Many folks would like to see us back on the Moon and developing its resources.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Humans to Mars: fifty years of mission planning, 1950–2000/by David S. F. Portree.

I have mentioned David's monograph before but eight years has gone by since it was published and maybe you haven't taken the opportunity to see what had transpired in the 50 years before that.

I mention Moon, Mars, and Beyond, and some would just like to get humans on Mars and set up housekeeping.

It hasn't turned out all that easy, often just because of the lack of money.
Lack of money is bound to come up again as the US Congress okays a $700 billion rescue of the Wall Street financial melt down.

That melt down is affecting the global economy as well so everyone that is looking up may want to reload their guns with ammunition to support exploring space.
- LRK -

--------------------------------------------------------------------
http://history.nasa.gov/monograph21.pdf (2.471 KB)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Portree, David S. F.
Humans to Mars: fifty years of mission planning, 1950–2000/by David S. F. Portree.
p. cm.–(Monographs in aerospace history; no. 21) (NASA publication SP)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Space flight to Mars–Planning. 2. United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
I. Title. II. Series. III. NASA SP ; no. 4521.
TL799.M3 P67 2000
629.45'53–dc21 00—062218

--------------------------------------------------------------------

If you don't want to down load the whole file you can view in sections on the Internet.
- LRK -

--------------------------------------------------------------------
http://history.nasa.gov/monograph21/humans_to_Mars.htm

Humans to Mars: Fifty Years of Mission Planning, 1950-2000 (NASA SP-2001-4521) by David S. F. Portree. A complete PDF version of Monograph 21.

Humans to Mars is also available to be downloaded by chapter. The low-res version is best for Web viewing. The hi-res version is best for printing.

· Front Matter (Title Page, Table of Contents, Foreword, Preface) low high

[See complete list below. - LRK -]

snip
--------------------------------------------------------------------

David S. F. Portree's blog site.
Altair VI - http://altairvi.blogspot.com/

Sooooh, you think you have a great way to get to Mars.
Hmmm, me thinks there is a good chance someone has already had the idea.

Getting ideas turned into metal is the hard part.
Flight 4 of Falcon 1 was successful but there were three failures before.

Someone asked why they flew a dummy load.
Maybe the insurance rates would be a bit higher if you had to guarantee someones spacecraft would make orbit.
Who puts up the cash to make it work, some government or someone with deep pockets, or a group of folks that are willing to take the risk and invest?
Having a few good flights will make it easier to secure future funding from whatever the source.
Having the persistence to pick up after a failure shows just how strong your belief system is.

IT WILL WORK, not, I think it might work, maybe, don't you think?

Thanks for looking up with me.

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
==============================================================
http://history.nasa.gov/monograph21.pdf (2.471 KB)
Humans to Mars: fifty years of mission planning, 1950–2000/by David S. F. Portree.

I hope David won't mind my copying four paragraphs from his Preface.
- LRK -

--------------------------------------------------------------------
snip
In the past half century, visionary engineers have made
increasingly realistic plans for launching astronauts to
Mars to explore the planet. This monograph traces the
evolution of these plans, taking into account such factors
as on-going technological advancement and our
improving knowledge of the red planet.

More than 1,000 piloted Mars mission studies were conducted
inside and outside NASA between about 1950
and 2000. Many were the product of NASA and industry
study teams, while others were the work of committed
individuals or private organizations. Due to space
limitations, only 50 mission studies (one per year, or less
than 5 percent of the total) are described in this monograph.
The studies included are believed to be representative
of most of the technologies and techniques associated
with piloted Mars exploration.

In addition to tracing the evolution of mission concepts,
this monograph examines piloted Mars mission planning
from a policy standpoint. Mars plans are affected
by their societal context and by the policies that grow
from that context. When the human species eventually
decides to send a piloted mission to Mars, the political
environment in which it develops will have at least as
much impact on its shape as technology, human factors,
and the Martian and interplanetary environments.
Hence, it stands to benefit the space technologist to
study the ways in which policy has shaped (and thwarted
past Mars plans. This idea may seem obvious to
some readers, yet the history of piloted Mars mission
planning shows that this truism has often been ignored
or imperfectly understood, usually to the detriment of
Mars exploration.

This history should be seen as a tool for building
toward a future that includes piloted Mars exploration,
not merely as a chronicle of events forgotten and plans
unrealized. The author hopes to update and expand it
in 15 or 20 years so that it tells a story culminating in
the first piloted Mars mission. Perhaps a university
student reading this monograph today will become a
member of the first Mars mission crew tomorrow.

snip
David S. F. Portree
Houston, Texas, September 2000
--------------------------------------------------------------------

snip
==============================================================

Humans to Mars

Humans to Mars: Fifty Years of Mission Planning, 1950-2000 (NASA SP-2001-4521) by David S. F. Portree. A complete PDF version of Monograph 21.

Humans to Mars is also available to be downloaded by chapter. The low-res version is best for Web viewing. The hi-res version is best for printing.

· Front Matter (Title Page, Table of Contents, Foreward, Preface) low high
· Chapter 1 low high
· Chapter 2 low high
· Chapter 3 low high
· Chapter 4 low high
· Chapter 5 low high
· Chapter 6 low high
· Chapter 7 low high
· Chapter 8 low high
· Chapter 9 low high
· Chapter 10 low high
· Acronyms low high
· Endnotes low high
· Bibliography low high
· About the Author low high
· Index low high
· NASA History Monographs low high

snip
==============================================================

WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

==============================================================

Friday, September 26, 2008

Space X Falcon 1 - Flight 4

launch updated:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.spacex.com/updates.php
Flight 4 of Falcon 1

The static fire took place on Saturday [20 Sep 2008, CA time], as
expected, and no major issues came up. However, after a detailed
analysis of data, we decided to replace a component in the 2nd stage
engine LOX supply line. There is a good chance we would be ok flying
as is, but we are being extremely cautious.

This adds a few extra days to the schedule, so the updated launch
window estimate is now Sept 28th through Oct 1st [CA time].
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Interview, released today:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.spacex.com/media.php?page=20080926
Washington Post
Friday, September 26, 2008; 11:30 AM

Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, a private firm that is trying to get
into the business of flying cargo -- and some day astronauts -- to the
international space station and beyond, was online Friday, Sept. 26 at
11:30 a.m. to discuss the future of space exploration.
snip
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2008/09/24/DI2008092402502.html?hpid=sec-tech
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for looking up with me.

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
==============================================================
Press Kit, Falcon 1 Flight 4
http://www.spacex.com/SpaceX_F1-004_PressKit.pdf

snip
==============================================================

WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

==============================================================

Destination Moon - ISRO's Lunar Mission Set For October

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.livemint.com/2008/09/18232516/Destination-moon-Isro8217s.html
Bangalore: The Indian Space Research Organisation, or Isro, plans to
launch its lunar mission in October, marking the start of a two-year
quest to learn more about the evolution of the moon and map its
surface for minerals such as helium-3, or He-3.
snip
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hope someone in Washington D.C. is looking up, nudge, nudge. :-)
- LRK -

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.earthsky.org/radioshows/52664/full-hunters-moon-night-of-october-14-15
The Hunter's Moon is the name for the full moon that immediately
follows the Harvest Moon. In the northern hemisphere, the Harvest Moon
is the full moon closest to the September equinox.
snip
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/time/moon/
Phases of the Moon 2008 - month by month
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for looking up with me.

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
==============================================================
http://www.livemint.com/2008/09/18232516/Destination-moon-Isro8217s.html
Destination moon: Isro's lunar mission set for October launch
Posted: Thu, Sep 18 2008. 11:25 PM IST
K. Raghu

Bangalore: The Indian Space Research Organisation, or Isro, plans to
launch its lunar mission in October, marking the start of a two-year
quest to learn more about the evolution of the moon and map its
surface for minerals such as helium-3, or He-3.

Isro will launch Chandrayaan-1, the unmanned spacecraft, between 19
and 26 October, officials at the space agency said on Thursday.

The spacecraft, which weighs 590kg, will be fitted with 11 scientific
instruments, including five from the US, Sweden, Japan, Germany and
Bulgaria. These instruments and cameras would look for water on the
moon, besides mapping the chemical, soil and mineral characteristics
of its surface.

The Indian mission will also be the first to map the entire surface of
the moon, including the polar regions where frozen water could be
found, said T.K. Alex, director of Isro's satellite centre in
Bangalore, at a press conference.

snip
==============================================================
http://www.moondaily.com/reports/Moon_Mission_In_Dec_If_ISRO_Misses_October_Date_999.html
Moon Mission In Dec If ISRO Misses October Date
by Staff Writers
New Delhi, India (PTI) Sep 22, 2008

India's maiden moon mission could begin its space odyssey in December
if it misses its earliest launch window of October 19-26, former ISRO
chief Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan has said.

The cyclone season in the Bay of Bengal extends all through November
which rules out the possibility of space launches, he said.

Chandrayaan-I, which is being assembled at the ISRO Satellite Centre
in Bangalore, will be launched from the Satish Dhawan spaceport at
Sriharikota on the eastern coast.

The spacecraft, which will orbit the moon at a distance of 100 km, was
unveiled in Bangalore last week. It is yet to undergo vibration and
acoustic tests.

snip
==============================================================
http://indiapost.com/article/techbiz/3605/
Moon mission likely in October: ISRO
Sunday, 08.17.2008, 11:35pm (GMT-7)

CHENNAI: India's "ambitious" unmanned lunar mission `Chandrayan' is
likely to soar into the skies in October second week, Indian Space
Research Organisation Chairman G Madhavan Nair said."The satellite
integration is almost complete. And we would be entering the thermovac
soon. It takes about 45-50 days for the launch after thermovac, after
which we would declare the date," he told reporters here.

"The earliest is October," he said. As for the climatic conditions,
October was favorable, and ISRO has to look at the appropriate
alignment between planets also before deciding on the launch window,
he said."We do not have the flexibility of launching the mission on
any date," he added. "The payloads have been integrated at the
satellite centre in Bangalore...You can see the full spacecraft
there," Nair said about the Rs 3.8 billion unmanned mission.

snip
==============================================================
http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=178382
India to launch Chandrayaan-1 moon mission in October

NEW DELHI (Xinhua) -- Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)
announced on Thursday that it is all set to launch the country's first
unmanned spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 to the moon, according to the Indian
Express Friday.

The spacecraft is scheduled for launch on October 22, five years after
the Indian government cleared the project. It will make an entry into
the lunar atmosphere for a two-year mission.

It will be loaded with six Indian and five foreign scientific instruments.

It has overcome a major hurdle in the form of extreme temperature
tests over the past fortnight. Now its launch is dependent on weather
factors, said ISRO moon mission director Annadurai.

""Weather is a key issue. We are watching for forecasts closer to the
tentative launch dates,"" Annadurai said. Chandrayaan-1 would take
approximately eight days to course the nearly 386,000 km to get to its
final orbit -- 100 km from the moon.

snip
==============================================================

WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

==============================================================

LUNAR FLIGHT HANDBOOK - NASA SP-34 Part1

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19630011224_1963011224.pdf

Once Upon A Time, A Long, Long Ago, there was a plan to send spacecraft
to a body far, far, away.
Well, maybe just next door, but far away just the same.

How to send spacecraft to a body never visited before, that is the big
question.

The document listed above has a lot of background information on
planning a flight to the Moon.

A snip from the forward.
- LRK -
--------------------------------------------------------------
This handbook has been produced by the Space Systems Division of
the Martin Company under contract NAS8-5031 with the George C. Marshall
Space Flight Center of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
The Lunar Flight Handbook is considered the second in a series of
volumes by various contractors, sponsored by MSFC, treating the dynamics
of space flight in a variety of aspects of interest to the mission
designer and evaluator. The primary purpose of these books is to serve
as a basic tool in preliminary mission planning. In condensed form they
provide background data and material collected through several years of
intensive studies in each space mission area, such as earth orbital
flight, lunar flight, and interplanetary flight.
Volume II, the present volume, is concerned with lunar missions.
The volume consists of three parts presented in three separate booEs.
The parts are:
Part i - Background Material
Part 2 - Lunar Mission Phases
Part 3 - Mission Planning
snip
--------------------------------------------------------------

I am trying to look through it to get a better understanding of what it
takes to map out your trajectories from Earth to Moon but the math is
beyond me.
If you like that sort of thing you may find the pdf file most interesting.

I have a hard copy of Part 1, that back when it was printed you could
get from the Government Printing Office for $1.00.
Maybe I will find in some box in the garage Part 2 and Part 3.

Thanks for looking up with me.

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
==============================================================
http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19630011224_1963011224.pdf

Space Flight Handbooks Volume II

LUNAR FLIGHT HANDBOOK - NASA SP-34 Part1
Background Material

Prepared for the GEORGE C. MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER,
Huntsville, Alabama
Under Contract NAS 8-5031

Office of Scientific and Technical Information 1963
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
Washington D.C.

snip
==============================================================
SPACE FLIGHT HANDBOOKS. VOLUME 2- LUNAR FLIGHT HANDBOOK PART 2 - LUNAR
MISSION PHASES
http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=894686&id=7&qs=Ne%3D35%26N%3D280%2B4294967262
http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19630011225_1963011225.pdf

Author(s): Martikan, F.; Santora, F.
Abstract: Detailed lunar trajectory analysis for various phases of lunar
mission
NASA Center: NASA (non Center Specific)
Publication Year: 1963
Added to NTRS: 2006-11-06
Accession Number: 63N21105; Document ID: 19630011225; Report Number:
NASA-SP-34, PT. 2

snip
Note: Not resolving for me. Maybe someone has a good link for the Part
2 Lunar Mission Phases - LRK -
==============================================================
SPACE FLIGHT HANDBOOKS. VOLUME 2- LUNAR FLIGHT HANDBOOK. PART 3 -
MISSION PLANNING
http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=526207&id=7&qs=No%3D80%26Ne%3D25%26N%3D282%26Ns%3DPublicationYear%257C0
http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19630011226_1963011226.pdf

MARTIN CO., BALTIMORE, MD. SPACE SYSTEMS DIV. SPACE FLIGHT HANDBOOKS.
VOLUME 2- LUNAR FLIGHT HANDBOOK. PART 3 - MISSION PLANNING FRED MARTIKAN
AND FRANK SANTORA ET AL WASHINGTON, NASA. OFFICE OF SCI. AND TECH.
INFORM., 1963 156P REFS /NASA CONTRACT NAS8-5031/ /NASA-SP-34, PT. 3/
OTS- 3.00

snip
==============================================================
http://wiki.developspace.net/Astrodynamics_Library


Astrodynamics Library


snip
==============================================================

WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

==============================================================

Thursday, September 25, 2008

China space launch successful


http://www.cctv.com/english/special/Shenzhou7/01/index.shtml
A lot of visuals and video of launch. - LRK -

http://english.people.com.cn/90002/95532/index.html
The launch of spacecraft Shenzhou-7 was an important part of China's
effort to "explore and make peaceful use of outer space."

Chief designer says Shenzhou-7 has four tasks
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/26/content_10112553.htm
Xinhua, China - 6 hours ago

The Shenzhou-7 spacecraft, with three astronauts on board, blasted off
from the Jiuquan launch center at 9:10 pm Thursday.

China's Shenzhou-7 boosts people's pride, space fervor Xinhua
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/26/content_10112433.htm

China's Shenzhou-7 spacecraft completes orbit maneuver Xinhua
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/26/content_10112669.htm

China's Shenzhou-7 manned spacecraft to pass six key tests for ... Xinhua
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/25/content_10110570.htm

Thanks to all of you who fed me links to where I might watch what was
going on with the Shenzhou 7 launch.

I missed the action and the updates have been most informative.

Thanks for looking up with me.

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
==============================================================
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/China_launches_third_manned_space_mission_state_TV_999.html
China launches riskiest space mission yet.
by Robert J. Saiget
Jiuquan, China (AFP) Sept 25, 2008

China on Thursday launched its riskiest space flight yet, sending
three men into orbit on a mission that will include the nation's first
ever space walk, state media said.

The Shenzhou VII spacecraft lifted off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch
Centre in northwest China at 9:10 pm (1310 GMT) in the presence of
President Hu Jintao and other senior leaders, state television
reported live.

"The successful launch marked the first victory of the Shenzhou VII
mission," a triumphant Hu said.

snip
==============================================================
http://spaceweather.com/
Space Weather News for Sept. 25, 2008
http://spaceweather.com

CHINESE SPACE LAUNCH: China's Shenzhou 7 spacecraft carrying a 3-man
crew lifted off today from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and is
now in Earth orbit. During the upcoming three-day mission, Chinese
astronauts, called taikonauts, will launch a small satellite and
conduct their country's first space walk. As they orbit Earth,
Shenzhou 7 and the body of the rocket that launched it will be visible
to the naked eye from many parts of the globe. Check the Satellite
Tracker for viewing times: http://spaceweather.com/flybys .

(Note: Frequent checks are recommended; predictions may change as the
orbit is adjusted and estimates of orbital elements improve.)

Sighting reports and updates will be posted on http://spaceweather.com

snip
==============================================================

WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

==============================================================

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

China counts down to Thursday space launch

Bob sent me an alert, maybe you haven't seen.
- LRK -

-------------------------------
China counts down to Thursday space launch

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20080924/tpl-uk-china-space-top1-b64c7e7.html

from Bob MacBird - Conroe, Texas
-------------------------------

I wonder if we will see any reports on TV or will our financial melt
down take up all the sound bites?

Nice to see real hardware being launched instead of a bunch of paper
promises that are built on a house of cards.

The banks will be bailed out, the financial institutions will be
healed and only the little guy will be crushed.
Oh, sorry, was supposed to be talking about space ships being lofted.
Just having trouble getting a bad taste out of my mouth.

Hope you get to see something positive aloft.
Space walks would be nice.
Pictures of Earth from a different point of view.

Should prove there is a blue marble down there with a bit of mud
flowing into the oceans.


Thanks for looking up with me.

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
==============================================================
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20080924/tpl-uk-china-space-top1-b64c7e7.html
China counts down to Thursday space launch

By Royston Chan Reuters - Wednesday, September 24 11:11 am

JIUQUAN, China (Reuters) - China will send its third manned mission
into space on Thursday evening on a mission which will include its
first space walk, the government said on Wednesday.

The Shenzhou VII will lift off from the Jiuquan space centre in a
remote desert area of the north-western province of Gansu between 9:07
p.m. (2:07 p.m. British time) and 10:27 p.m. (3:27 p.m. British time),
mission spokesman Wang Zhaoyao told a news conference.

Fuelling of the rocket has already begun, meaning the launch is
"irreversible," the official Xinhua news agency said.

snip

Also at -
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE48N2X020080924?feedType=RSS&feed
Name=worldNews&sp=true


And same at, but better picture -
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=china-counts-down-to-thur

- LRK -
==============================================================

WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

==============================================================

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Ulysses Reveals Global Solar Wind Plasma Output At 50-Year Low


Shields up, losing power to my shields, how will I defend myself?
Sensors failing, check the sensors, report, REPORT!
- LRK -

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://ulysses.jpl.nasa.gov/
International Solar Mission to End Following Stellar Performance

February 22, 2008: The joint NASA and European Space Agency Ulysses
mission to study the sun and its influence on surrounding space is
likely to cease operations in the next few months. The venerable
spacecraft, which has lasted more than 17 years or almost four times
its expected mission lifetime, is succumbing to the harsh environment
of space.

Ulysses was the first mission to survey the space environment above
and below the poles of the sun. The reams of data Ulysses returned
have forever changed the way scientists view our star and its effects.
snip
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here we sit on Earth in our warm bed, protected by Earth's magnetic
fields and those of our Sun, all blown out into a protective sphere..
Still, we look up and wonder what it would be like out there in a more
harsh and unprotected realm of space.

What will you do while on the Moon should the forces of nature send
energy bolts at you?
Will you have an early warning system?
Will you be dug in enough to feel as safe as you had back on Earth?

What will you do if there is a budget crunch and those needed
replacement parts can not be bought?
They got you up here and now you have be forgotten.

How will you propel yourself through space if your Solar Wind dies down?
And you were looking for a free ride.
- LRK -

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.ess.washington.edu/Space/M2P2/
Mini-Magnetospheric Plasma Propulsion (M2P2) is an advanced plasma
propulsion system that will enable spacecraft to attain unprecedented
speeds, with minimal energy and mass requirements. It will create a
large scale magnetic bubble around the spacecraft to ride the solar
winds, and accelerate the spacecraft to unprecedented speeds.

snip
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Will we even have the money to lift off?

TANSTAAFL

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TANSTAAFL

Hmmmm, maybe time to look again at "THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS" by
Robert A. Heinlein.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Moon_Is_a_Harsh_Mistress

Thanks for looking up with me.

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
==============================================================
If you have a subscription to NASA Science News you probably got this
as well. - LRK -
--------------------------------------------------------------
NASA Science News for September 23, 2008

Solar Wind Loses Power, Hits 50-year Low

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/23sep_solarwind.htm?list965414

Sept. 23, 2008: In a briefing today at NASA headquarters, solar
physicists announced that the solar wind is losing power.

"The average pressure of the solar wind has dropped more than 20%
since the mid-1990s," says Dave McComas of the Southwest Research
Institute in San Antonio, Texas. "This is the weakest it's been since
we began monitoring solar wind almost 50 years ago."

McComas is principal investigator for the SWOOPS solar wind sensor
onboard the Ulysses spacecraft, which measured the decrease. Ulysses,
launched in 1990, circles the sun in a unique orbit that carries it
over both the sun's poles and equator, giving Ulysses a global view of
solar wind activity:

snip
==============================================================
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/sep/HQ_08241_Ulysses.html

RELEASE : 08-241

Ulysses Reveals Global Solar Wind Plasma Output At 50-Year Low

WASHINGTON -- Data from the Ulysses spacecraft, a joint NASA-European
Space Agency mission, show the sun has reduced its output of solar
wind to the lowest levels since accurate readings became available.
The sun's current state could reduce the natural shielding that
envelops our solar system.

"The sun's million mile-per-hour solar wind inflates a protective
bubble, or heliosphere, around the solar system. It influences how
things work here on Earth and even out at the boundary of our solar
system where it meets the galaxy," said Dave McComas, Ulysses' solar
wind instrument principal investigator and senior executive director
at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. "Ulysses data
indicate the solar wind's global pressure is the lowest we have seen
since the beginning of the space age."

The sun's solar wind plasma is a stream of charged particles ejected
from the sun's upper atmosphere. The solar wind interacts with every
planet in our solar system. It also defines the border between our
solar system and interstellar space.
This border, called the heliopause, surrounds our solar system where
the solar wind's strength is no longer great enough to push back the
wind of other stars. The region around the heliopause also acts as a
shield for our solar system, warding off a significant portion of the
cosmic rays outside the galaxy.
.
"Galactic cosmic rays carry with them radiation from other parts of
our galaxy," said Ed Smith, NASA's Ulysses project scientist at the
Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "With the solar wind at
an all-time low, there is an excellent chance the heliosphere will
diminish in size and strength. If that occurs, more galactic cosmic
rays will make it into the inner part of our solar system."

snip
==============================================================

GovTrack.us Tracked Events Update

This is your email update from www.GovTrack.us. To change your email
updates settings, go to your account settings page.

snip

Sep 22, 2008 - Bill Action
Introduced: H.R. 6990: To establish the independent Fannie Mae and
Freddie Mac Investigative Commission to...
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-6990

Rep. Marcy Kaptur [D-OH] introduced H.R. 6990: To establish the
independent Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Investigative Commission to
investigate the officers and directors at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
responsible for making the decisions that led to the enterprises'
financial instability and the subsequent Federal conservatorship of
such enterprises.
(You are seeing this event because you are tracking Introduced Legislation)

snip

Sep 22, 2008 - Bill Action
Introduced: H.R. 6993: To authorize the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration and the National...
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-6993

Rep. Charles Melancon [D-LA] introduced H.R. 6993: To authorize the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration to procure, launch, and operate the
next generation of weather forecasting satellites.
(You are seeing this event because you are tracking House Science and
Technology and Introduced Legislation)

snip
==============================================================

WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

==============================================================

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Cool Movies of Polar Crown Prominences

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Sept. 17, 2008: Warning: Material contained in this story may make you
wish to become a solar physicist.

Japan's Hinode spacecraft, launched in 2006 on a mission to study the
sun, is beaming back movies that astonish even seasoned investigators.
snip
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/images/polarcrown/pcp_strip.jpg
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/images/polarcrown/2006_11_30_CaH_prom_le
v1_rotated_short.mov


"That was a polar crown prominence recorded by Hinode on Nov. 30,
2006," says Dr. Thomas Berger of Lockheed Martin's Advanced Technology
Center in Palo Alto, California. "It is a curved wall of 10,000 degree
plasma about 90,000 km long and 30,000 km tall." A stack of planets
three Earths high would barely make it to the top.
snip
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

How time flies.

I was cleaning the garage and trying to recycle some of the magazines
I have collected since 1983 when I got out of the Navy and walked
around Moffett Field to go to work with Bendix Field Engineering
supporting the Pioneer missions.

On the back of one of the magazines, "Silicon Valley TechWeek, dated
June 12, 2000, it says in an ad for COM 21 - "One day soon, broadband
will carry voice, video, and data around the world. Imagine where it
could take you."

Yesterday, the grandson was playing with the "SPORE" Creature Creator
http://www.spore.com/ and I was trying to figure out if any of my
three active computers had the video cards fast enough to handle the
full game of "SPORE".

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.sporeev.com/info/system-requirements/
for windows xp 2.0 GHz P4 processor or equivalent 512 MB RAMA 128 MB
Video Card, with support for Pixel Shader 2.0 At least 6 GB of hard
drive space

for windows vista 2.0 GHz P4 processor or equivalent 512 MB RAMA 128
MB Video Card, with support for Pixel Shader 2.0 At least 6 GB of hard
drive space

mac system requirements Mac OS X 10.5.3 Leopard or higher Intel Core
Duo Processor 1024 MB RAM ATI X1600 or NVidia 7300 GT with 128 MB of
Video RAM, or Intel Integrated GMA X3100 At least 4.7GB of hard drive
space for installation, plus additional space for creations
snip
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

And I am wondering what kind of adjustments will I need to make for
this old brain computer of mine to adapt to the rapid changes being
made.
It already seems to have an overactive feedback mechanism in its
hearing channels with a ringing in the ear, 24/7, that beats in
amplitude with my pulse.
All system checkouts seem to be in order, just some miss adjustment in
the feedback to those hairs in the inner ear.

You may have heard the question asked, "If a tree falls in the forest
and no one was there, did it make a sound when it crashed to the
ground?"
In my case, one might turn that around a bit and ask, "If I hear a
sound in my ear, is it really there?"
Which leads you to the thought, "What REALLY is out there?"

And then you look at the pictures from Japan's Hinode spacecraft and
we wonder just what is the Sun doing and how will I explain them to
the grandson in the sixth grade who is watching You Tube videos from
around the world. Or maybe I will need to ask him just what is going
on. hmmmmm.

Already there are millions of creatures that have been created by
viewers like you and copies of them are populating the Solar System in
the game SPORE.
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/will_wright_makes_toys_that_make_worlds.html
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/games/news/article.cfm?c_id=38&objectid=10527879
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/may/02/will.wright
http://eu.spore.com/whatisspore/article.cfm?id=25662

Soooooh, what WILL we find when we go there?

Thanks for looking up with me.

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
==============================================================
If you have a subscription to NASA Science News you probably got this. - LRK -
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NASA Science News for September 17, 2008

Japan's Hinode spacecraft is beaming back must-see movies of a
spectacular solar phenomenon known as 'polar crown prominences.'

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/17sep_polarcrown.htm?list965414

Check out our RSS feed at http://science.nasa.gov/rss.xml!

Cool Movies of Polar Crown ProminencesCool Movies of Polar Crown Prominences

------

Hinode credits: Led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA),
Hinode is a collaborative mission that also includes the space
agencies of the United States, Great Britain and Europe. Its three
primary instruments – the Solar Optical Telescope, the X-ray Telescope
and the Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer – are observing the
different layers of the solar atmosphere ranging from the sun's
visible surface to the corona, the outer atmosphere that extends
outward into the solar system. The movies highlighted in this story
come from the Solar Optical Telescope developed by the National
Astronomical Observatory of Japan in Tokyo with focal plane
instruments provided by the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center
of Palo Alto, CA.

------

snip
==============================================================
http://www.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/solar_b/index_e.html

December 7, 2007 Updated

Hinode Featured in Science (NAOJ)

snip
==============================================================

WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

==============================================================

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Drilling Lunar Holes With Gas?

Larry Klaes sent me a post from Colony Worlds, which reminds me that
there are others of you out there.
Of late I have been distracted with events more local than space and
have been remiss in posting space related items.

If you go to the Colony Worlds blog you will see the illustration of
lunar dirt being sucked up and transported by pneumatic methods.
The credit for the image is given to Jeroen Lapre with a link to
http://www.distant-galaxy.com/ the short digital movie he is working on.

The article on the Colony Worlds blog is drawn from Space.com at
http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/080903-honeybee-moon.html

This is just one example of how going to new worlds will stretch the
imagination and how to come up with new ways of doing things.

When you have the vacuum of space available you don't need to think
about sucking, you need to find ways of blowing.
Then you have to find the gas to use to blow and ways to not let it be
wasted lest you destroy the vacuum you have out there.

The Moon will never be the same once we land again and we will need to
keep in mind the big picture or contamination may just be the air we
breath out.

What a challenge for the young engineer to be who now may be in our
school system. Best learn how to think outside the box, inside the box,
and all around the box, and then, just where to put that box.

Thanks for looking up with me.

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
==============================================================
Colony Worlds

///////////////////////////////////////////
Drilling Lunar Holes With Gas?

Posted: 12 Sep 2008 06:30 AM PDT
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ColonyWorlds/~3/wmejrOP2b2c/drilling-lunar-holes-
with-gas.html


(Image: Illustration showing lunar rover carrying lunar dirt "sucked up"
by pneumatic digger towards storage tower (for later use). Credit:
DigitalSpace / Jeroen Lapre)

Its not until one leaves our blessed home world that one realizes how
hard it is to live lunar side.

Without an atmosphere settlers will be unable to drill beneath the
surface (due to friction between lunar rocks and drill bits), and unless
one has an endless supply of labor using shovels and pick axes may take
too long.

Despite the difficulty, one company has approached the problem from a
different angle, choosing to use gas to drill lunar holes instead of
striking the surface with metal.

snip
==============================================================
How to Build Lunar Homes From Moon Dirt
http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/080903-honeybee-moon.html

By Clara Moskowitz
Staff Writer
posted: 03 September 2008
06:49 am ET

NEW YORK - When humans finally set up residence on the moon, our lives
there will look very different.

Since many of the tried and true tools we use on Earth will be
impossible to carry along, some scientists are hard at work inventing
from scratch the machines we'll need to make life possible on the moon.

One such example is building equipment.

"Bulldozers and excavation systems are pretty bulky and heavy," said
Kris Zacny, director of drilling and excavation systems at Honeybee
Robotics in New York City. "We came out with a different method of
digging that uses gas."

Zacny's invention digs up ground by injecting gas into the dirt, thereby
creating a high-pressure situation from which the gas naturally wants to
escape. When it does fly upward, the gas' strong momentum ends up taking
dirt up with it.

snip
==============================================================
Space Settlement Nexus
http://www.nss.org/settlement/


*"The people of Earth have both the knowledge
and resources to colonize space."*

That was the stated conclusion of this NASA-sponsored study in 1975!
There are two things you need to know about space settlement:

* *We can do it, starting now. *
* *A future with space settlements is vastly better than one without
them.*

snip
==============================================================
Lunar Bases and Settlement
http://www.nss.org/settlement/moon/index.html
Excerpt from speech of John Marburger
Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy
Executive Office of the President
March 15, 2006

The Moon has unique significance for all space applications for a reason
that to my amazement is hardly ever discussed in popular accounts of
space policy. The Moon is the closest source of material that lies far
up Earth's gravity well. Anything that can be made from Lunar material
at costs comparable to Earth manufacture has an enormous overall cost
advantage compared with objects lifted from Earth's surface. The
greatest value of the Moon lies neither in science nor in exploration,
but in its material. I am talking about the possibility of extracting
elements and minerals that can be processed into fuel or massive
components of space apparatus. The production of oxygen in particular,
the major component (by mass) of chemical rocket fuel, is potentially an
important Lunar industry.

What are the preconditions for such an industry? That, it seems to me,
must be a primary consideration of the long range planning for the Lunar
agenda. Science studies provide the foundation for a materials
production roadmap. Clever ideas have been advanced for the phased
construction of electrical power sources perhaps using solar cells
manufactured in situ from Lunar soil. A not unreasonable scenario is a
phase of highly subsidized capital construction followed by
market-driven industrial activity to provide Lunar products such as
oxygen refueling services for commercially valuable Earth-orbiting
apparatus.

snip
==============================================================

WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

==============================================================

Moon and Mars - Videos

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