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Lunar Library Sections:OotC Sections:
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Section: HF Facilities/InfrastructureFrom The Ground Up Vol. 4 #9Ken Murphy / 12:34 am October 4th, 2008  Near Earth LLC Librarian’s Note: A number of good editorials in this month’s edition. A nice reminder that crisis = opportunity. Launch Magazine Vol. 3 #5Ken Murphy / 11:58 pm September 30th, 2008  Launch Magazine Librarian’s Note: Includes an article on the 2008 Lunar Regolith Excavation Challenge, which in my view is an incredible opportunity to do some ‘prep work’ for working on the Moon. There are a variety of techniques and designs applied to the challenge, and in this free market of ideas the better designs are going to rise to the top. The cover story is lushly illustrated look at the upcoming Hubble-servicing mission, including a cool picture of some of the custom tools. That is one sexy-looking drill. I also have a strong desire to add the Flown to the Moon Beta Cloth Patch Signed by Apollo 11 Crew found in the auction advert to the Lunar Library, though the Library’s budget is nowhere close to being anywhere close to affording something like that. I’ll just stick with books, magazines and videos… adAstra Fall 2008Ken Murphy / 2:56 pm September 20th, 2008  adAstra: The Magazine of the National Space Society Librarian’s Note: The NSS is teaming up with Virgin Galactic to create a cadre of Space Ambassadors who will carry the message of the importance of space development to schools, civic organizations, and so on. One Space Ambassador will actually travel to space aboard SpaceShip Two. Will you be the one? Tech Briefs Vol. 32 No. 9Ken Murphy / 1:56 am September 16th, 2008  NASA Via SatelliteKen Murphy / 1:08 am August 22nd, 2008  Via Satellite “Solar Sails: A Novel Approach to Interplanetary Travel”Ken Murphy / 12:51 am August 14th, 2008 Vulpetti, Giovanni, Les Johnson & Gregory L. Matloff Librarian’s Note: Next to aerospike engines, I think Solar sails are one of my favorite technologies. The opening scene of Pierre Boulle’s “La Planète des Singes” is set aboard a luxury space yacht that travels around the Solar system, propelled by Solar sails. Once we get a foothold in the high frontier by developing cislunar space, I think Solar sails are going to prove quite useful in shuttling supplies and space probes around the Solar system. Tacking on the Solar wind is rather simple. Assume your spacecraft is facing the top of the page, and the Sun is off to the right. When your sail is angled / then the photons are going to be hitting the sail and bouncing towards the bottom of the page, accelerating your craft along its velocity vector to the top of the page. When the sail is angled \ then the photons will be bouncing towards the top of the page, exerting an equal and opposite force in the downward direction and decelerating your craft. This is what moves you Sunward or starward. It’s what rich people will be playing with in 50 years (and the rest of us poor schlubs hopefully not too long after) if we get our act together in developing space. Space Based Solar Power - Alternative Energy SolutionKen Murphy / 12:56 am July 29th, 2008 bagtaggar Librarian’s Note: I’m not sure why the media doesn’t pay more attention to this topic, unless they’ve decided to ignore it. This type of energy infrastructure has the benefit of tapping what to us is effectively a permanent power source - our Sun. Not due to expire for another 4 billion years or so. Most of the energy we use is second or third-hand Solar power anyway. By placing them up out of the Earth’s atmosphere we can tap a broader spectrum of the Sun’s energy, offering opportunities for increases in efficiency. It’s phenomenal baseline power as it is harvested 24 hours per day, seven days a week, 365-ish days a year. Ish because there are a few hours at the equinoxes when orbital geometries require that the GEO sats will be obscured by the Earth’s shadow for an aggregate of a couple of hours. But you never have to worry about overcast skies. This is an important topic, as energy = prosperity. If you’d like to learn more, your Lunar Librarian also recommends GaiaSelene, and you should stop by the High Frontier Facilities/Infrastructure section to learn more about Space-Based Solar Power. Tech Briefs Vol. 32 No. 7Ken Murphy / 1:09 am July 18th, 2008  Tech Briefs Vol. 32 No. 7 Launch Magazine Vol.3 #3Ken Murphy / 3:20 am June 28th, 2008  Launch Magazine Librarian’s Note: There may have been a delivery hiccup this time around. If you haven’t gotten your Launch yet, and should have, then click through the link to get more details. Another well-done issue, even the advertising is cool. Lots of great articles, from a model rocket Ares I & Ares V (maybe VI), about 1/70th scale, an overview of Discovery Channel’s “When We Left Earth”, a long interview with Elon Musk, another with rocketeer Bill Stine, a cautionary article on weapons in space from Ben Bova, to the auction results from the Dallas Air & Space auction at the Frontiers of Flight Museum. Moon Miner’s Manifesto #216Ken Murphy / 6:37 pm June 14th, 2008  Kokh, Peter (ed.) Librarian’s Note: More ISDC updates, including the Moon Society’s Solar Power Sat demo. For Moon Society Members only. ISDC 2008 - Day 3Ken Murphy / 5:18 pm June 1st, 2008  Liveblogging Morning Afternoon Mmmmm…Astronaut ice cream A Babe in the Universe sums up her out of this world experience in ISDC, Gala Dinner and Witnessing the Dream, and The Techie Nerd Physicist in ISDC 2008 - Celebrating Space Exploration and Some Amazing Scoops. Update: Just a reminder to non-NSS members - you do not need to be a member of NSS to attend. You just need to register and pay. These conferences are open to EVERYONE interested in space. Special Note: Will Pomerantz notes in his Part 1 blog post that he will be speaking at the Goddard NASA Academy right after the ISDC. Young Will was one of my charges when I worked as program support staff at the 2002 GSFC Academy (I won’t link directly to his participant’s page…). He’s an example of what the Academy does, train young space leaders. This year’s program has already started, but graduate-level students should consider applying to next year’s Academy. Librarian’s Note: It looks like once again the hometown newspapers for the host city of the ISDC have completely dropped the ball on a major space conference right in their own back yard. I couldn’t find any stories in either the Washington Times or Washington Post. Last year, the Dallas Morning News was four months late in even mentioning the conference. Of course, it is easier to transcribe corporate press releases as news than to actually investigate and report. And the newspapers wonder why their circulation numbers continue to decline… Still, the Orlando paper seems to be on top of things space. ISDC 2008: Day 2Ken Murphy / 1:01 am May 31st, 2008  Liveblogging Morning Afternoon Evening Space Elevator Blog C-SPAN broadcast! NASAWatch / Tony’s Blog (not offensive post, though has warning) / Making Good Mondays Kate in DC gives us a bit too much information in Musings on a Boy. She should just offer to meet him for drinks later to talk about, you know, space stuff. Librarian’s Note: The Hobbyspace link for Part 2 mentions Yuri’s Night, and the Dancing Snoopy award that is given to volunteers that go above and beyond the call of duty. I think they give out certificates these days, but back in the first year, 2001, the volunteers got medals. Here’s the inside scoop. Back in early 2001 I was doing my ISU internship at Boeing HSF&E, Loretta was, IIRC, at JPL (we knew each other from SGF). I was looking for a stuffed astronaut Snoopy. I knew that Knott’s Berry Farm had Peanuts characters, and so rode my bike out to KBF and visited their giftshop. There I found a few astronaut Snoopy items, mainly keychains. Later, when I was showing the space Snoopy booty to Loretta, and we were talking about the upcoming inaugural 2001 Yuri’s Night in L.A., she had the insight to take the dancing astronaut Snoopy off of the keychain and put it onto a ribbon. Voila, instant award for the volunteers, and not too expensive either. Mine is on the left, and is one of my most cherished possessions. ISDC 2008: Day 1Ken Murphy / 1:39 am May 30th, 2008 Liveblogging Morning Afternoon Space Elevator Blog Glenn Reynolds notes the gender ratio at the conference (here’s Cassie at my conference, flirting with Pixel), and the winners of the Space Settlements competition. and my favorite Babe…in the Universe had the good sense to entitle her post on the Space Investment Summit as “Fly Me to the Moon” (and I couldn’t agree more with her sentiment). Librarian’s Note: Unfortunately I can’t make this year’s ISDC, but if it’s as good as the one I co-chaired last year, it should be a great success! Via SatelliteKen Murphy / 11:36 pm May 29th, 2008  Via Satellite “Rocket Man”Ken Murphy / 9:43 pm May 18th, 2008  Foroohar, Kambiz Librarian’s Note: Even more interesting than the story is the magazine in which it’s found, one that goes to everyone who has an account on a Bloomberg terminal. The article hints at a billion dollar equity IPO, one for which I’m certainly going to keep an eye open! Tech Briefs Vol. 32, # 5Ken Murphy / 9:41 pm May 18th, 2008  NASA Librarian’s Note: Features an interview with Dr.William Farrell, a Lunar scientist at GSFC, and the article that caught my eye: “Printed Flexible Solar Cells Provide Embedded Renewable Power”. This is really amazing technology, and apparently not only NASA, but also DARPA, USAF, NSF, DoE and DoC, had roles in its creation. It uses a broader spectrum than conventional Solar cells, and can be made with inkjet printing. Also, important for Lunar use is a new type of power cell with operational temperatures up to 500°C. Even “Direct Metal Laser-Sintering of Titanium”. Reading this magazine is like getting a glimpse of five years into the future. “Space Access 2008 Propellant Depot Panel”Ken Murphy / 2:02 am April 9th, 2008  Goff, Jon Librarian’s Note: I get to guest blog over at the Selenian Boondocks, and both Jon and I are of the mindset that if we’re going to be going out into space, then we should do it in a stepwise manner that builds on tested capabilities for each step further out. The archives over at SB, including the comments, are well worth a visit for some of the best writing around on the creation of a cislunar infrastructure architecture that unlocks commercial opportunities, supplies security peace-of-mind, and is a platform for much more capable science. Propellant depots are the kind of technology that enables more robust utilization of space. They have been a topic of conversation at SB for a while now, and my particular contribution was in regards to inflatable storage tanks (not a new idea), and using straps and electric motors as a means of forcing the propellant from the collapsable tank (in lieu of a pump), sort of like a bota bag. For this contribution, they are sometimes referred to at the blog as “Murphy Bags”. Orbital Debris Quarterly Newsletter Vol 12, #2Ken Murphy / 3:56 pm April 1st, 2008  NASA Orbital Debris Program Office Space Access 2008Ken Murphy / 3:00 am April 1st, 2008 Space Access Society Librarian’s Note: Not a fancy website, these are guys who are working on making sure we have frequent and regular access to low-Earth orbit outside of NASA. They’re focused on rockets, not pretty graphics. Blog Coverage Henry Cate’s Agenda (I think he covered most every single thing!) Thursday Friday Session One: Hobbyspace.com Session Two: Hobbyspace.com / Space Prizes Session Three: Hobbyspace.com / Transterrestrial Musings Session Four: Hobbyspace.com / Transterrestrial Musings / Space Politics Session Five: Hobbyspace.com / Selenian Boondocks Saturday Session One: Hobbyspace.com / Transterrestrial Musings Session Two: Hobbyspace.com Session Three: Hobbyspace.com Session Four: Hobbyspace.com / Transterrestrial Musings Launch Magazine Vol. 2, No. 3Ken Murphy / 3:25 am March 28th, 2008  Launch Magazine Vol. 2, No. 3 Espace MagazineKen Murphy / 3:06 am March 25th, 2008  Espace Magazine Librarian’s Note: Another beautiful and info-packed issue. The subscription for this one is not cheap, especially as the dollar continues to weaken (luckily I prepaid for two years back when the dollar had some strength), but it is sooo worth it. This issue features articles on the Mercury visit, the Columbus Module, the ATV, Italian ISS specialists ALTEC, a look at the ‘tormented’ Ares I, the Chinese ShenLong spaceplane(?), the forgotten Apollo 11 silicon disk, Asia’s (ex-China & Japan) contributions to space, a Mars astromobile, the French spaceplane, and much, much more. I even learn new French words like écusson. “Special Report: Space-Based Solar Power”Ken Murphy / 2:51 am March 25th, 2008  Various Librarian’s Note: I just heard from the NSS that the Special Report is now available online! “Living Off the Land in Space: Green Roads to the Cosmos”Ken Murphy / 1:30 am February 25th, 2008 Matloff, Gregory L., Les Johnson & C. Bangs “Oxford Dictionary of Astronomy, 2nd Ed.”Ken Murphy / 2:48 am December 27th, 2007 Ridpath, Ian Librarian’s Note: While the title might mislead you into thinking this is a reference for telescope observers, at over 4,200 entries it could really be considered a ‘Dictionary of Space Science”, as a nice companion to Oxford’s “Dictionary of Space Exploration”. |
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