The Indian Space Research Organization's (ISRO) Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft continues to return new data as it orbits the Moon.

A guest instrument onboard the Indian spacecraft is NASA’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper, or M3 for short. That device is identifying and mapping the composition of the lunar surface in geologic context, providing a new level of detail needed to explore and understand Earth's nearest neighbor, explains Carle Pieters, the instrument's principal investigator from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

For example, M3 data was captured of the Orientale Basin – on the Moon’s western limb -- during the commissioning phase of Chandrayaan-1, as the spacecraft orbited the Moon at an altitude of 100 kilometers (62 miles).

As India’s first scientific investigation to the Moon, Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, SHAR, Sriharikota on 22 October 2008. The probe swung into lunar orbit in early November.

For a look at M3 data collected by the instrument – designed and built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. -- go to:

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA11727

If you’d like to probe the ISRO Chandrayaan-1 website, launch your own search by going to:

http://www.isro.org/Chandrayaan

-- Leonard David

The Coalition was contacted by "raed" via email concerning the role of water in Earth's evolution, as well as other planets beyond our solar system.

Exploring for water within our solar system and beyond is a key research area. Here are a couple of websites that can help you better understand the role of water in space exploration - and the implications for finding water beyond Earth.

http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/Re-St/Solar-System-Water-in-the.html

http://www.ozh2o.com/h2solar.html

Some 70 percent of the Earth is covered by water - and that makes it a unique world in our solar system of planets.

However, tests aboard the recently completed NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander mission identified water in a soil sample. Mars experts continue to study the surface of the red planet thanks to a variety of orbiters, landers, as well as rovers.

In fact, earlier this month it was announced that deposits of carbonate, formed in neutral or alkaline water have been identified on Mars. It seems that there were different water environments in early Mars history...and that increases the possibility that life had a chance to start on the red planet.

Then there is the intriguing prospect that liquid water, perhaps even an ocean, may exist beneath the surface of Enceladus - a moon of Saturn. There are only three places in the solar system that are known to or suspected to have liquid water near the surface: Earth, Jupiter's moon Europa and Saturn's Enceladus.

In the bigger picture, space scientists feel that an Earthlike world with significant water that's circling a star within a habitable zone could be a likely candidate for advanced life to evolve.

The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) has issued a new report that focuses on the urgent need for students to study math and science.

Launching the 21st Century American Aerospace Workforce takes a hard look at the potential workforce crisis, suggesting a number of policy recommendations for government action.

AIA President and CEO Marion Blakey said the workforce challenge must be met directly to ensure the future health of the aerospace industry.

“This report is another proactive step our industry is taking to make sure we have the skilled workforce we need to continue to bolster the U.S. economy and national security,” Blakey said.

The aerospace industry is faced with the loss of a significant portion of its skilled workforce as current employees near retirement and a younger wave has not materialized to replace them. Almost 60 percent of the workforce was age 45 or older in 2007 and reaching - or already at - retirement eligibility.

One recommendation from the AIA is to create a cabinet-level council dealing with Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education and revising federal education law to optimize preparation for students pursuing technical careers.

To read the AIA report, go to:

http://aia-aerospace.org/pdf/report_workforce_1208.pdf

-- Leonard David

Attention: High school and college students -- and anybody else -- hungry to get up close and personal with the Moon!

“2008 has seen a growing interest and awareness in the Moon, and the 40th anniversary of the gutsy Apollo 8 mission is only the beginning of a long sequence of lunar anniversaries,” notes Chuck Wood, a lunar expert.

“There will be more and more interest in the Moon in 2009 and beyond - perhaps this simple wiki can help direct inspired students to your college or university,” he notes.

Wood is inviting everyone to take a quick look and add to the wiki at:

http://the-moon.wikispaces.com/Lunar+Education

Meanwhile, check out Wood’s compendium of lunar science and history at:

http://www.lpod.org/cwm/index.htm

-- Leonard David

Talk about a cruise out of town!

NASA’s Messenger spacecraft has traveled nearly three billion miles since its launch in early August 2004.

And the road to its ultimate destination – orbiting Mercury – isn’t over quite yet.

On a 4.9 billion-mile trek to become the first spacecraft to orbit the planet Mercury, Messenger has flown by Earth once, Venus twice, and Mercury twice.

Still to come is one more flyby of Mercury in late September 2009.

“The year now ending has seen the first two spacecraft flybys of the innermost planet in more than three decades, encounters that have yielded a rich lode of new observations,” says Principal Investigator Sean Solomon of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. “The journey is far from over, but Messenger has a skilled team to guide it the rest of the way.”

Messenger is a little more than two years from reaching its final destination and a yearlong study of its target planet in March 2011.

This NASA probe -- built and operated by The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory – is the first space mission designed to orbit the planet closest to the Sun.

The mission’s science team has been collecting data and sharing it with the larger scientific community.

For your own flyby of results so far from this exciting mission, go to:

http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/soc/index.html

-- Leonard David

From Wired.com
The Hubble Space Telescope recently caught this shot of Jupiter's moon Ganymede just before it ducked behind the giant planet. The largest moon in our solar system, Ganymede is an icy rock even bigger than Mercury.

It's a gorgeous shot, but the image also reveals important information about Jupiter's atmosphere. As Ganymede passes behind the gas giant, light from the planet bounces off the moon, carrying with it clues about the chemicals that make up the haze above the Jovian clouds.

Also visible in the image is the Arizona-sized impact crater Tros on the moon's surface, with bright streaks of material blasted around it. Scientists think a saltwater ocean lies nearly 125 miles under the moon's surface, sandwiched between layers of ice. Even farther down, a liquid iron core is thought to exist, powering the only magnetic field around a moon in the solar system.

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From Florida Today
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is speeding around Earth today at five miles per second, gracefully turning to target far-flung planets, stars and galaxies for astronomical observation.

Chances are Vicki Balzano is piloting the craft from her computer station at the Space Telescope Science Institute on the campus of Johns Hopkins University.

Balzano is the lead engineer in the branch that builds the binary commands that are routed up to telescope computers. The computers then relay them to telescope systems and instruments, prompting Hubble to lock onto celestial targets for science observations.

For Balzano, 54, of Towson, Md., the job is even better than being there.

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A new independent group has been formed to promote standards and foster global research relating to the construction of an Elevator to Space.

Called the International Space Elevator Consortium (ISEC), the organization draws upon research specialists from such countries as the U.S., Europe, and Japan, brought together to focus on several key areas:

-- Development of a unified plan and roadmap for the Space Elevator and the coordinated assignment of specific research topics
-- Funding of research on technologies relevant to the Space Elevator
-- Development of the international legal framework necessary for the operation of the Space Elevator, and
-- Global public outreach and central information exchange on Space Elevator activities
 
“The Space Elevator is a project whose time has come,” said Ted Semon, head of the ISEC, headquartered in the greater Los Angeles area. 

“With the challenges facing today’s global economy, it is clear that new industries and new ideas are needed to help our planet in the 21st Century, Semon said in a press statement. “The Space Elevator can be a key positive contributor, from providing inexpensive nanotechnology material science breakthroughs that will make your car stronger and lighter, to the creation of new industries that offer opportunities for investment and job creation. The International Space Elevator Consortium devoted to its development can make this happen.”

For more information visit: www.isec.info

-- Leonard David

From Universe Today
In January of 2004, NASA's twin robot geologists, the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity, landed on the Red Planet. During those nearly five years, the rovers have returned hundreds of thousands of images and enough data to keep scientists busy for decades. But almost nine years ago, Scott Maxwell started working on developing software and techniques for driving the rovers around on Mars surface. Today he's the Mars Rover Driver Team Lead for MER at JPL, and he says that every day of working on this mission has been incredible. "It's been an amazing experience," he said, "and I like to say it’s the best job on two planets." To celebrate the upcoming fifth anniversary of the rovers on Mars, Universe Today caught up with Scott to get an update on the current status of the two rovers, to find out what the five-year MER mission has been like for a rover driver, and to ask the pressing question, just how do you drive a rover from 150 million kilometers away?

Both rovers have been inactive recently because of solar conjunction, where the sun is between Earth and Mars, which makes communications difficult because the amount of radio noise generated by the Sun. So, when I talked to Scott on Wednesday of this week he was just working on the commands that would be sent to Spirit for the first drive she has taken since several weeks ago. So how is Spirit doing these days?

"Spirit is struggling valiantly to climb up the north face of Home Plate," Scott said. "As you know, we've just come out of solar conjunction, and so we're picking up where we left off on Spirit's climb up the face. Her solar array energy levels are not as good as they were before the mini-dust storm we had before the conjunction, so that's obviously a cause for concern. It's unfortunate because that means we have less energy for driving. But she's still alive and that's a lot better than what we thought she'd be five years into the mission."

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Governments around the globe have invested a record $62 billion in their space programs in 2008. Planned satellite launchings in the next decade is to increase 38 percent over the previous decade.

Those are new findings based on data collected by Euroconsult, a research and consulting firm. The report Government Space Markets, World Prospects to 2017 notes that governments around the planet have clearly entered a new phase of investment, committing to the development a new generation of programs worldwide.

The just-issued report also flags the fact that government space program expenditures worldwide are expected to grow at 4.5 percent per year through 2012, reaching nearly $70 billion.

There are over 600 government satellites planned for launch in the next decade.

The development of governments’ space markets is driven by the growth of countries committing to space projects -- about 40 countries in 2008, twice as much as a decade ago -- as well as the expansion of governments’ nominal investments into their space programs around the world.

The report observes that new leaders India and China have reached milestones in developing a new generation of systems targeting applications including space science and manned spaceflight, once reserved to the established government space programs. In the coming years they could contribute significantly to new capabilities in space exploration.

Still, the global economic situation may influence future governmental space expenditures.

Steve Bochinger, Director, Institutional Affairs at Euroconsult, said in a press statement that governments could restrain spending on non-priority space program budget items or may find it more difficult to attract private partners to co-fund Public-Private-Partnership projects.

On the other hand, he added, the economic slowdown may induce governments to increase their investments on infrastructure-related programs to support their economies.

-- Leonard David

 

From Wired.com
Astronomers report they have found water in a galaxy 11 billion light-years from Earth, the most distant water ever detected.

Until now, the farthest water ever found was glimpsed about 7 billion light-years from Earth. The new discovery suggests that water was common in galaxies in the early universe. We can see parts of such galaxies when we look at objects so distant that their light has taken billions of years to reach us.

Astronomers used the 100-meter radio telescope in Effelsberg, Germany, and the Very Large Array (VLA) in New Mexico to detect the chemical signature of water molecules in a galaxy called MG J0414+0534. The water molecules seem to be located in the galaxy's center, where a supermassive black hole called a quasar is spewing out tons of radiation as material falls into it. The water molecules lie in clouds of dust and gas that feed the black hole, and appear to be amplifying radio waves at a specific frequency, forming what's called a "maser," or the radio equivalent of a laser.

Though finding water in a distant galaxy doesn't tell us whether planets in that galaxy also have water, when searching for hints of life beyond Earth, it's always a good sign to find life's favorite molecule.

The galaxy is so far away, we see it as it was when the universe was roughly one-sixth its current age. At this distance, it would normally be too dim to see, if it weren't for the help of a cosmic magnifying glass called a gravitational lens. This trick of gravity, first predicted by Einstein, occurs when a massive foreground galaxy between Earth and a distant object bends the light of what lies behind it, creating multiple magnified images of the distant object so that we can see it.

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From Wired.com
Known as the Christmas Tree cluster, this colorful collection of stars lies 2,600 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Monoceros, the unicorn.

The cluster was first discovered in the 18th century but was captured anew in this stunning image by by the 2.2-meter Max Planck Society/ESO telescope at La Silla observatory in the Atacama Desert. The telescope was outfitted with a specialized astronomical camera called the Wide Field Imager and a series of filters, and then aimed at the cluster for 10 hours to get the full-color image above.

The swirling gas clouds appear red because of ultraviolet light emanating from the young, hot stars that look like blue ornaments on a Christmas tree. The triangular feature near the top of the photo is an area of gas called the Cone Nebula.


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It is highly likely that the next footprints on the lunar surface will be planted there by Chinese astronauts.

That’s the opinion of Marion Blakey, president and CEO of Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), speaking on December 17 during the Reuters Aerospace and Defense Summit in Washington, D.C.

Blakey told the Summit that “it has been a long time since we’ve had anyone breathing down our necks. Now we do.” She emphasized that the public has not realized that the “next boots on the moon are probably going to be Chinese…”

Meanwhile, Chinese space officials have repeatedly noted in recent months that their country is blueprinting a step-by-step space schedule. That agenda includes placing into Earth orbit a space station, as well as sending a robot lander to the surface of the Moon – a prelude to dispatching their Taikonauts to the Moon’s surface.

China has an orbiter circling the Moon -- as does Japan and India --  and recently completed its first spacewalk during the mission of Shenzhou 7 – a three-person space voyage that took place last September.

– Leonard David

From Wired.com
The tiny Saturn moon of Enceladus may be among the best candidates for extraterrestrial life in our solar system.

Scientists for the first time have gathered comprehensive evidence suggesting Enceladus may have all the necessary ingredients to harbor life in the ocean beneath its icy crust.

Particles in a large plume of water vapor emanating from the surface suggest that the moon has an active ocean that circulates life-sustaining nutrients picked up from the rocky interior below.

"The plume is our smoking gun," said astrobiologist Christopher Parkinson of the University of Michigan. "It gives you a hint about what's going on inside."

Life could arise in these conditions, or it could arrive from elsewhere in the galaxy, Parkinson said Monday at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union.

"If we sent a probe with the idea that there was microbial life on it that we were going to infect the place with, it would likely be a successful experiment," he said. "I'm not suggesting we do it, but it would be very cool."

So far, space missions have found evidence in the solar system for liquid water and organic molecules on Mars, Jupiter's moon Europa and now Enceladus. Scientists hunting for life outside of the solar system are looking for planets with atmospheres with the right chemistry. But if Enceladus could host life, it shows that worlds without atmospheres could also be candidates.

Chemical analyses of the moon's vapor plume made by the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft in a close flyby in October showed that it was mostly water, but also contained methane, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and silicate dust.

Some of the vapor from the plume falls back to resurface the crust, Parkinson said. There the molecules could react with charged particles from the sun to create things like hydrogen peroxide and methanol — unappetizing to humans, but a nutritious buffet for microbes.

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XCOR Aerospace of Mojave, California has successfully completed its first rocket engine test fire for its Lynx suborbital launch vehicle.

The Lynx is being built to carry people or payloads to the edge of space.

XCOR’s new engine – designated the 5K18 – burns a mixture of liquid oxygen and kerosene. The engine roared to life for the first time on December 15 at XCOR’s rocket test facility located at the Mojave Air and Space Port.

The Lynx will use four of the 5K18 engines to hurl passengers or scientific gear on suborbital trajectories.

Earlier this month, XCOR announced that RocketShip Tours of Phoenix, Arizona has begun sales of tickets for suborbital flights on the Lynx. Tickets will sell for $95,000.  

XCOR Aerospace is a California corporation located in Mojave, California. The company is in the business of developing and producing safe, reliable and reusable rocket-powered vehicles and propulsion systems that enable affordable access to space.

-- Leonard David

From Wired.com
Like a Kubrickian psychodrama retold at the microbial scale, zero-gravity physics seems to trigger salmonella's dark side, making the food-poisoning bug more virulent when cultured in space.

But there may be a happy ending: Depending on what salmonella itself is fed, it can become less virulent — a trait that hints at new ways of weakening Earthly disease.

"There's more to this than worrying about food poisoning in space," said Arizona State University microbiologist Cheryl Nickerson. "We're opening new doors to understanding how pathogens in general are causing disease."

Nickerson showed last year that salmonella became more contagious when cultured during a space shuttle voyage. Upon returning from a ride on the STS-115 space shuttle, unusually low doses were needed to infect mice: zero-gravity fluid dynamics seemed to trigger the same microbial attack mechanisms typically stimulated by the movement of fluid in our guts.

The salmonella used in that research were grown in a nutrient-rich medium. Well-fed salmonella shot into space for Nickerson's latest study, published recently in PLoS One also became extra-virulent. This time, however, she also included a low-nutrient salmonella culture — and those bacteria proved to be far less virulent than their well-fed counterparts.

In both cultures, many of the same gene families were triggered, suggesting some sort of common master regulator that determines the response of salmonella to its environment. If that function exists in other bacteria and can be manipulated by scientists, it could be tweaked to make them less able to cause disease.

"By identifying specific molecular mechanisms by which these organisms respond to stimuli in the space environment," said Michael Roberts, a NASA microbiologist who was not involved in the study, "the group has identified potential therapeutic targets for limiting the bacteria’s virulence inside our bodies."

Also included in the latest experiment, carried on the March 2008 space shuttle mission STS-123, was a hybrid solution rich in five nutrients suspected by Nickerson of altering virulence: phosphate, magnesium, sulfate, chloride and potassium.

Salmonella grown in this broth proved weak, and further testing in lab-simulated zero-gravity environments suggests that phosphate may be especially important for reducing virulence. That finding dovetails with another observation of Nickerson's: the master Hfq protein that controls dozens of other genes activated during the experiment is linked to phosphate uptake and may be a common response regulator to this environment.

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From Live Science
Billions of years ago, the universe was crowded with tight-knit clusters of galaxies. Then, a party crasher got the upper hand. This mysterious force now called dark energy has since been expanding the universe at an increasing pace.

New measurements of this accelerating expansion, which drives galaxies away from one another on large scales but so far shows no effects on small scales (such as within a galaxy), provide details about the nature of the unseen and unknown dark energy that is at work.

The results, announced today at a news conference organized by NASA, reveal a decrease in the mass of galaxy clusters in more recent times, which would be a consequence of this hastening and ripping force that some think could eventually tear apart even star systems, planets and eventually the very molecules we're made of.

"If there were any doubts 10 years after the initial discovery that the universe was speeding up, this should really dispel them," said Michael Turner of the University of Chicago's Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, who was not involved in the current study.

In addition, the new results, which relied on the Chandra X-ray Observatory, suggest dark energy takes the form of what Einstein called the cosmological constant — a term in Einstein's general relativity that represents the possibility of empty space having a density and pressure associated with it.

If dark energy is indeed some kind of repulsive force that is linked with "nothing," and the density of dark energy stays the same over time, astrophysicists say the expansion of the universe will continue to speed up. So rather than galaxies mingling and merging, they will fly away from one another.

And billions of years from now, the scientists say, local superclusters of galaxies will also disintegrate and all other galaxies will ultimately disappear from the Milky Way's view.

"We don't really have a clue why the universe is speeding up. We have some ideas, but we really don't understand it," said Turner, who is credited with coming up with the term "dark energy." "And so having yet another method to study how that speed-up happened can only help us, can only make us more optimistic about eventually understanding what the dark energy is."

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From NASASpaceFlight .com
China has launched a new remote sensing satellite from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. The fifth satellite in the YaoGan series was orbited by a CZ-4B Chang Zheng-4B  launch vehicle at 03:22 UTC Monday morning.

According to the state media, and as is predecessors, the YaoGan-5 satellite will be used for scientific research, land resources surveying, crop yield estimate and disaster prevention and relief. The satellite was developed by the China Academy of Space Technology.

Once again the lack of information about this new bird and its late launch announcement raises the questions about its military nature. Announced as a remote sensing and disaster relief satellite series, the YaoGan satellites have an “obscure” mission.

The first YaoGan satellite (29092 2006-015A) was launched by a CZ-4C Chang Zheng-4C (CZ4C-1) from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center on April 27, 2006. At the time the details about this satellite were very rare but later it was said that this was the first Jian Bing-5 satellite, being equipped with the first space-based synthetic aperture radar (SAR).
 
The YaoGan-2 (31490 2007-019A) was launched on 25 May, 2007 by a CZ-2D Chang Zheng-2D (CZ2D-8) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The details about this satellite were also rare, but some sources pointed that this could be an optical military observation satellite complementing the results of the YaoGan-1.
 
On November 12th, 2007 was launched the YaoGan-3 (32289 2007-055A) satellite by a CZ-4C Chang Zheng-4C (CZ4C-2) launch vehicle from Taiyuan. The Yaogan-3 was said to be the second Jian Bing-3 SAR satellite. Finally, on December 1st 2008 was the launch of YaoGan-4 (33446 2008-061A) by a CZ-2D Chang Zheng-2D from Jiuquan.

The CZ-4B Chang Zheng-4B launch vehicle was first introduced in May 1999. The rocket is capable of launching a 2200 kg satellite into a 900 km polar sun-synchronous orbit, developing 2960000 kN at launch. With a mass of 248470 kg, the CZ-4B is 45.58 meters long and has a diameter of 3.35 meters.

Developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, the CZ-4B is a three-stage launch vehicle that uses storable propellants. Its first stage is the same of the CZ-4A, being equipped with a YF-21B (four YF-20B engines with swinging nozzles). The second stage is an YF-22B and the third stage uses an YF-40.
 
According to Sinodefence.com, modifications on the CZ-4B included larger payload fairing, the replacement of the original mechanical-electrical control on the CZ-4 with an electronic control, an improved telemetry, tracking, control, and self-destruction systems with smaller size and lighter weight.

It also includes a revised nozzle design in the second stage for better high-altitude performance, a propellant management system for the second stage to reduce the spare propellant amount, thus increasing the vehicle’s payload capability and a propellant jettison system on the third-stage.

The first launch of the CZ-4B was on May 10, 1999 from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center orbiting the FY-1C Feng Yun-1C (25730 1999-025A) meteorological satellite and the SJ-5 Shi Jian-5 (25731 1999-025B).

This launch was the 10th orbital launch by China this year, the 115th Chinese orbital launch, the 27th orbital launch from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, and the fourth orbital launch from Taiyuan this year.

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From Florida Today
The Obama administration is taking a sweeping look at NASA that focuses on plans to retire the nation's aging shuttle fleet in 2010.

Five space policy experts -- four of whom held key NASA posts during the Clinton administration -- are gathering data on options to close an anticipated five-year gap in U.S. human spaceflight. They aim to brief the incoming president before his Jan. 20 inauguration.

"They advised us that the shuttle retirement was going to be their No. 1 priority," Brevard County Commissioner Mary Bolin said. "And that was just tremendous to hear because that is a concern for our citizens. That hits us straight in the heart."

"I was very impressed with them," Commissioner Robin Fisher said. "It seems that
President-elect Obama has everything in order, and he's moving at a fast pace."

Bolin, Fisher and Lynda Weatherman, president and chief executive of the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast, met with the Obama's NASA Review Team last week in Washington.

"They welcomed us with open arms and, basically, wanted to be briefed on some of the concerns that we have in Brevard County," Fisher said. "And the loss of jobs is one that is near and dear to my heart. That's something I don't want to see happen."

An estimated 3,500 Kennedy Space Center jobs are expected to be lost during the gap between the shuttle retirement and the first piloted flights of the Ares 1 rocket and the Orion spacecraft in March 2015.

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After a spectacular night launch on November 14th and its 16-day mission to the International Space Station, Space Shuttle Endeavour glided in from space on November 30th landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California, because of bad weather in Florida. On December 12th, the Shuttle returned to its home spaceport at NASA Kennedy Space Center riding piggyback on a modified 747 airplane.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo:  Space Shuttle Endeavour ends its STS-126 mission. Being ferried home by a modified 747, it landed at NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida on December 12th.     Photo credit:  NASA

This Shuttle mission was very special for everyone who was there to experience Endeavour’s unforgettable night launch – some seeing a space launch for the first time.

What follows here are several space enthusiasts’ vivid descriptions of what the experience was like for them. At the end of this article, you will find links to NASA websites with information about how to plan your own trip to Florida to see a Shuttle or rocket launch and the NASA visitor center. Here are on-the-scene accounts of the experience of a lifetime.

Lonnie Schorer is a dedicated space enthusiast and space education author. She and four members of her family experienced the night launch of the STS-126 Endeavour Space Shuttle mission. Here is Lonnie’s description of the event with photos:

My husband Dave, our son Scott, our grandsons (six and nine years old), and I arrived in Florida from Virginia and Massachusetts on Friday morning, November 14, 2008, crossing our fingers for good weather. Huge white clouds were amassing above as we drove east on Highway 528 toward Cocoa Beach. The clouds looked like potential thunderheads, and we mentally blew them away.

As we neared the coast, the skies were clear with the clouds remaining inland behind us. That afternoon we checked in with NASA Guest Operations and ran around (boys!) the NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Visitor Complex, blasting off in the Shuttle Launch Experience and enjoying the sights.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photos (above):  Schorer boys at KSC Visitor Complex (left), and checking out Cape Cod on an image of Earth from space (right).          Photo credits:  Lonnie Schorer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo:  A favorite NASA KSC Visitor Complex ride is the simulated Shuttle Launch Experience. Lonnie, Dave and one grandson here get ready to launch. All five of Schorers had front row seats.     Photo credit:  Scott Schorer

It was hot for us northerners and we all wished we were wearing shorts. Eating early at one of the clusters of outdoor cafe tables, we then mingled with the crowds waiting in the 'lucky yellow ticket' bus line to go to KSC’s Banana Creek viewing site.
 
The spectacular full moon backlit and then rose behind the tall towers of the NASA Vehicle Assembly Building during the hour preceding launch. Cameras started to click as the sight was so dramatic it was as though the heavens were joining to stage a perfect show. Families of kids were running around on the lawn by the lake. I saved seats while Dave, Scott and the boys dashed inside the Apollo/Saturn V Center to marvel at the huge Saturn V rocket.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo (above):  The popular Apollo/Saturn V Center at the NASA Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex houses the huge Saturn V rocket like the ones that launched astronauts to the Moon.      Photo credit:  Scott Schorer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo (above):  Schorer grandparents and grandsons at the KSC view area wait with great anticipation the night launch of Endeavour.     Photo credit:  Scott Schorer

When they returned, the air was electric with anticipation. Suddenly, the commentator asked everyone to stand in the bleachers to sing The Star Spangled Banner, led by the beautiful voice of a NASA employee. With hands over hearts and voices filled with hope and prayers, it was a wonderful patriotic moment. The timing was perfect.  We finished singing and the numbers on the big countdown clock started to move at T minus 9 minutes. At T minus one minute, the crowd became very still and started to count in unison, all staring at the Shuttle launch pad. Everyone had remained standing and our six-year-old grandson, next to me on a higher tier, held tightly onto my shoulder.

Blast off! The pad was aflame as Space Shuttle Endeavour rose in a brilliant plume of fiery light. The roar caused startled birds to take off in all directions – and we were told that the alligators get quite stirred up as well. Smoke billowed from the pad as the Shuttle rose, turning the night sky into a blaze of golden orange. A thick contrail of smoke arced and was blown into a wiggly line by high winds. The sonic boom blew surrounding clouds away. Everyone was exclaiming in awe. The reactions were emotional and people around us started to cry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo:  Launch of Shuttle Endeavour taken from one of NASA's close-by robotic cameras.     Photo credit:  NASA

During the launch, the boys were filled with the "Awesome" power of the event – so many people gathered and waiting in the night, the rockets’ roar, the vibration waves, the extreme brightness... They were excited about the clouds being shoved aside by the heat and power of the Shuttle and kept saying, “Did you see that?” Our older grandson was very concerned about a peripheral fire that had erupted near the launch pad and wondered who would put it out.

The commentator announced separation of the external solid rocket boosters and soon said the Shuttle was traveling at 4,000 mph. Unimaginable! Because it was a night launch, we could see the light growing smaller for a long time. And then suddenly, the pinpoint of light vanished and it was over. We got back on the bus, trying to process what we had just seen. Our bus monitor told us it was the last Shuttle night launch. We were even luckier than we thought. It was an historic event to remember always and one which, I hope, will inspire our grandsons to follow science and math.

Dave said that after going to Shuttle Launch Experience, he thought the real event would be even louder. He recalled feeling dwarfed, standing next to the shuttle at National Air and Space Museum’s Udvar Hazy Center in Virginia and couldn’t believe the power required to lift something that size into orbit. Scott said he wasn't going to take any pictures as he'd download some later. He just wanted to watch and remember it. I looked over to see his reaction and saw him with camera raised high. He said that as the flaming plume started to lift off, he couldn't help it. We all wanted to see it again and, in the world of virtual realities, kept joking that someone should just push the button on the other pad and send another Shuttle up while the crowd was still gathered. We couldn't get enough of the amazing sight.
 
One thing was for certain, the crowd was filled with wonder and pride for humankind’s ingenuity and ability to lift us off planet Earth into space.

Lonnie Schorer is an architect, pilot, skydiver, runner and a member of the TIGHAR Earhart Team (The International Group for Historical Aircraft Recovery). She lives in Virginia. She is also author of Kids to Space: A Space Traveler’s Guide and co-author of Kids to Space Mission Plans: An Educator’s Guide published by Apogee Books (http://apogeebooks.com).

Some lesson plans from the Educator’s Guide and kids’ questions about space with experts’ answers from the Space Traveler’s Guide are available on the Coalition for Space Exploration’s Education Station website at: http://spacecoalition.com/Education_Station.cfm
(Click on Space Classroom Resources on the right side.) 

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Cynda Collins Arsenault, President and Co-founder of the Secure World Foundation in Superior, Colorado, saw the night launch while visiting her parents. She had seen a daytime launch before, but this was her first night launch:

I was fortunate to be with my parents at their home in Satellite Beach (appropriately named) for the recent Space Shuttle launch. It was amazing to watch the launch on TV and then step out the back door to see the whole sky light up and watch the Shuttle emerge. It was close enough to see considerable detail with binoculars. The sight was made all the more beautiful by the just-risen full moon. Feeling the rumble in the ground added to the awe of this amazing event. Following it as it neared orbit and moved off to the horizon left me with wonder and brought to mind the blessing of Irish poet and philosopher John O’Donohue:

     Let us thank the Earth that offers ground for home
     and holds our feet firm
     to walk in space open to infinite galaxies.

It renewed my commitment to ensuring the secure and sustainable use of space for our children and their children.

The website for the Secure World Foundation is: http://secureworldfoundation.org
The Secure World Foundation is devoted to achieving a sustainable space environment for future space activities through focusing on space situational awareness, space traffic management, mitigation of orbital debris, cooperative Earth observation, avoidance of a space arms race, and protecting Earth from the threat of Near Earth objects.  __________________________________________________________________

Dr. David Livingston is the producer, interviewer and owner of The Space Show, a live and online radio show dedicated to providing a voice for space exploration experts and enthusiasts. He lives north of San Francisco and is also a business consultant with expertise in off-Earth commerce, new space industries and space tourism.

David and his friends had VIP passes for an area also near NASA KSC’s Apollo/Saturn V Center. This was David’s first ever Shuttle launch. I spoke with David by phone a few hours after the launch. His first word to describe the experience: “Unbelievable!”  Here is his story:

It was such an incredibly clear night, and you could see the Moon so red and bright over the launch tower. It could not have been a more perfect environment.

Earlier we had thought the launch might get delayed because of weather. We were checking our cell phones for launch updates, going to SpaceflightNow.com and following Bill Harwood’s coverage on CBSnews.com.

There were about ten older Disabled Veterans sitting in front of us in wheelchairs. When they played the national anthem, everyone who could, stood to sing – and then we were about 30 seconds from launch time. Then they polled the launch team and the Flight Director said we’re Go for launch! The announcer said: “Shuttle main engine firing”.

As the Shuttle main engines fire, somebody yells: “I love America!” - and everybody starts yelling and clapping and cheering. It was remarkable. It’s much more dramatic in person.

When the Shuttle main engines ignited, it was like an atomic bomb blast. The whole sky lit up. Everything, even where we were four miles away, was as light as day. It was a bright round curvature, as bright as the Sun, glowing for about 30 seconds – and you could see the Shuttle start to rise up and the exhaust plume was so visible.

Then the sound hits you and the pressure wave hits you - and it’s just a roar like you’ve never experience – and even car alarms go off. It’s unbelievable!

The Shuttle exhaust hung over the pad like a tornado funnel up into the sky. A night flight is really cool because the Shuttle is visible almost all the way to orbit. Even a few minutes later, it stood out on the dark sky. It was brighter than the stars up in that direction. We could see it up until about a minute before it made it to orbit. It was unbelievable!

The Shuttle is an incredible machine. When they retire it, we are really going to miss it.

David Livingston’s The Space Show website is at: www.thespaceshow.com
David usually does five live and online interviews each week with experts on space and science-related topics. The website is a valuable space resource with more than a thousand archived Space Show interviews. It also has pages on FaceBook, Twitter and podcasts are available. You can also sign up to receive weekly announcements of upcoming shows and guests.
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With David at the launch was future space tourist Reda Anderson from Beverly Hills, California. This was also her first time experiencing a Shuttle launch. Reda is the first person to sign a contract to go into space on a non-government (commercial) space vehicle. Reda said that the STS-126 Shuttle launch was so awesome it brought tears to her eyes. Here’s the photo Reda took at the first moment of the launch:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo:  The launch of Shuttle Endeavour lights up the sky from the KSC viewing site four miles away. Note the Moon in the upper left.     Photo credit:  Reda Anderson

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RESOURCES ON SPACE SHUTTLE MISSIONS AND PLANNING A TRIP TO A LAUNCH

STS-126 VIDEOS
To view short NASA videos of the STS-126 launch, and Endeavour on the launch pad at night lit by spotlights, go to:
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/video/shuttle/sts-126/html/fd1.html

THE STS-126 MISSION
For more information, photos and video of the STS-126 Shuttle launch, mission and landing, go to:  http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts126/126_overview.html

HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT PHOTOS AND VIDEOS
To search NASA photo galleries and videos for past, present and future human spaceflight missions, go to:  http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/index.html

PLANNING A TRIP TO EXPERIENCE A SHUTTLE OR ROCKET LAUNCH

All the Space Shuttles will be retired within the next few years. The NASA launch schedule currently lists nine more Shuttle launches into 2010. About a dozen rocket launches are on the schedule at this time, but there will always be more of them.

If you haven’t seen a Space Shuttle launch, as these people above describe - it’s an experience of a lifetime. They were all very lucky that the launch took off on time. There were concerns that it might be delayed because of weather, and mechanical delays are also common. Launch delays can be a few days, weeks or months. Everyone wants them to launch when it is safe. Best is to go thinking if it isn’t delayed, you were very lucky.

The best plan is to arrive in Florida just a day or so before the launch and plan to stay for a few days. Whether it’s delays or not, you can easily spend a full day seeing all there is to see at the NASA KSC Visitor Complex, and additional days at Disney World and Epcot Center. Nearby are some great beaches and restaurants too.

VIEWING A LAUNCH
For general information on experiencing a Space Shuttle or rocket launch from the NASA KSC Visitor Complex, or in the general area, go to: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/about/view/index.html

KSC LAUNCH VIEWING RESERVATIONS
For information and reservations to see a launch from the special viewing areas at NASA KSC, go to the Launch Schedule and Status Center website at:
http://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/launches/scheduleStatus.asp
Then select the launch you would like to see, and call the contact number listed for Reservations. For most launches, the reservations number is:                (321) 449-4400        

NASA SHUTTLE AND ROCKET LAUNCH SCHEDULE
Launches from both KSC and Vandenberg Air Force Base in central California, with links to each of the spacecraft mission websites:
http://www.nasa.gov/missions/highlights/schedule.html

SIGN UP FOR NASA LAUNCH & EVENT UPDATES at:
http://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/eventSignUp.asp

INFORMATION & TICKETS FOR NASA KSC VISITOR COMPLEX is at: 
http://www.ksctickets.com

NASA KSC EDUCATION PROGRAMS & RESOURCES are at:
http://education1.nasa.gov/edoffices/centeroffices/kennedy/home

                                                - Posted by Barbara David 

An isolation facility in Moscow is being readied to simulate a Mars mission.

For 105 days, as part of a cooperative project between the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Directorate of Human Spaceflight and the Russian Institute for Biomedical Problems (IBMP), a six-person crew will live, eat, sleep and work in the recently refurbished facility.
 
Personnel involved in the ground test will experience elements of a simulated Mars voyage. Their stay is in preparation for the full Mars500 study due to start later in 2009, which will see another six-member crew sealed in the chamber to experience a complete 520-day Mars mission.

The intent of the Mars500 study is to gather data, knowledge and experience to help prepare one day for a real sojourn to Mars. The participants will act as subjects in scientific investigations to assess the effect that isolation has on various psychological and physiological aspects, such as stress, hormone regulation and immunity, sleep quality, mood and the effectiveness of dietary supplements.
 
On December 11, four Europeans were selected out of 5,600 applicants as candidates for the Mars500 project. They will start their training in Moscow in January. Two of those European candidates will be selected to join four Russian participants.

The crew will enter the isolation facility at the start of the 105-day study on March 24, 2009.

– Leonard David

 

From NASA
The James Webb Space Telescope, targeted for launch in 2013, is already taking an incredible journey right here on Earth. It's zigzagging up, down, and across the US to be "spit and polished" to perfection for its lofty space mission.

"To find the first stars and galaxies that formed in the early universe, which are millions and even billions of light years away, the Webb telescope mirror has to be wickedly smooth," says Jeff Kegley of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.

To get ready for space, the 18 mirror segments that will ultimately form the Webb telescope’s huge primary mirror are trucked from pit stop to pit stop in tandem cross-country for careful processing and polishing. They visit seven different states, some several times.

During the long odyssey, every precaution is taken for their protection. How many years of bad luck would you have if you broke one of these mirrors?

"That's something we don't talk about," laughs Helen Cole, also of Marshall. "But seriously, we do have three spare segments, so no problem there."

Let's trace a mirror segment's Earthly journey from rough start to "wickedly smooth," and finally to union with its 17 siblings to form a 6.5 meter (21 ½ foot) wide whole with a total area of 25 square-meters (almost 30 square yards).

The story begins in a Utah beryllium mine. Beryllium is one of the lightest of all metals, and the "stuff" of the telescope's mirrors.

Click here for more

From Universe Today
'Tis the season… And every year around this time people notice the brilliant 'star' to the west just after sunset. For astronomers, we know it's the appearance of the planet Venus, but noticing it for the average person brings on questions about the holidays. Was the Christmas Star real?

Regardless of your faith, the story of the 'Star of Bethlehem' is one of the most powerful and enigmatic symbols of Christianity. For centuries, scientists, scholars and historians have debated about the nature of this biblical light that heralded an event. Was it purely a divine sign, created miraculously to mark a special birth? Or was it an astronomical event in its own right?

David Reneke, news editor of Australia's Sky and Space Magazine, believes astronomers may have found the answer - or at least something that fits all the known facts - basing his research on the highly esteemed gospel according to Matthew, the first of the four gospels in the New Testament. It would appear to be the first written and this version places key players together in the same time period. "It's generally accepted by most researchers that Christ was born between 3 BC and 1 AD." says Dave. With the aid of modern astronomy software programs astronomers can reproduce the night sky exactly as it was, thousands of years ago. Humans are curious and so was Dave, so he turned back the hands of time and the stars to the time of that long ago Christmas…

"We found out something startling." said Reneke, "It looks like the 'Christmas star' really did exist,"

Two thousand years ago, astronomy and astrology were considered one and the same. The motions of the heavenly bodies were used to determine the events of history, and the fate of people's lives. Of the various groups of priests and prophets of this period, those which commanded the most respect were the Magi - whose origins are not entirely clear. Known as 'wise men' , we can only assume they were actually priests who relied on their knowledge of astronomy/astrology.

Armed with an approximate date, Dave assumed the 'Star of Bethlehem' was not just a localized event and could be observed by sky-watchers elsewhere in the world, not just by the Magi. Historical records and modern-day computer simulations indicate a rare series of planetary groupings, also known as conjunctions, during the years 3 BC and 2 BC In fact, this was one of the most remarkable periods in terms of celestial events in the last 3,000 years!

Click here for more

As part of NASA's celebration of the 10th anniversary of the International Space Station, the agency is offering a special 2009 calendar to teachers, as well as the general public.

The calendar contains photographs taken from the space station and highlights historic NASA milestones and fun facts about the international construction project of unprecedented complexity that began in 1998.

Download the Calendar here (5.3 MB PDF)