Space Today Research Articles

Innovative manufacturing of 3D‐lightweight components

AbstractFibre‐reinforced plastics (or: fibre‐reinforced polymers, FRPs) – a group of materials with excellent and largely adjustable properties – have found their way into many industries over the past yearsn and have established themselves in various sectors. Continuous FRPs have a wide potential for lightweight designs due to their ability to withstand high mechanical loads despite their tare weight. Today's air and space technologies or the wind power industry are unimaginable without this material. Fibre‐reinforced components will form one of the most importantkey factors for the European industry with its energy‐efficient production to fulfil the increasing global demands e.g. energy efficiency, waste avoidance and reduction of CO2‐emissions.

You Had Me at Foucault: Living Pedagogically in the Digital Age

This essay examines the role of technology and social media in the performance of decentered heteronormative bodily and pedagogical power. Today's teaching spaces occupy traditional, physical outlets but also imaginary, online gathering places such as blogs, Twitter, and Facebook that have become extensions of our pedagogical bodies. I argue that feminism and queer theory—united by Foucault's upheaval of norms—provide critical sites to engage this discussion. Where feminism has become accessible inside and outside the classroom, resistance to queer theory persists. I share some of my own experiences with bodily ambiguity via teaching and living with social media that I hope can bridge the accessibility gap to move toward an emancipatory theory of pedagogical bodies in the digital age.

Space Weather Workshop: A Catalyst for Partnerships

Space Weather Workshop: A Catalyst for Partnerships

Exoskeleton Solutions to Bone and Muscle Atrophy Within Microgravity Environments

Weakening of muscle and bone tissue after merely a week of exposure to a microgravity environment has been demonstrated to adversely affect the physiological health of astronauts . Innovative solutions meant to replace traditionally bulky resistance-based devices are highly sought by burgeoning private space travel companies as well as other ambitious spaceflight programs that require a robust and effective solution for long durations in microgravity . The purpose of this study is to explore the unique contributions of exoskeleton technology in providing an effective, compact and elegant preventative device through assessing the current ability of exoskeleton technologies in stressing the body, formulating design requirements of an exoskeleton device and highlighting the areas of exoskeleton development that require further work in the realization of a robust microgravity-atrophy solution. An understanding of the abilities and shortcomings of current exoskeleton technologies is necessary to develop and streamline advanced forms of today's space physiological devices . The physiologically familiar structure of an exoskeleton, being built around the human form, would also provide for a greater degree of compactness, affecting everything from launch expenses to living arrangements in any space module. A more effective and persistent method of stressing the body will ultimately allow for a drastic decrease in bone and muscle atrophy, requiring less therapy should any space traveler return to a gravity environment as well as preventing various related ailments during their time in space. In conducting the study, a literature search was performed to identify fundamental design parameters. Designs were then formulated to best fit the required design specifications with difficult or absent features being noted. Initial design concepts based on traditional resistance-based solutions were also developed to further characterize the particular requirements that an exoskeleton would be required to fulfill. These design concepts were then steadily revised into a potential force generation mechanism and device architecture based on factors including human comfort, force generation, effective ranges of motion, materials and geometry. An appraisal of current exoskeleton technology in actualizing the proposed designs and design specifications provides a basis for analysis. The study has uncovered the strong points in exoskeletal designs as well as the major hurdles that, once crossed, will allow exoskeletal technologies to be a viable application in bone and muscle therapies, both in microgravity environments as well as gravity environments. A large hurdle lies in current exoskeleton technologies still utilizing bulky components but past trends have demonstrated a reliable miniaturization in the technology. Particularly important exercises and ranges of motion have been identified and initial designs formulated based on the physiological requirements. The study has demonstrated the need for more efforts in formulating innovative solutions to space-based physiology problems as well as explicitly listing design parameters required for any potential exoskeleton solution.

Cross-cultural issues in space operations: A survey study among ground personnel of the European Space Agency

Today's space operations involve co-working of people with different ethnical, professional and organisational backgrounds. The aim of this study was to examine the implications of cultural diversity for efficient collaboration within the European Space Agency (ESA), and between ESA employees and representatives from other agencies. ESA employees from European countries ( N=576) answered to the CULT Ground Survey. The results showed that differences in relation to leadership and decision making were the most important issues thought to interfere with efficient co-working within ESA, and between ESA employees and colleagues from other agencies. Employees who collaborated with more than three nationalities within ESA indicated most challenges in co-working due to differences in compliance, behavioural norms and competitiveness. Challenges in co-working differed between agencies, and these differences were consistent with value differences in the national populations. The results may have applied value for training of European employees working in international space program teams.

Knowledge Management: A Conceptual Framework

Knowledge is power and a powerful weapon in this information age. We can't just think to be unaware of our world. Simply, because to survive better in the environment you must be aware of the tangible as well as intangible aspects of the world around you. The scientific world of today's space era, where we are not just focusing on the planet we are living in, but trying to explore more and more horizons by means of launching our space shuttles for discovering new planets where life can be found. It is always good to manage what we have in our reach first then to go for more. Management of knowledge is a multidisciplinary field where we have to cater for the need of understanding the different aspects of knowledge, characteristics and types of knowledge and their application areas to be studied and understood first.

Content is Not Enough: A History of Secondary Earth Science Teacher Preparation with Recommendations for Today

Secondary geoscience education has its roots in geography and physiographic education from the turn of the 20th century. High school Earth science reached a peak during the late 1960s and 1970s, after plate tectonic theory revolutionized geology. The production of Earth science teachers, unlike biology teachers, has never reached full capacity, which has likely contributed to the lesser presence and status of Earth and space science in U.S. high schools today. Historically, the geoscience community has focused on enriching teachers' geoscience content knowledge, but modern Earth and space science teachers need more than just content knowledge. Based on current science education research, today's Earth and space science teacher education programs should also include: a) science methods that embrace authentic inquiry and state-of-the-art technology and visualization resources, b) an exploration of formative assessment and how to modify instruction to meet students' learning needs, c) awareness of common misconceptions and strategies to affect conceptual change, and d) how to establish scientific classroom discourse communities to promote scientific literacy. However, geoscience education researchers should prioritize investigations of Earth and space science teacher preparation programs as very little is known about the relationship between such programs, teacher implementation, and student learning.

Plantar Stimulation as a Possible Countermeasure to Microgravity-Induced Neuromotor Degradation

Since the early days of human spaceflight it has been reported that extended exposure to gravitational unloading results in a myriad of neuromotor adaptations that, while appropriate for microgravity, are maladaptive upon return to Earth. If not countered, these adverse effects of microgravity can result in negative health consequences and place crewmembers at risk for injury. The most commonly used countermeasures in today's space programs are those requiring active participation in prescribed exercise regimes that are time intensive, not completely effective, and have led to relatively low compliance. In this paper we review evidence that suggests a "passive" countermeasure in the form of dynamic foot stimulation (DFS) to the plantar surfaces of the feet may be a useful supplement to more traditional exercise countermeasures. This includes reports from both Russian and American investigators using both human and animal models indicating the overall effectiveness of DFS, the specific stimulation parameters involved, and a physiological explanation for the outcomes associated with the exposure to microgravity. Additionally, the use of DFS has the potential to benefit those at risk for muscle atrophy, including those experiencing extended bedrest, the elderly, and those with spinal cord injuries.

Ionospheric ULF oscillations driven from above Arecibo

Understanding the coupling between the surface of the sun, the solar corona, the solar wind, the Earth's magnetosphere and ionosphere is a major focus of today's space research. Over 20 years ago, detailed observations of the ionospheric electron density at Arecibo revealed short period fluctuations (3 minutes), but their cause was never determined. Also, in the past 20 years a number of papers have reported observations of discrete (1–5 mHz) waves at persistent “magic frequencies” in magnetometer data and radar observations of ionospheric drift. Such observations have been generally interpreted as standing waves excited by magnetospheric cavity compressional modes. This assertion has been recently challenged by suggestions that these magic frequencies are not standing waves, but are due to inherent oscillations in the solar wind. Here we show that a subset of discrete 1.7 mHz oscillations in the solar wind plasma density are likely transmitted via a passive magnetospheric oscillation, and are observed as small amplitude (0.1%), discrete 1.7 mHz oscillations in the ionospheric plasma line using the extremely sensitive ionospheric measurements over Arecibo, Puerto Rico. We present over three hours of data using the electron plasma line component of the Arecibo radar incoherent scatter radar spectrum, solar wind number density from the WIND satellite, and magnetic field from the GOES satellite. This paper demonstrates a link between the solar wind and low latitude ionosphere.

Space exploration and astronaut safety

Part history, part technology, and part policy analysis, this one-of-a-kind, landmark book reviews the history of NASA's space exploration program, its astronaut safety program, the present status of the Shuttle and the International Station, and the options and strategic opportunities that present themselves as NASA enters its next phase of space exploration with Project Constellation. Written by one of the foremost experts on space policy, Space Exploration and Astronaut Safety, presents in a highly readable format the state of today's space technology, along with the concerns about safety in space exploration as it applies to current and future programs, and whether these issues can be reconciled and translated into a viable future space policy. The book thoroughly explores NASA's options and how these options are tempered and influenced by astronaut safety considerations as well as by uncertain Congressional funding and complex organizational management issues. It also considers the impact of international participation and the increasing prospect of the privatization of space travel. Based on a thorough evaluation of past and current history, findings from the Shuttle tragedies, interviews with key experts, surveys, and extensive research on the Shuttle, ISS, and related NASA space safety programs, the author lays out a comprehensive presentation on where space exploration has been, where it stands today, where it is going, and where it has the potential to go. Decision makers in government (especially those involved with NASA policy and safety), members of space agencies around the world, aerospace scientists and engineers, space enthusiasts, and academicians will all find this book an indispensable and enlightening guide. Investment in the future of space exploration will cost billions of dollars; this book provides ample background and the impetus to enable policy makers, the aerospace community, and the general public to make balanced, educated decisions on how those dollars can best be spent.

Topology Optimization for an Evolutionary Design of a Thermal Protection System

An optimal thermal protection system design for a spacecraft operating in extreme environments of thermal and acoustic loading is of significant importance for today's military space missions. These military space missions tend to push the envelope of the spacecraft's capabilities to the extreme, requiring robust performance of all key systems to assure a successful mission. Because thermal protection system protects the entire spacecraft, its survival from these extreme conditions is critical to the safety of the mission. The design criteria for the thermal and acoustic loading conditions tend to be conflicting. To reduce thermal stress, free boundaries that allow for expansion of the thermal protection system are desirable. However, the random sound pressure level fluctuations associated with, for example, engine noise during ascent, subject the thermal protection system to a wide-band random excitation. Therefore, if the thermal protection system possesses low frequency modes, damaging strains could result. To limit the magnitude of the strains, higher frequency (stiffer) designs with fixity at the boundary are desirable. Therefore, when designing the thermal protection system within these two simultaneous operating environments, the safe operating region is often severely restricted. This research aims at evolving a design that satisfies these two design requirements.

Exploration for the masses? Or joyrides for the ultra-rich? Prospects for space tourism

A space tourism industry appears to be about to take off. Businesses have announced plans to launch people into suborbital space for $200,000/person, with flights beginning as early as 2008. A brief review of the history of the idea of space tourism over the past four decades—and an awareness that many ventures have quietly shelved their grandiose plans—might aid thinking about the prospects for development of a safe and thriving space tourism industry. Today's space tourism model emphases the concept of luxury, and the lifestyle of hyper-consumption. It may be worth considering whether and how this conception of space tourism might affect the future of space exploration.

Opinion Piece: The next big thing?

For the last 40 years companies have collected information about consumers, stored this information on their own systems and used it for their own purposes. Now a vast new industry is emerging: personal data management services. Over the next decade, this industry will grow to be much bigger than today's CRM space, and will supplant many of today's CRM and database marketing activities. The foundation of this new industry is the personal knowledge bank. Personal knowledge banks enable individuals to assert ownership and control over their personal data. They will trigger the rise of scores of new consumer services, transforming the relationship between individuals and organisations and the ways organisations collect, manage and use data.

Structure Preserving Dimension Reduction for Clustered Text Data Based on the Generalized Singular Value Decomposition

In today's vector space information retrieval systems, dimension reduction is imperative for efficiently manipulating the massive quantity of data. To be useful, this lower-dimensional representation must be a good approximation of the full document set. To that end, we adapt and extend the discriminant analysis projection used in pattern recognition. This projection preserves cluster structure by maximizing the scatter between clusters while minimizing the scatter within clusters. A common limitation of trace optimization in discriminant analysis is that one of the scatter matrices must be nonsingular, which restricts its application to document sets in which the number of terms does not exceed the number of documents. We show that by using the generalized singular value decomposition (GSVD), we can achieve the same goal regardless of the relative dimensions of the term-document matrix. In addition, applying the GSVD allows us to avoid the explicit formation of the scatter matrices in favor of working directly with the data matrix, thus improving the numerical properties of the approach. Finally, we present experimental results that confirm the effectiveness of our approach.

The Bibliographic Imagination: Tracing the Nineteenth Century Origins of the Internet

Perception of the idea in the reality is the true communion of the human being. -Goethe The appeal to recollection is the jump by which I place myself in the virtual. -Deleuze Introduction The history of the Internet has often been written as a history of technological achievement, a story of how the inventions of new methods of telecommunications have ushered in a sea change in social arrangements. In this article, I want to step away from the technological view of social change, which positions the Internet as a concept invented in laboratories, and later presented to the populous, as a vessel to be filled.1 Instead, I ask how the Internet was constructed in the popular imagination. I look at how information was redefined in the nineteenth century, and how these redefinitions drove the social history of our contemporary information systems. Michel Foucault wrote, Museums and libraries have become heterotopias, his term for those other places, which operate asynchronously with the outer environment.2 There ... time never stops building up and topping it's own summit.. the idea of accumulating everything, of establishing a sort of a general archive, the will to enclose in one place all times, all epochs, all forms, all tastes, the idea of constituting a place of all times that is itself out of time and inaccessible to its ravages, the project of organizing in this way a perpetual and infinite accumulation of time in an immobile place, this whole idea belongs to our modernity. The museum and the library are heterotopias that are proper to western culture of the nineteenth century.3 My aim is to analyze the way information environments were pictured, arranged and experienced, as a means of shedding light on today's conception of an information society. The years between 1837 and 1914, beginning with the Coronation of Queen Victoria in London and ending with the beginning of World War I, provide bookends for this study. Between these years we can encapsulate the rising popularity and innovation in nineteenth century information systems, as well as witness analog attempts to respond to a growing desire for interactive information systems. In researching nineteenth century information environments I looked at architecture as well as the textual plans for information design. From the material evidence, and conceptual arguments I was able to construct an array of scales on which we can plot and assess contemporary information environments. By graphing the design characteristics of popular information spaces in the predigital era, we are able to position, and better understand the consequences of the wide variety of today's digital spaces. The Information Environment or Information Space The information environment is a cognitive space whereby information is organized, displayed, and served. The term is used here because it is inclusive of a variety of forms. Rather than speaking about libraries, museums, archives, or the street as separate and independent institutions, this term allows for the free play between motifs. In my broad definition, the information environment may include the physical spaces of libraries as well as World Expositions, amusement parks, museums, archives, department stores, shopping malls, arcades, and streets.4 It also may include the interior and virtual displays of databases, books, charts and maps. The concept of an information environment transforms information from a sought after object, from something elusive, from something to be obtained, to a space one may move through. Information here, is no longer an object, but becomes the object within the ecosystem. It is no longer the treasure itself, but the treasure within the map. The path or method of access to an information object is recognized as a determining factor in the quality of that object. By situating the information object within context of its retrieval, the object takes on social characteristics. …

"Biped": a dance with virtual and company dancers. 1

Merce Cunningham's "Biped" is a new and unique modern dance. The choreography integrates computer-captured virtual dance movement so directly and naturally as to root the entire piece in today's time and space. The animations derive from a complex process, beginning with computerized motion-capture sessions. "Biped" reveals an openness and curiosity applied to computer technology that makes us anticipate new possibilities rather than honor the past. This is a dance conceived entirely for performance as much within a computer as on stage, yet executed without sacrificing any of the human emotion and movement that makes dance survive as a fine-art form.

Dynamic display of electronic crew procedures for Space Station

Crew procedures for the Space Shuttle are carried on the Orbiter in loose-leaf books. For the Space Station, NASA intends to store similar procedures primarily in electronic media, to be viewed and executed from onboard display work stations. The formats of today's space operations procedures have evolved to suit the characteristics of the paper medium. The author claims that displaying electronic images of procedures laid out on paper would guarantee an awkward interface for the user, and would ignore the inherent power of the computer-driven display. An alternative user interface is proposed in which procedure displays are formatted automatically in real time, and are optimized on-the-fly according to the connectivity of the procedure steps and the changing needs of the user. This approach will also benefit procedure authors, who will no longer need to create layouts. Other features include 1) responsive browsing and search capabilities, 2) procedure logic and tracking aids, and 3) provision for static, dynamic, and interactive displays of procedure support information. It is claimed that this dynamic interface will make procedure execution faster, more accurate, and more acceptable to Space Station crew members than displays replicating paper images. Paper Procedures for Space Shuttle W HILE the Shuttle Orbiter is on the pad awaiting launch, a NASA official enters it and places critical paper documents in dedicated stowage areas. Collectively called the Flight Data File (FDF) for historic reasons, these loose-leaf books weigh about 95 Ib for most flights and have exceeded 150 Ib for the longer Spacelab flights. The FDF comprises a minimum of 25 titles, with some books duplicated in different onboard locations. Copies are also provided in Mission Control Center. The preponderance of information in the FDF books is operations procedures. These procedures govern the management of the vehicle and onboard systems, and the pursuit of all mission objectives. Standards for writing procedures and for management and control of the entire Flight Data File are well documented.1 FDF modifications are approved by the Crew Procedures Control Board, a governing body that includes an astronaut representative. The NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) organization responsible for managing and producing the FDF books also will be responsible for control of its Space Station equivalent. They have sponsored MITRE in the development of Space Station FDF requirements,2 and are sponsors of the present work. Electronic Procedures for Space Station The Space Station analog to the FDF, including all crew procedures, is intended by NASA generally to be stored in, and used from, electronic media instead of paper. This change is consistent with both the thrust of changing technology and the mandate from the U.S. Congress for emphasis on automation and robotics in the Space Station program.3 Crew procedures are operations procedures whose execution is managed by a human user, whether or not computer assisted. Excluded are procedures embedded in onboard core systems and procedures to be generated by software in real time, e.g., for control of core systems. With some exceptions (including emergency safety-critical operations), NASA in

Man's View of the Universe, a Pictorial History: Evolving Concepts of the Universe from Ancient Times of Today's Space Probes. Gerald E. Tauber

Previous articleNext article No AccessBook ReviewsMan's View of the Universe, a Pictorial History: Evolving Concepts of the Universe from Ancient Times of Today's Space Probes. Gerald E. TauberStanley L. JakiStanley L. Jaki Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Isis Volume 71, Number 4Dec., 1980 Publication of the History of Science Society Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/352617 Citations: 1Citations are reported from Crossref Copyright 1980 History of Science Society, Inc.PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article: John Neu One Hundred Sixth Critical Bibliography of the History of Science and Its Cultural Influences (to January 1981), Isis 72, no.55 (Oct 2015): 5–248.https://doi.org/10.1086/352904

Physics in the missile and satellite fields

Scientists in many and varied branches of physics are playing increasingly important roles in today's missile and space projects. The gamut of this activity ranges from nuclear through solid state, and includes optics, acoustics, electromagnetics, and even relativity. The demand for physicists trained in appropriate fields in college, or possessing pertinent experience in industry, has been great and is continually increasing. It is important that the physics departments of our colleges and universities be aware of this situation so that proper stress can be laid upon subjects which can effectively prepare physics students who wish to enter this field of activity.