Keck Kicks Hubble

Sky & Telescope, April 2000, NewsNotes: “More Super-Sharp Images from Keck”

Hubble Not Dead Yet

Space Times, Mar/Apr 2000, Feature: “Hubble Space Telescope: Repaired and Ready to Facilitate our Study of the Universe”

Shuttle Discovery (STS-103) completed the third Hubble Telescope servicing mission in late December of 1999. Success of the mission allowed Hubble to come out of “safe” mode after the failure of four of its gyroscopes made the telescope unusable. Highlights included replacement of six gyroscopes, new wiring for the solar powered battery charging system, a new x486 computer, a new Fine Guidance Sensor, a new S-band transmitter, a solid-state data recorder and new insulation on the equipment bay doors.  Hubble resumed its mission in January 2000 with a stunning image of the “Eskimo” Nebula (NGC 2392).

[The Eskimo Nebula consists of a star surrounded by material it ejected.]

Not Your Father's Mirror

Technology Horizons, March 2000, OSR: “’Perfect’ Mirror Design Technology”

An MIT researcher has invented a “perfect” mirror that can reflect light at any angle and polarization with no loss.  While the basic design can be made to operate over a wide range of frequencies, specific applications can limit reflected light to certain wavelengths.  A test mirror constructed of layers of polystyrene and tellurium was constructed to validate the concept.  Fabrication was done with common polymer processing techniques, which promise to keep costs low and quality high.  The new mirror has applications for space-based telescopes.

Why Not Use the Red Balloon?

NASA Tech Briefs, March 2000, Books & Reports: “Small Balloons for Local Aerial Exploration of Mars”

A report from Caltech for JPL proposes the use of small self-inflating balloons to collect data in the vicinity of a Mars Lander.  Such systems would have a mass of about 1 kg of which 20% would be instrumentation and the rest balloon.

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

Sky & Telescope, April 2000, NewsNotes: “Diamond Hail in Uranus and Neptune”

Researches believe ”pebble sized” diamonds form in the atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune and fall like hail toward the planetary cores thousands of kilometers below.  Heat generated from this action may explain why these planets radiate more energy than received from the sun.  A lab experiment duplicated conditions in the planetary atmospheres by compressing a drop of liquid methane and heating up part of it with an infrared laser.  This produced grains of diamond dust. 

Will Warp-Drive Be Next?

Space Times, Mar/Apr 2000, Feature: “New Frontiers in Rocket Science”

This article discusses recent advances in alternative rocket engine schemes being conducted by NASA and others.  

In August 1999 a 250,000 lbs thrust hybrid engine was tested at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.  The hybrid used a liquid oxidizer flowing through a semi-solid fuel.  Offering the advantage of throttle control and reduced need for cryogenic containment, this test engine is being considered as a replacement for strap-on solid boosters used on some rockets.  

That same month NASA’s Glenn Research Center announced results of an experiment that may lead to rocket engines based on the heat generated from rapid chemical recombination- bonding rather than combustion.  The experiment was able to create particles of solid hydrogen suspended in liquid helium.  In the future reactive elements would be locked into the solid hydrogen and transported by the liquid helium into a rocket reaction chamber.  Upon being slightly warmed the reactive elements would be freed and combine in an exothermic reaction reaching 3,600 degrees-F.  This would expand the hydrogen and helium through the rocket nozzle at high speed to achieve forward propulsion.  

Funded by the Air Force, Physical Sciences Incorporated is studying the dual use of spacecraft structural material as fuel.  Since much of the structural mass of a vehicle is only needed to survive the trip to orbit it may be possible to cannibalize it as fuel one day.  This “structural fuel” is being studied as a way of extending the lives of communications satellites that use much fuel for orbit station-keeping.  

NASA is funding a prototype “magnetic sail” based on research done at the University of Washington.  Dubbed “Mini-Magnetospheric Plasma Propulsion” (M2P2) the plan is for a small 300-lb spacecraft to generate a 12-mile wide magnetic field around itself (“a mini-magnetosphere”) that would interact with the solar wind.  This should propel the craft to a speed of 180,000 mph away from the Sun.  

Six research initiatives announced by NASA in August 1999 will focus on the field of “breakthrough propulsion physics.”  These include investigating effects of electric fields on inertia, quantum vacuum energy, gravity reduction and quantum tunneling.

Rocket Man

Aerospace America, March 2000, Aerospace News: “The ‘Fastest Man on Earth’ Is Laid to Rest”

Air Force colonel John Paul Stapp has died at the age of 89 at home in Alamogordo, NM.  In 1954 Stapp was belted onto a rocket-sled at Holloman AFB and accelerated to 632 mph in 5 seconds and then decelerated to rest in 1.4 seconds.  This experiment helped determine the body's tolerance for acceleration and had applications in aerospace and automotive engineering.

Why Not Try Preparation-A?

Space Times, Mar/Apr 2000, Space News: “United Kingdom Panel Studies Asteroid Hazard”

A task force headed by Science Minister Lord Sainsbury will examine the dangers of near-Earth objects and what the United Kingdom can do to avert the threat. Findings are expected to be released by the middle of the year.

[A preparation for relief of minor asteroids.]

05/01/2000