Space

Devices under testing at NASA may save trucking billions

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--The American trucking industry could save as much as $10 billion, or 3.4 billion gallons of diesel fuel, a year if devices being tested in a joint public-private initiative at the world's-largest wind tunnel here are rolled out nationally.

Over the last few weeks, a partnership between the Lawrence Livermore National Lab, the U.S. Air Force, the NASA Ames Research Center, and the conglomerate, Navistar, has been conducting tests on the aerodynamics of tractor-trailer trucks. The findings indicate that new devices could be added onto the nation's thousands of trucks that could increase … Read more

Solar satellite launched to study space weather

An Atlas 5 rocket boosted NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory into orbit Thursday, kicking off an $850 million mission to study the physics of the sun and the titanic magnetic storms, flares, and explosions that drive space weather across the solar system.

Using three sophisticated instruments that will collect enormous amounts of data over short time scales, scientists hope to improve their ability to predict the onset of major flares and other phenomena that can disrupt communications, satellite navigation, and power grids.

"SDO will observe the sun almost continuously for more than five years, sending back data at an … Read more

Shuttle Endeavour docks with space station

JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, Texas--The shuttle Endeavour docked with the International Space Station late Tuesday in a picture-perfect rendezvous that included spectacular views of the shuttle against the blue-and-white backdrop of Earth.

With shuttle commander George Zamka flying Endeavour from the aft flight deck, the docking systems engaged on time at 11:06 p.m. CST as the two spacecraft sailed 215 miles above the Atlantic Ocean west of Portugal at five miles per second.

"Station and Houston, capture confirmed," shuttle pilot Terry Virts called out.

Going into this mission, the space station's mass was 764,350 pounds. … Read more

Endeavour streaks into space in final night flight

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla.--The shuttle Endeavour, carrying six astronauts, a 15-ton life support module, and a bay window observation deck for the International Space Station, thundered into orbit early Monday, putting on a spectacular predawn show in the program's final planned night launch.

With commander George Zamka and pilot Terry Virts at the controls, Endeavour's three main engines ignited with a rush of fiery exhaust and quickly throttled up to full power. Seconds later, at 4:14:07 a.m. EST, the shuttle's twin solid-fuel boosters fired, explosive bolts detonated, and the space plane vaulted away … Read more

Where to watch Sunday's shuttle launch

There's more than just football going on this Sunday. The shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to launch very early on Sunday morning, on what will be the first of a final five planned shuttle missions before the shuttle program is retired.

The primary goal of the flight is to attach the new Tranquility module to the left side of the lab complex to house life support gear, exercise equipment, and a robotics workstation. Astronauts plan to conduct three spacewalks before returning to Earth.

According to a Saturday post on NASA's Space Shuttle page, "the rotating service structure was … Read more

Solar spacecraft to record sun at Imax resolution

This is the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly. Together with the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager and the Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment, it will capture the sun at Imax resolution every 10 seconds. The instruments will travel together inside NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft.

After its expected February 9 launch on top of an Atlas V rocket, the SDO will capture images at almost four times the resolution of an HD TV, transmitting the results back to Earth at 130 megabits per second. Basically, this thing will be transmitting the equivalent of 500,000 MP3s per day, seven days a week. According to Dean Pesnell at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., the potential for new discoveries is giganormous.

"We'll be getting Imax-quality images every 10 seconds. We'll see every nuance of solar activity," Pesnell said.

Pesnell said that this speed opens an incredible potential for discovery, using 18th century photographer Eadweard Muybridge as an example:

But when Muybridge photographed horses using a new high-speed camera system, he discovered something surprising. Galloping horses spend part of the race completely airborne--all four feet are off the ground.

To achieve all this, the three instruments in the SDO have been designed to cover three vital aspects of our home star.… Read more

Obama ends moon program, endorses private spaceflight

On the seventh anniversary of the Columbia disaster, President Obama unveiled a sweeping change of course for the nation's space program Monday, putting an end to NASA's post-Columbia moon program and shifting development and operation of new rockets and capsules from the government to private industry.

Requesting some $19 billion for NASA in fiscal 2011, the administration announced plans to pump an additional $6 billion into NASA's budget over the next five years to kick-start development of a new commercial manned spaceflight capability, including some $500 million in 2011.

Over that same five years, some $7.8 … Read more

Endeavour cleared for Feb. 7 launch

NASA managers Wednesday cleared the shuttle Endeavour for a predawn launch February 7, the first of a final five space station assembly flights before the shuttle fleet is retired later this year.

The countdown is scheduled to begin at 2 a.m. EST on February 4, setting up a launch attempt at 4:39 a.m. February 7 from launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. It is the last planned night launch on the shuttle schedule.

"We reviewed all aspects of the shuttle and the space station," Bill Gerstenmaier, chief of space flight operations, said after … Read more

Mars rover no more, but Spirit lives on

NASA's Mars rover Spirit isn't dead yet, but it has reached its final resting place.

After months of unsuccessful attempts at freeing the rover from a sandtrap, NASA on Tuesday said it has decided to make the best of the situation and instruct it to conduct scientific experiments from its current location.

The rover became trapped last April when one of its wheels broke through a crusty Martian surface and dug into the fine, powdery soil beneath it. After many so-called extraction activities, including wiggling the wheels and rotating them very slowly, NASA scientists have decided to stop … Read more

Is the Digital Age cutting us off from aliens?

A few days ago, I was bound and gagged by a peculiarly witty human who forced me to watch "Contact," starring Jodie Foster.

If this strangely slow-moving opus has passed you by, Foster plays a woman whose lifelong dream is to sit down with an alien being and have a chinwag over a large latte. Well, more or less.

So it was with the spirit of space discovery forcing my lips to hum that I read Monday that the founder of SETI (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) declared that it wasn't just me who was gagged, but … Read more