Spaceports

'GoldenEye' electromagnetic pulse attack from space, British MPs Urge Defense Upgrades

noreply@blogger.com (JackKennedy) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:10:00 +0000

A nuclear device detonated up to 500 miles above the earth's surface could generate an electro-magnetic pulse (EMP) with a "devastating" effect on power supplies, telecommunications and other vital systems, in a scenario akin to the plot of the 1995 James Bond film 'GoldenEye' - reports Matthew Holehouse for The Telegraph and Ian Drury in the MailOnline, both covering a British military defense report.

Tory MP James Arbuthnot, chairman of the UK defense select committee, told BBC Radio 4's Today program: "It would have a far more devastating impact to use a nuclear weapon in this way than to explode a bomb in or on a city. It would, over a much wider area, take out things like the National Grid on which we all rely for almost everything. It would take out the water system and the sewage system. Rapidly it would become very difficult to live in cities - within a matter of days."

Arbuthnot also told The Guardian, "Space weather is a global threat and may affect many regions and countries simultaneously. It is time that the government began to approach this matter with the seriousness it deserves." A very significant solar flare event may create EMP as well.

The United States set up a commission to assess the threat from an EMP attack in 2001. It concluded that North Korea, Russian, China, India, Pakistan, Iran and Cuba understand how such an attack could work - and that many countries believe the US is able and willing to make an EMP strike "under a broad range of circumstances" - Holehouse suggested in a second piece in The Telegraph and echoed in the Fulham & Hammersmith Chronicle.

If a small nuclear weapon, as postulated in a White House planning guide, is launched to high-altitude over the United States, perhaps fired from a freighter operating off the U.S. coast, the resulting electromagnetic pulse (EMP) could collapse the national electric grid and other critical infrastructures that sustain our modern society. The Congressional EMP Commission warned in 2008 that, given our current state of unpreparedness, an EMP attack by rogue states or terrorists could kill millions of Americans from starvation, disease and societal collapse, reported Peter Vincent Pry for The Washington Times earlier this month.

American missile defense advocates are urging the Congress to pass legislation to protect the nation from an orbital EMP attack and a space-based missile defense system. Advocates are urging presidential action with programs to curb atacks through a strong, modern missle defense system. More from RightSideNews.

On the other hand, the Missile Defense Agency, an arm of the Pentagon that maintains an arsenal of ground-based interceptors ready to fly into space and smash enemy warheads, says that defeating such an attack would be as straightforward as any other defense of the continental United States.

Orbital Sciences' Antares to Conduct Hot-Fire Test at Wallops Island in May; June Launch

noreply@blogger.com (JackKennedy) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 01:00:00 +0000

Animaition of the Orbital Sciences Antares rocket at Wallops Island, Va.

Dulles, Va-based Orbital Sciences Corporation is poised to carry out a key hot-fire test in May 2012 and then the inaugural flight of its Antares rocket in late June 2012, once the state of Virginia completes delayed work on a commercial launch pad at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island, Va., Chairman and CEO David Thompson told financial analysts in a conference call today, Feb. 21, 2012.

In late August or early September, 2012 Orbital Sciences will launch the new Antares rocket with the Cygnus spacecraft on a mission to demonstrate the capacity of the commercial space launch firm to safely and reliably deliver cargo to the International Space Station. Orbital Senior Vice-President Frank Culberston recently gave a talk about the status of the plans [PDF].

Meanwhile, SpaceX of Hawthorne, California plans to launch a demonstration flight in late April, 2012 and the first cargo resupply flight in the summer of this year from a completed Cape Canveral, Florida launch pad.

The two commercial space launch firms shared $3.5 million in NASA contracts for a combined twenty commercial cargo flights to the ISS, Orbital Sciences with eight and SpaceX with 12. More from SpaceflightNow.

Moon, Venus and Jupiter Highlight Night Sky

noreply@blogger.com (JackKennedy) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 22:52:00 +0000

SKY WATCHER ALERT: The brightest planets in the night sky are aligning for a must-see show in late February and March 2012. Start looking tonight! The Moon, Venus and Jupiter are ripe for astronomical observation.

Chaikin: Space Exploration Future Tied to Lowering Cost of Getting to Low Earth Orbit

noreply@blogger.com (JackKennedy) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 22:45:00 +0000

Andrew Chaikin, an American author, speaker and space journalist, appears on The Alyona Show on Russia Today-TV to briefly discuss the future of spaceflight in the wake of the 50th anniversary of John Glenn's first American orbital flight. Chaikin notes that the most significant challenge for space exploration is lowing the cost to climb through the Earth's atmosphere to low earth orbit.

Colorado Advances Spaceflight Liability-Immunity Measure in State Legislature

noreply@blogger.com (JackKennedy) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 05:15:00 +0000

While New Mexico's legislature has opted not to expand space flight liability and immunity law, Colorado is advancing its liability limitation for spaceflight, similar to those adopted in Virginia (2007), Florida (2008) and Texas (2011), reports CBS4 in Denver.

Korea to Join NASA in CubeSat Study of Moon

noreply@blogger.com (JackKennedy) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 05:00:00 +0000

The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) has agreed to join with NASA to study the moon’s magnetic fields by orbiting CubeSats near the lunar surface, according to The Dong-A ILBO and The Korea Hearld.

During the Apollo era it was discovered that lunar rocks are magnetized and the lunar crust contains strong magnetic anomalies. The origin of this magnetism continues to be debated. The two leading explanations are an ancient core dynamo and a process related to the impact of meteoroids. The existence of an ancient core dynamo would have implications for the thermal history of the Moon and the generation of planetary dynamos in general. By carefully studying the magnetic remanence carried by one of the most ancient and pristine lunar rocks, lunar scientists have found evidence of a core dynamo on the early Moon.

Dr. Ian Garrick-Bethell

Ian Garrick-Bethell (video), an assistant professor at the University of California-Santa Cruz, who is an authority on the moon’s magnetic fields (lunar geophysics and paleomagnetism), said, “The Lunar Impactor will take pictures of magnetic fields near the moon’s surface for the first time,” adding, “Hopefully, the project will play a critical role in identifying why water ice was created and what relationship water ice has with the moon’s magnetic fields.”

Garrick-Bethell, and his colleagues, have indicated that the next logical step for low-cost nanosatellite projects is to explore the Moon through either flybys or impacts. Basic student instruments such as magnetic sensors and imagers could be flown on CubeSats, as per his suggestion in a 2009 White Paper.

India May Delay Chandrayaan-2 Moon Lander

noreply@blogger.com (JackKennedy) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 04:30:00 +0000

India's second mission to the moon Chandrayaan 2 will launch a spacecraft using an Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) booster with a spacecraft and a landing platform with the moon rover estimated between 2014 and 2016. The rover would move on wheels on the lunar surface, pick up samples of soil or rocks, do a chemical analysis and send the data to the spacecraft orbiting above, according to a report in Express News.

Chandrayaan-2, which was slated for launch in 2014, may be rescheduled to 2016 because of a delay in the construction of the Russian lander that was to place an Indian rover on the moon, notes a recent report in Asian Scientist. Another possible reason for an expected delay in the launch date is due to India's inability to perfect the cryogenic engine technology for an upper stage of the GSLV booster, according to DNA.

The moon had been known as a dry and barren satellite, but India`s first unmanned lunar probe Chandrayaan-1 discovered 600 million tons of water ice in 2008. After the discovery, global space powers that aim to build space stations on the moon began paying keen attention to the celestial body.

The Moon is geologically active now

noreply@blogger.com (JackKennedy) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:50:00 +0000

New images acquired by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft show that the moon's crust is being slightly stretched, forming small valleys - at least in some small areas. High-resolution images obtained by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) provide evidence that these valleys are very young, suggesting the moon has experienced relatively recent geologic activity. Smithsonian Instituion Senior Scientist Tom Watters explains more about the moon's recent geological activity in the above 2-minute video. More from NASA.

As an aside, a team of Dutch earth scientists have now identified the likely reason for the lack of volcanic activity: the hot, molten rock contained within the Moon's interior could be so dense that it is too heavy to rise to the surface, according to media reports about a recent study. Nonetheless, the Dutch study indicates that the Moon may one day have lava flows, noted the Mail Online. Moonquake data suggests that there is lots of liquid magma deep within the Moon because around 30% of the rocks there are thought to be molten.

However, a recent MIT study of the Moon denotes a static orb with little to no internal activity, reports Scientific American. New evidence from an ancient lunar rock, collected on the Apollo 11 moon mission, suggests that the moon once harbored a long-lived dynamo — a molten, convecting core of liquid metal that generated a strong magnetic field 3.7 billion years ago.

With the recent lunar remote sensing missions and scientific studies of rock samples from the Apollo mission era, new understanding of our nearest neighbor continues to emerge. The geologic science of the Moon appears far from settled.

Virginia legislators differ on spaceport funding

noreply@blogger.com (JackKennedy) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 05:12:00 +0000

Virginia House and Senate differ on spaceport budget in Richmond.

Virginia House and Senate budget writers have differing proposals on funding significant growth at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, with the House offering up $15-million per year and the Senate only $1.5 million from state transportation funds, amid an $85 billion two-year budget, the largest in Virginia's history.

None of these proposals is set in stone—instead, they’re starting points for budget negotiations. Both houses will vote on these proposals later this week, and then go through some procedural maneuvers to put the budget into a conference committee. That committee will work to craft a final budget that both houses approve and the governor signs before it takes effect. Spaceport advocates are expected to go to work advancing the $15-million dollar annual spaceport investment.

Budget gamesmanship is underway

The Virginia Space Flight Authority budget is projected to remain level at the current Appropriation Act funding level of $1.5 million for the next two years in the Senate committee budget bill [Item 430 #3s]. Meanwhile, the House committee has adopted a measure to enable use of $15-million per year from the Transportation Trust Fund for the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority [Item 430 #5h]. This is the most significant difference between the two budget bills that will require work by a House-Senate budget conference committee.

The House committee measure recommends that $4-million be provided in 2012-2013 be provided to the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority for final improvements to the launch pad at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport now being prepared for commercial cargo missions to the International Space Station later this year. The Senate committee bill replaces the proposed expenditure of $4,000,000 from the general fund for capital improvements to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport with Virginia Public Building Authority debt [Item 430 #2s].

The budget versions go on to mandate that by October 1, 2012, in order to provide the Commonwealth with the greatest flexibility in the use of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority shall renegotiate the memorandum of understanding among the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, and Orbital Sciences Corporation.

The Virginia the House of Delegates budget bill notes that following completion of an operational report by the Secretary of Transportation, the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority shall develop a comprehensive Virginia Aerospace Strategic Plan to increase the competitiveness of the Virginia aerospace industry with it being delivered to the Secretary no later than December 1, 2012. The Senate budget bill, expected to go to floor debate this week, tracks the House language.

The McDonnell Administration budget proposals for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport are the most aggressive effort put forth since its original start-up in 1995. The FAA declared "Virginia as an Agent of Change" in remarking upon the state's space policy in liability immunity in 2007 and ZeroGravity-ZeroTax in 2008 heralding the gubernatorial effort to make it "the best spaceport in America."

Newt Gingrich's longtime fascination with space documented by university archives

noreply@blogger.com (JackKennedy) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 05:00:00 +0000

A review of thousands of documents detailing Gingrich’s career, reported by The Washington Post, reveal a longtime fascination with space by former Georgia Congressman, now 2012 Republican presidential candidate, Newt Gingrich.

Reviewed transcripts are contained in a largely unexplored cache of documents compiled by a former Gingrich aide and archived at the University of West Georgia, where Gingrich was an assistant professor in the 1970s. Among the transcripts are notes of the then-Congressman interest in space policy, including plans for a dozen low earth orbit space stations and a lunar mining outpost.

Washington Post journalist Jerry Markon notes in a review of the transcripts, "he proposed unionizing workers in space. And Republican leaders who were resisting additional funds for science, he said, were “idiots” and “so incredibly stupid,”' [pg. 4 of the Post article].

Gingrich's interest in space goes back to his early youth, when he read Missiles and Rockets magazine and obsessed over the Soviet Sputnik program. He recently proclaimed that the "weirdest thing" he ever did in Congress was to introduce a "Northwest Ordinance for space" that would allow a moon colony to become a state once 13,000 lived there.

"Here's the difference between so-called romantics and practical people," Gingrich said during his January Florida primary effort. "I want every single young American to say to themselves, I could become one of those 13,000, I can be part of building a bigger, better future, be part of a generation of courageous people who do something big and bold. We want Americans to think bolder about space and rebuild the country we love."

Nearly thirty years later, the 2012 Republican presidential contender Gingrich says critics of his call to ramp up American space exploration don't understand the power of science, technology and entrepreneurship to change the future.

A Golden 50th Anniversary for Astronaut John Glenn and America's First Orbit of the Earth

noreply@blogger.com (JackKennedy) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 04:54:00 +0000

50-YEARS AGO: The Mercury-Atlas 6 mission was the first attempt by the U.S. Mercury program to place astronaut John H. Glenn, Jr. in orbit. The Friendship 7 mission was launched on 20 February 1962, from Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. In the wake of the successful orbital flight, Glenn got a huge ticker tape parade in New York City of four million people. American space technology has matched Soviet space technology. John Glenn had matched Yuri Gagarin.

On a more contemporary note, the 2012 Virginia General Assembly passed a House Joint Resolution No. 234, offered by State Delegate Terry G. Kilgore (R-Scott County), commends John H. Glenn, Jr. and points to the astronaut's training at NASA Langley in Hampton, Virginia.

Muncy: SpaceX at ISS, Powered Suborbital Flight, and On-Orbit Fuel Depot Tipping Points

noreply@blogger.com (JackKennedy) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 21:52:00 +0000

The SpaceX Dragon commercial space cargo spacecraft approach and docking with the International Space Station in 2012 was cited by PoliSpace's Jim Muncy as the top "tipping point" event for NewSpace in 2012 during questioning on The Space Show with Dr. David Livingston.

SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corporation anticipate 2012 launch dates to deliver the first commercial cargo missions launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida and Wallops Island, Virginia, respectively.

Muncy, a Co-Founder of the Space Frontier Foundation and who assists space entrepreneurs, cited as the second tipping point for NewSpace in 2012 as powered flight and landing of suborbital spacecraft vehicles. He specifically noted Armadillo Aerospace, Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo and/or XCOR for possible powered test flights lights to space this year.

The third and final tipping point cited by Muncy for NewSpace in 2012 was the possibility of NASA to ink an executable contract for cryogenic transfer and storage on orbit. He noted that such an event would dramatically change the economic calculations by the commercial space launch sector firms. Noting whether it was 500 to 50,000 lbs. of fuel, Muncy said a contract to deliver fuel on-orbit would change the commercial space business outlook.

CCDev2 Commercial Crew Space Launch Firms Making NASA Measured Milestones Progress

noreply@blogger.com (JackKennedy) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 20:46:00 +0000

NASA’s commercial space partners are making significant progress in maturing designs and development of their commercial crew transportation systems under CCDev2 evidenced by the graph above [PDF NASA details].

During the past two months, eight milestones were completed by Sierra Nevada, SpaceX, Boeing, United Launch Alliance, Alliant Techsystems, Inc., and Excalibur Almaz, Inc.

"The milestones are really the mile markers of each one of these companies," Scott Thurston, chief of the Commercial Crew Program (CCP) Partner Integration Office said recently. "It's based on each company's development plan, not what the government wants, so each company is a little bit different." The NASA Commercial Crew effort is very much like a venture capitalist endeavor because NASA is investing in systems and laying out expectations, but not dictating how companies make their systems work.

The total number of completed milestones under CCDev2 is now 34 of the 62 plotted by NASA. Each of the milestone accomplishments help Americans in ending the human spaceflight "gap" created last year with the retirement of the space shuttle fleet and the current dependence on the Soyuz for American human spaceflight.

ESA' Swarm Satellite Trio to Investigate Earth's Magnetic Field Weaking from Orbit

noreply@blogger.com (JackKennedy) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 18:42:00 +0000

The European Space Agency magnetic field Swarm mission is to investigate the Earth's magnetic field in unprecedented detail. Swarm is due to be launched inthe summer of this year. Without our planets protective magnetic field, life on our planet would struggle to survive. The Swarm mission consisting of three identical satellites will be used to study all aspects of the Earth's magnetic field and assess whether it is weakening. This report outlines the science of the mission and includes interviews with a project scientist and project manager. The three Swarm satellites are due for launch on the same launcher in summer 2012. More from ESA.

The objective of the Swarm mission is to provide the best ever survey of the geomagnetic field and its temporal evolution, and gain new insights into improving our knowledge of the Earth's interior and climate.

Dr. Space Places Importance on Education

noreply@blogger.com (JackKennedy) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 16:20:00 +0000

Moonandback Media conducted an exceptional interview with Dr. David Livingston of The Space Show. Livingston is also a University of North Dakota adjunct professor in graduate-level space studies. Livingston talks about American education and the importance of the future strategic work force development to space development and sustainable national innovation.

Space debris a growing problem in low orbit

noreply@blogger.com (JackKennedy) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 16:11:00 +0000

Swiss Space Center at EPFL just launched the "CleanSpace One" project. The aim is to design and build a satellite that will chase, grab and destroy a space debris - namely one of the first Swiss satellites, Swisscube-1 or TIsat-1.

New York Times journalist Kenneth Chang writes an article entitled: "For Space Mess, Scientists Seek Celestial Broom" Saturday, February 18 describing the problem of space junk and how it is being investigated for possible resolution.

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell Pushes Spaceport Development to Multi-Commercial Launch Firm Facility by Investing Real Money

noreply@blogger.com (JackKennedy) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 03:49:00 +0000

Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, Wallops Island, Va.

A prime location for orbital launches and a trajectory path over the Atlantic Ocean position the Commonwealth's Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport for tremendous growth over the next few years. Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell outlined the study called, Competitive Analysis of Virginia's Space Industry, at the 15th Annual FAA Commercial Space Transportation Conference held in Washington, D.C. The study details the Commonwealth's space landscape and gives recommendations and strategies to move the program forward, [Virginian Pilot].

"Virginia is poised to become a leader in commercial space launch operations and our efforts will be enhanced by the implementation of these recommendations," said Governor McDonnell. "As one of only four spaceports in the U.S. licensed to launch vehicles into orbit, we can only gain by promoting a robust space industry in the Commonwealth." View the study report: Competitive Analysis of Virginia's Space Industry [PDF] and Gov. McDonnell's full remarks.

The most recent study comes on the heels of a report released in late 2011 by KMPG entitled Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority: Governance, Organization and Competitive Landscape.[PDF]. Legislation is advancing in the 2012 Virginia General Assembly [HB 813 and SB 284] to perfect many of the recommendations. The spaceport authority board was moved from the Virginia Department of Commerce & Trade to the Virginia Department of Transportation last year.

In a unique effort, Virginia legislators are passing "tweaks" to a new tax law passed last year that transfers any tax revenue stream from human commercial space flight sales made in Virginia to the operating budget of the commercial spaceport. The measure would redirect any tax revenute stream generated by Virginia-based Space Adventures from its sales of human orbital, suborbital and zero-gravity parabolic training flights.

The Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority meets in Richmond next week to review the studies, pending legislation, and ongoing organizational expansion. The new Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares commercial rocket is expected to commence commercial cargo flights to the International Space Station from Wallops Island, Virginia later this year along with the SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Both commercials space launch firms are under delivery contracts with NASA.

Virginia has been seeking interest in utilization of the launch pad and range facilities at the NASA Wallops Island Flight Facility and state-owned Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in recent years with passage of NewSpace state policies, duly noted by the FAA/AST and the states of Florida, Texas, New Mexico and Colorado.

February 18, 1930: Pluto Discovered

noreply@blogger.com (JackKennedy) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 22:23:00 +0000

Discovered by Clyde W. Tombaugh on February 18, 1930, Pluto was considered the ninth solar system planet until 2006. On August 24, 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) defined what it means to be a "planet" within the Solar System. This definition excluded Pluto as a planet and added it as a member of the new category "dwarf planet" along with Eris and Ceres.

A number of scientists hold that Pluto should continue to be classified as a planet, and that other dwarf planets should be added to the roster of planets along with Pluto. Pluto has four known moons.

Felix Baumgartner Continues to Train for New World Record Jump from Edge of Space

noreply@blogger.com (JackKennedy) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 20:01:00 +0000

Red Bull Stratos' pilot Felix Baumgartner continues to train with coach Joe Kittinger for a new record-setting 120,000 feet (23-mile) jump from the edge of space in the summer of 2012 above the New Mexico desert at Roswell.

This is a mission to overcome limits which have existed for almost fifty years, ever since the heroic achievement of the young US Air Force test pilot, Joe Kittinger, with his 1960 Excelsior mission.

Red Bull Stratos will attempt to make history and deliver valuable learnings for medical and scientific advancement that will aid the exploration of space in future years.

On August 16, 1960, Joseph Kittinger jumped his last Excelsior jump, doing so from an air-thin height of 102,800 feet (31,334 meters). From that nearly 20 miles altitude, his tumble toward terra firma took some 4 minutes and 36 seconds.

Exceeding the speed of sound during the fall, Kittinger used a small stabilizing chute before a larger, main parachute opened in the denser atmosphere. He safely touched down in barren New Mexico desert, 13 minutes 45 seconds after he vaulted into the void.

The jump set records that still stand today, among them, the highest parachute jump, the longest freefall, and the fastest speed ever attained by a human through the atmosphere. Somewhat in contention is Kittinger's use of the small parachute for stabilization during his record-setting fall. Roger Eugene Andreyev, a Russian, is touted as holding the world's free fall record of 80,325 feet (24,483 meters), made on November 1, 1962. Baumgartner's 2012 jump will attempt a new overall world record.

NASA's heavy-lift launch vehicle touted

noreply@blogger.com (JackKennedy) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 18:58:00 +0000

Featuring NASA Marshall's Foundations of Influence, Relationships, Success & Teamwork (FIRST) employees and student interns, "Future Frontier" discusses the new Space Launch System (SLS) heavy-lift launch vehicle and its importance to furthering NASA's exploration mission. NASA FIRST is the Agency's leadership program for promising young professionals. (NASA/MSFC)

China to Orbit Three Taikonauts by Summer

noreply@blogger.com (JackKennedy) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 18:25:00 +0000

The Chinese government will launch its fourth human-rated Shenzhou spacecraft atop a Long March 2F rocket between June and August on a mission to take three taikonauts to the Tiangong-1 lab module currently orbiting the Earth. The crew will seek to further perfect docking a longer duration spaceflight, the Chinese media started reporting Friday, Feb. 17, 2012.

The taikonaut trio are slated blast off on board the Shenzhou (Divine Vessel) IX, which will manually dock with the module, Xinhua News Agency said, quoting a spokesman for China's space program. The crew may include the first Chinese national female taikonaut.

After the space rendezvous, the crew will move temporarily into the Tiangong-1 (Heavenly Palace) space lab, where they will perform scientific experiments. The taikonauts are expected to stay in space for more than 10 days, the longest any Chinese astronaut has spent off the planet.

Global Space Politics with Dr. Jill Stuart

noreply@blogger.com (JackKennedy) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 17:56:00 +0000

Dr. Jill Stuart discusses outer space politics recently at London School of Economics program, "The Hot Seat." Dr. Stuart discsses the space programs of the United States and China. She discusses the national will of the United States and China to boost space exploration budgets at the nation-state level or techno-nationalism. She also speaks to India, Japan and Europe and the private sector.

NASA Premier: Friendship 7 50th Anniversary

noreply@blogger.com (JackKennedy) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 13:25:00 +0000

NASA celebrates the 50th Anniversary of John Glenn's orbital space flight. Glenn's flight ushered in a new era for space travel in this premier on NASA-TV the evening of Feb. 16, 2012.

John Glenn, America's first astronaut to orbit Earth, launched aboard his Friendship 7 Mercury capsule on Feb. 20, 1962. At the end of the mission, Friendship 7 splashed down into the ocean and Glenn was honored by President John F. Kennedy and celebrated as a hero across America.

ESA: The sounds of space

noreply@blogger.com (JackKennedy) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 13:10:00 +0000

There are many links between music and space. Astronauts like Frank De Winne take their favourite rock music with them to orbit, while musicians on Earth often take inspiration from the stars in their work. Some astrophysicists have transposed plasma waves and electron beams into audible sound.

NASA's COTS Program, A Brief History

noreply@blogger.com (JackKennedy) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 12:59:00 +0000

Michael Clark provides a new nine minute episode of Epic Future Space with an overview of the NASA COTS program with SpaceX launching from Cape Canaveral, Florida and Orbital Sciences Corporation launching from Wallops Island, Virginia.