• Catapulting Into History

    Updated: 2012-11-30 14:15:58
    The Daily Planet: The first catapult launch of an unmanned combat aircraft -- and more milestones to come. Score another one for the drones. Yesterday the U.S. Navy demonstrated the first-ever (land-based) catapult launch of a pilotless combat vehicle, when the X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System took off from a runway at Patuxent River, Maryland. Earlier this week, another X-47B was loaded onto an aircraft carrier for sea trials. It won’t be long before unmanned vehicles are routinely performing carrier landings — a feat once reserved for only the nerviest pilots.

  • Southern Skywatch December 2012 Edition is now up.

    Updated: 2012-11-30 13:35:45
    : . Astroblog Obscured by Clouds . The rough and ready blog of a cloud benighted biologist and amateur astronomer . Astroblog will cover my interests in astronomy , biology and Life , the Universe and . Everything Saturday , December 01, 2012 Southern Skywatch December 2012 Edition is now . up Morning sky as seen from Adelaide at 3:00 am ACDST on December 14 showing the Geminid meteor shower radiant click on image to embiggen The December edition of Southern Skywatch is now . up There's still lots of planetary action this . month Venus is low in the morning sky and is close to the crescent Moon on the 12th . On December 11 the crescent Moon s is close to Saturn Jupiter is in the morning sky near the Hyades . Jupiter is at opposition on the 3rd , when it is largest as seen from Earth , this

  • Private-Public Partnership Transforms Former Shuttle Processing Facility

    Updated: 2012-11-30 13:34:47
    Skip to content Parabolic Arc Space Tourism and Much More News Search Archives Parabolic Reading List Polls Archive Congressmen Seek to Rename NASA Dryden After Neil Armstrong Private-Public Partnership Transforms Former Shuttle Processing Facility Posted by Doug Messier on November 30, 2012, at 5:34 am in News Tags : Boeing NASA NASA KSC Comments : no responses 0 Comments This artist concept is what The Boeing Company’s CST-100 spacecraft processing is expected to look like in Space Florida’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida with work stations on a clean floor . Credit : Boeing By Rebecca Regan Kennedy Space Center , . Fla A facility full of platforms that once fit NASA’s space shuttles like a glove is transitioning to make room for a

  • From Grains to the Planets

    Updated: 2012-11-30 13:29:26
    Popular Astronomy: Universe Awareness - Space Scoop:

  • CSExtra – Friday, November 30, 2012

    Updated: 2012-11-30 13:24:25
    , Search Skip to content Home About the Coalition Benefits of Space Newsroom Legislative Activity Blog Education Station Related Links Contact Us Newsroom Coalition News Book Reviews Follow : us CSExtra Friday , November 30, 2012 0 Comments November 30, 2012 Coalition News To subscribe to CSExtra via RSS feed click here If you would prefer to receive CSExtra in e-mail format , e-mail us at Info spacecoalition.com with the word SUBSCRIBE in the subject . line Friday’s CS Extra offers the latest reporting and commentary on space related activities from around the world . NASA’s Messenger mission finds ice , lots of it , at the poles of Mercury , scientists announce . A U . S . and European science team quantifies ice melts in Greenland and Antarctica attributed to climate change over the

  • Imaging the Cosmos: Here Comes the Sun

    Updated: 2012-11-30 11:00:00
    AmericaSpace: This stunning image of the Sun was captured using a Hydrogen Alpha solar scope from Deerlick Astronomy Village. Photo Credit: Chris Hetlage / Imaging the Cosmos While Chris Hetlage’s astrophotography at Imaging the Cosmos is amazing, the imagery he has produced of our nearest star, the Sun, has been nothing short of epic. The [...]

  • Japan asks private industry to provide military satellite communications

    Updated: 2012-11-30 09:56:32
    FlightGlobal.com Privacy Cookies Privacy Cookies Home News My FG Research Aircraft Jobs AirSpace Images Cutaways Historic Air shows More Search this blog Subscribe by E-mail Google Translate Recent Entries Japan asks private industry to provide military satellite communications KSLV launch delayed again by technical fault but this time a different one Sea Launch to act as back up launch service for Asiasat Chinasat 12 comsat is launched by Long March 3B E US military once planned to explode atom bomb on Moon NASA's Shuttle Booby Prize for Houston : its Boeing 747 carrier aircraft Blow for ILS as Echostar signs multi-launch deal with Arianespace Cambridge apocalypse scenarios include H-bombs , asteroids and Terminator robots Chinese naval tracking satellites are launched by a Long March 4C

  • Solar eclipse from 37 kilometers up

    Updated: 2012-11-30 09:42:00
    : Friday , November 30, 2012 Solar eclipse from 37 kilometers up Jason Major Universe Today By launching a weather balloon carrying a wide-angle camera into the stratosphere above Queensland , eclipse hunter and amateur astronomer Catalin Beldea and her team were able to obtain their incredible video of the November 14 total eclipse from high enough up that the shadow of the Moon was visible striking Earth’s atmosphere . Totality only lasted a couple of minutes so good timing was essential but they got the shot . Very impressive Read Jason's article , In the Shadow of the Moon , at Universe Today HERE The video was organized with and for Romania’s Stiinta Tehnica.com by editor-in-chief Marc Ulieriu and assembled by Daniel Toma . Music by Shamil . Elvenheim Posted by Joel Raupe at 9:42 AM

  • China should have GDP of about 100 trillion yuan by 2020

    Updated: 2012-11-30 08:15:25
    skip to main skip to sidebar Pages Home November 30, 2012 China should have GDP of about 100 trillion yuan by 2020 Email This BlogThis Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Tweet Nextbigfuture has made predictions that China would have a GDP of 107 trillion yuan by 2020. China's gross domestic product will hit 100 trillion yuan 16 trillion by 2020, close to the size of the United States economy in 2012, said Yang Weimin , vice head of the Office of the Central Leading Group on Finance and Economic . Affair In 2020, China's GDP per capita will likely exceed 10,000, nearly double the amount in 2011. Over the next few years , faster development in the country's central and western regions also meant incomes would rise faster for residents of those regions than in the more developed eastern parts

  • Pollen shells could be used for oral delivery of vaccines

    Updated: 2012-11-30 08:07:48
    skip to main skip to sidebar Pages Home November 30, 2012 Pollen shells could be used for oral delivery of vaccines Email This BlogThis Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Tweet What attributes does pollen have that make DoD consider it anything more than a seasonal menace to humans’ sinuses To start , with the exterior of a pollen grain is a shell made of a naturally durable , non-allergenic polymer . The contents of the shell that actually contain the allergy-inducing plant proteins and fats can be cleaned out , rendering the shell itself neutral . The leftover space inside the shell could be filled with vaccines and delivered into the body through oral ingestion . The pollen shell’s natural toughness would help the vaccine survive conditions inside the body . The pollen could then pass

  • Russia partners with Czech companies for SVBR-100 fast neutron modular reactor

    Updated: 2012-11-30 07:05:53
    skip to main skip to sidebar Pages Home November 29, 2012 Russia partners with Czech companies for SVBR-100 fast neutron modular reactor Email This BlogThis Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Tweet Russia’s Rosatom nuclear agency signed a deal to build a fast-neutron nuclear reactor on Russian territory in co-operation with 13 Czech companies . It is called the SVBR-100 . project Research and design work on the SVBR-100 reactor will continue until the end of 2014, while operations proper are set to begin in 2017. Potentially , it could take 10 to 15pc of the global nuclear energy market for small and medium-sized power . stations Fast reactors are the basis of our global competitiveness , 8221 says Kiriyenko . These include the fast-neutron reactors that already exist at Beloyarsk ,

  • In the Shadow of the Moon: Experience a Solar Eclipse From 37 Kilometers Up

    Updated: 2012-11-30 06:36:34
    The Moon’s shadow stretches over the Earth in this balloon-mounted camera view of the November 14 solar eclipse (Catalin Beldea, Marc Ulieriu, Daniel Toma et. al/Stiinta&Tehnica) On November 14, 2012, tens of thousands of viewers across northeastern Australia got a great view of one of the most awe-inspiring sights in astronomy — a total solar [...]

  • Supermassive Blackhole with 17 billion solar mass has 14% of the mass of its galaxy

    Updated: 2012-11-30 06:26:06
    skip to main skip to sidebar Pages Home November 29, 2012 Supermassive Blackhole with 17 billion solar mass has 14 of the mass of its galaxy Email This BlogThis Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Tweet Astronomers have used the Hobby-Eberly Telescope at The University of Texas at Austin's McDonald Observatory to measure the mass of what may be the most massive black hole yet 17 billion Suns in galaxy NGC 1277. The unusual black hole makes up 14 percent of its galaxy's mass , rather than the usual 0.1 percent . This galaxy and several more in the same study could change theories of how black holes and galaxies form and . evolve NGC 1277 lies 220 million light-years away in the constellation Perseus . The galaxy is only ten percent the size and mass of our own Milky Way . Despite NGC 1277's

  • Researchers Create Versatile 3D Nanostructures Using DNA "Bricks"

    Updated: 2012-11-30 05:43:21
    skip to main skip to sidebar Pages Home November 29, 2012 Researchers Create Versatile 3D Nanostructures Using DNA Bricks Email This BlogThis Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Tweet Researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University have created more than 100 three-dimensional 3D nanostructures using DNA building blocks that function like Lego® bricks a major advance from the two-dimensional 2D structures the same team built a few months . ago In effect , the advance means researchers just went from being able to build a flat wall of Legos® , to building a house . The new method , featured as a cover research article in the 30 November issue of Science , is the next step toward using DNA nanotechnologies for more sophisticated applications than

  • Scientists discover 20 billion to 1 trillion tons of water ice on Mercur

    Updated: 2012-11-30 05:35:28
    skip to main skip to sidebar Pages Home November 29, 2012 Scientists discover 20 billion to 1 trillion tons of water ice on Mercur Email This BlogThis Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Tweet Mercury , the smallest and innermost planet in our solar system , revolves around the sun in a mere 88 days , making a tight orbit that keeps the planet incredibly toasty . Surface temperatures on Mercury can reach a blistering 800 degrees Fahrenheit hot enough to liquefy lead . Now researchers from NASA , MIT , the University of California at Los Angeles and elsewhere have discovered evidence that the scorching planet may harbor pockets of water ice , along with organic material , in several permanently shadowed craters near Mercury’s north pole . Mapping the planet’s surface is a challenging task ,

  • Messenger Spacecraft Finds Evidence of Ice on Planet Closest to Sun

    Updated: 2012-11-30 00:57:13
    AmericaSpace: Shown in red are areas of Mercury’s north polar region that are constantly in shadow in every image that the MESSENGER spacecraft has acquired to date. These areas are rich in water ice, despite the planet’s colse proximity to the sun. Image Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington/National Astronomy and [...]

  • Cassini Detects Changes in Titan’s Atmosphere

    Updated: 2012-11-30 00:00:58
    AmericaSpace: This artist’s impression of Saturn’s moon, Titan, shows the change in observed atmospheric effects before, during, and after equinox in 2009. The Titan globes also provide an impression of the detached haze layer that extends all around the moon (blue). This image was inspired by data from NASA’s Cassini mission. Image Credit: ESA PASADENA, [...]

  • A Colorful and Unexpected Reversal at Titan

    Updated: 2012-11-29 22:02:39
    This artist’s impression of Saturn’s moon Titan shows the change in observed atmospheric effects before, during and after equinox in 2009. The Titan globes also provide an impression of the detached haze layer that extends all around the moon (blue). This image was inspired by data from NASA’s Cassini mission. Image Credit: ESA A certain [...]

  • Water Ice and Organics Found at Mercury’s North Pole

    Updated: 2012-11-29 21:55:05
    A radar image of Mercury’s north polar region is shown superposed on a mosaic of MESSENGER images of the same area. All of the larger polar deposits are located on the floors or walls of impact craters. Deposits farther from the pole are seen to be concentrated on the north-facing sides of craters. Credit: NASA/Johns [...]

  • MESSENGER Finds New Evidence for Water Ice at Mercury's North Pole

    Updated: 2012-11-29 19:14:30
    <p NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft has identified large concentrations of hydrogen at Mercury's north pole, thought to be in the form of water ice, researchers announced today. read more

  • Where Space Weather Is Felt and Seen

    Updated: 2012-11-29 18:12:52
    The effects of solar events on Earth's magnetic field are global, but they are most pronounced and frequently noticed at northern latitudes. That's why Norway's long-standing expertise in space weather science is providing extremely valuable contributions to ESA's space hazards programme. read more

  • Photo: North Patagonia Ice Field and the Arenales Glaciers As Seen From Space

    Updated: 2012-11-29 16:57:39
    One of the Expedition 33 crew members aboard the International Space Station took this photograph of Chile featuring the North Patagonia Ice Field and the Arenales Glaciers. ISS033-E-010399 (7 Oct. 2012) - high res (1.2 M) low res (91 K)

  • Nine Radar Images of Asteroid 2007 PA8

    Updated: 2012-11-29 16:47:46
    A collage shows nine radar images of near-Earth asteroid 2007 PA8 that were obtained between Oct. 31 and Nov. 13, 2012, with data collected by NASA's 230-foot-wide (70-meter) Deep Space Network antenna at Goldstone, Calif. On Nov. 5 at 8:42 a.m. PST (11:42 a.m. EST/16:42 UTC), the object came about 4 million miles (6.5 million kilometers) from Earth, or 17 times the distance between Earth and the moon. read more

  • Image of the Day: Titan's Rapidly Morphing Atmosphere

    Updated: 2012-11-29 12:00:00
    : : The Daily Galaxy Great Discoveries Channel : Sci , Space , Tech Follow the Daily Galaxy From the X Files : The Search for Alien Microbes on Earth Main Monster Quasar Discovered with Power Outflow 100 Times Milky Way Galaxy November 29, 2012 Image of the Day : Titan's Rapidly Morphing Atmosphere New data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft links a shift in seasonal sunlight to a wholesale reversal , at unexpected altitudes , in the circulation of the atmosphere of Saturn s moon Titan . At the south pole , the data show definitive evidence for sinking air where it was upwelling earlier in the mission . So the key to circulation in the atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan turned out to be a certain slant of . light Cassini's up-close observations are likely the only ones we'll have in our

  • Lockheed Martin Demonstrates 10 kilowatt Ground-Based Fiber Laser System in Tests Against Rockets and Unmanned Aerial System

    Updated: 2012-11-29 08:09:37
    skip to main skip to sidebar Pages Home November 29, 2012 Lockheed Martin Demonstrates 10 kilowatt Ground-Based Fiber Laser System in Tests Against Rockets and Unmanned Aerial System Email This BlogThis Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Tweet Lockheed Martin announced that it has successfully demonstrated a portable , ground-based military laser system in a series of tests against representative airborne . targets Lockheed Martin developed the Area Defense Anti-Munitions ADAM system to provide a defense against short-range threats , such as rockets and unmanned aerial . systems Since August , the ADAM system has successfully engaged an unmanned aerial system target in flight at a range of approximately 1.5 kilometers 0.9 miles and has destroyed four small-caliber rocket targets in

  • Thermoelectrics made from dirt cheap materials

    Updated: 2012-11-29 07:39:36
    skip to main skip to sidebar Pages Home November 28, 2012 Thermoelectrics made from dirt cheap materials Email This BlogThis Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Tweet By using common materials found pretty much anywhere there is dirt , a team of Michigan State University researchers have developed a new thermoelectric . material This is important , they said , because the vast majority of heat that is generated from , for example , a car engine , is lost through the tail pipe . It’s the thermoelectric material’s job to take that heat and turn it into something useful , like . electricity The researchers , led by Donald Morelli , a professor of chemical engineering and materials science , developed the material based on natural minerals known as . tetrahedrites What we’ve managed to do is

  • Nanoparticles of gold used as substrate to grow semiconductor nanowires about 1000 times faster

    Updated: 2012-11-29 07:36:35
    skip to main skip to sidebar Pages Home November 28, 2012 Nanoparticles of gold used as substrate to grow semiconductor nanowires about 1000 times faster Email This BlogThis Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Tweet A completely new method of manufacturing the smallest structures in electronics could make their manufacture thousands of times quicker , allowing for cheaper semiconductors . Instead of starting from a silicon wafer or other substrate , as is usual today , researchers have made it possible for the structures to grow from freely suspended nanoparticles of gold in a flowing . gas They believe the technology will be ready for commercialisation in two to four years’ time . A prototype for solar cells is expected to be completed in two years . When I first suggested the idea of

  • Full Moon and Friends, November 28, 2012

    Updated: 2012-11-29 00:33:33
    The full Moon rising with Jupiter and Aldebaran on November 28, 2012 in North Carolina, USA. Credit: Tavi Greiner. The full Moon is a-rising tonight, and it is not alone. There are lots of other bright and beautiful stars and planets out there — some snuggling right up together — and already we’ve got astrophotographers [...]

  • US Crude Production continues to increase by about 150,000 barrel per day per month since Summer of 2012

    Updated: 2012-11-28 21:52:53
    skip to main skip to sidebar Pages Home November 28, 2012 US Crude Production continues to increase by about 150,000 barrel per day per month since Summer of 2012 Email This BlogThis Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Tweet US daily crude oil production increased to 6.818 million barrels per . day This was an increase of 108,000 barrels per day from the prior week . This is the most crude oil produced by the US since February , 1994. This seems to indicate that oil from North Dakota Bakken and Texas Eagle Ford has likely increased by 200,000 to 300,000 barrels per day since the September , 2012 state level oil . reports US Total daily oil liquids production is 11.17 million barrels per . day If you liked this article , please give it a quick review on ycombinator or StumbleUpon Thanks

  • Memristor based nanostore memory and logic could be 100 times more energy efficient

    Updated: 2012-11-28 19:34:17
    skip to main skip to sidebar Pages Home November 28, 2012 Memristor based nanostore memory and logic could be 100 times more energy efficient Email This BlogThis Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Tweet Eetimes HP still on track for 2016 to 2018 for nanostore memory and logic chips that could be 100 times more energy efficient We have the opportunity for new building block , 8221 said Ranganathan . It’s really a 3-D stack amenable to traditional workloads and even more so to new workloads , really changing the game with potentially a hundred-fold increase in performance per watt . HP Labs continues to conduct experiments on the nanostore concept with promising results . But Ranganathan declined to provide any specifics , noting the work is still as much as three years from commercial

  • New carbomorph plastic composite for 3d printed electronics

    Updated: 2012-11-28 19:28:02
    skip to main skip to sidebar Pages Home November 28, 2012 New carbomorph plastic composite for 3d printed electronics Email This BlogThis Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Tweet The University of Warwick researchers have created a simple and inexpensive conductive plastic composite that can be used to produce electronic devices using the latest generation of low-cost 3D printers designed for use by hobbyists and even in the home.The material , nicknamed carbomorph’ , enables users to lay down electronic tracks and sensors as part of a 3D printed structure allowing the printer to create touch-sensitive areas for example , which can then be connected to a simple electronic circuit board.So far the team has used the material to print objects with embedded flex sensors or with touch-sensitive

  • Cassini Sees Abrupt Turn in Titan's Atmosphere

    Updated: 2012-11-28 18:27:57
    Data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft tie a shift in seasonal sunlight to a wholesale reversal, at unexpected altitudes, in the circulation of the atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan. At the south pole, the data show definitive evidence for sinking air where it was upwelling earlier in the mission. So the key to circulation in the atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan turned out to be a certain slant of light. The paper was published today in the journal Nature.

  • International Space Station Making New Solar Observations

    Updated: 2012-11-28 17:58:29
    This weekend the International Space Station will turn itself to face the Sun, enabling ESA’s SOLAR instrument to capture an entire rotation of the solar surface. This is the first time the Station has changed attitude for scientific reasons alone. This instrument has been on the ISS since 2008, and for the first time will [...]

  • From the X Files: "The Search for Alien Microbes on Earth"

    Updated: 2012-11-28 10:15:00
    : : The Daily Galaxy Great Discoveries Channel : Sci , Space , Tech Follow the Daily Galaxy No Jupiter , No Advanced Life Evolution May be Impossible in Star Systems Without a Giant Planet Main Monster Quasar Discovered with Power Outflow 100 Times Milky Way Galaxy November 28, 2012 From the X Files : The Search for Alien Microbes on Earth Through most of the 20th century , scientists thought that life began with a stupendous chemical fluke , unique in the observable universe . Today , as physicist and astrobiologist Paul Davies of Arizona State University points out it is fashionable to say that life is written into the laws of nature easy to get started and therefore likely to be widespread in the universe . The truth is , nobody has a clue . It could be either extreme , or somewhere in

  • Skylon Spaceplane Pre-cooler Technology Validated

    Updated: 2012-11-28 08:19:59
    skip to main skip to sidebar Pages Home November 28, 2012 Skylon Spaceplane Pre-cooler Technology Validated Email This BlogThis Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Tweet Reaction Engines has declared their revolutionary pre-cooler technology a . success The Sabre engine could take a plane to five times the speed of sound and an altitude of 25 km , about 20 percent of the speed and altitude needed to reach orbit . For space access , the engines would then switch to rocket mode to do the remaining 80 . percent Reaction Engines believes Sabre is the only engine of its kind in development and the company now needs to raise about 250 million pounds 400 million to fund the next three-year development phase in which it plans to build a small-scale version of the complete . engine The engine

  • China Builds Cheaper GPS by broadcast the signals from the ground and routing through existing Communication Satellites

    Updated: 2012-11-28 07:51:19
    skip to main skip to sidebar Pages Home November 27, 2012 China Builds Cheaper GPS by broadcast the signals from the ground and routing through existing Communication Satellites Email This BlogThis Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Tweet Technology Review There are many Global Positioning systems The US has the global positioning satellite system , Russia has GLONASS , Europe hopes to have Galileo operational by 2020 and China has a similar timescale for its COMPASS system . Even Japan and India are getting in on the act with QZSS , the Quasi Zenith Satellite System of Japan , and the Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System or IRNSS . The GPS system alone is estimated to have cost 1.5 billion in 2012 alone . A cheaper idea is to transmit the highly accurate time signals from the

  • Sign up for the Foresight Technical Conference Jan. 11-13, 2013 with a Nextbigfuture discount

    Updated: 2012-11-28 06:40:59
    . skip to main skip to sidebar Pages Home November 27, 2012 Sign up for the Foresight Technical Conference Jan . 11-13, 2013 with a Nextbigfuture discount Email This BlogThis Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Tweet You can go to this link to sign up for the Foresight Technical conference and use discount code 2013NBFQ for a 100 . discount Early registration is until Dec 15, 2012. The early non-member rate with the 100 discount is 445 For 2012 Foresight members the rate is 345. The Foresight Technical conference is in Palo Alto , California The topic is Illuminating Atomic . Precision This conference will bring together over thirty of the world’s leading researchers to present reviews and results on a wide range of work relating to atomic and molecularly precise devices and materials , and

  • Update on China's High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor HTR-PM

    Updated: 2012-11-28 00:55:40
    skip to main skip to sidebar Pages Home November 27, 2012 Update on China's High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor HTR-PM Email This BlogThis Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Tweet A key nuclear research project for China is the demonstration Shidaowan HTR-PM . It will have 210 MWe two reactor modules , each of 250 MWt which is being built at Shidaowan in Shandong province , driving a single steam turbine at about 40 thermal efficiency . It is now expected to be completed in 2015. IAEA Aug 2012 report In China , an industrial scale modular demonstration plant called the high temperature reactor pebble bed module HTR-PM is at an advanced stage of . development An owner company has been established , and components such as the primary system pressure vessels , steam generators , reactor

  • Enriched uranium fission reactor prototype for space power systems

    Updated: 2012-11-28 00:34:43
    skip to main skip to sidebar Pages Home November 27, 2012 Enriched uranium fission reactor prototype for space power systems Email This BlogThis Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Tweet A team of researchers , including engineers from Los Alamos National Laboratory , has demonstrated a new concept for a reliable nuclear reactor that could be used on space . flights The research team recently demonstrated the first use of a heat pipe to cool a small nuclear reactor and power a Stirling engine at the Nevada National Security Site’s Device Assembly Facility near Las Vegas . The Demonstration Using Flattop Fissions DUFF experiment produced 24 watts of . electricity The heat pipe and Stirling engine used in this test are meant to represent one module that could be used in a space system , 8221

  • "No Jupiter, No Advanced Life? " --Evolution May be Impossible in Star Systems Without a Giant Planet

    Updated: 2012-11-27 16:26:59
    , , The Daily Galaxy Great Discoveries Channel : Sci , Space , Tech Follow the Daily Galaxy CERN's Large Hadron Collider Reveals New Type of Matter Main November 27, 2012 No Jupiter , No Advanced Life Evolution May be Impossible in Star Systems Without a Giant Planet What are the implications of a star systems missing a massive gas giant such as our Solar Systems Jupiter it could imply conditions of massive bombardment from comets and asteeoids that would prevent the development of advanced . life The artist's impression below of the debris disc and planets around the star known as Gliese 581, superimposed on Herschel PACS images at 70, 100 and 160 micrometre wavelengths . The line drawing superimposed on the Herschel image gives a schematic representation of the location and orientation

  • “Industrial Internet” Report From GE Finds That Combination of Networks and Machines Could Add $10 to $15 Trillion to Global GDP

    Updated: 2012-11-27 09:39:56
    skip to main skip to sidebar Pages Home November 27, 2012 Industrial Internet” Report From GE Finds That Combination of Networks and Machines Could Add 10 to 15 Trillion to Global GDP Email This BlogThis Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Tweet GE the Industrial Revolution radically changed the way we use energy and make things . The Internet Revolution altered how we communicate , consume information , and spend money . A combination of these two transformations , called the Industrial Internet , now links networks , data and machines . It promises to remake global industry , boost productivity , and launch an entirely new age of prosperity and robust . growth The authors found that in the U.S . alone the Industrial Internet could boost average incomes by 25 to 40 percent over the next 20

  • Mass-Produced Satellites Will Offer Low-Cost Access to Space

    Updated: 2012-11-27 09:22:01
    skip to main skip to sidebar Pages Home November 27, 2012 Mass-Produced Satellites Will Offer Low-Cost Access to Space Email This BlogThis Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Tweet Popular Mechanics Advances in electronics and launch technologies are enabling a new class of smaller , cheaper , and lower-flying satellites that could revolutionize how we use satellite imagery and . communications But it all depends on low-cost access to space and the emergence of customers who will use . them Chris Lewicki is chief engineer for Planetary Resources , which , in addition to devising a grand plan to mine the asteroids , is building the first commercial space telescopes . It just so happens , he says , that everything that the computer-makers are innovating for a smaller cellphone that does more

  • High Speed Rail News Roundup for India, China and Japan

    Updated: 2012-11-27 09:16:26
    , skip to main skip to sidebar Pages Home November 27, 2012 High Speed Rail News Roundup for India , China and Japan Email This BlogThis Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Tweet 1. Indian Express The Railways of China and India are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding MoU which will concentrate on three specific areas high-speed trains , station development and heavy haulage . This will be the second round of talks after the inaugural session in Beijing this . year For China , a deal with India’s Railways could not have been better timed . Indian Railways has already approved six high-speed rail corridors for various parts of the country . With the feasibility study for the first one , between Ahmedabad and Mumbai , already in , India has been on the lookout for global technology

  • Carnival of Nuclear 132

    Updated: 2012-11-27 09:05:51
    skip to main skip to sidebar Pages Home November 27, 2012 Carnival of Nuclear 132 Email This BlogThis Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Tweet The Carnival of Nuclear Energy 132 is up at Hiroshima Syndrome Nextbigfuture Russia is speeding up nuclear investment to get 50 of power from nuclear by 2050 and 100 by 2100. Laser Enrichment could take uranium tails leftovers from inferior enrichment and extract the remaining 40 of the . uranium If you liked this article , please give it a quick review on ycombinator or StumbleUpon Thanks Posted by brian wang at 11 27 2012 Labels : carnival of nuclear energy nuclear Carnival of Nuclear 132 The Carnival of Nuclear Energy 132 is up at Hiroshima Syndrome Nextbigfuture Russia is speeding up nuclear investment to get 50 of power from nuclear by 2050 and

  • Carnival of Space 277

    Updated: 2012-11-27 08:59:22
    skip to main skip to sidebar Pages Home November 27, 2012 Carnival of Space 277 Email This BlogThis Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Tweet The Carnival of Space 277 is up at Venus Transit Centauri Dreams looks at Rod Hyde's ideas on laser fusion , as developed in a starship paper he wrote in the 1970s along with collaborators at Lawrence Livermore National . Laboratory Universe Today The Mars Science Laboratory team has hinted that they might have some big news to share soon . But like good scientists , they are waiting until they verify their results before saying anything . definitive Nextbigfuture In an interview with NPR , John Grotzinger , the principal investigator for the Mars Curiosity rover mission , indicated that the data that they are getting from Mars Science Laboratory

  • Video of a recent Elon Musk Interview

    Updated: 2012-11-27 08:40:21
    skip to main skip to sidebar Pages Home November 27, 2012 Video of a recent Elon Musk Interview Email This BlogThis Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Tweet Parabolicarc has some notes from the . interview Grasshopper Spacex hope to demonstration high altitude supersonic liftoff and return have stage take off , go supersonic and land with propulsion at landing site Grasshopper is a test bed for recovering Falcon 9 stages for reuse It consists of a Falcon 9 first stage and a Merlin I-D engine Spacex hope to fly a demonstration flight of the Falcon Heavy by the end of 2013 SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is asked about a rumored new project called the Raptor MCT 4:28 MUSK : Now and again , I just throw something out just for fun . I can confirm that the name of the engine is Raptor . I’d like to

  • Ancient Microbial Life Found Thriving in Permanent Darkness 60 Feet Beneath Antarctica Ice

    Updated: 2012-11-27 00:00:14
    The Daily Galaxy Great Discoveries Channel : Sci , Space , Tech Follow the Daily Galaxy Horsehead Nebula Found to Cloak a Vast Interstellar Chemistry Lab Main CERN's Large Hadron Collider Reveals New Type of Matter November 26, 2012 Ancient Microbial Life Found Thriving in Permanent Darkness 60 Feet Beneath Antarctica Ice A harbinger of life on Jupiter's Europa Ancient microbes have been discovered in bitter-cold brine beneath 60 feet of Antarctic ice , in permanent darkness and subzero temperatures of Antarctica's Lake Vida located in the northernmost of the McMurdo Dry Valleys of East . Antarctica In the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Nathaniel Ostrom , Michigan State University zoologist , has co-authored Microbial Life at 13ºC in the Brine of an

  • ISEC co-sponsors this year’s BEST Competition

    Updated: 2012-11-26 00:00:56
    The International Space Elevator Consortium (ISEC) is co-sponsoring one of the regional BEST competitions this year, the one held in Auburn, Alabama on December 1st and 2nd of this year. From Wikipedia: BEST, Boosting Engineering, Science, and Technology, is a national 6-week robotics competition in the United States held each fall, designed to help interest middle school and high school students in [...]

  • What’s the deal with Lagrange Points?

    Updated: 2012-11-24 02:47:03
    You may have read about rumors that NASA is considering building a space station at a place called the “Earth-Moon L2 Point.” The “L” is short for “Lagrange,” and this is one of the places in space known as a … Continue reading →

  • Weekend Image: "The Aquarius Stream" --Remnant of a Dwarf Galaxy Devoured by the Milky Way

    Updated: 2012-11-23 10:32:00
    : : The Daily Galaxy Great Discoveries Channel : Sci , Space , Tech Follow the Daily Galaxy The Daily Galaxy' Twitter Followers Soar Above 230,000 Main The Missing Neutron Galaxies of the Early Universe Holiday Feature November 23, 2012 Weekend Image : The Aquarius Stream Remnant of a Dwarf Galaxy Devoured by the Milky Way The shredded remains of of one of the estimated seven trillion dwarf galaxies in the observable Universe has been located  buried within our Milky Way Galaxy Some astronomers think that the largest globular cluster in the Milky Way , Omega Centauri might have once been a dwarf galaxy that had its outer stars stripped away . The massive swarm of stars is known as the Aquarius Stream Astronomer Mary Williams , who is working with an international team in Germany on a

  • Humanity+ @ San Francisco: Writing the Future

    Updated: 2012-11-22 19:52:19
    : michael singularity.org Twitter Facebook RSS Accelerating Future About Michael Anissimov Popular Posts On November 22, 2012 By Michael Anissimov In transhumanism With No Comments Humanity+ San Francisco : Writing the Future Humanity+ an organization that advocates the ethical use of technology to expand human capacities , is holding our annual conference very soon on December 1-2 at the Seven Hills Conference Center  at SF State in San Francisco . The theme is Writing the Future” . Tickets are available now Proceeds go to supporting our educational efforts towards advancing technology and ethics . There are also a pre-event and a party associated with the conference , at Borders Bookstore and at RallyPad Which technologies expand human capacities In this context , we’re specifically

  • Has 'Curiosity' Sniffed Signs of Life? NASA Prepares to Release a Big Mars Discovery

    Updated: 2012-11-22 12:55:18
    The Daily Galaxy Great Discoveries Channel : Sci , Space , Tech Follow the Daily Galaxy Pandora's Cluster The Most Colossal Known Galactic Collision Main November 21, 2012 Has Curiosity' Sniffed Signs of Life NASA Prepares to Release a Big Mars Discovery NASA s John Grotzinger principal investigator for the rover mission , announced in an interview with NPR the Mars' Curiosity rover has made a discovery that is gonna be one for the history books . This data is looking really good , quot he said . Grotzinger told NPR it would be several weeks before NASA would release its discovery . What we doi know is that the discovery was made by SAM , the Sample Analysis at Mars suite of three instruments . The Curiosity chemistry set is equipped to look for compounds of carbon , such as methane as

  • 1st Planet Ever Observed Being Devoured by Its Star System

    Updated: 2012-11-21 16:40:30
    The Daily Galaxy Great Discoveries Channel : Sci , Space , Tech Follow the Daily Galaxy Image of the Day : Searching for Higgs Boson CERN's ATLAS Camera Snaps 40 Million Pictures Per Second Main Pandora's Cluster The Most Colossal Known Galactic Collision November 21, 2012 1st Planet Ever Observed Being Devoured by Its Star System A planet , WASP-12 b a gas giant originally spotted in 2008,is roughly 1.4 times the size of Jupiter and is being consumed by its own star behind a shroud thanks to a magnesium veil absorbing all of certain light wavelengths , according to new observations by the Hubble Space Telescope HST The distance between the star and planet is so small that the planet completes an orbit of its star in just over one Earth day . This proximity has boiled off a superheated gas

  • Announcing the 2013 Space Elevator Conference dates and venue!

    Updated: 2012-11-21 07:09:48
    It’s official - the 2013 ISEC Space Elevator Conference will be held on August 23rd, 24th and 25th, 2013 (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington. This is the same place as the 2012 Conference was held at and it is a truly fine venue for an event such as ours. Planning is already underway [...]

  • 1st Image of a "Galaxy Bridge" Across Millions of Light Years of Intergalactic Space

    Updated: 2012-11-20 16:31:45
    The Daily Galaxy Great Discoveries Channel : Sci , Space , Tech Follow the Daily Galaxy EcoAlert : New Global Tipping-Point' Warning System for the Planet Main Dark Energy Galaxy Clusters Provide Proof of Its Existence Whatever It Is November 20, 2012 1st Image of a Galaxy Bridge Across Millions of Light Years of Intergalactic Space ESA’s Planck space telescope has made the first conclusive detection of a bridge of hot gas connecting clusters Abell 399 and Abell 401, each containing hundreds of galaxies across 10 million light-years of intergalactic space . Planck’s primary task is to capture the most ancient light of the cosmos , the Cosmic Microwave Background or CMB . As this faint light traverses the Universe , it encounters different types of structure including galaxies and galaxy

  • EcoAlert: New Global 'Tipping-Point' Warning System for the Planet

    Updated: 2012-11-20 10:48:00
    : : The Daily Galaxy Great Discoveries Channel : Sci , Space , Tech Follow the Daily Galaxy Strangely Dim Supernova Aborted Death of a White-Dwarf Star Main 1st Image of a Galaxy Bridge Across Millions of Light Years of Intergalactic Space November 20, 2012 EcoAlert : New Global Tipping-Point' Warning System for the Planet There is no centralized system to monitor and report changes in the Earth’s life-support systems So scientists in 77 nations have established the Group on Earth Observations GEO and the Group on Earth Observation Biodiversity Observation Network GEO BON which integrates existing data streams into one platform to provide a global warning system for Earth’s biological and social . systems GEO BON is structured around eight working groups focused on genetics , terrestrial

  • The Arc of Venus -- Reveals Mysteries of Our Sister Planet's Atmosphere

    Updated: 2012-11-19 17:37:01
    The Daily Galaxy Great Discoveries Channel : Sci , Space , Tech Follow the Daily Galaxy Rare Image of a Super-Jupiter Reveals How Planets Form Around Massive Star Systems Main Strangely Dim Supernova Aborted Death of a White-Dwarf Star November 19, 2012 The Arc of Venus Reveals Mysteries of Our Sister Planet's Atmosphere The image above shows arc of Venus photographed in 2004 by Riccardo Robitschek and Giovanni Maria Caglieris of Milan , Italy . Backlit by the sun , 0160 Venus's atmosphere refracted sunlight passing through layers of air above the planet's cloudtops , creating an arc of light that touches on some of the deepest mysteries of the second . planet We do not understand why our sister planet's atmosphere evolved to be so different than Earth's , quot explains planetary scientist

  • Rare Image of a "Super-Jupiter" --Reveals How Planets Form Around Massive Star Systems

    Updated: 2012-11-19 16:29:19
    The Daily Galaxy Great Discoveries Channel : Sci , Space , Tech Follow the Daily Galaxy Preventing the Next Easter Island Scientists Pioneer a Technique to Predict Ecosystem Collapse Main The Arc of Venus Reveals Mysteries of Our Sister Planet's Atmosphere November 19, 2012 Rare Image of a Super-Jupiter Reveals How Planets Form Around Massive Star Systems This rare , near infrared image shows a Super-Jupiter object of the κ And κ Kappa Andromedae system a very young star , with an estimated age of 30 million years our Sun for comparison , is around 5 billion years old generated from data collected in July 2012 with the Subaru Telescope in Hawaii . Almost all of the light of the host star , on which the image is centered , has been removed through image processing the host star is covered

  • Updates from the Kansas City Space Pirates

    Updated: 2012-11-14 04:41:39
    I’m a bit behind posting this - the October updates from our friends in Kansas City.  Brian Turner, captain and fearless leader of KCSP writes the following: The laser power supply was fixed under warranty. Lumina power seems to have given me a generous benefit of the doubt about the failure. I have reinstalled it and everything is [...]

  • First pictures from the 2012 European Space Elevator Competition (EUSPEC)

    Updated: 2012-11-10 19:27:13
    A couple of weekends ago, the second annual European Space Elevator Competition (EUSPEC) was held.  ISEC’s own Martin Lades attended this event and has been able to send me some preliminary pictures and information.  Winter has arrived early in Europe this year and Martin reports that the first climb was held in the snow!  Martin reports: “The issue [...]

  • Nerd deGrasse Tyson

    Updated: 2012-11-10 14:00:22
    Speaking of Neil Tyson, if you’re a fan of his you’ll be pleased to know that his show, Star Talk Radio, is now going to be part of the Nerdist Channel network! Thats actually a pretty big deal; Chris Hardwick has created this juggernaut of Nerdist and it reaches a lot of folks. The new [...]

  • Astronomy podcast for kids

    Updated: 2012-11-09 19:00:47
    I love it when kids get excited enough about science to go out and do something about it. That’s why I’m digging Jeffrey Tang – who’s 10 – because he created the Astronomy For Kids podcast, where he talks about different astronomical things. The first podcast went up in February 2012 ("The Solar System") and [...]

  • Repost: Carl Sagan Day

    Updated: 2012-11-09 16:30:07
    [Today is Carl Sagan's birthday, celebrated by lovers of science and rationality around the planet. I wrote the following post last year, but I think it's still appropriate (and I updated his age). Happy birthday, Carl. It's a darker cosmos without you, but we still walk with the candle you lit for us.] If Carl [...]

  • Back to work

    Updated: 2012-11-07 19:07:11
    A few people – including my pal Deric Hughes – put together this non-partisan and nicely done video in honor of democracy: If you like it, give it a thumbs-up on YouTube and Like it on FB. And they’re right. As I wrote last night, there is much work to be done. I don’t think [...]

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