WISE shuts its eye

post from Bad Astronomy on 24 March 2011 09:00:41 AM. © Bad Astronomy

One of my favorite space astronomy missions, WISE, has shut its eye for the last time.This wasn’t unexpected, though! The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer was meant to be a short mission, mapping the sky in far-infrared light for a year or so.[...]

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Space Islands...

post from Supernova Condensate on 24 March 2011 08:13:29 AM. © Supernova Condensate

The asteroid belt may not be somewhere you'd expect to find skyscrapers or dim sum, but amusingly you will find a place called Hong Kong there. 3297 Hong Kong, to be precise -- a main belt asteroid which orbits the Sun roughly every 5 years. Discovered in 1978 at the Purple Mountain Observatory in Nanjing, it's such a minor object that interestingly enough I can't find anything in any online databases about it's mass or size. Which leads me to wonder if perhaps it's actually comparable in size to Hong Kong island...

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Food waste increases UK's water footprint

post from New Scientist - Environment on 24 March 2011 07:35:00 AM. © New Scientist - Environment

The British waste more water than they use at home by throwing away food, a problem that is probably also true of other western nations

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icle0Cmg20A9280A530B10A0A0Efood0Ewaste0Eincreases0Euks0Ewater0Efootprint0Bhtml0DDCMP0FOTC0Erss0Gnsref0Fenvironment/story01.htm

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XCOR And ULA Demonstrate Revolutionary Rocket
Engine Nozzle Technology

post from Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News on 24 March 2011 07:17:02 AM. © Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News

Mojave CA (SPX) Mar 23, 2011
United Launch Alliance (ULA) and XCOR Aerospace have announced their successful hot-fire demonstrations of a lighter-weight, lower-cost approach to liquid-fueled rocket-engine vacuum nozzles. The new nozzle technology, which uses aluminum alloys and innovative manufacturing techniques, is projected to be less costly and save hundreds of pounds of mass compared to nozzles in use today in typical

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_Engine_Nozzle_Technology_999.html

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WTA Releases New Satellite Operator Benchmarks
Report

post from Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News on 24 March 2011 07:17:02 AM. © Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News

New York NY (SPX) Mar 24, 2011
The World Teleport Association has published a new report, Satellite Operator Benchmarks 2011, in which teleport operators worldwide rate the commercial and operational performance of the top satellite operators, with the intention of driving positive industry improvements. Satellite Operator Benchmarks 2011 provides satisfaction ratings and feedback from 70 interviews with teleport execut

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eport_999.html

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Two Ariane 5 And One Soyuz Flights Are Now Being
Prepared

post from Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News on 24 March 2011 07:17:02 AM. © Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News

Kourou, French Guiana (SPX) Mar 24, 2011
Arianespace is maintaining the mission pace with its heavy-lift and medium-weight vehicles as two Ariane 5 flights are being readied at the Spaceport in French Guiana, with a Soyuz campaign also underway at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The next launch from French Guiana will be an Ariane 5 with the dual payload of Intelsat New Dawn and Yahsat Y1A, which is set for launch on March 30.

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ing_Prepared_999.html

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New 'space glue' developed

post from Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News on 24 March 2011 07:17:02 AM. © Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News

Manhattan, Kan. (UPI) Mar 23, 2011
Researchers at Kansas State University say they've developed a new kind of adhesive that may someday be a staple item in every astronaut's toolbox. The adhesive made from peptides - a compound containing two or more amino acids that link together - gains more and more strength as moisture is removed, making it a perfect adhesive for use in the vacuum of space, a KSU release reported W

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NASA's Successful 'Can Crush' Will Aid Heavy-Lift
Rocket Design

post from Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News on 24 March 2011 07:17:02 AM. © Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News

Huntsville AL (SPX) Mar 24, 2011
On March 23, NASA put the squeeze on a large rocket test section. Results from this structural strength test at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., will help future heavy-lift launch vehicles weigh less and reduce development costs. This trailblazing project is examining the safety margins needed in the design of future, large launch vehicle structures. Test results wi

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Life Lessons In The UAE

post from Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News on 24 March 2011 07:17:02 AM. © Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News

Moffett Field CA (SPX) Mar 24, 2011
Whether or not you remember the winter of 2011 as unusually cold or snowy, an adventurous team of experts will remember its intense heat, as they searched for microbial life between sand dunes in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). They were searching for simple life forms that also may exist on other planets. The United States team consisted of teachers Mike Wing and Lucinda Land, NASA space

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Learn About Future Space Missions At Town Hall
Meeting

post from Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News on 24 March 2011 07:17:02 AM. © Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News

Orlando FL (SPX) Mar 24, 2011
The University of Central Florida is hosting a town hall meeting on Thursday, March 31, about NASA's planetary missions in the next decade. The public meeting is sponsored by the National Research Council, which just completed the Decadal Survey 2013-2022 for NASA and the National Science Foundation. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in room 102 of the Engineering II Building on UCF's East

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