Orbital Sciences' Cygnus Captured by ISS

 

Orbital Sciences' Cygnus spacecraft has successfully docked with the International Space Station as of  Sunday September 29 at around 7 a.m. EDT.. Cygnus was launched from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va., on Sept. 18, and it was grabbed by the space station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm controlled by European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano, with NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg acting as his backup.

Orbital signed a $1.8 billion contract with NASA that will run through 2016. During that time, Orbital  will conduct eight resupply missions to the ISS, sending 44,093 pounds of net cargo.   NASA is also aiming at its commercial partners to deliver personnel as well, drastically reducing operational costs.

This now doubles the commercial delivery systems being used on the ISS.  Elton Musk's Space X

full article at International Business Times




 

BMU # 379 is Now Online

After a short rant on what I consider real spaceflight, I start the program proper with the opening theme from the anime series Gunslinger Girls, Karma sung my Kokia. 

From there I take out my trusty Star Trek quiz book for more questions about one of the best episodes of the series.  Minagerie.

From the BMU blog:

I review the movie Iron Man 3 which in my book far surpassed IM2.
Next, what I would call a truly bionic leg is being tested and this thing looks good!  Curiosity find H2O!!! But no luck on methane.  Comet Ison is generating a great deal of interest. 

Finally part 3 of Dave by Dean Gills.


Thats about it.  Enjoy!

A Truly Bionic Leg!

After a motorcycle accident that left Zac Vawter minus a leg, he will be able to walk with a normal gait and climb stairs in a truly normal manner thanks to revolutionary new hardware and software advances. A veritable "Bionic" limb. The video gives you a bit of an idea on how the prosthetic limb operates. Plenty more information on the Topless Robot site HERE

Gravity: Behind the Frame a Short Film

Here is a breath taking behind the scene look at not so much how the movie Gravity was made but the driving force from director Alfonso Cuarón and NASA consultant astronaut Cady Coleman as they discuss the intense experience of Gravity and the preparation that went into delivering a true-to-life space exploration.





 

Curiosity Rover Finds Martian H2O

NASA's Curiosity Martian rover has found water in the Martian soil.  Not freely available perhaps

but LOTS of it, on average, two pints per cubic foot of soil, that works out to be about two percent.  Water it seems will not be a big concern on future manned Martian missions.   

Among other tests that were present in the recent test was sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide and oxygen.  This level of detail in determining soil composition has also turned up some unsettling information.  

From the article:

• Laurie Leshin dean of science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute said: "analysis of the soil has also shown the presence of a type of chemical called a perchlorate, which is can be toxic to people. "It's only there at a 0.5% level in the soil but it impedes thyroid function," Leshin  said. "If humans are there and are coming into contact with fine-grained dust, we have to think about how we live with that hazard. 

More from the Guardian article HERE