Category Archives: Transhuman News

Olympic Space-Flown Torch, 'Baby Milky Way and More

Last week the 2014 Winter Olympic Games launched in Sochi using the torch that flew to the International Space Station, NASAs rover Curiosity snapped its first photo of the Earth from the surface of the Red Planet, and the structure of the 'Baby Milky Way' galaxy was seen for the first time. See the best stories from last week here.

FIRST STOP: Sochi Winter Olympics Launch with Space-Flown Torch, Cosmonaut Flag-Bearers

The 2014 Winter Olympic Games launched in Sochi, Russia, Friday (Feb. 7) using the torch that flew to the International Space Station. The space-themed spectacle, which took place as part of an elaborate opening ceremony, also had cosmonauts carry the Russian and Olympic flags.

[Full Story]

NEXT: Curiosity Rover Sees Earth from Mars for 1st Time (Photos)

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has snapped its first photo of Earth from the surface of the Red Planet, an amazing image that also includes the moon.

[See the photos here.]

NEXT: Tim Tebow Plays Moon Football in Super Bowl Ad (Video)

NFL star Tim Tebow is taking the Super Bowl into space today by tossing the pigskin on the moon in a T-mobile ad to air during the big game.

[See the video here. ]

NEXT: Depression in Space: How Computer Software Could Help Astronauts Cope

Astronauts on a deep-space mission are much too far removed to visit a specialist for cases of depression. Here's one way software could help space travelers.

[Full Story]

NEXT: Pow! Fresh Crater on Mars Spotted by NASA Spacecraft (Photo)

A NASA spacecraft has snapped a stunning photo of a Martian crater that was gouged out of the Red Planet just in the last three years or so.

[Full Story]

NEXT: NASA Sun-Earth Video Wins International Science Challenge

A video called Dynamic Earth, produced by NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center, has won an international visualization challenge sponsored by Science magazine and the National Science Foundation.

[Full Story]

NEXT: Ariane 5 Rocket Blasts Off on 250th Launch with 2 Satellites

Dual payloads to broadcast television and broadband signals for Asia Broadcast Satellite and French and Italian security forces rocketed into orbit on an Ariane 5 rocket Thursday on Arianespace's landmark 250th launch.

[Full Story]

NEXT: Wobbly Alien Planet with Wild Seasons Found by NASA Telescope

Astronomers have discovered an alien planet that wobbles at such a dizzying rate that its seasons must fluctuate wildly.

[Full Story]

NEXT: Black Holes Heated Early Universe Slower Than Previously Thought

Read more here:
Vote Now! Best Space Stories of the Week Feb. 9, 2014

HOUSTON -

With two corporations, SpaceX and Orbital Sciences, already delivering supplies to NASA's International Space Station, a golden age may be at hand for private space firms.

Late this year, Virgin Galactic may launch its first suborbital flight, opening space to non-astronauts. And private companies are beginning to announce dates by which they'll be ready to fly astronauts into orbit, a venture that until now has been solely the province of governments.

"We're seeing a democratization of access to space," said Michael Lopez-Alegria, a four-time astronaut who now leads the industry group Commercial Spaceflight Federation, told the Houston Chronicle.

The rise of commercial space raises questions about the future of Houston as Space City, which for the entire history of U.S. spaceflight has been responsible for training and managing the flights of U.S. astronauts. Houston is racing to reinvent itself this decade as other parts of the country seek to chip away at its pre-eminence as the home of human spaceflight.

For now, Johnson Space Center will continue to be the home of NASA astronauts, but it's not clear what role the center will have in working with astronauts who fly on privately-built commercial vehicles to space.

NASA, for example, chose to establish its office overseeing the development of private spacecraft that will eventually carry U.S. astronauts to the space station at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, instead of at the Houston-based center.

The Houston region has not been oblivious to the rise of commercial space and its implications for the city's traditional hegemony in human spaceflight.

"Houston is being very proactive," said David Alexander, director of the Rice Space Institute.

Texas A&M recently held a commercial space workshop with Rice and industry partners to discuss a commercial space strategy for Houston and Texas. Universities, governments and industry partners will need to work together to ensure the vibrancy of Houston's space presence, Alexander said.

Read the original here:
As space commercializes, where does Houston fit?