November 15
Homeland Defense to Marshall Space, New Technologies on War
on Terror
Establishment of a new Homeland Security Department -- now
making its way through the U.S. Congress -- is the largest makeover of
government bureaucracy since the Defense Department was created in the late
1940s. The new entity would develop a range of technologies, including use of
space assets, to help protect the country from enemy threat.
On November
13, the House of Representatives green-lighted the idea, with the U.S. Senate
apparently ready to vote the department into being.
Both House
and Senate legislative language call for creating a Homeland Security Advanced
Research Projects Agency (HSARPA), modeled on the successful Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency (DARPA). This new agency would develop revolutionary
new technologies to address homeland security vulnerabilities.
Putting
science and technology muscle into the new department is key, said House Science
Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY).
"Advancements in science and technology will be critical to
the success of every mission of the Department of Homeland Security. Improving
intelligence analysis, cyber security, border security and emergency response
all will require the invention and deployment of new technologies, ranging from
new software to make computer networks more secure to new standards to make
emergency response communications equipment interoperable."
Like the
Cold War, Boehlert added in a press statement, "the war on terrorism will be won
as much in the laboratory as on the battlefield."
-- Leonard David
November 14
Largest Volcanic Eruption in the Solar
System
Astronomers
have detected an eruption on Io, a moon of Jupiter, that they say is the largest
ever seen in the entire solar system. "It is clear that this eruption is the
most energetic ever seen, both on Io and on Earth," said Franck Marchis of the
University of California at Berkeley.
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The
eruption was spotted with from the Keck II telescope in Hawaii, using its
adaptive optics system, which corrects for the blurring effects of Earth's
atmosphere. A white region - the eruption -- was photographed in February 2001
but the data was only recently analyzed by Marchis and colleagues. They released
it yesterday.
The
scientists produced a graphic comparison showing that the eruption on Io was
6,500 times larger than one on Sicily's Mt. Etna. The 1992 Etna eruption was
recorded by a Landsat satellite.
Mars Rovers Get Shakedown
NASA's twin
Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) are undergoing tough shake, bake and roll tests
before being shipped for launch next year. Scientists and engineers at the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory are ground testing the robots, part of an elaborate
checkout campaign.
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Rover 1,
tucked inside a cocoon of spacecraft hardware, is midway through "shake and
bake" evaluations. These tests assure that the hardware can survive the intense
vibration of launch and solar soaking en route to Mars.
Meanwhile
Rover 2 is now fully assembled. The robot is configured the way it will look
when the petals of the lander have opened, allowing the robot to freely roam the
surface of Mars. Recently, space engineers successfully conducted a series of
MER 2 mobility tests on the floor of JPL's Spacecraft Assembly Facility.
Although several engineering models of the rovers had been driven, this marked
the first time a flight vehicle had been tested for mobility.
-- Leonard David
Planetary Society Petitions Congress to Support Solar
System Exploration
The
Planetary Society has presented the full Congress with a petition signed by
10,000 supporters, urging the House and Senate to support increases in funding
for the exploration of the outer planets. The funds are included in the proposed
2003 NASA budget, recommended by the House Sub-Committee on Appropriations for
VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies. The additional funds will enable NASA to move
ahead with the New Horizons mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt, and to
re-start development on a Europa orbiter.
"It is
remarkable that in these times, when the country is preoccupied with
extraordinary issues of security, liberty, and the economy, that so much public
attention is still paid to the exploration of distant regions of the solar
system," said Louis Freidman, Executive Director of The Planetary Society, in a
letter to Congress. "This in itself, we believe, is both a symbol and a
manifestation of America's strength."
Both
missions address fundamental questions about the nature and evolution of our
solar system. A recent study by the National Academy of Sciences, the
Solar System Decadal Survey, gave both missions its highest priority
recommendation.
Some 10,000
persons signed The Planetary Society petition, which advocates a vigorous
program of science and exploration, including missions to Pluto and Europa. The
petition also advocated a concrete and far-sighted plan for the International
Space Station that includes a human exploration component.
November 13
Beating Back Bacterial
Buildup in Space
Astronauts in tight quarters, breathing recycled air,
sipping on recycled water. It's a literal bacterial breeding ground.
Experts at the National Space Biomedical Research
Institute (NSBRI) in Houston, Texas have created a new technology to
characterize unknown bacteria. The work could eventually aid in diagnosing
medical conditions and spotting biological hazards on Earth.
NSBRI's George E. Fox and Richard Willson developed a
technique to determine an organism's approximate identity. Their approach is
based off the bacterial tree of life, which is arranged according to
similarities in organisms' DNA sequences. Organisms whose DNA sequences are
closely matched are more closely related than organisms whose DNA sequences are
less similar.
Fox and Willson have developed a method to identify the
DNA sequences that are unique to small groups of bacteria - designing an
easy-to-use monitoring method for bacteria levels.
"With our system, astronauts would be able to pinpoint
an organism's family and significantly narrow down the possibilities of its
identity," Fox said. The source of nasty bacteria might be from a fouled air
filter, even a balky water purifier.
"We are more concerned about preventing everyday
infections because, if you get sick in space, you don't have a hospital around
the corner for treatment. Our goal is to avoid infections with routine
monitoring to keep bacteria levels low in the first place," Fox added.
-- Leonard David
Shenzhou 4 to Fly in January
Zhang
Qingwei, president of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, said
the final touches were being put to the launch of Shenzhou 4, meaning "Divine
Vessel 4".
Zhang is quoted in China Daily as saying the launch of
the unpiloted craft is scheduled for "around January 1" of next year.
The Shenzhou 4 is outfitted with new search and rescue
gear, and other safety systems. This equipment is being flown to fully-qualify
its use during upcoming crew-carrying Shenzhou flights. Additionally, like
Shenzhou 3, the soon-to-be-launched Shenzhou 4 test flight will also carry
mannequins, Zhang said.
Zhang also told China Daily that 14 Chinese astronauts
-- selected from thousands of air force pilots -- have undergone training
courses on Shenzhou 3 and Shenzhou 4 spacecraft.
China's space program plans, Zhang added, also calls for
up to nine satellites being hurled into orbit next year - a record number for a
12-month period.
-- Leonard David
November 12
Lunar Planetary Institute
Director Named
The Universities Space Research Association (USRA) has
picked Stephen Mackwell as the next Director of the USRA-managed Lunar and
Planetary Institute (LPI) in Houston, Texas. Mackwell is a world-recognized
expert in experimental geophysics. He'll be overseeing a new LPI agreement with
NASA that gives the institute up to $5.4 million per year for the next five
years, with an option for an additional five years of operation. Mackwell is
current Director of Bayerisches Geoinstitut in Germany.
David Black, the outgoing LPI Director who served in
that post since 1988, saluted the selection of Mackwell. Black has held the dual
post of USRA President and LPI Director since December 2000.
Mackwell is an ideal leader for LPI, Black said, "as the
nation reinvigorates its efforts to collect and study samples of
extraterrestrial material."
-- Leonard David
Homeland Security to
Include Solar-Powered Airships
There are huge, automated solar-powered airships in your
future. The President Bush push for homeland security includes use of ultra-high
altitude platforms. From sky-high positions, these giant airships would support
radar sweeps of U.S. coastline, as well as serve communications and
sensor-snooping services.
Several firms are ready to supply the mega-airships,
including Lockheed Martin who operates a lighter-than-air surveillance platform
division in Akron, Ohio.
Un-piloted airships would operate above the jet stream
and above severe weather in a geostationary position to serve as a
telecommunications relay, a weather observer, or a peacekeeper from its
over-the-horizon perch. No word yet on whether such huge craft could also act as
aerial forts, replete with missile defense systems, even satellite launch
capability.
-- Leonard David
November 11
Curious Coincidences Crop Up Between Apollo 13 and
STS-113
CAPE
CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Long time space cadets are beginning to point out the growing
number of similarities between events associated with the ill-fated Apollo 13
lunar landing mission and NASA's current shuttle Endeavour mission, which
carries the designation STS-113.
Both have
required replacement of prime crewmebers with their backups. On Apollo 13, Tom
Mattingly was swapped out with Jack Swigert after Mattingly was exposed to
German Measles. On STS-113, pilot Paul Lockhart and Expedition Six science
officer Don Pettit are to fly because their counterparts were removed from
flight status for medical reasons.
Both
experienced mission-impacting problems with systems related to oxygen. It was an
oxygen tank that ruptured inside the Apollo 13 service module that triggered the
dramatic effort to return the crew to Earth. On STS-113, a leak in the gaseous
oxygen system inside Endeavour forced a minimum one-week launch
delay.
Also of
note, both the Apollo 13 and STS-13 crews decided to use Roman numerals on their
crew patch.
While not
necessarily superstitious, the STS-113 crew say they have been aware of their
mission designation.
"We were
joking a lot about being number 13," Expedition Six commander Ken Bowersox told
SPACE.com during a preflight interview. "I kept
telling (STS-113 commander Jim Wetherbee) we needed to change the mission
number. I pointed out Apollo 13, STS-113 -- maybe we should become STS-112.1 or
something like that."
Apollo was
the first manned program to reach 13 flights. It has been suggested by many --
including current U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, who flew aboard Columbia in 1986 --
that NASA managers changed the shuttle numbering system after STS-9 so there
wouldn't be an STS-13. The 13th shuttle mission to fly was known as
STS-41G.
-- Jim Banke
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