The WOW Science Thread

[pharvey]

Just hope this is successful and puts a real kick into space exploration....

SpaceX prepares for mission to International Space Station

SpaceX aims to become the first privately-owned company to build spacecraft that will dock with the International Space Station when it launches the Dragon Capsule on May 19.

The incentive to find a less costly mode of transport to the space station has been a boon for private industry as it seeks to fill the void left by the mothballing of Nasa's shuttle programme.

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk is so far leading the way. Later this month, his company, California-based Space Exploration Technologies Corporation - SpaceX for short - plans to make history by becoming the first privately owned company to build spacecraft that will dock with the space station.

On May 19, the Falcon 9 rocket will launch from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida, and once in space, will release into orbit the Dragon Capsule, a reusable spacecraft that will then be bound for the space station. If all goes to plan, it will dock a few days later with the space station in a delicate procedure known as "berthing," and will deliver supplies to astronauts aboard.

"What makes this really important is if we are able to dock with the space station, it will be the first time that a privately designed spaceship has been able to dock with anything. And that will, I think, really herald the dawn of a new era of space exploration," says Elon Musk, an internet entrepreneur who founded SpaceX in 2002 by investing $100 million (£63 million) of his own money into the project.

[pharvey]

Just as an add on which ties in with the previous post with regards to the private sector in space... Far fetched, or an exciting new dawn for travel (and exploration)? The latter I hope.

Britain needs a space port, business leaders claim

Britain risks losing out in the new space tourism "race" if it does not build a space port because jobs will be created in other countries pushing ahead with such projects, the Institute of Directors has warned.

The decision by Nasa, the US space agency, to close its shuttle programme means a host of private companies are ready to set up commercial 'taxi' services to space for both scientific and leisure purposes.

With space tourists lining up to pay £125,000 to spend as little as three hours in space there is a vast market available to any country which could support a 'cluster' of private companies offering such services.

Business leaders said Britain's £8bn space sector means it is well placed to profit from the new market, with the only existing commercial "space port" thousands of miles away in America's Mojave desert.

But they warned the UK could miss out on the estimated £16 billion market if a regulatory framework for flights to space is not established by ministers to encourage a private company to site the next space hub in Britain, rather than elsewhere in Europe.

Dan Lewis, author of the report by the Institute of Directors, said: "We are just on the verge of space [tourism] moving from what people might think of as 'Star Trek' fantasy to the start of something more realistic.

"There is a new breed of very well financed entrepreneurs who are looking to make this happen. [But] this is a globally competitive environment and the potential investors and suppliers could move anywhere – in that respect it is no different to any other business."

The new report identified sites in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the South West which could be suitable for a space port due their isolated location and distance from major air traffic routes.

A new "Boris Island" style spaceport would cost upwards of £2 billion but an existing RAF base could be converted by extending and resurfacing the runway for as little as £100 million, the IoD said.

With just £313 million in annual public funding, the UK space sector, which is forecast to support 100,000 jobs by 2020, is one of the most heavily privatised in Britain.

[STEVE G]

The best place to launch things into space is on the equator, which is why the European Space Agency launches Ariane rockets from French Guiana, so I'm not sure why you would want to build a space port in Scotland!

[Big Boy]

Clutching at straws to self finance independence?

[STEVE G]

Clutching at straws to self finance independence?

In the comments section of one UK newspaper website, someone had written, "Don't build it in Scotland, the Jocks will go independant and steal it"!

[Big Boy]

But you heard it here first

[pharvey]

SpaceX Makes History

May 25, 2012

Dragon Becomes First Commercial Spacecraft to Attach to the Space Station

Today, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) made history when its Dragon spacecraft became the first commercial vehicle in history to successfully attach to the International Space Station. Previously only four governments – the United States, Russia, Japan and the European Space Agency – had achieved this challenging technical feat.

The vehicle was grappled by station’s robotic arm at 9:56 a.m. Eastern. It was pulled in Dragon’s passive common berthing mechanism successfully attached to the orbiting laboratory at 12:02 PM Eastern.

Broadcast quality videos, including video inside of the SpaceX factory, may be downloaded at vimeo.com/spacexlaunch and high-resolution photos are posted at spacexlaunch.zenfolio.com.

SpaceX CEO and Chief Designer Elon Musk will join NASA Space Station Program Manager Mike Suffredini, NASA COTS Program Manager Alan Lindenmoyer and NASA Flight Director Holly Ridings for a press conference to discuss the remarkable achievement at 1:00 PM Eastern.

When asked for his initial thoughts on Dragon’s capture and move into the history books, Elon Musk stated, “just awesome.”

This is SpaceX's second demonstration flight under a 2006 Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) agreement with NASA to develop the capability to carry cargo to and from the International Space Station. Demonstration launches are conducted to determine potential issues so that they might be addressed; by their very nature, they carry a significant risk. If any aspect of the mission is not successful, SpaceX will learn from the experience and try again.

All good stuff

[sandman67]

The latest lecture from Jerry Coyne, prominant evolutionary biologist titled "Why evolution is true, and why many people still dont believe in it" delivered at Harvard Uni. Its a great tiptoe through the topic and has some cool up to date findings.

MrP should watch it as it explains how small deer like animals became modern whales...a topic he raised as a disproof of evolution in a separate thread.

anyway....over to Jerry

[STEVE G]

(Reuters) - Scientists at the CERN research center have found a new subatomic particle that could be the Higgs boson, the basic building block of the universe.

"I can confirm that a particle has been discovered that is consistent with the Higgs boson theory," said John Womersley, chief executive of Britain's Science & Technology Facilities Council, at an event in London.

Joe Incandela, spokesman for one of the two teams hunting for the Higgs particle told an audience at CERN near Geneva: "This is a preliminary result, but we think it's very strong and very solid."

The Higgs particle, although crucial for understanding how the universe was formed, remains theoretical. It explains how particles clumped together to form stars, planets and even life.

Without the Higgs particle, the particles that make up the universe would have remained like a soup, the theory goes.

It is the last undiscovered piece of the Standard Model that describes the fundamental make-up of the universe. The model is for physicists what the theory of evolution is for biologists.

What scientists don't yet know from the latest findings is whether the particle they have discovered is the Higgs boson as described by the Standard Model, a variant of the Higgs or an entirely new subatomic particle that could force a rethink on the fundamental structure of matter.

The last two possibilities are, in scientific terms, the most exciting.

[pharvey]

Curiosity the NASA space rover ready for launch for Mars

Curiosity, the most complex and powerful robotic spacecraft ever built for work on distant planets is being readied for launch to Mars on Saturday.

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NASA's £1.6 billion Mars Science Laboratory rover, to give Curiosity its full name, is on a mission to look for organic compounds and signs of whether the planet might be - or might ever have been - habitable.

If all goes well, the nuclear-powered craft will reach Mars next August, entering the thin atmosphere at 3,200mph for a descent to the floor of a 100-mile-wide crater.

The final stages of the entry, descent, and landing sequence will be especially tense as the rover, dubbed Curiosity in a student naming contest, is gently lowered to the surface on cables suspended from a rocket-powered "sky crane" making its debut flight.

Because it is too large to use airbags - like those that cushioned NASA's Pathfinder, Spirit, and Opportunity rovers - Curiosity will rely instead on landing rockets positioned above it, avoiding the challenge of finding a reliable way to get a one-ton vehicle off an elevated lander.

Instead, Curiosity will be set down on its six 20-inch-wide wheels, ready to roll.

Full Story: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/spac ... -Mars.html

It's getting close!! Now just under 2 weeks away from a hopefully successful landing..... fingers crossed!!

[EDIT] If you're interested in following the landing/progress, then visit http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/

[pharvey]

Giving this one a bump as it's only a matter of hours away. The Curiosity Rover is due to make it's landing on Mars in just under 5hrs (approx 12:30pm Thai time)...... unfortunately I'll be stuck at the bloody workshop.

Again, you can follow the event at http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/

[STEVE G]

It seems to be a successful landing:

Curiosity Rover Lands on Mars .
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000087 ... 49640.html

[sandman67]

Ladies and Gents, tonight's toast is

To the Super Smart Super Dedicated and Super Successful Boffins at NASA! Hats Off! Three Cheers and a Jolly Well Done There!

[Terry]

Yes agreed - but the CT mob will be telling you that it is all being done on a back lot in the middle of the Mohave desert............................

[pharvey]

Ladies and Gents, tonight's toast is

To the Super Smart Super Dedicated and Super Successful Boffins at NASA! Hats Off! Three Cheers and a Jolly Well Done There!

Completely pissed off I missed it "Live", but have to agree 100% SM - am toasting as I type. Thank God (sorry) this time they did actually get the metric/imperial calculations right!

Superb - let's hope the Rover does it's stuff!!