SSETI Express: Mission Failure?

Come in SSETI Express...come in, over....
Just when everything was coming together, ground controllers have been unable to reach SSETI Express since its launch last week. Engineers suspect a power system problem and will attempt a fix, with results revealed later this week.
An ESA press release states the problem seems to be with the batteries not taking a charge, causing the satellite to shut down.
There were some mission successes: Amateur Radio Operators successfully downloaded a significant amount of housekeeping data, and all three CubeSats launched properly and are operating within assigned parameters.
Let's call it three steps forward, one step back. That's still a better record than most Space programs.

India Joins Elite Five Nations; Builds Cryogenic Engine

Running a successful business ain't rocket science; Understanding the importance of having the capability to build your own parts is just common sense in India.
Hence their development of the nation's first indigenous cryogenic upper stage engine. This makes them the sixth nation, after the US, Russia, France China and Japan, able to build cryogenic engines on their own. It also means they are no longer required to purchase such engines from the Russians, creating new jobs, new industry and new potential for the future of their people.
Cheers to the Indian Space Research Organisation! Keep up the good work...

Asteroid 99942 Apophis To Impact Earth? Maybe Not, NASA Says

It's not every day astronomers identify an asteroid on a near-collision course with Earth. Maybe once a week, but certainly not every day...
The folks at The B612 Foundation have some very real concerns about the potential for what they call an "unacceptable collision" sometime this century. Trouble is, unlike say a 100-year flood when thousands of people lose their homes, an "unacceptable collision" would destroy thousands of miles of coastal areas, possibly destroy a continent or even set our species' evolution back a few hundred thousand years--yep, makes us cavemen again.
NASA (at the urging of Congress) has been relying on the Spaceguard detection program for early detection and tracking of near-Earth objects since 1998.
Of course Spaceguard is only tracking 90 percent of NEAs 1km or larger in diameter.
Anything else is ignored.
Noticing a gaping hole in Space coverage, The B612 Foundation is filling the niche quite nicely.
Thank goodness.

Seven Asian-Pacific Nations Form Space Organization: APSCO

Anyone interested in achieving Space Technology prowess should take note: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Iran, Indonesia, Mongolia, Peru, Thailand and China have officially joined forces to create the Asian-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (Apsco.)
Pakistan, China and Thailand have pursued the creation of Apsco since 1992. China has lead the way in the formation of a manned Space program but many other nations, including Iran, Pakistan and Thailand are vigorously pursuing advanced satellite technology on their own.
It remains to be seen if Apsco will create a surge in Space Tech development for its member countries, but at the very least, it should make everyone else in the world pause a moment and take serious stock of the situation.
When the ink dries on the charter Apsco will set up shop at Beijing.

Japanese Investor and "Gundam otaku" Next Space Tourist

Daisuke Enomoto, a Japanese investor and former board director of the Livedoor Internet firm headed by Takafumi Horie, is the latest tourist to cough up $20 million for a week-long stay at the International Space Station.
He might be the fourth paid tourist to visit ISS, but if he has his way he will be the first one to go dressed as "Char Aznable" of Gundam fame.
The Russians have yet to approve his wearing of a phony uniform, but it's likely they will. After all, people may scoff and newscasters will likely have a field day, but there's really no such thing as bad publicity.
Especially when it comes to Space.

Next Generation Technology: "Space Tug" Built for Hardware That's Not Disposable

The CX-OLEV or "Space Tug" built by Orbital Recovery has received its first contract to service an in-orbit telecommunications satellite. This marks a milestone in satellite technology: it's finally cheaper to re-fuel the old one than throw it away and build a new one.
With the exception of the mildly successful Shuttle Transport System (Shuttle) operated by NASA, and a couple multi-use components of the Soyuz program, most Space hardware is disposable. Not intended for re-fueling or re-using in any way.
More than one scientist has publicly lamented this "disposable" type of Space program, arguing non-renewable means non-sustainable.
With the "Space Tug", however, a company can extend the life of a satellite by up to eight years, through autonomous navigation and flight control. It remotely attaches to the craft and takes over all control flight functions, then is turned over to the operator of the satellite for regular control.
Of course it's a European Space Agency program. They seem to be mastering the art of recycling in all facets of modern society.

Mars Ready For Its Close-Up

For only the second time in 60,000 years (or since 2003--depending on who you ask)Mars will be coming within 43 million miles of Earth. Plus, since it will be slightly higher above the eastern horizon, more people will get a glimpse. Look for a bright yellow "star" rising above in the eastern sky just after dark.
Try not to miss it but don't worry if you do. We'll all get another close-up in 2018. Or so they say...

Mars Needs Weather-Man

Canadian Space Agency has written a check to MDA Space Missions to build a permanent extraterrestrial weather station which will be launched aboard NASA's Phoenix Lander Mission to Mars in 2007.
The mission is the first exploration of the planet's arctic region, where annual spring thaws create a moisture rich environment, which scientists believe is at least partially responsible for the formation of thick ice clouds in the lower atmosphere.
The probe will also perform tests for the existence of mircrobial life, the ability of the soil to sustain life and the existence of several other life-sustaining forces on the surface.

Titan Mysteries Slowly--Very Slowly--Revealed

Titan has an atmosphere, unlike any other moon in our Solar System. It's atmospheric pressure is only one-and-a-half times as great as it is on Earth, but the hydrocarbon and carcinogenic orange-colored haze is thick as pea soup. Scientists believe they have even found a cloud covered, methane-filled lake.
Understanding why this happened there and no place else, is helping us better understand how the Solar System itself was formed. Analyzing all the data received so far from Huygens and Cassini will take years, and there's more data coming.
And in the meantime, mysterious convective cloud bands, liquid natural-gas rainfall and ice-volcanoes, are giving us all something to say "wow" about.

Liquid Metal: For Robots and racquets

They call it Liquid Metal, and engineers everywhere can't wait to get their grubby little hands on it. And I can't blame them. The synthetic blend of metals is twice as strong as titanium and hardens at room temperature; it possesses all the strength of steel and the flexibility of plastic.
NASA engineers are using the stuff in an Electrostatic Levitator to test the materials in a contamination-free environment--no contact with a container.
Liquid Metal is just one of a whole host of new materials spewing out of labs all around the globe. A new metallic laminate may soon serve as a replacement for armor, given its higher strength and much lower density than steel.
Most applications for these new materials are mundane; everything from racquets to baseball bats to water skis.
Of course in my opinion, it's only a matter of time until its being used as Spaceship skin....aerospace applications are being devised even as you read these words...

Russia To Build New Space Transport System

Energia administrators announced plans for a new Moon mission launch site, practice on long-term interplanetary flight missions and the development of a new "space transport system."

I don't really have anything to add to this story. Just my utter astonishment at how quickly some countries have not only grasped the importance of the advancement of Space Technology to their bottom line, but also managed to implement changes in their administration of that technology.
It seems to me NASA should have a reliable Space Transport System by now....or at least something close to one.

Iran Joins the Space Race; Launches First Satellite

Iran has officially joined the Space Race.
Iranian officials claim the country's first satellite will be used strictly for telecommunciations; they plan to launch five more satellites, three in the next three years.
It is the 18th largest country, with almost 70 million people living on about 1 million square miles of land. Maybe they do need five telecommunications satellites.
Given the recent political battles over its nuclear future, I can't help but wonder if they view the ability to launch Spaceships as a matter of national security or simply as the next logical step toward the future.
After all, scholars claim astronomy is the national pastime in Iran so it only makes sense.

S.S.E.T.I. Express: Launch Successful!

S.S.E.T.I. Express is currently happily transmitting signals from its place in low-Earth-orbit. It was launched without incident Thursday morning from Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia, and university students from a dozen different European countries are probably still rejoicing--between e-mails and data crunching, that is.
Among the experiments currently taking place: testing a cold-gas attitude control system, and a networked ground control system using amateur radio operators. More than 400 students contributed directly to the project and hundreds more have been involved with or motivated by the project in other ways.
Congratulations S.S.E.T.I. Express!

Greatest Threat To US Homeland Security: Lack of Engineering Students

It's no wonder the US House of Representatives is getting involved, aerospace engineering degrees for US students have become almost as scarce as the carrier pigeon. If this latest legislation passes, 11 US executive branches including NASA and the departments of Defense and Homeland Security, will be required to develop a task force which would find new aerospace workforce opportunities through scholarship and advanced training programs and in partnership with public and private organizations. Each year the taskforce would come before Congress and report on its progress.
The goal is to increase the talent pool in the US workforce when it comes to math, science, engineering and technology.
That's a great start! Now, if they could just guarantee those jobs will stick around...

Rocket-Fuel Producing Bacteria All the Rage in England

I think it's only a matter of time until just about every chemical we need can be manufactured from excretions of some waste-eating bacteria.
Consider Brocadia anammoxidans, first discovered in a yeast plant in the late 1990s; it consumes ammonia, converting it to nitrogen gas, producing hydrazine (rocket fuel) in a process known as an anammox reaction. It's great for sewage treatment plants where ammonia waste is common and for handling industrial effluent, also high in ammonia.
Treatments utilizing the tiny ammonia-eating critters are already working effectively in England and scientists hope the new process, which they say consumes less fuel and is better for the environment, will become popular world-wide.

SpaceDev Merges With StarSys: Investors Cheer!

The merger of SpaceDev with Starsys through an agreed upon buyout with cash and stock worth about $9 million, looks like a win/win all around, but you never know until all the chips have fallen.
Historically, both companies have performed very strong, with a long list of successful products and excellent reputations for performance within the Space Tech Industry between them. It remains to be seen how this acquisition will effect SpaceDev, although given Starsys' earning record (almost three times as high as SpaceDev for the same period) I think it will be positive.

S.S.E.T.I. Express Launch Imminent!

Student Space Exploration and Technology Initiative (S.S.E.T.I.) members are waiting on pins and needles for the launch of S.S.E.T.I. Express which is expected at virtually any moment. (Watch it live, here.)
In cooperation with the European Space Agency, students from 12 European countries have joined forces to launch probes which will test the effectiveness of using a network of Amateur Radio Operators as a makeshift "mission control." If it works it will revolutionize the micro-satellite industry and they will move on to launching more complex Spacecraft.
S.S.E.T.I.'s larger goal, however, is to create a technologically advanced training program to develop the workforce of the 21st Century. If that works, it will revolutionize the future...At least for Europeans.

Pyrococcus Furiosus Makes Its Genetic Contribution

Pyrococcus Furiosus or P. As it likes to be known by its friends, it being used to develop Space-tolerant plants.
For those of you who don't know, P. Is a little microbe that likes to live where it's really hot--like in a volcanic vent at the bottom of the ocean, or where it's really cold, like a glacier. Just one creature in the class of organisms scientists call extremophiles, because of their ability to survive in extreme environments.
Researchers at North Carolina State University, in their never-ending quest to find uses for tobacco other than smoking, are "transferring beneficial characteristics" from the little beastie to tobacco and mustard weed. The hope is that the plants will become more resilient and better able to survive in extreme environments on earth. But also to see if we can adapt them to grow places off Earth--like Mars, where the gravity, atmosphere and temperature are toxic.
If successful the effort could change everything about living in these places.
Farming on Mars (or anywhere conceivably) would become an industry of the future, rather than a somewhat neglected relic from the distant past.

Russian Space Budget Highlights: Clipper, Mars and ISS, Oh My!

The Federal Space Program in Russia announced revealed pieces of upcoming programs budgeted through 2015. The Russian cabinet has already approved the total expenditure. Details include construction of its re-usable Clipper Spaceship and two new rockets. Building, launching and attaching a new compartment onto International Space Station is included, as is a sample retrieval mission to Mar's moon, Phobos.
It seems the Russians, as usual, are taking an aggressive stance when it comes to Space exploration. Of course it remains to be seen if any of these plans will come to fruition. It seems they've been talking about the Clipper (also, Kliper) forever. Whatever they call it, it sure sounds cool, but I guess the proof will have to be in the pudding.

Damaris Does Shuttle Tiles

Future astronaut (I have that much confidence in her!) Damaris B. Sarria is continuing her explanation of the Shuttle tile inspection process that has been going on at NASA. She has shown us new tile repair techniques and some examples of the blood-red gap-filler application process. She also has some very cool photos, and a nice easy-going writing style that doesn't get bogged down in techno-babble.
And her dog's cute, too.
Check it out, here.