LGP Science Thread

[Shyster]

And SpaceX and DSCOVR finally went to space today. Perfect launch, perfect second burn for the upper stage, and confirmation of payload separation. It will take the DSCOVR satellite about 180 days to get to its final position, but it's well on its way.

[dodint]

[Shyster]

Launch video:
[youtube][/youtube]
Skies were so clear that you can see staging starting at 3:30, the thrusters on the first stage firing at 3:42 - 3:52, and the separation of the two halves of the payload fairing at 4:24.

[shafnutz05]

Getting to watch that one launch from Wallops live (and then running outside and seeing it soaring up over the horizon outside my house) definitely ranks in the top 5 coolest things I've ever seen.

Speaking of which, when will Wallops be back up and running?

[Shyster]

Getting to watch that one launch from Wallops live (and then running outside and seeing it soaring up over the horizon outside my house) definitely ranks in the top 5 coolest things I've ever seen.

Speaking of which, when will Wallops be back up and running?

Orbital is hoping to resume launches some time next year. The pad was damaged, but not too severely. Orbital decided to stop using the 40-year-old refurbished AJ-26 engines and buy brand-new engines from Russia's NPO Energomash. The revised Antares will be using a pair of RD-181 engines, which are slightly modified "export" versions of the RD-191 engine. The RD-191 is one of the newest members of the extended RD-170 family which has been around for years, and it's the engine chosen to power the new Russian Angara rocket, which is expected to become the workhorse Russian launcher for the foreseeable future. The RD-170 family comprises some really good rocket engines, and to be honest they are better than comparable U.S. designs. The RD-181 version will be very close in size and thrust to the AJ-26 engines Orbital was already using, so it shouldn't take much work to modify the first stage of the Antares to use the new engines.

In the meantime, Orbital has contracted with United Launch Alliance (a venture of Lockheed Martin/Boeing) to do the next launch of the Cygnus unmanned cargo freighter to the space station. It will launch on an Atlas V later on this year. It's possible Orbital may need to buy another launch from ULA if they can't get the new first stage sorted out on time, but they're hoping they only need one filler mission.

[tifosi77]

I honestly can't tell if the original comments are serious or satirical:

I'm getting sick and tired of dinosaurs being forced on our children

The subsequent commentary is loltastic.
The Great Mumsnet Dino Debate

[count2infinity]

The best satire is the kind that makes you wonder if it's satire or not...

[Sam's Drunk Dog]

The family that lived across from my grandparents in Monaca were the people that would preach on the street corner downtown. When I was a kid I sometimes would play outside with them. I remember talking about my favorite type of dinosaur and they told me that dinosaurs didn't exist because they weren't in the Bible.

[dodint]

I read that as Monaco. Was super jealous for a moment.

[Sam's Drunk Dog]

I read that as Monaco. Was super jealous for a moment.

You're not jealous of Monaca?

[MRandall25]

Monaca and Monaco couldn't be further apart from each other, in more than one sense

[count2infinity]

Whoa, this is cool:

http://news.sciencemag.org/biology/2015 ... al-protein" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Additionally: “We need to do a lot more monkey studies to see if there’s anything weird”

[dodint]

Worlds most dangerous toy on display at a museum in Northern Ireland.

The toy has earned the title of most dangerous toy because it includes four types of uranium ore, three sources of radiation, and a Geiger counter that enables parents to measure just how contaminated their child had become.

Also has a cloud chamber. 1950s kids were ballers.

[count2infinity]

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4491" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



I'm curious as to what they are...

[viva la ben]

Aliens

[Shyster]

I'm going to guess ice. Earth-based instruments have detected what we think is water vapor outgassing from Ceres, so we're pretty sure there's ice there. There might be a shell of ice under the surface. The boring option would be that the shiny spots are recent impact craters that exposed the underlying ice, and there's hasn't been enough time for the ice to get covered by dust. A much less boring option would be ice volcanos or geysers like have been observed on moons like Enceladus, Triton, and Titan. Either way, we'll know soon, as Dawn should brake into orbit next week.

[thehockeyguru]

This is really cool.....

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015 ... an-on-mars

[columbia]

Japan space scientists make wireless energy breakthrough
http://gizmodo.com/japanese-scientists- ... 1691291229" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Grunthy]

Cool but welcome to tesla at turn of the century.

[Sam's Drunk Dog]

Penn State Researchers Are Revolutionizing Solar Panels

http://onwardstate.com/2015/03/23/penn- ... ar-panels/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[stopper40]

http://www.sciencealert.com/new-alzheim ... y-function" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Sam's Drunk Dog]

Awesome news. Hopefully the treatment works on humans as well.

[stopper40]

Awesome news. Hopefully the treatment works on humans as well.

Here's to hoping

[viva la ben]

The LHC in CERN is spinning up again, now with upgrades.

[ville5]

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2015/04 ... %20embryos Chinese scientist figures out how to alter DNA. Catches gruff.