Sunday, August 21, 2005

Just for Fun - UFO Artwork A.D.


UFO Artwork A.D.

The Space Review: Nuclear waste in space?



Well, laser launch has been demonstrated on a very small scale, allowing levitation of small objects. Is this solution, even if technically and environmentally feasible, politically feasible???

The Space Review: Nuclear waste in space? (page 1)

Friday, August 19, 2005

Thursday, August 18, 2005

Great Mars Image


Mars!

Russia to offer trip around the moon - Space News - MSNBC.com







Those Darned Commies have really turned Capitalists! Russia to offer trip around the moon - Space News - MSNBC.com

Picture is the ill-fated Soviet N-1 Rocket that was to lift a manned flight to the moon. However, it was too complex and it failed miserably...BOOM!

However, China is really on the go!
China on track for moon mission
China is preparing to launch its first ever lunar orbiter in 2007, as part of its burgeoning space programme.

The spacecraft will pave the way for future missions, which may include China putting a lander on the Moon.

The expedition, christened Chang'e-1 after the Chinese Moon goddess, will map the moon in 3D in an effort to identify future landing sites.

Designs for the spacecraft have been completed and development will begin next month, officials say.

"The design of various plans which serve to meet different situations and simulation satellites has finished and all related professional experiments are ongoing," said the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation's Ye Peijian, chief designer of the satellite.

Gaining prestige

The satellite will also study the Moon's composition and radiation environment and may use radar to probe below its surface.

Dean Cheng, senior Asia analyst at the think tank CNA Corporation in Alexandria, US, told New Scientist that a huge part of this mission is prestige.

"The Chinese have consistently tried to make sure their 'first' was bigger, better and more capable than anybody else's," he said.

After Chang'e-1's mission, some suggest China will send a lander to the Moon by 2010 and a robotic rover to sample the surface by 2020.

"After this lunar flight, China will carry out soft landing exploration and auto inspection missions on the moon, with the core part being the realization of landing probes on the moon surface and carrying out scientific exploration," Ye said.

However, Mr Cheng is sceptical about these dates. "The Chinese are generally reticent about putting out specific dates because it puts them in the position of potentially losing face," he said.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/4146226.stm

Join Now! The Mars Society





I recently returned from Four Days In Space ("But when you get back, it's the same old place..." With aplogies to Barry McGuire. Well, okay, it was really the 2005 Mars Society Conference. A great time was had by all, especially me. Click the here (Mars Society) for the Society website.

For a critical Review of the Conference, see the Woodstock of Mars

Also, Learn about the latest in Mars Fashions. The latest space suit design does away with the bulky pressure suits.

The lastest craft is off! See Picture Above
NASA - Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter


Let's look at the China Space program a little more closely!

Mars ~~ China is getting ready ~~ Why isn't the U.S.? City on Mars by 2042 is ON NOW ~~~~ Nov. 12, 2001...

Interplanetary Collaboration

NASA's attempt to avoid previous Mars failures such as the Polar Lander and the Climate OrbiterInterplanetary Collaboration

Nuclear Rocket Motor Explosion (Planned)



(Transient Nuclear Test) test; a KIWI nuclear rocket test reactor was
purposely given a runaway nuclear reaction to see what its failure would result in.

Note the railway tracks for scale, and the flying sparkling stuff- which
given that uranium is pyrophoric, I assume are the uranium pellets from
the reactor's fuel elements.

From:
http://www.wps.com/

TechnologyReview.com - Tropospheric Temperatures

Is this the smoking gun on global warmind???
TechnologyReview.com - Tropospheric Temperatures

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Nuclear Powers Up....Is it better to subsidize demand side technologies?

Is it not cheaper to reduce demand (assuming no massive government subsidy). I hate to be a knee jerk "No Nukes", but this still has to be thought out. True, reduces CO2, maybe a good way to make hydrogen, but do the full cost study first. Does glassification and in situ storage of nuclear waste work? Will Yucca Mt. ever come on line? Will communities find ways to stop waste from going through? Doom!

Nuclear Powers Up

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