Overflow's Great Thread of NASA Knowledge

[Overflow]

Hey D!

[Dznts]

Originally Posted by Overflow

Hey D!

hello there. how are you doing?

[atma]

[Vengeance Graphix]

Found this clip on youtube and had to post it here. Maybe or maybe you havent seen this but i thought it was awesome.. If you have a really good pair of headphones like beats by dr. dre i recommend using those or really good computer speakers be sure to turn the volume up!.. makes you feel like youre one the shuttle with all the bass!

every time i watch this somehow i can feel the vibration through my body.. weird lol

[Dznts]

Originally Posted by xVengeancex28

Found this clip on youtube and had to post it here. Maybe or maybe you havent seen this but i thought it was awesome.. If you have a really good pair of headphones like beats by dr. dre i recommend using those or really good computer speakers be sure to turn the volume up!.. makes you feel like youre one the shuttle with all the bass!

every time i watch this somehow i can feel the vibration through my body.. weird lol

thats awesome!

[Vengeance Graphix]

Originally Posted by Dznts

thats awesome!

it makes me want to close my eyes, take my chair and place it facing the ceiling

[Dznts]

Originally Posted by xVengeancex28

it makes me want to close my eyes, take my chair and place it facing the ceiling

[Steve Dallas]

OK, some of you might find this interesting.

Steam just announced some new "games", and one of them is this simulation called "Kerbal Space Program". It's actually pretty cool and delves into orbital mechanics, etc.

It's not a complete game/simulation yet, however it's even pretty cool as is.

[Overflow]

The new home for Space Shuttle Atlantis is getting closer and closer to it's opening date of June 29th, 2013.

[Overflow]

Originally Posted by atma

Somewhat eerie how at the end, the main sound is the search efforts for the lost crew of STS-51-L.

Originally Posted by xVengeancex28

Found this clip on youtube and had to post it here. Maybe or maybe you havent seen this but i thought it was awesome.. If you have a really good pair of headphones like beats by dr. dre i recommend using those or really good computer speakers be sure to turn the volume up!.. makes you feel like youre one the shuttle with all the bass!

every time i watch this somehow i can feel the vibration through my body.. weird lol

Love it!

[Mrchop]

OMFG I cannot believe I didn't find this before. This is my new favorite section on here. In December of 2006 I was active duty Navy and was sent to Key West on the 7th and was hoping to make it to the night launch but the launch was postponed due to high winds. On December 9th i drove up from Key West to see the launch it was 100% amazing I paid extra to get closer to the launch site. It was one of the KSC options. I refused to take pictures because I wanted to have the experience of the launch. All I can say is there was nothing like it. It was the second biggest moment in my life the first being 9/11.

[Overflow]

Originally Posted by Mrchop

OMFG I cannot believe I didn't find this before. This is my new favorite section on here. In December of 2006 I was active duty Navy and was sent to Key West on the 7th and was hoping to make it to the night launch but the launch was postponed due to high winds. On December 9th i drove up from Key West to see the launch it was 100% amazing I paid extra to get closer to the launch site. It was one of the KSC options. I refused to take pictures because I wanted to have the experience of the launch. All I can say is there was nothing like it. It was the second biggest moment in my life the first being 9/11.

Welcome! I totally understand why you just wanted to sit back, relax, and enjoy the launch. Watching it on TV does it no justice whatsoever. Nothing beats seeing it in person.

Originally Posted by Blanke1nship

I can have my own Space Shuttle fest in here.

Sounds like a party to me!

[Overflow]

Good news..

Scientists and space junkies got some good news from NASA on Friday: The space agency announced it would keep the Hubble Space Telescope in operation through at least April 30, 2016.
The three-year extension will cost NASA $76 million, according to the announcement. Hubble is operated by the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore through a contract with the Assn. of Universities for Research in Astronomy.
PHOTOS: Hubble's Brilliant Images of Space
Launched in 1990 from the shuttle Discovery, Hubble has contributed to many scientific breakthroughs. My personal favorite is the 1998 discovery that the universe is expanding at an accelerated rate, pushed apart by a mysterious force called dark energy. Cosmologists deduced this by measuring the strength of light from dozens of distant type 1a supernovae and realized that these exploding stars were farther away than had been expected. The scientists behind this discovery (including my college friend Adam Riess) won the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Other big discoveries include:
A measurement of the Hubble constant. This is a number that takes the speed at which a distant galaxy appears to be receding from us and compares it to its actual distance. If you know this, you can figure out how fast the universe is expanding – and thus, how old it is. In 1999, a team of astronomers used Hubble to figure out that the universe is between 12 billion and 14 billion years old. In 2002, another group narrowed the range to 12 billion to 13 billion years. (This week, researchers using the European Space Agency’s Planck space telescope came out with a new estimate of 13.8 billion years based on measurements of the cosmic background radiation, a remnant of the Big Bang.)
How galaxies evolve. The telescope has zeroed in on a tiny region of space known as the Hubble Deep Field, which contains galaxies that were born when the universe was still very young. By examining these smaller galaxies – some as old as 10 billion years – scientists have found important differences between their structures and the spiral and elliptical galaxies near the Milky Way, which are younger. The observations have led scientists to theorize that these early galaxies became the building blocks for the ones that came after, perhaps through mergers and other collisions.
Confirming the existence of supermassive black holes. Hubble’s observations of dozens of galaxies have convinced scientists that such black holes are common in the centers of galaxies, and that their mass is proportional to the mass of the bulge of stars in a galaxy's middle.
Figuring out how planets are formed. Scientists had believed that planets – including those in our own solar system – formed out of the disk of dust and other material that surrounded young stars. In 1994, Hubble provided visual evidence to support this theory, observing that such disks were common around young stars in the Orion Nebula.
Detecting the atmosphere of an exoplanet. When a Jupiter-like planet passed directly in front of its home star, the light from the star was filtered by the planet’s atmosphere. By analyzing the resulting changes, scientists were able to figure out the composition of the exoplanet's atmosphere.
Though still going strong after nearly 23 years, Hubble has a replacement on which scientists are working hard. The James Webb Space Telescope will have a mirror that’s six times bigger, with more than 100 motors to focus it. The new telescope is way over budget and way behind schedule, but NASA officials expect it will launch in 2018.
For a “brief” history of how Hubble came to be, check out this write-up from NASA. The story begins way back in 1946.

[Overflow]

Space shuttle Enterprise added to Historic Places registry

March 22, 2013 — Enterprise, NASA's original prototype space shuttle, is now more than just a historic spacecraft. It is a historic place, too.

Located at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City, the test orbiter has been added to the National Register of Historic Places, becoming the first of NASA's retired space shuttles to receive the distinction.

"We are extremely proud to be the home of the space shuttle Enterprise," Susan Marenoff-Zausner, president of the Intrepid, said in a statement. "It is an honor to receive this distinction from the National Park Service."

The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the United States' properties that are considered worthy of preservation. Authorized in 1966 as part of the National Historic Preservation Act, the register is part of a national program to coordinate and provide support for public and private efforts to identify, evaluate and protect America's historic and archeological resources.


Space shuttle Enterprise "landing" on board the flight deck of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in June 2012. (cS/Ben Cooper)
Enterprise is a full-scale test craft that was used for flight trials inside the atmosphere and tests on the ground, and paved the way for the subsequent space-worthy orbiters to launch into orbit. In 2012, Enterprise was transferred to its permanent home on board the Intrepid, a converted World War II aircraft carrier that is a National Historic Landmark.

Prior to landing in Manhattan, Enterprise was displayed by the Smithsonian at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, the Virginia annex to the National Air and Space Museum.

Enterprise's exhibit on the Intrepid's flight deck debuted to the public in July 2012. Its environmentally-controlled, air-supported structure was open for only three months when Hurricane Sandy damaged the pavilion beyond repair. The shuttle also sustained minor damage to its tail.

A protective cover and scaffolding was erected above and around Enterprise to assist with the repairs to the orbiter. That temporary shelter was being taken down this week, revealing the repaired Enterprise in preparation for a new display structure to be raised around it.


Temporary scaffolding was raised around Enterprise on the flight deck of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. (Intrepid)
The new space shuttle pavilion is expected to open to the public in early summer.

"We look forward to creating an exciting showcase of the extraordinary history of Enterprise, so that it may continue to educate and inspire the next generation of innovators for years to come," Marenoff-Zausner said.

The Intrepid's application for Enterprise to be considered for the National Register of Historic Places was prepared in September 2012, with letters of endorsement from New York Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, as well as Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and astronauts Robert Crippen, Fred Haise and Richard Truly.

"I am pleased to offer my support for a nomination of the space shuttle Enterprise, OV-101, to the National Register of Historic Places," wrote Truly, who served on board the USS Intrepid as a naval aviator before being selected as a NASA astronaut and piloting Enterprise. "I am proud to be one of only four astronauts to fly this historic spacecraft and I can personally attest to its historic significance."

Enterprise was granted Historic Place status on March 13.


Enterprise pilot Richard "Dick" Truly, as seen at the Intrepid for the debut of space shuttle Enterprise in July 2012. (collectSPACE)
Enterprise is not the only structure from space history to be listed in the registry. The iconic large countdown clock and flag pole located at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida were granted Historic Place status as a combined entity in 2000. In addition, the Saturn V rockets on display in Houston, Texas and Huntsville, Ala. are both registered structures.

Since its creation in 1966, more than 1.4 million buildings, sites, districts, structures and objects have been added to the National Register of Historic Places, providing a link to the United States' heritage at the national, state, and local levels.