The major shortcoming of current chemical powered rockets lies in the ratio of payload to fuel. The dream of rocketeers would have a spacecraft almost all payload. Leik Myrabo and John Lewis have an idea for this and they present it in the book “Lightcraft – Flight Handbook LTI-20 “. Within the book lies great detail on a special flying craft and some of its essential subsystems.
This book aims to extol the virtues of a large craft that relies upon microwaves to transfer energy from one location to itself. Via this, the craft need not carry any significant power supply, though the book does mention backup batteries. Further, the book describes, with great relish, the use of ionizers that create the thrust and provide the flight control. Though perhaps sounding farfetched, one author, Leik Myrabo, is recognized as being a worldwide expert in this field and he has undertaken trials on laser launched vehicles. From this, the book has an authoritative ring.
Now the book’s subject does sound very futuristic. And the book’s layout acknowledges this by being written as a flight handbook for travellers in the year 2025. That is, if you were to take a ride on the LTI-20 laser powered craft, then you would need to know the contents of the book so as to understand the craft’s functionality. Hence, the result for the reader is a book that smacks whole heartedly of science fiction even though practical research has taken place.
So here’s your dilemma regarding this book. Do you buy it for the fun science fiction or do you buy it because of the novel method of power supply and flight control. If you want both, then you are in luck. If you like science fiction technology, such as headgear for partial liquid ventilation, this book has lots, but it’s very disjointed and most topics are unsubstantiated. If you want to know more about laser power, this book has the details, but at the level of an article for Popular Mechanics. And sadly, the connection between the future described within the book and current research is tenuous at best. Hence, this book, while entertaining, lacks from a practical stand point.
Nevertheless, there is no mistaking the potential of microwaves to transfer energy to flying craft as described within. As well, ionizers should provide effective flight control, at least while a sufficient quantity of atoms exist (i.e. this won’t work in space). So, for the pleasure of reading about cutting edge technology then Leik Myrabo and John Lewis’ book “Lightcraft – Flight Handbook LTI-20 ” is for you.
Atlantis performed a belly flip prior to docking with ISS on 18 November 2009 while station astronauts snapped hundreds of digital images looking for any signs of damage to the heat shield crucial for a safe reentry. Credit: NASA TV
(Editor’s note:Ken Kremer is in Florida covering the STS-129 mission for Universe Today)
The astronaut crews for the International Space Station and Space Shuttle Atlantis united as one team in space on Wednesday when Atlantis successfully docked with the ISS at 11:51PM EST. Preluded by some of the most spectacular footage ever of the shuttle “belly flip” or the Rendezvous Pitch Manuaever (RPM), docking occurred in orbital darkness about 220 miles high above earth and directly between Australia and Tasmania. The shuttle astronauts were welcomed aboard the ISS and the jubilant crews exchanged bear hugs, handshakes and high fives inside the Harmony module.
Thursday morning at 9:24 a.m. EST, STS-129 spacewalkers Mike Foreman and Robert Satcher headed outside for the first spacewalk of the mission.
The shuttle docked at a port on Harmony, located on the US end of the station and parallel to the earth below. Russian Soyuz manned capsules dock at the opposite end of ISS on the Russian side of the station. The ISS currently weighs over 800,000 pounds.
After a series of leak checks, hatches between the two vehicles were at last opened at 1:28 PM EST, at 1 day and 23 hours mission elapsed time for Atlantis marking the start of joint operations. ISS Commander Frank DeWinne from Belgium performed a brief ceremony. With an overall crew of 12 people representing many ISS partners, Harmony was rather crowded. The shuttle astronauts received a safety briefing and tour.
Later in the day, Nicolle Stott’s tenure as an ISS crew member ended and she transitioned over to become an official member of the shuttle crew for her return to earth. She will be seated on a special recumbent seat brought aloft by Atlantis. Stott has spent 3 months aboard the station.
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Commander Charles “Scorch” Hobaugh piloted Atlantis for the final approach to the ISS from behind and below. After guiding the shuttle to a distance of 600 ft he initiated a spectacular back flip, known as the Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver (RPM), about 30 minutes prior to docking. Hobaugh began the now standard 360 degree back flip maneuver while flying in formation with the ISS at Mach 25 above the Amazon.
The purpose is to collect obtain high resolution imagery of the delicate heat shield tiles which protect the orbiter during the searing heat of reentry. The photos are carefully inspected to look for any signs of damage to the over 20,000 tiles before NASA commits the shuttle to landing back on earth.
Why is this photography important? Because any heat shield leak can be catastrophic for the vehicle and crew. That lesson was tragically learned during the reentry of Columbia.
Station astronauts Jeff Williams and Nicole Stott had about 90 seconds to photograph Atlantis’ belly while aiming 800 mm and 400 mm telephoto lenses respectively through portholes on the Russian Zvezda module. They snapped hundreds of digital photographs which were quickly down linked for analysis by teams waiting in Houston. The spectacular show was carried live on NASA TV. Atlantis cargo bay carrying spare parts for installation on the ISS with earth in the background. Credit: NASA
With Atlantis cargo bay pointing towards the ISS the RPM began with a dramatic pitch of the nose upwards and a stunningly beautiful view of earth in the background. Continuing on a full circular path, the shuttle spun around until the bright belly nearly filled the TV screen. Individual tiles and even the wheels wells were easily discernible as the spin progressed unabated. Momentarily the shuttle was again oriented perpendicularly as the tail faced the ISS with a fantastic view directly down into the shuttle’s three main engines and OMS pod. Finally the Atlantis shuttle returned to the same cargo bay orientation from which it started.
The RPM back flip is true spaceflight and looks like something straight out of a futuristic science fiction TV show or movie like my favorites, Star Trek and Babylon 5. But this is real and it’s happening today. And there is nothing routine about it. Make no mistake. Spaceflight is a highly risky business. And highly rewarding. Only a thin line separates life and death.
In the darkness of space, Hobaugh then closed in on the ISS at 0.2 ft per second. For the last 100 feet, Atlantis gradually slowed even further precisely aligning with the ISS until a flawless docking at 0.1 feet per second. Thrusters fired post contact to force the two docking ports together.
A spring loaded docking system damps out the relative motions of the ISS and shuttle over several minutes. The docking ring was then withdrawn to allow a hard mate between the two vehicles.
The astronauts wasted no time and their workload began right away today. Less than 90 minutes after hatch opening the first of two on board Express Logistics Carriers, dubbed ELC 1, was plucked out of the cargo bay by the shuttle arm. ELC 1 was then handed off to the station arm (Canadarm 2) which plugged it into an earth facing attach point on the ISS port side backbone truss at 4:27 PM. During the back flip and docking sequence approach, the shuttles robotic arm could be seen extending outwards from the cargo bay and attached to the 14,000 pound ELC 1.
The hugh ELC’s measuring 16 ft x 14 ft are designed to hold large space parts like the control moment gyroscopes (CMG’s) which provide orientation control for the station. The ELC’s are brand new equipment provided by NASA Goddard and flying for the first time on a shuttle. Also attached to ELC 1 are the ammonia and nitrogen tank assemblies and a battery charger discharge unit. There are some open attach sites to accommodate new spares brought up on future flights.
The first of three planned spacewalks, or EVA’s, is slated for Thursday at 9 AM and will last about 6½ hours. The astronauts quickly moved their space suits into the stations Quest airlock module to begin configuring all equipment needed. The two spacewalkers will spend the night “camped out” inside Quest to acclimate their bodies and purge nitrogen from their bloodstreams, preventing decompression sickness once they move out into the vacuum of space.
This mission will insure that the ISS has spare parts to sustain operations for several years to come. Having these spare components already on board will enormously simplify ISS planning. Of course, the unexpected can always happen. And that is the impending difficulty caused by the looming retirement of the shuttle.
Potentially the ISS could operate for another 10 years to 2020. Currently the ISS is only funded through 2015 and that’s another decision for President Obama on his packed plate. The other ISS partners, especially Russia, favor an ISS life extension as it just now finally reaches its full science capability.
Ken Kremer’s website
Read my earlier reports from KSC on the flight of Atlantis and Atlas launch attempt here:
[/caption]Not everyone on this planet is in agreement as with regards to the total number of continents. So how many continents are there then, according to the disagreeing parties?
Well, in Russia, Eastern Europe and Japan, the people there consider the continents of Europe and Asia as one, known as Eurasia. In other places in the world, North and South America are combined as one American continent while separating Europe and Asia instead. Thus, according to these two views, there should only be 6 continents.
There are even geographical views that prefer the presence of both a Eurasian as well as one American continent. These geographers therefore contend that there should only be 5 continents.
And if you thought that would be the lowest number, think again. There are others still who are more comfortable with a 4-continent view.
These people argue that, since Europe and Asia are actually part of one great land mass and that Asia and Africa are actually joined by an isthmus (Isthmus of Suez), as are the two Americas (being joined by the Isthmus of Panama), then there should be an Afro-Eurasian continent in addition to one American continent, Antarctica, and Australia.
But how many continents are there according to the more widely accepted view? In the most widely accepted view, there are 7 continents all in all: Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, South America, Antarctica, and Australia.
This model is preferred by the Chinese and majority of the English-speaking countries.
The final verdict as to how many continents are there might lean more on the larger numbers once the effects of global warming kick in. Once sea water levels rise, the separation between the two Americas as well as that between Africa and Asia will be more noticeable. Only the combined Europe and Asia model (a.k.a. 6-continent model) and the 7-continent model would remain.
Hundreds of millions of years from now, we really don’t know how many continents there would be. According to the continental drift theory, moving tectonic plates may rearrange the pieces of the puzzle that are the Earth’s continents.
What used to be one super continent, known as Pangaea has now been broken into 4, 5, 6, or 7 continents – depending on which side you’re more comfortable with. Therefore, its plausible, the Earth being round and all, that some of these continents will later on combine after drifting away for some time.
You can read more about plate tectonics here in Universe Today. Here are the links:
In order to understand why geothermal energy is considered an environment friendly alternative to fossil fuel, you must first be familiar with the basic workings of this technology. So how does geothermal energy work?
First of all, geothermal energy can be used in a variety of ways. There are those who utilize the heat directly for home heating (and even cooling) systems. Others use them in greenhouses, fish farms, and spas. Of course, I haven’t forgotten its most celebrated application – to produce electricity.
Thus, in answering the question, “How does geothermal energy work?”, one must first specify the specific application of the energy.
For those applications which utilize geothermal energy directly like those in fish farms, spas, and greenhouses, hot spring water is simply tapped from underneath the ground surface and redirected into these facilities.
The hot water may get its heat from magma that is able to creep upward and heat its surroundings, including the groundwater there. Magma doesn’t have to contribute heat directly though, as this melted mantle material can be found very deep underground and hence difficult to gain access to.
In some cases, where magma isn’t found in the direct vicinity, you can still obtain hot water by simply drilling deep in the ground. Always remember that the deeper you drill, the hotter the temperature gets.
Geothermal energy used to power household room heaters are extracted from the ground (not through water). During winter, ground underneath the surface is warmer than the temperature above. Heat is then extracted by using geothermal heat pumps. A typical geothermal heat pump extracts heat through a series of pipes containing either circulating water or an antifreeze solution, just like a refrigerator or an air conditioning unit.
Now for the last application mentioned earlier. How does geothermal energy work in the case of geothermal power plants?
Just like most power plants (e.g. hydro and wind power), energy is converted to electricity through the use of turbines. There are three ways of doing this.
One method directs hot steam drawn from underground into the turbine. Another draws extremely hot water from underneath, flashes it into steam, which is then directed to the turbine. The third method makes use of a heat exchanger to transfer heat from hot water drawn from underground unto a fluid (isobutane is commonly used) that is directed to the turbine.
In all three methods, the turbine is responsible for converting the kinetic energy of the directed fluid (which makes it turn) into electricity.
Universe Today has some interesting topics related to geothermal energy which you might be interested in. Here are two of them:
Geothermal Heat Geothermal Heating
[/caption]Microwave ovens don’t operate in the same manner as conventional ovens. So how do microwaves work then? Microwave ovens take advantage of the behavior of water molecules when subjected to electromagnetic waves found in the microwave band.
To understand how this happens, we’ll have to comprehend the basic properties of water molecules and microwaves (the electromagnetic waves, not the oven).
The mickey mouse-shaped water molecule is actually a dipole. That is, one side is positively charged while the other is negative.
Microwaves used for cooking, on the other hand, are electromagnetic waves possessing frequencies around the 2.45 GHz range. Now, electromagnetic waves are waves made up of alternating electric and magnetic fields. For this discussion, we’re more concerned with the alternating electric fields because charged particles readily react when exposed to them.
That is, when a positively charged particle is exposed to an electric field, it experiences a force (due to the field) pointing in the direction of the field. By contrast, when a negatively charged particle is exposed to the same field, it experiences a force in the direction opposite to the field.
Now, since an electromagnetic wave (like the microwave) is made up of alternating electric fields, a charge exposed to it will experience forces regularly changing in direction. For water molecules, which are dipoles, the net effect would force the molecules into rotation. Again, since the fields are alternating, the rotation will change from clockwise to counterclockwise at regular time intervals.
The agitated water molecules would then possess heat energy that can rub off (much like friction) to nearby molecules. If the water molecules are well distributed in the body subjected to the microwave (like food, for example), then the entire body can heat up quickly – not to mention, uniformly.
Electromagnetic waves in the microwave range are most suitable for this purpose because the water molecules readily rotate when exposed to such frequencies.
Avoid putting in metal into the microwave oven while heating. The reason is because pointed portions of the metal can accumulate high voltages which can cause dielectric breakdown of the air inside the oven. Once this happens, some harmful gases can be produced.
Since microwave ovens normally don’t have heating elements, temperature can drop right away in the inner walls of the oven. So you’ll only need to worry about getting burned by the food and not the walls.
If you’ve spent any time on the internet, you’ve probably had a chance to use either Google Earth or Google Maps. Both of these tools allow you to see a satellite view of the Earth, and zoom right in to see your home from space. But is there a Google satellite to take these photographs?
Google doesn’t actually have a satellite of their own. Instead, they use images from a variety of sources and store them on their servers. These images come from NASA satellites, USGS aerial surveys, and satellite photos from commercial operators. Google has an exclusive contract with a company called GeoEye, which recently launched their GeoEye-1 satellite. This commercial satellite blasted off on September 6, 2008, and is capable of resolving images on the Earth down to a size of 0.41 meters.
So how can you use these images? The easiest tool to use is Google Maps. This is a web-based tool that lets you browse around satellite photos of the Earth. You can zoom in and out, and type in a specific address anywhere on Earth to go right there. It also has driving directions, and all kinds of features that you can turn on and off to give you more information – like local sightseeing highlights.
The other tool that Google has created is called Google Earth. Unlike Google Maps, you actually need to download Google Earth to your local computer; PC, Mac, Linux, and even on your iPhone. Once you have the application installed, you see a 3-D version of the Earth that you can spin around, zoom in and out. You can zero in to any spot on Earth and see the highest resolution images they have available. There’s also a big community of developers who have created additional views that you can install. This lets you see additional photographs, contour maps, etc.
When the first Landsat Earth-observing satellite launched in 1972, virtually every piece of technology that we think of as essential for viewing, sharing, or analyzing digital images — like the internet or DVD’s — either hadn’t been invented or commercialized, like the microprocessors that run desktop computers. “It cost about $4,000 for a single Landsat image, and it takes about 9,000 of them to map the land area of the globe,” said Jeff Masek, from NASA. “To make a global image for just one time period would have cost $36 million.” But now, in this age where everything is digital and it’s easy to exchange information, anyone can download Landsat images for free. Recently, NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey put the finishing touches on a new collection of mapped images covering the entire land surface of the Earth. However, if you want the entire full-size version, it would be as big as the Hoover Dam.
This collaboration between NASA, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the U.S. National Geospatial Agency, the Global Land Survey 2005 features around 9,500 images from NASA’s Landsat satellites captured between 2004–2007. A Landsat image that could be artwork.
The images are detailed enough to make out features as small as 30 meters (about one-third the length of an American football field), they have been carefully screened for clouds, and each one shows the landscape during its growing season.
Some of the images are as striking as a piece of artwork. Stitched together into a single mosaic, the collection paints the most detailed picture of Earth’s land surface a person can get for free.
Ready for another Where In The Universe Challenge? Here’s #80! Take a look and see if you can name where in the Universe this image is from. Give yourself extra points if you can name the spacecraft responsible for the image. As usual, we’ll provide the image today, but won’t reveal the answer until tomorrow. This gives you a chance to mull over the image and provide your answer/guess in the comment section. Please, no links or extensive explanations of what you think this is — give everyone the chance to guess.
UPDATE: The answer has been posted below.
This image is from the HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter showing season frost on dunes in Mars northern hemisphere, just south of the northern polar cap. It was taken on in July of 2008, which would have been summer at that time and place on Mars. This is one weird lookin’ place on Mars. See the full image swath below, and see this page in the HiRISE website for more information. Mars northern dunes. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
Ever wonder what it would be like to walk on the Moon or run on Mars? A treadmill developed using NASA technology can provide users the feeling of moving about in less than 1 G. Anti Gravity treadmills, sold under the name of Alter-G, are becoming common in hospitals, rehab centers, and sports facilities, and just about every professional sports team in North America has one. They are a bit pricey for individuals to afford, but athletes and physical therapists say the device is a fantastic addition to their exercise repertoire.
Anti G treadmills allow people to improve mobility and health, recover from injury and surgery more effectively, overcome medical challenges that limit movement, and enhance physical performance. Runners and other athletes use the anti gravity treadmills to maintain their fitness level after a minor injury, without adding stress to their injury.
The Alter-G treadmill creates a seal around the user’s waist and then inflates to create a pressurized environment that can take away up to 80% of the user’s body weight, lessening the pounding to the joints.
The technology was first proposed for use on the space station to actually increase the amount of gravity felt by the body by using differential air pressure in space to mimic the Earth’s gravity to prevent bone loss and muscle deterioration.
G-Trainer. Credit: NASA
Ames Research Center scientist, Robert Whalen, who came up with the idea said the anti-G trainer evolved directly from his original idea of how to add weight to an astronaut’s body during treadmill exercise in the low gravity of space. On Earth, it works just the opposite, giving users an astronaut-like experience.
A variety of patients—whether suffering from brain injury, neurological disorders, athletic injuries, or other stresses on the joints such as arthritis or morbid obesity—now use the NASA-derived technology in physical therapy.
In order for the G-Trainer to control air pressure effectively, users first have to don specially designed shorts which attach to a waist-level enclosure. After the person’s lower body is sealed in an enclosure – basically a big plastic bag around the treadmill, the system performs a calibration, adjusting to the person’s size and weight. Then running speed and incline can be chosen, along with what percent of weight should be removed. If a patient desires more unloading—more weightlessness—a button is simply pressed on a touch screen, and the air pressure increases, lifting the body, reducing strain, and further minimizing impact on the legs.
Prices run from USD $24,000 to $75,000 or leases for about $500 a month.
Looking at a galaxy edge-on provides astronomers the opportunity to study different aspects of galaxies than a face-on view offers. This Hubble image of NGC 4710 is part of a survey conducted to provide more information about the puzzling bulges that form around the middle of some galaxies. Have these galaxies been “eating” too much, or is it just part of a “middle-age spread” similar to what humans experience? Astronomers aren’t sure why bulges evolve and become a substantial component of most spiral galaxies.
This image was taken by the Advanced Camera for Surveys in 2006, before the recent Hubble Servicing Mission.
A faint, ethereal “X”-shaped structure is also visible. Such a feature, which astronomers call a “boxy” or “peanut-shaped” bulge, is due to the vertical motions of the stars in the galaxy’s bar and is only evident when the galaxy is seen edge-on. This curiously shaped puff is often observed in spiral galaxies with small bulges and open arms, but is less common in spirals with arms tightly wrapped around a more prominent bulge, such as NGC 4710.
When targeting spiral galaxy bulges, astronomers often seek edge-on galaxies, as their bulges are more easily distinguishable from the disc. This exceptionally detailed edge-on view of NGC 4710 taken by the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) aboard Hubble reveals the galaxy’s bulge in the brightly coloured centre. The luminous, elongated white plane that runs through the bulge is the galaxy disc. The disc and bulge are surrounded by eerie-looking dust lanes. A wide-field image of the region around NGC 4710 constructed from Digitized Sky Survey 2 data. The field of view is approximately 2.8 degrees x 2.9 degrees. Credit: NASA, ESA and Digitized Sky Survey 2. Acknowledgment: Davide De Martin (ESA/Hubble)
NGC 4710 is a member of the giant Virgo Cluster of galaxies and lies in the northern constellation of Coma Berenices (the Hair of Queen Berenice). It is not one of the brightest members of the cluster, but can easily be seen as a dim elongated smudge on a dark night with a medium-sized amateur telescope. In the 1780s, William Herschel discovered the galaxy and noted it simply as a “faint nebula”. It lies about 60 million light-years from the Earth and is an example of a lenticular or S0-type galaxy – a type that seems to have some characteristics of both spiral and elliptical galaxies.
Astronomers are scrutinizing these systems to determine how many globular clusters they host. Globular clusters are thought to represent an indication of the processes that can build bulges. Two quite different processes are believed to be at play regarding the formation of bulges in spiral galaxies: either they formed rather rapidly in the early Universe, before the spiral disc and arms formed; or they built up from material accumulating from the disc during a slow and long evolution. In this case of NGC 4710, researchers have spotted very few globular clusters associated with the bulge, indicating that its assembly mainly involved relatively slow processes.
