objects of this kind would have been spotted in the past. There is nothing here, in other words, that would contradict the alien probe hypothesis, says Steel. Steel's probability analysis does not end here. He goes on to tackle an issue that not doubt made his colleagues pale. Was 1991 VG under control or making a random passage by the Earth, he asks? Since only "about one in 50 objects passing randomly within 0.022 AU have perigee heights as low as 0.0031 AU," Steel thinks there is a "possibility that it was a singular alien space probe on a controlled reconnaissance mission." Steel ends his surprising analysis on a cautious note, however. His personal bias, he states, is that 1991 VG is really a man-made artificial object. But if it was, he concludes, then it's observation was really an incredible fluke. So much so, in fact, that scientists, he says, should "consider the possibility of some other origin for it." All in all, it's quite an amazing piece of work. But I can't help but wonder if he's being serious. After all, it does appears in an April issue. Nobody likes to be a fool. On the other hand, Steel is not the kind of scientist who pulls his punches. In his new book about the threat that asteroids and comets pose to life on Earth, he speculates that Stonehenge was originally erected during a period of intense celestial bombar dment--some perhaps of Tunguska-like force--about 5,000 years ago. Stonehenge's purpose, he ventures, was "to monitor meteor rates in order to predict when storms were due." Steel doesn't expect this hypothesis to be warmly welcomed by anthropologists and antiquarians. Nor will SETI astronomers take kindly to the notion that an alien probe may have performed a reconnaissance mission of Earth in 1991. Of course, human-built space probes have done just that in our solar system for the past quarter century. Why couldn't someone out there be taking a peek at us? In the early pages of this thread I went into detail about alien space probes. Here are some of the original articles that inspired the earlier post: 1. Freitas Jr., Robert A.and Valdes, Francisco. "The Search for Extraterrestrial Artifacts," Acta Astronautica, 12, No. 12, 1027-1034 (1985). Abstract: The rationale for the use of interstellar artifacts by intelligent life in the universe is described. The advantages of using interstellar probes as a means of exploration and communication are presented and shown to be significant enough to counter the time, energy, and technology arguments generally raised against contact via extraterrestrial artifacts. Four classes of artifacts are defined: Those seeking contact, those seeking to avoid contact, those intended to provide a passive technological threshold for detection, and those for which detection is irrelevant. The Search for ExtraTerrestrial Artifacts (SETA) is based on the latter two classes. Under the assumption that an extraterrestrial probe will be interested in life in our solar system, a near-Earth search space is defined. This search space is accessible to us now with ground and satellite observing facilities. The current observational status of SETA is reviewed and contrasted with the achievable detection limits for the different parts of the search space. 2. Freitas, R. A. "The Search for Extraterrestrial Artifacts (SETA)," Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, 36, 501-506 (1983). Abstract: The Artifact Hypothesis states that an advanced extraterrestrial intelligence has undertaken a long-term programme of galactic exploration via the transmission of material artifacts. An attempt to verify this hypothesis experimentally, the search for extraterrestrial artifacts (SETA), is proposed to detect such evidence in the Solar system by telescopic, radar, infrared, direct probe, or other available means. 3. Tough, Allen. "Small Smart Interstellar Probes," Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, 51, 167-174 (1998). Abstract: Humanity is making rapid progress in computers, robotics, nanotechnology and space exploration. Consequently, within 200 years, we will be likely to launch small interstellar probes containing highly advanced computers. Perhaps other civilizations, more advanced than ours, launched intelligent machines long ago to explore parts of our galaxy. One of their tiny probes may have already reached our planet in order to observe or monitor us. Our current scientific search for extraterrestrial intelligence should be expanded by adding a sophisticated search for such a probe. Two SETI "declarations of principles" have been developed to cover the search for radio and laser signals originating many light-years away. Some SETI scientists have assumed that these two declarations also apply to the scenario of discovering a nearby probe but, in fact, the fit is not very good. A separate set of "Procedures Following Detection of An Interstellar Probe" has been drafted. 4. Steel, Duncan. "SETA and 1991 VG," The Observatory, 115, No. 1125, 78-83 (April 1995). Abstract: A ~ 10-metre object on a heliocentric orbit, now catalogued as 1991 VG, made a close approach to the Earth in 1991 December, and was discovered a month before perigee with the Spacewatch telescope at Kitt Peak. Its very Earth-like orbit and observations of rapid brightness fluctuations argue for it being an artificial body rather than an asteroid. None of the handful of man-made rocket bodies left in heliocentric orbits during the space age have purely gravitational orbits returning to the Earth at that time, and in any case the a priori probability of discovery for 1991 VG was very small, of order one in 100,000 per anmun. In addition, the small perigee distance observed might be interpreted as an indicator of a controlled rather than a random encounter with the Earth, and thus it might be argued that 1991 VG is a candidate as an alien probe observed in the vicinity of our planet. Carl Sagan had made a point that a true von neumann machine could [b]eat the entire galaxy within 2 million years. He concluded that an advanced society should relize this and NOT create such devices in the event that something went wrong. This does not mean that a civilization would do away with the idea of interstellar devices all together, just limit their capability. I did not know there was an official search called SETA. I myself have been hoping to embark on such a search when I save the right amount of money to afford the proper equipment. I thought it odd that such documentation would be so easy to find, afterall, if you were an A.I. or near A.I. space probe wouldn't you key into the internet and tv and radio to see if perhaps someone may be looking for you then take measures to not be found? Oh well. I need about 15 grand to get the equipment I want, and rent and furnish a home to set up an observatory. -----signature----- Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic-Arthur C. Clarke Any sufficiently advanced extraterrestrial intelligence is indistinguishable from God-Michael Shermer I'm a sexy shoeless GOD OF WAR! #347 on SLG's List Of Sexy Men
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VadersLaMent Registered: Apr '02	Date Posted: 12/29/03 11:58am Subject: RE: SPACE SCIENCE THREAD
	An internet interview with Rob Zubrin at Universetoday.com: Robert Zubrin Responds to Your Questions Dec 24, 2003 - A few weeks ago I reviewed Dr. Robert Zubrin's newest book, Mars on Earth. I've had feedback from Universe Today readers in the past that they they'd like to ask Zubrin a few questions about his goal of sending humans to Mars, so I figured this would be a good chance to get those questions answered. I gave people on the forum a few days to propose their questions and then I selected four questions that I felt were original, and didn't really cover territory that we've heard Zubrin talk about in past (such as in The Case for Mars and Entering Space). Thanks to everyone who participated, and thanks to Dr. Zubrin for taking the time to respond. If you had fun with this, let me know if there's anyone else you'd like to throw questions at, and maybe I can track them down. If you're interested in the goal of sending humans to Mars, I highly recommend you take a look at the Mars Society, which Robert Zubrin is the President. Click here to visit their website. 1. Dave Mitsky: What do you feel is the most dangerous aspect of the Mars Direct plan? Zubrin: The ascent from Mars in the Earth Return Vehicle (ERV). The liftoff from Mars followed by trans-Earth injection only requires about half the delta-V as the outbound trip, but there will be much fewer people there to monitor it. So we need really good automated health maintenance and monitoring equipment on the ERV, allowing the launch to be effectively controlled from Earth. 2. Eli: What do you think should be done to make sure a manned Mars mission will not be a "take a photo and not come back for 3 decades" mission ala Apollo? Zubrin: The problem with Apollo was twofold; that it was the creature of the political class, and the basis upon which it was sold to much of the political class. When it achieved its stated Cold War objective, the elites were then free to dismantle it, as there was no organic space movement with a deeper goal around to sustain it. We need to make sure that the Mars program is created with the stated goal of opening a new world for humanity, and we need to organize a grassroots movement that supports it and sustains it on that basis. Black abolitionist leader Frederick Douglas once said "Emancipation would lose half its value were it won by the efforts of white men alone." He was right. We need to make sure that the Mars program is OUR program, and not THEIR program. 3. Josh: What feedback have the people in power - the government or NASA - given to your ideas? Zubrin: Many people at the NASA field centers have become supporters of Mars Direct. Some of the headquarters crowd still opposes it as they oppose any destination driven orientation that would force NASA to abandon its constituency-driven method of spending and provide a metric against which results could be measured. 4. exAstro: If it comes down to a cost/benefit analysis we'll probably never go to Mars- at least by current thinking. So- how do we move beyond that mindset? What would prompt the ultimate decision makers (purse holders) to decide that it's in "our" best interest to go to Mars? I assume that the technology is not at issue. Zubrin: I dispute the premise of the question. A cost-benefit analysis demands that we abandon the wasteful Shuttle-era approach of constituency driven spending and return to the highly productive destination driven Apollo era approach. NASA spending is now 90% of the average Apollo era (1961-1973) level. We spent as much on NASA, in real inflation-adjusted dollars, between 1990 and 2003 as we did between 1961 and 1973. But compare the results. Between 1961-1973 we went from near zero space capability to fly Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, Ranger, Mariner, Surveyor, Pioneer Jupiter; we developed hydrogen/oxygen rocket engines, multi-staged heavy lift launch vehicles, in space life support systems, spacesuits, soft landing techniques, lunar rovers, RTGs, space nuclear reactors, nuclear rocket engines, reentry techniques, interplanetary navigation and communication technologies; we built the Deep Space Network, Johnson Space Center, JPL (in the sense it exists today), the Cape Canaveral launch complex, and we inspired a generation of youth to enter science and engineering. In contrast, between 1990 and 2003 we flew about three-score STS missions, launched and repaired Hubble, launched half a dozen lunar or planetary probes (compared with over 40 for 61-73), and launched a space station which is still less capable than Skylab. So the mission productivity was much less, but the technology return was even worse; as a result of the lack of any forcing function, NASA, despite its claim to be focussing on technology development, developed NO significant new space technologies during the 1990-2003 period, built no new infrastructure, and failed to inspire youth in any way remotely comparable to that it achieved in the sixties. So if the question is; how do we assure the taxpayers of a real return on their space dollar, there is only one answer; Give NASA a job that is worthy of a $16 billion/year space agency. Assign it the task of sending humans to Mars within a decade. --------------------------------------------- Rob is a dedicated fella ain't he? Perhaps his research could knock the 10 year plan into a 9 year one. Still, I have said before, I doubt NASA will wind up using much of the Mars Direct plan but instead use ideals and bits and pieces. Perhaps if Congress could be trusted to allow funding for it all those advocates at NASA would voice more opinion over the matter. But it seems as though NASA is bound and determined to develope the VASMR Plasma rocket which will use technology developed for Project Prometheus for nuclear power in space. It could cut a Mars shot of 6 months down to a couple of weeks. Would NASA wait for the plasma rocket or go for Mars Direct? Plasma rocket hands down. And I agree with it myself, I just wish a go ahead was given to use a more dedicated development of the VASMR to use for a Mars shot, than having vague Mars dreams and tentative plans. JUST DO IT. We obviously have the money. -----signature----- Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic-Arthur C. Clarke Any sufficiently advanced extraterrestrial intelligence is indistinguishable from God-Michael Shermer I'm a sexy shoeless GOD OF WAR! #347 on SLG's List Of Sexy Men
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VadersLaMent Registered: Apr '02	Date Posted: 12/31/03 12:54pm Subject: RE: SPACE SCIENCE THREAD
	Space.com: Stardust Prepares to Make History By Tariq Malik Staff Writer posted: 03:45 pm ET 30 December 2003 A NASA spacecraft is preparing to not only get close and personal with a comet this week, but also fly through object's tail and steal pieces of it for scientists on Earth. On Jan. 2, the Stardust spacecraft is scheduled spend 12 hours studying the comet Wild 2 -- pronounced Vilt-2 -- after a five-year journey to the far side of the Sun, 242 million miles (389 million kilometers) from Earth. During the flyby, scientists hope it will collect cometary material and stow them in a reentry capsule to be sent Earthward later. "Comets are among the most beautiful things in the universe," said Donald Brownlee, Stardust's principal investigator and an astronomer with the University of Washington. "But in addition to [that] they are containers that have preserved the fundamental solar system, the planets and even ourselves are made of." Brownlee spoke to reporters during a mission briefing held at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, home to Stardust's control center. Stardust is not the first spacecraft to visit a comet, but it is the first mission to use a collector the size of a tennis racket and a foamy glass-like material called Aerogel to return a sample from outside the orbit of Mars. In 1986, Russian, European, Japan and NASA vehicles met or flew by the famed Halley's Comet. None of them returned samples to Earth. Aerogel is the lightest solid on Earth. Often called a solid smoke because of its transparent, hazy blue appearance, the silica substance is used for insulation aboard space craft and as a collection device for interstellar and cometary dust. But Stardust's success could be a boon for scientists who believe comets contain organic material that may have played a role in the origin of life on Earth. Much of Earth's water is also thought to originate from icy comets that impacted the planet eons ago. Since Wild 2 only recently began orbiting closer the Sun, it may have preserved material from the birth of the Solar System -or even other stars - making it an attractive target for a rendezvous mission. "We are basically bringing our own building blocks back to the lab and studying them at the atomic scale," Brownlee said. Stardust researchers hope their spacecraft will sweep up less than ounce of comet dust, each particle of which is smaller than a grains of sand, in the Aerogel collector as Wild 2 passes by at about 13,650 miles (21,967 kilometers) an hour. The dust should be moving past their spacecraft at speeds of five times that of a rifle bullet. But since the Aerogel is 99.8 percent empty space, it shouldn't damage the grains or the collector. "We just stick this collector up into the dust stream…and it will stop these particles," explained Stardust project manager Thomas Duxbury. The Aerogel, which is the lightest solid on Earth, gets denser the further in an object goes, though comet dust particles should only penetrate about 100 times their own diameter, Duxbury added. Stardust's reentry capsule should then deliver the Wild 2 grain and interstellar dust samples to Earth in 2006 in a parachute plunge down to the desert floor of the U.S. Air Force Utah Test and Training Range. Stardust is positioned so that as Wild 2 overtakes it, onboard instruments should be able to record data and take close-up images of the comet. At its closest, Stardust will come within 186 miles (300 kilometers) of Wild 2, with a trio of bumpers protecting the spacecraft from cometary debris as it enters Wild 2's coma, an envelope of gas and dust surrounding the nucleus. Mission scientists are confident Stardust is ready for its date with Wild 2. In November 2002 the spacecraft was able to test onboard instruments it would use during the comet rendezvous when it swung past Asteroid 5535 Annefrank. Mission controllers even had a chance to test the Aerogel system by scooping up interstellar dust on the opposite side of comet grain collector. "We're ready as a team, so we say bring on Wild 2," Duxbury said. Stardust is expected to return to Earth in January 2006, eight years after its launch on Feb. 7 1999. Panspermia is an old idea dating back to serious scientific study in the early and middle 1800's. It is defined as ready made ingredients for life delivered to a world from one source or another. The article above of course decribes cometary panspermia. Another form would be called ballistic panspermia where worlds in the same solar system trade rocks via impacts that send debris hurtling from one world to another. If organic materials are found, the study would be geared towards defining any similarities between the offworld structure of the material as compared to living material we find on Earth. There is a possibility that spores and microbes can survive interstellar journeys, however odds have been caculated that show this has so remote a chance of happening it has been dismissed from most scientific circles (though not forgotten). There is another form called 'directed panspermia'. This would be the purposeful seeding of a world from an intelligent species of another. Recently life has been created in a lab from basic building blocks, we can create life. A civilization could have any number of reasons for doing such a thing, from preserving their genetic heritage to a long term biology experiment. A hypothesis from a molecular biologist named Francis Crick said that a 2000lbs payload could carry billions of molecular samples that could thrive on a given world's nature, meaning anything from Co2 to sunlight to support a basic algae for example. But aside from the fanciful(though possible) idea of outside intervention, wether it be from comets, Mars, or other solar systems, Earth could have gotten a jump start from off-world. Perhaps Stardust can provide answers. -----signature----- Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic-Arthur C. Clarke Any sufficiently advanced extraterrestrial intelligence is indistinguishable from God-Michael Shermer I'm a sexy shoeless GOD OF WAR! #347 on SLG's List Of Sexy Men
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VadersLaMent Registered: Apr '02	Date Posted: 12/31/03 9:01pm Subject: RE: SPACE SCIENCE THREAD
	Top stories of 2003: Dec 31, 2003 - Columbia Disaster Space exploration is an extremely dangerous business. This lesson was hammered home in 2003 when the space shuttle Columbia broke up above Texas as it was on approach to land in Florida. The lives of seven astronauts were lost in a few firey moments on February 1, 2003. Months of investigation revealed that a chunk of foam fell off the external fuel tank and smashed a hole in the shuttle's carbon-fibre wing panels. When Columbia was returning to Earth at the end of its mission, the open hole in the wing allowed hot gasses to penetrate the shuttle's heat protection. The Columbia Accident Investigation board placed the blame on the foam, but said that NASA's lack of safety allowed the accident to happen in the first place. While NASA is implementing the safety recommendations to get the shuttles flying again, the US administration is said to be planning a bold new program in space. Chinese Space Launch Previously unknown, astronaut Yang Liwei became an instant celebrity on October 15, when he became the first human the Chinese space program sent into space. Liwei was launched from the Jiuquan desert launch site and orbited the Earth only 14 times in 21 hours. Only the United States and Russia have ever been capable of sending humans into space before this year. Riding high on their accomplishments, the normally tight-lipped Chinese revealed more details of their space program this year: additional human launches, a space station, probes to the Moon, and eventually humans on the Moon. NASA was one of the first to congratulate the Chinese on their accomplishment, but some space industry experts believe that this will spur the agency on to a new spirit of competition. SpaceShipOne Goes Supersonic The space community was expecting US President George Bush to make some announcement about the future of US space exploration on December 17, the 100th anniversary of the first Wright Brothers flight. He didn't, but on that day Scaled Composites - an aircraft manufacturer in California - made news with the first rocket test flight of SpaceShipOne; their suborbital rocket plane. The unique-looking aircraft was carried to an altitude of 14,600 metres by the White Knight carrier plane and then released. It fired its hybrid rocket engine and blasted up to an altitude of 20,700 metres; breaking the sound barrier as it went. SpaceShipOne is considered the top contender to win the $10 million X-Prize which will be awarded to the first privately-built suborbital spacecraft which can fly to 100 km. Disappearance of Beagle 2 In a perfect world, this would be a tribute to the successful landing of Beagle 2; Britain's $50 million, 70-kg Mars lander which traveled to the Red Planet on board the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft. Unfortunately, it looks like Mars has swallowed yet another spacecraft, and at the time of this writing the lander has failed to communicate home; either through Mars Odyssey orbiting above, or Earth-based radio observatories. Beagle 2 was supposed to land in the relatively safe Isidis Planitia region of Mars and then search for evidence of microbial life for 180-days with a suite of sensitive instruments. The best opportunity to communicate with Beagle 2 comes in 2004, though, when Mars Express reaches its final orbit and will attempt to make contact. Maybe the recovery of Beagle 2 will make one of the top stories in 2004. Mars' Closest Approach to the Earth Mars took centre stage this summer when it made its closest approach to the Earth in over 60,000 years. Because of their orbits, the Earth and Mars get close every two years, but on August 27 they were only 55,758,000 kilometres apart. The mainstream media picked up the story, and for a while it was Mars mania. Astronomy clubs and planetariums that held special Mars observing nights for the public were totally overwhelmed by the number of people who showed up to have a peek through a telescope. And they weren't disappointed. Even with a relatively small 6" telescope and good observing conditions, it was possible to see details on Mars like its polar caps, dust storms, and darker patches. If you missed it this year, don't worry, Mars will be even closer in 2287. Biggest Solar Flare Ever Observed Our Sun showed a nasty side this year, with a series of powerful flares and coronal mass ejections. On November 4, 2003, the Sun surprised even the most experienced solar astronomers with the most powerful flare anyone had ever seen. It was so powerful that it momentarily blinded cameras designed to measure flares, so it actually took a few days for astronomers to calculate just how bright it was. In the end, it was categorized as an X28 flare. But this was just one of a series of powerful flares, many of which were aimed directly at our Earth, sending wave after wave of material our direction. Incredibly, there were very few problems on the Earth - contact was lost with a Japanese satellite, and some communications were disrupted - but we got through it largely unharmed. The auroras, however, were awesome. Farewell Galileo On September 20, 2003, NASA's Galileo spacecraft finally ended its 14-year journey to the Jovian system with its triumphant crash into the giant gas planet. Galileo was plagued with problems right from the start, including a series of launch delays, and a failure of its main antenna. But NASA engineers were able to overcome these obstacles, and use the spacecraft to make some incredible discoveries about the Jupiter and its moons. Photos taken by the Galileo gave scientists proof that three of the moons might have liquid water under their icy surfaces. Passing through Jupiter's massive radiation took its toll on the spacecraft, and various instruments started to fail, including its main camera, which went offline in 2002. With the spacecraft failing, controllers decided it would be best to crash Galileo into Jupiter, to protect potential life on the Jovian moons from contamination. Age of the Universe This is the year we learned how old we are - well... how old the Universe is. Thanks to a comprehensive survey of the sky performed by NASA's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), astronomers were able to calculate that the Universe is 13.7 billion years old, give or take 200 million years. WMAP, launched in June 2001, measured the sky's cosmic background radiation, which was unleashed 380,000 years after the Big Bang - when the expanding Universe had cooled down enough for the first atoms to form. This wasn't the first survey of the cosmic background radiation, but the WMAP is so sensitive, it was able to detect extremely slight temperature changes in the radiation. Spitzer Space Telescope The last of great observatories, the Spitzer Space Telescope (previously named SIRTF) was finally launched into space on August 25, 2003. Almost every object in the Universe radiates heat in the infrared spectrum, which Spitzer is designed to detect. So objects which might be hidden to visible light telescopes, like Hubble, can be seen in tremendous detail with Spitzer. The observatory completed its 60-day on-orbit checkout period and calibration, and just before the end of the year the operators released four incredible photographs that demonstrated the potential of this instrument. Spitzer will help astronomers look at the dusty hearts of galaxies, young planetary discs, and cool objects like comets, and brown dwarfs. Spitzer may even help astronomers understand the nature of dark matter. Mars Express Arrives The search for the missing Beagle 2 lander overshadowed the success of the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft, which went into a perfect orbit on December 25, and then performed additional maneuvers flawlessly. This is the Europe's first mission to the Red Planet, and it's got an important job to do. In addition to helping out the search for Beagle 2, Mars Express will begin mapping the surface of Mars with a powerful radar system which should reveal underground deposits of water and ice. This list was compiled by Universetoday.com. Happy New Year! -----signature----- Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic-Arthur C. Clarke Any sufficiently advanced extraterrestrial intelligence is indistinguishable from God-Michael Shermer I'm a sexy shoeless GOD OF WAR! #347 on SLG's List Of Sexy Men
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VadersLaMent Registered: Apr '02	Date Posted: 1/2/04 1:09pm Subject: RE: SPACE SCIENCE THREAD
	A Space.com followup on the Stardust: Stardust Survives Comet Close Encounter By Brian Berger Space News Staff Writer posted: 03:45 pm ET 02 January 2004 A NASA comet-hunting mission appears to have survived its closest encounter with its quarry. After a five-year journey covering nearly 3.2 billion kilometers, NASA’s Stardust spacecraft closed Jan. 2 on the object of its pursuit, the Comet Wild 2 (pronounced Vilt-2). At 2:40 P.M. EST, the 5.4-kilometer wide comet zoomed past Stardust at nearly 22,000 kilometers per hour, passing within 300 kilometers of the spacecraft. It was the closest Stardust had come to the Wild 2 since it first detected the comet with its navigation camera in mid-November and began transmitting images back to Earth. “We’ve flown through the worst of it and we’re still in contact with our spacecraft,” Stardust project manager Tom Duxbury said at approximately 2:50 PM during a live broadcast from the mission control room at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. A few minutes later, NASA's space science chief, Ed Weiler, and JPL Center Director Charles Elachi filed into the control room to congratulate the team on what by all accounts appears to have been a successful enounter. Stardust is not the first spacecraft to visit a comet, but it is the first fully attempt to collect samples from any extraterrestrial body other than the moon and bring them back to Earth for analysis. Nine days ago, on Dec. 24, Stardust extended a tennis racket-shaped particle catcher in preparation for the main point of the mission -- intercepting dust and debris shed by the comet as it whizzed by. At about five minutes out from closest encounter, Wild 2 was literally sandblasting Stardust. The heavily shielded spacecraft snapped pictures at a rate of about once every 10 seconds, documenting its passage of Wild 2’s coma, the region of dust and gas surrounding the comet’s nucleus. Stardust is also equipped with two science instruments, both of which were very busy during the encounter. Duxbury said that downloading all the data and imagery collected during the roughly 10 minute encounter will take about 30 hours. Stardust now begins its long journey back to Earth. Once the spacecraft reaches home in 2006, it will jettison a sample canister that will enter the atmosphere and begin a parachute plunge down to the desert floor of the U.S. Air Force Utah Test and Training Range. The $128.4 million spacecraft was built for NASA by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver. It was launched Feb. 7, 1999 on a Delta 2 rocket. "Wild is pronounced with a "V" sound in front? Well, waddya know. -----signature----- Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic-Arthur C. Clarke Any sufficiently advanced extraterrestrial intelligence is indistinguishable from God-Michael Shermer I'm a sexy shoeless GOD OF WAR! #347 on SLG's List Of Sexy Men
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VadersLaMent Registered: Apr '02	Date Posted: 1/3/04 9:11pm Subject: RE: SPACE SCIENCE THREAD - Date Edited: 1/3/04 9:19pm (1 edits total) Edited By: VadersLaMent
	Below is the current page from Space.com about the landing of Spirit. There is a whole thread devoted to the landing. People care, love and yearn for space travel and mission success. You can go to alot of forums right now and read through the anticipation that lead up to the landing, and the congradulations given to NASA for a job well done. Space.com: That's the Spirit! Mars Rover Lands Safely on Mars By Leonard David Senior Space Writer posted: 11:57 pm ET 03 January 2004 PASADENA, California -- After some seven months of interplanetary travel, NASA’s Mars rover, Spirit, has rolled to a full stop on the surface of the Red Planet. Jubilant scientists and engineers here at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) monitored the craft’s tricky list of entry, descent, and landing duties via a series of tones. The signals relayed from the Mars-bound Spirit helped ground controllers assess the state of the rover as it fell into a pre-selected landing zone within the center of Gusev Crater, thought to have held a lake long ago. NASA’s $820 million dual Mars Exploration Rover project -- Spirit and still en route Opportunity -- are designed to build upon a legacy of earlier discoveries about Mars. The two specially-equipped robots were hurled toward Mars to gain new insights regarding the history of environments on the planet -- perhaps hospitable to life in the past or possibly today. Following touch down on Mars, each rover has been built to carry out three months of exploration at their respective landing spots. Both Spirit and Opportunity are geared to wheel across Mars, inspecting their surroundings with a stereo, color camera and with an infrared instrument that can classify rock types from a distance. Rocks that are deemed by scientists to be the most interesting can be subjected to a handful of tools attached to a rover’s robotic arm. The second rover, Opportunity, is zeroing in on its attempted Mars landing on January 24 at approximately 9:05 pm Pacific Standard Time. This robot craft is heading for Meridiani Planum, a region on Mars that contains exposed deposits of a mineral -- gray hematite -- that usually forms under watery conditions. Scientists speculate that the hematite might have resulted from environmental conditions indicative of a past lake or active hot springs, perhaps hospitable to life. The iron oxide mineral could be the result, however, of hot lava – a situation not conducive to supporting life. Two out of three missions to the red planet have failed. One reason there have been so many losses is that there have been so many attempts. "Mars is a favorite target," says Dr. Firouz Naderi, manager of the Mars Program Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "Surely one of the most marvelous feats of the 20th-century would be the firm proof that life exists on another planet. All the projected space flights and the high costs of such developments would be fully justified if they were able to establish the existence of life on either Mars or Venus." -- Stanley Miller and Harold Urey, in Science, July 31, 1959 -----signature----- Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic-Arthur C. Clarke Any sufficiently advanced extraterrestrial intelligence is indistinguishable from God-Michael Shermer I'm a sexy shoeless GOD OF WAR! #347 on SLG's List Of Sexy Men
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rsterling78 Registered: May '02	Date Posted: 1/3/04 9:45pm Subject: RE: SPACE SCIENCE THREAD
	We've got a rover on Mars! I think it would be funny if the first picture from the rover is the wreckage of that British lander. NASA could tell our rover to run over the British one, or O'Keefe could make some inflammatory remark like "We thought we'd found evidence of intelligence. Instead, we found evidence of Europeans." There's a lot of champagne being drunk at NASA tonight. This could happen, folks.
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Import_Jedi Registered: Aug '01	Date Posted: 1/3/04 9:58pm Subject: RE: SPACE SCIENCE THREAD
	"Spirit" Rover: Take THAT Britain! (runs away) -----signature----- Ms. Stormie likes donuts. "Sir Purple-headed Yogurt Slinger " of The Knights of The Sarcasm Table** Tribute to the Knights: http://www.rich-parno.com/aa_3SAknights.html
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obi_wan_kanathan Registered: May '01	Date Posted: 1/3/04 11:51pm Subject: RE: SPACE SCIENCE THREAD
	I'm having high hopes this year for space exploration. First Stardust is a success, then Spirit lands safely. Considering all the other missions that are planned this year, 2004 could really be a great year. Plus, there's always the small possiblity of contact being established with Beagle 2. -----signature----- Dark Lord of the JC \|\| JC/DLC Ambassador ~~The NEW Dark Lords' Council~~ http://www.thedarklordscouncil.com/
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MasterAero Registered: Aug '02	Date Posted: 1/5/04 7:16am Subject: RE: SPACE SCIENCE THREAD
	Its always good to have rocket scientists appreciated. I think when the rovers start sending back some cool pics and info (hopefully evidence of life (past/present)) on Mars it would be a great time for Bush to announce a return to the Moon and to Mars as previously mentioned. -----signature----- My whole life all I've wanted to do is fly, bomb stuff, shoot people down.
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