NASA Archives

June 26, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

Double Supernovae Discovered

Supernovae are rare events, only occurring once every 25-100 years in galaxy. So it came as a complete surprise when NASA’s Swift satellite turned up two supernovae going off at the same time in a galaxy – separated by only 16 days.

Until now, astronomers have never seen a supernova going off in the galaxy MCG +05-43-16, and then suddenly: kaboom kaboom. The twin supernovae have been categorized SN 2007ck and SN 2007co.

And they’re completely different events. The first, SN 2007ck, is a Type II supernova, where a star with many times the mass of our own Sun runs out of fuel and collapses catastrophically. This creates a black hole or neutron star, and blows the outer layers of the star into space.

The second, SN 2007co is a Type Ia event. This is where a white dwarf star steals material from a binary partner until it can’t hold any more material, and detonates in a massive blast.

This is a complete coincidence. The two events are separated by tens of thousands of light years of space. In fact, an astronomer in the galaxy might see the two events separated by thousands of years.

Original Source: NASA

June 22, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

Atlantis Home from STS-117

The space shuttle Atlantis touched down Friday afternoon after a successful mission servicing the International Space Station. Because of bad weather in Florida, the shuttle was delayed a day, and finally re-routed to Edwards Air Force Base in California. It touched down at 3:49 pm EDT.

Over the course of their 14-day mission in space, the astronaut crew installed the new S3/S4 truss to the station, and deployed the new solar wings. They also retracted an older solar array, and performed some other minor fixes.

One of the big concerns was a thermal blanket that dislodged during Atlantis‘ launch. The astronauts tucked the blanket back in during one the mission’s 4 spacewalks. Whether or not the repair was necessary, Atlantis returned through the Earth’s atmosphere without a problem.

The next mission, STS-118, is scheduled for August and will deliver the S5 truss segment to the station.

Original Source : NASA

June 19, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

Tiny Mimas Beneath the Rings

Here’s a cool picture taken by Cassini of Saturn and one of its moons, Mimas – 397 kilometers (247 miles) across. If you look really closely, Mimas is that grey dot down near the bottom right-hand corner of the picture. Cassini took this photo on May 11, 2007 when it was approximately 720,000 kilometers (448,000 miles) from Saturn.

Original Source: NASA/JPL/SSI News Release

June 12, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

Journey to the Centre of the Earth’s Position in Space

NASA researchers have developed a new technique that gives them a precise measurement for the position of the centre of the Earth, to the closest millimetre. This is harder than it sounds, since the centre doesn’t stay in one position.

As the Earth rotates in space, its centre of mass ranges over a distance of 2 to 5 millimetres (.08 to .20 inches) a year. Until now, the best calculations differed by 1.8 millimetres a year. That doesn’t sound like much, but its actually important for very precise measurements. For example, the rise in global sea level due to increasing temperatures is measured in a handful millimetres. In other places, the Earth is rebounding after the weight of glaciers during the last ice age, 20,000 years ago.

The researchers combined 4 different space-based techniques to get this accurate measurement: the global positioning system, laser stations that track orbiting satellites, radio telescopes that measure the position of the Earth against quasars, and a French network of tracking satellites called DORIS.

Original Source: NASA/JPL News Release

May 31, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

NASA Administrator Isn’t Sure Global Warming is a Problem

I’ve got to say, I nearly fell out of my chair when I read this today. NASA Administrator Mike Griffin was interviewed on NPR about the threat of global warming. Apparently, he’s not convinced it’s a problem.

When it comes to the science on global warming, NASA is one of the good guys. They’ve got a fleet of spacecraft and aircraft analyzing every aspect of the planet. They measure ice levels, global temperatures, cloud cover, ocean levels, snow melt, rainfall patterns, dust storms, desertification and more. It’s amazing how many scientific instruments they have working on this project. They have luminaries from the scientific community working for them, like Dr. James Hansen.

And they release a hail of press releases. Just from the last week, we’ve got a story about how they detected increased snow melt in Antarctica, measuring Greenland’s glaciers, and a new release about how the Earth’s climate is approaching the point of no return.

Here’s what Griffin said on NPR:

I have no doubt that … a trend of global warming exists. I am not sure that it is fair to say that it is a problem we must wrestle with.

So he’s convinced that global warming is happening and it’s man made. But he thinks it’s arrogant for humans to decide what the perfect climate is.

… I would ask which human beings – where and when – are to be accorded the privilege of deciding that this particular climate that we have right here today, right now is the best climate for all other human beings. I think that’s a rather arrogant position for people to take.

Wow.

Sure, there’s a possibility that dramatic climate change could end up being better overall for the majority of humans on Earth, on average.

But there’s also a possibility that it’s not the case. That severe climate disruption will be terrible for a huge percentage of the population of the Earth. That the wrenching effects of change will hit the people least able to defend against it, and will suffer the most: the poor in undeveloped countries. Griffin thinks it’s okay to roll the dice. That’s it’s arrogant to not roll the dice.

If it’s okay to take that chance; if it’s arrogant to err on the side of caution, why bother investing in climate science at all? Just cut the funding, and take your chances.

NASA went into damage control mode today after Griffin’s statement, and posted a statement on its website.

“NASA is the world’s preeminent organization in the study of Earth and the conditions that contribute to climate change and global warming. The agency is responsible for collecting data that is used by the science community and policy makers as part of an ongoing discussion regarding our planet’s evolving systems. It is NASA’s responsibility to collect, analyze and release information. It is not NASA’s mission to make policy regarding possible climate change mitigation strategies. As I stated in the NPR interview, we are proud of our role and I believe we do it well.”

But this statement doesn’t really take back what Griffin said. I suspect he’s going to have an uncomfortable few weeks.

May 3, 2007March 3, 2023 by Fraser Cain

Train Carrying Shuttle Parts Derails

A Union Pacific train carrying space shuttle parts derailed on Wednesday, injuring six people. The train derailed when the wooden trestle it was traveling across collapsed, near the Tombigbee River in western Alabama.

The train was carrying 8 solid rocket booster motors and two end cones for future shuttle missions. These are interchangeable parts, and would be used for upcoming shuttle missions in October and December. It’s not known if the derailment will cause a delay for any upcoming mission. The next launch of the space shuttle Atlantis, scheduled for June, won’t be delayed, because the spacecraft already has its boosters.

Original Source: Reuters Article

May 3, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

Astronaut Walter Schirra, 1923-2007

NASA announced today that veteran astronaut Walter M. “Wally” Schirra has passed away at the age of 84. His family said that he died of natural causes on Wednesday at a hospital in La Jolla, California. In a statement, NASA Administrator Mike Griffen said, “with the passing of Wally Schirra, we at NASA note with sorry the loss of yet another of the pioneers of human spaceflight.”

Schirra was started his career in aviation at the Naval Academy, later fighting in the Korean War. He was chosen as one of the original seven Project Mercury astronauts, but he went on to participate in all three early space exploration programs: Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo.

His Mercury flight lifted off on October 3, 1962, making him the fifth American in space, on the third orbital flight. He and Tomas P. Stafford flew on the Gemini 6 mission, which was the first attempt to rendezvous with another spacecraft in orbit. He was joined by Donn Eisele and Walter Cunningham aboard Apollo 7, the first flight after the tragic Apollo 1 fire killed 3 astronauts.

Original Source: NASA News Release

March 8, 2007July 31, 2007 by Fraser Cain

Nowak Fired from NASA

Not surprisingly, NASA announced this week that it was dismissing astronaut Lisa Nowak. I’m sure you have no idea who I’m talking about.
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March 1, 2007December 8, 2022 by Fraser Cain

NASA Cutbacks Will Delay Moon Missions

The New York Times is reporting that recent cutbacks to NASA’s budgets will probably push back the human return to the Moon. Instead of retiring the Space Shuttle and sending the first spacecraft back to the Moon in 2014, the first missions won’t be until 2015 instead, according to NASA administrator Michael Griffin.
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February 27, 2007July 31, 2007 by Fraser Cain

NASA Reveals a Sample Lunar Base

For the upcoming lunar return missions, the astronauts will be staying on the surface of the Moon far longer than they did during the Apollo. They’ll need someplace safe to live.
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