NASA Uncrates Apollo Heat Shield After 35 Years Describes the Experience as a Nerd Christmas: related news

NASA Uncrates Apollo Heat Shield After 35 Years, Describes the Experience as a "Nerd Christmas"

It is no secret that NASA is looking to the past to help us go back to the moon and, eventually, to Mars. Today NASA revealed that scientists working on the Orion crew module visited the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum Garber Facility in Suitland, Md. over the summer to unpack Apollo heat shields for the first time in 35 years.

Christmas comes early for NASA heat shield nerds

NASA researchers looking to develop the next generation of heat shields are using a treasure trove of recently rediscovered Apollo-era armor to build high-temperature protection for future space flights.

NASA-TV Streams HD Film to Celebrate 50 Years in Space

50 years ago this month NASA rocketed into existence, and to celebrate this fact NASA-TV is streaming its special retrospective show "50 Years of Exploration: The Golden Anniversary of NASA" in HD format today at 1pm and 8pm EDT (and again tomorrow at 10am and 2pm). Check it out: it's presented by none other than Neil Armstrong, and it'll remind you how frickin' astonishing the achievements of the Agency are, despite its recent rockety woes. [NASA-TV]

NASA Does Space-Age Archaeology, Uncovering Apollo Heatshields to Help with Orion

Matt Gasch of NASA Ames and Betsy Pugel of NASA Goddard examine the remains of a 1966 Apollo test vehicle heat shield (Smithsonian Museum/Eric Long)

50 Consumer Technologies Developed by NASA in the Last 50 Years

Every year NASA publishes a new edition of their Spinoff magazine, a periodical that outlines NASA-based technologies that have disseminated into everyday devices, improving our lives beyond giving us some nifty new desktop wallpapers. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Spinoff, and to celebrate, NASA has created a "best of" list (that we pasted after the jump). From the aerodynamic principles applied to tractor trailers to advanced imaging techniques that allow 360-degree Real Estate photo tours, NASA demonstrates that their technological breakthroughs are about more than just sticking an American flag on the moon.

Getting Hired As an Entry-Level Programmer?

An anonymous reader writes "I received a state university degree in Computer Science. After graduation, I immediately took jobs in QA to pay the bills while waiting for other opportunities, which of course turned out to be as naive as it sounds. I've been working QA for several years now and my resume does not show the right kind of work experience for programming. On the whole I'm probably no better as a a candidate than a CS graduate fresh out of college. But all of the job postings out in the real world are looking for people with 2-5 years of programming work experience. How do you build up those first 2 years of experience? What kinds of companies hire programmers with no prior experience?"

"Heat Wheel" Could Lower Data Center Power Bills

miller60 writes "An air conditioning technology called the 'heat wheel' is getting a test drive in data centers, and early adopters cite impressive reductions in their power bills. The heat wheel — also known as a rotary heat exchanger or Kyoto Cooling — is a refinement of cooling systems using outside air. Rather than introducing exterior air directly into the server room (the air economization we discussed recently), the heat wheel briefly mixes the outside air and exhaust air to create an air-to-air heat exchanger. A data center in the Netherlands using this approach only has to use chillers 11 days a year." The article points out that the heat wheel is not new, but it hasn't been applied to data centers until recently.

NASA Releases Documentary About First 50 Years

In celebration of its 50th anniversary, NASA will premiere the documentary "50 Years of Exploration: The Golden Anniversary of NASA" on NASA Television's Public and Education channels Wednesday, Oct. 15, at 9 p.m. EDT.

Reflections of NASA at 50

NASA turns 50 years old today. On Oct. 1, 1958 the National Advisory Council on Aeronautics (NACA) officially became the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. "It was a relatively easy transition," said Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong in a rare public appearance commemorating NASA's anniversary. "We were already riding on rockets and research aircraft…We had merely to paint over the "C" in NACA and replace it with an "S" on our airplanes, our trucks and vans." But beyond those cosmetic changes, what has NASA meant to the average citizen, the US and the world?

NASA's Swift Catches Farthest-Ever Gamma-Ray Burst

WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA's Swift satellite has found the most distant gamma-ray burst ever detected. The blast, designated GRB 080913, arose from an exploding star 12.8 billion light-years away. "This is the most amazing burst Swift has seen," said the mission's lead scientist Neil Gehrels at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "It's coming to us from near the edge of the visible universe." Because light moves at finite speed, looking farther into the universe means looking back in time. GRB 080913's "lookback time" reveals that the burst occurred less than 825 million years after the universe began. The star that caused this "shot seen across the cosmos" died when the universe was less than one-seventh its present age.

Christmas Card Photos

Its almost Thanksgiving and time is running out to get Christmas cards ordered so they can be mailed in time for the holiday. Adding a photo is a great way to make your Christmas cards unique. The hardest part about Christmas car photos is deciding what type of photo to take. Will it be a formal portrait? Everyone dressed as grinches? Perhaps your pets could get into the act? We're making it easier for you this year. Here are some great Christmas card photo tips and ideas for Christmas card photo poses!

NASA Tests Deep-Space Network Modeled On the Internet

hcg50a writes "NASA has successfully tested the first deep space communications network modeled on the Internet. Working as part of a NASA-wide team, engineers from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA, used software called Disruption-Tolerant Networking, or DTN, to transmit dozens of space images to and from a NASA science spacecraft located about 20 million miles from Earth. The store-and-forward protocol was designed by NASA in consultation with Vint Cerf. Here's a discussion from last July before the test began."

Lockheed Martin Delivers Mars Science Laboratory Backshell to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

recently delivered the backshell for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. The backshell is half of the large and sophisticated two-part aeroshell that will encapsulate and protect the MSL rover during its deep space cruise to Mars, and from the intense heat and friction that will be generated as the system descends through the Martian atmosphere. Lockheed Martin has designed and built nearly every capsule flown by NASA for space exploration since Apollo, but none as large as the MSL aeroshell at about 15 feet in diameter. For comparison, the heatshields of the Spirit and Opportunity Mars Exploration Rovers measured 8.5 feet and Apollo capsule heatshields measured just under 13 feet. In addition to protecting the rover, the backshell provides the structural support for the parachute and

NASA: The Next 50 Years

For 50 years NASA has led the world in space exploration. Much of the scientific knowledge about the moon, our solar system and the universe has come from the dedicated scientists, administrators and personnel working for NASA. VOA's Paul Sisco takes a look at the agency celebrating its golden anniversary with an eye on its uncertain future.

NASA Releases Documentary Celebrating Agency's First 50 Years

the documentary "50 Years of Exploration: The Golden Anniversary of NASA" on NASA Click for the lowest price on dmnobieblanktelevision');" onMouseOut="setTimeout('hideLayer()',500);" class=hotlink2>Television

Experience the New Xbox, Uh, Experience

Microsoft has launched a site all about the New Xbox Experience which gives you a feel for what it'll be like in motion by simulating the new dashboard. It also has some videos of new features in addition to the avatar creation one we already saw, like Parties, deeper social networking and more community content. I'm pretty excited about it. Too bad the site doesn't mention a date, though Major Nelson swears it won't be right after that massive outage on Monday. [New Xbox Experience via Kotaku]

NASA Eyes Nuclear Power for Moon BaseBuyers Bemoan Launcher Prices, AvailabilityPrivate Suborbital Spaceships Could Aid NASA ScienceExperiment Boosts Hopes for Space Solar PowerNASA Helping U.S. Air Force Gear Up for 2009 X-51 FlightsHow to Build Lunar Ho

A concept of a nuclear reactor buried below the lunar surface to make use of lunar soil as additional radiation shielding. The engines that convert heat energy to electricity are in the tower above the reactor, and radiators extend out from the tower to radiate into space any leftover heat energy. The power system would transmit 40 kilowatts of electric power, enough for about eight houses on Earth, to the lunar outpost. Credit: NASA

A Christmas Experience Through Art and Music

THE VILLAGES, Fla., Oct. 16, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- For centuries, millions of people around the world celebrate Christmas. Even though society has radically changed, the spirit of Christmas continues to unite people together, remind them of the birth of Jesus Christ and bring happiness to everyone's hearts. For author Violet R. Cornell-Castle, Christmas is everlasting and she emphasizes that with the release of her compelling new picture book One Bright Star.

A Christmas Experience Through Art and Music

THE VILLAGES, Fla., Oct 16, 2008 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) -- For centuries, millions of people around the world celebrate Christmas. Even though society has radically changed, the spirit of Christmas continues to unite people together, remind them of the birth of Jesus Christ and bring happiness to everyone's hearts. For author Violet R. Cornell-Castle, Christmas is everlasting and she emphasizes that with the release of her compelling new picture book One Bright Star.

Endeavour Astronauts Scan Shuttle Heat Shield for Damage

Astronauts aboard NASA's space shuttle Endeavour inspected their spacecraft's heat shield for damage Saturday while engineers on Earth tackled minor communications glitches as the orbiter heads toward a weekend rendezvous with the International Space Station.

Vodafone plans cost cuts after profit falls 35 per cent

Vodafone Group PLC recorded a 35-per-cent slump in first-half profit yesterday and booked a hefty loss on the value of its Turkish business operations. Vodafone, the world's biggest mobile phone company by revenues, also said it planned to cut costs by about £1-billion ($1.85-billion) from 2011, while the group downgraded its revenue outlook for the full year. Vodafone said profit after tax fell to £2.14-billion in the six months to September, down 35 per cent from the year-earlier first half. The company booked a loss of £1.7-billion on the value of Vodafone Turkey. VOD (London) rose 7 pence to £1.15.

Shrek The Halls DVD

Shrek, living back in the swamp with Fiona and their 3 babies, had never experienced Christmas, as ogres really don’t celebrate any holiday. He is tricked by Donkey into promising an amazing Christmas, but he realizes he has no idea how to go about creating such an event. After buying a Christmas for Dummies book, he sets out trying to make everything perfect for Fiona and his kids. Donkey ends up bringing all of the rest of the Shrek characters over on Christmas eve, which sends Shrek off the deep end, as he feels that Christmas is ruined.

Search took 0.90 seconds.