Biologists tell us complex eyeballs first appeared in the Cambrian era, more than 500 million years ago, as the evolutionary value of making sense of the light waves bouncing around in the atmosphere began to manifest in the relatively primitive creatures alive then. Over time, experts say, the eye has evolved as many as 100 different times, demonstrating the persistent importance of sight as a tool for survival.
As the hard-won progress in hypersonic propulsion technology can attest, the road to sustained air-breathing engines that can operate above Mach 5 is littered with five decades worth of failed tests, some more dramatic than others.
Hundreds of applications for aircraft operations and repair stations are held up, stymied by the FAA's inefficient certification processes, a government watchdog finds. FAA is juggling 1,029 such applications, Jeffrey Guzzetti of the Transportation Department's Inspector General's office, recently told Congress. The situation is so bad, one applicant has been in limbo since August 2006. And it is about to get worse, as requests from NextGen technologies and unmanned aircraft flow into the system.
NEW DELHI — India’s space agency on Oct. 31 carried out a launch simulation for its first Mars orbiter to validate the mission’s flight readiness before its scheduled liftoff next week, a senior space scientist says. The 8 1/2-hr. simulation, which was conducted at the first launch pad in Sriharikota in south India, included satellite battery checkup, withdrawal of the mobile service tower and testing of electrical systems, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Chairman K. Radhakrishnan says.
NASA’s Kepler extrasolar-planet finder has discovered its first Earth-sized planet orbiting a distant star, but don’t crank up the interstellar spacecraft yet. While its composition is rocky like Earth’s, its 8.5-hr. orbit means it is far too warm to lie in the “Goldilocks zone.” That is the name scientists give to the habitable zone around stars, where the temperature is “just right” to sustain water in its liquid state, and perhaps life that would need liquid water to survive.
Hoping to gain entry into a potential U.S. market for non-toxic “green” satellite thrusters, the Swedish National Space Board will permit NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center to ground test environmentally friendly propulsion technology already flight tested on a European spacecraft.
Ukraine, eager to push the commercialization of its Soviet-heritage space industry, will begin bilateral talks with NASA on possible cooperation in civil space exploration, including lightweight radiation shielding and a possible liquid-fuel upper stage for Orbital Sciences Corp.’s Antares launch vehicle.
HOUSTON — The Association of Space Explorers (ASE), a nonprofit that represents experienced space travelers from 35 countries, is urging the international community to launch an asteroid deflection demonstration mission through the United Nations within a decade. The group is also recommending steps to deal with the threat posed by small, undetected — but still destructive — near-Earth objects (NEOs).
The Sirius FM-6 satellite is performing post-launch orbit-raising maneuvers as planned following its Oct. 26 launch aboard a Proton M Breeze M from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. On Oct. 27, the satellite, built by Space Systems/Loral (SSL) for Sirius XM radio, began the first of several thruster firings to propel itself from geostationary transfer orbit to its final geostationary orbit at 116.15 deg. W. Long.
HOUSTON — After departing the International Space Station (ISS) early Oct. 28, the European Space Agency’s ATV-4 has embarked on five days of solo flight to set up an atmospheric re-entry that will be documented by station astronauts. The European space freighter, christened Albert Einstein, undocked from the station’s Russian segment Zvezda module at 4:55 a.m. EDT, ending a 4 1/2-month stay.
Julie Robinson, who oversees U.S.-side science on the International Space Station (ISS), names a one-time dark horse as her No. 1 research result to date from the orbiting laboratory. Medical researchers started running experiments in space more than a decade ago to see if working in microgravity would make it possible to encapsulate cancer drugs in tiny bubbles that could be targeted on specific tumors in the body. It turns out that it was, as the crew of ISS Expedition 5 discovered in 2002.
The Center for New American Security (CNAS) recently released a report entitled “Game Changers: Disruptive Technology and U.S. Defense Strategy.” That study considered additive manufacturing (3-D printers), autonomous vehicles, directed energy, cyber capabilities, human performance modification and other emerging technologies that the center believes need to be factored into U.S. security policy and planning.
PARIS — The potentially faulty component that caused the launch of Europe’s €940 million ($1.25 billion) Gaia star-mapper to be postponed will also need to be replaced on the BepiColombo Mercury probe ahead of a planned 2015 launch, the European Space Agency (ESA) says.
HOUSTON — Human space travelers may have more than rising intraocular pressures to be concerned about when it comes to their eyesight, according to a NASA-funded study of mice that revealed profound changes in eye structure and gene expression after just 13 days in space.
Startup World View Enterprises Inc. envisions a commercial high-altitude balloon experience for luxury-minded passengers and scientific researchers that will strive to deliver many of the prolonged experiences of spaceflight without the confinement, cost, risks or health limitations associated with rocket launches.
PARIS — The European Space Agency (ESA) has postponed the launch of its €940 million ($1.25 billion) Gaia star-mapping mission by at least one month after the spacecraft’s manufacturer identified a technical problem with a component flying on another satellite already in orbit, the agency said Oct. 23. “Gaia shares some of the components involved in this technical issue and prompt notification of this problem has allowed engineers working on the final preparations for Gaia’s launch to take additional precautionary measures,” ESA said.
NEW DELHI — The launch of India’s first Mars orbiter, which was postponed due to inclement weather in the Pacific, has been rescheduled for Nov. 5. The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) will be boosted by a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), which was also used for the Chandrayaan-1 Moon mission, on Nov. 5 at 2:36 p.m. local time from the Sriharikota spaceport in south India, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Chairman K. Radhakrishnan says.
HOUSTON — Orbital Sciences Corp.’s Cygnus demonstration resupply capsule departed the International Space Station (ISS) early Oct. 22, concluding a 24-day stay that brings the Dulles, Va.-based company’s participation in NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Systems (COTS) program close to its conclusion. Orbital plans to begin regular cargo deliveries to the ISS in December under the terms of a $1.9 billion, eight-flight Commercial Resupply Services contract signed with NASA’s space station program in late 2008.
