Good day and for some, Happy Thanksgiving shopping crush.
You want to launch cheaply, let a commercial firm do it, you say.
Too much hassle in the big government projects.
Not all that easy getting those first launches completed though.
You say SpaceX can do it.
Well a bit of perseverance required and stepping aside for the big guys that want to play with their sand lot.
Mother nature has her vote too.
Now need another load of liquid Oxygen for next try.
Even the 12.5 inch cube payload FalconSAT-2 has had to find different ways to space.
------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.usafa.af.mil/scripts/aweb/newsPopUp.cfm?newsid=598
Cadet built satellite reaches for the stars
By Academy Public Affairs
FalconSAT-2 was shipped to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Test Site on Kwajalien Atoll in the Marshall Islands, located in the central Pacific. The satellite will ride into space aboard a commercial rocket, in a launch scheduled for Nov. 25 at 1 p.m.
FalconSAT-2 was originally slated for launch aboard a space shuttle in early 2003, but the Columbia disaster put that launch on hold until this year.
This satellite is the product of the Academy's Space Systems Research Center, where cadets "learn space by doing space," said Lt. Col. Tim Lawrence, center director. The center runs a multi-disciplinary two-semester astronautical engineering course where cadets put theory into practice by designing and constructing a small satellite for Department of Defense research programs. They will then operate the satellite from the Academy's ground station.
snip
------------------------------------------------------------
Well I expect we will have an interesting time looking up in the New Year as well.
- LRK -
Larry Kellogg
Web Site http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
Blog Spot http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
RSS link http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
News ltr https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
=============================================================
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/051126_falcon1_scrub.html
SpaceX Scrubs Maiden Flight of Falcon 1 Rocket
By Tariq Malik
Staff Writer
posted: 26 November 2005
8:50 p.m. ET
This story was updated at 9:38 p.m. EST.
SpaceX officials called off the inaugural flight of their Falcon 1 rocket Saturday after a launch countdown beleaguered by poor weather, an engine computer glitch and liquid oxygen fill tank problems.
"As I warned, the likelihood of an all new rocket launching from an all new launch pad on its first attempt is low," said SpaceX founder Elon Musk in a written statement.
SpaceX officials scrubbed today's planned space shot at about 8:00 p.m. EST (0100 Nov. 27 GMT), deep within a launch window that was extended to 10:00 p.m. EST (0300 Nov. 27 GMT) during the countdown.
Musk added that the Falcon 1 flight could be rescheduled within one week, but would likely take longer since additional liquid oxygen fuel must be delivered from Hawaii to the firm’s remote launch site on the Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean’s Marshall Islands chain.
Today’s attempted space shot was slated to orbit the FalconSat-2 satellite on a mission for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the U.S. Air Force. The $800,000 satellite – built by cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy – is designed to study space plasma and its potential to interfere with navigation and communication satellites, U.S. Air Force Academy officials said.
The cube-shaped satellite measures about 12.5 inches (32 centimeters) per side and weighs about 43 pounds (19.5 kilograms), academy spokesman John van Winkle told SPACE.com, adding that the spacecraft carries one miniature electrostatic analyzer to study space plasma.
A tricky countdown
The El Segundo, California-based SpaceX hoped to make its commercial launch service debut with today’s planned space shot. The firm has spent about three years developing a family of Falcon boosters to grow from its Falcon 1 design and Merlin rocket engine.
"Unfortunately, in this business there is always a chance for something not to go [as planned]," said Larry Williams, SpaceX vice president for international and government affairs, as the countdown clock ticked down.
SpaceX launch officials initially set a four-hour launch window for today’s Falcon 1 flight.
Poor weather caused a one-hour delay early in the countdown, though an incorrectly set valve on a liquid oxygen fuel fill tank led to a longer hiatus that eventually prompted SpaceX officials to extend their launch window.
But the loss of liquid oxygen – which boils away during launch preparations and must be replenished regularly – was too great, SpaceX officials said, adding that a main engine computer glitch also caused enough concern to reschedule the mission.
Launch debut deferred
SpaceX aims at providing low-cost launch services for both small and large payloads. Falcon 1 launches have a set cost of about $6.7 million, Musk said before today’s launch attempt.
The firm’s Falcon 1 rocket is a two-stage booster that stands about 68 feet (21 meters) tall and carries a reusable first stage. Its Merlin 1 engine is designed to generate about 77,000 pounds of thrust and loft payloads of up to 1,256 pounds (570 kilograms) into low-Earth orbit, SpaceX officials have said.
=============================================================
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/051118_falcon1_spacex.html
SpaceX Sets Launch Debut for Falcon 1 Rocket
By Tariq Malik
Staff Writer
posted: 18 November 2006
8:00 p.m. ET
The private launch firm SpaceX will loft its Falcon 1 rocket on Nov. 25, marking the booster’s maiden flight and hopefully the first of many space shots to come, the company’s chief said Friday.
Elon Musk, founder and CEO of the El Segundo, California-based SpaceX, said his firm’s first Falcon 1 rocket will liftoff from its equatorial launch site at 4:00 p.m. EST (2100 GMT) on a mission to orbit a small U.S. Air Force Academy satellite.
"I actually don’t feel nervous, I feel relief," Musk told reporters during a press conference. "No matter what happens next week, this is something that is the first stepping stone in reducing the cost of access to space."
SpaceX’s Falcon 1 rocket carries a reusable first stage, the firm’s homegrown Merlin engine and a price tag of about $6.7 million, SpaceX officials said.
The rocket’s first flight will launch from the U.S. military’s Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Test Site on Omelek Island near Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean’s Marshall Islands – where it will be 9:00 a.m. local time when the countdown reaches zero – though future spaceflights will also be staged from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, they added.
"We feel at peace with ourselves in this launch because we’ve really done all we can," Musk said. "I think that I can say with confidence that we’ve left no stone unturned."
snip
=============================================================
http://www.spacetoday.net/Summary/3155
SpaceX announces Falcon 1 launch date
Posted: Fri, Nov 18, 2005, 8:13 PM ET (0113 GMT)
Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), the launch vehicle startup established by dot.com entrepreneur Elon Musk, announced Friday that the first launch of its Falcon 1 rocket has been scheduled for Friday. The Falcon 1 will lift off from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands at 4 pm EST (2100 GMT) Friday, November 25, or 9 am local time November 26. The launch window lasts for four hours, and Musk said that would be several additional days available to conduct the launch if the initial launch is scrubbed. The Falcon 1 is carrying Falconsat 2, a small satellite built by the US Air Force Academy to study how space physics phenomena can affect GPS and other communications. Musk has spent about $100 million of his own money establishing the company and developing the Falcon 1, while also planning the development of two larger vehicles, the Falcon 5 and Falcon 9. SpaceX hopes to prove that the Falcon 1, with a list price of $6.7 million a launch, can provide reliable launches for a fraction of the price of
existing vehicles.
snip
=============================================================
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10101621/
SpaceX schedules its maiden rocket launch
Falcon 1 due to carry military satellite to orbit on Nov. 25
By Tariq Malik
Updated: 9:23 p.m. ET Nov. 18, 2005
The private launch firm SpaceX will loft its Falcon 1 rocket on Nov. 25, marking the booster’s maiden flight and hopefully the first of many space shots to come, the company’s chief said Friday.
snip
=============================================================
http://www.spacex.com/index.html?section=falcon&content=http%3A//www.spacex.com/falcon_overview.php
The Falcon launch vehicle family is designed to provide breakthrough advances in reliability, cost, flight environment and time to launch. The primary design driver is and will remain reliability, as described in more detail below. We recognize that nothing is more important than getting our customer’s spacecraft safely to its intended destination.
Launch Manifest
Below is the upcoming launch manifest. SpaceX has launch complexes at Cape Canaveral, Vandenberg and the Marshall Islands (Kwajalein Atoll), allowing direct launch to any inclination. Through our Kwajalein launch site on Omelek Island, SpaceX is the only US heavy lift provider with an equatorial launch location.
snip
=============================================================
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/falcon/050527frf/
Privately-made Falcon 1 rocket roars on the pad
BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: May 27, 2005
Rocket-launch newcomer Space Exploration Technologies Corp. today accomplished a critical engine firing at California's Vandenberg Air Force Base, a long-awaited event that puts the company much closer to its inaugural blastoff later this summer.
snip
=============================================================
http://www.cndyorks.gn.apc.org/yspace/articles/wet_launch_rehearsal.htm
28 May 2005
Falcon: Full launch 'wet' rehearsal completed
Staff report
Santa Maria Times
http://www.santamariatimes.com/articles/2005/05/28/news/local/news06.txt
The makers of a commercial rocket said they successfully completed its test firing Friday morning at Vandenberg Air Force Base, clearing an important hurdle along the path to its first liftoff.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. announced the successful completion of a full launch "wet" dress rehearsal, including pre-liftoff operations and a firing of the Falcon I rocket's engine for five seconds before it shut off at Space Launch Complex-3 West on South Base.
"Today we completed the largest milestone remaining before launch," said Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX. "In a few months, we will receive Air Force clearance to fly, and Falcon I will make its maiden voyage."
Musk developed the rocket to provide a low-cost vehicle to carry satellites to space.
Technical problems had interfered with the team's hopes of conducting this test twice earlier this month. But those problems seemed behind the team by Friday.
"The test went off perfectly this morning," said SpaceX spokeswoman Dianne Molina.
The rocket was expected to make a Friday night road trip back to SpaceX facilities in El Segundo to be checked out.
Falcon's first flight is scheduled for this summer.
=============================================================
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5725500/from/RL.1/
Falcon rocket rides
slow road toward flight
SpaceX deals with hurdles associated
with engine and environmental rules
By Leonard David
Senior space writer
Updated: 6:05 p.m. ET Aug. 19, 2004
LOGAN, Utah - Time is drawing closer for the maiden liftoff of the privately financed Falcon 1 launch vehicle, built by Space Exploration Technologies Corp. of El Segundo, Calif.
But the march to the launch pad has not been easy. The launch company, also known as SpaceX, has encountered engine troubles, supplier problems, mounds of regulatory paperwork and other costly woes requiring far more money to be spent than initially projected.
The SpaceX Falcon 1 rocket is headed for a September delivery to Launch Complex 3 West at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. Once in position, the launcher will undergo an on-the-pad firing of its main engine, leading to a potential first flight toward the end of November.
snip
=============================================================
=============================================================
WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK
=============================================================
This is the lunar-update at news.altair.com
https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
mailing list!
This list is a moderated list. The moderator is Larry Kellogg
(larry.kellogg at sbcglobal.net
https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
Please send suggestions for postings directly to Larry.
Larry's blog site, is:
http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
General information about the mailing list is at:
https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
=============================================================
end
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Good day.
NASA Science always has interesting material and this was posted yesterday.
- LRK -
-------------------------------------------------------------
NASA Science News for November 9, 2005
How do you put troublesome moondust to good use? Simple. All it takes is a lunar lawn mower.
FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/09nov_lawnmower.htm
-------------------------------------------------------------
When the astronauts got back in the Lunar Module they smelled a burning smell like gunpowder. It is thought that the Lunar Regolith with its un-oxidized iron, rusted quickly in the rich oxygen atmosphere in the LM.
- LRK -
-------------------------------------------------------------
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/22apr_dontinhale.htm
Don't Breathe the Moondust
When humans return to the Moon and travel to Mars, they'll have to be careful of what they inhale.
April 22, 2005: This is a true story.
In 1972, Apollo astronaut Harrison Schmitt sniffed the air in his Lunar Module, the Challenger. "[It] smells like gunpowder in here," he said. His commander Gene Cernan agreed. "Oh, it does, doesn't it?"
The two astronauts had just returned from a long moonwalk around the Taurus-Littrow valley, near the Sea of Serenity. Dusty footprints marked their entry into the spaceship. That dust became airborne--and smelly.
snip
---------------------------------------------------------
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/a17/a17.eva1post.html
APOLLO 17
LUNAR SURFACE JOURNAL
MP3 Audio Clip starting at 124:14:09 ( 19 min 55 sec ) 2.26 MB
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/a17/A17A1241414.mp3
snip
124:19:39 Schmitt: Again?
124:19:40 Cernan: That one's still safe. And that one's still safe.
124:19:47 Schmitt: Smells like gunpowder, just like the boys said.
124:19:53 Cernan: Oh, it does, doesn't it? (Pause)
[They have just removed their helmet and, as did previous crews, notice that the dust in the air smells like burnt gunpowder. There is enough dust in the air to smell, but not enough to see.]
124:20:00 Cernan: Okay, "Descent Water valve, Open." Ohh, boy! I ran out of water out there. I mean the drinking kind. (Pause)
snip
-------------------------------------------------------------
What will the stories be like on the next Lunar Missions?
- LRK -
Larry Kellogg
Web Site http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
Blog Spot http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
RSS link http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
News ltr https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
=============================================================
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/09nov_lawnmower.htm
November 9, 2005: "If you can't lick 'em, join 'em," goes a cliché that essentially means "figure out how to live with whatever you can't get rid of."
That may be superb advice for living and working on the moon.
Scientists and engineers figuring out how to return astronauts to the moon, set up habitats, and mine lunar soil to produce anything from building materials to rocket fuels have been scratching their heads over what to do about moondust. It's everywhere! The powdery grit gets into everything, jamming seals and abrading spacesuit fabric. It also readily picks up electrostatic charge, so it floats or levitates off the lunar surface and sticks to faceplates and camera lenses. It might even be toxic.
So what do you do with all this troublesome dust? Larry Taylor, Distinguished Professor of Planetary Sciences at the University of Tennessee has an idea: Don't try to get rid of it--melt it into something useful!
snip
=============================================================
more info - 37 page 3.88 meg, pdf file of presentation by Larry Taylor -
LRK -
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar_knowledge/LTaylor.pdf
=============================================================
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar_knowledge/
LUNAR AND PLANETARY INSTITUTE
Lunar Knowledge Requirements for Human Exploration
March 1-3, 2004
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar_knowledge/agenda.shtml
Workshop Agenda
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar_knowledge/final_report.pdf
Final Report by G. Jeffrey Taylor and Stephen Mackwell
24 March 2004
28 page, 150 KB, pdf file.
=============================================================
http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/HumanExplore/Exploration/EXLibrary/DOCS/EIC049.HTML
Engineering, Construction, and Operations in Space IV
American Society of Civil Engineers, pp. 1220-1229, 1994
SINTERING BRICKS ON THE MOON
Carlton C. Allen, John C. Graf, and David S. McKay
Abstract
Sintering of full-scale "bricks" from lunar soil simulant materials can be accomplished by radiant heating to 1100¡C for approximately 2 hours, followed by slow cooling. Small-scale precompaction and the use of a thermally insulating mold are critical for producing strong, crack-free products. Sintering can also be accomplished using a combination of microwave and radiant heating, though the technique is extremely sensitive to thermal profile and configuration. Sintering in hydrogen is synergistic with oxygen production and yields samples containing enough iron metal to permit handling by a magnet.
Introduction
snip
Hybrid Microwave Sintering
The sintering of geological samples by microwave heating was initially investigated by Meek et al. (1985). We have run a series of investigations into the sintering of crushed MLS-1 basalt in a laboratory microwave furnace. The CEM MDS-81 furnace operates at a frequency of 2.45 GHz and delivers approximately 600 W of microwave energy to the sample. The furnace utilizes an inner chamber of refractory brick, which protects the stainless steel inner walls from overheating. Sample temperatures were approximately monitored by a thermocouple placed in a grounded steel housing immediately below the sample mold.
Each sample of crushed MLS-1 basalt was placed in a cylindrical graphite mold 3.6 cm in diameter by 3.2 cm high. The powder was hand tamped to achieve a porosity of approximately 30%. The mold was capped with a graphite lid 0.26 cm thick. All heating was done in air. However, the graphite mold served as an oxygen "getter," somewhat reducing the effective oxygen fugacity of the sample.
Controlled, even sintering of rock powder by direct microwave heating proved impossible, due to the combined effects of thermal runaway (Kenkre et al., 1991) and self-insulation. The microwave coupling efficiencies of the minerals in MLS-1 rise dramatically with sample temperature. As a result initial heating is slow, but becomes increasingly rapid at temperatures
above approximately 400¡C. Microwaves penetrate the sample, and heating occurs throughout its volume. However, the center is well insulated by surrounding material, and heats faster than the outside. Typically, our samples sintered strongly or melted in the centers but remained unsintered on the edges.
To achieve uniform sintering we developed a hybrid heating technique, combining microwave and radiant heating. We surrounded the sample crucible with seven silicon carbide blocks, measuring 7.6 x 1.0 x 1.8 cm, in a "picket fence" arrangement (Figure 1). The silicon carbide converted part of the microwave energy to heat. Our samples were heated at full power for
periods of up to two hours, and then allowed to cool slowly in the mold under reduced microwave power.
snip
=============================================================
http://lifesci3.arc.nasa.gov/SpaceSettlement/spaceresvol3/glassncer1.htm
Glass and Ceramics
Larry A. Haskin
A variety of glasses and ceramics can be produced from bulk lunar materials or from separated components. Many glassy materials have been described in previous studies (Mackenzie and Claridge 1979, Criswell 1980). They include sintered (heated and pressed) regolith, quenched molten basalt, and transparent glass formed from fused plagioclase. No research has been carried out on lunar material or close simulants, so properties are not known in detail; however, common glass technologies such as molding and spinning seem feasible (fig. 7). Uses of glass include structural applications (bricks, slabs, beams, windows) and specialty applications
(fiber strengtheners, insulation, heat shields, cables, light pipes). See figures 8 and 9.
snip
=============================================================
Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -
=============================================================
WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK
=============================================================
This is the lunar-update at news.altair.com
https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
mailing list!
This list is a moderated list. The moderator is Larry Kellogg
(larry.kellogg at sbcglobal.net
https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
Please send suggestions for postings directly to Larry.
Larry's blog site, is:
http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
General information about the mailing list is at:
https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
=============================================================
end
NASA Science always has interesting material and this was posted yesterday.
- LRK -
-------------------------------------------------------------
NASA Science News for November 9, 2005
How do you put troublesome moondust to good use? Simple. All it takes is a lunar lawn mower.
FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/09nov_lawnmower.htm
-------------------------------------------------------------
When the astronauts got back in the Lunar Module they smelled a burning smell like gunpowder. It is thought that the Lunar Regolith with its un-oxidized iron, rusted quickly in the rich oxygen atmosphere in the LM.
- LRK -
-------------------------------------------------------------
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/22apr_dontinhale.htm
Don't Breathe the Moondust
When humans return to the Moon and travel to Mars, they'll have to be careful of what they inhale.
April 22, 2005: This is a true story.
In 1972, Apollo astronaut Harrison Schmitt sniffed the air in his Lunar Module, the Challenger. "[It] smells like gunpowder in here," he said. His commander Gene Cernan agreed. "Oh, it does, doesn't it?"
The two astronauts had just returned from a long moonwalk around the Taurus-Littrow valley, near the Sea of Serenity. Dusty footprints marked their entry into the spaceship. That dust became airborne--and smelly.
snip
---------------------------------------------------------
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/a17/a17.eva1post.html
APOLLO 17
LUNAR SURFACE JOURNAL
MP3 Audio Clip starting at 124:14:09 ( 19 min 55 sec ) 2.26 MB
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/a17/A17A1241414.mp3
snip
124:19:39 Schmitt: Again?
124:19:40 Cernan: That one's still safe. And that one's still safe.
124:19:47 Schmitt: Smells like gunpowder, just like the boys said.
124:19:53 Cernan: Oh, it does, doesn't it? (Pause)
[They have just removed their helmet and, as did previous crews, notice that the dust in the air smells like burnt gunpowder. There is enough dust in the air to smell, but not enough to see.]
124:20:00 Cernan: Okay, "Descent Water valve, Open." Ohh, boy! I ran out of water out there. I mean the drinking kind. (Pause)
snip
-------------------------------------------------------------
What will the stories be like on the next Lunar Missions?
- LRK -
Larry Kellogg
Web Site http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
Blog Spot http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
RSS link http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
News ltr https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
=============================================================
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/09nov_lawnmower.htm
November 9, 2005: "If you can't lick 'em, join 'em," goes a cliché that essentially means "figure out how to live with whatever you can't get rid of."
That may be superb advice for living and working on the moon.
Scientists and engineers figuring out how to return astronauts to the moon, set up habitats, and mine lunar soil to produce anything from building materials to rocket fuels have been scratching their heads over what to do about moondust. It's everywhere! The powdery grit gets into everything, jamming seals and abrading spacesuit fabric. It also readily picks up electrostatic charge, so it floats or levitates off the lunar surface and sticks to faceplates and camera lenses. It might even be toxic.
So what do you do with all this troublesome dust? Larry Taylor, Distinguished Professor of Planetary Sciences at the University of Tennessee has an idea: Don't try to get rid of it--melt it into something useful!
snip
=============================================================
more info - 37 page 3.88 meg, pdf file of presentation by Larry Taylor -
LRK -
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar_knowledge/LTaylor.pdf
=============================================================
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar_knowledge/
LUNAR AND PLANETARY INSTITUTE
Lunar Knowledge Requirements for Human Exploration
March 1-3, 2004
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar_knowledge/agenda.shtml
Workshop Agenda
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar_knowledge/final_report.pdf
Final Report by G. Jeffrey Taylor and Stephen Mackwell
24 March 2004
28 page, 150 KB, pdf file.
=============================================================
http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/HumanExplore/Exploration/EXLibrary/DOCS/EIC049.HTML
Engineering, Construction, and Operations in Space IV
American Society of Civil Engineers, pp. 1220-1229, 1994
SINTERING BRICKS ON THE MOON
Carlton C. Allen, John C. Graf, and David S. McKay
Abstract
Sintering of full-scale "bricks" from lunar soil simulant materials can be accomplished by radiant heating to 1100¡C for approximately 2 hours, followed by slow cooling. Small-scale precompaction and the use of a thermally insulating mold are critical for producing strong, crack-free products. Sintering can also be accomplished using a combination of microwave and radiant heating, though the technique is extremely sensitive to thermal profile and configuration. Sintering in hydrogen is synergistic with oxygen production and yields samples containing enough iron metal to permit handling by a magnet.
Introduction
snip
Hybrid Microwave Sintering
The sintering of geological samples by microwave heating was initially investigated by Meek et al. (1985). We have run a series of investigations into the sintering of crushed MLS-1 basalt in a laboratory microwave furnace. The CEM MDS-81 furnace operates at a frequency of 2.45 GHz and delivers approximately 600 W of microwave energy to the sample. The furnace utilizes an inner chamber of refractory brick, which protects the stainless steel inner walls from overheating. Sample temperatures were approximately monitored by a thermocouple placed in a grounded steel housing immediately below the sample mold.
Each sample of crushed MLS-1 basalt was placed in a cylindrical graphite mold 3.6 cm in diameter by 3.2 cm high. The powder was hand tamped to achieve a porosity of approximately 30%. The mold was capped with a graphite lid 0.26 cm thick. All heating was done in air. However, the graphite mold served as an oxygen "getter," somewhat reducing the effective oxygen fugacity of the sample.
Controlled, even sintering of rock powder by direct microwave heating proved impossible, due to the combined effects of thermal runaway (Kenkre et al., 1991) and self-insulation. The microwave coupling efficiencies of the minerals in MLS-1 rise dramatically with sample temperature. As a result initial heating is slow, but becomes increasingly rapid at temperatures
above approximately 400¡C. Microwaves penetrate the sample, and heating occurs throughout its volume. However, the center is well insulated by surrounding material, and heats faster than the outside. Typically, our samples sintered strongly or melted in the centers but remained unsintered on the edges.
To achieve uniform sintering we developed a hybrid heating technique, combining microwave and radiant heating. We surrounded the sample crucible with seven silicon carbide blocks, measuring 7.6 x 1.0 x 1.8 cm, in a "picket fence" arrangement (Figure 1). The silicon carbide converted part of the microwave energy to heat. Our samples were heated at full power for
periods of up to two hours, and then allowed to cool slowly in the mold under reduced microwave power.
snip
=============================================================
http://lifesci3.arc.nasa.gov/SpaceSettlement/spaceresvol3/glassncer1.htm
Glass and Ceramics
Larry A. Haskin
A variety of glasses and ceramics can be produced from bulk lunar materials or from separated components. Many glassy materials have been described in previous studies (Mackenzie and Claridge 1979, Criswell 1980). They include sintered (heated and pressed) regolith, quenched molten basalt, and transparent glass formed from fused plagioclase. No research has been carried out on lunar material or close simulants, so properties are not known in detail; however, common glass technologies such as molding and spinning seem feasible (fig. 7). Uses of glass include structural applications (bricks, slabs, beams, windows) and specialty applications
(fiber strengtheners, insulation, heat shields, cables, light pipes). See figures 8 and 9.
snip
=============================================================
Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -
=============================================================
WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK
=============================================================
This is the lunar-update at news.altair.com
https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
mailing list!
This list is a moderated list. The moderator is Larry Kellogg
(larry.kellogg at sbcglobal.net
https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
Please send suggestions for postings directly to Larry.
Larry's blog site, is:
http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
General information about the mailing list is at:
https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
=============================================================
end
Friday, November 04, 2005
Missed listening live to Mike Griffin at the House Science Committee Hearing.
You can read the prepared statement and even more you can listen to the testimony live, as archived at the House Committee on Science.
Listening to the questions to Mike and his response is very interesting.
The Russians had a representative there as well. :-)
It is 2 hours and 55 minutes with some dead time in there for a break.
Let us hope congress will respect his judgement and provide the means to look up.
- LRK -
Larry Kellogg
Web Site http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
Blog Spot http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
RSS link at http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
News ltr at https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
=============================================================
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=18570
STATUS REPORT
Date Released: Thursday, November 3, 2005
Source: NASA HQ
Prepared Statement by Michael Griffin - House Science Committee Hearing:
"Status of NASA's Programs"
November 3, 2005
Statement of Michael D. Griffin, Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration before the Committee on Science, House of Representatives Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, thank you for this opportunity to appear today to update the Committee on NASA's plans for the future and our progress in implementing the Vision for Space Exploration. Since testifying before the Committee in June of this year, NASA has made substantial progress in defining a safe and sustainable approach to a program of renewed space exploration beyond low Earth orbit, while maintaining a balanced program for Exploration Systems, Space Operations, Science, and Aeronautics Research. This necessitates that we carefully weigh all the changes and
adjustments we are making in our transition work to assure that the exploration program results in a safer and more reliable access to space while we continue to perform NASA's mission safely with the Shuttle.
snip
-------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.house.gov/science/webcast/index.htm
Committee Web Cast
The House Science Committee is providing this site as a public service. All broadcasts are governed by the Rules of the House of Representatives and are not for political or commercial use.
Live Webcast -Thursday, November 3, 2005 -- 10:00AM
Full Committee - Hearing
Status of NASA’s Programs
NOTE: Real Player version 7 or higher is needed to play webcast Archived Web Cast
---------Archival space is limited. If an archive of a webcast does not appear, please check the committee's hearings page for the transcript of the hearing.
November 3, 2005
Webcast of Full Committee - Hearing
Status of NASA’s Programs
>>>Go to the web site for the Real Video link <<<<
- LRK -
You can read the prepared statement and even more you can listen to the testimony live, as archived at the House Committee on Science.
Listening to the questions to Mike and his response is very interesting.
The Russians had a representative there as well. :-)
It is 2 hours and 55 minutes with some dead time in there for a break.
Let us hope congress will respect his judgement and provide the means to look up.
- LRK -
Larry Kellogg
Web Site http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
Blog Spot http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
RSS link at http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
News ltr at https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
=============================================================
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=18570
STATUS REPORT
Date Released: Thursday, November 3, 2005
Source: NASA HQ
Prepared Statement by Michael Griffin - House Science Committee Hearing:
"Status of NASA's Programs"
November 3, 2005
Statement of Michael D. Griffin, Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration before the Committee on Science, House of Representatives Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, thank you for this opportunity to appear today to update the Committee on NASA's plans for the future and our progress in implementing the Vision for Space Exploration. Since testifying before the Committee in June of this year, NASA has made substantial progress in defining a safe and sustainable approach to a program of renewed space exploration beyond low Earth orbit, while maintaining a balanced program for Exploration Systems, Space Operations, Science, and Aeronautics Research. This necessitates that we carefully weigh all the changes and
adjustments we are making in our transition work to assure that the exploration program results in a safer and more reliable access to space while we continue to perform NASA's mission safely with the Shuttle.
snip
-------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.house.gov/science/webcast/index.htm
Committee Web Cast
The House Science Committee is providing this site as a public service. All broadcasts are governed by the Rules of the House of Representatives and are not for political or commercial use.
Live Webcast -Thursday, November 3, 2005 -- 10:00AM
Full Committee - Hearing
Status of NASA’s Programs
NOTE: Real Player version 7 or higher is needed to play webcast Archived Web Cast
---------Archival space is limited. If an archive of a webcast does not appear, please check the committee's hearings page for the transcript of the hearing.
November 3, 2005
Webcast of Full Committee - Hearing
Status of NASA’s Programs
>>>Go to the web site for the Real Video link <<<<
- LRK -
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
