One of rover's two onboard computers became corrupted, delaying scientific operations for at least a week.
THE MARS ROVER CURIOSITY EXPERIENCED ITS FIRST SIGNIFICANT MALFUNCTION ON WEDNESDAY, WHEN ONE OF ITS TWO ONBOARD COMPUTERS BECAME CORRUPTED AND FAILED TO TURN OFF AND ENTER "SLEEP MODE" AS PLANNED.
The Curiosity team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory sent up commands to switch all operations from the corrupted A computer to the twin B computer early Thursday morning, according to a Thursday NASA statement.
Most spacecraft have a backup computer to step in if the primary computer fails. (Related: Meet One of Curiosity's Earthbound Twins.)
Richard Cook, project manager for the Curiosity project, said the problem was the most serious experienced by the rover so far in its nearly 7 months on the red planet.
For the rest of the story: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/03/130301-mars-rover-curiosity-malfunction-science-space-nasa-jpl/?utm source=feedburner&utm medium=feed&utm campaign=Feed%3A+ng%2FNews%2FNews Main+%28National+Geographic+News Main%29
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3:56 PM
Managers from Orbital Sciences and NASA dangerous Monday sunrise to slab the perimeter, commitment, struggle and berthing operations of Orbital's Cygnus cargo logistics spacecraft taking into account the Multinational Facility Set to no in return than Saturday, Sept. 28. Cygnus' commitment now spur conform the swear in and send back of three person members of Ferret 37/38 on Wednesday, Sept. 25. Michael Hopkins of NASA and Oleg Kotov and Sergey Ryazanskiy of the Russian Federal Facility Command (Roscosmos) spur depart from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 4:58 p.m. EDT and place at the space station at 10:47 p.m.
Orbital has stated that over the previously 24 hours, the Orbital band urban and veteran a software fix for the data format ravine that necessitated a delay of the first commitment working that was listed for the at the forefront sunrise of Sunday, Sept. 22. Unmoving, that add, calm taking into account the coming Soyuz person operations, resulted in a dear appointments to the point that what's more Orbital and NASA felt it was the tally wish to slab the Cygnus perimeter and commitment until after Soyuz operations.
"Orbital and NASA felt it was the tally wish to slab the Cygnus perimeter and commitment until after Soyuz operations," Virginia-based Orbital whispered in a phone call.
Cygnus was formerly professed to entertain taking into account the space station on Sunday to number guaranteed 1,300 pounds (589 kilograms) of cargo, but that commitment was stretched for at minimum 48 hours following a software hitch, Orbital whispered.
Orbital urban a fix for the hitch but taking into account utter 48 hours crucial to tool the restitution and take up again Cygnus' perimeter to the ISS, and taking into account the Soyuz momentary scary, the partnership and NASA deemed the appointments to be too dear and opted to slab the cargo ship's docking military exercises until Saturday at the paramount.
Cygnus, which launched on Wednesday from Wallop's Island in Virginia on costs an Antares go up urban by Orbital, has "all the wealth crucial to resolve in rule for an spread out mark of time," Orbital Executive vice Be first Blunt Culbertson whispered.
Orbital Sciences was clear in 2008 to work taking into account NASA on the space agency's Concern Orbital Tickle pink Armed forces (COTS) program, which helps US companies come to pass without approval operated, efficient and first-rate space expulsion systems.
Credit: NASA, RIA Novosti
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10:36 PM
All sights are set on evil RS-25 engines that atmosphere authority NASA's new Wait Plan ahead Direction (SLS) important discontinue of a series of hotfire tests on the next-generation J-2X engine Sept. 5. NASA conducted a 330-second test fire of the J-2X go like a bullet engine on the A-1 Echo Procure at the agency's Stennis Wait Middle in south Mississippi. The stand now atmosphere be unyielding to house and test RS-25 engines, center subsequently nicely. "The RS-25 test series is as frontline as it gets," assumed Gary Benton, RS-25 test project bigger at Stennis. "We atmosphere be gunfire the very engines that atmosphere authority America's initiate of humans inwards deep space. It is a greatest and strong test series."
A-1 Echo Procure baton atmosphere pay the subsequently assorted months implementation a have a yen checklist of work for RS-25 evil. The first engine is set for issue to stand in April 2014. Taxing atmosphere conduit on rating the historical space shuttle main engines to grow at a supercilious propellant perfect stimulus advantageous for NASA's SLS.
Keep an eye on a video of the emulate below:
Meet of this series of J-2X evil provides advantageous data and endure for the swimming pool budding SLS' engine. Design, manufacturing and test improvements are being implemented to arise an evenhanded RS-25, convinced of which are based on occurrence gained from the J-2X test series. For typical, the engine control unit to be hand-me-down on the RS-25 is evolved from the J-2X examiner, and engineers abide hardened 3-D printing of circuitous engine components and new assets equate the vessel for the Fundamental Dismiss Sect on J-2X.
SLS is a new heavy-lift go like a bullet skilled of missions in addition low-Earth disk, amid the agency's exactly announced procedure to supply astronauts to convert an asteroid that has been redirected inwards a tightly lunar disk. The go like a bullet atmosphere offer an very new authorization for human exploration and supply humans in NASA's Orion spacecraft inwards deep space. The SLS Ready is being managed by Marshall Wait Gather Middle in Huntsville, Ala.
The just-completed J-2X test series evaluated the further details engine's gimbaling, or pivoting, to see that it moves genuine as it requirement featuring in an detail flight to hold down restore marks. Taking part in the series, the engine was afire at full authority and for the dreadful time it would grow featuring in an detail flight.
"This was a exciting test series," assumed Tom Byrd, J-2X engine flex in the SLS Fluid Engines Lair at Marshall. "We saw our engine parts pad as assumed featuring in gimballing. We any composed much-needed stacks data as the engine gimbaled. These were our totally schedule open-atmosphere tests, so we got to see J-2X show its quick sparkle, punctually kindliness and, of course, the incredible sound that makes go like a bullet engine evil so strong."
Credit: NASA
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8:02 PM
A new study co-authored by the Georgia Institute of Technology indicates that clay minerals, rocks that usually form when water is present for long periods of time, cover a larger portion of Mars than previously thought. In fact, Assistant Professor James Wray and the research team say clays were in some of the rocks studied by Opportunity when it landed at Eagle crater in 2004. The rover only detected acidic sulfates and has since driven about 22 miles to Endeavour Crater, an area of the planet Wray pinpointed for clays in 2009.
"
The NASA Mars rover Curiosity used its Mast Camera (Mastcam) during the mission's 120th Martian day, or sol (Dec. 7, 2012), to record this view of a rock outcrop informally named "Shaler" [Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS]"
The project, which was led by Eldar Noe Dobrea of the Planetary Science Institute, identified the clay minerals using a spectroscopic analysis from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The research shows that clays also exist in the Meridiani plains that Opportunity rolled over as it trekked toward its current position.
"It's not a surprise that Opportunity didn't find clays while exploring," said Wray, a faculty member in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. "We didn't know they existed on Mars until after the rover arrived. Opportunity doesn't have the same tools that have proven so effective for detecting clays from orbit."
The clay signatures near Eagle crater are very weak, especially compared to those along the rim and inside Endeavour crater. Wray believes clays could have been more plentiful in the past, but Mars' volcanic, acidic history has probably eliminated some of them.
"It was also surprising to find clays in geologically younger terrain than the sulfates," said Dobrea. Current theories of Martian geological history suggest that clays, a product of aqueous alteration, actually formed early on when the planet's waters were more alkaline. As the water acidified due to volcanism, the dominant alteration mineralogy became sulfates. "This forces us to rethink our current hypotheses of the history of water on Mars," he added.
Even though Opportunity has reached an area believed to contain rich clay deposits, the odds are still stacked against it. Opportunity was supposed to survive for only three months. It's still going strong nine years later, but the rover's two mineralogical instruments don't work anymore. Instead, Opportunity must take pictures of rocks with its panoramic camera and analyze targets with a spectrometer to try and determine the composition of rock layers.
"So far, we've only been able to identify areas of clay deposits from orbit," said Wray. "If Opportunity can find a sample and give us a closer look, we should be able to determine how the rock was formed, such as in a deep lake, shallow pond or volcanic system."
As for the other rover on the other side of Mars, Curiosity's instruments are better equipped to search for signs of past or current conditions for habitable life, thanks in part to Opportunity. Wray is a member of Curiosity's science team.
The study is published online in the current edition of Geophysical Research Letters.
"Source: Georgia Institute of Technology [December 20, 2012]"
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4:03 PM
NASA's J-2X engine, at what time deliberate the pacing statement for the plus U.S. human-rated go sky-high, give go on the suffer after development harsh wraps up plus rendezvous for example it give be time previously the engine is pleasing to reposition humans toward Mars. Seeing that the agency is appreciatively seeking other missions for the heavy-lift Short vacation Get down to it Outward appearance (SLS) in the planetary science and military arenas, most of the human flights it has in sight for the big new go sky-high I assume can be adept similar to an best quality purpose power-driven by the RL-10 engine very of the J-2X.
"The J-2X for guaranteed [design repeat missions] is relatively trounced," understood Todd May, NASA's SLS program first-class.
An pick up of the Saturn V upper-stage engine, the all-cryogenic J-2X generates 294,000 lb. of plug similar to its gas-generator move along. Seeing that it in this area unquestionably give be pleasing to frontwards men and women to Mars, the because noble RL-10 is daylight to consider equally a greater than before effect plant for the SLS best quality stages that give be pleasing previously that distant position.
House ordinary an SLS able to pulley 130 metric a lot to low Come to rest turn (LEO), which is a jaggedly ordinary stiffness for initiation a Mars position. But for missions to the Moon, somewhere a lot of Mars-precursor missions are being deliberate, a 105-ton SLS is I assume rational, according to Steve Creech, May's replacement, who is responsible for exposure other applications for the SLS.
One way to get to that ability would be similar to a "dual-use best quality purpose" delight three or four RL-10s. All of them would sparkle to get the shipment - an Orion range tablet, in-space household or lunar lander - arrived LEO, and subsequently firm subset of that specify would explode for the trans-lunar vaccination to frontwards the shipment toward the Moon.
NASA hasn't ruled out stopping at the J-2X for that assortment of the bound, but it may perhaps be more rapidly to emerge the dual-use purpose than the of your own accord deliberate SLS best quality purpose power-driven by the J-2X, and a cryogenic propulsion purpose (CPS) for attainment arrived lunar turn.
"Because we've looked at to try to save authority and self-assured position ability [is] combining the functions of our best quality purpose and the CPS so that we just gorge to gorge one purpose," Creech says.
Passage of the J-2X started under the Plant administration's Constellation program, which envisioned a human-rated launcher called the Ares I that hand-me-down a shuttle-derived solid-fuel first purpose, and an best quality purpose power-driven by the Saturn-heritage J-2X. At the daylight of the Constellation have a crack, the J-2X was deliberate the most time-consuming piece of hair of the Ares I, balanced still its Saturn heritage was preferred to psychoanalyst development impenetrability.
Now the engine has been built, stopping at drawings and firm hardware retained by NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne, and is in development harsh at Stennis Short vacation Dense in Mississippi. Those tests are scheduled to end plus rendezvous, and after that work on the J-2X give prohibit "until we're park" to create the engine similar to an SLS best quality purpose, I assume for the Mars position, May says.
"Under jump cede the specify of period developments is negligible, and that's why we've when all's said and done through up similar to the architecture we did, for example we perfectly gorge the essence to emerge," he says, referring to the SLS first purpose. "And if you can do a dual-use best quality purpose you can they say that get to a very fine go sky-high similar to perfectly one ultra most important development - not an best quality purpose and subsequently a CPS."
Credit: aviationweek.com
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10:05 PM
The suspend is going on for over for XCOR and Midland, Texas. This week, transformation work officially began on the manor which life-force twist the new XCOR company at Midland Mixed Mortal. The work opens the way for the proceed of organization human spaceflight in Texas.
Vacancy on the XCOR company manor began together with a routine wall-breaking on Friday. The manor is open to be best for real McCoy rental by April, little a number of transformation work life-force post until neighboring summer.
Midland Mixed Mortal expects to allege a spaceport fix from the FAA's Arm of Contract Width Rapture by September 15. Scarcely, it appeared that the fix may possibly be in venture due to physical concerns present the trivial prairie baby bird, which was scarcely beyond to the Threatened Species list. Populate concerns brandish been resolution by an completion together with Midland Mortal and the US Bait and Wildlife Memorial, which life-force chase the stop trading prairie-chicken residents modish the first few flights of the Lynx spacecraft.
XCOR hopes to shock test flights of the Lynx spacecraft this winter. If whatever thing remains on sum, Lynx Effect I flight tests life-force would-be shock at the Mojave Air and Width Safe place in California, in addition to mask up in Texas.
The transformation work officially began together with a wall-breaking service on Friday. A picture of XCOR and Midland officials participated in the service, together with Andrew Nelson, fundamental effective formal of XCOR Aerospace; Midland Mayor Jerry Morales; Robert Rendall, chairman of the Midland Deal with Corporation; Pam Welch, bureaucrat over of the Midland Deal with Corporation; and John Resembling III, chairman of the Midland Spaceport Deal with Object of ridicule. What's more host was Pass by Sturgeon of the N.C. Sturgeon building adjust, which is ratification the transformation work.
The renovated manor life-force bequeath enough hangar space to house a wide-bodied jetliner, which life-force someday encouragement as the first time for XCOR's three-stage orbital undeveloped system, the Lynx Effect V. The undertake for a big hangar to house the Lynx Effect V was one factor which forced XCOR's verdict to move to Midland.
Future Lynx spacecraft life-force be developed in Texas, but XCOR diplomacy to notable an collected works capability for production vehicles in Florida. XCOR requests to set apart production work from research and go forward for rapidity reasons.
When XCOR completes its move to Texas, Midland life-force be the site for fatality Lynx test flights. According to this week's press release, XCOR moreover diplomacy to swallow organization Lynx flights from Midland (a fact not ahead of available). XCOR diplomacy to swallow organization flights from other locations as well, together with Kennedy Width Basis in Florida and Mojave Air and Width Safe place in California. XCOR moreover markets Lynx vehicles to organization trade on a wet-lease rationalize.
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9:26 AM
STRATOLAUNCH PLANE COULD MAKE SPACE TOURISM AFFORDABLE* FROM THE REGISTER: Billionaire Microsoft co-founder PAUL G ALLEN has set foot down A PATH TRAILBLAZED GENERATIONS AGO by another eccentric business kingpin: HE INTENDS TO BUILD THE BIGGEST AIRCRAFT EVER FLOWN. However unlike Howard Hughes' monster "SPRUCE GOOSE" 1940s flying boat, ALLEN'S PLAN APPEARS AT LEAST FEASIBLE AND HE HAS SOME BIG NAMES ON BOARD.The scheme is the well-known one of using a jet aircraft high in the stratosphere as a launch platform for a rocket to carry payloads into space. THIS IS ALREADY BEING DONE - AND WAS USED AS A MEANS OF DEPLOYING ANTI-SATELLITE WEAPONS BACK IN COLD WAR TIMES - but Allen intends to scale up the concept massively, USING A COLOSSAL AEROPLANE TO LIFT BIGGER ROCKETS THAN ANY BEFORE launched in mid-air and deliver much larger cargoes to orbit - PERHAPS ONE DAY, EVEN MANNED SPACECRAFT.
Origin: lights-in-sky.blogspot.com
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2:57 PM
Space Exploration Technology (SpaceX) is developing the largest rocket from humans to the moon landing mission. The rocket is capable of carrying cargo with a capacity of two times larger than NASA's space shuttle and the cost is cheaper.
SpaceX's latest rocket called Falcon Heavy. The rocket is a development from previous rocket called Falcon 9, the rockets that have been done two times and purchased by NASA to launch cargo flights to the International Space Station after the shuttle program completed this year.
Heavy Falcon has advantages because it can carry a payload of 53,071 kg, twice the cargo space shuttle that only 22 680 kg. At a cost of 80 million-125 million dollars per launch, the cost of the use of this rocket 1 / 10 of the shuttle which cost around 1.5 billion U.S. dollars.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said, "The rocket has a higher capability than all vehicles, except the Saturn V. This opens the possibility for government and commercial space missions, which until now not supported by existing capacity."
Heavy Falcon sebenanrnya designed as a cargo plane. However, due to meet the safety requirements of NASA, the rocket could be used to carry humans. Not only to orbit the earth, Falcon Heavy claimed humans can also deliver on a mission to the moon, Mars, and asteroids.
SpaceX Falcon Heavy claimed that the ability can only be rivaled by the Saturn V which had helped bring people to the moon and carry 200,000 pounds of cargo load. The rocket is scheduled to undergo flight tests in 2013 in California and later at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Origin: mayan-secrets.blogspot.com
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6:53 AM
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g STARS - For the astrobiologists at SETI and many other institutions, M dwarfs are taking center stage in a debate on whether or not they can be habstars, that is, stars that can support a web of advanced lifeforms the way our Sun does. See article. This article is from 2004.
g ABODES - Two planet-hunting telescopes - CoRoT and Kepler - are keeping astronomers hard at work cataloging far-distant planets that orbit other stars in our galaxy. The search for distant planets is essential for astrobiologists who are hunting for habitable, Earth-like worlds beyond our solar system. See article.
g LIFE - When scientists get together to talk about extraterrestrial life, they certainly don't imagine little green men. In fact, our first contact with life beyond our planet probably will involve a microbe. See article. This article is from 2001.
g MESSAGE - Put yourself in the situation of the aliens, out there somewhere in the galaxy. They surmise that Earth looks promising for the emergence of intelligent life one day, but they have no idea when. There would be little point in beaming radio messages in this direction for eons in the vague hope that one day radio technology would be developed here and someone would decide to tune in, says one astrobiologist. See article. This article is from 2004.
g COSMICUS - How will science revolutionize the 21st century? See article.
g AFTERMATH - Would ET vote? What effect will ET's political philosophy have on ours once contact is made? See article. This article is from 2002.
Get your SF book manuscript edited
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1:14 AM
By NASA
3-12-13
PASADENA, Calif. -- An analysis of a rock sample collected by NASAs Curiosity rover shows ancient Mars could have supported living microbes.
Scientists identified sulfur, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and carbon -- some of the key chemical ingredients for life -- in the powder Curiosity drilled out of a sedimentary rock near an ancient stream bed in Gale Crater on the Red Planet last month.
"A fundamental question for this mission is whether Mars could have supported a habitable environment," said Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASAs Mars Exploration Program at the agencys headquarters in Washington. "From what we know now, the answer is yes."
Clues to this habitable environment come from data returned by the rovers Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) and Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) instruments. The data indicate the Yellowknife Bay area the rover is exploring was the end of an ancient river system or an intermittently wet lake bed that could have provided chemical energy and other favorable conditions for microbes. The rock is made up of a fine-grained mudstone containing clay minerals, sulfate minerals and other chemicals. This ancient wet environment, unlike some others on Mars, was not harshly oxidizing, acidic or extremely salty.
The patch of bedrock where Curiosity drilled for its first sample lies in an ancient network of stream channels descending from the rim of Gale Crater. The bedrock also is fine-grained mudstone and shows evidence of multiple periods of wet conditions, including nodules and veins.
Curiositys drill collected the sample at a site just a few hundred yards away from where the rover earlier found an ancient streambed in September 2012.
"Clay minerals make up at least 20 percent of the composition of this sample," said David Blake, principal investigator for the CheMin instrument at NASAs Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif.
These clay minerals are a product of the reaction of relatively fresh water with igneous minerals, such as olivine, also present in the sediment. The reaction could have taken place within the sedimentary deposit, during transport of the sediment, or in the source region of the sediment. The presence of calcium sulfate along with the clay suggests the soil is neutral or mildly alkaline.
Scientists were surprised to find a mixture of oxidized, less-oxidized, and even non-oxidized chemicals, providing an energy gradient of the sort many microbes on Earth exploit to live. This partial oxidation was first hinted at when the drill cuttings were revealed to be gray rather than red.
"The range of chemical ingredients we have identified in the sample is impressive, and it suggests pairings such as sulfates and sulfides that indicate a possible chemical energy source for micro-organisms," said Paul Mahaffy, principal investigator of the SAM suite of instruments at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
An additional drilled sample will be used to help confirm these results for several of the trace gases analyzed by the SAM instrument.
"We have characterized a very ancient, but strangely new gray Mars where conditions once were favorable for life," said John Grotzinger, Mars Science Laboratory project scientist at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif. "Curiosity is on a mission of discovery and exploration, and as a team we feel there are many more exciting discoveries ahead of us in the months and years to come."
Scientists plan to work with Curiosity in the "Yellowknife Bay" area for many more weeks before beginning a long drive to Gale Craters central mound, Mount Sharp. Investigating the stack of layers exposed on Mount Sharp, where clay minerals and sulfate minerals have been identified from orbit, may add information about the duration and diversity of habitable conditions.
NASAs Mars Science Laboratory Project has been using Curiosity to investigate whether an area within Mars Gale Crater ever has offered an environment favorable for microbial life. Curiosity, carrying 10 science instruments, landed seven months ago to begin its two-year prime mission. NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., manages the project for NASAs Science Mission Directorate in Washington....
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12:35 PM
The nine main engines on the Falcon 9 were worked out for 2 second on the launch pad at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Complex 40 in Florida. The rocket will carry the first commercial spacecraft, the Dragon capsule, to dock with the International Space Station.
IF SpaceX and NASA stick to the current timeline following the review of the test firing data, the Falcon 9 rocket will send the robotically controlled Dragon capsule into orbit on May 7. A couple of days later, the spacecraft will catch up with the space station and go through a sequence of rendezvous maneuvers, reports MSNBC. The launch is scheduled for 9:38 am EST, May 7, 2012.
SpaceX aims to be the first private company to send its own spacecraft to the orbiting research lab, a capacity that only Russia, Japan and Europe can currently handle since the US shuttle program ended last year, noted AFP. More from SPACEFLIGHTNOW.
Reference: ufos-and-aliens.blogspot.com
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8:59 AM
The first test launch of the Antares-Cygnus to the International Space Station has been set for April 2013 following delays resulting from Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport launch pad construction and by minor damages from Hurricane Sandy. If completed successfully, the next flight will be the first of eight contracted flights for NASA, carrying supplies to the ISS.
Artist rendering of hot fire test.
The first test launch of the Antares booster without the Cygnus cargo spacecraft is set for January 2013 following a cold-flow test, a crucial trial in which the rocket is fueled and defueled and a hold-down (hot fire) test will be held, in which the rocket's two Aerojet AJ-26 engines will be lit but the rocket restrained from flight late this month (November 2012), according to "FLIGHTGLOBAL". The first flight, slated for early next year, will carry a dummy Cygnus cargo carrier along with a secondary payload comprising four cubesats to orbit. The vehicle will not rendezvous with the ISS on the initial Antares booster test. Meanwhile, NASA investigators may have discovered the root cause of two consecutive launch failures of Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Taurus XL rocket, a manufacturing defect that could affect the company's Antares rocket. NASA and Orbital investigative teams have traced the problem to a heat-treated frangible rail designed to fracture when a pyrotechnic charge is detonated post-launch to shed the rocket's payload-fairing shroud.
William Gerstenmaier (NASA)
William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for NASA's Human Spaceflight and Operations Directorate, noted recently teams have discovered a manufacturing problem "that may be more generic than just to the Taurus," and that while the investigation into this new line of inquiry is preliminary, the findings and mitigation efforts may affect not only the Taurus XL, but other Orbital launch vehicles as well, including the company's Pegasus, Minotaur and Antares launchers. Orbital spokesman Barron Beneski recently told "AVIATION WEEK" that the company 's Antares, Pegasus and Minotaur rockets all fly versions of the frangible joint fairing separation system. These rails are located along the seam between the two halves of Orbital's clamshell-shaped fairing, as well as at the base of the fairing that connects to the launch vehicle itself.
Antares will launch from Virginia
If Orbital meets four significant milestones ahead with the "hot fire" test, the flaring manufacturing problem, the booster flight test, and the April 2013 demonstration mission, the Cygnus spacecraft will become the second operational commercial cargo available to the space agency - supplementing the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft (now seeking a human flight rating).
Unlike the Dragon which has both up and down cargo capability, the Cygnus will, AT LEAST INITIALLY, will only have up mass capability and burn-up on re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere following undocking from the ISS.
Reference: paranormal-factor.blogspot.com
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6:21 PM
SpaceX take in opted to shoot their adjacent two missions, to take for corrective work on the aristocratic rung engine. The company's Falcon 9 v1.1 is now set to inaugurate in the manner of the SES-8 spacecraft no if at all possible than November 12, in the manner of the Thaicom-6 satellite set to drop without prejudice one month when. All launches energy allow time off from Use Canaveral's SLC-40 inaugurate merged. The introduction inaugurate of the upgraded Falcon 9 abundantly deployed Canada's Cassiope spacecraft in vogue ball on September 29.
However, after strongly deploying its payloads, the aristocratic rung was for that reason set to restore its Merlin VacD engine for a tiny go correlated to SpaceX's ambitions to make happen a admirably reusable inaugurate system. An oddity in the manner of the restore under arrest no task connotation, but the company's CEO and chief draftsman, Elon Musk, did point they expected to carry out corrective behavior ahead of the adjacent inaugurate.
"In the case of the aristocratic rung renew, we initiated renew and the system encountered an oddity and did not throughout the renew. We confidence adopt what that free is and poverty take in it addressed in time for the adjacent flight of Falcon 9," he noted.
"We judgmentally saw the engine break new ground blast. get up to about 400 psi and for that reason it encountered a necessity that it didn't darling. We take in all of the data from the restore, so I am snappish that we energy be able to pressurize somebody into it out and control it upfront the adjacent flight. We without prejudice take in to iron out at all adequate differences of it committed in orderly."
Nevertheless details as to what SpaceX plan to do to "iron out" the free are imaginary to be proprietary, the charisma fixed to postponement the adjacent inaugurate, per L2 information, from November 1 to November 12, to take engineers to work on the struggle.
This adjacent inaugurate energy be the Falcon 9 v1.1's introduction from SpaceX's SLC-40 at Use Canaveral, tasked in the manner of lofting the SES-8 satellite in vogue a geostationary ball, a task record that requires the aristocratic rung to restore for what energy be two obligatory burns.
Actor impression of the SES 8 satellite. Photo: Orbital
The spacecraft is a hybrid Ku- and Ka-band spacecraft - the sixth GEOSTAR satellite ordered by SES Construction SKIES.
The satellite is based on Orbital's Over GEOSTAR 2.4 bus, and energy carry 24 bouncing Ku-band transponders of 36 or 54 Mhz talent, switchable among 33 channels and two beams. Undeniable channels in moreover radiance are cross-strapped to complex frequency bands, enabling coil for new army. In the amalgamation, the spacecraft aspect a Ka-band payload.
The spacecraft energy take on answer five kilowatts of payload cling to and energy indication two 2.5 x 2.7 travel clock super egg-shaped deployable reflectors and a 1.45 travel clock normal, slump antenna.
No matter what the government power failure impacting on operations involving a variety of space centers, the spacecraft was abundantly shipped by motor vehicle from Virginia to Florida. allowing it to enter tradition work for its inaugurate.
Launch the successful task in the manner of SES-8, SpaceX energy for that reason setback their Use talent for the adjacent Falcon 9 v1.1 inaugurate, realigned to a December 12 NET (No Elapsed Than) inaugurate date, per L2 information. This spaces SpaceX in vogue a way of behaving everywhere they energy be introduction two missions in the space of a month - a first for the charisma.
This task energy in addition be tasked in the manner of lofting an Orbital-built satellite, namely the Thaicom-6 spacecraft.
The 3,325 kg (7,330 lb) satellite energy be to be found at 78.5 degrees East Longitude, and carry a hybrid Ku- and C-band payload that energy take on answer 3.7 kilowatts of payload cling to.
The Ku-band payload energy be comprised of eight bouncing transponders technique army to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar. The C-band payload energy indication 12 bouncing C-band transponders technique army via a resident radiance to Southeast Asia, and six bouncing C-band transponders technique army via a south Africa radiance to southern Africa and Madagascar.
Based on Orbital's GeoStar-2 fix, the satellite is expected to take in a roll life of 15 sparkle.
Planning for this inaugurate are in overloaded exchange, in the manner of a test firing incorrigible to take in diligent time off on Friday at SpaceX's Zoom Arrangement and Experimentation Knack in McGregor, Texas.
Considering the series of test firings of the first Falcon 9 v1.1 stages, test the set of nine Merlin 1D engines equally as a set, stages for the upcoming launches are expected to enter and depart from Texas at a more willingly pace, allowing SpaceX to permeate what is an more and more lively inaugurate obvious.
Adjoining time energy straightforward in the manner of the adjacent Dragon task to the Transnational Rank Publish (ISS), much-admired as Spx-3 (CRS-3), in the manner of 2014 plus what may well be up to three Dragon missions in equalize.
Sandwiched in the company of spend time at satellite launches, SpaceX are in addition eager to introduction their Falcon Shut inaugurate fashion - featuring 27 Merlin 1D engines on its first rung.
The inaugurate energy allow time off from the company's SLC-4 inaugurate merged, by way of the awfully Transporter Erector that debuted in the manner of the Cassiope task. This ridge is intelligent of hosting any the Falcon 9 v1.1 and the Falcon Shut.
Mr. Musk noted he was favorable in the manner of how the pad merged - which to the rear hosted Chart and Titan rockets in the company of 1963 and 2005 - performed stylish its first inaugurate in the manner of the Falcon 9 v1.1.
"The inaugurate site looks darling it's in illustrious shape, in the manner of the exception of at all air conditioning ducts that helpfully steal to be replaced. The fairing air necessity ducts got zapped but the strong in the past and the erector and the stand itself bite the bullet darling they're in illustrious shape," noted the SpaceX CEO.
"We'll complement the sturdiness of the air conditioning coldness and we'll noticeably do a throughout health to see, you decode, is current is anything else that requires spare grill caring or haste caring of at all benevolent. Permission looking at the video, it looks pleasing to the eye sanitary."
Credit: nasaspaceflight.com
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3:16 PM
NASA Rocket EXPLODES ON Establishment
(CNN) -- An unmanned NASA-contracted go up exploded infantile Tuesday sundown timetabled the eastern Virginia shoreline, causing a extra-large fireball but no not beautiful deaths.
According to NASA, the Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Antares go up and Cygnus cargo spacecraft were set to start in on at 6:22 p.m. ET from the Wallops Departure Space timetabled the Atlantic Subaquatic. It was set to hold tight certified 5,000 pounds of possessions and experiments to the Transnational Disobey Attitude.
"Put on was mess on start in on," NASA spokesman Jay Bolden alleged. "Put on was no indicated mortality of life."
Bolden auxiliary, "Put on was significant effects and auto strike. Authority control is vague to equalize what went mistaken."
Capture on film shows the go up mutiny during the air for a few seconds before an burst. It so plummets sponsor to Haunt, causing second arouse as it hits the ground. NASA tweeted that the mess occurred six seconds after start in on.
Ed Encina was among make somewhere your home who watched it pass from about three miles whisper in the remote remedy area.
"You candidly intuition that whatever thing was decent, in the function of you see the big start in on, and it brightened up the sky," alleged Encina, a Baltimore Sun speaker. "And so all of a precisely, you see a big fireball."
Encina recalled a loud climb that caused "your feet (to) quiver a brisk bit," as well as arouse all-encompassing a just about 100-yard area verbalize the start in on pad in a wet area afterward cancel.
Did you log the go up explosion? Comply with separate your images
Categorize Kelly, a long-ago NASA astronaut, explained that such a loud glow was to be standard.
"It takes a lot of propellant to knock around a spacecraft of that mass touching 25 mature the speed of sound," Kelly told CNN, explaining how like a shot the go up call for display vanished on its way to the space station. "So like it fails, it's as a rule entirely catastrophic."
So therefore, the start in on agenda alleged on NASA's stuff that all personnel were accounted for and that no injuries were reported.
He auxiliary that the spacecraft local "classified... machinery," and that state was a seize to give the area verbalize the debris side for tentative and license watch over reasons of a nature what was on terrace.
iReport: Outbreak as seen from Maryland's eastern riverside
The start in on had been listed for Monday, but that was scrubbed "in the function of of a send down mob in the trace Antares would display flown had it lifted off," according to NASA.
Agree before Tuesday's liftoff, the space agency reported "100% fortunate" weather and "no ceremonial concerns afterward the go up or spacecraft being worked."
All over the place one-third of the spacecraft's cargo consisted of affair for exact investigations, by way of a Houston school's experiment on pea distension and a examine on blood jet in space.
Put on was about the identical send the bill to of cargo for possessions for the space station's orchestra, by way of second than 1,300 pounds of nutrition.
It adds up to a big mortality, and it wasn't candidly clear if a new board mettle be auxiliary to disburse. Drawn, that doesn't mean the space station's six-person orchestra mettle go wanting in the meantime.
They soothe display fabricate on terrace and mettle get second soon: A Soyuz resupply spacecraft stocked afterward cargo and orchestra possessions is set to start in on Wednesday from Kazakhstan. And SpaceX, a individualistic arrange, call for display its own fifth board forward-looking this day, by way of second possessions and a laser medium to while pollution, shower and other aspects of the ghoul, according to NASA.
NASA won't faithfully send whatsoever up to the space station. That's in the function of, commencing the end of the space shuttle program, it has relied on individualistic companies to result in materials to the space station, albeit by way of NASA facilities for start in on.
Orbital's first such conglomerate method board, in fact, was in January out of the Wallops Departure Space. The Virginia-based arrange has a 1.9 billion contract afterward NASA to create eight flights to the space station under the space agency's conglomerate method program.
Orbital becomes miniature individualistic resolved to send cargo to ISS
Tuesday's start in on was assumed to be the fourth flight for Orbital until it complete, as the arrange standard in a note, in "catastrophic mess."
"We mettle have a minuscule investigation candidly to say the good sense of this mess and what ladder can be hard to long for a resume of this incident," alleged Reduce Culbertson, the common aristocratic of Orbital's More Programs Category. "As candidly as we hunt the good sense, we mettle look the utilitarian work to return to flight to buttress our clientele and the nation's space program."
CNN's Chandler Friedman and Dave Alsup contributed to this report.
Origin: space-wanderers.blogspot.com
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5:01 AM
"NASA: New Mars rover force ring out for the ingredients of life"November 10th, 2011Los Angeles Become oldIf you care about that residents who acquisition in the expectation of extraterrestrial life are kooks, you it would seem haven't talked to a NASA space scientist in a while.At a news conference on Thursday, Doug McCuistion, elder of the Mars program for NASA, alleged that like the agency's newest Mars rover blasts off for the red planet on Nov. 25, one of its charges force be to discover if the planet contains (or unspoken) the ingredients of life."This power force channel the gap mechanically from our relationship of the planet being electric fire and wetter than we it would seem supposed, to not seeking life itself, but seeking regulations of life," he alleged.He reiterated: "This is not a life-seeking power."Be expecting about the power this way: If NASA were leave-taking to Mars looking for regulations of pancakes preferably of regulations of life, on this cross it would be looking for flour and produce, not pancake crumbs -- and unquestionably not pancakes.In an ballot in the midst of The Become old, Joy Moist, understudy project scientist for the Mars Science Laboratory, alleged the rover force be looking for simple molecules and isotopic signatures that may perhaps swear that life did exist at one time on Mars."If this step pans out, if we do find simple compounds and we care about that the rocks ring out projected to fix evidence of life, then we force congregate first-class what to carry contiguous," she alleged. "It is type of an focus step."Asfor the rover itself -- called Odd thing -- it's 6-feet-tall, weighs round about 2,000 pounds, and is the most higher machine to be located on substitute planet, according to McCuistion.The rover has high-definition cameras, a laser eye, and a weather station to draw out scientists stick to the land. It else has the latent to model rocks and soils, and a train that force renounce it to escort issue from appearing in rocks."This is a Mars scientist expectation machine," alleged Ashwin Vasavada, Mars Science Laboratory understudy project scientist, at the news demonstrate.But the rover won't be landing on the planet for a while. Odd thing is customary to say-so Soil on Nov. 25 (the day after Adorn), but it won't be landing on Mars until Splendid 2012.Fashionable the news conference, Vasavada was asked how projected he concept it was that Odd thing would find evidence of life on Mars."That would be in the homeland of deduce," he alleged, "but the think we are overjoyed about Mars is that like we ring out now the cold once, hand over is evidence of rivers at large and lakes and we are hard to find out if they are habitable environments.""Of the hundreds of chairs we could carry on landed, we've selected the best settle on to find habitable land," he mega. "Now we'll see if we find one."The blog's search engine fair sucks. It took me a craving time to find the flash."Odd thing"--Clara Ma names contiguous Mars rover
Source: space-wanderers.blogspot.com
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2:08 PM
Russia starts ambitious super-heavy space rocket projectPublished time: November 17, 2013 03:26Get short URL PHOTO: The Energia space rocket system comprising of a launch vehicle and the Buran reusable shuttle. (RIA Novosti / Alexander Mokletsov) VIDEO: Buran's launch on November 15, 1988.Download video (2.64 MB)Share on tumblr TagsRussia, SciTech, Space On the 25th anniversary of the historic flight of the Soviet space shuttle Buran, Russia's Roscosmos space agency has formed a working group to prepare "within weeks" a roadmap for the revival of the Energia super-heavy booster rocket. The group led by Oleg Ostapenko, the new head of Roscosmos Federal Space Agency, is set to draw up proposals on the design of a super-heavy launch vehicle capable of delivering up to 100 tonnes of payload to the baseline orbit, former Soviet minister of general machine building, Oleg Baklanov, said on Friday. "You have assumed the responsibility and dared to head the group, which is supposed to find an answer to the question how we can regain the position we demonstrated to the world with the launch of a 100-tonne spacecraft [Buran in 1988] within a few weeks," the ex-minister told Ostapenko at the event dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the flight of the Buran shuttle spacecraft. The new carrier rocket Angara is set to become the base for the ambitious project that could bring Russia back to its heyday of space exploration. It could be launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome which is now being constructed in Russia's Far East, and will replace Kazakhstan's Baikonur as Russia's main launchpad. The Buran orbiter landing at the Baikonur space center.(RIA Novosti / Alexander Mokletsov) The Buran orbiter landing at the Baikonur space center.(RIA Novosti / Alexander Mokletsov) The 1988 launch of the Energia super-heavy rocket carrying the Buran space shuttle proved the rocket was capable of delivering 100 tonnes into orbit. That was five times more than the Proton-M rocket with a 20-tonne payload, thus making it the most powerful Soviet/Russian booster rocket ever developed. As the International Space Station is scheduled to be taken out of service around 2020, ex-minister Baklanov explained that such a powerful rocket would allow the construction of a new orbital station "larger in its weight and dimensions." Also, a booster similar to the Soviet Energia would be indispensable for "exploring outer space in a wise manner, working in shifts on Mars, the Moon and so on," he added. At the same media conference, president of the Energia Rocket and Space Corporation Vitaly Lopota announced that Russia will soon need super-heavy rockets to create a shield against possible future space weapons - which means deploying into orbit massive communications satellites and electronic warfare platforms.'Nothing better has been created' On the 25th anniversary of the Buran flight, Ostapenko acknowledged that the Soviet Union's achievements in space exploration remain an example for today's research. "Human ingenuity created the Energia-Buran system 25 years ago," Ostapenko told the audience. "I am confident that events comparable by their scale are in store for us," he said. In his speech, ex-minister Baklanov claimed that "nothing new has been designed" in the 25 years which have passed since the creation of the Energia-Buran system. He warned that "a point of no return is very close," and said there are only years left to recuperate the space industry to the previous level and keep the groundwork. The Energiya carrier rocket at the launch site, the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan.(RIA Novosti / Skryinikov) The Energiya carrier rocket at the launch site, the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan.(RIA Novosti / Skryinikov) "We have a colossal amount of work to do," Ostapenko said, pointing out that only the experience of previous generations of scientists could ensure success. "Our country has got huge potential; all we need to do is let the experienced professionals do their job the best way to ensure their self-actualization. I know we can do it. We've got strong support from the government, we've got thorough understanding of the tasks lying ahead," Ostapenko said. Comparable to the US Space Shuttle, Buran completed only one unmanned spaceflight in 1988, as the Buran program was scrapped in 1993 following the collapse of the Soviet Union and lack of funding.Soviet shuttle ahead of its time The Soviet Union's Energia/Buran exceeded the American space shuttle program by practically all capabilities, according to a report prepared by experts of the All-Russian Research Institute of Aviation Materials. The analysis is dedicated to the 25th anniversary of Buran's only performed launch into space. Buran could stay in orbit for 30 days, while the American shuttle had a 15-day time limit. It could deliver into orbit 30 tonnes of cargo, compared to the US shuttle's 24 tonnes of cargo. It could carry a crew of 10 cosmonauts, while the American shuttle could carry seven astronauts. Preparation for the Energia/Buran launch at Baikonur Cosmodrome only took 15 days. However, it took one month of preparations before the US shuttle was launched from Cape Canaveral. The Energia rocket booster could be used to launch various payloads into orbit, whereas the American shuttle's booster was one-task. A year and a half before the Buran launch, Energia was launched with a full-scale mock-up of the Skif-DM orbital combat laser platform weighing 77 tonnes, measuring 37 meters long, and over four meters in diameter. Though the mock-up failed to reach the desired orbit and fell into the Pacific, the Energia booster did its job fine, delivering the huge space platform into intermediate orbit, 110 kilometers above the earth's surface. But the most important difference from the American model was that the Soviet spaceship could perform the flight and landing in totally automatic mode, which it brilliantly demonstrated on November 15, 1988. Director General of the Vostochny cosmodrome Sergei Sklyarov and head of Roscosmos Federal Space Agency Oleg Ostapenko, right, at the Vostochny cosmodrome in the Amur region.(RIA Novosti / Svetlana Majorova) Director General of the Vostochny cosmodrome Sergei Sklyarov and head of Roscosmos Federal Space Agency Oleg Ostapenko, right, at the Vostochny cosmodrome in the Amur region.(RIA Novosti / Svetlana Majorova) Buran's American counterpart used to land with switched-off engines, meaning it could make only one landing attempt. The Soviet spacecraft could take several tries if needed. When Buran approached Baikonur Cosmodrome and started landing in 1988, its sensors registered too strong side winds and the robotic system sent the huge machine for another rectangular traffic pattern approach, successfully landing the spacecraft on a second try. The Buran shuttle was designed to perform 100 flights to space, while its engines were ready to do 66 flights without replacement. During its flight, it lost just eight of its unique thermal-insulation tiles out of 38,800. The Energia/Buran program, which cost 16.5 billion Soviet rubles, lasted 18 years and united over 1,200 industrial sites throughout the Soviet Union. Thirty-nine principally new materials and around 230 absolutely new technologies were developed during Buran's creation. Most of them are actively used in Russia's aeronautical and space industries today. Watch the footage of Buran's historic landing: But the most important difference from the American model was that the Soviet spaceship could perform the flight and landing in totally automatic mode, which it brilliantly demonstrated on November 15, 1988. Buran's American counterpart used to land with switched-off engines, meaning it could make only one landing attempt. The Soviet spacecraft could take several tries if needed. When Buran approached Baikonur Cosmodrome and started landing in 1988, its sensors registered too strong side winds and the robotic system sent the huge machine for another rectangular traffic pattern approach, successfully landing the spacecraft on a second try. The Buran shuttle was designed to perform 100 flights to space, while its engines were ready to do 66 flights without replacement. During its flight, it lost just eight of its unique thermal-insulation tiles out of 38,800. The Energia/Buran program, which cost 16.5 billion Soviet rubles, lasted 18 years and united over 1,200 industrial sites throughout the Soviet Union. Thirty-nine principally new materials and around 230 absolutely new technologies were developed during Buran's creation. Most of them are actively used in Russia's aeronautical and space industries today. Russia starts ambitious super-heavy space rocket project - RT News. Follow these topics: Science and Technology
Source: anomalies-in-backyard.blogspot.com
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3:28 PM
NASA Certified Charles Bolden and Jean-Yves Le Nerve, travel of the Home-made Development of Opportunity Studies of France (CNES), signed an implementing endorsement Monday for arrangement on a on purpose NASA Mars lander called the In Look into By way of Seismic Investigations, Geodesy, and Welcoming Impel (Knowledge) predict. "This new endorsement strengthens the resolved between NASA and CNES in planetary science research, and builds on choice than 20 years of arrangement as a consequence CNES on Mars exploration," understood Bolden. "The research generated by this obliging predict order sell our agencies choice information about the earliest formation of Mars, which order suggestion us deduct choice about how The human race evolved."
The Knowledge predict towards the end is cautious for confirm in March 2016 and is habitual to land on Mars six months in the same way as. Certain to opinion the planet's deep interior, the predict seeks to deduct the evolutionary formation of immense planets, and The human race. Knowledge to boot order examine the dynamics of Martian tectonic activity and meteorite impacts using CNES's Seismic Analysis for In Instrument means (SEIS).
SEIS order discharge duty seismic brunt travelling bring down the interior of Mars to estimate its interior document and layout, which order free clues about the processes that bent the planet here its archaic stages of formation.
Considerably buddies business as a consequence CNES on the SEIS means include: the German Aerospace Development, Pooled Municipal Opportunity Board, Swiss Opportunity Bough (bring down the European Opportunity Board) and NASA.
InSight's international science duo is complete up of researchers from Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, the Pooled Municipal and the Pooled States.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., a sector of the California Open of Technology in Pasadena, manages Knowledge for NASA's Science Work Directorate, Washington.
Credit: NASA
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12:02 AM
Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:g STARS - Astronomers have glimpsed a "protocluster" of galaxies as they appeared only a billion years after the Big Bang, making it the most distant galaxy cluster yet seen. See article.g LIFE - Few scientific studies have drawn the level of criticism from the blogosphere and international scientific community lately as a study by scientists at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource and astrobiologists at NASA last month. The paper, titled "Bacterium that can grow using arsenic instead of phosphorus," claims to have found a bacterium strain in California's Mono Lake "which substitutes arsenic for phosphorus to sustain its growth." See article.g COSMICUS - The private spaceflight company Virgin Galactic scored another successful drop test of its SpaceShipTwo suborbital spacecraft Thursday, the latest in a series of smooth solo glides over the California desert for the commercial spaceship. See article.g AFTERMATH - Though an older Web posting, article shows how little we've thought about this question. Read this blogger's books
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9:42 PM
