The Official Space Exploration Thread

[Tracy]

Not quite "Official Space Exploration", but close enough .  I would love to see the Aurora Borealis just once.  Maybe some of my fellow JD'ers to the North and Canada will get a chance to see them tonight.  Damn -- it almost makes me jealous of you Yankees......

[DSJ™]

Aurora Borealis, saw a few the other night. Not great right now but when they dance... 

When the group of us from Shane's toy show went to Banff back in March, Gus Lopez mentioned about the Aurora Borealis & that he never has really seen them. He went to an area in the town that was darker but no luck.

I'll have to break out the Camcorder & see if I can capture them.  

Have a looky at the Northern Lights from our city, just scroll down & look for Edmonton.

Aurora Gallery Sept. 30-Oct. 9, 2002

[DSJ™]

Mars images show rover perched on crater



This image is a close-up of NASA's Mars rover Opportunity at Victoria Crater as seen by the HiRISE camera aboard the space agency's powerful Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Credit: NASA/JPL/UA.



This image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows "Victoria Crater," an impact crater at Meridiani Planum, near the equator of Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL/UA.



Scientists say the crater is big enough to hold four or five football stadiums.

Space debris punched hole in shuttle

   

Micrometeoroid Orbital Debris (MMOD) impact on Atlantis' (STS-115) right hand payload bay door radiator (.1 inch diameter). Photo Credit: NASA.

[Darth_Anton]

I had just read an article, (sorry to not have the link) that there was another successful teleportation test. While the first was a single particle of matter transported a very short distance (about an inch,) this next test was a microscopic item millions of atoms big transported a few feet away.

[DSJ™]

Linky. 

Scientists teleport two different objects

[Matt_Fury]

Aurora Borealis, saw a few the other night. Not great right now but when they dance... 

When the group of us from Shane's toy show went to Banff back in March, Gus Lopez mentioned about the Aurora Borealis & that he never has really seen them. He went to an area in the town that was darker but no luck.

I'll have to break out the Camcorder & see if I can capture them.  

Have a looky at the Northern Lights from our city, just scroll down & look for Edmonton.

Aurora Gallery Sept. 30-Oct. 9, 2002

When I lived in North Pole, Alaska, I could see the Northern lights all the time in the winter.  They were there in the summertime as well, but they could not be seen due to the sun being up all the time.  I never got tired of watching them and sometimes they would light up the entire sky!

[Straxus]

I saw Aurora Borealis for the first time here in Oregon. I was totaly freaked out... I had just left work and had started to think that the cleaning chemicals at work were starting to make me hallucinate, but my boss noticed as well. Took a minute to realize what it was. I confirmed later on the news that it was the Northern Lights. I think the only reason I saw it here was due to strong Solar activity. I think that was about two or three years ago.

I had heard about scientist teleporting one atom at a time, but that link shows they have started to make some really impressive leaps and bounds.

The experiment involved for the first time a macroscopic atomic object containing thousands of billions of atoms

That is such a HUGE leap in advancement. Now we may not be teleporting anything or anyone that you could see, but its still teleportation!!!
The advancements in computer technology will be amazing if it works right!
I have to remind myself sometimes just how exciting of a time we are living in and experiencing right now! Despite all the crazy crap going on in the world there is some really bizaar and awesome things happening as well!

[DSJ™]

Live now! 

Spacewalkers to Tee Off on Science, Mechanics

The spacewalk will feature everything from science through nuts and bolts to golf.

International Space Station Commander Mike Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin are scheduled to leave the Pirs docking compartment airlock Wednesday for the almost-six-hour spacewalk.

Tyurin will be the lead spacewalker, EV1, and Lopez-Alegria will be EV2. They will wear Russian Orlan spacesuits with red stripes.



NASA Live Video Link

This should be cool. 

[DSJ™]

Whoa! That was awesome! 

[DSJ™]

Expedition 14 flight engineer Mikhail Tyurin hitting a lightweight golf ball as part of a publicity stunt for Canadian golf firm, Element 21. Credit: NASA TV.

[DSJ™]

Space Shuttle Discovery and a crew of seven astronauts lifted off from Kennedy Space Center's launch pad in a rare night launch at 8:47 p.m. EST.





Front Row: (from the left) shuttle pilot William Oefelein, mission specialist Joan Higginbotham and commander Mark Polansky. Back row (from the left) are mission specialists Robert Curbeam, Nicholas Patrick, Sunita Williams and Christer Fuglesang of the European Space Agency. Credit: NASA/JSC.

[Nicklab]

That was a beautiful launch!  The video from the main fuel tank after the SRB jettison was amazing, too.  I think that's the first time we've seen that camera angle during a night launch.

[Tracy]

My brother is in Florida visting his in-laws and was able to take his 5 and 9 year old sons to see the launch tonight.  I'm sure its an experience they will never forget.

[DSJ™]

A few years back, my sister in-law took a Florida cruise & NASA had a night launch. She said it lit the night sky up & you could hear the crackle of the engines. 



Space Shuttle Discovery's engines fire to begin its liftoff from Kennedy Space Center. Image Credit: NASA.



Image Credit: NASA.



NASA's space shuttle Discovery blasts off from Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center. Credit: collectSPACE.com.
 
A sight to behold! 

[DSJ™]

Discovery crew checks for launch damage



A video camera aboard Discovery captured this view of the payload bay. Image Credit: NASA TV.