Video: Dragon Berthed to Space Station: [HERE]
SpaceX Dragon capsule berthed to Earth-facing port, ISS Harmony module: 12:02 p.m. EDT, May 25, 2012.
Earlier: First time view of private cargo ship delivery to ISS..
SpaceX Dragon capsule closes in on ISS for a series of tests to clear for final rendezvous & grapple... Glad to see that NASA is not rolling over dead, after the public objects to the SCRAP of thousands of Science projects... Ultimately leading to 10's of thousands of Senior Scientist layoffs... Note the Projects of econ-return; reinstated due to massive out-cry...
APOD.NASA CAPTION: "The lunar disk frames historic Lick Observatory perched on the mountain's 4,200 foot summit. Both observatory and Moon echo the warm color of sunlight (moonlight is reflected sunlight) filtered by a long path through the atmosphere.
Substantial atmospheric refraction contributes the Moon's ragged, green rim. Of course, the March Full Moon is also known as the Full Worm Moon. In the telescopic photo, Lick's 40 inch Nickel Telescope dome is on the left. The large dome on the right houses Lick's Great 36 inch Refractor." [apod.nasa.gov]
From: @SmallStepForMan:..."In just a moment, a $1.7 billion spaceship will pass right behind me"...
-VIDEO: Our Beautiful World... [VIEW] -Lovely six minute video of NASA images, artfully "stitched" together, by bdh.net
-VIDEO: How Earth Sounds from Space:[VIEW] -Fluctuations of the earth's magnetic field recorded as electromagnetic vibrations and then translated into sound...
-Video: Discovery Shuttle's Final Liftoff: [View] Three decades, over 142 million miles, and 352 flights... Today marks the final flight of the most traveled spacecraft in history..... Our Discovery.
I'll be away until Saturday the 1st.... Leaving you with a few videos...
In the close of a very bizzare 2010... It's not likely that man will be kept from chartering his own destiny, or achieving his own goals... He will not be hindered in his promise of expanding earth's future; for very long... Because he remains consumed with unraveling mystery; and this is human nature... I see a, "where there's a will, there's a way" greater return engagement, in the not too distant future...
Video Credits: -Original Movies & Animation to find under:nasa.gov -Original Pics to find under: hubblesite.org -Soundtrack - Aeon Flux
-VIDEO: Water-World Gliese 581c, & Carbon Planets:[VIEW] -VIDEO: Worlds with diamonds, everywhere! :D [VIEW] Uniquely bizarre endless and landless worlds with iron rain, hot ice, and oceans of gas... Some with abnormal orbital patterns, or no pattern at all; drift alone in the Milky Way... :D
We peer into the Universe, and remain deeply humbled... Image: Luna Nebula (l) below; and view image (r) Cassiopeia A; red (in part) represents about 10,000 Earth masses worth of dust...# -Note: In total, Spitzer collected separate "spectra" at more than 1,700 positions across Cassiopeia A...[Read]
-Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
-'Celestial Nebula' [SNR 0509] from remnants of a massive [Type Ia] supernova, is 23 light-years across; and expanding at more than 11 million miles per hour...(video below) -Particularly "Festive" in appearance; as viewed in latest update. :D
-Image Credits: NASA, ESA, G. Illingworth (UCO/Lick Observatory and the University of California, Santa Cruz), R. Bouwens (UCO/Lick Observatory and Leiden University) and the HUDF09 Team.
Today's Links... -Video: Light of the (history) of the Universe...[VIEW] Hubble's newly installed Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) collects light from near-infrared wavelengths of the Universe...
-Video: View several well known Deep Sky Objects...[VIEW] Wow... Shot with a Sony Handycam, coupled to a Cat III Night Vision eyepiece... And then, captured on video!
-Enjoy a "Festive" weekend... :D I'm away, and will post when I can... Wishing you good thoughts.
-Posted by D.C. Worth, for Barbay (France/US) ... [7 Videos]
Our tiny earth brings illusions that (at times) seem so vast, in such a tiny frame... But this can't matter, as soul & spirit, are infinite. -Credits: NASA, ESA, SOHO, SDO, LASCO -VIDEO:[enlarge]
-VIDEO: The Day the Sun Changed[enlarge] "An opposing force as the solar wind dropped to less than 0.1% of its normal value, and heavier ions, held back by the Sun's gravity and the Earth's magnetosphere swelled to five to six times its normal size"...
As NASA shows evidence of [giant breach] in earth's magnetic field... Continued variations in the period between Solar cycles 23 & 24, have led to much speculation... (Scientific & intuitive)
Individuals of the non-Scientific community discover images along meridian of NASA Solar image; exhibiting the shape of craft or perhaps, community... -Video:Odd Holograms?[video]
-Space Communities trapped in Sun's orbit?-Video:[view] This might not be good news, as travel speed and dist; their size might indicate that OUR planet is, comparably speaking, the size of a speck of dust... (Haha)
-Video:[view]No problem... USA, USA, galaxy defenders -So how can one believe that tiny cells have no life; when you or I (a speck of dust) would try to save any sized beings from harm… :D
Video: Representations in sky; 10/22 to 10/25...[enlarge] At night, 1,000's of representational images, visibly dance across the sky.
-Note: Driving several hours away; and will return Thursday... Always think good thoughts... :D
Astronauts (seen here) having arrived 10:27:10 at the shuttle landing facility for their scheduled November 1 launch to the International Space Station...Post terminal countdown demonstration test, Oct 15th [image]
[More of] Steve Lindsey, Nicole Stott, Eric Boe, Al Drew, Mike Barratt
Few contest the stark contrast with the numerous, successfully unfolding Space programs of the last 8 years, under the Bush Administration... Not excluding Bush "first time in history" orbiters, planet finders, climate research & exploration crafts; of which DATA will mature in the next two years...
Americans looking forward to new elections in (2010/12)...
Here's NASA's next-generation, five-segment solid rocket test... NASA's goal of pressing forward to optimize every aspect of the system for peak performance. NASA Team is responsible for developing robust propulsion system.
Earlier form NASA... "Tests such as DM-2 allow our team to improve and enhance existing technology essential to maintaining America's preeminence in space, even as we look to new designs, new materials and new technologies with the potential to transform the future of human spaceflight." -NASA's Schorr [read]
Of the past, man strives to unravel the mysteries of mythology, as is woven into the giant tapestry of geography and history... Be it told in petroglyphs, or written in the sky; it is testimony as to how fragile the ages are... And just how frequently 'shifts in earth's surface' have redefined cultures...
In late November 1994, Dr. Thor Heyerdahl saw the little Republic of Azerbaijan's past, in the familiar designs of Norway, through boat petroglyphs, of the ancient caves of Gobustan (30 mi w of Baku); not far from Baku...
Image: 'Viking Swords Shore' of Hafrsfjord, Norway
Lovely music for a Sunday... There is obviously more here, but the Adventure of retracing the past is, in itself, a remarkable journey...
Adventurer Thor Heyerdahl (October 6, 1914 - April 18, 2002) was a Norwegian anthropologist, ethnographer, not likely to be forgotten...
The oldest history of earth's past, and most ancient civilizations known to mankind#... Are but descendants of another culture...
-Awesome Space Shuttle from hangar to liftoff: -ht/ACE: Genghis (overnight thread) -Mentioning Pocono Joe... (Sound arrives, somewhere after 3:00.)
-Produced by: Scott Andrews, Stan Jirman, and Philip Scott Andrews Special thanks to: Alan Poindexter, the crew of STS-131 And to the help & support of everyone at Kennedy Space Center
What's New... US AP & S's currently working on an exciting (private) construct... As is sure not to disappoint, stay tuned. :# Dr. "H" designing revolutionary new materials away from current chip & magnet technology... (Private) US/Japan allied Tech... :)
Dr. "H" also has a new "light" invention... Miniature, brilliant...
MEDIA ADVISORY: M10-120 | NASA will hold a media teleconference Thursday, Aug. 26, at 1 p.m. EDT to discuss the Kepler spacecraft's latest discovery about an intriguing planetary system... -Video (r) -T. Darnell (Deep Astronomy)
-NASA News Audio Live Streaming: [here] Thursday's teleconference announcement will include participation by senior NASA scientists and Kepler mission researchers, including principal investigator William Borucki, at the space agency's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California......STAY TUNED.
-Video talk by Dimitar Sasselov, Co-Investigator, Kepler Science Team Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics [kepler blog]
-How we found hundreds of potential Earth-like planets. [link]
Characteristics of Kepler Planetary Candidates Based on the First Data Set: The Majority are Found to be Neptune-Size and Smaller: [read] William J. Borucki, for the Kepler Team (Submitted on 14 Jun 2010)
-Copernican Begins Modern Science (Revolution) Read.
Today's Links... VIDEO: Life in the Universe #3: The Great Filter:[view] Another great video from T. Darnell (Deep Astronomy)
Video Recap of Kepler’s One Year Anniversary(3/6/2009)[view] And now, soon to announce the results from Kepler; which include the "discovery of an intriguing planetary system."
-Posted by D.C. Worth, for Barbay (France & US) - [6 Videos]
As NASA Int'l partners complete space test facility for Scientific research; it's time to expand Space-based solar, explore the wealth of asteroid minerals & collectible sources for hydro-carbons; because in order to sustain earth life, we must expand beyond earth.
Image: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center # Scientific Visualization Studio: [Enlarge]
An interesting NASA-vision of the 70's shows how near to fruition, the space-dream advanced... And how expanded knowledge of a connected grid; evolved our humble grasp to the stars. -Harness this trajectory: 3753 Cruithne
Despite potential risk, or limited understanding of light particle technology or gamma bursts...Our journey evolved, and landed us on the moon. Only Leader's short-sightedness has regressed man's evolution...
And, no wonder we remain 5 centuries behind on Technology... -VIDEO: Earth is plagued with (pesky) 'World Order' conquests!View. Today's earth-mass populations make "sustainable" unachievable; as fewer believe that our planet will "behave well" in the time to come...
Today's Videos... This from Spaceweather.com: "Tiny new sunspot 1082 is crackling with small solar flares. This one is "only" about as powerful as ten million atomic bombs."
Disturbing to watch this short (1980's) VIDEO. Massive eruption leveled surrounding forest, blasted away over 1,000 feet of the mountain's summit; claiming 57 lives.
From NASA Earth Observatory, view: A one min- 21 second Rapid Time lapse... VIDEO: Mount St. Helens: Thirty Years Later: VIEW. Amazing recovery of the surrounding ecosystem - through the eyes of Landsat satellites, imaging our planet for almost 40 years!
-VIDEO: Lovely Hubble images: Eta Carinae VIEW. Una espectacular imagen formada por 48 fotogramas, tomadas por el Telescopio Espacial Hubble de la Nebulosa Carina situada a 7500 años luz de distancia...(Lovely!)
-VIDEO: Hubble Ultra Deep FieldVIEW. "Now We Are Free" by Hans Zimmer. -How Hubble Works (Animation)VIEW -Promenade in Hubble Vision:VIEW.
-Hubble snaps heavyweight of Leo Triplet:VIEW. "Hubble has snapped a spectacular view of M66, the largest "player" of the Leo Triplet, and a galaxy with an unusual anatomy: it displays asymmetric spiral arms and an apparently displaced core. The peculiar anatomy is most likely caused by the gravitational pull of the other two members of the trio."
-NASA/ESABetter years coming... -VIDEO: Gifts from the sky: honouring 20 years of Hubble VIEW. Changing it back... -May 20, 1990: Hubble Opens Its Eye … and Blinks:Wired News
-Big View:Link. Living in space... The new "Hope and Change"... (reversal) And as an entirely confusing world emerges... A holiday is space sounds like just the ticket... (without the Herbig-Haro object! VIEW!)
-Below, a few videos; including a trip to the country... Have a lovely day...
Today's Links... -NASA 1975: Space Settlement Study Group: VIDEO.
NASA's Apollo 17 (1972) VIDEO. Describing the "ship" in the video. It is a rock, igneous in origin because he mentions 'orthositic gabbro', 'glass' and 'inclusions'... -With Clarifications!VIDEO.
-Eleventh Dimension? VIDEO. -(No wonder they can't see us... But would we want them to?)
Titan: One of Saturn's 60 moons... And the only moon in the solar system large enough to support an atmosphere. Viewed by the visual & infrared mapping spectrometer [DISR](2006). Credit: NASA/ESA/JPL/U of Arizona
Titan Descent Data Movie with Bells and Whistles- Movie:VIDEO Source:[NASA/ESA]
Movie, built with data collected during the ESA's Huygens probe on 1.14.2005; shows operation of Descent Imager/Spectral Radiometer camera during its descent & after touchdown. More. [Camera funded by NASA]
Clouds depicted orange; 40 degree -So. lat. line -RAINBOW ON TITAN:VIEW.
Funny how this little Vimeo video (below) reminded me of this planet. And then the DISR tones matched! -TONES RELATE (Math) VIDEO
-And the Next Encounter Countdown, is in 2 days! Enceladus Flyby 99 km (62 mi) -Apr 28 2010 (SCET)
I have a feeling that we might eventually choose to acclimate a planet (and/or perhaps seed) instead of exhaust resources, trying to find a perfect one... The CO2 vegetation that we might impact would help improve the atmosphere... This planet is a little chilly right now; but hey... We'll warm it up... :) I'll go with earth's greatest colonists (Great Britain) Impeach Obama! Today's Links... -VIDEO of Cassini's Virtual Tour:MUST SEE!
-Lyrid Meteor Showers: IMAGE. Today, Lyrids typically "peak" (at greatest level) around April 22nd. The Lyrid shower's name is derived from the fact that its meteors appear to fan out from a point in sky, called the shower's "radiant", which lies within the musical constellation Lyra.
Enjoy Thursday's early morning Meteor Showers... Will post more later...
Image: NASA STS-131 Mastracchio; ISS Friday Spacewalk
-Amazing look back into time: Saturn V Mission -And History..
-BIG VIEW:VIDEO.(new window) -Video compilation: Sonic Bomb -Music Credits: Vangelis ft. Stina Nordenstam - 'Ask the Mountains.'
We have to look forward, and still look back to see that with each delay comes goals set much higher; & have set humanity 30 years off schedule.
NOTE: The Space Shuttle was initially conceived of as a cargo transport to be used in concert with the Saturn V; and later unveiled plans to construct the heavy-lift Ares V rocket; a Shuttle Derived Launch Vehicle using some existing Space Shuttle and -Saturn V infrastructure...
Bring back Griffin to help define NASA Space goals, & implement them... I would suggest completing Constellation, and (unmanned/manned) alternate multi-stage expendable rocket, using upgraded Saturn V technology... NOW.
A little History... -Three Saturn Vs on Display Teach Lessons in Space History# Saturn V (1969-1985) No rocket like it has flown for more than 20 years... It was called Saturn V, and on May 14, 1973, the last of its kind lifted NASA's Skylab space station into orbit. Before that, 12 other Saturn V launch vehicles had lofted a dozen Apollo spacecraft into the heavens. Six of those missions took men to the surface of the moon. <1>
The 363-foot tall, three-stage launch vehicle produced as much power as 85 Hoover Dams. <2> Together the five F-1 engines in the Saturn V first stage produced 7.5 million pounds of thrust. The vehicle weighed more than 6 million pounds at liftoff. <3>
Saturn V would have been the prime launch vehicle for the canceled Voyager Mars probes , and was to have been the launch vehicle for the nuclear rocket stage RIFT test program and the later NERVA.
X-37 program is originally a NASA initiative, transferred to Defense. -Basic explanation of program: af.mil; and -X-37's history.
NASA's X-37B is an advanced technology flight demonstrator, a decade in the making; & will help define the future of space transportation - Testing future launch technologies in orbit and reentry environments...
Unlike the shuttle, it will be launched like a satellite, housed in a fairing atop an expendable Atlas V rocket, and deploy solar panels to provide electrical power in orbit. Read.-VIDEO: Atlas V booster!HERE.
In 2006, captive-carry & drop tests using Mojave-based Scaled Composite LLC's White Knight jet; launched SpaceShipOne on its first private suborbital manned space flight... -Image:*Burt Rutan LiveScience.
On April 19th, 2010... We'll be checking out the performance of the vehicle itself; to become a space test platform with unspecified components flown in its experiment bay. Read.
*Burt Rutan is owner of Scaled Composites Inc; & designer of SpaceshipOne’s technology; licensed by Branson's V.G. Read.
The X-37 Approach and Landing Test Vehicle (ALTV) was an experimental autonomous vehicle designed to demonstrate advanced space flight technologies...-About X-37's history.
-Interesting article on "First Flights" (EAFB) [PDF] "90 percent of your risk in a total program comes with a first flight. There is no nice in-between milestone."
The Air Force released only a general description of the mission X-37B's objectives: "testing of guidance, navigation, control, thermal protection and autonomous operation in orbit, re-entry and landing." #... But amidst basic goals, will come the team's truly cutting-edge technology for the new age of extended space travel; separating taxi, cargo, & luxury! -Robotic Streamline which detaches from 'cargo'... *<[;o)~~
Meanwhile... --Discovery Space Shuttle mission, lifts off! -Trucking cargo to space: A 6:21 a.m. Crew of seven and 10 tons of supplies and equipment bound for the ISS...read. Whew! Only 3 more stockpiling missions remain...
As Mission ISS draws completion... Time to use resources to explore, via state-of-the-art "unmanned" craft! Perfecting logistics for interplanetary travel; to forge that path toward new age 'post-earth' technology...
-Posted by D. C. Worth; for M. Barbay (France & US)
DAY FIVE of the STS-130 mission focused on the first spacewalk and robotics work to install the Tranquility node. Spacewalk completed Fri at 3:49 a.m. EST.
Image Credit: NASA TV (Mission Specialist Bob Behnken) A CLOSE-UP! Soichi on ISS
Fantastic Italian Craftsmanship on the CUPOLA... Given a hand by "Dextre" (Canada)... And View Image of Winter Olympics in Vancouver, BC; from Astro Soichi on ISS: "Let the game begin"...
More of Soichi's Artistic ISS photography:on Twitter.
VIDEO CAPTION: STS-130 mission overview animation depicting mission events from heat shield surveys, approach, rendezvous pitch maneuver, docking, tranquility installation, spacewalks, undocking and late inspection.
FIRST WALK: Spacewalkers Nicholas Patrick and Bob Behnken prepared Tranquility for its removal from Endeavour’s payload bay and installed avionics cabling once the new module was in place. Pilot Terry Virts and Mission Specialist Kay Hire operated the station’s robotic arm to install Tranquility with the cupola.
The spacewalkers also removed a tool platform from the station’s special purpose dexterous manipulator, or DEXTRE, while Tranquility was being maneuvered. Station Commander Jeff Williams and Hire began a leak check of the interface to Tranquility.
PS: Hoping America's Cup will race today. Wind was kicking up in Spain. (More later)
