The first commercial cargo to the International Space Station will be shipped by Space Exploration Technologies Corp., better known as SpaceX, starting April 30. If the company is successful, it will be the first time a private spacecraft docks with the space station. “NASA’s International Space Station program, along with our international partners, will take […]
The first commercial cargo to the International Space Station will be shipped by Space Exploration Technologies Corp., better known as SpaceX, starting April 30. If the company is
successful, it will be the first time a private spacecraft docks with the space station.
“NASA’s International Space Station program, along with our international partners, will take a look at the readiness of both station and SpaceX for the mission. If all is go, then SpaceX will be given a green light for an April 30 launch,”NASA officials said.
The Dragon capsule will be completely unmanned like the Russian, European and Japanese capsules that currently run supply missions to the space station.
SpaceX engineers designed the Dragon capsule to be used multiple times, unlike conventional supply ships which burn up while reentering the atmosphere. Using the Dragon capsule costs NASA per $133 million per delivery, far less than the $300 million it costs just to build a conventional capsule.
The Dragon capsule is part of the 2006 Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) directive designed to coordinate supply and passenger delivery by private companies to the International Space Station. NASA signed agreements with three companies, but SpaceX is the closest to reaching the space station.
Orbital Sciences, another company that is a part of the COTS program, will launch its unmanned spacecraft for the first time later in 2012.
Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, said he hopes to bring astronauts aboard the Dragon capsule within the next few years, according to Forbes. SpaceX completed its first crew trial on Friday, demonstrating that the capsule could carry either seven crew members or 13,000 pounds (5,900 kilograms) of cargo safely.
Video Clip: Click to Watch ATI specializes in short course technical training Our mission here at the Applied Technology Institute (ATI) is to provide expert training and the highest quality professional development in space, communications, defense, sonar, radar, and signal processing. We are not a one-size-fits-all educational facility. Our short classes include both introductory and advanced […]
ATI specializes in short course technical training
Our mission here at the Applied Technology Institute (ATI) is to provide expert training and the highest quality professional development in space, communications, defense, sonar, radar, and signal processing. We are not a one-size-fits-all educational facility. Our short classes include both introductory and advanced courses.
ATI’s Top Five Engineering Courses for 2011
The five engineering courses for 2011 are highlighted below:
#1 Practical Statistical Signal Processing – using MATLAB
This 4-day course covers signal processing systems for radar, sonar, communications, speech, imaging and other applications based on state-of-the-art computer algorithms. These algorithms include important tasks such as data simulation, parameter estimation, filtering, interpolation, detection, spectral analysis, beamforming, classification, and tracking. Until now these algorithms could only be learned by reading the latest technical journals. This course will take the mystery out of these designs by introducing the algorithms with a minimum of mathematics and illustrating the key ideas via numerous examples using MATLAB.
Designed for engineers, scientists, and other professionals who wish to study the practice of statistical signal processing without the headaches, this course will make extensive use of hands-on MATLAB implementations and demonstrations. Attendees will receive a suite of software source code and are encouraged to bring their own laptops to follow along with the demonstrations.
Click here for the tutorial#2 Advanced Topics in Digital Signal Processing
This four-day course is designed for communication systems engineers, programmers, implementers and managers who need to understand current practice and next generation DSP techniques for upcoming communication systems. DSP is more than mapping legacy analog designs to a DSP implementation. To avoid compromise solution appropriate for an earlier time period, we return to first principles to learn how to apply new technology capabilities to the design of next generation communication systems.
Click here for the tutorial#3 Engineering Systems Modeling WithExcel/VBA
This two-day course is for engineers, scientists, and others interested in developing custom engineering system models. Principles and practices are established for creating integrated models using Excel and its built-in programming environment, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). Real-world techniques and tips not found in any other course, book, or other resource are revealed. Step-bystep implementation, instructor-led interactive examples, and integrated participant exercises solidify the concepts introduced. Application examples are demonstrated from the instructor’s experience in unmanned underwater vehicles, LEO spacecraft, cryogenic propulsion systems, aerospace & military power systems, avionics thermal management, and other projects.
Click here for the tutorial#4 Wavelets: A Conceptual, Practical Approach
Fast Fourier Transforms (FFT) are in wide use and work very well if your signal stays at a constant frequency (“stationary”). But if the signal could vary, have pulses, “blips” or any other kind of interesting behavior then you need Wavelets. Wavelets are remarkable tools that can stretch and move like an amoeba to find the hidden “events” and then simultaneously give you their location, frequency, and shape. Wavelet Transforms allow this and many other capabilities not possible with conventional methods like the FFT.
This course is vastly different from traditional math-oriented Wavelet courses or books in that we use examples, figures, and computer demonstrations to show how to understand and work with Wavelets. This is a comprehensive, in-depth, up-to-date treatment of the subject, but from an intuitive, conceptual point of view. We do look at a few key equations from the traditional literature but only AFTER the concepts are demonstrated and understood. If desired, further study from scholarly texts and papers is then made much easier and more palatable when you already understand the fundamental equations and how they relate to the real world.
Click here for the tutorial#5 Computational Electromagnetics
This 3-day course teaches the basics of CEM with application examples. Fundamental concepts in the solution of EM radiation and scattering problems are presented. Emphasis is on applying computational methods to practical applications. You will develop a working knowledge of popular methods such as the FEM, MOM, FDTD, FIT, and TLM including asymptotic and hybrid methods. Students will then be able to identify the most relevant CEM method for various applications, avoid common user pitfalls, understand model validation and correctly interpret results. Students are encouraged to bring their laptop to work examples using the provided FEKO Lite code. You will learn the importance of model development and meshing, post- processing for scientific visualization and presentation of results.
Click here for the tutorialCourse Outline, Samplers, and Notes
Determine for yourself the value of these or our other courses before you sign up. See our samples (See Slide Samples) on some of our courses.
Or check out the new ATI channel on YouTube.
After attending the course you will receive a full set of detailed notes from the class for future reference, as well as a certificate of completion. To see the complete course listing from ATI, click on the links at the bottom of the page.
Please visit our website for more valuable information.
About ATI and the Instructors
Since 1984, ATI has provided leading-edge public courses and onsite technical training to DoD and NASA personnel, as well as contractors. ATI short courses are designed to help you keep your professional knowledge up-to-date.
Our courses provide you a practical overview of space and defense technologies which provide a strong foundation for understanding the issues that must be confronted in the use, regulation and development such complex systems.
Our short courses are designed for individuals involved in planning, designing, building, launching, and operating space and defense systems. Whether you are a busy engineer, a technical expert or a project manager, you can enhance your understanding of complex systems in a short time. You will also become aware of the basic vocabulary essential to interact meaningfully with your colleagues.
ATI’s instructors are world-class experts who are the best in the business. They are carefully selected for their ability to clearly explain advanced technology.
A severe solar storm has the potential to take down telecommunications and power grids, and the country needs to work on being better prepared, said NOAA administrator Jane Lubchenco here at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Lubchenco is also the U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere. […]
A severe solar storm has the potential to take down telecommunications and power grids, and the country needs to work on being better prepared, said NOAA administrator Jane Lubchenco here at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Lubchenco is also the U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere.
“This is not a matter of if, it’s simply a matter of when and how big,” Lubchenco said of the potential for a dangerous solar flare. “We have every reason to expect we’re going to be seeing more space weather in the coming years, and it behooves us to be smart and be prepared.”
The space weather threat is becoming more dire as our sun ramps up toward its period of solar maximum, predicted for around 2013. Activity on the sun fluctuates on a roughly 11-year cycle, and our star has been relatively dormant for a while.
That’s clearly starting to change, though, as evidenced by a class X solar flare – the strongest kind – that erupted from the sun Feb. 14.
“I think the events of this week certainly underscore how important it is for us to be paying attention to space weather and to be prepared to respond to, and mitigate, potential impacts,” Lubchenco said. “As we enter into a period of enhanced solar activity it seems pretty clear that we are going to be looking at the possibility of not only more solar events but also the possibility of some very strong events.”
The Feb. 14 flare unleashed a wave of charged particles that streamed immediately toward Earth, as well as coronal mass ejections, or blobs of plasma, that took days to arrive here. When they did, they interacted with Earth’s magnetic field to cause geomagnetic storms that wiped out radio communications in the Western Pacific Ocean and parts of Asia, and caused airlines to reroute some polar flights to avoid radio outages.
NEXT TIME COULD BE WORSE
However, experts say we got off fairly lucky with this recent solar storm, and that future eruptions could cause worse damage, particularly to the sensitive transformers and capacitors in power grids. If some of these were harmed, there could be power outages for days, weeks, months, or even, in the case of severe damage, years, experts warned.
“It turned out that we were quite well protected this time, so not much happened,” said European Space Agency scientist Juha-Pekka Luntama. “In another case things might have been different.”
Space weather hasn’t posed quite such a threat before, because during the last solar maximum, around 10 years ago, the world wasn’t as dependent on satellite telecommunications, cell phones and global positioning system (GPS) – all technologies that could be disrupted by solar flares.
“Many things we take for granted today are so much more prone to the effects of space weather than was the case during the last maximum,” Lubchenco said. The problem is likely to get even worse as the world could likely become more technologically dependent by the time the next solar maximum rolls around, and the next.
Russia’s space agency Roscosmos says it is in talks with European and U.S. partners about creating permanent manned research bases on the moon. “We don’t want the man to just step on the moon,” Roscosmos chief Vladimir Popovkin said in a radio interview Thursday. “Today, we know enough about it, we know that there is […]
Russia’s space agency Roscosmos says it is in talks with European and U.S. partners about creating permanent manned research bases on the moon.
“We don’t want the man to just step on the moon,” Roscosmos chief Vladimir Popovkin said in a radio interview Thursday.
“Today, we know enough about it, we know that there is water in its polar areas,” he said, and “we are now discussing how to begin [the moon’s] exploration with NASA and the European Space Agency.”
Talk of a base harkens back to Cold War-era plans to create a permanent outpost on the moon, a subject of interest to Soviet and U.S. scientists since the late 1950s, RIA Novosti reported.
Popovkin mentioned two options, to “either to set up a base on the moon or to launch a station to orbit around it.”
Russia is proceeding with plans to send two unmanned missions to the moon by 2020, the Luna Glob and the Luna Resource.
A Soyuz spacecraft carrying a Russian, an American and a Dutchman to the International Space Station blasted off flawlessly from Russia’s launch facility in Kazakhstan on Wednesday. Mission commander Oleg Kononenko and his colleagues, American Don Pettit and European Space Agency astronaut Andre Kuipers are to dock with the space station on Friday. The blastoff […]
A Soyuz spacecraft carrying a Russian, an American and a Dutchman to the International Space Station blasted off flawlessly from Russia’s launch facility in Kazakhstan on Wednesday.
Mission commander Oleg Kononenko and his colleagues, American Don Pettit and European Space Agency astronaut Andre Kuipers are to dock with the space station on Friday.
The blastoff from the snowy launchpad in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, took place without a hitch and the spacecraft reached Earth orbit about nine minutes later. Video from inside the craft showed the three crew members gripping each others’ hands in celebration as the final stage of the booster rocket separated.
The three aboard the Russian spacecraft will join three others already on the ISS, NASA’s Dan Burbank and Russians Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin. The six are to work together on the station until March.
The launch came amid a period of trouble for Russia’s space program, which provides the only way for crew to reach the space station since the United States retired its space shuttle program in July.
The launch of an unmanned supply ship for the space station failed in August and the ship crashed in a Siberian forest. The Soyuz rocket carrying that craft was the same type used to send up Russian manned spacecraft, and the crash prompted officials to postpone the next manned launch while the rockets were examined for flaws. The delayed mission eventually took place on Nov. 14.
Just five days before that launch, Russia sent up its ambitious Phobos-Ground unmanned probe, which was to go to the Phobos moon of Mars, take soil samples and return them to Earth. But engineers lost contact with the ship and were unable to propel it out of Earth orbit and toward Mars. The craft is now expected to fall to Earth in mid-January.
Last December, Russia lost three navigation satellites when a rocket carrying them failed to reach orbit. A military satellite was lost in February, and the launch of the Express-AM4, described by officials as Russia’s most powerful telecommunications satellite, went awry in August.
New company Stratolaunch Systems is developing an air-launch system which it says will revolutionise space travel. Stratolaunch Systems, a Huntsman, Alabama headquartered company founded by entrepreneur Paul G. Allen, will build a mobile launch system with three primary components: a carrier aircraft, developed by aircraft manufacturer Scaled Composites, founded by aerspace pioneer Burt Rutan; a multi-stage […]
New company Stratolaunch Systems is developing an air-launch system which it says will revolutionise space travel.
Stratolaunch Systems, a Huntsman, Alabama headquartered company founded by entrepreneur Paul G. Allen, will build a mobile launch system with three primary components:
a carrier aircraft, developed by aircraft manufacturer Scaled Composites, founded by aerspace pioneer Burt Rutan;
a mating and integration system allowing the carrier aircraft to carry a booster weighing up to 490 000 lbs, to be built by aerospace engineering companyDynetics.
The carrier aircraft, to be built by Scaled Composites (a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman), will weigh more than 1.2 million lbs, have a wingspan of 385 ft (greater than the length of a football field), and use six 747 engines. It will be the largest aircraft ever constructed.
The air-launch system requires a takeoff and landing runway that is, at minimum, 12 000 ft long. The carrier aircraft can fly over 1300 nautical miles to reach an optimal launch point.
The plane will be built in a Stratolaunch hangar which will soon be under construction at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. It will be near where Rutan’s team at Scaled Composites built SpaceShipOne funded by Paul Allen, which won the US$10-million Ansari X Prize in 2004 after three successful sub-orbital flights. Richard Branson of Virgin Group has since licensed the technology behind SpaceShipOne for Virgin Galactic, a venture that will take paying customers into space.
Lower costs, increased flexibility
The Stratolaunch system will eventually have the capability of launching people into low earth orbit, but the company is taking a building block approach in development of the launch aircraft and booster, with initial efforts focused on unmanned payloads. Human flights will follow, after safety, reliability and operability are demonstrated.
Plans call for a first flight in 2016.
The air-launch-to-orbit system will mean lower costs, greater safety, and more flexibility and responsiveness than is possible today with ground-based systems, reports Stratolaunch.
Pluto may no longer be a planet but it still has moons. Between 1978 and 2005 the little icy world formerly known as the ninth planet in our solar system has revealed moon after moon. Most people may not realize that Pluto has any moons or probably thought it just had one, like Earth. First […]
Pluto may no longer be a planet but it still has moons. Between 1978 and 2005 the little icy world formerly known as the ninth planet in our solar system has revealed moon after moon. Most people may not realize that Pluto has any moons or probably thought it just had one, like Earth.
First there was Charon, which for several decades was believed to be Pluto’s only progeny. Then in 2005, tiny moonsHydra and Nix were discovered.
And last month, while searching for potential rings or other hazards near Pluto the Hubble Space Telescope caught a glimpse of the dwarf planet’s fourth moon. It’s known as P4 for now but the mythological name game has already begun.
Scientists working on NASA’s New Horizons mission to Pluto have been looking for possible dangers the probe may encounter on its way to Pluto. A little blur that was dismissed in 2006 was confirmed to be the a new mini moon, which is estimated to be just 8 to 21 miles in diameter.
Alan Stern, the director of the Southwest Research Institute’s New Horizons program told MSNBC.com’s Alan Boyle P4 was discovered on June 28 and confirmed by looking at archived images and by conducting follow-up observations this month.
Boyle, who is the science editor for MSNBC.com and writes the blog Cosmic Log says, “The find is also a testament to Hubble’s amazing vision.” Using its Wide Field Camera 3, which was installed in 2009 and designed to study dark energy, it can capture images in the near-infrared, visible light or near-ultraviolet spectrum.
And, now it’s helped spot a moon in Pluto’s orbit.
Mark Showalter of the California-based SETI Institute says, “I find it remarkable that Hubble’s cameras enabled us to see such a tiny object so clearly from a distance of more than 3 billion miles.”
When the New Horizons probe reaches Pluto in 2015, scientists are excited for what awaits them.
Stern says, “Pluto’s satellite system is truly knocking our socks off with surprises — it’s magnificently complex, and getting more crowded all the time. I can’t wait till we get there to see what other surprises this planet and its moons have in store for us!”
As part of a wealth of new information presented today by the MESSENGER science team, this image shows the interior of Sander Crater, located within Mercury’s vast Caloris Basin. Areas seen as bright spots in previous lower-resolution images have been revisited by MESSENGER once it entered orbit and began its science mission. The bright areas […]
As part of a wealth of new information presented today by the MESSENGER science team, this image shows the interior of Sander Crater, located within Mercury’s vast Caloris Basin. Areas seen as bright spots in previous lower-resolution images have been revisited by MESSENGER once it entered orbit and began its science mission. The bright areas turned out to be unexpected landforms named “hollows”, clustered irregularly-shaped depressions with bright interiors and halos. Hollows have since been found in many areas across Mercury, although the exact process that creates them is not exactly known. They may be the result of the erosion of volatile material by solar wind.
The lack of craters within the hollow clusters seems to indicate that they are relatively young features.
“Analysis of the images and estimates of the rate at which the hollows may be growing led to the conclusion that they could be actively forming today,” says David Blewett, a staff scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). “The old conventional wisdom was that ‘Mercury is just like the Moon.’ But from its vantage point in orbit, MESSENGER is showing us that Mercury is radically different from the Moon in just about every way we can measure.”
Seems that MESSENGER’s first six months around Mercury have been very productive ones! It will be interesting to see what else it will discover as the only spacecraft ever to orbit the first rock from the sun.
Read more here.
Video Clip: Click to Watch Everything about Orbital Mechanics is Counterintuitive Award-winning rocket scientist, Thomas S. Logsdon really enjoys teaching this short course titled, ATI’s Orbital Mechanics: Ideas and Insights, because everything about orbital mechanics is counterintuitive. In this comprehensive four day short course, Mr. Logsdon uses four hundred clever color graphics to clarify these and […]
Each student will receive a new personal GPS Navigator with multi-channel capability
Everything about Orbital Mechanics is Counterintuitive
Award-winning rocket scientist, Thomas S. Logsdon really enjoys teaching this short course titled, ATI’s Orbital Mechanics: Ideas and Insights, because everything about orbital mechanics is counterintuitive.
In this comprehensive four day short course, Mr. Logsdon uses four hundred clever color graphics to clarify these and a dozen other puzzling mysteries associated with orbital mechanics. He also provides you with a few simple one-page derivations using real-world inputs to illustrate all the key concepts being explored.
For example, did you know that if you fly your spacecraft into a 100-mile circular orbit and:
• Put on the brakes, your spacecraft speeds up!
• Mash down the accelerator, it slows down!!
• Throw a banana peel out the window and 45 minutes later it will come back and slap you in the face!!!
Why not take a short course?
Since 1984, the Applied Technology Institute (ATI) has provided leading-edge public courses and onsite technical training to DoD and NASA personnel, as well as contractors. ATI short courses are less than a week long and are designed to help you keep your professional knowledge up-to-date.
Our courses provide a practical overview of space and defense technologies which provide a strong foundation for understanding the issues that must be confronted in the use, regulation and development of complex systems. Whether you are a busy engineer, a technical expert or a project manager, you can enhance your understanding of satellite systems in a short time. You will become aware of the basic vocabulary essential to interact meaningfully with your colleagues.
Determine for yourself the value of our courses before you sign up.
Click here for more information on this courseClick below to see slide samples from this course
Click below to see a video clip of this course on YouTube.
What You Will Learn When You Take this Course:• How do we launch a satellite into orbit and maneuver it into a new location?
• How do today’s designers fashion performance-optimal constellations of satellites swarming the sky?
• How do planetary swing by maneuvers provide such amazing gains in performance?
• How can we design the best multi-stage rocket for a particular mission?
• What are libration point orbits? Were they really discovered in 1772? How do we place satellites into halo orbits circling around these empty points in space?
• What are JPL’s superhighways in space? How were they discovered? How are they revolutionizing the exploration of space?
After attending the course you will receive a full set of detailed notes from the class for future reference, as well as a certificate of completion. Each student will receive a new personal GPS Navigator with multi-channel capability. Please visit our website for more valuable information.
About ATI and the InstructorsOur mission here at ATI is to provide expert training and the highest quality professional development in space, communications, defense, sonar, radar, and signal processing. We are not a one-size-fits-all educational facility. Our short classes include both introductory and advanced courses. ATI’s instructors are world-class experts who are the best in the business. They are carefully selected for their ability to clearly explain advanced technology.
For more than 30 years, Thomas S. Logsdon, has conducted broad ranging studies on orbital mechanics at McDonnell Douglas, Boeing Aerospace, and Rockwell International His key research projects have included Project Apollo, the Skylab capsule, the nuclear flight stage and the GPS radionavigation system.
Mr. Logsdon has taught 300 short courses and lectured in 31 different countries on six continents. He has written 40 technical papers and journal articles and 29 technical books including Striking It Rich in Space, Orbital Mechanics: Theory and Applications, Understanding the Navstar, and Mobile Communication Satellites.
Dates and LocationsThe next date and location of this short course is:
Jan 9-12, 2012 Cape Canaveral,FL
No, according to Futron Space Competitiveness Index. The U.S. remains top ranked among 10 nations in space competitiveness for 2011, but it is losing ground to global competitors as its space policy undergoes a major transition, especially in the area of human spaceflight. The U.S. is perched atop a list that includes Europe, Russia, China, […]
No, according to Futron Space Competitiveness Index.
The U.S. remains top ranked among 10 nations in space competitiveness for 2011, but it is losing ground to global competitors as its space policy undergoes a major transition, especially in the area of human spaceflight.
The U.S. is perched atop a list that includes Europe, Russia, China, Japan, India, Canada, South Korea, Israel and Brazil, reports the Bethesda, Md., consultancy this week in its fourth annual ranking study. Futron examined 50 metrics in making the rankings, including a trio of overarching indicators: government, human capital and industry.
Of the 10 countries analyzed, only the United States has shown four straight years of competitiveness declines. By contrast, Russia, China and Japan have improved their own space competitiveness by 12%, 27% and 45%, respectively, over their relative starting points from when Futron’s benchmarking process began in 2008.
Chinese gains are coming at the expense of the U.S. The Asian power matched the U.S. in numbers of launches during 2010 for the first time, the index notes.
However, over the past decade (2001-10), Russia led all countries, with 248 orbital launches. The U.S. followed, with 197; next was China, with 70; and Europe, with 63.
During the same period (2001-10), the U.S. produced the most spacecraft, 388; followed by Russia, with 219; Europe, with 188; and China, with 80.
Overall trends studied by Futron reveal that cooperation in space tends to intensify competition.
“Dominant actors are losing ground to a rising middle tier of space players, and the competitive gaps separating all nations are narrowing,” Jay Gullish, Futron Space & Telecommunications Div. director, said in a statement.
The report finds that global space activity drives a substantial economic engine as well as fostering national pride and advancements in science and exploration.
“Moreover, whatever the purpose of space investment, it is enabled by a common denominator: human capital,” according to the 2011 index. “Knowledge, skills and expertise ultimately define the leading edge of space activity. In a world where talent is mobile, the ability to educate, attract, retain and continuously enrich a base of skilled professionals is a growing determinant of which nations and actors lead in space competitiveness.”
In related highlights, the index notes that Japan has strengthened its position relative to almost every other country through policy reforms that link government and industry. Russia’s world-leading launch sector is poised for increased activity as it prepares to begin Soyuz launches from Kourou, French Guiana, while providing essential crew and cargo transportation services to the International Space Station.
China is increasing investments in technical education and civilian research institutes. India is enhancing space-related technical education to pursue future launch objectives.
You can download the full report here.
Maryland Science Center in Baltimore is truly an amazing place to visit. Now even more so since the model of NASA’s New James Webb Space Telescope will be displayed there. The telescope will be launched in 2018. The James Webb Space Telescope (sometimes called JWST) will be a large infrared telescope with a 6.5-meter primary […]
Maryland Science Center in Baltimore is truly an amazing place to visit. Now even more so since the model of NASA’s New James Webb Space Telescope will be displayed there. The telescope will be launched in 2018. The James Webb Space Telescope (sometimes called JWST) will be a large infrared telescope with a 6.5-meter primary mirror.
The Webb will be the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It will study every phase in the history of our Universe, ranging from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang, to the formation of solar systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth, to the evolution of our own Solar System.
Webb was formerly known as the “Next Generation Space Telescope” (NGST); it was renamed in Sept. 2002 after a former NASA administrator, James Webb.
Webb is an international collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is managing the development effort. The prime contractor is Northrop Grumman; the Space Telescope Science Institute will operate Webb after launch.
Several innovative technologies have been developed for Webb. These include a folding, segmented primary mirror, adjusted to shape after launch; ultra-lightweight beryllium optics; detectors able to record extremely weak signals, microshutters that enable programmable object selection for the spectrograph; and a cryocooler for cooling the mid-IR detectors to 7K. The long-lead items, such as the beryllium mirror segments and science instruments, are under construction. All mission enabling technologies were demonstrated by January 2007. In July 2008 NASA confirmed the Webb project to proceed into its implementation phase, and the project conducted a major mission review in March 2010.
There will be four science instruments on Webb: the Near InfraRed Camera (NIRCam), the Near InfraRed Spectrograph (NIRSpec), the Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI), and the Fine Guidance Sensor Tunable Filter Camera (FGS-TFI) . Webb’s instruments will be designed to work primarily in the infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum, with some capability in the visible range. It will be sensitive to light from 0.6 to 27 micrometers in wavelength.
Webb has four main science themes: The End of the Dark Ages: First Light and Reionization, The Assembly of Galaxies, The Birth of Stars and Protoplanetary Systems, and Planetary Systems and the Origins of Life.
Video Clip: Click to Watch If not, then maybe you need ATI’s SATCOM Technology and Networks course This three-day short course provides accurate background in the fundamentals, applications and approach for cutting-edge satellite networks for use in military and civil government environments. The focus is on commercial SATCOM solutions (GEO and LEO) and government satellite systems […]
MILSTAR Satellite Communications System
Video Clip: Click to Watch
If not, then maybe you need ATI’s SATCOM Technology and Networks courseThis three-day short course provides accurate background in the fundamentals, applications and approach for cutting-edge satellite networks for use in military and civil government environments. The focus is on commercial SATCOM solutions (GEO and LEO) and government satellite systems (WGS, MUOS and A-EHF), assuring thorough coverage of evolving capabilities. It is appropriate for non-technical professionals, managers and engineers new to the field as well as experienced professionals wishing to update and round out their understanding of current systems and solutions.
ATI’S SATCOM TECHNOLOGY AND NETWORKS COURSEWhat you will learn:
• How a satellite functions to provide communications links to typical earth stations and user terminals
• The various technologies used to meet requirements for bandwidth, service quality and reliability
• Basic characteristics of modulation, coding and Internet Protocol processing
• How satellite links are used to satisfy requirements of the military for mobility and broadband network services for warfighters
• The characteristics of the latest US-owned MILSATCOM systems, including WGS, MUOS, A-EHF, and the approach for using commercial satellites at L, C, X, Ku and Ka bands
• Proper application of SATCOM to IP networks
Course Outline, Samplers, and NotesIn addition to the course notes, each participant will receive a book of collected tutorial articles written by the instructor, and soft copies of the link budgets discussed in the course. Please visit our website for more valuable information.
About ATI and the InstructorsOur mission here at ATI is to provide expert training and the highest quality professional development in space, communications, defense, sonar, radar, and signal processing. We are not a one-size-fits-all educational facility. Our short classes include both introductory and advanced courses. ATI’s instructors are world-class experts who are the best in the business. They are carefully selected for their ability to clearly explain advanced technology.
Bruce Elbert is a recognized SATCOM technology and network expert and has been involved in the satellite and telecommunications industries for over 35 years. He consults to major satellite organizations and government agencies in the technical and operations aspects of applying satellite technology. Prior to forming his consulting firm, he was Senior Vice President of Operations in the international satellite division of Hughes Electronics (now Boeing Satellite), where he introduced advanced broadband and mobile satellite technologies. He directed the design of several major satellite projects, including Palapa A, Indonesia’s original satellite system; the Hughes Galaxy satellite system; and the development of the first GEO mobile satellite system capable of serving handheld user terminals. He has written seven books on telecommunications and IT.
Times, Dates, and LocationsThis short course can be presented at your facility at your convenience. An onsite presentation is economical when 6-8 people want the course and a great value if you have more than 10 who are interested. I suggest that you read through the course description and then call me personally, Jim Jenkins, at 410-956-8805 or toll free at 1-888-501-2100, and I’ll explain in detail what we can do for you, what it will cost, and what you can expect in results and future capabilities.
Video Clip: Click to Watch ATI offers an Advanced Satellite Communications Systems course This three-day course covers all the technology of advanced satellite communications, as well as the principles behind current state-of-the-art satellite communications equipment. New and promising technologies will be covered to develop an understanding of the major approaches, including network topologies, VSAT and IP […]
ATI offers an Advanced Satellite Communications Systems course
This three-day course covers all the technology of advanced satellite communications, as well as the principles behind current state-of-the-art satellite communications equipment. New and promising technologies will be covered to develop an understanding of the major approaches, including network topologies, VSAT and IP networking over satellite. Link budgets, multiple access techniques, spread spectrum and bandwidth efficient modulations are some of the major topics covered.
Since 1984, the Applied Technology Institute (ATI) has provided leading-edge public courses and onsite technical training to DoD and NASA personnel, as well as contractors. Our courses provide a practical overview of space and defense technologies which provide a strong foundation for understanding the issues that must be confronted in the use, regulation and development of these complex systems. You will become aware of the basic vocabulary essential to interact meaningfully with your colleagues.
Our short courses are designed for individuals involved in planning, designing, building, launching, and operating space and defense systems. If you need of more technical training, then boost your career with the knowledge needed to provide better, faster, and cheaper solutions for these sophisticated DoD, NASA and commercial satellite systems.
Course Outline, Samplers, and NotesADVANCED SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS COURSE
Determine for yourself the value of this course before you sign up.
Click here to see Slide Samples of this course.
Course Outline:1. Introduction to SATCOM History and overview. Examples of current military and commercial systems.
2. Satellite orbits and transponder characteristics.3. Traffic Connectivities: Mesh, Hub-Spoke, Point-to-Point, Broadcast.
4. Multiple Access Techniques: FDMA, TDMA, CDMA, Random Access. DAMA and Bandwidth-on-Demand.
5. Communications Link Calculations Definition of EIRP, G/T, Eb/No. Noise Temperature and Figure. Transponder gain and SFD. Link Budget Calculations.
6. Digital Modulation Techniques. BPSK, QPSK. Standard pulse formats and bandwidth. Nyquist signal shaping. Ideal BER performance.
7. PSK Receiver Design Techniques. Carrier recovery, phase slips, ambiguity resolution, differential coding. Optimum data detection, clock recovery, bit count integrity.
8. Overview of Error Correction Coding, Encryption, and Frame Synchronization. Standard FEC types. Coding Gain9. RF Components. HPA, SSPA, LNA, Up/down converters. Intermodulation, band limiting, oscillator phase noise. Examples of BER Degradation.
10. TDMA Networks Time Slots. Preambles. Suitability for DAMA and BoD.
11. Characteristics of IP and TCP/UDP over satellite. Unicast and Multicast. Need for Performance Enhancing Proxy (PEP) techniques.
12. VSAT Networks and their system characteristics; DVB standards and MF-TDMA.
13. Earth Station Antenna types Pointing/Tracking. Small antennas at Ku band. FCC-Intelsat-ITU antenna requirements and EIRP density limitations.
14. Spread Spectrum Techniques. Military use and commercial PSD spreading with DS PN systems. Acquisition and tracking. Frequency Hop systems.
15. Overview of Bandwidth Efficient Modulation (BEM) Techniques. M-ary PSK, Trellis Coded 8PSK, QAM.
16. Convolutional coding and Viterbi decoding. Concatenated coding. Turbo coding.
17. Emerging Technology Developments and Future Trends.After attending the course you will receive a full set of detailed notes from the class for future reference, as well as a certificate of completion. Please visit our website for more valuable information.
About ATI and the InstructorsOur mission here at ATI is to provide expert training and the highest quality professional development in space, communications, defense, sonar, radar, and signal processing. We are not a one-size-fits-all educational facility. Our short classes include both introductory and advanced courses. ATI’s instructors are world-class experts who are the best in the business. They are carefully selected for their ability to clearly explain advanced technology.
Dr. John Roach is a leading authority in satellite communications with 30+ years in the SATCOM industry. He has working on many development projects both as employee and consultant/contractor. His experience has focused on the systems engineering of state-of-the-art system developments, military and commercial, from the worldwide architectural level to detailed terminal tradeoffs and designs. He has been ans adjunct faculty member at Florida Institute of Technology where he taught a range of graduate communications courses. He has also taught SATCOM short courses all over the US and in London and Toronto, both publicly and in-house for both government and commercial organizations. In addition, he has been an expert witness in patent, trade secret, and government contracting cases. Dr. Roach has a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech. Advanced Satellite Communications Systems: Survey of Current and Emerging Digital Systems.
Dates and LocationsThe date and location of this short course is below:
Jan 31-Feb 2, 2012 Cocoa Beach, FL
Video Clip: Click to Watch ATI presents: An overview of commercial satellite communications hardware, operations, business and regulatory environment This three-day introductory course has been taught to rave reviews to thousands of industry professionals for over two decades. The material is frequently updated and the course is a primer to the concepts, jargon, buzzwords, and acronyms […]
ATI presents:An overview of commercial satellite communications hardware, operations, business and regulatory environment
This three-day introductory course has been taught to rave reviews to thousands of industry professionals for over two decades. The material is frequently updated and the course is a primer to the concepts, jargon, buzzwords, and acronyms of the industry, plus an overview of commercial satellite communications hardware, operations, and business environment.
Here is Dr. Mark R. Chartrand, course instructor, on YouTube.
Since 1984, the Applied Technology Institute (ATI) has provided leading-edge public courses and onsite technical training to DoD and NASA personnel, as well as contractors. Whether you are a busy engineer, a technical expert or a project manager, you can enhance your understanding of complex satellite systems in a short time. You will become aware of the basic vocabulary essential to interact meaningfully with your colleagues.
Here is more about the course.
SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS COURSE — AN ESSENTIAL INTRODUCTIONThe first section provides non-technical people with the technical background necessary to understand the space and earth segments of the industry, culminating with the importance of the link budget. The concluding section of the course provides an overview of the business issues, including major operators, regulation and legal issues, and issues and trends affecting the industry.
What You Will Learn:• How do commercial satellites fit into the telecommunications industry?
• How are satellites planned, built, launched, and operated?
• How do earth stations function?
• What is a link budget and why is it important?
• What legal and regulatory restrictions affect the industry?
• What are the issues and trends driving the industry?
The course is intended primarily for non-technical people who must understand the entire field of commercial satellite communications, and who must understand and communicate with engineers and other technical personnel. The secondary audience is technical personnel moving into the industry who need a quick and thorough overview of what is going on in the industry.
Concepts are explained at a basic level, minimizing the use of math, and providing real-world examples. Several calculations of important concepts such as link budgets are presented for illustrative purposes, but the details need not be understood in depth to gain an understanding of the concepts illustrated.
Course Outline, Samplers, and NotesOur short courses are designed for individuals involved in planning, designing, building, launching, and operating space and satellite systems.
Don’t believe it?
Here is what one of our recent students had to say about this course.
“I truly enjoyed your course and hearing of your adventures in the Satellite business. You have a definite gift in teaching style and explanations.”
Still not convinced?
You can see for yourself the value of our course before you sign up.
View Satellite Course Sampler
You can also check out some of our other short courses on the ATI YouTube channel.
Attendees receive a copy of the instructor’s new textbook, Satellite Communications for the Non-Specialist, and will have time to discuss issues pertinent to their interests.
After completing the course, you will also receive a certificate of completion. Please visit our website for more valuable information.
About ATI and the InstructorsOur mission here at ATI is to provide expert training and the highest quality professional development in space, communications, defense, sonar, radar, and signal processing. We are not a one-size-fits-all educational facility. Our short classes include both introductory and advanced courses.
ATI’s instructors are world-class experts who are the best in the business. They are carefully selected for their ability to clearly explain advanced technology.
Dr. Mark R. Chartrand is a consultant and lecturer in satellite telecommunications and the space sciences. For more than 25 years he has presented professional seminars on satellite technology and telecommunications to satisfied individuals and businesses throughout the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe and Asia.
Dr. Chartrand has served as a technical and/or business consultant to NASA, Arianespace, GTE Spacenet, Intelsat, Antares Satellite Corp., Moffett-Larson-Johnson, Arianespace, Delmarva Power, Hewlett-Packard, and the International Communications Satellite Society of Japan, among others.
He has appeared as an invited expert witness before Congressional subcommittees and was an invited witness before the National Commission on Space.
He was the founding editor and the Editor-in-Chief of the annual The World Satellite Systems Guide, and later the publication Strategic Directions in Satellite Communication. He is author of six books and hundreds of articles in the space sciences. He has been chairman of several international satellite conferences, and a speaker at many others.
Times, Dates, and LocationsThe times, dates and locations of our Satellite Communications – An Essential Introduction short course are as follows:
Sep 20-22, 2011 Cocoa Beach
Nov 29-Dec 1, 2011 Laurel, MD
Apr 17-19, 2012 Columbia, MD
Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo is the only crewed suborbital vehicle in flight test today, and the only such vehicle based on a spacecraft that has already sent humans into space, the X Prize-winning SpaceShipOne. So it comes as no surprise that NASA chose SpaceShipTwo to handle suborbital flights. According to NASA, Virgin Galactic offers a significantly […]
Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo is the only crewed suborbital vehicle in flight test today, and the only such vehicle based on a spacecraft that has already sent humans into space, the X Prize-winning SpaceShipOne. So it comes as no surprise that NASA chose SpaceShipTwo to handle suborbital flights. According to NASA, Virgin Galactic offers a significantly larger cabin than any other company taking deposits today, allowing for unique technology demonstrations and research. With several flight providers selected, NASA will now be able to begin the process of offering these flight opportunities to the research community. Read more here.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Seatle’s Space Needle, it was announced that the formal contest will be held with the final winner going up to suborbit, with about 6 minutes of zero gravity. This is once in a lifetime opportunity to see the Earth from space. Many astronauts call this a truly life changing […]
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Seatle’s Space Needle, it was announced that the formal contest will be held with the final winner going up to suborbit, with about 6 minutes of zero gravity. This is once in a lifetime opportunity to see the Earth from space. Many astronauts call this a truly life changing experience.
Since the final landing of the space shuttle the field of human space travel has been turned over to the private companies, one of which, Space Adventures, will be responsible for designing a vehicle to take the winner of the Space Needle contest into space. The estimated price of the grand prize is $110,000.
What do you need to do to enter?
The shuttle transportation was, by any reasonable standard, one of the most complicated engineering projects in the long history of science and technology. But, as it was implemented, it never made much economic sense. In part, this disappointing outcome, came about because its payload was too big and heavy to achieve reliable and cost-effective operation. […]
The shuttle transportation was, by any reasonable standard, one of the most complicated engineering projects in the long history of science and technology. But, as it was implemented, it never made much economic sense. In part, this disappointing outcome, came about because its payload was too big and heavy to achieve reliable and cost-effective operation.
Why was the shuttle payload so big and heavy?
The shuttle payload was originally baselined at 65,000 pounds. It never actually carried that much weight: the heaviest payload it ever flew into space was around 50,000 ponds. But, as a practical matter, even that lighter payload was much too heavy. Military users insisted on heavy-life capabilities because they wanted to use the shuttle transportation system to launch their big, heavy spy satellites into space.
In my view, a 15,000-pound payload weight would have been a more practical selection. With a correspondingly lighter orbiter, those troublesome thermal tiles would have been unnecessary. And the booster could have been towed (using Kevlar cables) from the shuttle landing strip at Cape Canaveral by 747 airplanes up to a 40,000-foot attitude with a release velocity of about 600 miles per hour.
Unmanned cargo missions using the amazingly inexpensive Russian Soyuz booster – or an American equivalent – could have carried heavy components into low-altitude earth orbits at much more affordable prices.
As Figure 1 indicates, the Russians offered to sell the Americans Soyuz missions with 15,400-pound payloads for $12 million each. On such a mission, the delivery cost for each pound of payload would have been only $780, or about 1/6th the comparable cost of the American Delta II booster. In my opinion, we should have bought 1000 Soyuz boosters. Instead, we put severe restrictions on the use for boosting American satellites into space.
In my view we lost a golden opportunity. But, actually, chemical rockets – Soyuz, Delta II, the shuttle transportation system – are the problem, not the solution. So what is the alternative?
Satellites Without Rockets
As I have often told my students in my “Launch and Orbital Mechanics” short courses: “There is nothing wrong with the space program that the elimination of chemical rockets wouldn’t cure.” Chemical rockets are dirty, dangerous, fragile, unreliable, and horribly expensive.
A simple mathematic derivation shows that a typical multistage rocket of modern design wastes about 97-percent of its energy accelerating propellants it’s going to burn later. If cars were similarly inefficient, few people would want to own one.
Is there a better way to launch payload into space? In my 4-day short courses on “Launch and Orbital Mechanics”, held at key locations around the country, I list and discuss 30 alternatives to chemical rockets. These include solar electric propulsion, laser-powered rockets, maglev boosters, nuclear powered rockets, tethered satellites, and skyhooks (space elevators). These alternatives, implemented in the proper combination, could revolutionize the way future generations conduct large-scale operations and do business in space.
What If the Space Shuttle Engineers Had Designed My Car?
Many times, over the years, I have taught at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California where satellites are launched into near polar orbits. Vandenberg is 175 miles from my home in Seal Beach, California. It is one of the few short-course locations I drive to in my car. Mostly I fly to the various locations where the courses are offered.
A few years ago, I was driving back home from Vandenberg Air Force Base when an interesting question occurred to me: “What would my car be like if the engineers who designed the space shuttle orbiter had designed it?
When I got back to Seal Beach, I kludged together Figure 2. Study its contents to see how incredibly inefficient the shuttle transportation system turned out to be. Notice, for example, that only 1 percent of the lift-off weight of the shuttle transportation system using the strut tower brace is useful payload that ends up being left in space. If my car had been designed with similar payload-carrying capabilities, it would be able to deliver only one 21-pound briefcase to Vandenberg or any other destination 175 miles away.
Expendable rockets are not much more efficient. On a typical mission only about 2.5 to 3.0 percent of their lift-off weight is useful payload. Isn’t it becoming abundantly clear why there’s nothing wrong with the space program that the elimination of chemical rockets wouldn’t cure?”
The retirement of the Space Shuttle Program and lack of its readily available replacement stirred a whirl of criticism of Obama administration’s decision to shut down the program. The main question on everyone’s mind is “How will US astronauts get to Earth’s low orbit and mainly International Space Station?” The only options seemed to be […]
The retirement of the Space Shuttle Program and lack of its readily available replacement stirred a whirl of criticism of Obama administration’s decision to shut down the program. The main question on everyone’s mind is “How will US astronauts get to Earth’s low orbit and mainly International Space Station?”
The only options seemed to be to rent the seats on Russian Soyuz spacecrafts that travel to ISS regularly.
However, NASA does have a few cards up its sleeve.
In late May 2011 NASA announced that it awarded $269,3 million to the following companies in order to accelerate human spaceflight capability and commercial crew transportation. The companies were selected for the second round of the Commercial Crew Development (CCDev2).
Blue Originis a privately-funded aerospace company set up by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos. The company was awarded $3.7 million in funding in 2009 by NASA via a Space Act Agreement under the Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program for development of concepts and technologies to support future human spaceflight operations. The company’s innovative ‘pusher’ Launch Abort System (LAS) was one of the technologies that was of particular interest to NASA. To date abort systems have been of the tractor variety, which pulls a crew vehicle to safety in case of an emergency.
Initially focused on sub-orbital spaceflight, the company has built and flown a testbed of its New Shepard spacecraft design at their Culberson County, Texas facility. According to company statements, it initially planned on placing the New Shepard in commercial suborbital tourist service in 2010 with flights about once a week. However, the most recently publicized timetable states that Blue Origin will fly unmanned in 2011, and manned in 2012.
Sierra Nevada Corporation(SNC) is an electronic systems provider and systems integrator specializing in microsatellites, energy, telemedicine, nanotechnology, and commercial orbital transportation services. The company contracts with the US military, NASA and private spaceflight companies. The company is headquartered in Sparks, Nevada.
SNC employs over 2000 people. SNC has six different business areas, and 35 locations in 16 states along with numerous customer support sites located throughout the world.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) is an American space transport company founded by PayPal co-founder Elon Musk. It has developed the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 rockets, both of which are built with a goal of being reusable launch vehicles. SpaceX is also developing the Dragon spacecraft to be carried to orbit by Falcon 9 launch vehicles. SpaceX designs, tests and fabricates the majority of their components in-house, including the Merlin, Kestrel, and Draco rocket engines. In December 2010, SpaceX became the first private company to successfully launch, orbit and recover a spacecraft (a Dragon).
Originally based in El Segundo, SpaceX now operates out of Hawthorne, California, USA.
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois[2] since 2001. Boeing is made up of multiple business units, which are Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA); Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS); Engineering, Operations & Technology; Boeing Capital; and Boeing Shared Services Group.
There is a viable program that does test flights in 2014 and will be ready to carry crew in 2015.
It is a known fact that the question of sex in space bothered quite a good percentage of Earth’s population for a long time now. The human species are sexual by nature. We have been sending our astronauts to space for 50 years now. Are the sexual tension that builds up make them horny? Do […]
It is a known fact that the question of sex in space bothered quite a good percentage of Earth’s population for a long time now. The human species are sexual by nature. We have been sending our astronauts to space for 50 years now. Are the sexual tension that builds up make them horny? Do some get caught using sex toys like those from Pluglust.com? So, here are the main questions:
Have the most basic human act been performed in space?
If “yes”, than by whom?
How would that work?
Can a human child be conceived?
The below are the answers we were able to find
According to former astronaut Leroy Chiao the answer is “No” for American space fliers and also “No” for Russian cosmonauts according to Valery Bogomolov, the deputy director of the Moscow-based Institute of Biomedical Problems.
Past discussions often included attempts to determine the veracity of speculations (e.g., about the STS-47 mission, on which married astronauts Mark C. Lee and Jan Davis flew), and even hoaxes, such as Document 12-571-3570 Also, there were romantic dramas back on Earth, for instance William Oefelein and Lisa Nowak. Nowak was arrested in 2007 for allegedly attacking a woman she viewed as a rival for Oefelein’s affections.
The primary issue to be considered in off-Earth reproduction is the lack of a 1G gravitational field. However, Vanna Bonta invented a 2Suite (see pic above), designed to facilitate effortless intimacy in the weightless environments such as outer space, or on planets with low gravity.
Studies conducted on reproduction of mammals in microgravity include experiments with rats.
Although the fetus developed properly, the rats that developed in microgravity lacked the ability to right themselves. Another study examined mouse embryo fertilization in microgravity. Although both groups resulted in healthy mice, the authors noted that the growth rate was slower for the embryos fertilized in microgravity than for those in normal gravity.
Please share your views on the subjects by posting your comments below.
NASA announced that it awarded $269,3 million to the following companies in order to accelerate human spaceflight capability and commercial crew transportation. The companies were selected for the second round of the Commercial Crew Development (CCDev2). Blue Origin is a privately-funded aerospace company set up by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos. The company was awarded $3.7 million in funding […]
NASA announced that it awarded $269,3 million to the following companies in order to accelerate human spaceflight capability and commercial crew transportation. The companies were selected for the second round of the Commercial Crew Development (CCDev2).
Blue Originis a privately-funded aerospace company set up by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos. The company was awarded $3.7 million in funding in 2009 by NASA via a Space Act Agreement under the Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program for development of concepts and technologies to support future human spaceflight operations. The company’s innovative ‘pusher’ Launch Abort System (LAS) was one of the technologies that was of particular interest to NASA. To date abort systems have been of the tractor variety, which pulls a crew vehicle to safety in case of an emergency.
Initially focused on sub-orbital spaceflight, the company has built and flown a testbed of its New Shepard spacecraft design at their Culberson County, Texas facility. According to company statements, it initially planned on placing the New Shepard in commercial suborbital tourist service in 2010 with flights about once a week. However, the most recently publicized timetable states that Blue Origin will fly unmanned in 2011, and manned in 2012.
Sierra Nevada Corporation(SNC) is an electronic systems provider and systems integrator specializing in microsatellites, energy, telemedicine, nanotechnology, and commercial orbital transportation services. The company contracts with the US military, NASA and private spaceflight companies. The company is headquartered in Sparks, Nevada.
SNC employs over 2000 people. SNC has six different business areas, and 35 locations in 16 states along with numerous customer support sites located throughout the world.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) is an American space transport company founded by PayPal co-founder Elon Musk. It has developed the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 rockets, both of which are built with a goal of being reusable launch vehicles. SpaceX is also developing the Dragon spacecraft to be carried to orbit by Falcon 9 launch vehicles. SpaceX designs, tests and fabricates the majority of their components in-house, including the Merlin, Kestrel, and Draco rocket engines. In December 2010, SpaceX became the first private company to successfully launch, orbit and recover a spacecraft (a Dragon).
Originally based in El Segundo, SpaceX now operates out of Hawthorne, California, USA.
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois[2] since 2001. Boeing is made up of multiple business units, which are Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA); Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS); Engineering, Operations & Technology; Boeing Capital; and Boeing Shared Services Group.
Washington, DC Tuesday, November 30, 2010 “Even I Could Learn a Thing or Two from ATI” Video Clip: Click to Watch Since 1984 ATI has provided leading-edge public courses and onsite technical training The short technical courses from the Applied Technology Institute (ATI) are designed to help you keep your professional knowledge up-to-date. Our courses provide […]
Since 1984 ATI has provided leading-edge public courses
and onsite technical training
The short technical courses from the Applied Technology Institute (ATI) are designed to help you keep your professional knowledge up-to-date. Our courses provide a practical overview of space and defense technologies which provide a strong foundation for understanding the issues that must be confronted in the use, regulation and development such complex systems.
The classes are designed for individuals involved in planning, designing, building, launching, and operating space and defense systems. Whether you are a busy engineer, a technical expert or a project manager, you can enhance your understanding of complex systems in a short time.
ABOUT ATI AND THE INSTRUCTORS
Our mission here at the ATI is to provide expert training and the highest quality professional development in space, communications, defense, sonar, radar, and signal processing. We are not a one-size-fits-all educational facility. Our short classes include both introductory and advanced courses.
ATI’s instructors are world-class experts who are the best in the business. They are carefully selected for their ability to clearly explain advanced technology.
For example:
Robert Fry worked from 1979 to 2007 at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory where he was a member of the Principal Professional Staff. He is now working at System Engineering Group (SEG) where he is Corporate Senior Staff and also serves as the company-wide technical advisor. Throughout his career he has been involved in the development of new combat weapon system concepts, development of system requirements, and balancing allocations within the fire control loop between sensing and weapon kinematic capabilities. He has worked on many aspects of the AEGIS combat system including AAW, BMD, AN/SPY-1, and multi-mission requirements development. Missile system development experience includes SM-2, SM-3, SM-6, Patriot, THAAD, HARPOON, AMRAAM, TOMAHAWK, and other missile systems.
Robert teaches ATI’s Combat Systems Engineering course
Wayne Tustin has been president of Equipment Reliability Institute (ERI), a specialized engineering school and consultancy he founded in Santa Barbara, CA, since 1995. His BSEE degree is from the University of Washington, Seattle. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of California. Wayne’s first encounter with vibration was at Boeing/Seattle, performing what later came to be called modal tests, on the XB-52 prototype of that highly reliable platform. Subsequently he headed field service and technical training for a manufacturer of electrodynamic shakers, before establishing another specialized school on which he left his name.
Based on over 50 years of professional experience, Wayne has written several books and literally hundreds of articles dealing with practical aspects of vibration and shock measurement and testing.
Wayne teaches ATI’s Fundamentals of Random Vibration & Shock Testing course.
Thomas S. Logsdon, M.S
For more than 30 years, Thomas S. Logsdon, M. S., has worked on the Navstar GPS and other related technologies at the Naval Ordinance Laboratory, McDonnell Douglas, Lockheed Martin, Boeing Aerospace, and Rockwell International. His research projects and consulting assignments have included the Transit Navigation Satellites, The Tartar and Talos shipboard missiles, and the Navstar GPS. In addition, he has helped put astronauts on the moon and guide their colleagues on rendezvous missions headed toward the Skylab capsule. Some of his more challenging assignments have centered around constellation coverage studies, GPS performance enhancement, military applications, spacecraft survivability, differential navigation, booster rocket guidance using the GPS signals and shipboard attitude determination.
Tom Logsdon has taught short courses and lectured in thirty one different countries. He has written and published forty technical papers and journal articles, a dozen of which have dealt with military and civilian radionavigation techniques. He is also the author of twenty nine technical books on various engineering and scientific subjects. These include Understanding the Navstar, Orbital Mechanics: Theory and Applications, Mobile Communication Satellites, and The Navstar Global Positioning System.
Courses Mr. Logsdon teaches through ATI include:
Understanding SpaceFundamentals of Orbital & Launch MechanicsGPS Technology – Solutions for Earth & Space and
Strapdown Inertial Navigation Systems
COURSE OUTLINE, SAMPLERS, AND NOTES
Determine for yourself the value of our courses before you sign up. See our samples (See Slide Samples) on some of our courses.
Or check out the new ATI channel on YouTube.
After attending the course you will receive a full set of detailed notes from the class for future reference, as well as a certificate of completion. Please visit our website for more valuable information.
DATES, TIMES AND LOCATIONS
For the dates and locations of all of our short courses, please access the links below.
Sincerely,
The ATI Courses Team
P.S. Call today for registration at 410-956-8805 or 888-501-2100 or access our website at www.ATIcourses.com. For general questions please email us at ATI@ATIcourses.com.
Washington, DC Monday, November 29, 2010 Is One of These Yours? Video Clip: Click to Watch When Did You Last do Something for Your Career? Since 1984, the Applied Technology Institute (ATI) has provided leading-edge public courses and onsite technical training to DoD and NASA personnel, as well as contractors. Our courses provide a practical overview of space […]
Since 1984, the Applied Technology Institute (ATI) has provided leading-edge public courses and onsite technical training to DoD and NASA personnel, as well as contractors. Our courses provide a practical overview of space and defense technologies which provide a strong foundation for understanding the issues that must be confronted in the use, regulation and development such complex systems.
ATI short courses are designed to help you keep your professional knowledge up-to-date.
Our short courses are designed for individuals involved in planning, designing, building, launching, and operating space and defense systems.
Whether you are a busy engineer, a technical expert or a project manager, you can enhance your understanding of complex systems in a short time. You will become aware of the basic vocabulary essential to interact meaningfully with your colleagues.
Course Outline, Samplers, and Notes
Determine for yourself the value of our courses before you sign up. See our samples (See Slide Samples) on some of our courses.
Or check out the new ATI channel on YouTube.
After attending the course you will receive a full set of detailed notes from the class for future reference, as well as a certificate of completion. Please visit our website for more valuable information.
About ATI and the Instructors
Our mission here at the Applied Technology Institute (ATI) is to provide expert training and the highest quality professional development in space, communications, defense, sonar, radar, and signal processing. We are not a one-size-fits-all educational facility. Our short classes include both introductory and advanced courses.
ATI’s instructors are world-class experts who are the best in the business. They are carefully selected for their ability to clearly explain advanced technology.
Dates, Times and Locations
For the dates and locations of all of our short courses, please access the links below.
Sincerely,
The ATI Courses Team
P.S Call today for registration at 410-956-8805 or 888-501-2100 or access our website at www.ATIcourses.com. For general questions please email us at ATI@ATIcourses.com.
The White House, Senate and House policy guidelines all provide for a total NASA budget of about $19 billion, but each provides different and conflicting directions . The House committee, chaired by Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., directs NASA to build upon $9 billion already invested in the Constellation program, which the White House proposed terminating […]
The White House, Senate and House policy guidelines all provide for a total NASA budget of about $19 billion, but each provides different and conflicting directions .
The House committee, chaired by Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., directs NASA to build upon $9 billion already invested in the Constellation program, which the White House proposed terminating in its February budget request for fiscal year 2011.
“In an environment of constrained budgets, responsible stewardship of taxpayer-provided resources makes it imperative that NASA’s exploration program be carried out in a manner that builds on the investments made to date in the Orion, Ares 1 and heavy-lift projects,” the draft bill says.
The draft bill also calls for NASA to develop a heavy-lift rocket by the end of this decade.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1007/20house/
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It was the middle of March, but still the ground was covered with fresh snow and the wind swept in over the north pasture and swirled around the gangling apparatus. He flipped up his rough collar against the wind, but it was hopeless; even fastening all the snaps on his galoshes and buttoning the bottom […]
It was the middle of March, but still the ground was covered with fresh snow and the wind swept in over the north pasture and swirled around the gangling apparatus. He flipped up his rough collar against the wind, but it was hopeless; even fastening all the snaps on his galoshes and buttoning the bottom button of his topcoat would not have kept out the chilly Massachusetts wind. He glanced out at the hazy horizon and then up at the launch apparatus hoping he had thought of everything. The test conditions were far from ideal. The cold air could crack the nozzle and even if it got aloft the wind could drive his awkward little vehicle into the ground before burnout. But it was pointless to consider the risks now, he was committed. The launch would take place today.
He posed for a quick photograph and then, crouched behind a wooden lean-to, he cautiously pointed a blowtorch in the direction of the ungainly framework. In an instant, the tiny rocket hurled itself 41 feet into the air and within 2.5 seconds the terrifying roar was over.
It was 1926, Charles Lindbergh had not yet made his transatlantic flight, and yet Dr. Robert Goddard stood over the remains of his tiny rocket, smoldering and unimpressive in the snow, and dreamed of rocket flights to the moon and beyond.
There would be other launches far more impressive. Forty years later, television newsman Walter Cronkite would desperately brace himself against the windows of his trailer as they rattled from the blast of a rocket 3 miles away; but here today in Aunt Effie’s cabbage patch, the world’s first liquid-fueled rocket had been flight tested.
On July 2, 1982, during the final day of their mission, astronauts Ken Mattingly and Henry Hartsfield, riding the space shuttle Columbia, flew uncomfortably close to a spent Russian Intercosmos rocket high above the northwester coast of Australia. By coincidence, that same region of space had experienced an earlier encounter with orbiting space debris when […]
On July 2, 1982, during the final day of their mission, astronauts Ken Mattingly and Henry Hartsfield, riding the space shuttle Columbia, flew uncomfortably close to a spent Russian Intercosmos rocket high above the northwester coast of Australia. By coincidence, that same region of space had experienced an earlier encounter with orbiting space debris when America’s Skylab crashed in the outback in 1979. Astronauts Mattingly and Hartsfield were warned in advance, but they could not catch a glimpse of the big Intercosmos rocket as it whizzed by their spacecraft at 7000 mi/h.
Six months later, Russia’s Cosmos 1402 abruptly slammed into the earth. Like its sister ship Cosmos 954, it was a spy satellite — powered by a nuclear reactor fueled with radioactive uranium. But, unlike its sister ship, Cosmos 954 crashed to earth on the sovereign territory of an innocent nation. In 1978, when Cosmos954 fell in northern Canada, the Canadian government spent $6million cleaning up the mess. Later, with some resistance, the Soviet Union reimbursed Canada for half that amount.
Military engineers track approximately 7000 objects in space as big as a soccer ball or bigger. A few hundred of them are functioning satellites. The rest are a varied lot: spent rockets, protective shrouds, clamps, fasteners, jagged fragments from space vehicle explosions, even an astronaut’s silver glove. In addition to the 7000 objects of trackable size, tens of thousands of smaller ones are presently swarming around our planet.
These orbiting fragments are hazardous, but not to the people living on the ground below. On the average, human beings occupy the surface of the earth, only 17 tiny bodies per square mile. The Skylab was among the largest reentry bodies ever to plunge through the atmosphere, but scientific calculations indicated that the probability of any specific individual being hit by Skylab debris was only about 1 in 200 billion.
Actually, no calculations at all are needed to demonstrate that the probability of being bashed by orbital space debris is extremely small. More than 1500 large, hypervelocity meteorites are known to have plunged through the atmosphere and hit the earth — roughly 8 per year for the past 200 years. Many of them shattered into smaller fragments on reentry, but not one single human being’s death certificate reads “death by meteorite.” And yet, if we go back far enough into the dim shadows of history, we may find at least one reliable reference to human injury and death caused by falling meteorites. It is buried in the bible’s book of Joshua, in a passage describing how terrified soldiers fleeing from battle were killed by “stones falling from heaven.”
successful, it will be the first time a private spacecraft docks with the space station.
“NASA’s International Space Station program, along with our international partners, will take a look at the readiness of both station and SpaceX for the mission. If all is go, then SpaceX will be given a green light for an April 30 launch,”NASA officials said.
The Dragon capsule will be completely unmanned like the Russian, European and Japanese capsules that currently run supply missions to the space station.
SpaceX engineers designed the Dragon capsule to be used multiple times, unlike conventional supply ships which burn up while reentering the atmosphere. Using the Dragon capsule costs NASA per $133 million per delivery, far less than the $300 million it costs just to build a conventional capsule.
The Dragon capsule is part of the 2006 Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) directive designed to coordinate supply and passenger delivery by private companies to the International Space Station. NASA signed agreements with three companies, but SpaceX is the closest to reaching the space station.
Orbital Sciences, another company that is a part of the COTS program, will launch its unmanned spacecraft for the first time later in 2012.
Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, said he hopes to bring astronauts aboard the Dragon capsule within the next few years, according to Forbes. SpaceX completed its first crew trial on Friday, demonstrating that the capsule could carry either seven crew members or 13,000 pounds (5,900 kilograms) of cargo safely.
Russia’s space agency Roscosmos says it is in talks with European and U.S. partners about creating permanent manned research bases on the moon.
“We don’t want the man to just step on the moon,” Roscosmos chief Vladimir Popovkin said in a radio interview Thursday.
“Today, we know enough about it, we know that there is water in its polar areas,” he said, and “we are now discussing how to begin [the moon’s] exploration with NASA and the European Space Agency.”
Talk of a base harkens back to Cold War-era plans to create a permanent outpost on the moon, a subject of interest to Soviet and U.S. scientists since the late 1950s, RIA Novosti reported.
Popovkin mentioned two options, to “either to set up a base on the moon or to launch a station to orbit around it.”
Russia is proceeding with plans to send two unmanned missions to the moon by 2020, the Luna Glob and the Luna Resource.
The U.S. remains top ranked among 10 nations in space competitiveness for 2011, but it is losing ground to global competitors as its space policy undergoes a major transition, especially in the area of human spaceflight.
The U.S. is perched atop a list that includes Europe, Russia, China, Japan, India, Canada, South Korea, Israel and Brazil, reports the Bethesda, Md., consultancy this week in its fourth annual ranking study. Futron examined 50 metrics in making the rankings, including a trio of overarching indicators: government, human capital and industry.
Of the 10 countries analyzed, only the United States has shown four straight years of competitiveness declines. By contrast, Russia, China and Japan have improved their own space competitiveness by 12%, 27% and 45%, respectively, over their relative starting points from when Futron’s benchmarking process began in 2008.
Chinese gains are coming at the expense of the U.S. The Asian power matched the U.S. in numbers of launches during 2010 for the first time, the index notes.
However, over the past decade (2001-10), Russia led all countries, with 248 orbital launches. The U.S. followed, with 197; next was China, with 70; and Europe, with 63.
During the same period (2001-10), the U.S. produced the most spacecraft, 388; followed by Russia, with 219; Europe, with 188; and China, with 80.
Overall trends studied by Futron reveal that cooperation in space tends to intensify competition.
“Dominant actors are losing ground to a rising middle tier of space players, and the competitive gaps separating all nations are narrowing,” Jay Gullish, Futron Space & Telecommunications Div. director, said in a statement.
The report finds that global space activity drives a substantial economic engine as well as fostering national pride and advancements in science and exploration.
“Moreover, whatever the purpose of space investment, it is enabled by a common denominator: human capital,” according to the 2011 index. “Knowledge, skills and expertise ultimately define the leading edge of space activity. In a world where talent is mobile, the ability to educate, attract, retain and continuously enrich a base of skilled professionals is a growing determinant of which nations and actors lead in space competitiveness.”
In related highlights, the index notes that Japan has strengthened its position relative to almost every other country through policy reforms that link government and industry. Russia’s world-leading launch sector is poised for increased activity as it prepares to begin Soyuz launches from Kourou, French Guiana, while providing essential crew and cargo transportation services to the International Space Station.
China is increasing investments in technical education and civilian research institutes. India is enhancing space-related technical education to pursue future launch objectives.
You can download the full report 
Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo is the only crewed suborbital vehicle in flight test today, and the only such vehicle based on a spacecraft that has already sent humans into space, the X Prize-winning SpaceShipOne. So it comes as no surprise that NASA chose SpaceShipTwo to handle suborbital flights. According to NASA, Virgin Galactic offers a significantly larger cabin than any other company taking deposits today, allowing for unique technology demonstrations and research. With several flight providers selected, NASA will now be able to begin the process of offering these flight opportunities to the research community
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Seatle’s Space Needle, it was announced that the formal contest will be held with the final winner going up to suborbit, with about 6 minutes of zero gravity. This is once in a lifetime opportunity to see the Earth from space. Many astronauts call this a truly life changing experience.
Since the final landing of the space shuttle the field of human space travel has been turned over to the private companies, one of which, Space Adventures, will be responsible for designing a vehicle to take the winner of the Space Needle contest into space. The estimated price of the grand prize is $110,000.
What do you need to do to enter?
As Figure 1 indicates, the Russians offered to sell the Americans Soyuz missions with 15,400-pound payloads for $12 million each. On such a mission, the delivery cost for each pound of payload would have been only $780, or about 1/6th the comparable cost of the American Delta II booster. In my opinion, we should have bought 1000 Soyuz boosters. Instead, we put severe restrictions on the use for boosting American satellites into space.
In my view we lost a golden opportunity. But, actually, chemical rockets – Soyuz, Delta II, the shuttle transportation system – are the problem, not the solution. So what is the alternative?
Satellites Without Rockets
As I have often told my students in my “Launch and Orbital Mechanics” short courses: “There is nothing wrong with the space program that the elimination of chemical rockets wouldn’t cure.” Chemical rockets are dirty, dangerous, fragile, unreliable, and horribly expensive.
A simple mathematic derivation shows that a typical multistage rocket of modern design wastes about 97-percent of its energy accelerating propellants it’s going to burn later. If cars were similarly inefficient, few people would want to own one.
Is there a better way to launch payload into space? In my 4-day short courses on “Launch and Orbital Mechanics”, held at key locations around the country, I list and discuss 30 alternatives to chemical rockets. These include solar electric propulsion, laser-powered rockets, maglev boosters, nuclear powered rockets, tethered satellites, and skyhooks (space elevators). These alternatives, implemented in the proper combination, could revolutionize the way future generations conduct large-scale operations and do business in space.
What If the Space Shuttle Engineers Had Designed My Car?
Many times, over the years, I have taught at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California where satellites are launched into near polar orbits. Vandenberg is 175 miles from my home in Seal Beach, California. It is one of the few short-course locations I drive to in my car. Mostly I fly to the various locations where the courses are offered.
A few years ago, I was driving back home from Vandenberg Air Force Base when an interesting question occurred to me: “What would my car be like if the engineers who designed the space shuttle orbiter had designed it?
When I got back to Seal Beach, I kludged together Figure 2. Study its contents to see how incredibly inefficient the shuttle transportation system turned out to be. Notice, for example, that only 1 percent of the lift-off weight of the shuttle transportation system using the 
The Boeing Company 
It is a known fact that the question of sex in space bothered quite a good percentage of Earth’s population for a long time now. The human species are sexual by nature. We have been sending our astronauts to space for 50 years now. Are the sexual tension that builds up make them horny? Do some get caught using sex toys like those from 
Although the fetus developed properly, the rats that developed in microgravity lacked the ability to right themselves. Another study examined mouse embryo fertilization in microgravity. Although both groups resulted in healthy mice, the authors noted that the growth rate was slower for the embryos fertilized in microgravity than for those in normal gravity.
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