NASA Tests Orion Parachute (Result: Spectacular Failure) [Ouch]

Filed under the "good thing we tried it out first" department is this recent test of Shuttle-replacement Orion's parachute re-entry system. Based on the same system used for Apollo, the group of eight parachutes deploys after re-entry, ensuring the Orion capsule glides down back to terra firma for a pillow-soft landing. That's what's supposed to happen, anyway. Here, the initial chutes that position the craft for the main chutes' test (so, not a part of the final system) failed shortly after being dropped from a C-17 cargo plane at 25,000 feet. As you can see, it all goes downhill from there, terminating in "a landing that severely damaged the test mock-up." Well said, NASA—I'm guessing any test dummies inside for pressure measurements had to be scraped off the desert floor with a knife.
[ Via: Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog ]
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Giant Cold-War Era Russian Proton Rocket Successfully Launches Giant Satellite Into Space [Rockets]

The Inmarsat-4, or I4-F3 broadband satellite to its friends, is a big satellite. Almost as big as a double decker bus and with an unfurled solar wingspan as wide as a football field, it needed an appropriately big ride into space. And so it hitched onto a Proton Rocket, a 58m-high, 700-ton monster used for sat positioning since 1996, but before that, used in the 1960's to visit planets for scientific research and deliver parts of the International Space Station and Mir Space Station. The flight was perfect.
[ Via: Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog ]
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Next-gen NASA spacesuit contract mothballed

It may be true that no one can hear you scream in space, but we'd be wagering that a whole lot of people can hear the yelling coming out of Houston-based Oceaneering International, Inc., who just lost their two month old $745 million NASA contract to build the next-gen space suit. Of course, the bid was not without its fair share of bitching and moaning by competing contractors (apparently long time space suit-makers Hamilton Sundstrand and ILC Dover made a big stink after the contract was awarded to their upstart competitor), but them's the breaks when your gear's headed to space. Too bad though, we were really looking forward to the gear -- especially since now we have absolutely nothing to wear to the astro-prom.

[ Via: Engadget ]
[ Tag: moon,nasa,Oceaneering International,OceaneeringInternational,orion,space,space suit,SpaceSuit ]

Traffic from Space Videos Blow Our Minds, Pants, and Socks [Magic From Space]

Here's how the air, ground, data, landline, cellphone, and sea ship traffic looks from space in Great Britain, one of the busiest countries on Earth. The BBC's Britain from Above documentary took satellite and air images and mixed it with 3D GPS data to create these breathtaking high resolution pictures and videos: Air traffic in Great Britain.

Ships crossing the English Channel.

Data and phone calls across Great Britain.

Absolutely beautiful. I, for one, love Britain from above and the British people. Britain on the ground, however, is a different matter altogether. [Britain from Above]

[ Via: Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog ]
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NASA might bring plasma rocket to ISS for testing

Ad Astra's VASIMR plasma rocket is about ready for testing, only problem is it requires the vacuum of space to do it in. NASA is now considering taking the rocket up to the International Space Station, clipping it on and firing her up -- perhaps even using it to reposition the station. Formerly of NASA, Franklin Chang Diaz left to form Ad Astra and perfect his plasma rocket, which he hopes will be able to take space vehicles from low-earth orbit to the moon. The rocket draws its own power from solar cells, and then uses radio waves to heat argon into plasma, and directs that plasma using magnets. Pretty fancy stuff, and since the rocket is reusable and can propel payloads double the size of equivalent chemical engines, there could be cost savings in the long run. Right now it seems the main hang ups for NASA are where to attach the rocket to the ISS where it won't be interfered with, and how to get it into space after the space shuttle is retired in 2010

[ Via: Newlaunches.com ]
[ Tag: ad astra,AdAstra,international space station,InternationalSpaceStation,iss,plasma,plasma rocket,PlasmaRocket,vasimr ]

Abandoned NASA Trailer Found Roadside, Full of Retro NASA Awesomeness [Retromodo]

Since it came about in the 1930s as the Army's rocket research lab, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory has been a part of just about every major unmanned U.S. space mission to date. JPL also has a somewhat surprising history of running major missions out of modular trailers scattered around their Pasadena HQ, which are packed with all of the stuff you need to, oh, I don't know, monitor a spacecraft on its way to Mars. Photographer Richard Harrington stumbled upon one of these trailers, abandoned on a dusty lot somewhere between L.A. and Las Vegas, and as you would expect, it's a retro space-tech dream inside. The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.It's a little puzzling as to how something like this could find its way to a derelict desert in the middle of nowhere, but with NASA's budgetary fluctuations, I guess sometimes you have to rip and run. The whole thing has a definite abandoned-seconds-before-the-apocalypse kind of vibe. If anyone has any idea what kind of machines we're seeing here, fill me in. More pics: [Richard Harrington via FFFFOUND]

[ Via: Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog ]
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New robotic arm promises to mind Newton's third law

Don't you hate it how simply moving a robotic arm in a microgravity environment can produce enough negative reaction forces to alter a spacecraft's orientation? Well, a group of researchers from Cornell University have now devised a new type of robot arm that they say could make that pesky problem a thing of the past. To do that, they've employed a device known as a control-moment gyroscope (or CMG) instead of a motor to control the arm's joints, which not only reduces the amount energy requied to move the arm, but lets it move faster as well. As you can see above, they've already tested the arm on board NASA's famous Vomit Comet, but there's no indication just yet as to when or if the arm will actually see action in space.

[ Via: Engadget ]
[ Tag: cornell, cornell university, CornellUniversity, robot arm, RobotArm, robotic arm, RoboticArm, space, vomit comet, VomitComet ]

SpaceX's Elon Musk figures out Falcon 1 mishap, hopes for flight 4 next month

Wipe those tears away, budding astronaut. SpaceX's latest failure wasn't completely in vain. According to head honcho Elon Musk, the problem came just after a "picture perfect first stage flight" when a longer than expected thrust decay transient of the new Merlin 1C regeneratively cooled engine became "just enough to overcome the stage separation pusher impulse." You honestly may need to be a rocket scientist to digest all of that, but here's something even the layman can understand: Musk wants flight 4 in the air as early as next month. We're told that the long gap between flights 2 and 3 was simply due to all that engine engineering, but technologically speaking, nothing will change for the next attempt. Godspeed, Falcon 1 (v4).

[ Via: Engadget ]
[ Tag: crash,elon musk,ElonMusk,fail,failure,Falcon 1,Falcon1,galaxy,launch,rocket,satellite,space,spacex ]

Modded Millennium Falcon Can Pass for Real Movie Prop [Star Wars]

Giz reader Peter Clute saw the impressive Hasbro Millennium Falcon and instead of just buying it to play and go all pew-pew with it, he decided to make it better, painting new wear and tear details, and adding a motion sensor and infrared sensor, and a load of extra LEDs. The results are impressive:

The very next thing I did was set to tearing it apart to see how it worked. Once I had it apart, I decided to add some additional LED running lights and some interior lights as well. In all I have about 18 hours into this project and I am pleased with the results. Needless to say Pete Jr is certainly excited about it too.

If the cockpit wasn't out of proportion, this would have been a perfect model for the movie. [Peter Clute]

[ Via: Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog ]
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SpaceX's Falcon 1 rocket fails to reach orbit... again

Aw man, and we had such high hopes that the third time really would be a charm. SpaceX's third attempt to launch a payload rocket into outer space failed this weekend, with launch control confirming an "anomaly" just five minutes after liftoff. Elon Musk, SpaceX chairman and CEO, did admit that it was "obviously a big disappointment not to reach orbit on this Flight 3 of the Falcon 1," but he has assured the world that his firm won't be wasting any time feeling sorry for itself. The Falcon 1 was carrying a minuscule satellite dubbed Trailblazer for the Pentagon's Operationally Responsive Space Office, though we've no idea how costly the loss was. Thankfully, we can all look forward to SpaceX trying again sometime in the future, but unless the tables turn in a hurry, we'd say the odds are still stacked against it.

[ Via: Wired ]
[ Tag: failure,Falcon 1,Falcon1,launch,military,rocket,space,spacex ]

SpaceX's Falcon 1, Dreams of Space Conquest Begin in 10, 9, 8... [Rockets]

Like watching rocket launches? Then check out the live webcast of SpaceX's Falcon 1 launch from the Marshall Islands at 7pm EST. The Falcon 1 measures 90 feet, weighs roughly 103,000 pounds and uses a two stage, liquid oxygen and rocket grade kerosene vehicle to blast off. SpaceX, started up by Elon Musk of PayPal fame, is one of several new commercial companies trying to commercialize space travel, wrestling the mostly government-funded industry into the privatized world. Depending on how the launch goes, Falcon 1 will either prove itself to be a reliable way to transport satellites out to low Earth orbit or the project that turned Musk from billionaire to broke (read: millionaire). Update: looks like the launch keeps on being delayed, so check in and see if you've missed it yet. [SpaceX]

[ Via: Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog ]
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NASA says Phoenix lander is sampling water on Mars

Yep, just like we'd heard, the Phoenix lander has identified water in a soil sample it collected in Mars earlier, and NASA's extended the mission for another 90 days to go look for more. There's no analysis of the ice yet, but it doesn't look like there's any organic materials in the sample, and it'll take another three to four weeks before there's any more data to reveal. Hopefully that means we'll be packing up our silver go-go boots and taking off for our fabulous future lives on Mars in a month, but we'll see how things go.

[ Via: Engadget ]
[ Tag: ice,nasa,phoenix,phoenix lander,PhoenixLander,space,water ]