- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- November 2010
- May 2010
- February 2010
- March 2009
- November 2008
- September 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
December, 2006
-
Russian Clipper (Kliper) approved for 2007: Detailed Description of Space Plans until 2020 and beyond
It would be first tested and adjusted in delivering cargo containers to ISS and already afterwards it would be possible to use it for transportation of the Clipper manned spacecraft.What are the main parameters and characteristics of the Parom tug?Launching mass of the tug – up to 12500 kg; – “dry” mass – 5990 kg. Geometric characteristics:- length along the body – 6550 mm;- maximum diameter of modules -3200 mm;- pressurized module volume – 26 m3.Duration of the free flight – up to 180 days.Number of the cycles of orbital transitions – up to 60.Mission life – up to 15 years.Parameters of the insertion orbit:- inclination – 51.6-73° ;- altitude – 200 km.Launch vehicle – Soyuz-2-3.Clipper spacecraft building-block designTell about the special features of the third phase of activities on the Clipper system, in which, strictly speaking, begins the construction of the reusable Clipper manned spacecraft.The activities of the third phase on the Clipper system are implemented using the available developments on Soyuz upgraded on-board systems and the capabilities of the Parom tug.
…And from 2016 it is planned to set the Clipper system as a part of the fleet of five spacecraft into nominal operation.What are the main design parameters and characteristics of the Clipper spacecraft?Launching mass of the spacecraft:- option with SHM (without ERS) – up to 14000 kg;- option with PM – up to 12500 kg. Launching mass of modules:- re-entry vehicle – up to 9200 kg;- service-habitation module – up to 4800 kg;- ERS module/PM – 3300 kg.Crew size- up to 6 persons.Mass of cargoes (with 6 crewmembers):- delivered – up to 500 kg;- returned – up to 500 kg;- disposed – up to 200 kg.Duration of free flight – up to 5 days (in option without SHM).Duration of the attached flight as a part of the Orbital Station – up to 360 days.Nominal g-load on de-orbiting – up to 2.5 g.Range of the lateral maneuver – 1200 km.Type of landing – on the airfield.Number of flights of one spacecraft – up to 60; operation life of one spacecraft – up to 15 years.What are the economic indicators of the Clipper system project?The Clipper system is a fleet of Clipper spacecraft, reusable Parom tug and cargo containers, as well as ground and space infrastructure of processing, launch and mission control facilities.
-
Adobe CS3 Beta vs. CS2: basic functions speed comparison on iMac G5 1.9GHz (iSight)
In conclusion after playing around at first glance I can not say that I am impressed by any speed improvements…. Being a universal binary this app should provide them with some significant speed improvement.
-
Apple Imitations and Fakes: more wannabe ipods sighted.
I took this pic today in downtown Sao Paulo at a place where you can find everything that fits your budget in regards electronics and gadgets. You can buy a real Apple iPod and next to it you can get the fake one as well.
-
Russia and Europe: Possible joint project of going to the moon using the ACTS
However, it was not clear from Putin’s statements whether he was talking about the ACTS concept or the Kliper reusable vehicle.Soyuz-KIn October 2006, Nikolai Sevastyanov, the head of RKK Energia, told RIA Novosti news agency that his company initiated a final phase of the preliminary design of the upgraded Soyuz spacecraft, which would be capable of lunar missions…. On October 26, 2006, the head of Roskosmos Anatoly Perminov echoed Sevastyanov saying that the radical upgrade of the Soyuz spacecraft would be ready by 2012-2013.Mission scenariosDuring 2006, RKK Energia, the developer of the Soyuz, outlined several mission scenarios, which would enable the veteran spacecraft with relatively modest modifications to loop around the Moon, then to enter lunar orbit and, ultimately, to land on its surface.
-
Sumida Tower: New worlds highest building to be constructed in Tokyo: 613.5 meters tall (!)
Japanese planners reveal design of world’s tallest tower for downtown Tokyo: To replace the current “Tokyo Tower” with 333 meters, Japanese planners this week revealed the design of a huge broadcast tower, named Sumida Tower, that is set to become the world’s tallest structure upon completion in 2011, eclipsing even Canada’s CN Tower…. Once finished, it will claim the title from the CN Tower in Toronto, 553-metre-tall communications structure and outlook point which is currently the world’s tallest freestanding structure.Dubbed the “New Tokyo Tower,” the building will replace a 332-metre tower built in 1958.
-
Trial in Seven European Cities: Traffic without signs or lights, Chaos or the Future of things?
Every traffic light baits him with the promise of making it over the crossing while the light is still yellow.”Unsafe is safe”The result is that drivers find themselves enclosed by a corset of prescriptions, so that they develop a kind of tunnel vision: They’re constantly in search of their own advantage, and their good manners go out the window.The new traffic model’s advocates believe the only way out of this vicious circle is to give drivers more liberty and encourage them to take responsibility for themselves…. The new model’s proponents envision today’s drivers and pedestrians blending into a colorful and peaceful traffic stream.It may sound like chaos, but it’s only the lesson drawn from one of the insights of traffic psychology: Drivers will force the accelerator down ruthlessly only in situations where everything has been fully regulated.
-
Finger tracking Acoustic Sensors turn any surface into a computer interface
“We have made a system that can give any object, even a 3D one, a sense of touch,” says Ming Yang, an engineer at Cardiff University, UK, who is coordinating the project.A video produced by the researchers shows four sensors attached to a flat, vertical surface, being used to trace a researcher’s finger (4.6MB, wmv format)…. The sensors were also used to create an interactive globe that accesses geographical information on a computer screen when the user touches different regions.’Sonar’ tracking”One advantage of the system is that for little cost you can have a much larger touch-sensitive area,” says Yang.
-
NASA’s cancelled X-37 coming back as Air Force X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle
White Knight is the Scaled Composites mothership used to carry the privately-built suborbital SpaceShipOne to high-altitude release.Beyond Future XOn April 7 of this year, the robotic space plane was dropped at high altitude, touching down under autonomous control, but encountered difficulties on landing and rolled off the end of a runway at Edwards Air Force Base…. The Boeing-built X-37 was billed at the time as an unpiloted, autonomously operated vehicle designed to conduct on-orbit operations and collect test data in the Mach 25 (reentry) region of flight.Those early plans for the X-37 called for it to be hauled into orbit by the space shuttle or lofted atop an expendable launch vehicle where it would be deployed in Earth orbit.
-
After 50 years of research: Diamond melting Z-Machine at Sandia National Laboratories
At this point the shocked material loses all strength and will only support a single release wave traveling at the bulk sound speed, as shown in the upper right hand inset.Half a bathtub full of seawater in a fusion reaction could produce as much energy as 40 train cars of coal…. Because of limited time to run the experiments, due to the shutdown of Z for renovations that should increase its power by 30 percent, Sandia lead experimenter Marcus Knudson found a predictive use of a quantum-molecular simulation program developed at Sandia by Mike Desjarlais very helpful in pinpointing the pressures at which diamond would begin and finish liquefying.