Yes, that's right folks. That Science Fiction staple object for years is now being discussed. Just to re-cap, though, here's the section on space elevator 101:
Blue-sky thinkers like Edwards envision the space elevator as a revolutionary way of getting from Earth into space. The primary system is a ribbon attached at one end to Earth on a floating platform located in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. The other end of the ribbon is in space, beyond geosynchronous orbit.The problem of course is that lay-people respond to this project with the usual 'That's Crazy' kind of knee-jerk scepticism; which is understandable, but not very productive without informed opinions making informed input.
Once operational a space elevator could ferry satellites, spaceships, and various structures into space using electric lifts clamped to the ribbon. Research points to a space elevator capable of lifting five-ton payloads every day to all Earth orbits, the Moon, Mars, Venus or the asteroids - in 15 years after formal go-ahead.
The first space elevator would reduce lift costs immediately and drastically, as compared to current launch costs. Additional and larger elevators, built utilizing the initial design, would allow large-scale activities in space and reduce lift costs even more.
Admittedly, years of research are required to turn this pipedream into actual space hardware. Nevertheless, major organizations are taking the notion seriously. That is clear from the list of sponsors for this week's meeting: Los Alamos National Laboratory, NASA (news - web sites)'s Marshall Space Flight Center, NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts, as well as the National Space Society.
"There's a broad range of issues but we're trying to hit the biggest issues we can," Edwards said.
Cassini Huygens Update
The Cassini-Huygens probe is making its way through the rings of Saturn soon. To do this, it is going to put its brakes on. The probe is trying to get into position to do years of research in Saturn orbit. Of course, the highest priority is finding out more about Titan.
meanwhile we're finding we're re-living the 'The Dish' experience one more as observation platforms in Australia prove to be crucial to the mission; and we might have weather problems.
At a JPL press briefing today, Robert Mitchell, Cassini program manager, said that a weather forecast Tuesday from Canberra, Australia -- site of a key 230-foot (70 meter) diameter dish antenna -- did not look promising. High winds may force technicians to safe the large dish in such a way as to avoid wind damage.Our message to the JPL is as follows, "Look, mate, no worries, she's a little Aussie battler, she'll be right mate."
Australia is one of three complexes that constitute NASA (news - web sites)'s Deep Space Network which is used to monitor such missions as Cassini, the Mars Rovers and Stardust.
Losing the dish at Canberra "would mean that we would be unable to acquire the Doppler signal [from the Cassini spacecraft] that we're counting on to be able to monitor the progress of the burn tonight, Mitchell told reporters.
Though recent weather looked more favorable, it didn't eliminate the wind threat entirely, Mitchell added.
Getting a Second Opinion
NASA has shipped off the collected debris of the Space Shuttle Columbia to the Aerospace Corporation for research. This is apparently the first time NASA has allowed outside researchers to look at their space-shuttle-disaster-handiwork, so to speak.
Gleaning data from the Columbia mishap is considered a more favorable alternative than simply entombing debris, as was the case following the fiery, catastrophic explosion of Challenger in 1986 shortly after liftoff.Also, there is this section which is of some interest:
In looking over select pieces of recovered shuttle wreckage, specialists hope to shed light on the forces encountered during the space plane's fatal plunge to Earth. Those studies may well help design and build safer, more robust components for the spacecraft of tomorrow.
The Aerospace Corporation has conducted studies on the breakup and reentry of spacecraft for more than 35 years. The organization created in 1997 a Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies (CORDS). This center is gathering information and delving into what happens to human-made objects and the materials they comprise as they slice through Earth's thin to thick atmosphere.Picking up the pieces on the shuttle program and continuing with flights is proving to be a lot harder than thought.
The Space Walk is On
The Space walk that was scheduled for mid June and got cancelled is now doing a 'take 2' .
It's dark but very beautiful," said Padalka as he emerged on Wednesday during a nighttime pass over Earth.It cracks me up that the Russian is going on about how beautiful the Earth is and the prosaic American only has 'the sun is in my eyes' line to offer. Paucity of our cultural wealth in the west, I guess. :(
Later, as Fincke rode the end of a 50-foot (15-meter) construction boom operated by Padalka, swinging out some 240 miles above the ground, the sun was shining but visibility was poor.
"The sun is in my eyes," Fincke said.
- Art Neuro
1 comment:
It is no more than an expression of the difference between US literature and Russian.
Russia with its War and Peace of Tolstoy, or Crime and Punishment of Dostoyevsky. But the US has Dashiel Hammet.
Compare;
The broad lay there. I could tell she was beautiful and very dead. The sun was in my eyes.
The desert was hot and dry. just as my dead cousin had promised. But although her corpse lay frozen in its grave, thousands of miles away, I could see her symmetry in the hand that proferred the Vodka.
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