(Space Fellowship) Proton Successfully Launches Telesat's Nimiq 6 Satellite
Nimiq 6 Launch Marks the 5th Proton Launch in 93 Days BAIKONUR COSMODROME, Kazakhstan – International Launch Services (ILS), a world leader in providing mission and launch services to the commercial satellite industry, successfully carried the Nimiq 6 satellite into the planned orbit today on an ILS Proton for Telesat, a leading global fixed satellite services operator headquartered in Ottawa, Canada. The ILS Proton Breeze M launched from Pad 24 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 1:12 a.m. to [...]
(Discovery News) Monster Sunspot's Flare Strong Enough to Confuse Satellites
The flare triggered a radiation storm intense enough to also cause radio blackouts.(ScienceDaily) Giant galaxy-packed filament revealed
Astronomers have discovered a giant, galaxy-packed filament ablaze with billions of new stars. The filament is the first structure of its kind spied in a critical era of cosmic buildup when colossal collections of galaxies called superclusters began to take shape. The glowing galactic bridge offers astronomers a unique opportunity to explore how galaxies evolve and merge to form superclusters.(Space Fellowship) Station Gets New Residents; Science and Maintenance for Crew
With the arrival of the remaining three crew members Thursday, the Expedition 31 crew is now operating at full strength aboard the International Space Station. Flight Engineers Gennady Padalka, Joe Acaba and Sergei Revin were welcomed aboard the orbiting laboratory after the hatches opened Thursday at 4:10 a.m. EDT. They docked to the Poisk module at 12:36 a.m. after a two-day journey that began in Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, aboard the Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft. After a series of le [...]
(Space Fellowship) Herschel Sees Intergalactic Bridge Aglow With Stars
The Herschel Space Observatory has discovered a giant, galaxy-packed filament ablaze with billions of new stars. The filament connects two clusters of galaxies that, along with a third cluster, will smash together and give rise to one of the largest galaxy superclusters in the universe. Herschel is a European Space Agency mission with important NASA contributions. The filament is the first structure of its kind spied in a critical era of cosmic buildup when colossal collections of galax [...]
(Space Fellowship) Successful launch of H-IIA F 21 with SHIZUKU and SDS-4 aboard
The launch of the H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 21 with The Global Change Observation Satellite 1st - Water "SHIZUKU" and Small Demonstration Satellite-4 (SDS-4) aboard was successfully performed at 1:39 a.m. on May 18 (Fri.) 2012 (Japan Standard Time). The launch vehicle flew normally and separated from the SDS-4. It has been also confirmed that the SHIZUKU was also separated at about 22 minutes and 59 seconds after liftoff. The SHIZUKU will conduct critical phase operations including deploying [...]
(ScienceDaily) Astrophysicists observe how black holes are fueled
By combining the light of three powerful infrared telescopes, scientists have observed the active accretion phase of a supermassive black hole in the center of a galaxy tens of millions of light years away, a method that has yielded an unprecedented amount of data for such observations. The resolution at which they were able to observe this highly luminescent active galactic nucleus has given them direct confirmation of how mass accretes onto black holes in centers of galaxies.(Space Fellowship) IRVE-3 Flight Hardware Test
A NASA flight test designed to demonstrate the feasibility of inflatable spacecraft technology is coming down to the wire. The Inflatable Reentry Vehicle Experiment (IRVE-3) is the third in a series of suborbital flight tests of this new technology. It is scheduled to launch from the Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia's Eastern Shore this summer. "We have to do all kinds of different testing," said flight systems engineer Carrie Rhoades. "We do high temperature tunnel tests in a number [...]
(Space Fellowship) NASA Survey Counts Potentially Hazardous Asteroids
PASADENA, Calif. -- Observations from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) have led to the best assessment yet of our solar system's population of potentially hazardous asteroids. The results reveal new information about their total numbers, origins and the possible dangers they may pose. Potentially hazardous asteroids, or PHAs, are a subset of the larger group of near-Earth asteroids. The PHAs have the closest orbits to Earth's, coming within five million miles (about eight mil [...]
(Space Fellowship) Meals, Equipment Top Cargo List for Dragon
The Dragon spacecraft built by SpaceX will head to the International Space Station with about 1,200 pounds of cargo during its demonstration mission, including commemorative patches and pins, 162 meals and a collection of student experiments. Since the company's rocket and spacecraft are conducting a test flight, the manifest attests to important goods for the station's crew of astronauts and cosmonauts, but not mission-critical items. Most of the cargo's weight, 674 pounds, is in food [...]
(Space Fellowship) Endeavour Powered Down 20 Years after First Launch
Space shuttle Discovery was powered up hundreds of times during prelaunch processing over the course of 26 years of spaceflight. But Dec. 16, 2011 was different. That morning, technicians inside NASA Kennedy Space Center's orbiter processing facility powered the ship up -- and then down -- for the final time. Less than a week later, on Dec. 22, Atlantis followed. "After working so many years -- since 1988 -- on these vehicles, it's a little hard to say, 'I'm taking my best car and I'm going t [...]
(Space Fellowship) New Station Crew Docks to Poisk Module
Three new Expedition 31 crew members Gennady Padalka, Joe Acaba and Sergei Revin docked to the International Space Station’s Poisk module Thursday at 12:36 a.m. EDT. They began their journey two days earlier when they launched aboard a Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. Currently, the hatches between the two spacecraft are closed as the vehicles undergo leak and pressure checks. After about three hours, once those checks are complete, Expedition 31 Commander [...]
(Discovery News) Stunning Photos Capture Global Astronomical Views
To raise awareness for the growing problem of light pollution and to showcase the beauty of the night sky, a huge international astrophotography contest was held. Here are the winners.(euronews) Transparent driving
Driving a car safely means doing more than keeping an eye on the road. The driver also has to keep an eye on the dashboard. But looking away from the…
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(Space Fellowship) The Shake, Rattle and Roar of the J-2X Engine
The shake, rattle and roar lasted just seven seconds, but the short J-2X test conducted May 16 at NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center in south Mississippi moved the space agency ever closer to a return to deep space. NASA operators tested the next-generation J-2X engine on the A-2 Test Stand at Stennis to collect early data on performance of the engine and test stand with the new nozzle extension and clamshell configuration. The test also provided data on startup and shutdown processe [...]
(Space Politics) House and White House at odds over code of conduct language in defense bill
The House of Representatives is debating today HR 4310, the fiscal year 2013 defense authorization act. The legislation covers a very wide of issues, many of which attracted the attention of the White House in its Statement of Administration Policy (SAP), which stated that if the bill passes as currently written, senior advisors will recommend [...](ScienceDaily) NASA lends Galaxy Evolution Explorer to Caltech
NASA is lending the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, where the spacecraft will continue its exploration of the cosmos. In a first-of-a-kind move for NASA, a Space Act Agreement was signed May 14 so the university soon can resume spacecraft operations and data management for the mission using private funds.(Discovery News) Superflares Found on Sun-like Stars
There is no explanation for how flares more than 1 million times more powerful than solar flares are occurring.(ScienceDaily) NASA survey counts potentially hazardous asteroids
Observations from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) have led to the best assessment yet of our solar system's population of potentially hazardous asteroids. The results reveal new information about their total numbers, origins and the possible dangers they may pose.(Discovery News) Mars Rover Opportunity is on the Move
After surviving its fifth Martian winter, NASA's tenacious rover is off to a rolling start.(Space Politics) An Iowa senator’s concerns about a California NASA center
The relationship between NASA’s Ames Research Center (ARC) and Internet search giant Google has occasionally attracted scrutiny. For the last few years H211, a holding company owned by top Google officials, has based several aircraft at the center’s Moffett Field, allowing them to be used by NASA for scientific flights as well as for other [...](euronews) Book or e-book?
Sales of digital books are on the up in Italy. At the 25th edition of the International Book Fair in Turin it was clear that the paper-free book is…
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(Discovery News) Revving Up the Antimatter Engine
Hope springs eternal for die-hard Star Trek fans that scientists will one day build an actual, working antimatter propulsion engine similar to the one that powers the fictional starship Enterprise.(ScienceDaily) Baby galaxies grew up quickly
Baby galaxies from the young universe more than 12 billion years ago evolved faster than previously thought, shows new research. This means that already in the early history of the universe, there was potential for planet formation and life.(Discovery News) Eclipse to Dazzle U.S. West Coast, China and Japan
On Sunday evening, the eclipse will march from Oregon and California to Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas.(ScienceDaily) Deeper Look at Centaurus A
The strange galaxy Centaurus A is pictured in a new image from the European Southern Observatory. With a total exposure time of more than 50 hours this is probably the deepest view of this peculiar and spectacular object every created.(Space Politics) Obama’s Florida campaign wants Romney to take a stand on space
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is campaigning in Florida today, which prompted President Obama’s campaign organization in the state to issue a statement calling on Romney to take a position on space policy. “Today, Floridians deserve to know if Mitt Romney agrees with his Republican allies in Congress or if he stands with President [...](Discovery News) Might NASA be Forced to Kill the Commercial Space Race?
Commercial space competition may be over before it's even really begun.(Space Fellowship) A Supernova Cocoon Breakthrough
Observations with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory have provided the first X-ray evidence of a supernova shock wave breaking through a cocoon of gas surrounding the star that exploded. This discovery may help astronomers understand why some supernovas are much more powerful than others. On Nov. 3, 2010, a supernova was discovered in the galaxy UGC 5189A, located about 160 million light years away. Using data from the All Sky Automated Survey telescope in Hawaii taken earlier, astronomers det [...]
(Space Fellowship) Kepler Mission Manager Update
April was a momentous time for the mission! The team received approval for a mission extension through fiscal year 2016, based on a recommendation from NASA’s 2012 Senior Review of Astrophysics Missions. In addition to Kepler, eight other missions were approved. The 2012 NASA Senior Review report is available here. The extended mission will begin in October 2012. The team has been busy preparing a transition plan to carry the mission through 2016. The extended mission paradigm will be to op [...]
