Sunday, July 31, 2011

JUNO -- Unlocking Jupiter's Mysteries


Geoff said ---  (as it turns out, to see a lot of images for the steps to assemble the mission equipment to go to Jupiter come August 5, 2011 - LRK -)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Click on the First stage goes up link and follow the assembly! – next stop Jupiter...

Rocket assembly photo galleries:
First stage goes up | First solid booster added
Fifth booster installed | Centaur stage hoisted
Juno encapsulated in nose cone
Spacecraft mounted atop the rocket
---------------------------------------------------------------------

I hope everything goes as planned.
- LRK -

---------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/juno/main/index.html

FRR Completed, Aug. 5 Launch for Juno Set

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 07:52:40 AM PDT

The Flight Readiness Review was completed this morning ahead of next week's launch of the Juno mission to Jupiter. The session went smoothly, ending with officials formally setting Aug. 5 as the liftoff date for the spacecraft on an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. NASA's Launch Services Program is overseeing the launch, while the mission is managed by Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

Mission Info

Key things to know about Juno
  • Spacecraft scheduled to launch between Aug. 5 and Aug. 26, 2011
  • Five-year cruise to Jupiter, arriving July 2016
  • Spacecraft will orbit Jupiter for about one year (33 orbits)
  • Mission ends with de-orbit into Jupiter
Juno will improve our understanding of our solar system’s beginnings by revealing the origin and evolution of Jupiter.

Specifically, Juno will…
  • Determine how much water is in Jupiter’s atmosphere, which helps determine which planet formation theory is correct (or if new theories are needed)
  • Look deep into Jupiter’s atmosphere to measure composition, temperature, cloud motions and other properties
  • Map Jupiter’s magnetic and gravity fields, revealing the planet’s deep structure
  • Explore and study Jupiter’s magnetosphere near the planet’s poles, especially the auroras – Jupiter’s northern and southern lights – providing new insights about how the planet’s enormous magnetic force field affects its atmosphere.
Have a question about Juno or Jupiter not covered on this website? Submit it to Juno Outreach!
snip
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Now the remaining question left is what sort of NASA will we have come August 2, 2011 and the Debt Limit count down reaches ZERO.
- LRK -

Thanks for looking up with me.
==========================================

WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK -

==========================================
Posted by at
Labels:

Thursday, July 28, 2011

NASA's WISE Mission Finds First Trojan Asteroid Sharing Earth's Orbit


More eyes in sky to see what we have not seen before.
There has often be a question if anything was out there some 60 degree ahead or behind Earth in its orbit around the Sun.
Jupiter, Saturn, yes, Earth, hmmmm.
- LRK -

-----------------------------------------------------------
In astronomy, the word trojan refers to a minor planet or natural satellite (moon) that shares an orbit with a larger planet or moon, but does not collide with it because it orbits around one of the two Lagrangian points of stability (Trojan points), L4 andL5, which lie approximately 60° ahead of and behind the larger body. Trojan objects are one type of co-orbital object.
Trojan asteroids are Small Solar System Bodies that reside in Trojan points. Trojan moons are moons that reside at Trojan points. Trojan planets are theoretical planets that reside at Trojan points.
Saturn has the most known Trojan satellites: Saturn's moon Tethys has two Trojan moons (Telesto and Calypso), and Dionealso has two Trojan moons (Helene and Polydeuces).

snip
-----------------------------------------------------------

Well now we know, something out there.
- LRK -

-----------------------------------------------------------
NASA's WISE Mission Finds First Trojan Asteroid Sharing Earth's Orbit

This artist's concept illustrates the first known Earth Trojan asteroid, discovered by WISE.
This artist's concept illustrates the first known Earth Trojan asteroid, discovered by WISE
Full image link.

PASADENA, Calif. – Astronomers studying observations taken by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission have discovered the first known "Trojan" asteroid orbiting the sun along with Earth.
Trojans are asteroids that share an orbit with a planet near stable points in front of or behind the planet. Because they constantly lead or follow in the same orbit as the planet, they never can collide with it. In our solar system, Trojans also share orbits with Neptune, Mars and Jupiter. Two of Saturn's moons share orbits with Trojans.
Scientists had predicted Earth should have Trojans, but they have been difficult to find because they are relatively small and appear near the sun from Earth's point of view.
"These asteroids dwell mostly in the daylight, making them very hard to see," said Martin Connors of Athabasca University in Canada, lead author of a new paper on the discovery in the July 28 issue of the journal Nature. "But we finally found one, because the object has an unusual orbit that takes it farther away from the sun than what is typical for Trojans. WISE was a game-changer, giving us a point of view difficult to have at Earth's surface."
The WISE telescope scanned the entire sky in infrared light from January 2010 to February 2011. Connors and his team began their search for an Earth Trojan using data from NEOWISE, an addition to the WISE mission that focused in part on near-Earth objects, or NEOs, such as asteroids and comets. NEOs are bodies that pass within 28 million miles (45 million kilometers) of Earth's path around the sun. The NEOWISE project observed more than 155,000 asteroids in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter, and more than 500 NEOs, discovering 132 that were previously unknown.

snip
-----------------------------------------------------------

Repeat with maybe larger print.
- LRK -

-----------------------------------------------------------
NASA's Wise Mission Finds First Trojan Asteroid Sharing Earth's Orbit
  • Source: NASA HQ
  • Posted Wednesday, July 27, 2011
WASHINGTON -- Astronomers studying observations taken by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission have discovered the first known "Trojan" asteroid orbiting the sun along with Earth.

Trojans are asteroids that share an orbit with a planet near stable points in front of or behind the planet. Because they constantly lead or follow in the same orbit as the planet, they never can collide with it. In our solar system, Trojans also share orbits with Neptune, Mars and Jupiter. Two of Saturn's moons share orbits with Trojans.

Scientists had predicted Earth should have Trojans, but they have been difficult to find because they are relatively small and appear near the sun from Earth's point of view.

"These asteroids dwell mostly in the daylight, making them very hard to see," said Martin Connors of Athabasca University in Canada, lead author of a new paper on the discovery in the July 28 issue of the journal Nature. "But we finally found one, because the object has an unusual orbit that takes it farther away from the sun than what is typical for Trojans. WISE was a game-changer, giving us a point of view difficult to have at Earth's surface."

snip
-----------------------------------------------------------

Check out NASA home page.
- LRK -

-----------------------------------------------------------

Many choices at NASA home page.
- LRK -

Trojan Asteroid Shares Orbit With Earth

Astronomers studying observations taken by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer mission have discovered the first known "Trojan" asteroid orbiting the sun along with Earth.
› Learn More  
-----------------------------------------------------------

The WISE mission has many more images.
- LRK -

-----------------------------------------------------------
WISE First Images

Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer

Mission Overview

Thanks to next-generation technology, WISE's sensitivity is hundreds of times greater than its predecessor, the Infrared Astronomical Satellite, which operated in 1983.The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, will scan the entire sky in infrared light, picking up the glow of hundreds of millions of objects and producing millions of images. The mission will uncover objects never seen before, including the coolest stars, the universe's most luminous galaxies and some of the darkest near-Earth asteroids and comets. Its vast catalogs will help answer fundamental questions about the origins of planets, stars and galaxies, and provide a feast of data for astronomers to munch on for decades to come.  
WISE will join two other infrared missions in space -- NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and the Herschel Space Observatory, a European Space Agency mission with important NASA participation. WISE is different from these missions in that it will survey the entire sky. It is designed to cast a wide net to catch all sorts of unseen cosmic treasures, including rare oddities.

The closest of WISE's finds will be near-Earth objects, both asteroids and comets, with orbits that come close to crossing Earth's path. The mission is expected to find hundreds of these bodies, and hundreds of thousands of additional asteroids in our solar system's main asteroid belt. By measuring the objects' infrared light, astronomers will get the first good estimate of the size distribution of the asteroid population. This information will tell us approximately how often Earth can expect an encounter with a potentially hazardous asteroid. WISE data will also reveal new information about the composition of near-Earth objects and asteroids -- are they fluffy like snow or hard like rocks, or both?

snip
-----------------------------------------------------------

Well I hope we continue to be able to look up.
Too much talking about U.S. debt limits and the budget, but that is another story.
- LRK -

Thanks for looking up with me.
==========================================

WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK -

==========================================
Posted by at
Labels: ,

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Schiff Amendment to Provide FY 2012 Funding for James Webb Space Telescope Rejected

Interesting. An offer for an amendment to Provide $200 million for the James Webb Space Telescope in FY 2012 which was turned down.
Interesting, as in the NASA FY 2012 Budget Request Executive Summary there is $373.7 million suggested. 
[See PDF file listed bellow. - LRK -]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
snip
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
President’s FY 2012 Budget Request Detail Full Cost View
                                                                           Auth
                                               Actual    CR          Act
Budget Authority, $ in million     FY2010  FY 2011  FY2011   FY2012 ......
James Webb Space Telescope 438.7      ----          ----          373.7     ......
snip
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You should read all the budget suggestions, including the areas of education that have zero dollars suggested.
- LRK -

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Schiff Amendment to Provide FY 2012 Funding for James Webb Space Telescope Rejected
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=37708

"The full House Appropriations Committee had been meeting for almost 3 1/2 hours yesterday when Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) rose to offer an amendment to provide $200 million for the James Webb Space Telescope in the FY 2012 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Bill. A vote was pending on the House floor, and House appropriations Committee Chairman Harold Rogers (R- KY) was ready to take a final vote to pass the bill. After brief comments by Schiff and Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Frank Wolf (R-VA) a voice vote was called, and the amendment was rejected."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Read on and compare notes as to what people are seeing.
- LRK -

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Congress Comes Closer to Killing NASA's James Webb Telescope

July 14, 2011 12:40pm ES
The James Webb space telescope, the successor to Hubble, just came one step closer to being thrown in the trash bin over budget cuts. Yesterday the House Committee on Appropriations approved a plan to slash NASA's budget for next year and explicitly kill the project.


The House and Senate still need to vote on the measure before it becomes law, but it's not looking good for expensive Webb. The cost ofdeveloping the telescope has ballooned over the years as NASA has had to invent whole new technologies in order to make it work properly. Unlike the Hubble, the Webb will be much further from Earth in order to shield itself from infrared radiation, and its systems will need to function at extremely cold temperatures.
Adapting to those conditions has proved pricey for NASA. It's already spent $3 billion on the Webb, and the total cost is projected to be about $6.8 billion (it was initially budgeted at $1.6 billion total). However, once launched and put into place, the Webb will be so far from Earth that it will be impossible to service, so subsequent costs would involve only operating the telescope and analyzing its data (estimated at $1 billion over 10 years).
snip


On Tuesday, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden made an appeal to the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee to save the Webb. "I have tried to explain what I think is the importance of James Webb, in terms of opening new horizons far greater than we got from Hubble," Discovery News reported Bolden as saying. "I would only say that for about the same cost as Hubble in real-year dollars, we'll bring James Webb into operation."
His words apparently had little effect. Neither did an attempt to restore partial funding of the Webb with  a eleventh-hour amendment from Rep. Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California. The Republican- dominated committee shot down the measure with a voice vote, Nature reported.
snip
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So what is at risk here?  Do we have to have a new telescope, soon, right away?  Will the money be available to properly test everything after it is integrated or will the lack of money follow right on through to launch and then have a failure?  How important is our international cooperation and and loss of face if we back out now?  A lot of questions that I hope folks are considering.
- LRK -

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To scrap the James Webb Space Telescope would be short-sighted


No one now debates whether Hubble was worth its delays and budget overruns, and yet its successor the James Webb Space Telescope now faces the axe for similar reasons


The Hubble Space Telescope was launched in 1990 as Nasa's flagship observatory and was the largest to be flown in space at that time. In the early stages of the project, Hubble was plagued by technical delays and budgetary problems. Its troubles continued after launch, and a manned rescue mission was sent to fix Hubble's optics at huge expense. Twenty years on, it is hard to overstate the impact that Hubble has had on science, and on the public imagination. Yet today the US government is on the brink of scrapping Nasa's successor to Hubble, the multi-billion dollar James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
Hubble's images have graced the front pages of our newspapers, inspired thousands to look at the sky and think about our place in the universe. They've even been made into high-fashion dresses worn by the wife of Britain's prime minister, Samantha Cameron. If you've seen any pictures of stars, nebulae or galaxies in the past 20 years, there's a good chance they were taken by Hubble.
snip
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I know you aren't supposed to read the end of book first but the summary helps set the picture.
I would suggest looking at it just to get a feel for what was proposed and compare with what you hearing them talk  about now.
- LRK -

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Estimates

National Aeronautics and Space Administration
President’s FY 2012 Budget Request Detail Full Cost View

snip

NASA FY 2012 Budget Request Executive Summary
Message from the Administrator

It is my privilege to submit President Obama's Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 budget request of $18.7 billion for NASA. Even in these difficult fiscal times, this budget supports all elements of the bipartisan NASA Authorization Act of 2010, along with the President’s agenda of innovation, education, and infrastructure. However, tough choices had to be made. That is why this budget prioritizes urgent needs, while continuing the Agency's focus on a reinvigorated path of exploration, innovation, and technological development leading to an array of challenging destinations and missions. Today, we begin to win the future..

The dedicated NASA workforce across the Nation is energized to continue our missions throughout the cosmos and here on Earth. The Agency continues to develop a capability-driven framework for affordable, sustainable, and realistic exploration, and this budget aligns our plans with the Authorization Act in a long-term, affordable, and sustainable manner.

Our priorities are to: safely fly out the Space Shuttle this year and maintain safe access for humans to low Earth orbit as we fully utilize the International Space Station; facilitate safe, reliable, and cost effective U.S.-provided commercial access to low Earth orbit for crew and cargo as soon as possible; begin to lay the ground work for expanding human presence into deep space through development of a powerful rocket and modern crew capsule; and pursue technology development to carry humans farther into the solar system even as we extend our reach with robots and observatories and make the most of technological breakthroughs to improve life here at home.

Building on President Obama's charge to all Federal agencies, we will carry out programs of innovation to support long-term job growth and a dynamic economy by increasing investment in research and technology. We will educate the next generation of technology leaders through vital programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. We will build the future through those investments in American industry to create a new job-producing engine for the U.S. economy while we remain committed to Federal goals to be stewards of our communities and make progress in our use of clean energy at our facilities.

The FY 2012 budget sets ambitious but achievable goals that foster America's continued leadership in space and forges deeper and more effective partnerships with the growing number of nations that are taking part in the space exploration enterprise. The space program remains a great value for the American taxpayer. The Agency's FY 2012 budget helps NASA to be more nimble and responsive to opportunity and encourages us to embrace a crosscutting approach to our thinking and planning that builds on the connections between our diverse missions.

NASA is at the forefront of a bright future for America—a future in which we challenge ourselves to create a global space enterprise with positive ramifications across the world. The FY 2012 budget provides the resources for NASA to innovate and discover on many fronts, and we look forward to implementing it.

Charles F. Bolden Jr.
NASA Administrator

snip
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now if the government doesn't figure out how we are going to fund our government, no programs are going to be funded.
You know, that could even be my military retirement, my social security, and my Medicare and Tricare.
The small amount of my Honeywell (was Allied/Signal) won't pay for my mortgage.
Well I guess I could move in with kids that live in Thailand.
- LRK -

Thanks for looking up with me.
==========================================

WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK -

==========================================
Posted by at
Labels: ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)