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Friday, 9 May 2008
Space Law!
Per Space.com:A student at the University of Mississippi will leap into the final frontier of the legal system Saturday when he receives the first-ever space law certificate in the United States.
Michael Dodge of Long Beach, Calif., earned the special distinction along with his law degree through the National Center for Remote Sensing, Air and Space Law at the university's law school.
"The professors and personnel here are the highest quality that can be found anywhere in the world, and I have learned from them the necessary skills I will need to effectively practice space law," Dodge said in a statement. "Ole Miss is, simply put, the space law expert, and anyone wishing practice in this field should get their legal education here."
Used tags: mississippi, ole_miss, space
End Of The Beginning
Per NASA:STENNIS, Miss. -- NASA engineers Thursday successfully completed the first series of tests in the early development of the J-2X engine that will power the upper stages of the Ares I and Ares V rockets, key components of NASA's Constellation Program. Ares I will launch the Orion spacecraft that will take astronauts to the International Space Station and then to the moon by 2020. The Ares V will carry cargo and components into orbit for trips to the moon and later to Mars.
NASA conducted nine tests of heritage J-2 engine components from December to May as part of a series designed to verify heritage J-2 performance data and explore performance boundaries. Engineers at NASA's Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Miss., conducted the tests on a heritage J-2 "powerpack," which, in a fully assembled engine, pumps liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the engine's main combustion chamber to produce thrust. The test hardware consisted of J-2 components used from the Apollo program in the1960s through the X-33 program of the 1990s.
...
The main objectives of the series were to resolve differences in heritage turbopump performance data and recent component-level tests, and investigate vibration and pressure drops through the turbopump inlet ducts. Tests in the series ran for durations up to 400 seconds and at power levels up to 274,000 pounds of thrust.
After the data from the test series has been reviewed and objectives met, Stennis will begin readying the test stand for the next series of tests, said Gary Benton, the J-2X project manager at Stennis.
Used tags: ares, constellation, history, huntsville, mississippi, nasa, space
Thursday, 8 May 2008
One Of The Wonders
Per The Huntsville Times:The Apollo Saturn V moon rocket, born and raised in Huntsville, Alabama, to lift men on their journeys to the moon nearly 40 years ago, is about to be named one of the "7 Wonders of America" by ABC-TV's "Good Morning America."
The honor is especially noteworthy in that the Saturn V may be one of the few man-made objects to make the list, said Larry Capps, CEO of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, home to one of the three remaining.
...
ABC's Huntsville affiliate, WAAY-TV, said Wednesday that "Good Morning America" will broadcast live segments Monday from the Davidson Center for Space Exploration.
Very cool, and, on a personal note, may be mildly cooler for me, but we'll see.
Used tags: apollo, history, huntsville, nasa, outward_odyssey, saturn, skylab, space, ussrc
The Inner Light
It's Thursday, so it's time for the week's new Hatbag strip. Go check it out.For those ATW readers who don't follow the weekly Hatbag link, a brief explanation -- Hatbag is a weekly webcomic Lain and I create; following two old college buddies as they adjust to sort-of grown-up life. If you read ATW, take a few extra seconds to go read Hatbag. Please? Please?
Used tags: comics, funny, hatbag
Tuesday, 6 May 2008
Send Your Name to Space Again
OK, here's yet another opportunity to send your name into space. After last week's LRO opportunity, NASA has announced an opportunity to have your name included on a DVD on the Kepler mission, which involves a space telescope that will be launched in February 2009 to look for Earth-like planets in other stellar systems.
Used tags: astronomy, nasa, planets, space
Monday, 5 May 2008
STS-124 Update
Per NASA:Space shuttle Discovery made the long, slow trek out to Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The 3.4-mile trek is one of the last major milestones leading up to the launch of Discovery on the STS-124 mission. Launch is targeted for May 31.
Carried by the slow-moving crawler-transporter, the shuttle assembly and mobile launcher platform began rolling out of the Vehicle Assembly Building at 11:47 p.m. EDT Friday night and was secured at the pad at 6:06 a.m. on Saturday.
The canister carrying the STS-124 payloads arrived at the launch pad April 29. Primary payloads are the tour-bus-sized Japanese Experiment Module-Pressurized Module and the lab's robotic arm system. The components will soon be installed in the orbiter's payload bay.
Used tags: international_space_station, launch_schedule, nasa, space, space_shuttle, sts_124
Sunday, 4 May 2008
Free Cover Sunday
It's been about a year since the last installment of Free Cover Sunday, but I came across another one I have to share. Lori McKenna is probably my favorite artist right now, and, while, to be honest, her cover of "Hurt" is neither her best work nor the best version of the song, it's still well worth the nothing you're about to pay to download it.And, in case you missed any, here are all the Free Cover Sunday songs so far:
- Phil Collin's "One More Night," as performed by Nina Gordon
Elvis Costello's "Veronica," as performed by Sarah Masen- Britney Spears' "Toxic," as performed by Nickel Creek, and "Oops I Did It Again," as performed by "Louis Armstrong"
- U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday," as performed by George W. Bush (via rx)
- The Black Eyed Peas' "My Humps," as performed by Alanis Morissette
- Sir Mix-A-Lot's "Baby Got Back," as performed by Jonathan Coulton
Used tags: free_cover_sunday, music
Friday, 2 May 2008
A Little Too Ironic
Yeah, OK, we're a day late with this week's new Hatbag strip. But at least we're throwing in a bonus strip as, well, a bonus. Go check it out.For those ATW readers who don't follow the weekly Hatbag link, a brief explanation -- Hatbag is a weekly webcomic Lain and I create; following two old college buddies as they adjust to sort-of grown-up life. If you read ATW, take a few extra seconds to go read Hatbag. Please? Please?
Used tags: comics, funny, hatbag, movies
Send Your Name To The Moon
Per NASA:NASA invites people of all ages to join the lunar exploration journey with an opportunity to send their names to the moon aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, spacecraft.
The Send Your Name to the Moon Web site enables everyone to participate in the lunar adventure and place their names in orbit around the moon for years to come. Participants can submit their information at http://lro.jhuapl.edu/NameToMoon/, print a certificate and have their name entered into a database. The database will be placed on a microchip that will be integrated onto the spacecraft. The deadline for submitting names is June 27, 2008.
Thursday, 24 April 2008
Thumb And Thumber
This week's new Hatbag strip is now online. Go check it out.For those ATW readers who don't follow the weekly Hatbag link, a brief explanation -- Hatbag is a weekly webcomic Lain and I create; following two old college buddies as they adjust to sort-of grown-up life. If you read ATW, take a few extra seconds to go read Hatbag. Please? Please?
Used tags: comics, funny, hatbag
Thursday, 17 April 2008
Write Back To Square One
This week's new Hatbag strip is now online. Go check it out.For those ATW readers who don't follow the weekly Hatbag link, a brief explanation -- Hatbag is a weekly webcomic Lain and I create; following two old college buddies as they adjust to sort-of grown-up life. If you read ATW, take a few extra seconds to go read Hatbag. Please? Please?
Used tags: books, comics, funny, hatbag, writing
Wednesday, 16 April 2008
Weightloss Record
I have huge respect for astronaut Mike Foale, so, for that reason, I'm a bit sorry to see his U.S. record for total cumulative time in space, at 374 days, fall.But since we're going to have to start pushing our duration limits if we're ever going to go anyway, I'm happy to see Peggy Whitson beat Mike's record. (And Peggy also has a special place in my heart, being the only American in space the day I started working for NASA.)
Used tags: international_space_station, nasa, space
"Wish You Were Here"
Per collectSPACE:The view of Earth from space has been captivating astronauts and cosmonauts since Yuri Gagarin exclaimed "I see Earth! It is so beautiful!" on his trailblazing flight in 1961. Since then millions of photographs have been sent back from orbit, capturing the magnificence of our home planet.
Now, for the first time in history, it can be your turn to focus the camera back at Earth.
In October 2008, Richard Garriott, son of U.S. astronaut Owen Garriott, will launch to the International Space Station on a week-long mission to conduct science experiments developed in partnership with his father and to test new Earth observation software that can help identify and take photos of targets as they enter and pass through the field of view of Earth-facing windows.
In collaboration with collectSPACE, the leading online resource for space history enthusiasts, and to benefit the Association of Space Explorers, a non-profit organization of over 300 flown astronauts and cosmonauts from 32 nations, Richard invites you to pick your place on Earth to photograph from space to present to you.
Used tags: altspace, garriott, international_space_station, roskosmos, skylab, soyuz, space
Tuesday, 15 April 2008
Pick Of The Week
OK, despite the fact that I rarely go to Starbucks, and that it would be cheaper to just buy the songs outright, I find the new Starbucks-Apple "Pick Of The Week" "free" song program kind of cool.
Used tags: apple, itunes, music
Friday, 11 April 2008
Expedition 17 On Station
Since I've been lax on blogging lately, I haven't mentioned that there's now a new crew aboard the International Space Station (commanded by the first second-generation cosmonaut).
Used tags: history, international_space_station, nasa, roskosmos, soyuz, space
Thursday, 10 April 2008
The State of Education
Teacher uses Star Wars in class. (Read Entry)
Battlestar Space Nine
Cool Mash-Up Video (Read Entry)
Sethlighting
The week's Hatbag strip is now online. (Read Entry)Sunday, 6 April 2008
Homesteading Space
Our book is not listed on Amazon. (Read Entry)Friday, 4 April 2008
Pride (In The Name Of Love)
"Early morning, April 4 ..." (Read Entry)Thursday, 3 April 2008
ATV Docks With ISS
Jules Verne successfully delivers cargo to station. (Read Entry)