First American woman in space, Sally Ride, dies at 61

Nasa  /  Reuters

Astronaut Sally Ride monitors control panels from the pilot's chair on the flight deck of the space shuttle Challenger during her historic space mission in 1983. Floating in front of her is a flight procedures notebook. Ride died on Monday after a 17-month battle with pancreatic cancer.

By Alan Boyle Science editor

NBC News

The first American woman to go into space, Sally Ride, died Monday after a 17-month battle against pancreatic cancer, her company said.

Ride made history in 1983 as a crew member on the space shuttle Challenger, breaking the gender barrier for U.S. spaceflight. Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space in 1963, but it took another 20 years for NASA to follow suit.
Word of Ride's death came in an announcement from Sally Ride Science, the educational venture she founded after leaving NASA.

President Barack Obama said he and his wife, Michelle, were "deeply saddened" by the news.
"As the first American woman to travel into space, Sally was a national hero and a powerful role model," Obama said in a White House statement. "She inspired generations of young girls to reach for the stars, and later fought tirelessly to help them get there by advocating for a greater focus on science and math in our schools. Sally’s life showed us that there are no limits to what we can achieve, and I have no doubt that her legacy will endure for years to come."
NASA's leaders issued tributes as well.
"Sally Ride broke barriers with grace and professionalism — and literally changed the face of America's space program," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said. "The nation has lost one of its finest leaders, teachers and explorers. Our thoughts and prayers are with Sally's family and the many she inspired. She will be missed, but her star will always shine brightly." More >>

Huge asteroid to fly by Earth Thursday

Slooh Space Camera

A look at where near-Earth asteroid 2012 LZ1 will appear in the sky on the evening of June 14, 2012.

By Mike Wall

An asteroid the size of a city block is set to fly by Earth Thursday, and you may be able to watch it happen live.

The near-Earth asteroid 2012 LZ1, which astronomers think is about 1,650 feet wide, will come within 14 lunar distances of Earth Thursday evening. While there's no danger of an impact on this pass, the huge space rock may come close enough to be caught on camera.

That's what the team running the Slooh Space Camera thinks, anyway. The online skywatching service will train a telescope on the Canary Islands on 2012 LZ1 and stream the footage live, beginning at 8:00 p.m. EDT Thursday (0000 GMT Friday).
You can watch the asteroid flyby on Slooh's website, found here: http://events.slooh.com/  More >>

El transbordador espacial Enterprise choca con un puente durante su traslado al Intrepid

Microsiervos

Dale, que pasas… ¡Ooops! - Dennis Jenkins

Tras llegar al aeropuerto John Fitzgerald Kennedy de Nueva York a finales de abril este domingo pasado el transbordador espacial Enterprise comenzaba la última parte de su viaje hasta el Museo Mar-Aire-Espacio del Intrepid montado en una barcaza que debía llevarlo hasta allí previa parada en los muelles Weeks.

Durante el trayecto tenía que pasar por varios puentes, pero en concreto había uno del tren que apenas dejaba unos metros de margen a los lados.

Y, demostrando una vez más que Murphy tenía toda la razón del mundo, cuando la barcaza estaba cruzando ese puente una ráfaga de viento la empujó contra uno de los soportes de este, resultando dañada la punta del ala derecha del Enterprise en el choque.

Los efectos del impacto - Dennis Jenkins

Según fuentes del museo se trata de un daño meramente cosmético que no afecta a estructuras ni mecanismos del ala, pero aun así es un gran WTF!

El resto del viaje se hizo sin problemas hasta atracar el domingo por la noche en los citados muelles, y estaba previsto que hoy mismo se completara el trayecto hasta el Intrepid, pero el mal tiempo ha obligado a postergar esta segunda etapa del viaje al menos hasta mañana.

Hay más fotos del traslado y del incidente en Space shuttle Enterprise damaged at sea, delivery to Intrepid delayed.

Aunque el Enterprise tiene la designación OV-101, que en términos de la NASA quiere decir que es un orbitador capaz de volar en realidad solo se utilizó para vuelos en la atmósfera para comprobar la aerodinámica del diseño y para comprobar equipos y procedimientos en tierra.

Para eso llevó a cabo varios vuelos a lomos de un Boeing 747 convenientemente modificado, denominado Shuttle Carrier Aircraft por la NASA, y cinco vuelos libres para las pruebas de aproximación y aterrizaje correspondientes.

Enterprise - Free Flight after separation from 747: el primer vuelo libre del Enterprise el 26 de septiembre de 1977

Pero a pesar de que en un principio se había pensado en instalarle los motores y sistemas necesarios para hacerlo capaz de salir al espacio al final resultó más económico construir un transbordador completamente nuevo, con lo que nunca llegó a salir de la atmósfera y su carrera activa terminó en 1977.

A toro pasado es fácil decirlo, pero… ¿No había una barcaza más ancha que la envergadura del Enteprise que pudiera pasar por el puente ese? ¿O no se le podían haber soldado una especie de parachoques a la barcaza para proteger la punta de las alas?

No deja de ser irónico que haya sufrido más daños durante este traslado que durante su carrera activa.

• Y los transbordadores espaciales son para…, los detalles de donde van a terminar su carrera estas naves.
• Vídeo: cómo se baja un transbordador espacial de un 747: con unas grandes grúas y, sobre todo, con mucho cuidado, ¡por favor!

Space Shuttle Enterprise takes to the seas

Michael Nagle / Getty Images

Space Shuttle Enterprise is carried by barge underneath the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge on June 3, 
in New York City. Enterprise is on its way to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, where it will 
put on permanent display.

The prototype space shuttle that arrived in New York City by air earlier this spring was on the move again, this time by sea.

"It brings a tear to your eye," said Richard Kaplan of Massapequa Park, one of the many spectators gathered near Queens' Cross Bay Bridge Sunday afternoon.

The Enterprise gave New Yorkers much to admire in late April when it flew around New York City's most famous sites atop a 747 jet before landing at Kennedy. Its boat ride to the Intrepid Sunday also involved notable sites: cruising across New York Harbor, it passed the Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge, Coney Island, and went under the Verrazano Bridge before it docked at Port Elizabeth, N.J. "I would have been here at 2 in the morning if I knew the thing was going to be here," said Kaplan. "It's that important."

-- Reported by Jonathan Vigliotti NBCNewYork.com

El último apagado del transbordador espacial Endeavour

Microsiervos/

La cabina del Endeavour en sus últimos momentos - collectSPACE.com

La verdad es que hace muchos meses que no era una nave espacial viable porque le han ido retirando subsistemas y componentes que o bien serán –hipotéticamente– reutilizados en otras naves que podían ser peligrosos a la hora de tenerlo expuesto en el Centro de Ciencias de California en Los Ángeles…

Pero, como bien dice Daniel Marín, cuando los técnicos de la NASA apagaron por última vez el transbordador espacial Endeavour este pasado viernes a las 13:58 GMT, se puede decir que ese fue El fin definitivo de la era de los transbordadores espaciales.

Ya se que nunca cumplieron con la expectativas depositadas en ellos, que probablemente eran más peligrosos de volar de lo que deberían haber sido, aunque estoy seguro de que los astronautas que volaban en ellos estaban más que dispuestos a asumir el riesgo, pero mientras crecía siempre me parecieron el futuro.

Y sin embargo ahora, citando a Daniel:

Hoy el espacio queda más lejos que nunca. El futuro de la astronáutica tripulada no está asegurado en modo alguno. En la actualidad sólo dos países -Rusia y China- poseen capacidad para lanzar astronautas por sus propios medios y nada nos permite asegurar que el panorama mejorará dentro de diez o veinte años. No me cabe duda de que el hombre terminará por viajar a Marte. Lo que cada vez tengo más claro es que no estaré aquí para verlo.

El Endeavour se retira cn 25 misiones en su haber en 29 años casi exactos de servicio, entre ellas la primera misión de mantenimiento del telescopio espacial Hubble, durante la que sus tripulantes corrigieron la «miopía» del telescopio.

Discovery takes final flight

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Read >>

Apollo 11’s Engines Found in Atlantic

By Ian O'Neill

Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon and founder of the private spaceflight company Blue Origin, has announced that he's located the F-1 engines that launched Apollo 11 to the moon.

In the privately funded venture, Bezos' team used state-of-the-art deep sea sonar to hunt for the space artifacts that have sat 14,000 feet (4.2 kilometers) under the Atlantic Ocean for over 40 years.  Read >>

Raro video del desastre del transbordador Challenger

Changing Climate Will Make Massive Shifts in Earth's Vegetation [NASA study]

Scientific American Magazine/ By Lauren Morello and ClimateWire

Climate change will alter the mix of vegetation on 49 percent of Earth's land surface by the end of this century, scrambling and shifting existing ecosystems, according to a new study.

Researchers at NASA and the California Institute of Technology say the changing climate will also convert 37 percent of the world's land ecosystems from one type -- such as tundra, forest or grassland -- into another by 2100.

Those vegetation shifts are likely to affect animals and insects that have evolved to live among particular plant species and within certain temperature and precipitation ranges, said the study's lead author, independent scientist Jon Bergengren.

"Animals that are dependent on plants will either have to migrate with the plants, if the plants can successfully migrate, or hang on with plants that are struggling to survive," said Bergengren, who conducted the research as a postdoctoral fellow at Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "Either way, there are problems."

Bergengren said that widespread human development will complicate and in some cases prevent plants and animals from migrating to new habitats as climate change alters existing ecosystems.

"A lot of times, when a plant or animal wants to migrate, it runs into a monoculture agricultural zone, or it runs into a city," he said.

The study, published by the journal Climatic Change, is based on the output of a computer model of vegetation change. Researchers used the model to project how the world's vegetation would shift over the next three centuries under the "middle of the road" greenhouse gas emissions scenario developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. It assumes the world's greenhouse gas emissions will double by 2100, then stabilize.

Northern forests move into the tundra.   More >> 

Potential for an EMP attack? $2 trillion sunstorm coming, NASA warns

Editor's Note: The following report is excerpted from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin, the premium online newsletter published by the founder of WND. Subscriptions are $99 a year or, for monthly trials, just $9.95 per month for credit card users, and provide instant access for the complete reports.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. is becoming increasingly aware and concerned about the possibility within a few years of an electromagnetic pulse attack from an enemy's high-altitude nuclear explosion. The impact would include the loss of critical U.S. electrical infrastructure that could send the nation back into an 18th century agrarian economy, according to a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.

But experts have warned that such an attack could produce conditions more difficult than the 18th century due to the considerable increase in population and the total reliance by society on electricity and technology for life-sustaining factors, such as food production and delivery. Also hit would be transportation, medical and emergency services, telecommunications, and the economic and financial system.

Republican presidential candidate and former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Newt Gingrich, in a nationally televised presidential debate, recently declared that the potential for an EMP attack is perhaps the most serious national security threat facing the United States today.

However, there is another threat looming that is not only possible but actually forecast, and it could fry electronics and knock out the transformers in the national electric grid system.

Read more: $2 trillion sunstorm coming, NASA warns http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=373629#ixzz1fg3Jr1hn

NASA Launches Super-size Rover to Mars

NASA - 2012: Beginning of the End or Why the World Won't End?

Remember the Y2K scare? It came and went without much of a whimper because of adequate planning and analysis of the situation. Impressive movie special effects aside, Dec. 21, 2012, won't be the end of the world as we know. It will, however, be another winter solstice.

Much like Y2K, 2012 has been analyzed and the science of the end of the Earth thoroughly studied. Contrary to some of the common beliefs out there, the science behind the end of the world quickly unravels when pinned down to the 2012 timeline. Below, NASA Scientists answer several questions that we're frequently asked regarding 2012.

Question (Q): Are there any threats to the Earth in 2012? Many Internet websites say the world will end in December 2012.
Answer (A): Nothing bad will happen to the Earth in 2012. Our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years, and credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012.

Q: What is the origin of the prediction that the world will end in 2012?
A: The story started with claims that Nibiru, a supposed planet discovered by the Sumerians, is headed toward Earth. This catastrophe was initially predicted for May 2003, but when nothing happened the doomsday date was moved forward to December 2012. Then these two fables were linked to the end of one of the cycles in the ancient Mayan calendar at the winter solstice in 2012 -- hence the predicted doomsday date of December 21, 2012.

Q: Does the Mayan calendar end in December 2012?
A: Just as the calendar you have on your kitchen wall does not cease to exist after December 31, the Mayan calendar does not cease to exist on December 21, 2012. This date is the end of the Mayan long-count period but then -- just as your calendar begins again on January 1 -- another long-count period begins for the Mayan calendar.

Q: Could phenomena occur where planets align in a way that impacts Earth?
A: There are no planetary alignments in the next few decades, Earth will not cross the galactic plane in 2012, and even if these alignments were to occur, their effects on the Earth would be negligible. Each December the Earth and sun align with the approximate center of the Milky Way Galaxy but that is an annual event of no consequence.

"There apparently is a great deal of interest in celestial bodies, and their locations and trajectories at the end of the calendar year 2012. Now, I for one love a good book or movie as much as the next guy. But the stuff flying around through cyberspace, TV and the movies is not based on science. There is even a fake NASA news release out there..."
- Don Yeomans, NASA senior research scientist Q: Is there a planet or brown dwarf called Nibiru or Planet X or Eris that is approaching the Earth and threatening our planet with widespread destruction?
A: Nibiru and other stories about wayward planets are an Internet hoax. There is no factual basis for these claims. If Nibiru or Planet X were real and headed for an encounter with the Earth in 2012, astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye. Obviously, it does not exist. Eris is real, but it is a dwarf planet similar to Pluto that will remain in the outer solar system; the closest it can come to Earth is about 4 billion miles. 

More >

Genetically Altered Astronaut Poo? NASA Wants to Know

Discovery News
Has bacteria in astronaut poop left on the moon been genetically altered? Did solar wind and ultraviolet radiation destroy the flag at Tranquility Base, landing site for the first Apollo moon mission? Are the lunar rovers dented with micrometeoroid impacts?
These are among the science questions raised by a NASA team tasked to come up with guidelines to preserve lunar artifacts before contenders in a $30-million competition sponsored by Google arrive on the moon beginning in about two years.
About 28 teams are competing to send privately funded robotic spacecraft to photograph and explore the lunar surface. Winners can get bonuses if they visit lunar historic sites, a prospect that got NASA thinking about its property on the moon.
PHOTOS: Myths of the Moon Missions
Six crews landed on lunar surface between 1969 and 1972, leaving behind descent modules, communications antennas, rovers and yes, even bags with feces. The Apollo artifacts are part of a larger collection of relics that also include Soviet-era spacecraft and crashed NASA probes.
More >

Paisajes de Marte a través de los ojos de un robot

The Plan to Bring an Asteroid to Earth

• By Adam Mann

PASADENA, California — Send a robot into space. Grab an asteroid. Bring it back to Earth orbit.

This may sound like a crazy plan, but it was discussed quite seriously last week by a group of scientists and engineers at the California Institute of Technology. The four-day workshop was dedicated to investigating the feasibility and requirements of capturing a near-Earth asteroid, bringing it closer to our planet and using it as a base for future manned spaceflight missions.

This is not something the scientists are imagining could be done some day off in the future. This is possible with the technology we have today and could be accomplished within a decade.

A robotic probe could anchor to an asteroid made mostly of nickel-iron with simple magnets or grab a rocky asteroid with a harpoon or specialized claws (see video below) and then push the asteroid using solar-electric propulsion. For asteroids too big for a robot to handle, a large spacecraft could fly near the object to act as a gravity tractor that deflects the asteroid’s trajectory, sending it toward Earth.

Read more >

I hope doesn't hit my head: NASA gives 1-hour window for satellite collision with Earth

• FILE - In this file image provided by NASA this is the STS-48 onboard photo of the …

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A 6-ton NASA satellite on a collision course with Earth clung to space Friday, apparently flipping position in its ever-lower orbit and stalling its death plunge.
The old research spacecraft was targeted to crash through the atmosphere sometime Friday night or early Saturday, putting Canada and Africa in the potential crosshairs, although most of the satellite should burn up during re-entry. The United States wasn't entirely out of the woods; the possible strike zone skirted Washington state.
"It just doesn't want to come down," said Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
McDowell said the satellite's delayed demise demonstrates how unreliable predictions can be. That said, "the best guess is that it will still splash in the ocean, just because there's more ocean out there."
Until Friday, increased solar activity was causing the atmosphere to expand and the 35-foot, bus-size satellite to free fall more quickly. But late Friday morning, NASA said the sun was no longer the major factor in the rate of descent and that the satellite's position, shape or both had changed by the time it slipped down to a 100-mile orbit.
"In the last 24 hours, something has happened to the spacecraft," said NASA orbital debris scientist Mark Matney.
On Friday night, NASA said it expected the satellite to come crashing down between 11:45 p.m. and 12:45 a.m. EDT Saturday. It was going to be passing over the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans at that time, as well as Canada and Africa.
"The risk to public safety is very remote," NASA said in a statement.
Any surviving wreckage is expected to be limited to a 500-mile swath.
The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, or UARS, will be the biggest NASA spacecraft to crash back to Earth, uncontrolled, since the post-Apollo 75-ton Skylab space station and the more than 10-ton Pegasus 2 satellite, both in 1979.
Russia's 135-ton Mir space station slammed through the atmosphere in 2001, but it was a controlled dive into the Pacific.
Some 26 pieces of the UARS satellite — representing 1,200 pounds of heavy metal — are expected to rain down somewhere. The biggest surviving chunk should be no more than 300 pounds (136 kilograms).
Earthlings can take comfort in the fact that no one has ever been hurt by falling space junk — to anyone's knowledge — and there has been no serious property damage. NASA put the chances that somebody somewhere on Earth would get hurt at 1-in-3,200. But any one person's odds of being struck were estimated at 1-in-22 trillion, given there are 7 billion people on the planet.
"Keep in mind that we have bits of debris re-entering the atmosphere every single day," Matney said in brief remarks broadcast on NASA TV.
In any case, finders definitely aren't keepers.
Any surviving wreckage belongs to NASA, and it is against the law to keep or sell even the smallest piece. There are no toxic chemicals on board, but sharp edges could be dangerous, so the space agency is warning the public to keep hands off and call police.
The $740 million UARS was launched in 1991 from space shuttle Discovery to study the atmosphere and the ozone layer. At the time, the rules weren't as firm for safe satellite disposal; now a spacecraft must be built to burn up upon re-entry or have a motor to propel it into a much higher, long-term orbit.
NASA shut UARS down in 2005 after lowering its orbit to hurry its end. A potential satellite-retrieval mission was ruled out following the 2003 shuttle Columbia disaster, and NASA did not want the satellite hanging around orbit posing a debris hazard.
Space junk is a growing problem in low-Earth orbit. More than 20,000 pieces of debris, at least 4 inches in diameter, are being tracked on a daily basis. These objects pose a serious threat to the International Space Station.

Imágenes de satélite de la NASA que caerá sobre la Tierra

Realmente no sobre la Tierra en abstracto, sino sobre Canada. Una cosa de 6 toneladas cayendo de alla arriba sin control y los hijos de puta de la NASA encargados de esa mision durmiendo 8 horas diarias confiados en que no les caera en la cabeza a ellos.

Más vídeos en Antena3

La Patilla

La NASA está siguiendo de cerca la trayectoria del satélite de Investigación de la Alta Atmósfera (UARS), que retiró de funcionamiento en 2005 y que según dijo hoy espera que impacte en la Tierra el próximo 23 de septiembre.

Foto archivo

El transbordador “Discovery” transportó en 1991 este satélite de seis toneladas diseñado para medir los cambios atmosféricos y los efectos de la polución, que emprendió su camino de regreso a la Tierra hace seis años.

Los científicos de la NASA calculan que el satélite se despedazará al entrar en la atmósfera pero aseguraron que, aunque no se desintegren todas sus piezas, las probabilidades de que puedan poner en riesgo a los ciudadanos es “extremadamente pequeña”.

En este sentido indicó que las probabilidades de que un objeto espacial hiera a una persona durante su reingreso es menos de una entre 10.000.

De hecho, aseguran que desde el principio de la era espacial no se ha confirmado ningún caso en el que haya resultado herida una persona por un objeto espacial durante la maniobra de reingreso.

La NASA sigue la trayectoria del satélite junto con otras agencias espaciales extranjeras e informará sobre el movimiento del objeto espacial a medida que se acerque a la Tierra.

Estaba previsto que llegara a finales de septiembre o principios de octubre pero, según explicaron los científicos, esperan antes su llegada debido a un fuerte aumento en la actividad solar esta semana.

Space junk reaching "tipping point," report warns

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla,. (Reuters) - The amount of debris orbiting the Earth has reached "a tipping point" for collisions, which would in turn generate more of the debris that threatens astronauts and satellites, according to a U.S. study released on Thursday.
NASA needs a new strategic plan for mitigating the hazards posed by spent rocket bodies, discarded satellites and thousands of other pieces of junk flying around the planet at speeds of 17,500 miles per hour, the National Research Council said in the study.
The council is one of the private, nonprofit U.S. national academies that provide expert advice on scientific problems.
Orbital debris poses a threat to the approximately 1,000 operational commercial, military and civilian satellites orbiting the Earth -- part of a global industry that generated $168 billion in revenues last year, Satellite Industry Association figures show.
The world's first space smashup occurred in 2009 when a working Iridium communications satellite and a non-operational Russian satellite collided 490 miles over Siberia, generating thousands of new pieces of orbital debris.
The crash followed China's destruction in 2007 of one of its defunct weather satellites as part of a widely condemned anti-satellite missile test.
The amount of orbital debris tracked by the U.S. Space Surveillance Network jumped from 9,949 cataloged objects in December 2006 to 16,094 in July 2011, with nearly 20 percent of the objects stemming from the destruction of the Chinese FENGYUN 1-C satellite, the National Research Council said.
The surveillance network tracks objects approximately 10 centimeters in diameter and larger.
Some computer models show the amount of orbital debris "has reached a tipping point, with enough currently in orbit to continually collide and create even more debris, raising the risk of spacecraft failures," the research council said in a statement released Thursday as part its 182-page report.
"The current space environment is growing increasingly hazardous to spacecraft and astronauts," Donald Kessler, the former head of NASA's Orbital Debris Program Office who chaired the study team, said in a statement.
In addition to more than 30 findings, the panel made two dozen recommendations for NASA to mitigate and improve the orbital debris environment, including collaborating with the State Department to develop the legal and regulatory framework for removing junk from space.
Current international legal principles, for example, ban nations from salvaging or otherwise collecting other nations' space objects.
"The problem of space debris is similar to a host of other environmental problems and public concerns characterized by possibly significant differences between the short- and long-run damage accruing to society," the report said.
It cited "damage related to atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, storage of nuclear waste and long-lived pharmaceutical residue in underground aquifers. Each has small short-run effects but, if left unaddressed, will have much larger impacts on society in the future," it said.
The study, "Limiting Future Collision Risk to Spacecraft: An Assessment of NASA's Meteoroid and Orbital Debris Programs," was sponsored by NASA.
(Editing by Jane Sutton and Todd Eastham)

NASA: greenhouse gasses may encourage hostile alien invasion

You mean there may be alien forces more hostile than the Teabaggers? The Guardian:

It may not rank as the most compelling reason to curb greenhouse gases, but reducing our emissions might just save humanity from a pre-emptive alien attack, scientists claim.

Watching from afar, extraterrestrial beings might view changes in Earth's atmosphere as symptomatic of a civilisation growing out of control – and take drastic action to keep us from becoming a more serious threat, the researchers explain.

This highly speculative scenario is one of several described by scientists at Nasa and Pennsylvania State University that, while considered unlikely, they say could play out were humans and alien life to make contact at some point in the future.

Read more >