Carnival of Space 227

1. Discovery Space News – Forget the much-hyped doomsday in 2012, we were inundated with doomsday events THIS year… in other star systems. — Ian O’Neill

2. TheSpacewriter takes on the evolution of the cosmos and of human consciousness by way of reviewing a video called The Journey of the Universe.

3. Armagh Planet – Which is the brightest star in the sky (apart from the Sun)? Many non-astronomers believe that the Pole Star is the brightest star but there are at least forty brighter stars. We look the correct answer, Sirius.

4. Vintage Space – A brief look at the Mercury capsules. How many NASA had, what each one was used for, and why all the manned missions were named “Something 7.”

5. Vega00 – A brief post about the Geminids meteor shower. We can observe it next week. [In Spanish]

6. NASA is studying low energy nuclear reactions. Presentations by Zawodny, Michael Nelson and Bushnell highlight the gamechanging potential of low energy nuclear reactions if they can be developed.

• Source for energy beaming, energy to terraform Mars, Enables Active Space Radiation Protection

• Enables envelope‐less flight via active flow control, “Bird Like Flight”, ALL‐WEATHER

• Provides huge margins to enable superb safety [ Armored engine surrounds, triply redundant Faraday caged Electronics, Etc..]

• Allows direct control of wake vortices to obviate wake vortex hazard

• Super STOL performance via circulation/ flow control to increase runway productivity by a factor of 3

• Overall, For Aero –far lower gross weights, higher speeds, lower noise, greater range, emissions solved, envelope‐less/all weather superb ride quality flight, lower costs, greater safety

• Possibly obviates THE issue with hypervelocity air‐breathing, the decreasing value‐added from burning H2 fuel as a function of increasing vehicle kinetic energy

• For the military –EMP on steroids, VTOL obviates air bases/ runways/ carrier decks, enables loitering combined sensor/ weapon devices [ instead of getting there in time ARE THERE, always]

In Short, LENR , depending upon the TBD performance, appears to be capable of Revolutionizing Aerospace across the board. No other single technology even comes close to the potential impacts of LENR upon Agency Missions.

7. The next demonstration test-flight for the SpaceX Dragon cargo freighter will link up with the International Space Station, officials have decided, allowing the company to combine the two previously-planned flyby and capture missions into one, launching from Cape Canaveral on February 7.

Artist’s concept of the Dragon spacecraft approaching the International Space Station. Credit: NASA

8. NASA’s Kepler mission has confirmed its first planet in the “habitable zone,” the region where liquid water could exist on a planet’s surface. Kepler also has discovered more than 1,000 new planet candidates, nearly doubling its previously known count. Ten of these candidates are near-Earth-size and orbit in the habitable zone of their host star. Candidates require follow-up observations to verify they are actual planets.

This diagram compares our own solar system to Kepler-22, a star system containing the first “habitable zone” planet discovered by NASA’s Kepler mission. Image credit: NASA/Ames/JPL-Caltech

If you liked this article, please give it a quick review on ycombinator or StumbleUpon. Thanks

Carnival of Space 227

1. Discovery Space News – Forget the much-hyped doomsday in 2012, we were inundated with doomsday events THIS year… in other star systems. — Ian O’Neill

2. TheSpacewriter takes on the evolution of the cosmos and of human consciousness by way of reviewing a video called The Journey of the Universe.

3. Armagh Planet – Which is the brightest star in the sky (apart from the Sun)? Many non-astronomers believe that the Pole Star is the brightest star but there are at least forty brighter stars. We look the correct answer, Sirius.

4. Vintage Space – A brief look at the Mercury capsules. How many NASA had, what each one was used for, and why all the manned missions were named “Something 7.”

5. Vega00 – A brief post about the Geminids meteor shower. We can observe it next week. [In Spanish]

6. NASA is studying low energy nuclear reactions. Presentations by Zawodny, Michael Nelson and Bushnell highlight the gamechanging potential of low energy nuclear reactions if they can be developed.

• Source for energy beaming, energy to terraform Mars, Enables Active Space Radiation Protection

• Enables envelope‐less flight via active flow control, “Bird Like Flight”, ALL‐WEATHER

• Provides huge margins to enable superb safety [ Armored engine surrounds, triply redundant Faraday caged Electronics, Etc..]

• Allows direct control of wake vortices to obviate wake vortex hazard

• Super STOL performance via circulation/ flow control to increase runway productivity by a factor of 3

• Overall, For Aero –far lower gross weights, higher speeds, lower noise, greater range, emissions solved, envelope‐less/all weather superb ride quality flight, lower costs, greater safety

• Possibly obviates THE issue with hypervelocity air‐breathing, the decreasing value‐added from burning H2 fuel as a function of increasing vehicle kinetic energy

• For the military –EMP on steroids, VTOL obviates air bases/ runways/ carrier decks, enables loitering combined sensor/ weapon devices [ instead of getting there in time ARE THERE, always]

In Short, LENR , depending upon the TBD performance, appears to be capable of Revolutionizing Aerospace across the board. No other single technology even comes close to the potential impacts of LENR upon Agency Missions.

7. The next demonstration test-flight for the SpaceX Dragon cargo freighter will link up with the International Space Station, officials have decided, allowing the company to combine the two previously-planned flyby and capture missions into one, launching from Cape Canaveral on February 7.

Artist’s concept of the Dragon spacecraft approaching the International Space Station. Credit: NASA

8. NASA’s Kepler mission has confirmed its first planet in the “habitable zone,” the region where liquid water could exist on a planet’s surface. Kepler also has discovered more than 1,000 new planet candidates, nearly doubling its previously known count. Ten of these candidates are near-Earth-size and orbit in the habitable zone of their host star. Candidates require follow-up observations to verify they are actual planets.

This diagram compares our own solar system to Kepler-22, a star system containing the first “habitable zone” planet discovered by NASA’s Kepler mission. Image credit: NASA/Ames/JPL-Caltech

If you liked this article, please give it a quick review on ycombinator or StumbleUpon. Thanks