CNN reports that according to its contributor, Roland Martin, Senator Barack Obama has resigned his membership in a controversial Chicago-based church.
A former pastor and more recently a guest preacher at the church made news with sermons given there that some considered racist.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Foam Loss
Video taken aboard the Shuttle Discovery during its ascent into space half an hour ago showed foam shedding between three and four minutes into the flight. A piece of foam from the main fuel tank appeared to glance off the orbiter just forward of one of the wings. At that altitude, risk factors from foam loss are diminished but NASA is expected to closely inspect that area of the vehicle when it reaches the International Space Station. (NASA, CNN.)
Discovery Expected to Launch Today
The Space Shuttle Discovery is expected to depart for the International Space Station in about 35 minutes, carrying with it the orbiting installation's single largest inhabitable module, the Japanese space laboratory Kibo.
The launch will be covered live on NASA TV.
The launch will be covered live on NASA TV.
Ice Cool
What's a NASA mission without a few hitches here and there? First there was the bioshield that peeked over its intended rest area; then there was a short circuit in a spectroscopic oven. Phoenix's handlers dispatched the first issue with ease and are confident they can work around the second. But compared to the returns of the mission so far, the glitches melt away, for Phoenix may already have discovered what it was intended to find, and its excavation arm hasn't even been fully used.
A day or so ago, the camera at the end of the lander's arm peered underneath the Phoenix and found what could be patches of ice -- or stone. But the latest image -- above -- seems to confirm that they are indeed ice, uncovered by the spaceship's thrusters as it made landfall. The diagnosis is not yet certain, but the odds are high that the probe's quest frozen water has already succeeded.
Martian Weather Report Sol 4
I did say I'd cover the weather, didn't I?This is the latest information on Martian weather, originally posted yesterday at NASA.com.
Viral Marketing?
On the original website, clicking through the top banner, primarily written in an unknown language, results in a number of similar webpages.
(From Trekmovie.com.)
(From Trekmovie.com.)
Aptera to Appear in Star Trek XI?
A few months ago, yours truly witnessed a futuristic alternatively powered vehicle known as the Aptera being driven along a route, identified above, on the campus of California State University, Northridge.
The next Star Trek movie was being filmed at the time, and the blocking of a number of shots was such that the Aptera had to have been in the background.
The next Star Trek movie was being filmed at the time, and the blocking of a number of shots was such that the Aptera had to have been in the background.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Phoenix's Unknown Object
What, exactly, is this object? According to @MarsPhoenix posted at the social-networking website, Twitter.com, it could be a pin, presumably from the spacecraft itself.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Gamma Ray Telescope Launch Set for June 3
NASA has scheduled the launch of a new space-based observatory for June 3, 2008 from Cape Canaveral aboard a Delta II rocket, contingent upon the successful liftoff of the Discovery Space Shuttle May 31.
The Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope, or GLAST, is designed to detect high-energy cosmic radiation bursts, or GRB's, whose origins are still poorly understood. Explanations for GRB's range from the results of sudden stellar collapses into black holes within the Milky Way to even more powerful points of origin completely outside our galaxy. The scale of GRB's is such that if one were to occur anywhere near our Solar System, scientists believe that it could mean the extinction of all life on Earth.
GLAST consists of two main scientific instruments, including a Large Area Telescope and a complementary GLAST Burst Monitor, supported by an array of auxiliary sensors. The satellite has a useful lifetime of up to ten years.
Led by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, the mission represents an international collaboration of scientific and exploratory agencies and universities in the United States, Europe, and Japan.
For more information, see: http://glast.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Phoenix Unstowed -- At Last
The first image is the original posted by NASA within the last hour. The second is modified with outlines delineating each position of the arm.
Europe Wants Its Own Spaceship
Long relegated to a supporting role, the European Space Agency has decided that it wants a more prominent position on the final frontier. Encouraged by ESA's intention to seek independence access to space, EADS Astrium, a European consortium, has proposed a new manned space vehicle based on the Autonomous Transfer Vehicle now used to resupply the International Space Station.
NASA no longer believes that the ISS is its top priority. As soon as it is able, America will wash its hands of the entire affair and leave much of the operation of the orbital facility in the hands of its international partners. The goal these days is the implementation of the Vision for Space Exploration, also known as Project Constellation, a task that demands a shift in focus from low Earth orbit to the development of a replacement vehicle for the Space Shuttle that will be capable of returning Americans to the Moon.
But, while NASA's increasingly Constellation-centric agenda has pleased those who have made no secret of their disappointment with the ISS, it is perceived as a slap in the face of international agencies that have spent considerable energy -- decades, in some cases -- planning their own efforts and budgets around the much-delayed station. Japan, for instance, has invested billions in its centerpiece Kibo space module to be lofted this weekend aboard the Shuttle. Kibo, an ISS component so massive that it requires three Shuttle flights to orbit, has a lifetime significantly longer than the remaining commitment NASA is willing to devote to the Station. NASA prefers to spend its hard-fought budget on its Orion and Ares space vehicles and as such will phase out the Shuttle by 2010.
The EADS proposal would eventually give the continent the means to independently send humans into outer space.
See: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7419793.stm
NASA no longer believes that the ISS is its top priority. As soon as it is able, America will wash its hands of the entire affair and leave much of the operation of the orbital facility in the hands of its international partners. The goal these days is the implementation of the Vision for Space Exploration, also known as Project Constellation, a task that demands a shift in focus from low Earth orbit to the development of a replacement vehicle for the Space Shuttle that will be capable of returning Americans to the Moon.
But, while NASA's increasingly Constellation-centric agenda has pleased those who have made no secret of their disappointment with the ISS, it is perceived as a slap in the face of international agencies that have spent considerable energy -- decades, in some cases -- planning their own efforts and budgets around the much-delayed station. Japan, for instance, has invested billions in its centerpiece Kibo space module to be lofted this weekend aboard the Shuttle. Kibo, an ISS component so massive that it requires three Shuttle flights to orbit, has a lifetime significantly longer than the remaining commitment NASA is willing to devote to the Station. NASA prefers to spend its hard-fought budget on its Orion and Ares space vehicles and as such will phase out the Shuttle by 2010.
The EADS proposal would eventually give the continent the means to independently send humans into outer space.
See: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7419793.stm
Phoenix Unstowed?
Space buffs like yours truly are hanging on every word of every press release NASA deigns to issue with regard to the unstowing of Phoenix's arm. This morning's presser was frustratingly laconic with respect to same, and irritatingly brief, to boot. It lasted all of about 22 minutes, as I recall, during which a number of images were showered upon us among the great unwashed, but none that cast much more light on what the chances were that the foresaid arm would be unstowed without further ado. Yesterday's assurances that the bioshield overhang was merely an inconvenience stood unappended, suspense on this matter still hanging heavily in the air.
We are thankful, as followers of Phoenix, that MRO's radio glitch is no longer an issue, although the glitch itself remains under investigation. MRO, for the time being, is no longer being used for regular data links until the issue is resolved.
Much was explained, in fact, this morning, and we were reassured that Phoenix is in fine health and that, in light of MRO's cop-out, Mars Odyssey was more than capable of taking up the slack. These things we knew.
The unfolding of the arm, however, remains an object of greater mystery, even as I write.
NASA promises more on the arm later this evening. We shall see.
We are thankful, as followers of Phoenix, that MRO's radio glitch is no longer an issue, although the glitch itself remains under investigation. MRO, for the time being, is no longer being used for regular data links until the issue is resolved.
Much was explained, in fact, this morning, and we were reassured that Phoenix is in fine health and that, in light of MRO's cop-out, Mars Odyssey was more than capable of taking up the slack. These things we knew.
The unfolding of the arm, however, remains an object of greater mystery, even as I write.
NASA promises more on the arm later this evening. We shall see.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Monday, May 26, 2008
Phoenix and Parachute
The first image, above, is a raw image of the Phoenix lander as it was descending via parachute to the surface of Mars was taken from an orbiting NASA spacecraft.
The image was released a few minutes ago.
The second is an annotated version.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Phoenix Live
I’ve been following the Phoenix Mars mission live. I have two computer screens streaming NASA TV and one cable TV screen previously tuned to CNN’s live coverage.
The first images came in a few minutes ago and were posted right here on this blog.
Star Trek, like JPL, is all about the peaceful exploration of space. Let’s hope that future generations will see our steps as only the first in a relentless forward march into the universe.
The first images came in a few minutes ago and were posted right here on this blog.
Star Trek, like JPL, is all about the peaceful exploration of space. Let’s hope that future generations will see our steps as only the first in a relentless forward march into the universe.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Phoenix Lands this Sunday
Okay, so it's not Phoenix rising. That'd be too cliched, anyway. Instead, NASA's Phoenix space probe is due to make planetfall on Mars this Sunday. It'll be quite the nail-biter as NASA scientists will lose contact with the car-sized spacecraft, as planned, right before the most critical stages of its descent.
Stay tuned. It could be a bumpy ride.
Stay tuned. It could be a bumpy ride.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Trek and Rebellion
Let it never be said that Trek is utopian: There is, after all, trouble in paradise. Case in point: Star Trek: Insurrection.
One of the last of films set in the famous TNG era, it has been criticized for its elevation of the values of lassitude. The Bak'u, who lived in peace for years, seemed to many no more than futuristic hippies, stuck in an era of communalism and self-indulgence. But, I submit, Insurrection wasn’t about laziness or lack of ambition at all. It was more about chivalry — the defense of the weak by the powerful -- against the even more powerful.
The film’s main plot element is obvious: Insurrection. Whose insurrection, exactly? Ah, but that’s the rub. Was it insurrection against the Federation? By whom?
You could argue that Dougherty’s forces, including the Federation officials who supported him, were the ones guilty of it; it was they, after all, who defied the Federation’s highest ideals.
You could equally argue that it was Picard and crew who committed insurrection. It was they, after all, who took off their Starfleet badges in defense of the Bak’u.
The question, then, is unsettled.
The point is that there IS conflict — conflict on a very big level. It is conflict that asks you: If everything you believed in were on the line, would you commit yourself to defending the defenseless against your own government? Would you follow your own conscience over that of your official duty?
The Bak’u meant no harm. They were peaceful, pacifist people. They saw an eternity in a moment, and loved life for what it was. They were — far from the hapless hippies of “The Way to Eden” — more like cosmic Buddhists, seeking to go in the mind where few of us have gone before.
Picard saw as his overriding duty protecting the weak and following the Federation’s ideals even when the Federation did not.
This, I believe, was the core virtue of Insurrection: Piety and faith in what is good, what is decent, and what should move us all.
One of the last of films set in the famous TNG era, it has been criticized for its elevation of the values of lassitude. The Bak'u, who lived in peace for years, seemed to many no more than futuristic hippies, stuck in an era of communalism and self-indulgence. But, I submit, Insurrection wasn’t about laziness or lack of ambition at all. It was more about chivalry — the defense of the weak by the powerful -- against the even more powerful.
The film’s main plot element is obvious: Insurrection. Whose insurrection, exactly? Ah, but that’s the rub. Was it insurrection against the Federation? By whom?
You could argue that Dougherty’s forces, including the Federation officials who supported him, were the ones guilty of it; it was they, after all, who defied the Federation’s highest ideals.
You could equally argue that it was Picard and crew who committed insurrection. It was they, after all, who took off their Starfleet badges in defense of the Bak’u.
The question, then, is unsettled.
The point is that there IS conflict — conflict on a very big level. It is conflict that asks you: If everything you believed in were on the line, would you commit yourself to defending the defenseless against your own government? Would you follow your own conscience over that of your official duty?
The Bak’u meant no harm. They were peaceful, pacifist people. They saw an eternity in a moment, and loved life for what it was. They were — far from the hapless hippies of “The Way to Eden” — more like cosmic Buddhists, seeking to go in the mind where few of us have gone before.
Picard saw as his overriding duty protecting the weak and following the Federation’s ideals even when the Federation did not.
This, I believe, was the core virtue of Insurrection: Piety and faith in what is good, what is decent, and what should move us all.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
The Movies of Star Trek
Your mileage may vary.
Star Trek: TMP: While slow, still unmistakably grand, majestic, and cosmic in a way befitting the entire franchise. Hat Rick’s Rating: Four and one-half stars out of five. With tighter pacing, suggested in the Director’s Edition, easily five stars.
II: TWOK: Makes the top ten list of many a SF — and mainstream — movie buff. Need I say more? Five stars.
III: TSFS: A worthy adventure for a gallant crew. Three stars.
IV: TVH: See TWOK. Four stars.
V: TFF: A nice effort. Two stars.
VI: TUC: Politically relevant and engaged, Star Trek VI marked the return of the dynamism, pacing and rollicking good times we saw in TWOK. Four stars.
[VII:] Generations: A satisfying attempt to blend two separate generations in the Trek universe, this movie made a powerful statement about the importance of heroism and what it means to live life to the fullest. Four stars.
[VIII:] First Contact: Not since TWOK has a Star Trek picture had so much appeal to mainstream and Trekfan audiences alike. The cinematic centerpiece of the TNG universe, ST:FC made Trek moviewatching an experience to treasure again and again. Five stars.
[IX:] Insurrection: Marking the denouement of the TNG era, Insurrection asked the question: “When does the good of the many outweigh the good of the few?” The answer it gave brought Trekfans along for a fulfilling fight against an elusive enemy: A moustache-twirling villain -- allied with a rogue admiral within the Federation itself. Three stars.
[X:] Nemesis: While the pacing was off and dramatic elements seemingly out of order, this movie left Trekfans wondering why it couldn’t be better. Two stars.
[XI:] Star Trek: A year from this movie's debut, Trekfans discuss it with the highest of expectations.
Star Trek: TMP: While slow, still unmistakably grand, majestic, and cosmic in a way befitting the entire franchise. Hat Rick’s Rating: Four and one-half stars out of five. With tighter pacing, suggested in the Director’s Edition, easily five stars.
II: TWOK: Makes the top ten list of many a SF — and mainstream — movie buff. Need I say more? Five stars.
III: TSFS: A worthy adventure for a gallant crew. Three stars.
IV: TVH: See TWOK. Four stars.
V: TFF: A nice effort. Two stars.
VI: TUC: Politically relevant and engaged, Star Trek VI marked the return of the dynamism, pacing and rollicking good times we saw in TWOK. Four stars.
[VII:] Generations: A satisfying attempt to blend two separate generations in the Trek universe, this movie made a powerful statement about the importance of heroism and what it means to live life to the fullest. Four stars.
[VIII:] First Contact: Not since TWOK has a Star Trek picture had so much appeal to mainstream and Trekfan audiences alike. The cinematic centerpiece of the TNG universe, ST:FC made Trek moviewatching an experience to treasure again and again. Five stars.
[IX:] Insurrection: Marking the denouement of the TNG era, Insurrection asked the question: “When does the good of the many outweigh the good of the few?” The answer it gave brought Trekfans along for a fulfilling fight against an elusive enemy: A moustache-twirling villain -- allied with a rogue admiral within the Federation itself. Three stars.
[X:] Nemesis: While the pacing was off and dramatic elements seemingly out of order, this movie left Trekfans wondering why it couldn’t be better. Two stars.
[XI:] Star Trek: A year from this movie's debut, Trekfans discuss it with the highest of expectations.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
"First Star to the Right, and Straight on 'Til Morning"
Meanwhile, back in the real world....
Interstellar flight is still a dream unfulfilled, except, perhaps, in the form of erstwhile interplanetary probes like our Pioneers and Voyagers that, at this rate, will take millennia to reach our Sun's nearest neighbors.
Interested in discussing the practical aspects of interstellar flight is the Tau Zero Foundation, a group that includes scientists who write on the realities of traveling between the stars. I recently discovered their website, a lively place where our future among the stars is a constant source of contemplation and comment.
See http://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=581
Interstellar flight is still a dream unfulfilled, except, perhaps, in the form of erstwhile interplanetary probes like our Pioneers and Voyagers that, at this rate, will take millennia to reach our Sun's nearest neighbors.
Interested in discussing the practical aspects of interstellar flight is the Tau Zero Foundation, a group that includes scientists who write on the realities of traveling between the stars. I recently discovered their website, a lively place where our future among the stars is a constant source of contemplation and comment.
See http://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=581
Love Me, Love My Robot
R2D2, where are you? No, seriously. I'm looking for you. Don't play coy with me.
You don't have to be a geek to recognize the appeal of cutesy-pukesy robots. Star Wars has taken care of that department. But did you know that there are those who are actually making it their life's purpose to make you fall in love with one?
To be honest, that may be an overstatement. But according to this recent piece on people who fall in love, or at least in like, with their vacuum cleaners, scientists are hard at work making sure that your next friend and helpmate prefers engine oil to aperitifs.
See http://technology.newscientist.com/channel/tech/mg19826506.100-the-rise-of-the-emotional-robot.html
You don't have to be a geek to recognize the appeal of cutesy-pukesy robots. Star Wars has taken care of that department. But did you know that there are those who are actually making it their life's purpose to make you fall in love with one?
To be honest, that may be an overstatement. But according to this recent piece on people who fall in love, or at least in like, with their vacuum cleaners, scientists are hard at work making sure that your next friend and helpmate prefers engine oil to aperitifs.
See http://technology.newscientist.com/channel/tech/mg19826506.100-the-rise-of-the-emotional-robot.html
Tailgating, Officer? Why, No! I Was Just Saving Gas!
So the next time the guy behind you is driving so close you can actually tell the brand of mouthwash they used that morning, keep in mind this one mantra: He's making out like a bandit on gas.
Or at least that's what the "hypermilers" say. It's the latest fad, kids (but don't try this at home! Or in your car, either).
What is "hypermiling"?
See http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080430/od_nm/hypermiling_dc;_ylt=AoQLlDmv72Y9JIssV.c8nsus0NUE
Can you say, "rear ender"?
I knew you could.
Or at least that's what the "hypermilers" say. It's the latest fad, kids (but don't try this at home! Or in your car, either).
What is "hypermiling"?
See http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080430/od_nm/hypermiling_dc;_ylt=AoQLlDmv72Y9JIssV.c8nsus0NUE
Can you say, "rear ender"?
I knew you could.
To Sleep ... Perchance, to Feed the Brain
It's not often that doing something that feels good is actually good FOR you. So let's raise a drowsy cheer, in these sleep-deprived times, for the latest news about the value of sleep. It turns out, research says, that sleep actually nourishes your mind.
Napping, in other words, is brain food.
See http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2008/04/22/DI2008042201583.html
Napping, in other words, is brain food.
See http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2008/04/22/DI2008042201583.html
It's May 1, 2008. Do You Know Where Your Android Is?
Retrofuturism, or the future of times past, is a source of endless fascination for me. From the helmet-clad space rangers of the Forties to the polyestered denizens of Logan's Run, visions of the future have often proved absurdly inadequate as predictors of technological development. Science fiction itself has learned to look with irony at the ridiculous failings of ambitious visions of the world of tomorrow: Case in point, the deliberately corny adventures of Janeway and Paris in the world of Chaotica.
But the past, like the future, can be fertile ground for reinvention. Witness the case of Battlestar Galactica -- the “poor man’s Star Wars” that ran in the 1970’s and was replaced by the truly awful Galactica 1980 (which is a horror story in itself). Contra, “Nu” BSG — the one co-created by Ronald Moore.
Critics charged in the original run that Battlestar Galactica was a copy of Star Wars, which had proved itself the sleeper surprise hit of the decade. I suppose that it was things like the design of the giant Galactica vessel, which seemed reminiscent of a Star Destroyer, and the Vipers, which seemed similar to X-Wings, that made people think that the series was simply a pale imitation of Lucas’ film. It didn’t help things that the color scheme of the good guys’ clothing (browns and suedes) was similar to the “space cowboy” look we saw in Episode IV.
Prior to this, your typical space opera was more in line with the futuristic look of the day. Space: 1999 was a good example -- another ’70’s series set in space but one that pre-dated both Star Wars and the original Battlestar Galactica.
The point, I suppose, is that none of these aesthetics proved more durable than any other. None was adopted by Moore in the new version of Galactica, praised by critics and audiences alike.
What endures, by contrast, is the art of storytelling. And why should this be a surprise?
For the future is, in the end, unknowable, and what we tell of the future is simply what we believe of the present.
As for that android ... tell him it's time for bed.
But the past, like the future, can be fertile ground for reinvention. Witness the case of Battlestar Galactica -- the “poor man’s Star Wars” that ran in the 1970’s and was replaced by the truly awful Galactica 1980 (which is a horror story in itself). Contra, “Nu” BSG — the one co-created by Ronald Moore.
Critics charged in the original run that Battlestar Galactica was a copy of Star Wars, which had proved itself the sleeper surprise hit of the decade. I suppose that it was things like the design of the giant Galactica vessel, which seemed reminiscent of a Star Destroyer, and the Vipers, which seemed similar to X-Wings, that made people think that the series was simply a pale imitation of Lucas’ film. It didn’t help things that the color scheme of the good guys’ clothing (browns and suedes) was similar to the “space cowboy” look we saw in Episode IV.
Prior to this, your typical space opera was more in line with the futuristic look of the day. Space: 1999 was a good example -- another ’70’s series set in space but one that pre-dated both Star Wars and the original Battlestar Galactica.
The point, I suppose, is that none of these aesthetics proved more durable than any other. None was adopted by Moore in the new version of Galactica, praised by critics and audiences alike.
What endures, by contrast, is the art of storytelling. And why should this be a surprise?
For the future is, in the end, unknowable, and what we tell of the future is simply what we believe of the present.
As for that android ... tell him it's time for bed.
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