Archive | Space | Armed with Science

NRL’s MIGHTI Is A Go For Launch

Filed under Space, Technology by jtozer on May 20, 2013 at 7:37 am {no comments}

Space is about to get a little more…MIGHTI.

Conceptual design of NRL’s Michelson Interferometer for Global High-resolution Thermospheric Imaging (MIGHTI), that is part of NASA’s ICON mission.
(Photo: U.S. Naval Research Laboratory)

A Naval Research Laboratory instrument designed to study the Earth’s thermosphere is part of a satellite mission that NASA has selected to move forward into development (Phase B), with launch expected in 2017.

The NRL Space Science Division (SSD) developed Michelson Interferometer for Global High-resolution Thermospheric Imaging (MIGHTI) satellite instrument is part of NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) mission.

The ICON mission, led by Dr. Thomas Immel at the University of California, Berkeley, will fly a suite of instruments designed to determine the conditions in space modified by weather on the planet, and to understand the way space weather events grow to envelop regions of our planet with dense ionospheric plasma.

Ionospheres act as a boundary between planetary atmospheres and space.

They contain weakly ionized plasmas that are strongly coupled to their neutral atmospheres, but also influenced by the conditions in the space environment. They experience a constant tug-of-war between these external and internal influences, and exhibit a remarkable set of non-linear behaviors, explains NRL’s Dr. Christoph Englert.

The unpredictable variability of the Earth’s ionosphere interferes with communications and geo-positioning signals and is a national concern. ICON makes a complete set of measurements of the state of the ionosphere and all of the critical drivers that affect it to understand this variability.

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Saturday Space Sight: A Rose By Any Other Name

Filed under Photos, Space by jtozer on May 18, 2013 at 7:36 am {no comments}

The spinning vortex of Saturn’s north polar storm resembles a deep red rose of giant proportions surrounded by green foliage in this false-color image from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. Measurements have sized the eye at a staggering 1,250 miles (2,000 kilometers) across with cloud speeds as fast as 330 miles per hour (150 meters per second).

This image is among the first sunlit views of Saturn’s north pole captured by Cassini’s imaging cameras. When the spacecraft arrived in the Saturnian system in 2004, it was northern winter and the north pole was in darkness. Saturn’s north pole was last imaged under sunlight by NASA’s Voyager 2 in 1981; however, the observation geometry did not allow for detailed views of the poles.

Consequently, it is not known how long this newly discovered north-polar hurricane has been active.

The images were taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Nov. 27, 2012, using a combination of spectral filters sensitive to wavelengths of near-infrared light. The images filtered at 890 nanometers are projected as blue. The images filtered at 728 nanometers are projected as green, and images filtered at 752 nanometers are projected as red. In this scheme, red indicates low clouds and green indicates high ones.

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Space Situational Awareness

Filed under Cyber Security, Space by jtozer on May 14, 2013 at 7:33 am {no comments}

A new agreement made between the United States and Australia represents the first in what U.S. Strategic Command’s commander hopes will be many that promote transparency in the space domain.

Air Force Gen. C. Robert Kehler signed the agreement on behalf of the United States, short-cutting the process for the Australian government to request data through Stratcom’s Space Situational Awareness Sharing Agreement Program.

The agreement represents another step in the November 2010 pact between the two countries to cooperate on space situational awareness activities.

It streamlines the process for the Australians to make specific requests about space data gathered by Stratcom’s Joint Operations Center at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. This information, which includes locations of some 23,000 man-made objects in space, is critical in planning launches into the increasingly crowded space domain.

“Many nations share the space domain, and it is in our best interest to create an environment where the sharing of [space situational awareness] data facilitates transparency and improves flight safety,” Kehler said.

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Saturday Space Sight: Hubble Sees a Horsehead of a Different Color

Filed under Photos, Space by jtozer on May 11, 2013 at 7:20 am {no comments}

Astronomers have used NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to photograph the iconic Horsehead Nebula in a new, infrared light to mark the 23rd anniversary of the famous observatory’s launch aboard the space shuttle Discovery on April 24, 1990.

Looking like an apparition rising from whitecaps of interstellar foam, the iconic Horsehead Nebula has graced astronomy books ever since its discovery more than a century ago. The nebula is a favorite target for amateur and professional astronomers. It is shadowy in optical light. It appears transparent and ethereal when seen at infrared wavelengths. The rich tapestry of the Horsehead Nebula pops out against the backdrop of Milky Way stars and distant galaxies that easily are visible in infrared light.

Hubble has been producing ground-breaking science for two decades.

During that time, it has benefited from a slew of upgrades from space shuttle missions, including the 2009 addition of a new imaging workhorse, the high-resolution Wide Field Camera 3 that took the new portrait of the Horsehead.

Image Credit: NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage Team

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Space Domain Vital To National Defense

Filed under Education & Culture, Space by jtozer on May 10, 2013 at 7:24 am {no comments}

(Photo graphic by Jessica L. Tozer)

A senior defense official told Congress it is critical for the Defense Department to develop and implement space programs and policies to maintain U.S. space advantages in a perpetually changing environment.

Douglas L. Loverro, deputy assistant secretary of defense for space policy, appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on strategic forces regarding the fiscal year 2014 budget proposal for military space programs.

“[It's a] basic reality that space remains vital to our national security,” he said. “But the evolving strategic environment increasingly challenges U.S. space advantages — advantages that both our warfighters and our adversaries have come to appreciate.”

As space becomes more congested, competitive and contested, Loverro said, the department must formulate programs and policies that will secure those advantages for years to come.

But reality, he added, is juxtaposed with providing these capabilities in an environment with increasingly restrained budgets.

Loverro said the growing challenges of budgeting, in addition to increasing external threats, compels the department to think and act differently.

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Well Hello There, Mars Rover

Filed under Featured, Robots, Space by jtozer on May 8, 2013 at 7:59 am {no comments}

There comes a time in every SciFi enthusiast’s life when you realize that you need to interview a robot in space.

It had to be done.

Now, I’ve interviewed a space robot before. I had a rousing conversation with Robonaut on Twitter last year. That was pretty fantastic, but it left me wanting to know more. I mean, these robots give me a glimpse into a life in space. Something that, barring an alien abduction, I won’t actually get to experience.

O hai there! (Photo Courtesy of The Mars Curiosity Rover Twitter profile)

So imagine my glee when I heard that the Mars Curiosity Rover had some time to answer some of my questions regarding life outside of this atmosphere.

I mean seriously. I think I might have actually shrieked a little.

For those of you who don’t know, the Curiosity Rover is pretty much a robot celebrity. She has over 1.3 million followers on Twitter, and over 500,000 followers on Facebook. Curiosity is a pretty big deal. And there’s a reason for that. Well several, really.

Curiosity is humanity’s extension on a foreign planet. She’s designed to help us better understand life, the universe and everything. And she does. With cleverness, scientific brilliance, and some witty, concise tweets, she brings us a little closer to our own Solar System. And what’s great is the work that the Curiosity Rover is doing is something that affects not just the science community. It affects us all.

Hey, even the DoD is involved in our reach toward the stars.

The Department of Defense has had a role in aerospace exploration for decades, and they’re still dedicated to it. Budget restraints and all. Recently senior Defense Department officials testified before Congress highlighting the activities the department has undertaken to save an estimated $1 billion and provide a balanced national security space program.

Air Force Lt. Col. Peter Garretson, the Division Chief for Air Force Irregular Warfare Strategy, Plans and Policy (and previously the Chief of Future Science and Technology Exploration for Air Force Strategic Planning) says humanity needs a billion year plan for space exploration.

Douglas L. Loverro, deputy assistant secretary of defense for space policy, recently told Congress it is critical for the Defense Department to develop and implement space programs and policies to maintain U.S. space advantages in a perpetually changing environment.

From military satellites, to lasers, to GPS innovation and more, the advancements that are made in the aerospace industry benefit more than just us stargazers. The work that is being done is helping to shape the future of the human race.

Because when it comes down to it, space matters.

But don’t just take my word for it…

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Saturday Space Sight: Solar Electric Propulsion System

Filed under Photos, Space by jtozer on May 4, 2013 at 7:38 am {no comments}

Using advanced Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) technologies is an essential part of future missions into deep space with larger payloads.

The use of robotics and advanced SEP technologies like this concept of an SEP-based spacecraft during NASA mission to find, rendezvous, capture and relocate an asteroid to a stable point in the lunar vicinity offers more mission flexibility than would be possible if a crewed mission went all the way to the asteroid.

NASA’s asteroid initiative, announced as part of the President’s FY2014 budget request, integrates the best of NASA’s science, technology, and human exploration capabilities and draws on the innovation of America’s brightest scientists and engineers.

It uses current and developing capabilities to find both large asteroids that pose a hazard to Earth and small asteroids that could be candidates for the initiative, accelerates our technology development activities in high-powered SEP and takes advantage of our hard work on the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft, helping to keep NASA on target to reach the President’s goal of sending humans to Mars in the 2030s.

Image Credit: Analytical Mechanics Associates

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There’s Space In Space For Data Security

Filed under Cyber Security, Space by jtozer on April 30, 2013 at 7:12 am {no comments}

Committed to promoting safety and transparency in the space domain, U.S. Strategic Command maintains a registry of tens of thousands of man-made objects in space and shares the information freely with anyone who seeks it through a command-run website.

Air Force Space Command, recognizing that collisions could damage orbiting satellites and cause more space junk, started the database as a pilot program before turning the project over to Stratcom in 2010, said Air Force Col. Lina Cashin, Stratcom’s division chief for space, cyber and deterrence policy and security cooperation.

The project, which involves regular tracking of old rocket bodies, debris and about 1,000 active satellites, has become one of Stratcom’s most universally popular products, Cashin said.

Space-Track.org has 85,000 account holders in 185 countries.

In addition to providing basic satellite catalog data to all account holders, Stratcom provides more advanced data services on request. The command also has agreements in place with 35 commercial companies to expedite information-sharing, and hopes to enter similar agreements with space-faring nations to better support their space operations, Cashin said.

Space situational awareness is crucial to Stratcom’s efforts to understand what is going on in space and to cope with the increasing amount of space debris, she explained.

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