7 OF THE BIGGEST THINGS WE'VE SENT TO SPACE - We've blasted rockets weighing over 6 million pounds into space. And we've set up stations the size of a football field for permanent orbit around Earth. While shuttling human beings to and from orbit is certainly impressive, some of the largest items flowing into space stay up there for extended periods of time. Here are seven of the largest objects human beings have ever put into orbit.   More
(Source: Popular Mechanics - Feb 15)

NASA'S TDRS-M SPACE COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE BEGINS FINAL TESTING - The Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) project has begun final testing on a new satellite that will replenish NASA's Space Network. The spacecraft is scheduled to launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Aug. 3, 2017, on an Atlas V rocket. The addition of TDRS-M to the fleet will provide the Space Network (SN) the ability to support space communication for an additional 15 years.    More
(Source: Phys.org - Feb 14)

HAM RADIO CLUB CALLING MEMBERS AROUND THE WORLD, EVEN OUTER SPACE - It was Saturday morning, but Johnny Borich of Bluefield and his son Jaiden were cramming for a test; if they passed, they would join the ranks of ham radio operators speaking to others across the world and even in outer space. Members of the East River Amateur Radio Club gathered Saturday for breakfast at the Valley Country Restaurant on Blue Prince Road. The club meets there every Saturday morning, but they were moving a little faster than usual that day. Some new members had to be at the Mercer County 911 center by 9 a.m. to take a licensing test. Johnny and Jaiden Borich were doing some last-minute studying.   More
(Source: Bluefield Daily Telegraph - Feb 14)

PHOTOGRAPHER EXPLAINS HOW HE CAPTURED RARE SPACE STATION MOON PHOTO - Last week, you probably heard a lot about the full 'snow moon,' the lunar eclipse, and even the faint green comet passing close to Earth. But the most stunning photo of the week involved none of those things. Florida photographer James Boone captured a series of photos Thursday night showing the International Space Station passing in front of the bright nearly-full moon, which is known as a lunar transit. It's an incredibly difficult feat to achieve -- many photographers plan and practice for years to be ready for such an occasion. That was indeed the case for James, who's a regular contributor of stunning weather photos to FOX 13 (see his other photos above or click over to his website). We asked him to elaborate a little on how he managed to get the shot, and if he had any advice for other astrophotographers out there.   More
(Source: FOX 13 News, Tampa Bay - Feb 14)

WHAT IT TAKES FOR THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION TO STREAM VIDEO TO THE INTERNET - The International Space Station uses two different types of communication links to get signals to the ground via the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS). Critical vehicle telemetry and audio is sent using S-Band. Non-critical data and video is sent via Ku-Band. That Ku-Band return link is up to 300 Mbps. That's about six times faster than my Internet access. That return link, however, has to spread its bandwidth across multiple customers. Within that 300 Mbps is additional vehicle data, all of the payload data, the six selected camera views, and a portion is allocated to the onboard LAN. Within that is “Internet” traffic.   More
(Source: Forbes - Feb 14)

FIRE RETURNS TO FLAME TRENCH AT APOLLO-ERA LAUNCH PAD IN FLORIDA - Nine Merlin engines ignited and throttled up to nearly 2 million pounds of thrust Sunday during a brief hold-down firing of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, sending a plume of smoke out of the flame trench at Kennedy Space Center’s historic launch pad 39A as the company preps for a space station cargo mission next weekend. The Merlin 1D engines on the rocket’s first stage were programmed to fire for about three-and-a-half seconds, reaching full power with around 1.7 million pounds of thrust as the Falcon 9 booster remained affixed to the seaside launch complex.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 13)

CHINA TO LAUNCH NIGHT LIGHT OBSERVING SATELLITE - China is set to launch its first remote-sensing satellite capable of detecting large lighted structures on the ground at night. The Luojia-1A, a 10-kilogramme mini satellite, is being developed by scientists at Wuhan University in Hubei province and will carry a highly sensitive night light camera with a 100-meter ground image resolution, Li Deren, chief scientist of the project was quoted as saying by state-run China News Service.   More
(Source: Deccan Chronicle - Feb 12)

FIRST SPACEX FALCON 9 ERECTED AT HISTORIC LAUNCH PAD 39A FOR FEB. 18 BLASTOFF - The first SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket ever to grace historic launch pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida was erected this afternoon, Friday, Feb. 10, to prepare the booster for a critical static fire sometime Saturday, and a launch to the space station next weekend – if all goes well. This marks the first time any rocket has stood on pad 39A since the retirement of NASA’s Space Shuttles in July 2011. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 is slated for no earlier than next Saturday, 18 Feb 2017 on a critical cargo flight for NASA to deliver over two and a half tons of science and supplies to the six person crew living and working on the International Space Station (ISS).   More
(Source: Universe Today - Feb 12)

DO WE NEED TO ESTABLISH A POLICE FORCE IN SPACE? - On January 27, 1967, the United States, United Kingdom and then-Soviet Union, signed the Outer Space Treaty. The short, 17-article document serves as a “constitution” for the worlds beyond Earth’s atmosphere. It was ratified October 10 of the same year, which places us in the midst of a yearlong 50th anniversary celebration. To date, 105 countries have since signed it. The treaty boasts a half-century of success, but with countries expanding and intensifying their exploration missions, private companies commercializing space travel, and an increasingly hostile international political environment, can humanity be trusted to continue a peaceful co-existence in outer space?   More
(Source: New York Post - Feb 11)

Previous Next