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• THE ALLURE OF SPACE

• By Wernher von Braun

> H.Oberth in Google Archive

Professor Hermann Oberth, the "father of space flight" with his most famous disciple, friend and colleague -- Wernher von Braun.


Space is a challenge to our curiosity, imagination, and vision. Space excites the curiosity, for it holds secrets of the creation of the universe--and life itself. It contains knowledge which man must have to understand basic forces of nature.

Space staggers the imagination with its endless immensity and majestic, awesome wonders. Space stimulates the vision as it expands our comprehension of a realm which, since the beginning of time, has generally been left to the vagaries of mystery, superstition, and speculation. And the effort to fathom its mysteries will test the mettle of our science and technology.

America has accepted the challenge of space exploration. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has been given a firm mandate to explore, to observe, to understand, and to use the wonders and resources of this fascinating new environment.

In the first seven years of the Space Age, the United States has launched more than two-thirds of the satellites placed in earth orbit, photographed the moon from a distance of less than a mile, and taken a close-up look at Venus. We have spotted hurricanes as they formed, and watched historic news events as they happened a continent away, televised across oceans by remarkable communications satellites. These achievements have been nothing short of fantastic. But they will be dwarfed by the magnitude of fabulous and exciting events that will occur in space within our lifetime.

One of the most significant milestones in space exploration will be manned lunar landing. I think none of us today can really imagine just how significant that day will be in the eyes of future generations. The nation with the vision, the capability, and the determination to land men on the moon will be recognized for its leadership as long as history is recorded. And the implications on current international prestige and influence cannot be minimized.

Success in space is equated in the eyes of many people with excellence in science and technology, economic strength, and determination of spirit. And this comparison, though over-simplified, is not too far afield. At any rate, its existence cannot be ignored. Right now the environment of space has a certain amount of mystery, even an aura of magic, connected with it. This is caused largely by its unknown elements. We have always been fearful of the unknown.

Space is not hostile toward man. Hostility is willfully, deliberately directed by someone with the intellect and ability to act. Space is simply there, following the immutable laws of nature that govern creation. Neither is it hospitable. There is danger in space for man--if he ignores its laws. Just as there is danger for man on earth if he walks off a high cliff, stays out in the tropic sun too long when he is unaccustomed to it, or attempts to live in the arctic cold without adequate protection.

But man reacts to his environment, and adjusts to it. He has learned to live on earth without undue danger. And he will live in the environment of space, as he comes to know its characteristics better, and learns to use them to his advantage. We need to dispel the mystery, take the "hex" out of space. And the only way we can do this is to get better acquainted with it by living and working there for extended periods.

NASA is developing true space faring capability for the United States. Project Apollo, the manned lunar landing program, is the focal point of this effort--not its ultimate purpose. The moon was chosen as a goal for manned space travel in this decade because its exploration will involve every facet of the nation's growing space capability. When our astronauts land on the moon, it will demonstrate our ability to sail on this new ocean.


Apollo Society: The Solar System


When Lindbergh soloed across the Atlantic, Paris was his destination. But his objective was to demonstrate a transatlantic air capability. The moon is our cosmic Paris.

I firmly believe that we shall go on after Project Apollo is completed to explore the solar system. If we are to capture the reality of space, come to know it, and really use it, we must expose more people to space travel, for extended periods of time, and then apply what these people learn first hand in their new environment.

We are still very much in the earliest stages of space exploration and discovery. Our position today reminds me of an earlier period in the history of the Western World, the period when man first laid the great foundation, both in thought and achievement, for the better world we enjoy today. I speak of the Renaissance, the era of Michelangelo, Da Vinci, and Shakespeare. It was in this period, beginning in the fourteenth century, that man took terrific strides to emancipate himself from his environment. In this period he undertook in earnest the conquest of his home planet as a place of human habitat. This was the age when men summoned their courage and set out on the high seas to explore the earth. It was the age of Columbus, da Gama, Sir Francis Drake, and Magellan.

The Renaissance is often called the Age of Discovery. I believe we are entering the Second Great Age of Discovery, the exploration of outer space. To take part in that exploration is to take part in history during one of its great forward leaps.




Astronaut Robert L. Satcher Jr., STS-129 mission specialist, occupies the commander's station while using a communication system on the flight deck of Space Shuttle Atlantis during flight day three activities, Nov. 18, 2009 - courtesy of NASA

The forward section of space shuttle Atlantis (STS-129) is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 21 crew member on the International Space Station soon after the shuttle and station began their post-undocking relative separation. Undocking of the two spacecraft occurred at 3:53 a.m. (CST) on Nov. 25, 2009. Credit: NASA

Seen over the Mediterranean Sea, near the Algerian coast, the space shuttle Atlantis (STS-129) is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 21 crew member on the International Space Station soon after the shuttle and station began their post-undocking relative separation. Undocking of the two spacecraft occurred at 3:53 a.m. (CST) on Nov. 25, 2009. Credit: NASA

Space Shuttle Atlantis, photographed by an Expedition 21 crew member on the International Space Station, soon after the shuttle and station began their post-undocking relative separation. Undocking of the two spacecraft occurred at 3:53 a.m. (CST) on Nov. 25, 2009. Credit: NASA

Space Shuttle Atlantis after undocking from the International Space Station on November 25. Credit: NASA

Nov 27: Space shuttle Atlantis touches down on landing Runway 33 of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, concluding 11 days in space and completing the 4.5-million mile STS-129 mission. Onboard are NASA astronauts Charles O. Hobaugh, commander; Barry E. Wilmore, pilot; Mike Foreman, Leland Melvin, Robert L. Satcher Jr., Randy Bresnik and Nicole Stott, all mission specialists. Main gear touchdown was at 9:44:23 a.m. (EST) on Nov. 27, 2009. Nose gear touchdown was at 9:44:36 a.m., and wheels stop was at 9:45:05 a.m. STS-129 is the final space shuttle Expedition crew rotation flight on the manifest. The crew delivered 14 tons of cargo to the International Space Station, including two ExPRESS Logistics Carriers containing spare parts to sustain station operations after the shuttles are retired next year. Credit: NASA

Space.gs

Silicon technology offers extended X-ray vision of high-energy Universe.
12/21/09

As elements of the integrated circuits running our computers, phones and electronics, silicon wafers are everywhere. An ESA-led effort is establishing an out-of-this-world use for these commonplace items: when stacked together precisely by the thousand they promise to deliver astronomy’s clearest X-ray view yet of the most violent regions of space.

“ESA has been working with specialist European firms to develop this new optical technique and build up a supporting industry,” said Marcos Bavdaz, Head of ESA’s Advanced Technology Section. “This ‘silicon pore optics’ effort is part of the Agency’s preparation for the International X-ray Observatory (IXO), a candidate mission with NASA and Japan’s space agency for around 2020.”

The Dutch company cosine Research is leading an international consortium of industrial partners and research institutes from ESA member states. This month, their latest results were presented: optics in flight configuration underwent testing in X-ray facilities, revealing excellent optical performance.




This artist's impression shows a supermassive black hole surrounded by an accretion disc and dust torus. Material within the accretion disc is accelerated to extremely high velocities by the inexorable gravitational pull of the black hole. The ESA-NASA-JAXA International X-ray Observatory (IXO) mission candidate, being considered for launch around 2020, will enable more detailed study of the composition and behaviour of such highly energetic material, which radiates at X-ray wavelengths. Credits: ESA / V. Beckmann (NASA-GSFC)


Observing the sky in X-rays reveals a violent Universe of exploding stars, black holes and incandescent gas clouds. With temperatures of millions of degrees, such high-energy objects shine at X-ray wavelengths but not in visible light. Astronomers could only study this violent, high-energy Universe once the space age gave them a way of placing telescopes above the X-ray-absorbing atmosphere.

Actually forming a focused image from X-rays, however, is no easy task. Medical X-rays are well-known, but they are not focused images – just shadows cast through body parts using techniques pioneered by X-ray discoverer Wilhelm Roentgen in 1895.

Standard optical designs do not work because energetic X-rays are reflected only at extremely shallow angles. While visible light reflects off a mirror like a ball bouncing off a wall, X-ray reflection works more like a stone skimming along a pond. Telescope mirrors must face sideways instead of straight on, and many mirrors are needed to gather sufficient X-rays. So an X-ray telescope is more like a set of Russian dolls, with mirrors stacked around each other.

ESA’s XMM-Newton X-ray space observatory uses more than 250 gold-coated nickel mirrors, while NASA’s Chandra relies on fewer mirrors made of heavier glass. For IXO, the aim is to boost XMM’s collecting area 20-fold, while delivering three times the resolution. Achieving this demands new technology: while NASA is investigating an alternative called ‘slumped glass’, ESA is focusing on silicon pore optics, based around commercial silicon wafers.

ESA’s Eric Wille, overseeing the project together with Kotska Wallace, explained: “Manufacturers already polish these wafers to optical quality to better ‘print’ the tiny structures needed for the latest microprocessors. So the wafers need no further polishing, while also being both light and stiff.”

Semiconductor industry technologies are being harnessed to prepare silicon wafers and shape them into the complex structures required. They are cut into paper-thick square plates with ‘ribs’ diced into them to facilitate stacking. They are then tapered into a wedge shape to direct X-rays along the desired optical path, after which metal coatings are added. An industrial robot performs their precision stacking and mounting.

The technique is called ‘silicon pore optics’ because the massed stacks of ribbed silicon are porous, X-rays being able to reflect through each pore in the assembled silicon stack ‘petals’. IXO would need more than 200 000 silicon plates overall. The next step is to streamline the assembly process for mass production and further improve quality, opening the door to unprecedented discoveries in the X-ray sky.

- courtesy of European Space Agency

Hubblesite.org

http://webbtelescope.org/webb_telescope/

Dr. John M. Grunsfeld has been appointed Deputy Director of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Md. effective January 4, 2010. He succeeds Dr. Michael Hauser, who stepped down in October. STScI is the science operations center for NASA's orbiting Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope planned to be launched in 2014.

In accepting the position, Grunsfeld said "This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for me to work at a focal point of top astronomers at the leading edge of scientific inquiry. The team at STScI has a demonstrated record of meeting the high performance challenges of operating the Hubble Space Telescope, and preparing for the James Webb Space Telescope. I look forward to working with this excellent team as we continue to explore the mysteries of the universe." ... More


Hubble site Picture Album

RT Russia

Russia to develop nuclear-powered spacecraft
12 January, 2010

The Russian government plans to allocate millions of dollars to develop a spacecraft propelled by nuclear power. The proposed design could provide the only feasible way to travel to Mars. Some $600 million will be spent on developing the spacecraft, whose nuclear-powered engine will allow it to enter orbit without relying on energy from other sources. The spacecraft’s engine is also expected to be significantly lighter, allowing it to travel faster.

Andrey Ionin, an expert on space research, says the project will open doors for multi-lateral collaboration. “A project as large-scale as a flight to Mars cannot be carried out by a single country, not even the United States,” Ionin noted. “If Russia were to contribute this technology to the global space project, it would be a great contribution indeed. This is a great design. No one has anything like it. And this would make Russia a full-fledged partner in this truly universal endeavor.”

Yury Karash, another space expert, shares Ionin’s enthusiasm about the project’s significance. He said that “Russia has a fairly good chance of being the first country to launch a non-landing expedition to Mars in 12-14 years, providing that adequate funding will be allocated for the project."

Both the US and the Soviet Union have previous experience with nuclear-powered spacecraft, having worked on its research and development in the 1950s and 1960s. However, after some success, the projects were abandoned.In the meantime, skeptics warn about the potential risks of the project, referring to past tragic incidents such as the crash of the Columbia space shuttle in 2003. The main cause for alarm is the thought of what could happen if the nuclear-powered spacecraft were to crash, producing consequences similar to those of the Chernobyl disaster.

Radiation may be a serious environmental concern, but some space threats could be much more dangerous. Anatoly Koroteev, head of the new spaceship development programme, says nuclear power could help protect our planet from asteroids. “We have all heard of deep space missions such as flying to the Moon, Mars or other planets. But this new technology could be used to solve other challenges such as protecting the Earth from asteroids.

Until recently, no one though about it seriously, but today it is clear that it is no laughing matter, especially since the discovery of Apophis, the alleged asteroid which could collide with our planet in 2036,” said Anatoly Koroteev, Keldysh Research Center Director. The draft design of the spacecraft is slated to be ready by 2012, while the actual model is expected to be developed by 2018.

Related:
Moon race 2.0? Count Russia in
- Despite late start, a Russian team aiming to become the first private company to deliver a working rover on the Moon is full of optimism. Team Selenokhod joins a competition with a $20 million prize at stake. The Lunar X Prize is one of several international competitions with the goal of making breakthroughs in applied sciences. Participants, who can only be private companies, are to design, construct, and field test a lunar rover, to collect the prize sponsored by Google. The first one to build a vehicle, which can travel at least 500 meters on the Moon’s surface and transmit HD video and photos to Earth by the end of 2012, will be awarded $20 million.

The second team to do so will receive $5 million, while another $5 million are allocated as bonuses for extra achievements, like surviving the lunar night or finding water. At the moment 21 teams from across the world are in the lunar race. Selenokhod, the first and only Russian team in the competition, made their media debut last weekend. The name was derived from Greek Moon goddess Selene, and plays on the name of the soviet unmanned lunar vehicles, the Lunokhod program. ... More

RIA Novosti

Russia set to restore radar shield on western borders in 2010
By RIA, January 15, 2010

Moscow (RIA Novosti) - Russia will restore the complete radar coverage of its western borders when a new radar facility in the southern town of Armavir becomes fully operational by mid-2010, the Space Forces commander said.

The Armavir radar will be the second facility, after the Lekhtusi complex in the Leningrad Region, to close a gap in radar coverage on Russia's western borders after the closure of radar sites in Skrunda (Latvia) in late 1998 and recently in Mukachevo and Sevastopol, in western Ukraine. "The facilities in Armavir and Lekhtusi will ensure the complete radar coverage on the relevant directions that could pose a missile threat," Maj. Gen. Oleg Ostapenko told reporters in Moscow.

The general later clarified that the new Voronezh-DM class radars would monitor missile trajectories and probable directions for a missile attack in northwestern and southwestern Russia. With an effective range of 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) the Voronezh class radar has capabilities similar to its predecessors, the Dnepr and Daryal, which are currently deployed by Russia in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, but uses less energy and is more environmentally friendly.

The Lekhtusi missile early warning radar outside St. Petersburg became operational in December last year, while the Armavir facility is still in the testing phase.

Photo Gallery: Searching for Life in Space

Humanity has long wondered whether there is another planet Earth out there. In recent years, finding planets outside of our solar system has become routine. Now, analyzing the atmospheres of distant bodies has become reality. For the first time, scientists have been able to analyze the atmosphere of a distant planet. The success could prove a milestone on the road toward finding life beyond our solar system.

Its atmosphere is stiflingly hot, with temperatures generally hovering around 800 degrees Celsius (1,470 degrees Fahrenheit) -- in the shade. The air is filled with billowing clouds of highly toxic gas. Anyone setting foot on this faraway planet would die a speedy death. Nevertheless, the recently launched study of HR 8799 c is a breakthrough in the search for extraterrestrial life. more...



The heart of European efforts to analyze distant planets is located in the middle of Chile's Atacama Desert, far away from civilization. The "Very Large Telescope" was recently able to capture the weak light emitted from a planet known as HR 8799 c. By means of spectroscopy, scientists were able to analyze its atmosphere.




Wolfgang Brandner, of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg and co-author of the new study on planet HR 8799 c, said "for the first time, we have directly obtained the spectrum of a planet outside our solar system."




The search for exoplanets has gained steam in recent years. Most of those found have been giant balls of gas, like this one -- an artist's conception of HR 8799b. The planet was found recently by re-analyzing data gathered by the Hubble Space Telescope in 1998.

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