Ian O'Neill, Author at Universe Today

April 25, 2008December 24, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

ATV Jules Verne Boosts Space Station to Higher Orbit (Video)

For the first time since docking with the International Space Station (ISS) on April 3rd, the Automated Transfer Vehicle (A T V) “Jules Verne” has been awoken and instructed to carry out an impressive task: push the ISS to a higher orbit. The robotic supply vessel, currently attached to the station’s Zvezda module carried out a 12 minute 20 second burn of its main engines. This is the first time an ESA spaceship has carried out such a task and it appears to have performed flawlessly, lifting the 280 tonne station 4.5 km (2.8 miles) to a new altitude of 342 km (213 miles). In true ESA style, they’ve even released a cool video simulation of the event…

Periodically, the ISS needs a small push in the right direction. As the station orbits Earth, it experiences a small amount of friction from the extended atmosphere of our planet. This atmospheric drag slows the orbiting outpost, making it drop to a lower orbit. When needed, the ISS must to be pushed to higher altitudes. Until now, “re-boosts” have been performed by the Space Shuttle, Russian Progress and by the ISS itself; but today, it was the turn of the most advanced European spacecraft ever put into space. Due to the large quantities of fuel still on board, Jules Verne is ideal for this manoeuvre.

At 04:22 GMT Friday morning, two of the four powerful ATV rockets burst to life after being given the signal from mission control in Toulouse, France. The supply ship provided a thrust of 2.65 m/s, accelerating the ISS along its orbital path. This increased speed increased its orbit. Mission controllers carefully monitored events for the long 740 seconds.

See the ESA video simulation of the ATV re-boost »

This re-boost comes after three weeks of inactivity for the ATV. The unmanned cargo vessel was launched on March 9th to take 1150 kg (2535 lb) of water, food and other supplies to the ISS. This proved to be a very busy time for space traffic control. First the ATV was launched, then on March 11th Space Shuttle Endeavour was sent on her way, then on April 8th Soyuz ISS 16S was launched. Jules Verne drew the short straw and had to wait in a parking orbit until Endeavour had docked, carried out its mission and then returned home. The ATV used this time to run tests until it was cleared for docking on April 3rd.

Now the ISS is ready for the arrival of Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-124) scheduled for launch at the end of May. Discovery will deliver the Japanese Kibo laboratory to be installed on the growing station. Another three re-boosts are planned for the ATV on June 12th, July 8th and August 6th. Shortly after the last boost, Jules Verne is destined to be detached from the Zvezda module and dropped into the atmosphere, carrying 6.5 tonnes of trash into a controlled re-entry burn over the Pacific Ocean. A sad end to an amazing piece of technology.

Source: ESA

April 25, 2008December 24, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

Space Golf and Other Zero-G Sports on the ISS

Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev practices his swing on the station in 2005 (Element 21 Golf Company)

Humans and sports go hand-in-hand; it was only a matter of time before sports pushed into space. Whether astronauts are practicing their cosmic golf swing, throwing boomerangs (for science of course!), hurling footballs or creating their own unique zero g activity, we will see some new and inventive space sports in the future…

Launched on board Apollo 14 in February 9th, 1971, astronaut Alan Shepard had brought a little extra weight with him. A golf club and golf balls. He wanted to be the first to play golf on the dusty surface of the Moon. His dream became a reality, doing a one-handed drive, blasting the ball over 200 yards during one of his Moon walks. Not bad considering how restrictive his space suit must have been (although the 1/6 Earth gravity will have helped the ball along a little). Shepard held the extra-terrestrial golf drive record for 35 years until cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin shattered the record with a million-mile hit from the International Space Station in 2006 (it was actually a miss-hit, but mission scientists think it orbited the Earth for 2-3 days before falling into the ultimate hazard… the Earth’s atmosphere).

In fact, the International Space Station astronauts have tried out a variety of sports. An average ISS astronaut’s day consists of six and a half hours of work, two hours for exercise and about eight and a half hours for sleep. Naturally, as we do on Earth, the orbiting men and women have some time to fill with personal activities, including sport. A lot of the time, the odd dabble with a boomerang and a session on the treadmill has a scientific merit, but some of the sporting activities were done simply for fun. In the case of Tyurin, sport may also be a marketing stunt (the ISS golf driving range was set up by Canadian golf club manufacturer Element 21) – but I’m sure he had a special sense of satisfaction teeing off the high altitude location.

Zero-G offers many options for new sports too. In a televised interview last week, NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman (who is currently residing on the station as the Expedition 17 flight engineer) admitted to finding the mundane task of filling up large water bags rather enjoyable:

“We started tossing them kind of like a medicine ball, and we realized that you could toss and catch and then go for a ride on this big thing as it takes you away. So there’s all kinds of possibilities, and if there’s any good ideas out there, let me know. We’ll try it.” – Reisman.

Whilst this may not constitute a “sport”, it could be a fun game. When the Expedition 16 and 17 crews overlapped, there were six crewmembers to participate in the orbital fun. Record breaker Peggy Whitson commented on a relay race that the crew had through three of the station modules. “We raced from one end of a module, relayed with the person waiting at the other end three modules away, and then sprinted back and sent a third person,” Whitson said. “So it was pretty fun.” Apparently her team (including Reisman) won.

Although the ISS astronauts may not have many sporting options at their disposal, mission control makes sure they don’t get bored. They have a treadmill and stationary bike, and they’ve played weightless basketball, Frisbee and thrown boomerangs. Plus the odd round of golf it seems. Even throwing away the garbage seems like a superb way to pass the time. Have a look at this NASA video of the station crew having way too much fun in orbit (I do admit, I am very jealous!).

All these activities are going on in the space station not exactly built for sporting activities. With the advent of space tourism, it’s not hard to envisage the development of space sports, perhaps in orbital space hotels with large volumes of space available for sports activities. One such sport could be the possibility of zero-G dodgeball (pictured). This was already attempted on board Boeing 727-200 jets operated by the Zero Gravity Corp. (Las Vegas). Although periods of weightlessness would have been short, it must have been fun.

Original source: Space.com

April 25, 2008April 26, 2016 by Ian O'Neill

Potential Global Warming “Fix” Will Damage the Ozone Layer

There are many possible “geo-engineering” solutions open to scientists in the aim to stave off global warming. One of the main candidates to dim the solar energy input to the atmosphere is to inject huge quantities of sulphate particles high in the atmosphere. This mimics the emissions from a large volcanic explosion proven to cool the Earth’s atmosphere in the past. But, you guessed it, there’s a problem. New research suggests that tampering with the atmosphere in this way will have serious repercussions for the ozone layer… Now there’s a surprise!

On writing this week’s Carnival of Space, I came across an interesting discussion about the damage that can be caused by scientists tampering with weather. Nancy L. Young-Houser takes the strong view that under no circumstance is it OK to alter natural weather processes, even if the purpose is to advert a catastrophic hurricane or bring rain to drought-ridden regions. Looking at historic examples of cloud seeding for example, Nancy concludes that weather manipulation is not only morally but ethically wrong. There will always be a loser.

Then today, the BBC ran an article on the perils of using high altitude particles to block sunlight from entering our atmosphere. The effect of such a large-scale measure could emulate the ejected particles from a huge volcanic explosion. Sulphide particles are known to be a highly efficient means to deflect sunlight, thus cooling our atmosphere, possibly saving us from the ravages of our self-inflicted global warming. (This effect was observed in the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, pictured.) But there is a big flaw in this plan according to new research published in Science. Sulphide particles can damage the ozone layer, possibly creating another hole in the ozone over the Arctic and undo the recovery of the Antarctic ozone hole, setting it back decades.

Dr Simone Tilmes of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCar) in Boulder, Colorado, and her team analysed data and ran simulations of the sulphide effect on the atmosphere. Their conclusion? Injecting sulphide particles into the high atmosphere may lessen the effects of global warming, but it will also set back Antarctic ozone layer recovery 30 to 70 years. Sulphates are ideal particles on which atmospheric chlorine gases held in polar clouds will attach themselves to (pictured top). A chemical reaction between sulphate particle and chlorine destroys ozone molecules (O₃). The effects of this chemical reaction may cause accelerated damage in troubled polar regions. This ozone depletion was also recorded after the Mount Pinatubo eruption.

Attempting to “repair” the global damage we are causing to the atmosphere by injecting even more particles at high altitudes may not be the best way forward. After all, as outlined in Nancy’s article, there are many hidden risks when geo-engineering our atmospheric dynamics. Perhaps working on the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions may be a better idea, sooner rather than later.

Source: BBC

April 24, 2008December 24, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

Soyuz Hard Landing: The Facts

Rescue helicopters next to the askew Soyuz on Saturday (Shamil Zhumatov)

Now the dust has settled news sources appear to be coherently reporting the events that unfolded early Saturday morning. As several readers have shown concern that reporting on the Soyuz ballistic re-entry makes us opposed to Russian efforts in space, I hope these points clearly show that this is not the case. In actuality, without the Russian Soyuz fleet of personnel/cargo supply spacecraft, much of the international community’s plans for space would be scuppered. So, what do we know happened after the Soyuz descent capsule undocked from the space station in the early hours of Saturday?

Well, most of the original reports appeared to be fairly accurate. From Tuesday, it seems that much of the reports from news agencies in the US and UK have been corroborated with the Russian news agency Interfax. On April 23rd, William Gerstenmaier, NASAâ€™s associate administrator for space operations, gave a statement as to what went wrong. So here’s what we know:

Due to a technical fault, and not crew error, the Soyuz descent capsule did not separate from its propulsion module as planned. The explosive bolts used to separate the Soyuz modules before re-entry didn’t work on time. This may have resulted in the descent module and propulsion module hitting the atmosphere before they separated.
It is not clear if the modules were separated late by the explosive bolts, or if they were pulled apart (Gerstenmaier points out that they may break apart on re-entry, allowing the descent module and crew to make an emergency landing). Either way, a “ballistic re-entry” (rather than the planned guided re-entry) was the result. Ballistic re-entry was likened by Gerstenmaier to, “a bullet out of a rifle,” before the parachutes opened.
The crew experienced forces up to 8.2 times greater than Earth’s gravity.
The re-entry caused damage to the capsule escape hatch due to the angle of descent. Areas other than the heat shield had been burnt. The communications antenna was lost at this stage.
NASA confirms there was no communication with the capsule until cosmonaut Colonel Yuri Malenchenko was able to get free of the cabin and use a satellite phone to contact mission control. This was 30 minutes after touch-down.

So it appears the emergency landing was actually very successful. As pointed out by Gerstenmaier the Soyuz spacecraft design has “an inherent reliability in the system.” After all, the original manned Soyuz spacecraft design was launched in 1967, and since then there have been 99 missions (11 since 2002). It is a rugged and highly dependable space vehicle, and in 2010 when the Space Shuttle is retired we will need Soyuz to supply the space station and transport personnel. The Orion space ship isn’t scheduled to launch until 2015, so there is a five year gap that will need to be filled. NASA is looking into commercial options, but the tried, tested and reliable Soyuz remains the best option.

However, the way this incident was handled is highly worrying. I just hope that a thorough investigation into the technical fault and the way Russian officials covered up events is carried out, so future re-entries can be better managed.

In case you missed the Universe Today coverage of this story:

April 22nd: Soyuz Capsule Hatch Nearly Burned Up and Crew’s Lives Were on a “Razor’s Edge”
April 21st: New Facts Emerge from Soyuz Emergency Landing
April 20th: Soyuz Crew Safe After a Violent Re-entry and Landing 400km Off-target

Sources: McClatchy
, Orlando Sentinel

April 23, 2008December 24, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

Solar Sail Space Travel One Step Closer to Reality

An artist concept of the solar sail. The center package contains the solar panels powering an electron gun that keeps the many tethers charged. (Allt om vetenskap)

Solar sails were once thought to belong in the realms of science fiction. Huge canopies of lightweight tin foil catching the solar photon breeze, slowly allowing spacecraft to cruise around our solar system propelled by the small but continuous radiation pressure. Recent years however have shown that solar sail spacecraft could be engineered in reality, and a new solar sail invention from the Finnish Meteorological Institute could push this goal one step closer. Rather than using solar radiation pressure, this new concept makes use of the highly charged particles in the solar wind to give the craft its propulsion. Additionally, through radio wave electron excitation, the system may amplify the solar wind acceleration effects, giving the spacecraft a “boost” function…

Traditionally, solar sails make use for the momentum carried by photons of electromagnetic radiation from the Sun. Using a huge canopy of ultra-lightweight (but robust) material, the sail experiences a force from the incident sunlight. Some advanced concepts also theorized the use of planetary lasers to propel solar sail-powered spacecraft from A to B. Opting for solar propulsion would be the ultimate energy conservation method yet, optimizing payload transportation, maximizing fuel efficiency. Make a solar sail big enough, steady momentum can be transferred from the solar photons, accelerating the spacecraft. There are of course many hurdles to this design, but prototypes have been built (although many failed to make it into space due to rocket launch failures).

In a departure from the photon-powered solar sail, scientists and engineers have started to look into the properties of solar wind particles as a possible source of propulsion. The advantages of using solar wind particles are they a) are electrically charged, b) have high velocity (interplanetary scintillation observations have deduced velocities as high as 800 km/s, or 1.8 million miles per hour), and c) are abundant in interplanetary space throughout the solar system (particularly at solar maximum). So the new Finnish concept will take full advantage of this highly charged interplanetary medium. Using a fan of very long, electrically charged cables (stretching many kilometres from the central spacecraft), the similarly charged solar wind particles (mainly positively-charged protons) will hit the fan of positively-charged cables (generating a repulsive electric field), giving the cables a small proton-sized “kick”, exchanging their momentum into spacecraft thrust. Cable charge is maintained by a solar-powered electron gun, using two conventional solar panels as an energy source. A radio-frequency “boost” will also be tested in the prototype model. Radio waves will cause electron heating, possibly enhancing the solar sail’s thrust.

The project is currently being engineered and researchers from Finland, Germany, Sweden, Russia, and Italy are currently developing various components of the solar sail. Successful implementation of the prototype that could be launched in three years depends on securing $8 million (5 million euros) in funding.

Sources: Finnish Meteorological Institute, Live Science

April 22, 2008December 24, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

Soyuz Capsule Hatch Nearly Burned Up and Crew’s Lives Were on a “Razor’s Edge”

The blackened Soyuz descent capsule after re-entry (BBC)

First, Russian space officials tried to cover up the emergency landing of the Soyuz descent capsule on Saturday. Then they blamed the crew for changing their flight plan without communicating with mission control. Compounding the problem, an official cited a bad omen as a contributing factor to the hard landing. Within a couple of days, the truth behind the Soyuz “ballistic re-entry” began to come to light. Today, even more shocking revelations are being reported, including how the escape hatch nearly failed during the uncontrolled, fiery re-entry…

On Sunday, the Universe Today reported on the off-target landing of the Russian Soyuz descent capsule carrying South Korea’s first astronaut, Yi So-yeon, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and NASA record breaker (for most time spent in space) American Peggy Whitson back from the International Space Station (ISS). The capsule had landed short of its intended target, 20 minutes behind schedule. The authorities later blamed the mishap on a change in flight plan and suggested the crew were to blame. Then, surprisingly, Federal Space Agency chief Anatoly Perminov placed some of the blame on the female dominant crew, saying women on board space missions were bad luck.

Yesterday, I reported on some updates to the drama that had unfolded. Apparently, even before the rescue helicopters had located the capsule, the Russian space agency publicised the crew’s safe return, covering up the fact they had no idea where they were. What’s more, the helicopters had been sent to the wrong location, and it was by chance that the capsule’s parachutes were spotted. The capsule had landed in a zone reserved for emergency touch-downs and the crew suffered a “hard landing”. Not being able to send a signal to mission control, the crew remained upside down, strapped to their seats for 25 minutes. Malenchenko was able to unlatch himself to get outside to use a satellite phone. Some news agencies reported that the parachute had even caught alight and set the surrounding vegetation on fire.

Today, even more revelations have been reported. According to an unnamed Russian space official, the capsule had entered the atmosphere in an uncontrolled manner. Rather than the capsule’s heat shield taking the frictional re-entry burn, the escape hatch became exposed and bore the brunt of the high temperatures outside. The hatch sustained substantial damage. The antenna was also exposed to the heat, completely burning it up, explaining why the crew were unable to communicate with the ground. A valve that equalizes cabin with atmospheric pressure was also damaged.

“The fact that the entire crew ended up whole and undamaged is a great success. Everything could have turned out much worse. You could say the situation was on a razor’s edge.” – Anonymous Russian space official involved in the descent investigation.

Russian Federal Space Agency spokesman, Alexander Vorobyov, continued to downplay the series of events saying that antennae were regularly damaged during capsule re-entries. He rated Saturday’s event as a “3”, where “5” on the scale would be critical.

This troubled landing has naturally raised questions about the safety record of the Soyuz capsules currently being used. This is the second time in a row (and the third since 2003) that there have been serious problems during re-entry of Soyuz capsules. The official continued to say that there can be no guarantee that this will not happen again:

“Considering that this situation has repeated itself, it is obvious that the technological discipline in preparing space equipment for a flight is declining. There is no guarantee that the crew of a Soyuz spacecraft landing a half a year from now would not face the same difficulties.” – Anonymous Russian space official

During the confusion as to where the Soyuz capsule had landed, there are unconfirmed reports that the U.S. Defence Department tracked the off-target landing and pinpointed its location for Russian helicopters. NASA is reserving comment until the Russian Federal Space Agency finds the cause of the uncontrolled descent.

Investigators suspect that the ballistic re-entry was caused by an electrical short in the cable that connects the crew capsule’s control panel with the Soyuz descent hardware. A short circuit in this cable can automatically trigger the ballistic re-entry mode and there is little the crew could have done to prevent it.

Sources: The Associated Press, New Scientist

April 21, 2008December 24, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

New Facts Emerge from Soyuz Emergency Landing

The capsule after making an emergency landing (AP)

The facts behind the “ballistic re-entry” of the Soyuz descent capsule are beginning to come to light. According to several news sources, after the capsule made an unusual steep descent through the atmosphere, putting it at least 400km off-target, the parachute was set alight causing a small bush fire on landing. The crew, who had to wait upside down, reported smoke inside the capsule. Although the Russian space agency overseeing the rescue helicopters reported that the crew were safely on the ground, in reality they were struggling to find their location. Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko had to unhook himself from the askew craft, get outside and use a satellite phone to confirm they were alive and well. Tough questions are now being asked as to why mission control lost track of the capsule in the first place and why they covered up the reality of the landing till so long after the event…

As previously reported on the Universe Today, something went wrong with the Soyuz descent capsule as it completed its return mission from the International Space Station on Saturday. Back then, the Russian space authority reported the capsule had undergone a ballistic re-entry (rather than the planned “guided descent”) after the crew changed the flight plan without communicating the alteration to mission control. This was the sole (official) reason given for the hard landing the three crew members suffered. South Korea’s first astronaut, Yi So-yeon, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and American Peggy Whitson endured forces exceeding nine-G (nine-times Earth gravity) as they tumbled through the atmosphere.

One Russian space official cited an old naval superstition that having women on board the flight was a “bad omen” and that planners would reconsider having a female-dominant crew in the future. These remarks understandably caused a stir.

According to one news source, it is more likely that the capsule’s autopilot failed, causing the ballistic re-entry. On the ground, Russian officials guessed that the capsule had overshot the landing zone and sent rescue helicopters to a location far east. By chance a helicopter in the west (a location reserved for emergency landings) reported seeing the parachutes of the capsule, but no contact was made with the crew until 30 minutes after landing. Way before contact was made (via satellite phone), the Russian space agency had been publicising the safe return of the Soyuz crew to divert attention from the problems they were having.

Perhaps the most worrying report is that the descent parachute caught fire and burnt surrounding vegetation. Apparently smoke even got into the capsule. This would have undoubtedly caused a lot of stress to the crew.

In a recent interview with South Korea’s first astronaut Yi So-yeon, the 29 year-old bioengineer remembered her ordeal and admitted she was “really scared” as the capsule began its emergency re-entry:

“During descent I saw some kind of fire outside as we were going through the atmosphere. At first I was really scared because it looked really, really hot and I thought we could burn.” – Yi So-yeon

The shaken crew members were still shaken as they gave a press conference on Monday. Malenchenko remained adamant that none of the crew were to blame for the ballistic re-entry. “There was no action of the crew that led to this,” he said. “Time will tell what went wrong.”

This incident highlights the risk involved with space travel, and whilst access to space is becoming more and more routine, the fact remains that things can go wrong. Many news sources are highly critical of the Russian space agency, arguing that they are incompetent. This might be a little strong, but in matters such as the safe return of astronauts, absolute clarity is needed. Attempts to cover up technical faults, citing of “bad omens” and misinformation will not help the Russian efforts in space.

Sources: AP, MSNBC, Yahoo!, Space.com

April 21, 2008December 24, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

The “Best Engineering Tool” in Space: Duct Tape

The fender on the Apollo 17 moon buggy was repaired with duct tape (NASA)

The uses for duct tape seem to be endless. From the Apollo missions in the 1970’s to the International Space Station today, duct tape has been used as quick fixes and semi-permanent solutions to a variety of tasks. In a story released today from NASA documenting the events of the Apollo 17 in 1972, duct tape became the saviour of astronauts Gene Cernan and Jack Schmitt as they sped around on the lunar surface in their moonbuggy. Damage to the buggy’s wheel arch could have put the pair at risk and may have curtailed the surface mission (pictured). But with a flash of inspiration and “can do” attitude Cernan and Schmitt found the answer in a roll of grey sticky tape…

It would seem duct tape holds the world together as it is, and it is becoming clear that the tape may hold the frontier of space together too. I recently came across the NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day with a view from the ISS looking over Rick Linnehan as he carried out an EVA during the STS-123 mission in March. As many blogs commented, “wow, even the space station is held together with duct tape!“, duct tape and Velcro did indeed appear to be the best way for astronauts to attach things, fix things and cover up things. In the Great Moonbuggy Race in Huntsville, Alabama, Prof. Paul Shiue of Christian Brothers University even joked that duct tape was his team’s “best engineering tool”. It seems the space station crew agrees with Prof. Shiue as is evident in the photo below.

I think people are surprised that such a common, everyday tool can be utilized in space too, but I’d argue that this kind of versatile and strong tape should be in space doing its bit for space exploration. It seems NASA thinks the same thing. Back in 1972, the use of duct tape turned a potentially dangerous situation into mission success for the Apollo 17 astronauts.

During Gene Cernan and Jack Schmitt’s Moon walk, they employed the use of a moonbuggy to get around the dusty terrain. As is becoming abundantly clear, Moon dust will be one of the biggest challenges to mankind’s efforts on the Earth’s only natural satellite. For starters, this fine Moon “regolith” (dust formed from pulverized rock after countless meteorite impacts) will get everywhere. It is so fine that that it will likely obscure vision and could cause a host of respiratory problems. But the critical issue facing the Apollo astronauts was the dark Moon dust getting stuck to their spacesuits. The moonbuggy was designed to suppress the dust from being kicked up from the surface and spayed over the passengers. Should the spacesuits have a layer of dust over the top, solar electromagnetic radiation would be absorbed very efficiently, causing the astronauts to overheat. At all costs, spacesuits and equipment would need to be “dusted off” to prevent any problems.

Within two hours of the Lunar lander Challenger landing on December 11th, 1972 (at 02:23:35 UTC), Cernan and Schmitt were busy loading the moonbuggy with geology tools and experiments. In a seemingly minor error, the hammer strapped to Cernan’s suited leg caught the buggy’s rear fender and ripped it half off. It may not sound like much; after all who needs a fender on the Moon? But this was a big problem. If they were to use the buggy in this condition, huge plumes of dust would be kicked up (known as “rooster tails”) and showered over the astronauts, sticking to their suits, possibly causing serious overheating issues. Lunar dust is also very abrasive and static, should it get wiped off visors, the glass will get scratched, impeding vision. Joints, latches and hinges would also get severely damaged by the stuff.

Fortunately the astronauts had packed duct tape and were able to do a make-shift job at fixing the fender. Unfortunately the harsh vacuum of space, the continuous exposure to the Sun and the ever present dust caused the tape to lose its “stick”. A more permanent solution was required. After communication with mission control, a solution was found. Using a combination of duct tape and laminated maps, the fender could be reconstructed. The EVA continued and the mission was a success.

See the NASA video of Gene Cernan carrying out duct tape repairs on the Moon »

The Apollo 17 mission is the last time man walked on the Moon, and remains the most extreme place where duct tape was called into use.

For the complete and absorbing story about the duct tape repair job by Gene Cernan, check out the full NASA article…

April 21, 2008December 24, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

X-Ray Flare Echo Reveals Supermassive Black Hole Torus

The echo of X-ray emissions from a black hole swallowing a star can be observed as light echos (MPE/ESA)

The light echo of an X-ray flare from the nucleus of a galaxy has been observed. The flare almost certainly originates from a single star being gravitationally ripped apart by a supermassive black hole in the galactic core. As the star was being pulled into the black hole, its material was injected into the black hole accretion disk, causing a sudden burst of radiation. The resulting X-ray flare emission was observed as it hit local stellar gases, producing the light echo. This event gives us a better insight to how stars are eaten by supermassive black holes and provides a method to map the structure of galactic nuclei. Scientists now believe they have observational evidence for the elusive molecular torus that is thought to surround active supermassive black holes.

Light echoes from distant galaxies have been observed before. The echoes from a supernova that occurred 400 years ago (that is now observed as the supernova remnant SNR 0509-67.5) were only just observed here on Earth, after the supernova emissions bounced off galactic matter. This is the first time however that the energetic emissions from a sudden influx of matter into a supermassive black hole accretion disk has been observed echoing off gases within galactic nuclei. This is a major step toward understanding how stars are consumed by supermassive black holes. Additionally, the echo acts like a searchlight, highlighting the dark stellar matter between the stars, revealing a structure we have never seen before.

This new research was carried out by an international team led by Stefanie Komossa from the Max Planck Institute for extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, Germany, using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Komossa likens this observation to illuminating a dark city with a firework burst:

“To study the core of a normal galaxy is like looking at the New York skyline at night during a power failure: You can’t learn much about the buildings, roads and parks. The situation changes, for example, during a fireworks display. It’s exactly the same when a sudden burst of high-energy radiation illuminates a galaxy.” – Stefanie Komossa

A strong X-ray burst such as this can be very hard to observe as they are short-lived emissions, but a huge amount of information can be gained by seeing such an event if astronomers are quick enough. By analysing the degree of ionization and velocity data in the spectroscopic emission lines of the echoed light, the Max Planck physicists were able to deduce the flare location. Held within the emission lines are the cosmic “fingerprints” of the atoms at the source of the emission, leading them to the galactic core where a supermassive black hole is believed to live.

The standard model for galactic nuclei (a.k.a. unified model of active galaxies) predict a “molecular torus” surrounding the black hole accretion disk. These new observations of the galaxy named SDSSJ0952+2143 appear to show the X-ray flare was reflected by the galactic molecular torus (with strong iron emission lines). This is the first time the presence of a possible torus has been seen, and if confirmed, astrophysicists will have their observational evidence of this theoretical possibility, strengthening the standard model. What’s more, using accretion disk flares may aid scientists when attempting to map the structure of other molecular toruses.

Strengthening the observation of echoed X-ray emission from the torus is the possibility of seeing variable infrared emissions. This emission signifies a “last call for help” by the dusty cloud being rapidly heated by the incident X-rays. The dust will have been vaporized soon after.

But how do they know it was a star that fell into the accretion disk? In addition to the strong iron lines, there are strange hydrogen emission lines which have never been seen before. This is a strong piece of evidence that it is the debris from a star that came too close to the black hole, stripping away its hydrogen fuel.

Although the X-ray flare has subsided, the galaxy continues to be observed by the X-ray satellite Chandra. Faint but measurable X-ray emissions are being observed perhaps signifying that the star is still being fed to the accretion disk. It seems possible that measuring this faint emission may also be of use, allowing researchers to continue to map the molecular torus long after the initial strong X-ray emission has ended.

Sources: arXiv, Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics

April 20, 2008December 24, 2015 by Ian O'Neill

Branson to be the First to Marry Couples in Space

Artist impression of SpaceShipTwo (Virgin Galactic)

He’s married a couple on board a Virgin America jet, he’s also officiated the marriage of Google’s co-founder Larry Page on his private island in the Caribbean, now Richard Branson wants to marry couples as they reach the apex of their Virgin Galactic flights into space. The British billionaire already has two wedding-related bookings, one marriage and one honeymoon, and it is hoped he will obtain a licence to conduct the ceremonies for more. Certainly unique, but I wonder how popular getting hitched in zero gravity will be…

Richard Branson has broken many records. Not only has he developed one of the largest corporations in the world, he has many personal records under his belt. In 1986, he broke the record for crossing the Atlantic in a powerboat; in 1991 he crossed the Pacific in a balloon, again, breaking all records. He also has experience with weddings. He was ordained for a day last year to marry Virgin America marketing director Dimitrios Papadognonas and Coco Jones on a flight from San Francisco to Las Vegas. So now he wants to combine these two accolades: Break the record for the highest-altitude wedding, officiating the ceremony himself. What’s more, he already has his first booking.

The world’s first space-honeymoon belongs to Virgin Galactic advisor George Whitesides and his fiancÃ©e Loretta Hidalgo. They have reserved tickets for the Virgin Galactic maiden flight, costing $100,000 each. As for the wedding, the couple who have reserved their tickets remain unknown. It is hoped however that Branson will be there to talk them through their vows:

“We have had two bookings involving marriage, one to get married in space and the other for the couple to have their honeymoon in space. It is possible that Richard could obtain a licence to conduct the marriage.” – Virgin Galactic spokesman

Virgin Galactic already has 200 people booked to fly into space proving there is a market for space tourism out there. Construction of SpaceShipTwo has already begun and the first test flights are expected to commence in 2009.

If you have the cash and want the wedding you’ll never forget, this might be the answer to the millionaires out there. For me, the risk of feeling a bit queasy after the stag party the night before might be enough to ground me from taking any risks in zero-G…

Source: Daily Mail (UK)