Science@NASA
has a cool article about how US and Japanese researchers are working on
a folding tether system that could help keep satellites in their proper
orbits, and return spent rocket stages to
Have you read about NBC buying the Weather channel?UPDATE 4-NBC Universal, partners to buy Weather Channel NBC Universal and private equity firms Bain Capital and Blackstone Group (BX.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Sunday they agreed to buy The Weather Channel from Landmark Communications. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (I'm looking for the photo's universe today had of satellites. Some of these looked like objects shown many years ago, falling into peoples farms and they thought it was a UFO. Perhaps they were testimg spy satellites ? Ana ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://www.universetoday.com/category/satellites/ The Mysterious Case of Two Spheres Falling to Earth in Australia and Brazil
Today, several news sources covered the discovery of a mysterious spherical object found in the Australian outback last year. The farmer who made the discovery has only just started to make enquiries into what the object actually is. So are the two objects connected in some way? Are they indeed from outer space
REMEMBER the photo's taken of the Roswell UFO, and the 'weather ballon" story and the foil that was found and the parts on the ranch? Now check this out, looks like the same material to me? HUM Ana Solar Sail To Launch This Summer NASA’s Marshall and Ames Research Centers will team up with the commercial space company SpaceX to launch and deploy a solar sail this summer. A bread-box sized payload called NanoSail-D will travel to space onboard a SpaceX Falcon 1 Rocket and if all goes well, it will be the first fully deployed solar sail in space, and the first spacecraft to use a solar sail as a primary means of orbital maneuvering. The first launch window is from July 29th to August 6th, with a back-up window extending from August 29th to September 5th. Weighing less than 4.5 kilograms (10 pounds) the aluminum and plastic sail has about 9.3 m² (100 square feet) of light-catching surface which researchers hope will successfully propel the spacecraft. Tracking Debris from US Spy Satellite USA 193; Delays to Rocket Launch The shoot down of US spy satellite USA 193 was condemned by some quarters of the international community. However, the fact remains, this was a resounding success for the US military. Observers of the operation to destroy the potentially dangerous satellite likened it to "trying to fire a missile through the eye of a needle". After all, the dead satellite was orbiting at a height of about 250 km, and the satellite-killing missile was fired from a boat; assuring impact with an object the size of a small bus was never going to be easy. But the mission was a success and the satellite disintegrated into bits (no bigger than a football). Now the task of tracking the debris is under way, and the fallout from last months fireworks are impacting the scheduled launch of other space missions
Happy Birthday Vanguard 1, and Welcome Home?
Jim has a lot of good history included in the article, but most intriguing, Jim reports Vanguard 1 could become the first satellite brought home, for museum display, by a new generation of robotic space vehicles. That would be incredible! Such an attempt would be a demonstration of robotic space vehicles’ capabilty, in addition to providing an Earth orbit (and highly exciting) version of retrieving Gus Grissom’s Liberty Bell 7 from the ocean floor. Do check out Jim's article. Jim Oberg, of course, is a noted journalist, author, linguist (sorry, inside joke) and space consultant for NBC News. ASA Working on a Folding Tether System
Satellite Fails to Reach Proper Orbit Just a quick piece of sad news. SES Americom reported that its AMC-14 satellite failed to reach its orbit on Saturday after it was launched by a Russian Proton Breeze-M rocket. Despite the failure, though, there might be hope that the satellite will be broadcasting HD television eventually. Israeli Spy Satellite Launches
June 28th, 2006
First West Coast Delta IV Launch is SuccessfulA Boeing Delta IV rocket blasted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base on Wednesday, carrying a surveillance satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office. This is the first time that a Delta IV has been launched from the military's California facility; normally they launch from Florida. The satellite has been identified as NROL-22, but no other details about its function or capabilities were announced.
The A-Train: Using Five Satellites as One to Analyze Polluted Clouds
A Space War would be a Seriously Messy Business
UK Urged to Focus on Satellite Technology, not Manned Exploration of Space The UK is the only G8 country (the eight richest countries in the world) without a manned space program. 20 years ago, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher put pay to any hope for a British astronaut by opting out of plans citing it as "too expensive" for the island nation. However, the UK government signalled last month they were considering a review of this space exploration policy, receiving a mixed reaction. A prominent satellite manufacturer has come forward with a suggestion that the UK may after all be better suited to constructing a space exploration "infrastructure" and leaving manned exploration to the ESA and NASA Nanotechnology and "Electrochromics" Successfully Tested On Board Satellite MidSTAR-1
The US Naval Academy has announced that two new technologies have succeeded in orbital experiments on board the MidSTAR-1 satellite, signifying these new high-tech methods can indeed be carried out in space, and as an added bonus, they may have revolutionary applications down here on Earth Proton Launches MEASAT-3 Satellite
Filed under: Satellites | No Comments » November 17th, 2006
Delta Carries GPS Satellite into OrbitA Boeing Delta II rocket blasted today off from Space Launch Complex 17A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. It was carrying a replacement Block IIR Global Positioning System satellite for the U.S. Air Force. The rocket lifted off at 1912 UTC (2:12 pm EST), and delivered the satellite into its transfer orbit 68 minutes later. The GPS IIR-16 is the third of a new generation of GPS satellites that give greater accuracy for navigation here on
US Cruiser Strikes Dead Spy Satellite
Possible Solution to Solar Flare Damage to Satellites When a solar flare blasts energetic particles and magnetic flux at Earth, our satellites are on the front line. As coronal mass ejections (CMEs) interact with the Earth's magnetosphere, there is a huge injection of energetic electrons into the Earth's radiation belts. This can have dire consequences for the satellites that we depend on for communications around the globe. All is not lost however. An international team of scientists have stumbled upon a possible, innovative solution to discharge these troublesome electrons into the atmosphere: bathe the skies in radio wave
Harvesting Solar Power from Space
In a new report, the viability of sending solar panels into space to collect a vast quantity of uninterrupted energy has been re-investigated. Although the idea has been around since the 1970's, space solar power has always been viewed as prohibitively expensive. In the current energy climate down here on Earth with spiralling oil prices and a massive push toward green energy sources, sending massive solar arrays into geosynchronous orbit doesn't seem like such a strange (or expensive) idea. There are many obstacles in the way of this plan, but the international community is becoming more interested, and whoever is first to set up an orbital array will have a flexible and unlimited energy resource November 7th, 2006
Defense Department Satellite LaunchedA Boeing Delta IV rocket blasted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base on Saturday, carrying a Defense Meteorological Satellite Program F17 satellite into orbit. The rocket lifted off at 1353 UTC (8:53 am EST), and the satellite was placed into polar orbit shortly after. The new military satellite will be able to view clouds, measure winds, soil moisture, ice and snow coverage, and pollution. It's equipped with visible and infrared sensors, so that it can view the Earth day and night. http://www.universetoday.com/category/satellites/page/2/US Wants to Defend Satellites From Laser Attack So what do you do if someone fires a powerful laser at your satellite? The optics on the satellite will probably be fried, so you couldn't see who did it. The US military appears to be concerned that this possibility may become a reality. As the US depends more and more on space for communications, GPS and military applications, the US government has announced the development of a defence method intended to detect a ground-based laser attack on a satellite, and pin point the laser's location. However, some experts have warned against taking this kind of action as there is little evidence other nations are developing anti-satellite laser technology. Also, it may be defence system but it could push further development of the militarization of space
1 new story for 2008/07/05
WeekEnd SkyWatcher's Forecast: July 4 - 6, 2008
Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! If you're enjoying a holiday weekend where you live, then start the fireworks off as we begin by remembering Deep Impact and journey towards a nearby star approaching the supernova phase. As things heat up towards one of the most spectacular conjunctions of the year, we'll also take a look at another globular cluster study, lunar features and a binocular deep sky treat! Are you ready to step in the realm of a Barnard dark nebula? The grab your optics and let's head out into the night… (...) www.universetoday.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thunderbolts Picture of the Day Thunderbolts Archives Smallest planet shrinks in size BBC - July 5, 2008 Mercury's magnetic field is "alive." NASA - July 4, 2008 Life Altered 12,900 Year Ago By Giant Comet? Science Daily - July 3, 2008 Strange Asteroid Shapes Explained Live Science - July 3, 2008 Did newborn Earth harbour life? New Scientist - July 2, 2008 Solar System is egg-shaped, scientists find AFP - July 2, 2008 Cassini Starts Saturn Grad School Discovery - July 2, 2008 How to See 93 Million Miles: Total Solar Eclipse August 1, 2008 Wired - July 2, 2008 Hubble Spies ribbon in the Sky ABC - July 1, 2008 Mars 2008
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2 comments on Thinking about UFO and testing satellites.......
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Whew! So much here! The potential for a war in space and the "what if" question of lasers being fired from space were both things to think more on. I liked the piece, pic, and my own mental image of the satellites traveling closely together to analyze polluted clouds. The first story and references to it left me scratching my head. The ship successfully blasting a satellite from near Hawaii was interesting, too. What did sound a bit exciting to me was the information about getting solar power from space... that would really be something and I can see that happening.