Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Solar-Powered Airplane Makes Maiden Voyage

Solar Impulse durings its maiden voyage. Credit: Solar Impulse.


A solar powered airplane that one day will attempt an around the world non-stop flight took its maiden voyage yesterday in Switzerland. Solar Impulse flew for 87 minutes and climbed to 1,200 meters. “This first flight was for me a very intense moment!” exclaimed test pilot Markus Scherdel immediately after the flight. “The HB-SIA behaved just as the flight simulator told us! Despite its immense size and feather weight, the aircraft’s controllability matches our expectations!”

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“We reached all objectives, especially the safe landing, which was our main purpose,” said Claude Nicollier, a former astronaut who is one of the leaders of the project.

The plane has a 61 meter wingspan, and the wings are covered with 12,000 state-of-the-art photovoltaic solar cells that power the plane. Using so-called intelligent light materials and new energy storage, the plane will be able to fly both night and day, completely on solar power. Solar impulse weights 1,600 kg and can fly at speeds up to 70 kmh at a maximum altitude of 8,500 m (27 900 ft)

“We .still have a long way to go until the night flights and an even longer way before flying round the world, but today, thanks to the extraordinary work of an entire team, an essential step towards achieving our vision has been taken,” said Solar Impulse Chairman and initiator Bertrand Piccard. “Our future depends on our ability to convert rapidly to the use of renewable energies. Solar Impulse is intended to demonstrate what can be done already today by using these energies and applying new technologies that can save natural resources.”

For more information on Solar Impulse.

Posted on by Steve Nerlich

Astronomy Without A Telescope – Say No To Mass Extinction

Artist's impression of a gravity tug - a species and ecosystem saving device we haven't built yet. Credit: Durda/BBC News

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You may have heard that there is an 86 per cent chance that in a mere million years or so Gliese 710 will drift close enough to the solar system to perturb the Oort cloud and perhaps send a rain of comets down into the inner solar system. 

Also, you have probably heard that there are hints of a certain periodicity in mass extinction events, perhaps linked to the solar system moving through the denser parts of the galactic disk, increasing the probability of similar close encounters. 

So, the big bad is coming… sometime. It might just be a stray asteroid that’s in the wrong place at the wrong time and have little to do with what’s happening outside the solar system. In any case, we need to stay calm and carry on – and maybe print the following handy survival tips on a fridge magnet.  

Idealised fridge magnet - for us or whoever comes next.

Immediate action: Fund sky surveys.

The Spaceguard Survey is underway aiming to identify near Earth objects down to the size of 140 meters. At present the survey might be finished in ten or fifteen years and it completely missed two small objects which are thought to have hit Earth in 2002 with impact energies approaching half a kiloton. 

Uh, anyone think we could be doing more in this space? 

Medium term action (0 – 10 years): Evacuate the area 

The 2010 National Academy of Science (NAS) report uses the strange term civil defence, but really it just means run for your life (i.e. evacuate the anticipated impact site). City destroyers in the 140 meter plus range may only hit Earth every 30,000 years or so, but it doesn’t hurt to be ready. 

Mass extinction objects in the ten kilometer range may only come every 65 million years or so. If it’s one of these… bummer. 

Long-term action (10 years plus): Call Roger Ramjet   

If we do have around 10 years notice, there’s maybe enough time to launch some of the nifty technology solutions we have at least developed on paper. Gravity tugs and mirror bees and various other deflection devices are recommended to deflect objects threatening to pass through a gravitational keyhole and shift onto a collision course next time around. 

If the object is already on collision course, no-one’s ruling out ‘instantaneous force’ (IF) options, which are either crashing something into it (‘kinetic impact’) or just nuking it – although the NAS report notes a 500% uncertainty about the possible trajectory change resulting from an IF. Ideally, a ‘full deflection campaign’ involves an IF primary deflection followed by subsequent shepherding of one or more fragments onto a safer trajectory via your preferred deflection device.

And look, if it does all goes bad at least the next order of intelligent Earthlings might dig up all these fridge magnets with mysterious symbols printed on them and be able to figure out where we went wrong. My money is on the birds. 

Recommended reading: 

The Association of Space Explorers’ International Panel (chaired by Russell ‘Rusty’ Schweickart) report. Asteroid Threats: A Call For Global Response. 

 National Research Council report. Defending Planet Earth: Near-Earth Object Surveys and Hazard Mitigation Strategies. Final Report.

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

New Cloaking Device Hides Objects in Three Dimensions

Blueprint of the nanostructure containing the bump in the gold carpet and tailored invisibility cloaking structure underneath.Image © Science/AAAS

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Hiding an object with a cloaking device has been the stuff of science fiction, but over the past few years scientists have successfully brought cloaking technology into reality. There have been limits, however. So far, cloaked objects have been quite small, and researchers have only been able to hide an object in 2 dimensions, meaning the objects would be immediately visible when the observer changes their point of view. But now a team has created a cloak that can obscure objects in three dimensions. While the device only works in a limited range of wavelengths, the team says that this step should help keep the cloaking field moving forward.

The cloaking technology developed so far does not actually make objects invisible. Instead, it plays tricks with light, misdirecting it so that the objects being “covered” cannot be seen, much like putting a piece of carpet over an object. But in this case, the carpet also disappears.

This field is called transformation optics, and uses a new class of materials called metamaterials that are able to guide and control light in new ways.

Researchers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany used photonic crystals, putting them together like a pile of wood to make an invisibility cloak. They used the cloak to conceal a small bump on a gold mirror-like surface. The “cloak” is composed of special lenses that work by partially bending light waves to suppress light scattering from the bump. To the observer, the mirror appears flat, so you can’t tell there is something on the mirror.

“It is composed of photonic polymer that is commercially available,” said Tolga Ergin, who led the research team, speaking on the AAAS Science podcast. “The ratio between polymer and air is changed locally in space, and by choosing the right distribution of the local filing sector, you can achieve the needed cloaking. We were surprised the cloaking effect is that good.”

The wavelengths of “invisibility” are in the infrared spectrum, and the cloaking effect is observed in wavelengths down to 1.3 to 1.4 microns, which is an area currently used for telecommunications.

So, what is the practicability of this device?

“Applications are a tough question,” said Ergin. “Carpet cloaks and general cloaking device are just beautiful and exciting benchmarks to show what transformational optics can do. There have been proposals in the field of transformation optics for different devices such as beam concentrators, beam shifters, or super antennas which concentrate light from all directions and much, much more. So it is really hard to say what the future will bring in applications. The field is large and the possibilities are large.”

“Cloaking structures have been very exciting to mankind for a very long time,” Ergin continued. “I think our team succeeded in pushing the results of transformation optics one step further because we realized the cloaking structure in three dimensions.”

Read the abstract.

Computer simulation of of a microscope image of the “bump” that is to be cloaked. The viewing angle changes with time.

Sources: Science, Science Podcast

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Secret Mini Space Shuttle Could Launch April 19

Illustration of the X-37 Advanced Technology Demonstrator during flight. Credit: NASA

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It’s cute. It’s little. It’s also top secret. The X-37B orbital test vehicle is at Cape Canaveral in Florida, and the word is that it will be launched on board an Atlas V rocket on Monday April 19, 2010 at around 10 pm EDT. Other than that, the Air Force isn’t saying much about this mini-space shuttle look-alike. The reusable unmanned vehicle is capable of staying in orbit for 270 days, but the mission duration hasn’t been announced. Additionally, the ship has a payload bay for experiments and deployable satellites, but no word if any payloads will be included on the inaugural flight of this mini space plane.

X-37B. Credit: US Air Force

The X-37B is 9 meters long and 4.5 meter wide (29 X 15 ft) and its payload bay is 2.1 by 1.2 meters (7 by 4 feet). The vehicle was built at Boeing Phantom Works, based on an orbital and re-entry demonstrator design initially developed by NASA, then handed over to the Pentagon.

Rumors of an X-37B launch have been circulating since 2008.

Originally the vehicle was scheduled for launch in from the payload bay of the Space Shuttle, but that plan was axed following the Columbia accident.

The X-37A carried by WhiteKnightOne in 2005 (Alan Radecki)

DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency completed a series of approach and landing drop tests in 2007 of an experimental X-37B vehicle using the White Knight airplane from Scaled Composites as a mothership.

It will land like the space shuttle, with the primary landing site at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Edwards Air Force Base is the backup landing site.

The project is managed by the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office.

The X-37B’s mission is to “demonstrate a reliable, reusable, unmanned space test platform for the United States Air Force,” according to a fact sheet put out by the military. “Objectives of the OTV program include space experimentation, risk reduction and concept of operations development for reusable space vehicle technologies.”

It will be interesting to ascertain the capabilities and uses for this vehicle.

Sources: Spaceflightnow, Wiki,

Posted on by Ken Kremer

Successful Engine Test Firing for SpaceX Inaugural Falcon 9

Photo of successful static fire of Falcon 9 at Cape Canaveral, FL on March 13. Credit: Chris Thompson/SpaceX

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SpaceX announced that today’s (Mar 13) test firing of all 9 Merlin first stage engines was successful at Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral. This is a major milestone towards the planned inaugural first flight of the Falcon 9 rocket which SpaceX is building. This success follows an aborted test firing attempt on Thursday (Mar 11) and several other delays due to poor weather at the Cape this week.

The Falcon 9 will play a crucial role in resupplying cargo for the International Space Station after the scheduled retirement of NASA’s Space Shuttle program set for late this year or early 2011.

Falcon 9 static test at pad 40. Credit:Chris Thompson/SpaceX
The test occurred at 12:30 PM at Launch Complex 40 which is the next pad down the line from Atlas Launch Complex 41.

The first actual Falcon 9 blast-off is set for no earlier than April 12 between 11 AM and 3 PM

Falcon 9 is a two stage, liquid oxygen and rocket grade kerosene (RP-1) powered launch vehicle. It uses the same engines, structural architecture (with a wider diameter), avionics and launch system as the Falcon 1

Here is the official announcement I received from SpaceX this afternoon:

SpaceX Falcon 9 test at Pad 40. Credit: Florida Today
“Today, SpaceX successfully completed a test firing of the inaugural Falcon 9 launch vehicle at Space Launch Complex 40 located at Cape Canaveral. Following a nominal terminal countdown, the launch sequencer commanded ignition of all 9 Merlin first stage engines for a period of 3.5 seconds.”

“Just prior to engine ignition, the pad water deluge system was activated providing acoustic suppression to keep vibration levels within acceptable limits. The test validated the launch pad propellant and pneumatic systems as well as the ground and flight control software that controls pad and launch vehicle configurations. The completion of a successful static fire is the latest milestone on the path to first flight of the Falcon 9 which will carry a Dragon spacecraft qualification unit to orbit.”

Under NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, SpaceX plans three launches of the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft this year to demonstrate delivery of cargo to the ISS as well as returning cargo to Earth. The entire schedule moving forward is dependent on a successful inaugural launch.

NASA awarded SpaceX a $1.6 billion contract to conduct a minimum of 12 flights and deliver at least 20,000 kg of cargo to the ISS. An option for additional missions could increase the cumulative total contract value to $3.1 billion.

The 180 ft tall Falcon 9 will be capable of lifting approximately 11 tons to low Earth orbit (LEO) and in excess of 4.5 tons to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).

Update: SpaceX photos added

Falcon 9 erected at Launch Complex 40. Credit: SpaceX
All 9 Merlin 1C engines fired successfully today, March 13. This photo shows the fire generated from the flushing of fuel and LOX, but no engines actually started during this aborted test on March 11. Credit: SpaceX
Posted on by Steve Nerlich

Astronomy Without A Telescope – Home Made Quark-Gluon Soup

The most powerful operational heavy-ion collider in the world, the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) recently recorded the highest ever temperature created in an Earth-based laboratory of 4 trillion Kelvin. Achieved at the almost speed of light collision of gold ions, this resulted in the temporary existence of quark-gluon soup – something first seen at about ten to the power of minus twelve of the first second after the big bang.

And sure, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) may one day soon be the most powerful heavy-ion collider in the world (although it will spend most of its time investigating proton to proton collisions). And sure, maybe it’s going to generate a spectacular 574 TeV when it collides its first lead ions. But you have to win the game before you get the trophy.

To give credit where it’s due, the LHC is already the most powerful particle collider in the world – having achieved proton collision energies of 2.36 TeV in late 2009. And it should eventually achieve proton collision energies of 14 TeV, but that will come well after its scheduled maintenance shutdown in 2012, ahead of achieving its full design capabilities from 2013. It has already circulated a beam of lead ions – but we are yet to see an LHC heavy ion collision take place.

So, for the moment it’s still RHIC putting out all the fun stuff. In early March 2010, it produced the largest ever negatively charged nucleus – which is anti-matter, since you can only build matter nuclei from protons and/or neutrons which will only ever have a positive or a neutral charge.

This antimatter nucleus carried an anti-strange quark – which is crying out for a new name… mundane quark, conventional quark? And since the only matter nuclei containing strange quarks are hypernuclei, RHIC in fact created an antihypernucleus. Wonderful.

Then there’s the whole quark-gluon soup story. Early experiments at RHIC reveal that this superhot plasma behaves like a liquid with a very low viscosity— and may be what the universe was made of in its very early moments.  There was some expectation that melted protons and neutrons would be so hot that surely you would get a gas – but like the early universe, with everything condensed into a tiny volume, you get a super-heated liquid (i.e. soup).

An aerial view of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) in Upton, NY. The Alternating Gradient Synchrotron (AGS) built in the 1960s now works as a pre-accelerating injector for the larger RHIC.

The LHC hopes to deliver the Higgs, maybe a dark matter particle and certainly anti-matter and micro black holes by the nano-spoonful. And after that, there’s talk of building the Very Large Hadron Collider, which promises to be bigger, more powerful and more expensive.

But if that project doesn’t fly, we can still ramp up the existing colliders. Ramping up a particle collider is an issue of luminosity, where the desired outcome is a more concentrated and focused particle beam – with an increased energy density achieved by cramming more particles into a cross section of the beam you are sending around the particle accelerator. Both RHIC and the LHC have plans to undertake an upgrade to achieve an increase of their respective luminosities by up to a factor of 10. If successful, we can look forward to RHIC II and the Super Large Hadron Collider coming online sometime after 2020. Fun.

Posted on by Jean Tate

Gemini’s New Filters Reveal the Beauty of Star Birth

Sharpless 2-106 (Gemini Observatory/AURA, right; left: copyright Subaru Telescope, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan; All rights reserved)

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About 2,000 light-years away, in the constellation of Cygnus (the Swan), lies Sharpless 2-106 (after Stewart Sharpless who put the catalog together in 1959), the birth-place of a star cluster-to-be.

Two recent image releases – by Subaru and Gemini – showcase their new filter sets and image capabilities; they also reveal the stunning beauty of the million-year-long process of the birth of a star.

Sharpless 2-106 (Gemini Observatory/AURA)

The filter set is part of the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) toolkit, and includes ones centered on the nebular lines of doubly ionized oxygen ([OIII] 499 nm), singly ionized sulfur ([SII] 672 nm), singly ionized helium (HeII 468nm), and hydrogen alpha (Hα 656 nm). The filters are all narrowband, and are also used to study planetary nebulae and excited gas in other galaxies.

The hourglass-shaped (bipolar) nebula in the new Gemini image is a stellar nursery made up of glowing gas, plasma, and light-scattering dust. The material shrouds a natal high-mass star thought to be mostly responsible for the hourglass shape of the nebula due to high-speed winds (more than 200 kilometers/second) which eject material from the forming star deep within. Research also indicates that many sub-stellar objects are forming within the cloud and may someday result in a cluster of 50 to 150 stars in this region.

The nebula’s physical dimensions are about 2 light-years long by 1/2 light-year across. It is thought that its central star could be up to 15 times the mass of our Sun. The star’s formation likely began no more than 100,000 years ago and eventually its light will break free of the enveloping cloud as it begins the relatively short life of a massive star.

For this Gemini image four colors were combined as follows: Violet – HeII filter; Blue – [SII] filter; Green – [OIII] filter; and Red – Hα filter.

Sharpless 2-106 (Copyright Subaru Telescope, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. All rights reserved)

The Subaru Telescope image was made by combining images taken through three broadband near-infrared filters, J (1.25 micron), H (1.65 micron), and K’ (2.15 micron).

Sources: Gemini Observatory, NAOJ

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

R2 the Space Robot Does Detroit

R2 and D2? NASA and General Motors have come together to develop the next generation dexterous humanoid robot. The robots – called Robonaut2 – were designed to use the same tools as humans, which allows them to work safely side-by-side humans on Earth and in space. Credit: NASA

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Not sure if it speaks Bocce or understands the binary language of moisture evaporators, but the next generation of NASA’s Robonaut is about to move into the workforce in the automotive and aerospace industries. Engineers and scientists from NASA, General Motors and Oceaneering Space Systems of Houston have worked together to build a new humanoid robot capable of working side by side with people. Robonaut 2, or R2, is a faster, more dexterous and more technologically advanced robot than its predecessor, and this next generation robot can use its hands to do work beyond the scope of prior humanoid machines. R2 can work on Earth or in space.

“This cutting-edge robotics technology holds great promise, not only for NASA, but also for the nation,” said Doug Cooke, NASA’s associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. “I’m very excited about the new opportunities for human and robotic exploration these versatile robots provide across a wide range of applications.”

Using leading edge control, sensor and vision technologies, future robots could assist astronauts during hazardous space missions and help GM build safer cars and plants.

R2 reaches for the stars? Credit: NASA

“For GM, this is about safer cars and safer plants,” said Alan Taub, GM’s vice president for global research and development. “When it comes to future vehicles, the advancements in controls, sensors and vision technology can be used to develop advanced vehicle safety systems. The partnership’s vision is to explore advanced robots working together in harmony with people, building better, higher quality vehicles in a safer, more competitive manufacturing environment.”

The original Robonaut, a humanoid robot designed for space travel, was built about 10 years ago at Johnson Space Center. During the past decade, NASA gained significant expertise in building robotic technologies for space applications. Will these new robots go to galaxies far, far away and be grease monkeys? Only time will tell.

Source: NASA

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

ISS Now Has Live Access to the Internet

The International Space Station orbiting Earth. Credit: NASA

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Talk about a truly ‘world-wide’ web! As the astronauts aboard the International Space Station orbit Earth at 28,000 kph (17,500 mph) they now have the ultimate wireless connection and direct, live access to the internet. The station received a special software upgrade this week, called Crew Support LAN, which gives astronauts the ability to browse and use the Web. Previously, emails, news, and Twitter messages were sent to and from the ISS in uplink and downlink packages, so for example, Twitter (which NASA has embraced wholeheartedly) messages from the astronauts were downlinked to mission control in Houston, and someone there posted them on the astronauts’ Twitter accounts. Now, it’s live. Expedition 22 Flight Engineer T.J. Creamer made first use of the new system today when he posted the first unassisted update to his Twitter account, @Astro_TJ, from the space station:

“Hello Twitterverse! We r now LIVE tweeting from the International Space Station — the 1st live tweet from Space! 🙂 More soon, send your ?s”

Astronauts will be subject to the same computer use guidelines as government employees on Earth. In addition to this new capability, the crew will continue to have official e-mail, Internet Protocol telephone and limited videoconferencing capabilities.

This personal Web access takes advantage of existing communication links to and from the station and gives astronauts the ability to browse and use the Web. The system will provide astronauts with direct private communications to enhance their quality of life during long-duration missions by helping to ease the isolation associated with life in a closed environment.

During periods when the station is actively communicating with the ground using high-speed Ku-band communications, the crew will have remote access to the Internet via a ground computer. The crew will view the desktop of the ground computer using an onboard laptop and interact remotely with their keyboard touchpad.

To follow Twitter updates from all the astronauts, there is one centralized Twitter account for all: NASA_Astronauts

You can also follow Universe Today and me (Nancy Atkinson) on Twitter.

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

NASA Unveils Personal Aircraft

This artist's representation shows the view of the pilot for the one-man stealth plane. Credit: NASA Langley/Analytical Mechanics Associates

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Forget about jetpacks or flying cars. How about your own personal stealth aircraft? NASA has unveiled the Puffin, an experimental electrically propelled, super-quiet, tilt-rotor, hover-capable one-man aircraft. According to Scientific American, the 3.7-meter-long, 4.1-meter-wingspan craft is designed with lightweight carbon-fiber composites to weigh in at 135 kilograms (not including 45 kilograms of rechargeable lithium phosphate batteries.) The Puffin can cruise at 240 kilometers per hour, but for those high speed chases, can zoom at more than 480 kph. See video below.

Since it doesn’t have an air-breathing engine, the Puffin is not limited by thin air. So, basically, it doesn’t have a flight ceiling. The designers say it could go up to about 9,150 meters before its energy runs low enough to drive it to descend. With current state-of-the-art batteries, it has a range of just 80 kilometers if cruising, “but many researchers are proposing a tripling of current battery energy densities in the next five to seven years, so we could see a range of 240 to 320 kilometers by 2017,” says researcher Mark Moore, an aerospace engineer at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. He and his colleagues unveiled the Puffin design on January 20, 2010 at an American Helicopter Society meeting in San Francisco.

For takeoff and landing, the Puffin stands upright. But during flight the whole aircraft pitches forward, putting the the pilot in the prone position, like in a hang glider.

Of course, the original idea for this personal aircraft is for covert military operations. But if they can design them safe enough and cheap enough, everyone will want one. It could change our ideas about electric propulsion and personal aircraft.

By March, the researchers plan on finishing a one third–size, hover-capable Puffin demonstrator, and in the three months following that they will begin investigating how well it transitions from cruise to hover flight.

See SciAm for more info.

Hat tip to my sister Alice!