Space Geeks!

NASA Developing Nuclear Reactor For Moon and Mars

admin — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 03:20:25 +0000

Al writes "NASA recently finished testing a miniature nuclear reactor that would provide power for an astronaut base on the Moon or Mars. The reactor combines a small fission system with a Stirling engine to make a ’safe, reliable, and efficient’ way to produce electricity. The system being tested at NASA’s Glenn Research Center can produce 2.3 kilowatts and could be ready for launch by 2020, NASA officials say. The reactor ought to provide much more power than solar panels but could prove controversial with the public concerned about launching a nuclear power source and placing it on the Moon or another planet."
via Slashdot

NASA’s Cashflow Problem Puts Moon Trip In Doubt

admin — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 03:20:25 +0000

krou writes "According to the Guardian, the Augustine panel is going to declare that there is simply no money to go back to the moon, and the next-generation Ares I rocket is likely to be scrapped unless there is more funding. The $81B Constellation Program’s long-term goal of putting a human on Mars is almost certainly not going to be possible by the middle of the century. The options outlined by the panel for the future of NASA ‘are to extend the working life of the aging space shuttle fleet beyond next year’s scheduled retirement until 2015, while developing a cheaper transport to the moon; pressing ahead with Constellation as quickly as existing funding allows; or creating a new, larger rocket that would allow exploration of the solar system while bypassing the moon.’ All of this means that NASA won’t be back on the moon before the end of the next decade as hoped, ‘or even leaving lower Earth orbit for at least another two decades.’ Another result of the monetary black hole is that they don’t have the ‘$300m to expand a network of telescopes and meet the government’s target of identifying, by 2020, at least 90% of the giant space rocks that pose a threat to Earth.’"
via Slashdot

NASA Launches New Technology: An Inflatable Heat Shield

admin — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 03:20:24 +0000

A successful NASA flight test Monday demonstrated how a spacecraft returning to Earth can use an inflatable heat shield to slow and protect itself as it enters the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds.
NASA Breaking News

NASA Sets Briefing about Shuttle Discovery’s Readiness to Launch

admin — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 03:20:24 +0000

NASA managers will hold a news conference on Tuesday, Aug. 18, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to discuss the status of the next space shuttle launch.
NASA Breaking News

NASA Completes Assembly of Ares I-X Test Rocket

admin — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 03:20:24 +0000

For the first time in more than a quarter-century a new space vehicle stands ready in NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Vehicle Assembly Building.
NASA Breaking News

NASA and ATK Set New Date for Full-Scale Ares I Motor Test

admin — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 03:20:24 +0000

NASA and Alliant Techsystems Inc., or ATK, will conduct the first full-scale, full-duration test of the new first-stage solid rocket motor for the Ares I rocket at 1 p.m. MDT, on Thursday, Aug. 27
NASA Breaking News

‘Big Wave’ Theory Offers Alternative to Dark Energy

admin — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 03:20:22 +0000

Mathematicians have proposed an alternative explanation for the accelerating expansion of the universe that does not rely on the mystifying idea of dark energy.
From Space.com

New Video – NASA’s Vision: How to Live Off-World

admin — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 03:20:22 +0000

NASA explains what we learn about the human body and exploration by conducting missions to the ISS. Credit: NASA
From Space.com

What’s the Biggest Known Planet?

admin — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 03:20:21 +0000

Pluto debate aside, scientists have found similar confusion regarding planetary definitions at the big end of the scale.
From Space.com

Comparing Craters on Earth and the Moon

admin — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 03:20:16 +0000

Learn why the moon is so pockmarked compared to the Earth.
From Space.com