Science Archives

December 4, 2007December 26, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Columbus to Set Sail for Space

For European scientists and space enthusiasts, the wait will soon be over. The Columbus module, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) major component for the International Space Station, will finally be delivered to the ISS aboard space shuttle Atlantis on STS-122. The launch is scheduled for Thursday, December 6, 2007 at 4:31 pm EST. Flying along with Columbus are two ESA astronauts, Hans Schlegel from Germany, and Leopold Eyharts from France.

The ESA considers Columbus as the most important European mission to the ISS to date and the cornerstone of Europe’s contribution to this cooperative international endeavor.

Creating a human-capable science module for a space station was first proposed by Europeans back in 1985. At that time France was considering building a mini space shuttle called Hermes to fly to a proposed space station called the Man Tended Free Flyer (MTFF) to be built by Germany and Italy. But with the postponement of MTFF in 1991 and the termination of Hermes in 1993, the planned Columbus module was left with no ride to space and nowhere to go.

When the ESA joined as an ISS partner in 1995, the Columbus science module was a logical contribution for the Europeans. The module was completed in 2000, and the original date for delivery of Columbus to orbit was 2004. But that date was pushed back following the Columbia space shuttle accident in 2003.

Columbus is 7 meters (23 feet) long and 4.5 meters (15 feet) in diameter and will hold specialized experiments for multidisciplinary research into biology, physiology, material science, fluid physics, technology, life science and education. Columbus can hold ten science racks, but will launch with only five in place, as future missions will bring more science racks on board. Additionally, there are two stands bolted to the outside of the module that can be used for research on materials and for unfiltered views of space. Columbus will be attached to the Harmony node’s starboard docking port.

Schlegel will play a key role in two of the three spacewalks or EVA (Extra-Vehicular Activity) scheduled for the mission, helping to install and power up the laboratory.

Eyharts will stay aboard the ISS for a long duration mission, replacing Dan Tani who will return to Earth on the shuttle. Eyharts will play a key part in the installation, activation and in-orbit commissioning of Columbus and its experimental facilities.

Once in orbit, Columbus will be monitored from ESA’s Columbus Control Centre located within DLR’s German Space Operations Centre in Oberpfaffenhofen, near Munich.

The American astronauts on Atlantis are Commander Stephen Frick, pilot Alan Poindexter and mission specialists Rex Walheim, Stanley Love, and Leland Melvin.

The forecast for Thursday’s launch is 80 percent “go,” decreasing to 60 percent on Friday and Saturday.

Original News Source: ESA Press Release

July 10, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

Killer Electrons From Space!

Space travel is dangerous, make no mistake. So many ways to die. But now scientists think they’ve got a handle on how one of the threats operates: killer electrons from space.

Using data from a fleet of spacecraft, scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory have puzzled out how electromagnetic waves accelerate normal electrons in the Earth’s radiation belts to killer velocities. These electrons are then hazardous to satellites, spacecraft, and especially astronauts.

Their research, entitled The Energization of Relativistic Electrons in the Outer Van Allen Radiation Belt was published in the July issue of Nature Physics.

They measured the fluxes of electrons striking a satellite-mounted detector, and the converted the measurements to magnetic coordinates. This showed them that the local peaks in electrons could have only been caused by the acceleration of electrons by electromagnetic waves. They still don’t understand the exact mechanism that’s causing the acceleration, though.

Two new NASA spacecraft are due to be launched in 2012 – the Radiation Belt Storm probes – these will help scientists understand the mechanism more deeply.

Original Source: Los Alamos National Lab

July 2, 2007January 24, 2021 by Fraser Cain

Before the Big Bang?

The scientific consensus is that the Universe is expanding, having gotten its start in a single point 13.7 billion years ago. There are several lines of evidence to support this theory: the movement of galaxies away from us, the cosmic microwave background radiation, and the quantities of hydrogen and helium in the Universe.

But what came before the Big Bang? Since all matter and energy was tangled up into a single point of infinite volume and density, it’s hard to imagine how you could look to a time before that.

Cosmologist Martin Bojowald and others from Penn State University thinks it’s possible. His ideas are published in a new paper as part of the July 1st edition of the journal Nature Physics.

According to Bojowald, a mathematical technique called Loop Quantum Gravity, which combines relativity and quantum mechanics, gives a different view of the early Universe. Instead of being infinitely small and dense, it was compacted down into a ball of some volume and density.

The researchers believes that a previous Universe collapsed down to a tiny ball, and then had a Big Bounce to expand again. The previous Universe was very similar to the space-time geometry we have in our current Universe.

I’d try and explain this better, but Phil beat me to the punch and did a great article about it.

Original Source : Penn State University

June 11, 2007December 26, 2015 by Fraser Cain

NASA Working on a Folding Tether System

Science@NASA has a cool article about how US and Japanese researchers are working on a folding tether system that could help keep satellites in their proper orbits, and return spent rocket stages to Earth.

Space tethers were first demonstrated on the Gemini 11 and 12 missions, showing how spacecraft could be connected by a cable. Possible applications include artificial gravity, spacecraft stabilization, and even raising a spacecraft into higher and higher orbits through a series of tether slingshots.

The new design is nicknamed Fortissimo, and provides a new method for unfolding a tether system. Instead of unraveling a cable from a spool, this tether would look like a thin strip of aluminum foil. It would be folded up using a clever origami technique so that it unravels quickly; similar to a firefighter’s hose.

Under this design, a 1km tether could deploy in just a few minutes.

Original Source: Science@NASA