• News: The Year in Pictures: 2009

    Updated: 2009-12-31 05:00:00
    The Year in Pictures: 2009 (from Planetary News)

  • History of Two Worlds on Orbit

    Updated: 2009-12-31 04:41:02
    Home SpaceRef OnOrbit SpaceRef Canada Astrobiology GeneRef Newsletter Sign In This is not a NASA Website . You might learn something . It's YOUR space agency . Get involved . Take it back . Make it work for YOU . Important Disclaimer nasawatch spaceref.com Voice 1.703.787.6567 RSS Feed Twitter Advertising Archives Support History of Two Worlds on Orbit By Keith Cowing on December 30, 2009 11:41 PM No Comments Keith's note : I will be seeing Scott Parazynski and Miles O'Brien in Houston next week . On 6 Jan at NASA JSC Scott will formally return the Moon rock I carried to Nepal and Scott carried to the summit of Mt . Everest and present a piece of Everest summit to the crew of STS-130. Miles will be the emcee . The STS-130 crew will carry both rocks into orbit and will permanently install them in the new node Tranquility that they will attach to the space station . By coincidence , the Moon rock we had in Nepal was collected in the Sea of Tranquility during the Apollo 11 . mission Preview : Confessions of a Moon Rock Courier I facilitated telephone conversations with astronauts aboard the International Space Station and communicated via satellite with the real world on a daily basis

  • Russian Asteroid Mission Needs Better Data

    Updated: 2009-12-30 18:09:08
    Home SpaceRef OnOrbit SpaceRef Canada Astrobiology GeneRef Newsletter Sign In This is not a NASA Website . You might learn something . It's YOUR space agency . Get involved . Take it back . Make it work for YOU . Important Disclaimer nasawatch spaceref.com Voice 1.703.787.6567 RSS Feed Twitter Advertising Archives Support Russian Asteroid Mission Needs Better Data By Keith Cowing on December 30, 2009 1:09 PM No Comments Space head : Russia may send spacecraft to asteroid Without mentioning NASA findings , Perminov said that he heard from a scientist that Apophis is getting closer and may hit the planet . I don't remember exactly , but it seems to me it could hit the Earth by 2032, Perminov said . 99942 Apophis Wikipedia On Friday , April 13, 2029, Apophis will pass Earth within the orbits of geosynchronous communication satellites . It will return for another close Earth approach in 2036. NASA Refines Asteroid Apophis' Path Toward Earth Updated computational techniques and newly available data indicate the probability of an Earth encounter on April 13, 2036, for Apophis has dropped from one-in-45,000 to about four-in-a million . Keith's note : I certainly hope that Perminov gets

  • NASA and the Summer of Innovation

    Updated: 2009-12-30 17:18:33
    Home SpaceRef OnOrbit SpaceRef Canada Astrobiology GeneRef Newsletter Sign In This is not a NASA Website . You might learn something . It's YOUR space agency . Get involved . Take it back . Make it work for YOU . Important Disclaimer nasawatch spaceref.com Voice 1.703.787.6567 RSS Feed Twitter Advertising Archives Support NASA and the Summer of Innovation By Keith Cowing on December 30, 2009 12:18 PM No Comments Keith's note : President Obama will soon unveil a large , interesting educational event targeted for the summer of 2010. Titled Summer of Innovation this project is aimed at reaching 1 million students and working to raise their STEM skills through a variety of activities . The lead person at NASA on this effort is White House Fellow Nicole Campbell . The cost of this project is still uncertain numbers as high as 200 million were discussed internally at one point . Much of the work would apparently be channeled through paid for by Americorps . The latest version of this project would entail NASA taking much of the lead along with the Department of Education . Each NASA center would be asked to dedicate one person to this activity . The most recent version of the plan would

  • Running The Gauntlet at AAS

    Updated: 2009-12-30 16:57:12
    Home SpaceRef OnOrbit SpaceRef Canada Astrobiology GeneRef Newsletter Sign In This is not a NASA Website . You might learn something . It's YOUR space agency . Get involved . Take it back . Make it work for YOU . Important Disclaimer nasawatch spaceref.com Voice 1.703.787.6567 RSS Feed Twitter Advertising Archives Support Running The Gauntlet at AAS By Keith Cowing on December 30, 2009 11:57 AM 1 Comment Obama set to launch vision for NASA USA Today President Obama will chart a course for NASA within weeks , based on the advice of a handful of key advisers in the administration and Congress . Obama , who met Dec . 16 with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden , hasn't said when or how he'll announce his new policy . The announcement likely will come by the time the president releases his fiscal 2011 budget in early February , because he must decide how much money the space agency should get . Charles Bolden Speaks at AAS NASA Town Hall at AAS Keith's 23 Dec note : The audience at the AAS meeting will be composed of several thousand scientists with a large number of journalists and bloggers . The questions that the audience asks of Mr . Bolden assuming that he takes questions and other

  • Stealth NASA Education Summit

    Updated: 2009-12-30 16:12:16
    Home SpaceRef OnOrbit SpaceRef Canada Astrobiology GeneRef Newsletter Sign In This is not a NASA Website . You might learn something . It's YOUR space agency . Get involved . Take it back . Make it work for YOU . Important Disclaimer nasawatch spaceref.com Voice 1.703.787.6567 RSS Feed Twitter Advertising Archives Support Stealth NASA Education Summit By Keith Cowing on December 30, 2009 11:12 AM No Comments NASA Industry‐Education Forum online at Paragon Space Development . Corp On December 3, 2009, the NASA Office of Education hosted the NASA Industry‐Education Forum at NASA Headquarters in Washington , DC . The purpose of the NASA Industry Education Forum was to obtain ideas on how NASA and industry can make a demonstrable impact on student achievements in STEM and their desire to pursue careers in the aerospace industry . Aerospace companies who had demonstrated success in STEM workforce development were invited . Participants presented innovative ideas to increase our collective impact on the future aerospace workforce . The forum accomplished its intent : provide a mechanism to start a dialog , identify areas for collaboration and explore next steps . A full report as well as

  • Good Things In Small Packages

    Updated: 2009-12-29 17:00:07
    <pCU Students to Build Tiny Spacecraft to Observe 'Space Weather' Environment "The University of Colorado at Boulder has been awarded $840,000 from the National Science Foundation for students to build a tiny spacecraft to observe energetic particles in space that should give scientists a better understanding of solar flares and their interaction with Earth's atmosphere. Known as the Colorado Student Space Weather Experiment, or CSSWE, the instruments package is expected to weigh less than 5 pounds."

  • Sen. Cornyn Was For NASA Before He Was Against It

    Updated: 2009-12-28 15:43:49
    Cornyn's fight to cut debt carries political price, Houston Chronicle "When Texas Sen. John Cornyn recently voted against legislation funding NASA, with its thousands of jobs at Houston's Johnson's Space Center, it caused a bit of a stir back home. After all, the Republican senator always prided himself on being a champion of home-state interests. Even Cornyn readily admits that his vote is an about-face. But there's a clear explanation for the change: Cornyn says he's trying to strike a balance between his dual roles as a senator seeking federal spending in Texas and as an emerging GOP congressional leader fighting to cut government expenditures."

  • OSTP Launch Vehicle Report Quietly Released

    Updated: 2009-12-28 15:19:38
    Home SpaceRef OnOrbit SpaceRef Canada Astrobiology GeneRef Newsletter Sign In This is not a NASA Website . You might learn something . It's YOUR space agency . Get involved . Take it back . Make it work for YOU . Important Disclaimer nasawatch spaceref.com Voice 1.703.787.6567 RSS Feed Twitter Advertising Archives Support OSTP Launch Vehicle Report Quietly Released By Keith Cowing on December 28, 2009 10:19 AM 4 Comments White House science office reports United States rocket propulsion work lagging According to the report released this week : Despite the importance of space to government and commercial activities the U.S . space launch industry has seen a decline in launch services over the past decade From 2004-2008 the U.S . shared of commercial launches was about 17 percent , compared with 42 percent for Russia , 21 percent for Europe and 18 percent for the multi-national company SeaLaunch . OSTP Releases Assessment of U.S . Space Launch Vehicle Engine Production Capacity At present , the U.S . space launch propulsion industrial base provides a diverse range of technological capabilities and more than adequate production capacity to meet most currently identified U.S .

  • Everest: Beyond The Limit To Air 27 & 30 Dec

    Updated: 2009-12-26 23:52:47
    : Home SpaceRef OnOrbit SpaceRef Canada Astrobiology GeneRef Newsletter Sign In This is not a NASA Website . You might learn something . It's YOUR space agency . Get involved . Take it back . Make it work for YOU . Important Disclaimer nasawatch spaceref.com Voice 1.703.787.6567 RSS Feed Twitter Advertising Archives Support Everest : Beyond The Limit To Air 27 30 Dec By Keith Cowing on December 26, 2009 6:52 PM No Comments Discovery Channel's Everest : Beyond The Limit Air Dates Announced Schedule information Discovery Channel Now in its third season , the Discovery Channel's Everest : Beyond The Limit is taking a new approach to filming this year and will feature both International Mountain Guides and Himalayan Experience in a five-part series . IMG climber Scott Parazynski returned to Everest this season after coming tantalizingly close last year . The former Nasa Astronaut was sidelined with a ruptured lumbar disc at 24,500' on his summit bid in 2008. This year Scott came back fit and ready to top out with Danuru Sherpa . Scott achieved his goal at dawn on May 20, 2009. A veteran of several space flights and spacewalks , Scott is the only person to both summit Mt . Everest and

  • Holiday Schedule

    Updated: 2009-12-24 19:11:15
    Marc's note: NASA Watch will be updating only on a limited basis until next Monday at which time we will resume our normal schedule until New Year's Eve. From New Year's Eve until Monday, January 5th we will once again only be publishing on a limited basis. We wish everyone the best during this holiday season and please do be careful during your travels! Happy Holiday's

  • Predictions You Hope Won't Come True

    Updated: 2009-12-24 18:00:26
    Predictions and Wishes, Wayne Hale's Blog "Sir Arthur C. Clarke Law" "When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong."

  • Stan Lebar has Passed Away

    Updated: 2009-12-24 17:04:11
    Passing of Stan Lebar, NASA Goddard "Stan Lebar, who led the Westinghouse Electric Corporation team that developed the lunar camera that brought the televised news images of Neil Armstrong stepping onto the moon to more than 500 million people on earth, died on Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2009." "During his long and distinguished career, other camera programs he managed for NASA included the Apollo Color TV Cameras, the Skylab series of TV cameras, and the TV cameras for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Program (ASTP)."

  • lrsp-2009-4

    Updated: 2009-12-14 00:00:00
    Magnetic Fields in the Solar Convection Zone by: Yuhong Fan Active regions on the solar surface are generally thought to originate from a strong toroidal magnetic field generated by a deep seated solar dynamo mechanism operating at the base of the solar convection zone. Thus the magnetic fields need to traverse the entire convection zone before they [...]

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