Monthly Archives: February 2010

Orbiting Space Shuttle Astronauts Answer Questions from Students Nationwide

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Students in elementary and middle schools nationwide will have their questions about space answered live on Feb. 14 by space shuttle astronauts orbiting 220 miles above Earth.

The students, who attend nine NASA Explorer Schools nationwide, submitted their questions to NASA via video. Space shuttle Pilot Terry Virts and Mission Specialist Kathryn Hire will answer the students' questions on NASA TV. The call is targeted for 10:34 p.m. to 10:54 p.m. EST on Sunday, Feb. 14, but could take place five to 15 minutes earlier or later. Viewers should consult the NASA TV schedule to confirm timing. Any questions the astronauts do not answer will be answered later by subject matter experts during an event on NASA's Digital Learning Network.

Virts and Hire launched to space Monday, Feb. 8, aboard space shuttle Endeavour from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. During their 13-day mission, Endeavour's crew are conducting three spacewalks and delivering the Tranquility node and a cupola to expand the space station.

The NASA Explorer Schools that submitted video questions are:

  • Phenix City Intermediate School in Phenix City, Ala.
  • Edward Harris, Jr. Middle School in Elk Grove, Calif.
  • Sequoia Middle School in Portersville, Calif.
  • Vintage Math, Science and Technology Magnet School in North Hills, Calif.
  • Goldsboro Elementary Magnet School in Sanford, Fla.
  • Stewart Magnet Middle School in Tampa, Fla.
  • Vance Elementary School in Asheville, N.C.
  • Vernon School in Portland, Ore.
  • John B. Cary Elementary School in Richmond, Va.
The NASA Explorer Schools project establishes a three-year partnership between NASA and schools in diverse communities to address local challenges in science, technology, and mathematics education. The goal is to bring educators, administrators, students, and families together in sustained involvement with NASA's education programs.

The event is part of a series with educational organizations in the U.S. and abroad to improve teaching and learning in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The in-orbit call is part of Teaching From Space, a NASA project that uses the unique environment of human spaceflight to promote learning opportunities and build partnerships with the kindergarten through 12th grade education community.

NASA Television will air video of Virts and Hire during the downlink. For NASA TV downlink, schedule and streaming video information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For information about NASA Explorer Schools, visit:

http://explorerschools.nasa.gov

For information about NASA's education programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/education

For information about the space shuttle, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

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Balance Leak Off Line in Feed Pump of a Boiler

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what is the function of a balance leak off line in a feed pump of a boiler ? explain please. balancing line is given in casing not in delievry line. And

there is a ARC valve ( automatic recirculation ) in delievery line of feed pump whose outlet is in de-aerator of boiler. then what is the

Importance of Oil Viscosity

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NOW I CANT UNDERSTAN THE RELEVANCE OF VISCOSITY FOR GEAR OILS USED IN GEAR BOXES

AS I UNDERSTAND IT VISCOSITY VARIES ACCORDING TO TEMPERATURE AS TEMPERATURE DECREASES VISCOSITY INCREASES AND VISA VERSA

HERE IS MY PROBLEM

WE HAVE A SMALL GEAR BOX OPERATING IN OUTSIDE CONDITIONS S

Another Ignorant Columnist

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Closing the new frontier, snarky oped by Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post

"But the Obama 2011 budget kills Constellation. Instead, we shall have nothing. For the first time since John Glenn flew in 1962, the United States will have no access of its own for humans into space -- and no prospect of getting there in the foreseeable future."

Keith's note: Um, check your facts next time. First: America did indeed have the ability to launch people on Mercury-Atlas missions after John Glenn flew - and those missions were launched. Second: there was a 6 year gap between Apollo-Soyuz in 1975 and STS-1 in 1981. We had no way to send humans into space during that time. And, FWIW, between the end of Mercury and the beginning of Gemini, we had no access, and between Gemini 12 and Apollo 7 we had no access to space. Between STS-107 and STS-114 ... and so on. Gaps are not a new thing.

Gong Xi Fa Cai

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To all my friends and colleagues in China and to all CR4 members, staff and guests, I wish you a happy AND PROSPEROUS Lunar New Year and wish you ALL good fortune for the Year of the Tiger.

This Is a Mosquito Getting Killed By a Laser [Lasers]

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You're looking at a mosquito who got taken down mid-flight by a "Death Star" laser gun designed by Nathan Myhrvold. The malaria-carrying pest never saw it coming, but you can watch everything happen over and over again in this video.

The idea behind the "Death Star" laser is that it could be used to control mosquito populations in developing countries in hopes of reducing the number of deaths due to malaria, a disease frequently carried by the flying insects. The device was shown off during the TED 2010 conference and does in fact appear to be capable of tracking and killing mosquitoes. Oh, and it was built out of parts found on eBay. [Wired]


tata indigo battery problem

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dear all, i own a 2005 tata indigo tdi, off late i have facing the problem that my battery is requiring a lot of maintainance i have to put distilled water every 2 days and also facing starting problem due to the same. regards AMIT DHOPAWKAR

Google Is Planning My Wedding [Badvalentine]

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Yes, Google will plan my wedding one day. Or at least I might use the wedding planning templates in Google Docs to organize things while wishing that Sergey Brin and Larry Page would personally plan my bachelorette party.

Right in time for the cheesiest of all romantic holidays, Google has partnered with Style Me Pretty to provide 20 different customizable wedding planning templates through Google Docs. There's a template for nearly everything from writing vows to sorting out seating arrangements.

Not that I'm ungrateful to Google for assisting me in in becoming a ball-and-chain one day, but geez. Getting into the wedding business seems a bit too much. Even for the Big G. [Google Blog via TechCrunch]

Bad Valentine is our own special take on the beauty—and awkwardness—of geek love.


Inventor of Frisbee Dies at 90 [Obituary]

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Fred Morrison didn't cure a disease, go to the moon, or invent some high-tech gadget. But he made many of our lives just a bit happier with a simple toy that prompted dreams of flying saucers and sparked intramural games.

According to his son, "old age caught up" with Morrison as he dealt with a battle against cancer. Yet somehow, this remark appears to be the only sad line in Morrison's obituary.

The man's life sounds like it contained as much joy as he brought to children and adults around the world with his invention. In fact, even the events which led to the creation of what is now known as a Frisbee sound happy:

Morrison and his future wife, Lu, used to toss a tin cake pan on the beach in California. The idea grew as Morrison considered ways to make the cake pans fly better and after serving as a pilot in World War II, Morrison began manufacturing his flying discs in 1948.

From there the simple plastic disc would change name from "Pluto Platter" to "Frisbee," but it would remain an staple in memories of summers in the park, beach games of Frisbee golf, and late night Ultimate Frisbee competitions.

So, while Fred Morrison's passing is a sad event, it's heartwarming to hear that he led a good life as he gave us an excuse to laugh and giggle as we send pieces of plastic whizzing through the air. [Yahoo]

Picture from Wikipedia


Fake Cyber Terrorist Attack Will Get Real Government Response Next Week [Security]

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Next week, for the first time, the public will be able to see how our government might respond to a full-fledged act of cyber terrorism, in a simulation that will include top intelligence and security officials.

On February 16, the Bipartisan Policy Center-hosted event, dubbed Cyber ShockWave, will assemble many top officials in the "White House situation room"—recreated by set designers in a conference room at the Mandarin Hotel—to respond to a multifacted cyber attack of which they will have no previous knowledge.

The attack, designed by security experts and embellished by professional scriptwriters (really), will unfold dynamically throughout the course of the simulation. The participants, including former Director of National Intelligence John Negroponter and former Homeland Security Advisor Fran Townsend among others, will have to figure out a course of action on the fly.

The fun part: we'll get to see how they do. Though the government has held similar simulations in the past, this will be the first time the process will be open to the public. CNN camera crews will be on location, shooting video that will run in the days following.

I'm curious to see how this group of people who are, of course, quite intelligent, but also, you know, quite old, respond to a fully-realized cyber attack. Hopefully they'll be able to sort out their firewalls from their Firefoxes. [The Atlantic via Computer World UK]