134745181
submission
mknewman writes:
Around 2:45 a.m. Monday, a three-inch auxiliary cable that helped support a metal platform broke, according to a news release from the University of Central Florida. UCF manages the facility alongside Universidad Ana G. Méndez and Yang Enterprises, Inc.
When the cable broke, it created a 100-foot gash in the telescope's 1,000-foot-long reflector dish, according to UCF. It also damaged about six to eight panels along the observatory's Gregorian Dome, which is suspended over the reflector dish. The broken cable also twisted a platform used to access the Gregorian Dome, making damage assessment even more difficult.
61126219
submission
mknewman writes:
Yesterday, there was a wall of Tesla patents in the lobby of our Palo Alto headquarters. That is no longer the case. They have been removed, in the spirit of the open source movement, for the advancement of electric vehicle technology.
Tesla Motors was created to accelerate the advent of sustainable transport. If we clear a path to the creation of compelling electric vehicles, but then lay intellectual property landmines behind us to inhibit others, we are acting in a manner contrary to that goal. Tesla will not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use our technology.
59182067
submission
mknewman writes:
For years, critics have been taking shots at NASA's plans to corral a near-Earth asteroid before moving on to Mars — and now NASA's chief has a message for those critics: "Get over it, to be blunt."
57496391
submission
mknewman writes:
Additionally, Mr. Musk also introduced the mysterious MCT project, which he later revealed to be an acronym for Mars Colonial Transport. This system would be capable of transporting 100 colonists at a time to Mars, and would be fully reusable.
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com...
Article is technically dense but he does seem to follow through on his promises!
56718577
submission
mknewman writes:
ving a friendly chat with a group of Tesla owners in Norway, brand CEO Elon Musk intimated that more-powerful batteries could be on the way for the Model S. The most potent battery pack currently offered in the Model S holds 85 kWh of juice, or enough for 265 miles of driving.
Musk wasnâ(TM)t terribly specific, however: âoeThere is the potential for bigger battery packs in the future, but it would probably be maybe next year or something like that. The main focus is . . . how do we reduce the cost per kWh of storage in the battery pack?â In other words, Musk seems less concerned with stronger battery packs than making cheaper battery packs for the upcoming mid-size sedan, which is expected to be unveiled at the 2015 Detroit auto show.
âoeOur goal is to drop the cost per kWh by 30 percent to 40 percent.â And for that, Tesla would need to build more production capacity in the form of a âoegigafactory,â capable of churning out 30 gigawatt-hours annuallyâ"which Musk claims is more than the entire worldâ(TM)s lithium-ion factory production in 2012.
16946132
submission
mknewman writes:
SpaceShip 2 was successfully dropped off it's WhiteKnight 2 mothership today from an altitude of 45,000 feet and glided to a landing in the Mojave airstrip. http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/10/10/5266767-spaceshiptwo-flies-free-for-first-time
10722666
submission
mknewman writes:
Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo rocket plane took to the air for the first time this morning from California's Mojave Air and Space Port.
The craft, which has been christened the VSS Enterprise, remained firmly attached to its WhiteKnightTwo carrier airplane throughout the nearly three-hour test flight. It will take many months of further tests before SpaceShipTwo actually goes into outer space. Nevertheless, today's outing marks an important milestone along a path that could take paying passengers to the final frontier as early as 2011 or 2012.
5279167
submission
mknewman writes:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32034204/ns/technology_and_science-science/
Bats use sonar to navigate and hunt. Many have been killed by wind turbines, however, which their sonar doesn't seem to recognize as a danger. Surprisingly, radar signals could help keep bats away from wind turbines, scientists have now discovered.
Although wind power promises to be a clean source of energy, some researchers have raised concerns that wind turbines inadvertently kill bats and other flying creatures. For instance, in 2004, over the course of six weeks, roughly 1,764 and 2,900 bats were killed at two wind farms in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, respectively. The bats might not be killed by the wind turbine blades directly, but instead by the sudden drop in air pressure the swinging rotors induce, which in turn cause their lungs to over-expand and burst surrounding blood vessels.
The researchers discovered that radar helped keep bats away, reducing bat activity by 30 to 40 percent. The radar did not keep insects away, which suggests that however the radar works as a deterrent, it does so by influencing the bats directly and not just their food.
Radar signals can lead to small but rapid spikes of heat in the head that generate sound waves, which in turn stimulate the ear.
"A bat's hearing is much more sensitive than ours," Racey noted. "It may be so sensitive that even a tiny amount of sound caused by electromagnetic radiation is enough to drive them out of there."
Future research can design a radar system optimized at deterring bats.
So how does radar keep bats away? The researchers explained that a great deal of research suggests that people can actually hear radar pulses.
"This was noticed when radar arrays first started up during World War II," Racey said. "A portion of radar operators said they heard clicks in their ears when they were switched on."
3867871
submission
mknewman writes:
NASA's online contest to name a new room at the international space station went awry. Comedian Stephen Colbert won.
The name "Colbert" beat out NASA's four suggested options in the space agency's effort to have the public help name the addition. The new room will be launched later this year.
NASA's mistake was allowing write-ins. Colbert urged viewers of his Comedy Central show, "The Colbert Report" to write in his name. And they complied, with 230,539 votes. That clobbered Serenity, one of the NASA choices, by more than 40,000 votes. Nearly 1.2 million votes were cast by the time the contest ended Friday.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29841715/
3136091
submission
mknewman writes:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28773091/
MOSCOW — Russia's space chief says there won't be any more tourists headed to the international space station after this year.
Anatoly Perminov told the government newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta that there will be no room for paying tourists because the space station's crew is expanding from three members to six.
1217005
submission
mknewman writes:
The Hubble Space Telescope has stopped sending science data, forcing NASA to regroup and possibly delay the space shuttle mission planned in just two weeks to upgrade the telescope.
NASA is reviewing whether the mission should be delayed a couple of months so that plans can be made to send up a replacement part for the failed component, said NASA spokesman Michael Curie.
Curie stressed that the telescope is not in trouble; it's just that it cannot send science information to ground controllers. That means NASA is unable to receive the dramatic pictures Hubble is known for.
829141
submission
mknewman writes:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5949605.html
The Houston Chronicle is reporting a change in Obama's stance on NASA, saying his position on space exploration continued to evolve Sunday as the Illinois Democrat endorsed a congressional plan to add $2 billion to NASA's budget and agreed to back at least one more space shuttle mission.
822517
submission
mknewman writes:
http://www.chron.com/commons/readerblogs/cosmosphere.html?plckController=Blog&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3A4b3304c4-0e93-4f03-a9bd-acc2d4d503e1Post%3Aaa58c207-8e8d-4aa1-a98f-7b6003fe0c85&plckCommentSortOrder=TimeStampAscending
Sen. Bill Nelson, one of NASA's biggest proponents on the Hill, is openly questioning how Russia's military intervention in Georgia will affect our access to the space station after the Shuttle is retired in 2010. Currently, NASA is able to use Soyuz vehicles for crew access and lifeboat operations thanks to an exemption from the Iran Non-Proliferation Act. The exemption expires in 2011, only one year after the Shuttle is due to head to the museums.
51062
submission
mknewman writes:
NASA has decided to pursue a base on the Moon. The space agency rolled out today a strategy and rationale for robotic and human exploration of the Moon — determining that a lunar outpost is the best approach to achieve a sustained, human presence on the Moon.
The base would be built in incremental steps, starting with four-person crews making several seven-day visits. The first mission would begin by 2020, with the base growing over time, beefed up with more power, mobility rovers and living quarters.
The Moon base would eventually support 180-day lunar stays, a stretch of time seen as the best avenue to establish a permanent presence there, as well as prepare for future human exploration of Mars.
http://space.com/news/061204_nasa_moon.html
38968
submission
mknewman writes:
Space.com is reporting that NASA is set to roll out next month a U.S. national strategy for lunar exploration, one that outlines both robotic exploration needs and the rationale for sending humans back to the Moon. This has been sorely missing in Bush's Vision for Space Exploration.
http://space.com/businesstechnology/061115_techwed _moonplans.html
