Phoenix Goes Dark; Endeavour to Launch

NASA’s very successful Phoenix mission has likely come to an end.

It looks like Space Shuttle Endeavour should launch in another hour or so.  All the best, Endeavour!

Science: 2 Wind Energy Pieces and the next Space Shuttle Mission

The credit crisis is affecting most Americans, rich and poor. It is also affecting business plans, big and small. Among those business plans are renewable energy projects. The recent run-up in fossil fuel prices have made wind power much more competitive in the marketplace than it was just a few years ago. Despite the fall in fossil fuel prices since July, wind power remains nearly competitive with oil, natural gas and coal. Solar power isn’t too much further behind wind. With a little more help from the government, the wind and solar industries could be allowed to mature further. That’s where the credit crisis monkey wrench comes into play. Projects for wind and solar have been viewed as more risky than fossil fuel projects, due to maturity differences. With banks less likely to fund risky ventures, wind projects are among those suffering. That includes T. Boone Pickens’ plan to build the largest wind project in the world. I’m not a fan of his entire plan, mostly because he doesn’t view climate change as the predominant problem that needs attention. I would classify him as a delayer due to his efforts to switch our transportation system from oil to natural gas. That would keep us dependent on his businesses and delay any serious work to stop forcing the climate system. No thanks. That also means I’m frustrated that wind projects will be downsized or delayed while the credit markets come back online.

Could off-shore wind farms alter ocean currents? Sure. Removing energy from the atmosphere would have to have an impact on wind stress placed on the ocean. As a result, upwelling could occur in places it currently doesn’t (or the magnitude of processes could shift). The specifics aren’t yet well studied. This kind of assesment would require a closer collaboration between physical oceanographers, biologists and others. It should be examined further.

NASA’s Space Shuttle Endeavour is preparing for a Friday afternoon launch. It is the next mission to the International Space Station. This mission will deliver infrastructure that will allow the station to house six persons, up from the current three. That would allow more science to be done. Endeavour is bringing a spare toilet, a second kitchen, new exercise equipment and a water recovery system designed to turn urine into potable water. The water technology, if successful, could make its way back down to Earth. Water is going to become a more scarce resource in the 21st century. Any method of conservation will ease the impact of that.

Hubble Takes Perfect New Pix & Other Space News – 10/31/08

Just prior to the scheduled launch of the last Hubble Space Telescope’s repair/upgrade mission, an onboard data router failed.  The shuttle launch was delayed until next year.  Scientists and engineers worked to use an onboard backup (thank you, redundancy!).  That backup unit is up and running.  A test photo was released by NASA and things look real good!  Unfortunately, the already delayed upgrade mission was delayed a little more.  NASA wants to send up a replacement part to the unit that failed last month.  It won’t be ready for another six months.  That could delay NASA’s plans to reconfigure the launch pad to accomodate the next generation of launch vehicles.  Fortunately, Endeavour’s Nov. 14th launch to the International Space Station remains on schedule.

A Google Lunar X-Prize contestant is not only planning to send their craft to the Apollo 11 landing site, they’re planning to launch five additional missions for lunar polar exploration.  To win the Grand X-Prize ($20 million), a private company must achieve a series of goals by Dec. 31, 2010.  Astrobotic now wants to send it main craft to the moon in 2010, then two smaller rovers in 2011 and 2012.  An additional lander would also land in 2012, then another rover in 2013.  This is exactly the kind of plan I want to see: a medium-term, aggressive approach to lunar exploration.

NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander entered an inactive safe mode late Tuesday.  Very cold overnight temperatures and a dust storm has reduced Phoenix’s ability to generate enough power to conduct full science.  It’s not supposed to be a permanent condition.  Phoenix’s primary mission phase ended in August.  It has had its mission extended ever since.  Eventually, Phoenix will not be able to power itself.

NASA’s shuttle replacement might come online one year sooner than originally planned.  Plans are being drawn up to try to move the first test launch date up from 2015 to 2014.  They will be finalized in December.  This news came out prior to NASA’s announcement that the Hubble upgrade mission was going to be delayed again.  As I wrote above, the launch pad needs to be reconfigured for the Orion vehicle launch aboard the Ares rocket.

Cassini is going to pass by Saturn’s mood Enceladus for the third time tomorrow.  A number of very cool things have come from the previous two flybys.