1186 replies to this topic

[Tumaini12]

I'm impressed by China's recent space emission - but it's only been their 4th manned flight, and those 4 were spaced out (pun intended...) over 9 years. If they want to have a space station constructed - and, presumably, continually manned - within the next 8 years, they will need to speed up their programme considerably. The question is, can they afford to do so?

Edited by Tumaini12, 28 June 2012 - 09:36 AM.

[eacao]

to get to space, should we add more funding to space missions, or make space missions cheaper.

[tornado64]

I would say we need to bring the cost down first, and once we achieved this add more funding.

[MarcZ]

Some breaking news from Titan:

http://www.scienceda...20628190006.htm

[Logically Irrational]

First private space telescope may hunt asteroids

http://www.newscient...-asteroids.html

Citizens, defend thyselves. A private, non-profit organisation plans to launch a space telescope dedicated to finding deadly asteroids before they find us - a project that governments have been slow to take up.

The B612 Foundation - named for the asteroid that was home to The Little Prince - today announced their plan to build, fly and operate the first private space telescope: an asteroid hunter called Sentinel. The telescope will cost several hundred million dollars, which the foundation hopes to raise through philanthropic donations in the next six years.

"We think this is eminently doable," says Ed Lu, a former NASA astronaut and chief executive officer of B612, who compared the project to funding museums or concert halls. "Their donor base is local. Ours is global. This telescope will be owned by the people of the world."

[wjfox]

UK start-up will fly you to the moon for $150 million

George Dvorsky

The entire Apollo mission cost the U.S. government around $20 billion dollars — but if a U.K. start-up has its way, you could charter a trip for a flight around the Moon for the modest price of $150 million. In order to get you there, the company is looking to use tried-and-true technologies developed by the Soviet Union in the 1970s for its Mir and Zarya programs.

http://io9.com/59223...for-150-million

[H3llion]

Earth Sand Before Mars Sand -- Curiosity's Cousin Tested | Video

The Mars Science Laboratory, currently en route to the Red Planet, may land on or near Martian sand dunes. NASA engineers are taking an identically weighted test-rover for a spin in surface conditions similar to driving on Mars.

[wjfox]

http://lifeinmegapix.../mars/mars.html

[eacao]

that's very cool, but what is it? ^

[Craven]

Spherical shot from Mars rover. To celebrate it's 1000 days on red planet if I'm correct.

[Raklian]

Just incredible. Feels like I'm on the planet.

[Craven]

It's fine. You are.

[eacao]

That's a fair amount of dust on the solar panels. How long are they going to hold out?

[Craven]

http://www.nasa.gov/...pluto-moon.html

Hubble Discovers a Fifth Moon Orbiting Pluto

A team of astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope is reporting the discovery of another moon orbiting the icy dwarf planet Pluto.

The moon is estimated to be irregular in shape and 6 to 15 miles across. It is in a 58,000-mile-diameter circular orbit around Pluto that is assumed to be co-planar with the other satellites in the system.

[wjfox]

Virgin Galactic Reveals Privately Funded Satellite Launcher and Confirms SpaceShipTwo Poised for Powered Flight

New vehicle “LauncherOne” to transform small satellite market, as space tourism business powers into final leg of test flights

http://www.virgingal.../news/item/xxx/

[Craven]

I see great things ahead

[NightWolf235]

^^To add to that:

Asteroid Mining Startup Planetary Resources Teams With Virgin Galactic


http://www.forbes.co...irgin-galactic/

http://www.planetary...yload-services/

"According to a joint press release, the two companies have signed an agreement in which Virgin Galactic will launch Planetary Resources spacecraft into low Earth orbit, starting with the Arkyd-100 series of space telescopes. The telescopes will be launched on Virgin Galactic’s newly-announced satellite launcher, the LauncherOne."

[eacao]

Oh jesus this is my fantasy ^

[wjfox]

Heart of a Distant Quasar Observed With Unprecedented Sharpness: Sharpness Two Million Times Finer Than Human Vision

ScienceDaily (July 18, 2012) — An international team of astronomers has observed the heart of a distant quasar with unprecedented sharpness, two million times finer than human vision. The observations, made by connecting the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) telescope [1] to two others on different continents for the first time, is a crucial step towards the dramatic scientific goal of the "Event Horizon Telescope" project [2]: imaging the supermassive black holes at the centre of our own galaxy and others.

http://www.scienceda...20718073931.htm


Click for larger version -

[wjfox]

Magma World: NASA'S Spitzer Finds Evidence for an Exoplanet Smaller Than Earth

ScienceDaily (July 18, 2012) — Astronomers using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have detected what they believe is a planet two-thirds the size of Earth. The exoplanet candidate, called UCF-1.01, is located a mere 33 light-years away, making it possibly the nearest world to our solar system that is smaller than our home planet.

http://www.scienceda...20718114944.htm