Tag: NASA

SpaceX Signs Deal To Launch Satellites

On the heels of what could be a turning point in the history of space flight for humans, SpaceX has signed a deal with Intelsat to launch a satellite once their new Falcon Heavy rocket is complete. The Falcon Heavy will be responsible for taking Intelsat’s satellite up to a into geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO).

“SpaceX is very proud to have the confidence of Intelsat, a leader in the satellite communication services industry,” said Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO and Chief Designer. “The Falcon Heavy has more than twice the power of the next largest rocket in the world. With this new vehicle, SpaceX launch systems now cover the entire spectrum of the launch needs for commercial, civil and national security customers.”

Once the Falcon Heavy is ready it will be the most powerful Rocket in the world and the second most powerful rocket of all time behing the Saturn V rockets that transported the Apollo astronauts. The Falcon Heavy will meet NASA’s human rating standards as well as the stringent U.S. Air Force requirements for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program. The Heavy is capable of lifting 53 metric tons (117,000 pounds) to low Earth orbit and over 12 metric tons (26,000 pounds) to GTO, Falcon Heavy will provide more than twice the performance to low Earth orbit of any other launch vehicle. This will allow SpaceX to launch the largest satellites ever flown and will enable new missions.

“Timely access to space is an essential element of our commercial supply chain,” said Thierry Guillemin, Intelsat CTO. “As a global leader in the satellite sector, our support of successful new entrants to the commercial launch industry reduces risk in our business model. Intelsat has exacting technical standards and requirements for proven flight heritage for our satellite launches. We will work closely with SpaceX as the Falcon Heavy completes rigorous flight tests prior to our future launch requirements.

SpaceX really seems to be moving full steam ahead and as of right now it is by far the best option for space travel and the US government and NASA need to seriously consider letting SpaceX focus on this stuff and stick to putting people in space and on the on the moon.

May 30, 2012
SpaceX Dragon Capsule From ISS [Photos]

Last week SpaceX did what had never been done before. They managed to become the very first private company to dock with the International Space Station. The momentous feat was part of an effort to shift some of responsibilities of cargo shipments to and from the ISS away from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and give it to SpaceX which won a Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) contract. This flight is the first of 12 that will ferry experiments, trash, and supplies back and forth.

One if the astronauts on the ISS is named André Kuipers. Kuipers is a Dutch astronaut flying for the ESA. He is currently stationed as the ISS and snapping a ton of hi-res photos that he puts on his blog. Well he just released an album that has to dea with the Dragon capsule docking and being entered by the crew of the ISS. Kuipers had this to say: “The Dragon mission is the operational highlight of my mission. But it is also a milestone for international spaceflight.”

Check out some of the amazing photos:

May 29, 2012
NASA Asks Future Moon Explorers To Respect History

The destiny of the human race lies beyond our planet, but before we can search the stars, we need to colonize the moon. Many countries including China, India, and Japan have expressed serious interest in either putting people or rovers on the moon and NASA has asked them to stay away from our stuff. This also comes from Google’s Lunar X-Prize getting closer to reality.

Having all of this approaching activity has made NASA a little nervous about it’s property and history sitting on the lunar surface. Two Apollo landing sites (Apollo 11 and 17) and a few of the Ranger impact sites are on the off limits. Though NASA has no way of enforcing the requirements, they are designed to protect materials and scientific equipment at historical lunar sites as well as future landing sites. The guidelines have been made available internationally, and the agency welcomes other nations to participate in and improve upon them, said NASA spokesperson Joshua Buck.

The Apollo 11 and 17 sites are singled out in particular for extra care and respect. Rovers are prohibited from visiting both sites and are requested to remain outside a large radius (250 feet for Apollo 11 and 740 feet for Apollo 17). The goal is to prevent the kicking up of moon dust which is apparently extremely abrasive. Hopefully the Chinese and Indians will be mindful of the history that is sitting up there and will choose a different place to land their robots and people.

photo courtesy of NASA

May 29, 2012
SpaceX’s Dragon Docks With ISS [Live Feed]

So the time is finally here for the SpaceX capsule titled “Dragon” to dock with the ISS. After several tests yesterday NASA deemed that it was indeed ready to go ahead and start docking procedures. Part of these was matching speed with the ISS and moving it closer so it could be grasped with the robotic arm. They will then dock it to the station. Once the hatch is opened the astronauts on the ISS will take out the experiments and supplies inside and put garbage and experiments back in it.

Here is the live feed from NASA TV:

Video streaming by Ustream

The exact amount of time that the Dragon will be docked to the ISS at this time is unknown, but it seems as though SpaceX is passing every test that needs to be done. When they are successful and it seems that they will be, they will begin to fulfill its Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) contract through NASA). The resupply contract for the International Space Station has it making 12 runs, and since it is reusable, they will have the ability to ferry items back and forth, not just trash but experiments.

May 25, 2012
SpaceX’s Dragon Gets Closer To Docking With ISS

Two days ago, SpaceX started a historic journey to become the first commercial company to dock to the International Space Station. Since the launch the Dragon space capsule has had one task to complete after another and it has done every one of them without complaining once.

Early this morning, Dragon’s thrusters fired, bringing the vehicle 2.4 kilometers below the International Space Station. The vehicle completed two key tests at that distance. Dragon demonstrated its Relative GPS and established a communications link with the International Space Station using CUCU. Astronauts commanded on Dragon’s strobe light to confirm the link worked. These are the last few tests before the Dragon attempts to dock with the ISS. Here is the video of the Dragon below the ISS:

There are 2 tasks left in the journey of the Dragon space capsule:

FRIDAY MORNING

– Final Approach, Dragon Grapple

Around 2:00 AM Pacific/5:00 AM Eastern NASA will decide if Dragon is GO to move into the approach ellipsoid 1.4 kilometers around the space station. If Dragon is GO, after approximately one hour Dragon will move to a location 250 meters directly below the station. Dragon will then perform a series of maneuvers to show systems are operating as expected. If NASA is satisfied with the results of these many tests, Dragon will be allowed to perform the final approach to the space station.

Sometime around 6:00 AM Pacific/9:00 AM Eastern, astronauts on the space station will grapple Dragon with the space station’s robotic arm and the spacecraft will attach to the station.

SATURDAY MORNING

– Hatch Opening

If all goes well, at approximately 2:00 AM Pacific/5:00 AM Eastern, the crew will start procedures to open Dragon’s hatch. It will take around 2 hours to complete all operations leading to the hatch opening. Once the hatch is opened, astronauts will enter Dragon for the first time in space.

If the mission of docking with the ISS is successful, then SpaceX will begin to fulfill its Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) contract through NASA). The resupply contract for the International Space Station has it making 12 runs, and since it is reusable, they will have the ability to ferry items back and forth, not just trash but experiments.

Here is a picture of the ISS taken by a thermal camera on the Dragon courtesy of SpaceX:

Here is a photo from the ISS of the Dragon on approach courtesy of NASA:

May 24, 2012
Japan And Russia Announce Plans For Moon Base

While NASA was busy celebrating the successful launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, Russia and Japan were busy making a huge announcement that has the possibility to set off another space race. They announced that they want to start on the journey to building a permanent base on the moon.

“We’re not talking about repeating what mankind achieved 40 years ago. We’re talking about establishing permanent bases,” said Vladimir Popovkin, the head of Roscosmos, the Russian space agency. Japan’s space exploration goals for the near future are similar to those of Russia. “We are looking at the moon as our next target for human exploraiton,” said Yuichi Yamaura, an associate executive director at JAXA, the Japanese Space Agency.

Meanwhile, in the United States, NASA has a Global Exploration Roadmap, which details its plans for the next 25 years of space exploration. It features 2 main paths, One is establishing a moon base by 2020, the other is a trip to an asteroid. Obama likes the asteroid trip, but most conservatives seem to like the moon base idea.

Being the only country to ever put people on the moon is a distinction that the United States had had since 1969. We have a lot of problems to fix in the United States, but keeping a national identity like dominating space technology is something we need to refocus our attention to.

photo courtesy of NASA

May 24, 2012
Moon Rock Chips Make It Back To NASA After 30+ Years

What a long strange trip it’s been for some moon rock chips. If they’re real, they’re part of a limited supply of about 842 pounds of rock collected by U.S. astronauts in six missions between Apollo 11 in 1969 and Apollo 17 in 1972.

The moon rocks were “given by then-President Richard Nixon to former Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle, stolen by a Costa Rican mercenary soldier-turned Contra rebel, traded to a Baptist missionary for unknown items, then sold to a flamboyant Las Vegas casino owner who squirreled them away in a safety deposit box.”

2 years after the casino owners death, the moon chips have made their way back to NASA. How they disappeared is another story. The U.S. distributed 270 moon rock samples in the 1970s as a goodwill gesture to countries around the world. States received 100 samples and territories received six. The United Nations received a sample from the Apollo 11 mission. NASA has conceded it lost track of some of the 26,000 samples of moon rock and other space material loaned to researchers and museums. The agency inspector general said last December that more than 500 pieces were reported missing since 1970.

“In a sense, they’re worthless because you can’t sell them,” Joe Gutheinz, a retired NASA investigator and moon rock hunter, said. “But for people who love space, you can’t put a price on it.”

If the rock display is authentic, “NASA will return the rock to the people of Nicaragua.” Which is where the rocks are supposedly from.

May 23, 2012
NASA Updates Iphone App To Version 2.0

NASA is pretty much at the forefront of technology when it comes to a lot of things. SO it is no surprise that they have launched a version 2.0 for their iPhone app. What is surprising is that the app doesn’t support the retina display so it is real blocky and grainy.

So as you can see the images are grainy, but there are still a bunch of cool parts to the app. One of those things is the awesome integration of weather to the mission sightings menu. You can go to a mission and see if you will have the ability to see it from a telescope and check it against the weather. The page also features a compass at the bottom of the screen!

The app also has the ability the stream the NASA TV channel and it can display some awesome pictures.

I would love to see NASA actually use their head, which we all know they can, and upgrade to version 2.1 which features HD display for the retina display.

According to NASA, people have down loaded the app more than 4 million times. According to Slashgear, the new version the app requires iOS 5.0 or higher operate.

May 22, 2012
SpaceX Launches Falcon 9 Rocket…..Finally

Today at 3:44AM SapceX finally launched their highly touted oft delayed Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Center. The Launch, which was originally slated for yesterday, was aborted due to a failed valve on engine #5 caused an unsafe rise in pressure in the engine.

The vehicle’s first stage performed nominally before separating from the second stage. The second stage successfully delivered the Dragon spacecraft into its intended orbit. This marks the third consecutive successful Falcon 9 launch and the fifth straight launch success for SpaceX.

With the launch being a success, then NASA has a few benchmarks for the Dragon to meet and if it does, they will try to dock it to the International Space Station.“We obviously have to go through a number of steps to berth with the Space Station, but everything is looking really good and I think I would count today as a success no matter what happens with the rest of the mission,” SpaceX boss Elon Musk said.

If the mission of docking with the ISS is successful, then SpaceX will begin to fulfill its contract through the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The resupply contract for the International Space Station has it making 12 runs, and since it is reusable, they will have the ability to ferry items back and forth, not just trash but experiments.“This mission heralds the dawn of a new era of space exploration, one in which there is a significant commercial space element.” said Musk. ” It is like the advent of the Internet in the mid-1990s when commercial companies entered what was originally a government endeavor. That move dramatically accelerated the pace of advancement and made the Internet accessible to the mass market. I think we’re at a similar inflection point for space. I hope and I believe that this mission will be historic in marking that turning point towards a rapid advancement in space transportation technology.”

The Dragon space capsule was designed to ferry humans also, so it is hoped that it will one day be the primary transport for NASA astronauts.

Mission Highlights: During the mission, Dragon must perform a series of complex tasks, each presenting significant technical challenges (dates subject to change):

May 22: Launch Day: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launches a Dragon spacecraft into orbit from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
May 23: Dragon orbits Earth as it travels toward the International Space Station.
May 24: Dragon’s sensors and flight systems are subjected to a series of complicated tests to determine if the vehicle is ready to berth with the space station; these tests include maneuvers and systems checks in which the vehicle comes within 1.5 miles of the station.
May 25: NASA decides if Dragon is allowed to attempt berthing with the station. If so, Dragon approaches. It is captured by station’s robotic arm and attached to the station, a feat that requires extreme precision.
May 25 – 31: Astronauts open Dragon’s hatch, unload supplies and fill Dragon with return cargo.
May 31: After approximately two weeks, Dragon is detached from the station and returns to Earth, landing in the Pacific, hundreds of miles west of Southern California.

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@SpaceX The Falcon 9 rocket’s engines ignite on the SpaceX launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, May 22, 2012. http://t.co/lL54HsUu
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May 22, 2012
SpaceX Launch Aborted At Last Second

The long awaited, oft delayed launch of the Falcon 9 rocket from the private space firm SpaceX has been delayed again after a failed valve on engine #5 caused an unsafe rise in pressure in the engine. The rise in pressure could have caused an explosion so the mission was aborted shortly before launch. The mission is slated for a relaunch try on May 22nd.

The SpaceX guys went on Google+ to tell us the update on the problem:

SpaceX 1 day ago Engineers replacing failed valve on engine #5 following today’s abort. Data review Sunday, if all looks good next attempt is Tues. May 22 at 3:44 AM ET 434 67 Powered by socialditto

SpaceX also released a statement regarding the aborted launch:

“Today’s launch was aborted when the flight computer detected slightly high pressure in the engine 5 combustion chamber. We have discovered root cause and repairs are underway. During rigorous inspections of the engine, SpaceX engineers discovered a faulty check valve on the Merlin engine. We are now in the process of replacing the failed valve. Those repairs should be complete tonight. We will continue to review data on Sunday. If things look good, we will be ready to attempt to launch on Tuesday, May 22nd at 3:44 AM Eastern.”

Here is a short part of the interview about the abort with the abort video at the end:

Here is the full interview from NASA and SpaceX explaining the abort:

If the Falcon 9 ever launches and is successful, the Dragon capsule will dock to the International Space Station, then SpaceX will begin to fulfill its contract through the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The resupply contract for the International Space Station has it making 12 runs, and since it is reusable, they will have the ability to ferry items back and forth, not just trash but experiments.

May 21, 2012
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Set To Launch Dragon Into Space

After a successful test firing of the Falcon 9 boosters, and what seems like 300 delays, the crew at SpaceX are finally set to launch their rocket into space. The Falcon 9 will attempt to deliver its payload, the Dragon space capsule, to the ISS for docking. If the launch is deemed successful by NASA, SpaceX will get the OK to dock with the International Space Station (ISS) to deliver its payload and take on trash.

If the mission is successful, then SpaceX will begin to fulfill its contract through the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The resupply contract for the International Space Station has it making 12 runs, and since it is reusable, they will have the ability to ferry items back and forth, not just trash but experiments.

Everyone seems to be excited about the launch except for CEO Elon Musk who told the NewYorkTimes, “I think there’s a significant chance that the mission does not succeed.”

The launch is scheduled for 4:15am tomorrow morning from Cape Canaveral, Fla. The Live webcam feed can be seen here.

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@elonmuskJust passed final launch review with @NASA. All systems go for liftoff on Sat morn. Webcast live at http://t.co/VrDqA7aq.
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May 18, 2012
NASA Scientist Discovered Filming Mars Landing!

So, in a weird that they didn’t just tell us about this, kind of way. A NASA team was discovered in the middle of the desert in California doing what looks like a video shoot of their newest rover on Mars. But fret not, this isn’t the start of a new conspiracy to fool everyone into thinking that we aren’t really sending probes to Mars.

This is what NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in charge of the Curiosity mission had to say about the scarecrow that was seen:

“Team members of NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory mission took a test rover to Dumont Dunes in California’s Mojave Desert this week to improve knowledge of the best way to operate a similar rover, Curiosity, currently flying to Mars for an August landing. The test rover that they put through paces on various sandy slopes has a full-scale version of Curiosity’s mobility system, but it is otherwise stripped down so that it weighs about the same on Earth as Curiosity will weigh in the lesser gravity of Mars. Information collected in these tests on windward and downwind portions of dunes will be used by the rover team in making decisions about driving Curiosity on dunes near a mountain in the center of Gale Crater.”

It is called “Scarecrow” because it lacks the sophisticated computer brain that the Curiosity has. The lightened practice runabout also doesn’t have Curiosity’s rock-melting high powered laser or its nuclear power plant either. Also the real “Curiosity” lifted off aboard an Atlas V rocket on November 26th of last year. It will get to Mars on August 5th.

Here is look at where the rover is in relation to Mars on it’s trip. Nasa updates this graphic constantly so keep up to date by clicking on the picture:

And just in case you were ever wondering how the heck do they land on Mars? Well here is a quick 1 minute video tutorial from the JPL lab:

May 16, 2012
NASA Astronauts Begin Training For Asteroid Mission

NASA astronauts are getting ready to start to prepare for what could be one of the most challenging mission to date, a trip to an asteroid. Next month they will begin a training programme that will teach them how to operate vehicles, conduct spacewalks and gather samples on the surface of an asteroid. The work will be mainly scientific, but the data gleaned from the asteroid could one day be useful if there is ever one with a destiny for the surface of Earth. Major Tim Peake, a former British Army helicopter test pilot who is now the first official British astronaut with the European Space Agency, had this to say: “With enough warning we would probably send a robotic mission to deflect an asteroid, but if something is spotted late and is big enough we might come into Armageddon type scenarios where we may have to look at manned missions to deflect it.”

The training will start next month when Major Peake will join 5 other people in an underwater training station off the coast of Florida. The capsule they will share is 43 feet long by 20 feet wide tube, is 65 feet under water, and will be their home for 12 days. The facility is called the Nasa Extreme Environment Mission Operation or NEEMO. “NEEMO is as close to the real thing as we can manage on Earth. We are in a confined space and living quarters are very tight,” said Peake, “We will need at least 12 hours of decompression before we can resurface safely so we are sort of trapped down there, and that makes it much more realistic.”

The mission is hoping to use the Orion spacecraft that sits atop the Space Launch System. Once there, the astronauts would live in a Deep Space Habitat and traverse the landscape using a Space Exploration Vehicle (SEV).

Picture courtesy the ESA.

May 14, 2012
SpaceX Finally Sets Date For Dragon Launch

On May 19th, private space firm SpaceX, will finally launch its vaunted Falcon 9 rocket into space. Aboard the rocket is the Dragon space capsule. The hopes of this launch is to have the Dragon capsule dock with the International Space Station and both deliver a payload and unload space garbage.

The launch was originally suppose to take place on May 7th, but was delayed for unknown reasons. Most people believe that it was for the SpaceX engineers to tweak the programming one last time to make sure that the capsule will be able to meet its specified goal.

If the Falcon 9 launch is successful, and the Dragon capsule is able to dock to te International Space Station, then SpaceX will begin to fulfill its contract through the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The resupply contract for the International Space Station has it making 12 runs, and since it is reusable, they will have the ability to ferry items back and forth, not just trash but experiments.

The Falcon 9/Dragon program is part of the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) agreement has been worth about $381 million for hitting 37 out of 40 milestones, and that will hit $396 million if SpaceX is able to hit them all.

Between SpaceX and Virgin, it is nice to see private companies take a risk like this. Even though they do have government grants, the owners did have to take a risk to get SpaceX up and running.

The launch is set for Saturday, 19 May at 8.55 GMT, with coverage starting on NASA TV at 7.30 GMT.

May 14, 2012
HD Earth From Space: Taken Using 4 Light Spectrums

Russian weather satellite Elektro-L is in geostationary orbit, over 22000 miles above the equator. It sends photos to Earth every thirty minutes. The image above is one of them. It combines four light wavelengths, three visible and one infrared. That is why they are so vivid. And why the orange you see in the picture is actually vegetation, being captured in infrared.

Gizmodo, who posted the picture, also spoke with Robert Simmon, a scientist at the NASA Earth Observatory”

“Elektro-L is a Russian Satellite similar to GOES (the satellites that provide the cloud image loops shown on the news every night). The images posted by Gizmodo are a combination of visible and near-infrared wavelengths, so they show the Earth in a way not visible to human eyes (vegetation looks red, for example). They’re not any better or worse than NASA images, but they show different things.”

“It’s a geostationary weather satellite orbiting above the equator at ~54˚ East. Tthe US has two similar operational geostationary satellites over the east and west coasts, EUMETSAT has one over Europe and one over the Indian Ocean, Japan has one over the far western Pacific.”

Similar high-def pictures exist from NASA, although they do not utilize the near-infrared spectrum that Elektro-L does, and appear exactly as you might see them with the naked eye.

Just for fun, here are some other views from satellites orbiting earth. This is taken from the International Space Station (ISS).

No clue where this is from, or even if its real. Enjoy.

This one is definitely fake. It was created using the open-source animation and rendering software Blender. But it’s still cool, showing the Earth flying through space.

[source: Gizmodo]

May 14, 2012
UFO By The Sun Gets More Proof It’s Real

Two weeks ago I reported on a story about the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spotting a possible UFO next to the Sun. NASA, as usual, blamed it on some smudge, or left over cosmic rays that leave a streak in an image. Youtube user rob19791 has a much different idea about whats going on and he has some video to try to prove his accusations.

This guys main contention is that when Nathan Rich, lead ground systems engineer in the NRL’s solar physics branch said that “The streaks in question are consistent with energetic particle (proton) impacts on the CCD, something which is apparent in just about every image.” It can’t be true due to the length of the sighting. The object which, if real, is approximately the size of planet Earth, seems to be in orbit around the sun.

Now this is where it gets interesting. After this video went semi-viral, SOHO went offline. NASA had this to say:

“SOHO went into ‘Emergency Sun Reacquisition’ mode on Friday May 4, 2012, caused by a false trigger of the Coarse Sun Pointing Attitude Anomaly Detector. We are working on the recovery of the spacecraft to normal mode.”

Did the satellite really go down? Or was it taken down until they can figure out what that massive thing is? Doesn’t NASA understand that when they do this kind of thing, it raises questions?

May 11, 2012
NASA Finds New Super Earth…Again

In what is becoming a daily thing, NASA has announced the discovery of another super earth. This time the planet is called “55 Cancri e” and it is 41 light years away from our regular earth. The fact that we found another planet isn’t really news because of the recent announcement that there are probably around 100 of these planets at distances of less than 30 light-years.

The big news here is that 55 Cancri e is the first planet where we have been able to see light coming from it. We have detected other planets, but they were all the size of Jupiter.

The discovery was made by the Spitzer Space Telescope who used it’s infrared sensors to detect the light radiating from 55 Cancri e. “When we conceived of Spitzer more than 40 years ago, exoplanets hadn’t even been discovered,” said Michael Werner, Spitzer project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the NASA press release. “Because Spitzer was built very well, it’s been able to adapt to this new field and make historic advances such as this.”

The planet is roughly 2 times the size of our earth and it orbits 55 Cancri a, the name of the star, in about 18 days. It does this because it is the same distance away from the star as Mercury is from our own sun. The planet is tidally locked, meaning that one side always faces the sun, and it is incredibly hot on the surface, about 3100 degrees Fahrenheit. This is unfortunate news for us because it means we have to find another world to colonize.

May 9, 2012
NASA To Feed Jet Engine Crayons… For Science

Recently NASA engineers at the Dryden Flight Research Center, feed crayons and cereal to a jet engine. No, the engine tests aren’t to see how well the Pratt & Whitney F117 turbofan engines hold up against a toddler. The tests are actually to test new sensors to help with managing the health of the engines while in flight.

“The point of tossing cereal and crayons into the engine is to trigger some small change for the sensors to detect, without harming the engine,” said Dave Berger, a leader of the Vehicle Integrated Propulsion (VIPR) test series. “Once the sensitivity of the sensors is established, we will end with a real-world scenario by introducing volcanic ash, which really can – and does – tear up an engine.”

Photos courtesy of NASA.

The need for such an experiment and new sensors came to the forefront during the 2009 Icelandic volcano eruptions that disrupted air traffic worldwide for weeks. The overall tests on the engine will eventually lead to the introduction to volcanic ash which will destroy the engine.

“Being able to take an overhauled engine and run it all the way to the end of its life through research experiments is a unique opportunity,” said Berger.

In true NASA fashion, they also had to design and build two support structures for the experiment. The first was a 24-foot diameter water platform designed to sit below and in front of the research engine during ground testing, the second was a piece of support equipment that is an emission sensor rig designed to sit just behind the engine and sweep across the engine’s exhaust path in order to collect exhaust gases for emissions data.

Based at Dryden, VIPR is funded by NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, which manages the Aviation Safety Program.

May 8, 2012
NASA and ESA Confirm Unknowns Hack

Both the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, and the European Space Agency (ESA) have confirmed that their systems were indeed penetrated by the new hacker group known as the Unknowns. The systems that were breached have already been patched, which is what the Unknowns said was their goal in the first place.

The Unknowns successfully attacked 10 websites: NASA – Glenn Research Center, U.S. military, U.S. Air Force, European Space Agency, Thai Royal Navy, Harvard University, Renault, French ministry of Defense, Bahrain Ministry of Defense, Jordanian Yellow Pages. they also posted screenshots showing they gained accessed to each and every one. The group even put together 250MB worth of military documents from their hacks and uploaded the collection to MediaFire.

“NASA security officials detected an intrusion into the site on April 20 and took it offline,” a NASA spokesperson said in a statement. “The agency takes the issue of IT security very seriously and at no point was sensitive or controlled information compromised. NASA has made significant progress to better protect the agency’s IT systems and is in the process of mitigating any remaining vulnerabilities that could allow intrusions in the future.”

ESA security office manager Stefano Zatti told ZDNet UK that “The group used SQL injection… The use of SQL injection is an admitted vulnerability. this needs to be addressed at a coding level.”

More and more companies are coming under foreign attacks from the likes of China and Iran. These guys’ heart is in the right place, I just wish there was an easier way to get people’s attention than breaking the law. But if we are safer because of this, how can I complain?

The Unknowns released a statement:

“We are a new hacker group, we have never been in any hacking team before. We are not Anonymous Version 2 and we are not against the US Government. We can’t call ourselves White Hat Hackers but we’re not Black Hat Hackers either… Now, we decided to hack these sites for a reason… These Websites are important, we understand that we harmed the victims and we’re sorry for that – we’re soon going to email them all the information they need to know about the penetrations we did. We still think that what we did helped them, because right now they know that their Security is weak and that it should be fixed.

We wanted to gain the trust of others, people now trust us, we’re getting lots of emails from people we never knew, asking us to check their website’s security and that’s what we want to do. Our goal was never to harm anyone, we want to make this whole internet world more secured because, simply, it’s not at all and we want to help. We don’t want revolutions, we don’t want chaos, we just want to protect the people out there. Websites are not secured, people are not secured, computers are not secured, nothing is…We’re here to help and we’re asking nothing in exchange.”

May 7, 2012
House To Cut NASA Budget To 1950’s Levels

The Appropriations Committee of the United States House of Representatives is about to get together to work on an election year budget. One of the hot topics is funding for NASA, and what to do with some of the programs. The Appropriations Committee is preparing to cut NASA’s budget to the levels of the 1950’s. Not in dollar amounts but in percentage of GDP. When they do cut the budget it will surpass last years low and be at .48% of GDP. The actual dollar amount will be in tune with the 2006 levels of spending at $19.57 billion.

Some of the programs that are being cut from are the Space Technology and Commercial Crew programs. They are going to add funds to the Space Launch System and the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle which happen to be congressional favorites.

The one thing that the House needs to stay away from is trying to pick a winner. This is essentially what critics think they are doing in trying to force NASA into by suggesting that they abandon the 4 company competition for the Orion Crew Vehicle. “The Committee believes that many of these concerns would be addressed by an immediate down select to a single competitor or, at most, the execution of a leader-follower paradigm in which NASA makes one large award to a main commercial partner and a second small award to a back-up partner.”

There are some programs that Congress is trying to force but NASA neither asked for or has use for. These are the kind of programs that people hate because they are a waste of money. The biggest one is the Space Launch System. The SLS is a rocket that is required, by law, to have the capability to lift 130 metric tons to orbit. This is a requirement for the rocket even thought there is not a current mission or one in the foreseeable future that would require a rocket with that kind of horse power. It is also so expensive that NASA can only afford to launch it once every 2 years. Maybe they know more about the Mayan apocalypse than they are letting on?

May 3, 2012
NASA Boss May Be Guilty Of Weapon Trafficking

The United States has a lot of laws. So many laws that even the high ranking officials aren’t even aware of all the laws, and can do something as simple as allowing scientific access to non vital systems and mistakenly put themselves on the wrong side of the law.

Simon ‘Pete’ Worden, director of the NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California might be in trouble. He gave foreign citizens access to information that falls under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). ITAR is a set of rules that aims to prevent the transfer of potentially strategic technologies to foreign countries. Created during the cold war to further protect technological assets that the United States has, the laws have been under scrutiny for some time for being necessary at the time, but useless now in the day and age of private companies having the ability to launch rockets and satellites into space.

Recently the Department of Defense and the State Department have recommended taking non-military communications and remote-sensing satellites out of ITAR’s jurisdiction, because like I mentioned above, any company can now do it. But unfortunately that does not protect Worden from any zealous U.S. Attorney looking to make a name for himself. “I think that careful implementation of this report’s recommendations may have the potential to reduce some of the unintended consequences of space export control on universities and university education,” says Kevin Schmadel, vice-president for government relations at the Universities Space Research Association.

Some people on Capitol Hill are saying that they might use this case as an excuse to keep the stringent rules of ITAR in place, others are saying that they hope this can be used as a building block towards loosening the regulations currently placed on non-defense satellites and rockets.

May 3, 2012