Hasta La Gadget!

There are several companies that are currently working hard on the development and testing of rocket engines and other spacecraft components for the commercial space program in the United States. So far, the most successful company in commercial spaceflight has been SpaceX. The company has already conducted several missions to resupply the ISS.

Another of the companies in the commercial space business is called ATK. The company has announced that it has successfully tested its newly developed CASTOR 30XL upper stage solid rocket motor this week at the Air Force’s Arnold Engineering Development Complex in Tennessee. The company says that the test was the final qualification for the commercial motor that was developed with cooperation from Orbital Sciences Corporation.

The two companies were able to get the engine qualified in 20 months from concept to completion. The rocket engine is designed to ignite at altitudes of over 100,000 feet. The test for the engine occurred in the Air Force facility using a large vacuum chamber designed specifically to simulate upper atmospheric conditions. ATK says that initial data indicates the motor performed as designed.

The next for the company is to analyze the results of the test against its performance models. This particular rocket engine is designed to be used by Orbital as an enhanced secondary stage for the Antares launch vehicle. Antares is designed to perform commercial cargo resupply missions to the ISS for NASA just as SpaceX has been doing. The solid rocket motor is 92-inches in diameter, 236 inches in length, and weighs about 58,000 pounds. The rocket nozzle itself is 8 feet long.

[via ATK]

ATK successfully tests CASTOR 30XL upper stage solid rocket motor is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

One of the most impressive things that happened to Jupiter in recorded history was when the planet was pummeled by chunks of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet. The thing with Jupiter is that it has an incredibly thick atmosphere so all we could really see of those impacts were disturbances in the clouds near the top of the planet’s atmosphere. I know I’m not alone in wondering what kind of damage those chunks of comet did to the surface of the gas giant.

Now, scientists and astronomers are saying that next year there is a chance that Mars could be hit by a comet.

How big a chance you say, in science-y speech, the astronomers say it’s “non-negligable.” In real numbers, there is a one-in-2000 chance that the surface of Mars will get nailed by a comet next year.

The comet in question is called C/2013 A1, and was discovered on January 3 of this year by astronomers at the Australian Siding Spring Observatory. If the comet hits the surface of Mars, it will be an incredible spectacle. Whereas we couldn’t see anything that happened on the surface of Jupiter, not only does Mars have a thin atmosphere that doesn’t obscure the surface, we also have rovers on the ground and satellites in orbit around the planet. If the impact happens, it could change Mars significantly, throwing up clouds of dust and debris. The comet is believed to be as large as 1.9 miles wide and traveling at 125,000 mph. If the comet were to hit the red planet, its impact would release energy equivalent to 35 million megatons of TNT.

[via Discovery.com]

French astronomers think they found Tatooine in real life and we didn’t even have to travel to a galaxy far, far away (well, it’s still kind of far). The fictional home of Luke Skywalker is called 2MASS0103(AB)b in real life and it revolves around two suns that move relatively close together. Basically, this planet is in the binary star system just like Tatooine. More »

As a federal agency, NASA can’t run commercials — a problem both for rallying broader public support and fostering the next generation of astronauts. The Aerospace Industries Association has both cultural and very practical reasons for improving that public awareness, so it’s taking the unusual step of crowdfunding an ad purchase to get the American space program in front of as many eyes as possible. The project would cut a 30-second version of NASA’s We Are the Explorers promo (after the break), minus the administration’s official endorsement, and run it in at least 50 major movie theaters for eight weeks following the launch of Star Trek Into Darkness on May 17th. The crowdfunding is ostensibly to demonstrate our collective love of space, and would directly translate any money raised beyond the $33,000 goal into ads for more theaters. A cynical industry move? Maybe — but we won’t build starships without a public that’s interested in seeing them beyond movie screens, which makes the ad a noble enough cause in our minds.

Filed under: Transportation, Science, Alt

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Source: Indiegogo

The Kennedy Space Center in the heart of the United States space program for decades. Kennedy Space Center is located in Florida and the location has been the starting point for numerous NASA missions past and present, there is also a very large Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex as well. That visitor complex is designed to educate children and adults on space and has numerous interesting activities that are available.

The visitor complex has announced that it has a new installation for visitors to enjoy based on the incredibly popular video game Angry Birds Space. The installation opened recently and is designed for people of all ages to enjoy. The exhibit spans 4485 ft.² and is called the Angry Birds Space Encounter.

The installation is in regular visitor complex and visiting the installation is included in the price of a regular admission. There are six interactive stations designed to engage players in new activities with some of their favorite characters from the games. Visitors will be able to create their own Angry Bird in red, green, blue, or purple and choose from different body styles and accessories. Once the creation is complete, visitors can print the creation out to keep.

One of the coolest parts of the attraction is the Eggsteroid Slingshot. This attraction allow the guests to use a real slingshot in an attempt to hit King Pig and Corporal Pig. The exhibit also offers tile puzzles to solve and something called the Danger Zone. The Danger Zone is a mirrored labyrinth challenge for visitors search for hidden Angry Birds and discover other surprises. Other features of the exhibit include the Red Planet Laser Challenge for players explore the surface of Mars and avoid laser beams at the same time. The exhibit also has an actual game zone where players can play the real game against other people.

[via Kennedy Space Center]

Angry Birds Space real world interactive installation hits Kennedy Space Center is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.