NASA news

NASA lanseaza Endeavour

A fish-eye view captures space shuttle Endeavour just after liftoff on mission STS-111. Credit: NASA

Mission: STS-130
Orbiter: Endeavour
Primary Payload: Tranquility Node 3, cupola
Launch: Feb. 7, 2010
Launch Time: 4:39 a.m. EST
Launch Pad: 39A
Landing: Feb. 19 - 11:14 p.m. EST
Landing Site: Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
Mission Duration: 13 days
Inclination/Altitude: 51.6 degrees/122 nautical miles

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Image above: At Launch Pad 39A workers monitor the second of space shuttle Endeavour's payload bay doors as it closes around the Tranquility node. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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NASA Managers Give "Go" for Endeavour
Space shuttle Endeavour is set to begin a 13-day flight to the International Space Station with a Feb. 7 launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Liftoff is planned for 4:39 a.m. EST, making this the final scheduled space shuttle night launch.

Endeavour's launch date was announced Wednesday at the conclusion of a flight readiness review at Kennedy. During the meeting, senior NASA and contractor managers assessed the risks associated with the mission and determined the shuttle's equipment, support systems and procedures are ready.

NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope Discovers its First Five Exoplanets

01.04.10

This artist's concept shows a cloudy Jupiter-like planet that orbits very close to its fiery hot star.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle (SSC)
Click image for full-resolution. NASA's Kepler space telescope, designed to find Earth-size planets in the habitable zone of sun-like stars, has discovered its first five new exoplanets, or planets beyond our solar system.

Kepler's high sensitivity to both small and large planets enabled the discovery of the exoplanets, named Kepler 4b, 5b, 6b, 7b and 8b. The discoveries were announced Monday, Jan. 4, by the members of the Kepler science team during a news briefing at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Washington.

"These observations contribute to our understanding of how planetary systems form and evolve from the gas and dust disks that give rise to both the stars and their planets," said William Borucki of NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. Borucki is the mission's science principal investigator. "The discoveries also show that our science instrument is working well. Indications are that Kepler will meet all its science goals."

Known as "hot Jupiters" because of their high masses and extreme temperatures, the new exoplanets range in size from similar to Neptune to larger than Jupiter. They have orbits ranging from 3.3 to 4.9 days. Estimated temperatures of the planets range from 2,200 to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit, hotter than molten lava and much too hot for life as we know it. All five of the exoplanets orbit stars hotter and larger than Earth's sun.

Russian Federal Space Agency

Proton-M with Raduga-1M lifts off Thursday. Credit: Roskosmos

Russia launches first spacecraft of 2010

Published: 2010 Jan. 28

Russia conducted its first space mission of 2010, launching a military communications satellite Thursday. A Proton M rocket with Briz-M upper stage lifted off from Site 81 in Baikonur Cosmodrome, on January 28, 2009, at 03:18 Moscow Time, carrying a Raduga-1M/Globus-1M military communications satellite.

According to the official Russian media, the satellite successfully reached its intended orbit, with the separation from the upper stage occurring at 12:19 Moscow Time on January 28.

The mission was originally expected in July and Aug. 28, 2008, and was later postponed to the Dec. 25-30, 2009, period.

According to the Kommersant newspaper in 2009, the production of at least one Globus satellite was delayed by two years, leading to a litigation of the Russian Ministry of Defense with PO Polyot. According to the publication, the Defense Ministry demanded the return of 79.61 million rubles in overpaid charges and 126.4 million rubles in fines. Only with the mitigation of Vladimir Popovkin, Deputy Minister for Armaments, two sides reached a compromise, according to which PO Polyot owed Ministry of Defense 79.6 million and paid a symbolic 10,000 rubles in fines.

Progress to Deliver Pickles to the ISS

:: 31.01.2010

Progress M-04M which is scheduled for launch from Baikonur on Feb. 3, is to deliver fresh fruits and pickles to the International Space Station, IBMP informs.
The additional food delivery will include 5.5 kg of apples, 4 kg of oranges, 3 kg of grapefruits, and 2.5 kg of pickles.
Earlier in his orbital blog Russian cosmonaut Maxim Suraev mentioned that the crew doesn’t need much onion and garlic on-board. “What’s most amazing for us all is that onion and garlic is sent (in Progresses). Sometimes we do like it indeed – to taste a morsel of garlic or onion with brown bread.
However, it’s being sent to us in huge amounts, so if we ate a clove of them each meal, we’ll still have some left as ointment, to let our slumbers be pleasant.
Our American partners are joking that our friends on the Earth fear vampires on board, and thus have sent garlic and onion to use them as protective weapons.
Seriously, we would rather have had tomatoes and more apples.”
It looks like the specialists considered Maxim’s opinion.

Mass Effect 2

POT SA ZIK CA L-AM TERMINAT SI E SUPER TARE ;)

Bioware a anunțat în cursul zilei de azi că Mass Effect 2, continuarea fenomenului SF, Mass Effect, câștigător a numeroase premii, a fost lansat în magazinele din întreaga lume.

29 Ian 2010 Mass Effect 2

Unul dintre cele mai așteptate jocuri ale anului, Mass Effect 2 este disponibil de astăzi în toate magazinele din lume, atât pentru platforma Xbox 360, cât și pentru PC.

Notat pentru gameplay-ul intens de shooter și povestea complicată, construită cu migală, Mass Effect 2 a fost lăudat pe toate planurile de lumea întreagă, obținând un punctaj mediu de 97, pe baza a 29 de review-uri pe platforma Xbox 360, devenind cel de-al doilea cel mai bine cotat joc pe această platformă din toate timpurile, și un punctaj de 95 pe PC.

Dr. Ray Muzyka, co-fondator Bioware și GroupGeneral Manager al Grupului RPG/MMO al EA a comentat la adresa lansării jocului Mass Effect 2: “Lumi captivante, povești și personaje fascinante și acțiunea intensă sunt câteva dintre caracteristicile jocurilor BioWare, iar Mass Effect 2 cu adevărat ridică standardele în acest sens.”

Trilogia Mass Effect este o aventură epică science fiction, ce se desfășoară într-un vast univers, populat de ființe extraterestre periculoase și planete misterioase, neexplorate.

Mass Effect 2 – cerinte de sistem:

PC MINIM
OS = Windows XP SP3 / Windows Vista SP1 / Windows 7
Processor = 1.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo or equivalent AMD CPU
Memory = 1 GB RAM for Windows XP / 2 GB RAM for Windows Vista and Windows 7
Hard Drive = 15 GB
DVD ROM = 1x Speed
Sound Card = DirectX 9.0c compatible
Direct X = DirectX 9.0c August 2008 (included)
Input = Keyboard / Mouse
Video Card = 256 MB (with Pixel Shader 3.0 support). Supported Chipsets: NVIDIA GeForce 6800 or greater; ATI Radeon X1600 Pro or greater.

PC RECOMANDAT
Windows XP SP3 / Windows Vista SP1 / Windows 7
2.6+ GHz Core 2 Duo Intel or equivalent AMD CPU
2 GB RAM
ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT, NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT, or better recommended
100% DirectX compatible sound card and drivers
DirectX August 2008

ESA - EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY

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ESA - launchers: ESA's Future Launcher Preparatory Programme (FLPP) is focusing on the preparation of a Next Generation Launcher (NGL)to be operational around 2020 Article Images Final launch of Ariane 5 GS completes busy year 19 December 2009 On 18 December 2009, an Ariane 5 GS launcher lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on a journey to place the French military reconnaissance satellite Helios-2B into Sun-synchronous polar orbit. Flight V193 was the seventh Ariane 5 launch of 2009 and used the last of the GS variant of the launcher. Vega Main Data Vega Height 30 m Diameter 3 m Liftoff mass 137 tonnes Payload mass* 1500 kg Although there is a growing tendency for satellites to become larger, there is still a need for a small launcher to place 300 to 2000 kg satellites, economically, into the polar and low-Earth orbits used for many scientific and Earth observation missions. Europe’s answer to these needs is Vega, named after the second brightest star in the northern hemisphere. Vega will make access to space easier, quicker and cheaper. Costs are being kept to a minimum by using advanced low-cost technologies and by introducing an optimised synergy with existing production facilities used for Ariane launchers. Vega has been designed as a single body launcher with three solid propulsion stages and an additional liquid propulsion upper module used for attitude and orbit control, and satellite release. Unlike most small launchers, Vega will be able to place multiple payloads into orbit. Development of the Vega launcher started in 1998. The first launch is planned for late in 2009 from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana where the Ariane 1 launch facilities are being adapted for its use. ESA Columbus laboratory - ISS (international space station ) http://wsn.spaceflight.esa.int/?pg=mm&id=28 intrati aici sa vedeti modulul european de pe ISS !!! Back to article Europe's laboratory on the International Space Station Biolab (artist's impression). Biolab is a facility designed to support biological experiments on micro-organisms, cells, tissue cultures, small plants and small invertebrates. The major objective of performing Life Sciences experiments in space is to identify the role that weightlessness plays at all levels of an organism, from the effects on a single cell up to a complex organism including humans. The Biolab facility will be launched inside the European Columbus laboratory. Credits: ESA - D. Ducros Back to article Download: HI-RES JPEG (Size: 3366 kb) The Columbus external facilities, Solar and EuTEF, are prepared to be placed into the Shuttle's payload canister at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Solar and EuTEF are attached to an ICC-lite. This structure has since been placed inside Space Shuttle Atlantis' cargo bay together with the European Columbus laboratory. Atlantis is targeted for launch to the International Space Station on 6 December 2007. In orbit, once Columbus has been attached to the Station's Harmony module, Solar and EuTEF will be attached to the exterior of Columbus

JAXA EXplorarea Atmosferei planetei Venus 2010

JAXA - Programul Spatial Japonez , una dintre cele 5 puteri spatiale (NASA, Rusia -RFSA Russian Federal Space Agency , JAXA, China - China National Space Agency si ESA - European Space Agency )
PRogram spatial pentru JAXA - Explorarea Atmosferei Planetei Venus

Apocalipsa Haiti peste 100.000 morti !!!

Apocalipsa din Haiti, in imagini. Peste 100.000 de morti, anunta premierul

StirileProTV.ro

UPDATE: Capitala statului Haiti a plonjat in haos si disperare in urma unui cutremur cu magnitudinea 7,3 pe scara Richter. A fost cel mai puternic seism care a lovit cea mai saraca tara de pe continentul american in ultimii 200 de ani.

20:00 Inchisoarea principala din capitala haitiana, Port-au-Prince, s-a prabusit in timpul cutremurului violent care a afectat marti orasul, permitand "catorva detinuti" sa fuga, a anuntat miercuri ONU, citat de AFP.

18:00 Bilantul cutremurului ar putea fi cu "mult peste 100.000 de morti", a declarat miercuri pentru CNN premierul haitian, Jean-Max Bellerive, relateaza AFP.

11:10 Numerosi studenti ai unei universitati private din Port-au-Prince erau blocati, marti seara, sub daramaturi a anuntat un oficial, citat de AFP.

Am zburat deasupra Port-au-Prince, un oras pe care il cunosc destul de bine, iar imaginile sunt socante. O priveliste cumplita... Multi oameni stau pur si simplu pe strazi, nestiind ce sa faca sau unde sa se duca. Si multi chiar nu mai au la ce se intoarce.Anderson Cooper, corespondent CNN

11:00 Opt militari chinezi din cadrul Castilor Albastre au fost ingropati sub daramaturi, iar alti zece au fost declarati disparuti in Haiti, in urma cutremurului de marti, a anuntat miercuri presa oficială, citata de AFP. Autoritatile haitiene nu au putut prezenta deocamdata un bilant al mortilor si ranitilor.

09:45 MAI a anuntat ca politistii romani aflati in misiunea ONU de mentinere a pacii in Haiti nu au fost afectati de cutremur. Pe insula se afla 21 de ofiteri de politie romani, care desfasoara activitati de mentinere a pacii, sub egida ONU, din anul 2006.

08:40 Un supermarket situat in nordul capitalei Port-au-Prince a fost jefuit in noaptea de marti spre miercuri, in timp ce numeroase cadavre zaceau pe marginea strazilor, dupa cutremurul produs in Haiti, relateaza AFP.

08:28 Autoritatile filipineze si-au exprimat, miercuri, ingrijorarea pentru soarta celor 179 de militari si politisti filipinezi din cadrul misiunii de stabilizare a ONU din Haiti unde s-a produs un puternic seism, transmite AFP. In total, 157 de militari si 22 de politisti filipinezi sunt prezenti in cadrul misiunii ONU din Haiti.

8:20 Statele Unite, Canada, Franta si tarile din regiune au anuntat ca vor acorda ajutoare si vor participa la misiunile de salvare din Haiti, la cateva ore dupa cutremurul cu magnitudinea de 7 grade care s-a produs in insula, in apropiere de capitala Port-au-Prince, relateaza AFP.

La zece minute de la cutremur, un imens nor de praf si fum s-a ridicat deasupra orasului, o patura care a acoperit complet orasul si l-a intunecat timp de 20 de minute.Mike Godfrey, Agentia Americana pentru Dezvoltare Internationala

Deja se vorbeste despre zeci de mii de morti. Seful guvernului de la Port-au-Prince a declarat ca numarul victimelor ar putea ajunge si la 100.000!

Cei care au supravietuit ratacesc pe strazi descoperind la fiecare colt noi imagini ale distrugerii. Altii sapa cu mainile goale sa-si scoata rudele de sub daramaturi.

Seismul a facut aproape 3 milioane de sinistrati, in ajutorul carora comunitatea internationala a trimis deja primele echipe de salvatori. Le asteapta un efort titanic: sunt mii de oameni dati disparuti, spitalele sunt mormane de moloz, iar infrastructura care leaga capitala de alte orase este practic inexistenta. Zeci de raniti au fost transportati in Republica Dominicana vecina.

Banca Mondiala a deblocat fonduri de 100 de milioane de dolari, in timp ce Uniunea Europeana a anuntat ca va trimite de urgenta 3 milioane de euro. Guverne din toata lumea au pregatit ajutoare si zeci de companii multinationale au facut donatii de milioane de dolari.

Catastrofa a lovit Haiti la ora locala 16.53 (23.53, ora Romaniei). Seismul a avut epicentrul la 15 kilometri de capitala haitiana, la mica adancime: doar 10 kilometri.

Potrivit martorilor, seismul a durat peste un minut si a fost atat de puternic, incat a aruncat pur si simplu masinile de pe strada. Au urmat apoi zeci de replici, cateva depasind magnitudinea 5.

Retelele telefonice au cazut si ele, iar televiziunile si unele posturi de radio nu si-au reluat emisia nici la cateva ore de la cutremur. Iar cele care totusi functionau, nu transmiteau informatii, ci apeluri de urgenta si cereri de ajutor.

S-au prabusit cladiri de o parte si de alta a strazilor. (...) Este o catastrofa de proportii majore.Raymond Joseph, ambasador haitian in SUA

Centrul capitalei este complet distrus. Nu au rezistat nici macar Parlamentul ori Palatul Prezidential. Seful statului si sotia lui au scapat cu viata.

Cutremurul a daramat ca pe niste cutii de carton mai multe ministere, dar si sediul misiunii ONU, unde zeci de angajati sunt dati disparuti. Din misiunea ONU de mentinere a pacii in Haiti fac parte si 21 de politisti romani. Potrivit Ministerului de Interne roman, toti sunt teferi.

Sute de oameni sunt disparuti, iar dintre daramaturi se aud strigate de ajutor.

Vehiculele politiei, ale misiunii ONU si Crucii Rosiei isi croiesc foarte greu drum printre ruine ca sa ajunga la raniti. Ambasadorul haitian in Statele Unite s-a grabit sa ceara ajutorul comunitatii internationale.

Americanii si francezii au trimis deja echipe de salvatori si provizii de maxima urgenta.

România va acorda Republicii Moldova 100 de milioane de euro nerambursabili

În total, peste 1000 de moldoveni l-au aşteptat pe şeful statului român în centrul Chişinăului. Preşedintele României, însoţit de delegaţia română şi cea moldovenească, a depus flori la monumentul lui Ştefan cel Mare, după care a mers în mulţime, unde a împărţit autografe.

La monumentul Ştefan cel Mare, unde moldovenii au fost anunţat că va veni Traian Băsescu, oamenii au început să se adune de la ora 12.00. În total, peste 1000 de moldoveni l-au aşteptat pe şeful statului român în centrul Chişinăului.

Aceştia l-au întâmpinat pe Traian Băsescu cu urarea „Trăiască, trăiască, trăiască și-nflorească Moldova, Ardealul și Țara Românească”, scrie UNIMEDIA.MD.

Preşedintele României, însoţit de delegaţia română şi cea moldovenească, a depus flori la monumentul lui Ştefan cel Mare, după care a mers în mulţime, unde a împărţit autografe.

Oamenii au început să strige "Băsescu!" şi "Unire!", scrie Jurnal.md.