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Video: First Suborbital Scientist Class Trains at NASTAR Center

Keith Cowing — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:24:21 +0000

The NASTAR Suborbital Scientist Training Program provides space flight physiology training for prospective 'Suborbital Scientist-Astronauts' interested in understanding how to take advantage of emerging low-cost, frequent suborbital 'human-in-the-loop' experiments and Research & Education Mission (REM) opportunities.

12 Suborbital Scientists signed up to participate in the inaugural course on January 12-13, 2010 at The National AeroSpace Training And Research (NASTAR) Center, located just outside Philadelphia, PA. The researchers, students and grad students that participated were supported from the following institutions: SwRI, Boston University, the Denver Museum of Natural Sciences (DMNS), the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of Central Florida and the University Space Research Association (USRA).

The NASTAR Suborbital Scientist Training Program includes an overview of the commercial space research industry, high altitude training, suborbital space flight training and distraction factor management training. Trainees practice comprehensive Astronaut training techniques and learn how to mentally and physically prepare themselves and their experiment for the extreme environmental conditions experienced during spaceflight.

Courses Available. Contact NASTAR Center at 215-355-9100 or info@nastarcenter.com to sign up or go to www.nastarcenter.com for further information on this, or other courses. Video courtesy of NASTAR and Jim Arthurs, Image Shoppe

Better Late Than Never: Dwarf Galaxies Finally Come Together

8ify.com - Space — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:44:07 +0000

Have you heard of 'living fossils'? The coelacanth, the ginko tree, the platypus, and several others are species alive today which seem to be the same as those found as fossils, in rocks up to hundreds of millions of years old. Now combined results from the Hubble Space Telescope, Spitzer, Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX), and Swift [...]

Alien Star Clusters Are Invading the Milky Way

8ify.com - Space — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:23:17 +0000

We're being invaded! About one-fourth of the star clusters in our galaxy are actually invaders from other galaxies, according to a new paper. Research from a team of scientists from Swinburne University of Technology in Australia shows that that many of our galaxy’s globular star clusters are actually foreigners – having been born [...]

Could the Space Shuttle Program Be Extended to 2015?

8ify.com - Space — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:47:00 +0000

Congressional legislators in Florida are mounting a campaign to extend space shuttle operations to 2015, adding two flights each year. U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas said a bipartisan plan is in the works, which would require adding another $200 million to the NASA budget for 2010 and between $1.5 – $2 billion a year [...]

Photo Gallery: Falcon 9 Now Vertical on the Launchpad

8ify.com - Space — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 14:35:29 +0000

Is the future here? Over the weekend, SpaceX rolled their Falcon 9 launch vehicle out to the launchpad at Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral. If all systems check out, SpaceX looks to do an engine test sometime this week, which should provide some dramatic rumbling and shaking here in Florida. The [...]

Video: Storming the Suborbital Frontier

Keith Cowing — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 01:57:39 +0000

"Scientists Alan Stern and Dan Durda describe the coming era of suborbital spaceflight and how it will open up great possibilities for researchers, educators, and the public beginning later this year."

All-Sky Radio Image in 60 Seconds, No Moving Parts

8ify.com - Space — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 21:48:53 +0000

This image is a software-calibrated image with high signal-to-noise ratio at a frequency of 120 MHz, of the radio sky above Effelsberg, Germany, on November10, 2009. It has North at the top and East at the left, just as a person would have seen the entire sky when lying on their back on a flat [...]

Multiple Computer Failures on the ISS

8ify.com - Space — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 18:23:00 +0000

The main computer on the International Space Station failed early Sunday, and subsequent multiple computer anomalies prompted communication blackouts. The one main computer has two backup systems, and NASA reported that the three command & control computers are switching between prime, backup and standby. A software issue is suspected, and diagnosis continues. The computer [...]

Endeavour Crew Preps for Sunday Landing as Showers Threaten Delay

8ify.com - Space — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 04:13:17 +0000

(Editor's Note: Ken Kremer is at the Kennedy Space Center for Universe Today covering the flight of Endeavour) The crew of Endeavour is packing up their gear in the crew cabin and preparing for a Sunday evening (Feb. 21) landing at the Shuttle Landing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida as a forecast [...]

ESA’s Tough Choice: Dark Matter, Sun Close Flyby, Exoplanets (Pick Two)

8ify.com - Space — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 01:30:45 +0000

Key questions relevant to fundamental physics and cosmology, namely the nature of the mysterious dark energy and dark matter (Euclid); the frequency of exoplanets around other stars, including Earth-analogs (PLATO); take the closest look at our Sun yet possible, approaching to just 62 solar radii (Solar Orbiter) … but only two! What would be your [...]