Archives for October 2009
Triboelectrification trouble
Published on 27 Oct 2009 at 2:40 pm.
4 Comments.
Filed under rockets.
Well, the launch did not go as hoped for this morning. Last night, the forecast was for only about a 40% chance of the launch getting off. This morning, when I got up to head over to the space center, I saw stars! Things were definitely looking good! Then, as we headed to the launch […]
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Ares I-X
Published on 25 Oct 2009 at 11:07 am.
6 Comments.
Filed under rockets.
If everything works out OK, then NASA will launch a new rocket this coming Tuesday: the Ares I-X. And, if everything works right, I’ll be there to witness it!
The Ares rockets and Orion crew module are supposed to eventually replace the Space Shuttle in NASA’s inventory of craft to ferry astronauts to and from space. […]
Electrostatic Radiation Shielding
Published on 23 Oct 2009 at 7:23 pm.
1 Comment.
Filed under space exploration, space radiation.
Clearly carrying heavy shielding to protect astronauts from radiation in space is expensive. If you havent’ been reading my space radiation series as I’ve been posting, then you can look over the last several of my postings about space radiation to see some of the problems. So, some other strategy may be the way to […]
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Space Radiation and Humans
Published on 21 Oct 2009 at 2:25 pm.
2 Comments.
Filed under space exploration, space radiation.
As I continue my series on space radiation, the next topic that I want to address is how radiation harms space travelers. I’ve already alluded to this in earlier posts in the series, but I wanted to mention it again.
In an earlier installment, I said that radiation is a process where energy travels from one […]
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Cosmic Rays
Published on 18 Oct 2009 at 4:01 pm.
5 Comments.
Filed under astronomy, space radiation.
Part 3 of my series on space radiation is about the radiation itself. The term cosmic rays is generally used to describe this radiation. Unfortunately, as often happens, the term evolved before the nature of the phenomenon being studied was known, so it may not be the best term to use. Nonetheless, we are stuck […]
What is Radiation?
Published on 10 Oct 2009 at 10:15 pm.
5 Comments.
Filed under physics, space radiation.
As the second installment in my space radiation series, I thought that I’d take a moment to ask (and answer!) the question, “What is radiation?” After all, at heart, I am a physics and astronomy professor, so it makes little sense to me to talk about something without first introducing the topic defining the terms.
At […]
Space Radiation (Part I)
Published on 6 Oct 2009 at 10:36 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under cosmic rays, space exploration, space radiation.
This past weekend, I attended a symposium on space radiation. This is an interesting topic, and I’ve written about it before. But, space radiation is not confined to space. Cosmic rays raining down on Earth also create secondary radiation that impacts air travelers. I have received a number of comments on several of my posts […]
