Hasta La Gadget!

Space is a dangerous world. Debris is flying around everywhere, including small space rocks (read: bits of asteroid or meteoroid), which means that the International Space Station is constantly prone to getting hit by these small objects, and when you’re traveling at 4.8 miles per second, even small objects can have a big impact. ISS Commander Chris Hadfield tweeted a photo of a hole in the one of the solar panels where a space rock ripped through.

Few details are known at this point, but Hadfield referred to the damage on the solar panel as a “bullet hole,” and said that he was “glad it missed the hull.” We’re not sure exactly what would happen if a small rock like that collided with the ISS hull, but judging from Hadfield’s sigh of relief, nothing good would come out of it.

We’re guessing that the hole didn’t cause too much severe damage to the solar panel, or else the ISS would be in deep trouble. We’re not sure how large the small hole is, but it doesn’t look big at all — merely a small speck compared to the sheer size of the solar panels on the station.

Of course, this isn’t the first time that Hadfield has talked about small meteoroids hitting the ISS. He hosted a Reddit AmA back in February where he discussed “micro-meteorites would sometimes hit the hull and make a loud “ping” noise, which leaves dents on the outside of the station. However, Hadfield notes that a larger piece of rock could come along and cause greater damage.

Space rock rips through ISS solar panel, gives hull a miss is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Earlier this month, we told you about a Mars initiative where a non-profit company called Mars One would be planning to send astronauts to Mars on a one-way trip to colonize the red planet. The company is expecting a lot of applications — up in the seven-digit range, and they may reach that goal, because 20,000 people have already applied in just three days.

The plan is to put astronauts on Mars by 2023, and they will begin the recruitment process in July. The company began accepting video applications last week, and anyone can apply, but there’s an application fee of $25, which is there to prevent spammers and those not serious about joining the expedition from applying.

The money earned from application fees are predicted to reach in the millions of dollars, and that money will be spent to help fund the entire project. Essentially, those who apply will have to agree to fly to Mars and say there for the rest of their lives, helping build a colony on the red planet in the meantime.

Mars One will narrow down its applicants to a short list of 24 to 40 applicants, with the final group being selected by a TV audience. The final group will be the first group to head to Mars. The short list of candidates is said to be selected by July 2015, so if you plan on applying, you’ll be waiting a couple years before you hear back, giving all new meaning to the hiring phrase, “we’ll let you know.”

[via io9]

One-way Mars trip sees thousands of astronaut applications is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If you weren’t already aware, you should know that there are up to and including three HTC Nexus One smartphones floating above your head right this minute in part of a NASA mission to prove (or disprove) the viability of low-cost space exploration “PhoneSats”. Each of these low-cost satellites was aboard the first flight of Orbital Science Corporation’s Antares rocket, launched after this rocket took off from NASA’s Wallops Island Flight Facility in Virginia just two days ago.

Each of these PhoneSats is set to remain in orbit around our planet Earth for a period of up to two weeks. All three of the units have had transmissions received by multiple ground stations thus far, this ringing up as great news for those running the mission from Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California.

“It’s always great to see a space technology mission make it to orbit — the high frontier is the ultimate testing ground for new and innovative space technologies of the future. Smartphones offer a wealth of potential capabilities for flying small, low-cost, powerful satellites for atmospheric or Earth science, communications, or other space-born applications. They also may open space to a whole new generation of commercial, academic and citizen-space users.” – NASA associate administrator for space technology in Washington, Michael Gazarik

Each of the structures that make up a PhoneSat includes a standard cubical structure approximately 4-inches square, an HTC Nexus One smartphone, and s set of sensors. Each setup also includes a lithium-ion battery that’s significantly larger than that of the original HTC Nexus One as well as a radio with significantly more power than the original smartphone provided so that messages can be sent from high distances above the Earth.

The video above shows an early test launch of an HTC Nexus One launched with a balloon back in 2012 – you’re seeing this video from the perspective of the phone, mind you.

The original HTC Nexus One provides many of the features needed to create the NASA PhoneSat “off the shelf” unit. Each PhoneSat employs a series of miniature sensors, relatively high-resolution cameras, GPS receivers, and more – and whatever else the mission requires that the HTC Nexus One doesn’t provide.

Each of the units launched in this mission cost NASA engineers between $3,500 and $7,000 USD – significantly less expensive compared to essentially any other type of satellite. These costs are relatively low due to NASA engineers’ use of mass-produced commercial hardware such as – you guessed it – the HTC Nexus One.

We’ll continue watching for this set of three Android-toting amigos as they make their trip through our atmosphere and back towards the planet over the next few days and – hopefully – weeks as well.

[via Cellular News]

NASA’s trio of Android “PhoneSats” all operational: orbit tests under way is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Orbital Science Corps. Antares rocket completed its first successful test launch today after seeing a series of complications over the last few days. Orbital attempted to test launch the rocket last Wednesday, however, a data cable located at the upper stage of the rocket detached prematurely. It was then rescheduled over and over due to the high winds present at the launch site. Luckily today, everything was cooperating with the test launch.

Antares was able to reach its target altitude of 155 miles above earth within 10 minutes. It carried with it a dummy capsule weighing about 8,377 pounds. The dummy was meant to represent that actual weight of the Cygnus capsule. Along with the test launch, Antares successfully released three small-sized Phonesat satellites, Alexander, Graham and Bell, into orbit. These satellites were part of an experiment for NASA’s Ames Research Center.

Now that Orbital has finally completed its test launch, it plans on doing two more launches this year. The first launch is expected to come around June, and will be the Orbital’s first cargo fight to the International Space Station. The second launch is expected to happen sometime in November. The Cygnus capsule is expected to bring about 5,952 pounds of supplies to the ISS when it launches in November.

Orbital is one of two private companies contracted by NASA to bring cargo to the ISS. It has a $1.9 billion contract with NASA, and is expected to complete 8 cargo missions. The other company, SpaceX, has a $1.6 billion contract with NASA, and has already completed 2 out of 12 of its cargo missions. NASA stated that it enlisted the help of both these companies because it didn’t want to give one company the monopoly on space cargo deliveries. Congratulations to Orbital. We’re looking forward to its future launches.

[via Space.com]

Orbital’s Antares rocket successfully completes its first test launch is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

NASA is live-streaming a spacewalk right now, which involves two cosmonauts going out into the deep, dark space in order to fetch some equipment off the exterior of the International Space Station. One of those men is Flight Engineer Pavel Vinogradov, who is 59 years old and is now the oldest person ever to go out on a spacewalk.

Vinogradov is working with Flight Engineer and Cosmonaut Roman Romanenko to replace a broken reflector, as well as retrieve and install experiment equipment on the exterior of the station. Up until today, the oldest person to perform a spacewalk was now-retired NASA astronaut Story Musgrave, who was 58 when he helped fix the Hubble Space Telescope in 1993.

Vinogradov has been a cosmonaut for 20 years and today’s spacewalk is his seventh so far. is making his seventh spacewalk. His first-ever spacewalk took place in 1997 aboard Russia’s old Mir space station. Vinogradov will turn 60 aboard the space station this summer, as he’s been assigned for six months up on the ISS.

What’s perhaps most interesting is that Vinogradov’s partner during today’s spacewalk, Romanenko, is experiencing his first spacewalk ever. Romanenko, who is 41, follows in his father’s footsteps, Yuri Romanenko, who went to space in the 1970s and 1980s. The young Romanenko joked that he is “afraid of the darkness,” as the two cosmonauts stepped outside the ISS.

[via FOX News]

Cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov becomes world’s oldest spacewalker is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.