First static fire of all 27 Merlin engines on the Falcon Heavy. Initial plans have a Feb 6th launch sending one of Musk's personal Roadsters up as cargo.
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/01/30/zombie_satellite_is_image// NASA finds satellite, realizes it has lost the software and kit that talk to it Vanished IMAGE now found. Don't suppose anyone kept a copy of its comms code? By Richard Chirgwin 30 Jan 2018 at 06:05 Spoiler NASA has announced it will try to wake up the “zombie satellite” IMAGE, unexpectedly found working by an amateur sat-spotter. Magnetosphere scanner IMAGE went silent, and was presumed dead, back in 2005. Then this month, while looking for the US military's failed Zuma satellite, skywatcher Scott Tilley caught a signal from the missing scientific bird. As we reported yesterday, the rediscovery of IMAGE was tentatively confirmed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, which said it would use the Deep Space Network to verify the observation. That's now happened, and Goddard boffins are certain it is indeed IMAGE up there. In this update, dated Monday, the American space agency said “observations from all five sites were consistent with the radio frequency characteristics expected of IMAGE. Specifically, the radio frequency showed a spike at the expected center frequency, as well as side bands where they should be for IMAGE.” The Goddard boffins next need to undertake what the agency called “significant reverse-engineering” to capture and analyze the probe's communications. “The challenge to decoding the signal is primarily technical,” the announcement explained. “The types of hardware and operating systems used in the IMAGE Mission Operations Centre no longer exist, and other systems have been updated several versions beyond what they were at the time.” In other words, it doesn't have the electronics and software to hand that are compatible with whatever the bird is transmitting and expecting to receive. Agency eggheads will have to figure that out before anything more can be done, such as sending instructions to the craft. If NASA can decode data from the satellite, it will then try to, by remote control, turn on the satellite's payload “to understand the status of the various science instruments,” and make a decision about IMAGE's future. ®
He's milking it some more. Technical difficulties delay Mad Mike Hughes’ rocket launch near Amboy Ron WarnickFebruary 4, 2018 Events, People 2 Comments Technical problems apparently prevented a scheduled rocket launch Saturday afternoon near Amboy, California, by adventurer and flat-Earth advocate “Mad” Mike Hughes. People at the scene speculated Hughes might try to launch himself sometime during today’s Super Bowl, but Hughes in a video shot by a bystander seemed noncommittal until he could look at the rocket more thoroughly this morning. Hughes stated through one of his websites the launch had been canceled but offered no explanation or whether it would be rescheduled. Esther Hollister shot this video after the launch was scrubbed. A disappointed Hughes speculates a seal problem may have prevented the steam-powered rocket from launching, but he wouldn’t know until morning. Hughes had planned to launch his rocket in November in Amboy city limits, but the Bureau of Land Management nixed the idea, saying it was too close to federal property. Hughes then moved the launch to private property a few miles outside of Amboy off Route 66. It was anticipated the manned vertical launch would go about 1,800 feet in the air at a speed of up to 500 mph. A parachute then would bring him gently back to Earth. This isn’t the first time Hughes has tried to blast himself into the skies. His last launch in Arizona in 2014 went more than 1,300 feet. He needed three days to recover physically because of the effect of G-forces. Hughes built his new rocket in Apple Valley, California, another Route 66 town in the high desert. Amboy owner Albert Okura gave permission for the rocket launch. Okura, who owns the Juan Pollo restaurant chain of Southern California, also is co-sponsoring the launch. He bought Amboy — most famous for its historic Roy’s restaurant, gas station and motel — in 2005. Roy’s motel remains closed, but the gas station reopened, and the restaurant serves as a convenience store.
What so he has done this before but still thinks that he earth is flat? That extra 500 feet is where it will show the earth is flat? If all it takes is 1800 feet to show that the earth is flat, why doesn’t he just board a jet, at 30000 he should get the answer
He's a grifter. His GoFundMe only took off after he attached himself to the flat Earth movement. He had tried to get money for a home launch before but failed because he wasn't actively targeting rubes.
u slipping on reading ? I agree with your comment and think the flat earth theory is bullshit . I saw the post movie bye the way . no comment chan .
I watched a documentary about Voyager on Netflix this weekend, it was really good. It's called "The Farthest: Voyager in Space."
A lot of cool details in this one. Research reveals more about TRAPPIST-1 planets, and the possibility of life February 5, 2018, University of Birmingham This artist’s impression shows the view just above the surface of one of the middle planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system, with the glare of the host star illuminating the rocky surface. At least seven planets orbit this ultracool dwarf star 40 …more A series of four studies have shed new light on the properties of the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system, currently our most optimal hope for evidence of biological life beyond the Solar system. Since the extent of the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system was revealed in February 2017, it has captured the imagination of people the world over. The new studies, including papers published today in Nature Astronomy and Astronomy and Astrophysics, are the result of researchers working to better characterise the planets and collect more information about them. The international team first refined the properties of the star at the centre of the system, and secondly improved the measurements of the planets' radii. A third study offers better estimates than ever for the planets' masses while in the fourth study the team performed reconnaissance observations of the planets' atmospheres. The four international studies were produced in collaboration with University of Birmingham astronomer Dr Amaury Triaud. He explains, "After discovering this incredible planetary system our team was extremely eager to know more about TRAPPIST-1. A year on, we are reporting our results. Thanks to our efforts the TRAPPIST-1 planets are becoming the best studied worlds outside the Solar system." The team found that all seven planets are mostly made of rock, with up to 5 percent of their mass in water - a significant amount. By comparison, our Earth's oceans account for only 0.02 percent of our planet's mass. In addition, five of the planets appear devoid of an atmosphere made of Hydrogen and Helium, like for Neptune or Uranus. This new information reinforces the notion that the seven planets of TRAPPIST-1 are similar to the rocky worlds of the Solar system in many ways. The form that water takes on TRAPPIST-1 planets would depend on the amount of heat they receive from their star, which is a mere 9 percent as heavy as our Sun. The seven planets are considered temperate, meaning that under certain geological and atmospheric conditions, all could possess conditions allowing water to remain liquid. Work, including the team's series of results, is now proceeding to pinpoint which of these temperate planets are most likely to be habitable. Of the seven, TRAPPIST-1e, the fourth from the star, is currently the most akin to Earth although much remains to be known, notably the conditions at the surface, and whether it holds an atmosphere. Dr Triaud continues, "When we combine our new masses with our improved radii measurements, and our improve knowledge of the star, we obtain precise densities for each of the seven worlds, and reach information on their internal composition. All seven planets remarkably resemble Mercury, Venus, our Earth, its Moon, and Mars." Professor Brice-Olivier Demory, co-author at the University of Bern, added, "Densities, while important clues to the planets' compositions, do not say anything about habitability. However, our study is an important step forward as we continue to explore whether these planets could support life." As part of this series of work, the team used the Hubble Space Telescope while the planets passed in front of their star, attempting to catch minute signals while starlight interacts with the planets' atmospheres. Their careful measurements found no evidence for hydrogen-dominated atmospheres on planets TRAPPIST-1d, e and f (b and c were done last year) although the hydrogen-dominated atmosphere cannot be ruled out for g. So far, the collected data is still consistent with, but cannot confirm whether the planets have atmospheres similar to Venus, or Earth. This identification will be carried out by new observations. "Hubble is doing the preliminary reconnaissance work so that astronomers using Webb know where to start," said Nikole Lewis of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, co-leader of the Hubble study. "Eliminating one possible scenario for the makeup of these atmospheres allows the Webb telescope astronomers to plan their observation programs to look for other possible scenarios for the composition of these atmospheres." What is TRAPPIST-1? TRAPPIST-1 is named for the Transiting Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescope (TRAPPIST) in Chile, which discovered two of the seven planets we know of today—announced in 2016. NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, in collaboration with ground-based telescopes, confirmed these planets and uncovered the other five in the system. Since then, NASA's Kepler space telescope also observed the TRAPPIST-1 system, and Spitzer collected additional data. This new body of data helped the team paint a clearer picture of the system than ever before—although there is still much more to learn about TRAPPIST-1. The TRAPPIST-1 planets huddle so close to one another that a person standing on the surface of one of these worlds would have a spectacular view of the neighbouring planets in the sky, which would sometimes appear larger than the Moon looks to an observer on Earth. They may also be tidally locked, meaning the same side of the planet is always facing the star, and each side is in perpetual day or night. Although the planets are all closer to their star than Mercury is to the Sun, TRAPPIST-1 is such a cool star that its planets are temperate. What might these planets be like? It is impossible to know exactly how each planet looks, because they are so far away. In our own solar system, the Moon and Mars have nearly the same density, yet their surfaces appear entirely different. Based on available data, here are scientists' best guesses about the appearances of the planets: TRAPPIST-1b, the innermost planet, is likely to have a rocky core, surrounded by an atmosphere much thicker than Earth's. TRAPPIST-1c also likely has a rocky interior, but with a thinner atmosphere than planet b. TRAPPIST-1d, meanwhile, is the lightest of the planets—about 30 percent the mass of Earth. Scientists are uncertain whether it has a large atmosphere, an ocean or an ice layer—all three of these would give the planet an "envelope" of volatile substances that would make sense for a planet of its density. Scientists were surprised that TRAPPIST-1e is the only planet in the system slightly denser than Earth, suggesting it may have a denser iron core than our home planet. Like TRAPPIST-1c, it does not necessarily have a thick atmosphere, ocean or ice layer—making these two planets distinct in the system. It is mysterious why TRAPPIST-1e is so much rockier in its composition than the rest of the planets. In terms of size, density and the amount of radiation it receives from its star, this is the most similar planet to Earth. TRAPPIST-1f, g and h are far enough from the host star that water could be frozen as ice across these surfaces. If they have thin atmospheres, they would be unlikely to contain the heavy molecules of Earth such as carbon dioxide. How do we know? Scientists are able to calculate the densities of the planets because they happen to be lined up such that when they pass in front of their star, our Earth and space-based telescopes detect a dimming of its light. This is called a transit. The amount by which the starlight dims is related to the radius of the planet. To get the density, scientists take advantage of what is called "transit timing variations." If there were no other gravitational forces on a transiting planet, it would always cross in front of its host star in the same amount of time—for example, Earth orbits the Sun every 365 days, which is how we define one year. But because the TRAPPIST-1 planets are packed so close together, they change the timing of each other's "years" ever so slightly. Those variations in orbital timing are used to estimate the planets' masses. Then, mass and radius are used to calculate density. Next Steps The next step in exploring TRAPPIST-1 will be NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, which will be able to delve into the question of whether these planets have atmospheres and, if so, what those atmospheres are like, and whether they allow adequate surface conditions to permit liquid water. Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-02-reveals-trappist-planets-possibility-life.html#jCp
The three surprises of 'Oumuamua February 5, 2018 by Matija Cuk, SETI Institute One of the defining moments in planetary astronomy in 2017 is that this is the year we discovered the first astronomical object to enter the Solar System from interstellar space. Now known as `Oumuamua (Hawaiian for "scout"), the object was discovered by the Pan-STARRS survey team in Hawaii on October 19th. Over the next three weeks it was in turn classified as a comet, a long-period asteroid and finally, the first of the new class of interstellar objects. As soon as `Oumuamua's true trajectory was confirmed, all available telescopes were used to study it as quickly as possible because it was moving away from Earth at a very high rate of speed. `Oumuamua was actually discovered already on its way out of our solar system, after it passed Earth and could finally be seen in the nighttime sky (when it was on the same side as the sun, it wasn't visible). Now (late January 2018), `Oumuamua is too faint to see even through the largest telescopes, but its brief passage has given us some rare firsthand information on a distant solar system, and also left us with three surprises. Before discussing the surprising aspects of `Oumuamua, here are some of the less unexpected facts of `Oumuamua: It wasn't moving very fast relative to nearby stars – in fact, it was the Solar System that ran into `Oumuamua, rather than the other way around. This means that the star `Oumuamua originated from orbits the galaxy on an orderly orbit in the galactic disk, like most other local stars. `Oumuamua is faint and small. We are not sure how small exactly as we don't know how reflective its surface is, but it's definitely less than a kilometer long. Another unremarkable quality of `Oumuamua is its color, which is somewhat red and therefore very similar to that of some of our own comets and distant asteroids. The first surprise of `Oumuamua is that it is not a comet. `Oumuamua was initially classified as a comet not because of having coma, or a tail (it has neither), but because we expected interstellar objects to be comets. Our giant planets have ejected many, many comets (and many fewer asteroids) into interstellar space during Solar System's formation. We know this because some of them were not quite lost, but were "stuck" in the Oort cloud, a giant swarm of comets orbiting the Sun at very large distances. Combined with the fact that comets are easier to see than asteroids for the same size of the nucleus (comets were known in antiquity and asteroids were discovered only in the 19th century), we expected the first interstellar visitor to be a comet, but we were wrong. The second surprise of `Oumuamua is how elongated it is. `Oumuamua's changes in brightness over time imply that it is roughly cigar-shaped, with an axis ratio of 5:1 to 10:1. This is very extreme among asteroids in the Solar System, and would certainly not be expected if we randomly select one body from over hundred thousand known asteroids. If `Oumaumua's shape is typical of the population it comes from, things must be very different in its parent system from how they are here. The third surprise was the fact that `Oumuamua is tumbling. At first it was noted that 'Oumuamua had a 7 or 8-hour spin period, but different measurements did not quite agree. It turned out that `Oumuamua's spin is not regular, but it executes a complex tumbling motion that shows different views of the body at different times. Some asteroids in our Solar System do tumble, but vast majority do not. We think that this is because internal motions of material inside asteroids (which are often just piles of rocks and sand loosely held together by gravity) damp this tumbling relatively quickly (astronomically speaking), leaving only asteroids that suffered recent collisions as tumblers. `Oumuamua spent many millions of years in the interstellar void, so it should have damped its tumbling, but it apparently did not. This made planetary scientists conclude that `Oumuamua is likely a solid chunk of rock or metal, without any internal structure or lose material. So why is `Oumuamua the way it is? We do not know, but we do have some ideas. My own favorite hypothesis is that `Oumuamua is a piece of a planet destroyed by tides as it was passing close to a red dwarf star in a binary system. The idea is that the planet formed around the red dwarf's companion, but its orbit was destabilized and the planet swung past the red dwarf, about to be hurled into interstellar space. Red dwarf stars can be surprisingly dense, some of them are the size of Jupiter, but with a hundred times larger mass. This makes their tides very strong, and tides can disrupt bodies that come too close (like Jupiter disrupted comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 in 1994). If a planet can be shredded into trillions of fragments which are then ejected into interstellar space, such catastrophic events could produce more interstellar objects than regular ejections of comets and asteroids by planets. So, what do we do now? Well, we wait for more interstellar objects to see what they are like, and we probably won't have to wait too long. A new telescope, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) is under construction in Chile, and it should become operational in 2022. LSST will be a robotic telescope that will take a complete scan of the whole sky down to very faint objects every three days, so it will very literally catch anything that moves. If `Oumuamua is not a complete fluke, LSST should detect about one such object every year. `Oumuamua is the first and almost certainly won't be the last interstellar visitor we have discovered. And we are anxiously awaiting the next visitor. Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-02-oumuamua.html#jCp
Really excited to watch the Falcon Heavy launch tomorrow. 3 hour launch window starting at 1:30PM EST/10:30AM PST. Link to the live stream above. Will be cool to see if they can launch it and go 3/3 on stage landings. Saw the Soviet N1 mentioned a lot in articles and it's a pretty crazy rocket. Successfully riding 30 engines at once was beyond their capabilities back then, we'll see how well SpaceX can manage 27, 40 years later. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N1_(rocket) https://jalopnik.com/this-insane-rocket-is-why-the-soviet-union-never-made-i-1448356326
Side boosters should be ~T+7:58 ( they are listed as 6 seconds apart but I'm told they will aim to be 15 seconds between booster landings ) at Landing Zones 1 and 2, core should land ~T+8:19 on the drone ship.