2016年6月1日 星期三

Has NASA Lost Its Mojo?

Why does SpaceX market space better than NASA?, Teslarati

"The question of what makes SpaceX so different in marketing space technology is still a difficult one for me as my personal reasons for admiring their progress has little to do with the aesthetics of the achievements. I admire the true progress they're making and the relatability of what they're developing to what their larger goals are. NASA may be truly making progress towards a "Journey to Mars", but when compared to the advancements SpaceX has achieved, it seems more like thus far, they just have a guitar amp that "goes to 11"."

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos: We Should Settle Mars 'Because It's Cool', Fortune

"We could build gigantic chip factories in space and just send little bits down," he said. "We don't have to build them here." But then, sensing the obvious next question from the audience, Bezos interrupted himself to declare: "We will settle Mars. And we should, because it's cool."



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Trouble at XCOR?

The XCOR Lynx Spaceplane Might Be Down for the Count , Popular Mechanics

"Even before this news, a shakeup was in the works. Some of the original XCOR gang-founder Jeff Greason and early backer Stephen Fleming-were bounced from the company's board of directors in March. Greason, XCOR's CEO turned chief technologist (another cross into Silicon Valley terrain) left the company in 2015. One board replacement: Michael Gass, the former president and chief executive of ULA. Those who see traditional space industry invading the private space movement, take note of this move."



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NASA Satellite Finds Unreported Sources of Toxic Air Pollution

Using a new satellite-based method, scientists at NASA, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and two universities have located 39 unreported and major human-made sources of toxic sulfur dioxide emissions.

June 01, 2016
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Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) Will Save Us From Gay Space Colonies

The Little Fox and the Giant Stars


New stars are the lifeblood of our galaxy, and there is enough material revealed by this Herschel infrared image to build stars for millions of years to come. via NASA http://ift.tt/1XgnuRn

Having a Gassy Neighbor Is Beautiful

ISS Daily Summary Report – 05/31/16

NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer #8 (NRCSD#8) Deployment Operations: Following yesterday’s successful deployment of 1 of NRCSD #8 eight Silos, 2 more were successfully deployed last night and 1 was deployed earlier this morning. The next planned deployment is scheduled for today at 6:55 PM CDT. This is the second of three consecutive days of deployment operations for NRCSD#8. Each Silo contains two CubeSats for a total of 16 Doves. The Dove satellites are a fleet of nanosatellites that enables imagery of the entire changing planet to be taken on a frequent basis, with humanitarian and environmental applications ranging from monitoring deforestation and the ice caps to disaster relief and improving agriculture yields in developing nations. The NRCSD is a commercially operated small satellite deployer from the ISS, maximizing full capabilities of each airlock cycle [of deployments.   Packed Bed Reactor Experiment (PBRE) Hardware Setup and Installation: The crew reviewed PBRE reference material before gathering hardware, setting up the PBRE and components, and connecting the cables and hoses in the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG). The video system did not operate as expected, and troubleshooting was unsuccessful.  Ground teams are investigating.  The PBRE will be used to study the behavior of gases and liquids when they flow simultaneously through a column filled with fixed porous media. The porous media or “packing” can be made of different shapes and materials and are used in chemical engineering as a means to enhance the contact between two immiscible fluid phases (e.g., liquid-gas, water-oil, etc.). Packed columns can serve as reactors, scrubbers and strippers in systems where efficient interphase contact is desired, both on Earth and in space.   Sprint: The crew performed Sprint VO2 video setup, exercise preparation, instrument calibrations and exercise protocol.  Sprint VO2 is a test that measures oxygen uptake, ventilatory threshold, and other physiological parameters. It evaluates the use of high intensity, low volume exercise training to minimize loss of muscle, bone, and cardiovascular function in ISS crew members during long-duration missions.   Habitability Human Factors Directed Observations: The crew recorded and submitted a walk-through video documenting observations of an area or activity providing insight related to human factors and habitability. The Habitability investigation collects observations about the relationship between crew members and their environment on the ISS.   Remote Power Controller Module (RPCM) Remove & Replace (R&R) Setup:  In preparation for this week’s activity to R&R RPCM P12B_A that failed in 2012, Robotics Ground Controllers are currently setting up the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM) and relocating the Cargo Transport Container (CTC) from External Logistics Carrier (ELC) to SPDM. This activity will restore Camera Port 9 Light (P1 Lower Outboard) heater functionality. All operations are ground controlled with no crew time required.   USOS Stowage Consolidation: The crew began this activity yesterday in preparation for upcoming visiting vehicles. Today they continued moving bags and hardware off PMM rack fronts, relocating SpX-9 return items to Node 2 (N2) Endcone and stowing future crew provisions bags in the crew provisions rack. The crew also consolidated items and cleaned out N2 when they unpacked items that were delivered on SpX-8 and consolidated food items.   Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) Maintenance: The crew R&Rd all four mounting cleats on the ARED bench. Fracture analysis performed on the ground indicated that the previously installed mounting cleats had exceeded their operational life.   ARED Sensor Calibration: The crew attempted to perform a sensor calibration via the Station Support Computer (SSC) resident software. This was intended to calibrate the rotational sensors in the main arm and the load sensors for cable exercises to utilize the new ARED software load. The activity was aborted due to an error message on the SSC indicating that a required file was missing. Ground teams are currently discussing the signature and determining a forward plan.   Water Processor Assembly (WPA) Status: The WPA was commanded to process several times since Friday. The conductivity remained elevated and WPA went into reprocessing several times. Reprocessing did bring conductivity down enough to send product water to the Water Storage Tank. The likely cause of high conductivity is the combination of DiMethylSilaneDiol (DMSD) and ethanol reaching the reactor. Reprocessing allowed the WPA to clean up from the temporary spikes in DMSD and/or ethanol that may have come in from condensate. The WPA has been in reprocess for a total of 18-20 hours between Friday and today. A higher percentage of distillate to condensate was established in the Waste Water Tank to help support the conductivity recovery. WPA is currently in the standard first hour reprocess of a process cycle and the conductivity is 43 uhmos/cm.   Today’s Planned Activities All activities were completed unless otherwise noted. [ВКС] Laptops Antivirus Software Checkout / r/g 8247 Stowage consolidation on the USOS Soyuz 720 Samsung Tablet PC Charging (start) Soyuz-719 Samsung Tablet PC Charging (start) MARES. Work Area Prep Monitoring the Condition of RS Hull Structural Element Surfaces Using the МВП-2К Multipurpose Eddy Current Device (SA Cross-Section) r/g 2387 Makita Drill Battery Discharge (5 pc.) / r/g 2399 MAR. Partial Hardware Setup PBRE. Experiment Ops Review PBRE. Hardware Setup WRM. Water Balance Placeholder ARED – Bench Cleats Replacement MAR. Data Transfer from SCSI Drive to the laptop Photography of CubeSat Deployment Makita Drill Battery #1 Charge Setup/ r/g 2399 Soyuz-720 Samsung Tablet PC Charging (end) Soyuz-719 Samsung Tablet PC Charging (end) 24-hour ECG Holter Monitoring (end) / r/g 2383 Monitoring the Condition of RS Hull Structural Element Surfaces Using МВП-2К Multipurpose Eddy Current Device (ПхО Spherical Shell) r/g 2387 MD. Printer Ops 24-hour blood pressure monitoring (end) / r/g 2382 SPRINT. Hardware Activation JEM Terminal Laptop Reboot AMO2. ER7 Deactivation Makita Drill Battery #1 Charge Termination and Battery #7 Charge Start / r/g 2399 AMO2. Status Check ARED Software Familiarization Data Prep about Monitoring the Condition of RS Hull Structural Element Surfaces to be downlinked via OCA WRM. Water Balance Placeholder 24-hour ECG Holter Monitoring (Start) / r/g 2383 SPRINT. Experiment Ops (Subject) MAR. Laptop Switch 24-hour blood pressure monitoring (start) / r/g 2382 Hardware […]

June 01, 2016 at 01:30AM
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