Global Warming of One Kind or Another

The arctic ice near Alaska has receded so far that shippers are now starting to send cargo through the Northeast passage, something previously impossible even in the height of summer. The shippers, a German company called "Beluga", had to traverse not just detached flows (e.g. icebergs), but also the Russian permitting authority, which has never before had to issue permits for such a crossing. The Russians, seeing the opportunity to supplant the Suez canal for certain routes are making noises about reducing cost and permit paperwork. Sure, the route is eco-friendly in that it cuts 3,000 miles out of the trip from Rotterdam to Yokahama, but that seems to miss the real ecological point, doesn't it?

And on to a more direct form of global warming. One patch of sand in Utah got particularly warm at the hands of NASA's new Ares 5 first stage booster. It doesn't look like much, until you realize that the rocket is the size of a warehouse - larger than the current shuttle boosters - and packs 22 million horsepower. Hi ho NASA away!

Too Pretty Not To Post

This is Atlantis taking off yesterday as seen through an IR camera. Yeah, this is too small, so you simply MUST click here and check it out.

Cool, but not Polished.

Here is part 1 of the International Space Station Tour. When you get to the end, YouTube will pop up parts II-IV. Is the video sexy, no? Instead, it is incredibly cool in part because of the quiet matter-of-factness of it all.

Wireless Idea Balloons

Space Data wants to bring cellular to the stix with weather balloons toting wireless cells. Launch, track, recover, repeat. Using metereological data, they can keep a balloon in place by adjusting altitude to take advantage of better/opposing wind direction.

White Knight 2 Takes Off.

Virgin Galactic - a lofty moniker if ever there was one - is once-again demonstrating that it may be well-deserved. (There, that should be enough hyphens for one sentence). Building on the model used to win the Ansasi X-Prize, the company has made White Knight larger and has finally flown it on its dedicated runway in the vast desert of the Western U.S.

Here's the eye-candy = short videos of the flight. Now, where did I put my $250K for a ticket?

Solar Sails!

Took a while for this tech to get tried, but NASA is ready now. Basically, you take a shiny surface and point it at the sun. Photons from the sun's light bounce off the shiny material and push it forward. In a vacuum, that's enough. Oh, and you need a HUGE sail...check out how this one deploys:

Space, It Sells Itself.

Virgin Galactic, future purveyor of LEO (Low Earth Orbit) - actually not even that high - flights for $200K is looking for a space ambassador. You reach out to high rollers and entrepreneurs for flights and during flights and you get to fly for free and see space and be weightless and, and and and and and (head explodes).

The Great Leap....Downward

Update: Turns out frenchy never left the ground. They filled the balloon with helium and it began to rise. It continued to rise, and continued, and continued, and continued, until they realized that it wasn't tethered to anything. It's probably better this way. What else did could a team that forgets to tie down the balloon neglect in your super-sophisticated pressurized life support suit?

Space Manufacturing

On Earth, we can make alloys. That's a homogenous metal mixture, like lemonade. In space, scientists hope that eliminating gravity will permit them to combine metals of differing weights at the molecular level. I have no idea what the applications are. Suggestions include lighter aviation parts. Here's what I do know - this is the first viable commercial use of space that I have seen. With projects like SpaceShipOne, here comes the revolution?

ShuttleWonderful

Here are some one-of-a-kind photos of shuttle prep from the arrival of the central tank, through booster attachment, shuttle attachment, payload, and launch. Ah, to be a rocket cowgirl. Though I have to imagine many things pale in comparison.

Thanks to www.kottke.org.

We Have a New Leader in the Space Race.

The EU launched the ATF, an automated space truck that can launch, reach, and "mate" with the International Space Station, all with minimal human interaction. It represents a low cost option for shuttling supplies to (though I don't believe from) the ISS.

More important that the tug itself is what it represents: The end of U.S. space dominance. I am not saying that U.S. space dominance was good or even worth the money. Reasonable minds have long quibbled. What I am saying is that U.S. dominance in space technology has persisted since the 1960's, and has been a symbol of its superior resources and technology. We did things just because we could, and that had political significance -- just like the Great White Fleet circumnavigating the globe. [Dorkowitz points out that the GWF predated nuclear tech by 50 years. Right he is...now what was I thinking?

Today, Arianspace operating out of French Guiana has joined us there with superior tech while our Shuttle operations are sunseting with no obvious succeessor. Europe or, more likely, China, will soon have a replacement and it will be U.S. astronauts begging rides instead of the other way around.

Welcome Home Atlantis.

Atlantis and mission 122 are safely home after 12 days in the wild blue yonder. The fact that they made it home didn't make the job any less risky. It's just a testament to the care they take every time. Welcome home, Atlantis.

Incidentally, your frequent flier miles for this trip: 5.3 million. Better cash 'em in. Program ends soon.

A Little Gratitude

Endeavor is home safely. For that, anyone who has been keeping the astronauts in their thoughts should give a little nod of thanks.

It's disappointing that this is barely news. Just recently, we lost a shuttle to just this type of defect. It happened again, and NASA got to step and show that it in fact had improved not just its technology, but its very attitude, in a crisis. The result....business as usual and no headlines. Seems ungrateful.

STS-118 - Welcome home.

Endevour Spelling Endeavor

http://www.local6.com/slideshow/13675115/detail.htmlindex.html?currentSlide=0&taf=orlpn
NASA initially misspelled the name of its own shuttle yesterday, posting a massive sign under the vertical beast reading, "Go Endeavor."

Far be it from us to deride an engineer that actually knows the word endeavor, which the unlucky writer spelled correctly, but the shuttle is not named after the noun, meaning "A conscientious or concerted effort toward an end; an earnest attempt." Rather:

The orbiter is named after HM Bark Endeavour, the ship commanded by 18th century explorer James Cook; the name also honored Endeavour, the Command Module of Apollo 15. This is why the name is spelled in the British English manner, according to Answers.com. (From the Local 6 link above)

Of course, then there is Local Channel 6, which considers a definition from "Answers.com" (literally a link at the top right of a Google search) to be good enough for the news.

Space Diving - This is not a joke, it's just in the fledgling stages.

I know most of you don't read PopSci any more. I must admit it is a little intimidating living in a community where SciAm is the bottom end of the intellectual spectrum -- well, that and the general level of humor.

Ahem, on to space diving. This borrows from NASA's original high altitude testing system: A space diver sits in a hot air balloon, travels miles into and, eventually, beyond the air, to 120,000 ft. (3x the average operating height of transatlantic flight). Then...you jump.

[To be fair, at this altitude the oxygen needed for rational thought is long gone and, besides, when you have to worry about the heat shield on reentry of your person you aren't "jumping" so much as moving toward an abstraction below you commonly referred to as the "Earth"]

But wait thrill seekers. This is a practical invention. I know, I sniggered too; but the inventors are touting this as the solution to shuttle orbit escape problems. And for you space tourists looking to climb aboard the EADS space jet...you too could get a (ugh) crash course in the use of these nifty little suits.

"Ladies and Gentlemen. FAA [ESA for the initiated] regulations prohibit tampering, disabling, or destroying essential life support systems. Please keep your seatbelt on at all times while we still within the grasp of earth's gravity. And, in the event of imminent death, your seat cushion can be used to stifle your sobs and cries for help. Thank you, and have a pleasant launch."