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Submission Summary: 0 pending, 57 declined, 11 accepted (68 total, 16.18% accepted)

Submission + - A powerful 8.3-magnitude earthquake struck off Chile's coast (cnn.com)

Submitted by wooferhound
wooferhound writes: A powerful 8.3-magnitude earthquake struck off Chile's coast on Wednesday, according to a preliminary assessment from the U.S. Geological Survey.

The quake's epicenter was about 54 kilometers (34 miles) west of Illapel, Chile, USGS said. It occurred around 7:54 p.m. (6:54 p.m. ET) and had a depth of 33 kilometers (20.5 miles).

Chile's national emergency agency issued a tsunami alert, ordering evacuations in coastal areas from Arica to Puerto Aysen.

Submission + - Chicago Gun Ban Declaired Unconstitutional (cnn.com)

Submitted by wooferhound
wooferhound writes: - A federal judge ruled Monday that Chicago's ban on virtually all sales and transfers of firearms is unconstitutional.

"The stark reality facing the City each year is thousands of shooting victims and hundreds of murders committed with a gun. But on the other side of this case is another feature of government: certain fundamental rights are protected by the Constitution, put outside government's reach, including the right to keep and bear arms for self-defense under the Second Amendment," wrote U.S. District Judge Edmond Chang.

Submission + - Skydiver Leaps from 18 Miles Up in 'Space Jump' Practice (space.com) 1

Submitted by
wooferhound
wooferhound writes: "A daredevil leapt from a balloon more than 18 miles above the Earth today (July 25), moving one step closer to a so-called "space jump" that would set the record for the world's highest skydive.

Austrian adventurer Felix Baumgartner stepped out of his custom-built capsule at an altitude of 96,640 feet (29,456 meters) above southeastern New Mexico, officials with Red Bull Stratos — the name of Baumgartner's mission — announced today.

In today's jump, Baumgartner experienced freefall for three minutes and 48 seconds, reaching a top speed of 536 mph (863 kph), project officials said. Baumgartner then opened his parachute and glided to Earth safely about 10 minutes and 30 seconds after stepping into the void."
Space

Submission + - NASA unveils next spaceship — a hybrid shutt (orlandosentinel.com)

Submitted by
wooferhound
wooferhound writes: "WASHINGTON — After months of debate, NASA has settled on plans for its next spaceship — a space shuttle hybrid that will fly twice in the next decade and cost $30 billion through 2021, according to senior administration officials and internal NASA documents.

That NASA decided to recycle elements of the shuttle is not unexpected. Last year, Congress and the White House agreed NASA should reuse equipment from old programs and the new design — which includes a giant fuel tank and two booster rockets — largely reflects that compromise. The most noticeable change is the plane-like orbiter will be replaced by an Apollo-like crew capsule atop the tank."

Submission + - Congress Funds Cancelled Ares Rocket till March (abcactionnews.com)

Submitted by
wooferhound
wooferhound writes: "KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla — NASA contractors will continue to build the now-defunct Ares I rocket, even though it was canceled by the Obama administration.
Since Congress voted to extend the 2010 budget, the Ares rocket will continue to be funded as planned.
It will now cost an estimated $500 million to fund the project until at least March 2011, according to the Orlando Sentinel."

Submission + - A portable, laser backpack for 3D mapping (spacemart.com)

Submitted by
wooferhound
wooferhound writes: "A portable, laser backpack for 3D mapping has been developed at the University of California, Berkeley, where it is being hailed as a breakthrough technology capable of producing fast, automatic and realistic 3D mapping of difficult interior environments.
The backpack is the first of a series of similar systems to work without being strapped to a robot or attached to a cart. At the same time, its data acquisition speed is very fast, as it collects the data while the human operator is walking; this is in contrast with existing systems in which the data is painstakingly collected in a stop and go fashion, resulting in days and weeks of data acquisition time.
Utilizing novel sensor fusion algorithms that use cameras, lasers range finders and inertial measurement units to generate a textured, photo-realistic, 3D model that can operate without GPS input and that is a big challenge.

http://www.spacemart.com/reports/Portable_Laser_Backpack_Revolutionizes_Interior_3D_Mapping_999.html"

Submission + - Broadway Musicians Replaced with Synthesizers (spacedaily.com) 1

Submitted by
wooferhound
wooferhound writes: "Sophisticated synthesizers and computer-manipulated recordings are increasingly taking over orchestras. Sounding almost like real players, while costing much less, they're especially popular with provincial or touring companies.
But until mid-July — when "West Side Story's" producers announced that a synthesizer was replacing three live violinists and two cellists, or half the orchestra's string section — staff violinist Paul Woodiel thought that at least the classics would be immune to the trend.
There are computer programs able to read and play back music scores — a boon to composers who can now hear their work as they write — and software allowing conductors to control the tempo of the machine, in the same way that they direct live players.
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Broadway_sings_blues_over_synthesizer_invasion_999.html"
Mars

Submission + - New Mars Rover Rolls for the First Time (nasa.gov)

Submitted by
wooferhound
wooferhound writes: "Like proud parents savoring their babys very first steps, mission team members gathered in a gallery above a clean room at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory to watch the Mars Curiosity rover roll for the first time.
Engineers and technicians wore bunny suits while guiding Curiosity through its first steps, or more precisely, its first roll on the clean room floor. The rover moved forward and backward about 1 meter (3.3 feet).
Mars Science Laboratory (aka Curiosity) is scheduled to launch in fall 2011 and land on the Red Planet in August 2012. Curiosity is the largest rover ever sent to Mars. It will carry 10 instruments that will help search an intriguing region of the Red Planet for two things:
      1. Environments where life might have existed
      2. The capacity of those environments to preserve evidence of past life

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=1026"
Internet Explorer

Submission + - Controller recently stolen, rescues itself (gpsdaily.com) 1

Submitted by
wooferhound
wooferhound writes: "A Rain Master Eagle-i Irrigation Controller recently stolen out of a housing development just outside of Tucson traveled nearly 80 miles before rescuing itself. The smart controller is now back in place on the wall where it was originally pinched. The thieves were run over by technology and they had no idea what hit them. In this day and age, something that may look passive like an irrigation controller may not be so passive. The thieves didn't realize they were removing equipment that features 2-way wireless communications via the Internet. Three weeks later, the unexpected happened. The Maintenance Supervisor noticed a signal coming in from the stolen controller. He thought it was kind of odd that it was up and running, said Killmer. Whoever had stolen it had plugged it back in."
Space

Submission + - Cassini Primary Mission Over, Now 2 yr ext Mission (nasa.gov)

Submitted by
wooferhound
wooferhound writes: "On June 30, the Saturn Cassini spacecraft completed its four-year prime mission and begins its two-year extended mission which was approved in April to address new questions and bring it closer to two of its most intriguing targets. Among other things, Cassini revealed the Earth-like world of Saturn's moon Titan and showed the potential habitability of another moon, Enceladus. These two worlds are primary targets in the two-year extended mission, dubbed the Cassini Equinox Mission. This time period also will allow for observing the unique ring geometry of the Saturn equinox in August of 2009 when sunlight will pass directly through the plane of the rings. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/media/cassini-20080627.html"
Space

Submission + - Ares V Rocket Bigger and Stronger for Moon Mission (universetoday.com)

Submitted by
wooferhound
wooferhound writes: "In a move to make the heavy-lift vehicle more robust (predicting an increased launch thrust requirement) to send four astronauts, a lunar lander plus supplies, NASA has announced the Ares V rocket will be "beefed up" to cater for our future needs to get man back to the Moon. This huge vehicle is now designed to carry payloads of over 156,600 lb (71,000 kg), some 15,600 lb (or 10%) more than the original concept. Ares V was originally designed to be approximately the same length as the original Saturn V lunar rocket (361 feet or 110 metres long), but to accommodate an extra booster engine and extra payload volume, Ares V will be 381 feet (116 metres) long. This upgrade will be capable of sending far more instrumentation into space, an extra 15,600 lb (7,000 kg, or the equivalent mass of a male African elephant). This increased capability will obviously be of huge benefit to the future lunar and Mars missions."

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