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190、Appeals launched over species protection By DAVID DISHNEAU, Associated Press Writer
Fri Dec 1, 6:12 PM ET



HAGERSTOWN, Md. - The state's attempt to balance wind power generation with wildlife protection on a western Maryland mountaintop is under attack from both sides.

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Annapolis-based developer Synergics Inc. is appealing a Public Service Commission hearing examiner's Oct. 30 recommendation for approval of the company's 17-turbine project atop Backbone Mountain in Garrett County. Synergics' appeal will focus on conditions proposed by the Department of Natural Resources to protect habitat for rare and endangered species, the company's spokesman said Friday.

Five opponents of the project, including Baltimore-based environmental activist Ajax Eastman and the Maryland Alliance for Greenway Improvement and Conservation, also have appealed the recommended order. Most of them believe the environmental restrictions don't go far enough.

"Essentially, we feel that the proposed order does not adequately protect rare and threatened and otherwise protected species that may be on site, and want to make sure that the Public Service Commission approves projects that adequately research, study and contemplate impacts on wildlife," said Erik Bluemel, an attorney representing Eastman, MAGIC and Bowie-based environmentalist D. Daniel Boone.

The commission will receive all parties' written arguments by Dec. 30 and then issue a final order, PSC spokeswoman Bethany M. Gill said.

Synergics wants to place 17 giant, three-bladed windmills along a three-mile stretch of Backbone Mountain about 15 miles south of Deep Creek Lake. The company contends the 40-megawatt project would help electric utilities in Maryland meet a state-mandated goal of producing 7.5 percent of electricity from renewable resources by 2017.

Opponents have argued in previous filings that the turbines would do more environmental harm than good by killing large numbers of migrating birds and bats, marring the mountain landscape and disturbing neighbors with noise from their whirling blades.

Hearing Examiner David L. Moore generally rejected those arguments in his Oct. 30 decision but upheld 24 conditions proposed by the DNR to minimize environmental harm. One condition would bar construction in two sections of the project site to preserve habitat for 17 rare species, including the state-endangered mourning warbler, the state-endangered Allegheny wood rat and the globally rare timber rattlesnake.

Frank Maisano, who represents a coalition of Mid-Atlantic wind-power developers including Synergics, said Friday the company's appeal would "seek to make some clarifications" about the so-called exclusion zones.

"We will make some recommendations on how to resolve the issues in a fair way that protects the environment and still allows the project to be competitive," Maisano said.

He and Furqan Siddiqi, vice president of development for Synergics Energy Services, said in July that realigning the 420-foot turbines to avoid the exclusion zones could hurt the project because some turbines would be in less windy spots or in locations that would be costlier to service.

The other interveners filing appeals were Boone's brother Jon Boone, a Garrett County resident who contends Synergics has exaggerated the project's potential electricity output; and Washington-based attorney Paul C. Sprenger, a Garrett County land owner and developer concerned about a possible drop in property values.

The PSC granted permits in 2003 to two other western Maryland wind power projects but neither has been built. A 40-turbine project planned in Garrett County by Clipper Windpower Inc. is the subject of a court fight. A 24-turbine project planned in Allegany County by US Wind Force has been stalled by the company's negotiations with a potential buyer of the electricity, Maisano said in late October.

___

On the Net:

Case No. 9008, Public Service Commission: http://www.psc.state.md.us/psc/

191、Pfizer ends development of cholesterol drug
Sun Dec 3, 2006 10:32am ET

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Business News
OPEC divided on need for deeper output curbs
Mack-Cali pulls out of Icahn's Reckson bid
Jobs and data to call stocks' year-end tune
VIDEO: Manufacturing hurts markets
More Business News... Email This Article | Print This Article | Reprints [-] Text [+] By Edward Tobin

NEW YORK (Reuters) - In a surprising setback for the world's largest drugmaker, Pfizer Inc. (PFE.N: Quote, Profile , Research) halted development on Saturday of its top experimental medicine, the cholesterol drug torcetrapib, due to safety concerns.

The company said an independent safety board recommended it end a clinical trial called "Illuminate" because of "an imbalance of mortality and cardiovascular events."

Pfizer immediately terminated the trial and ended the entire development program for the drug. The product, which raises levels of "good" HDL cholesterol, was expected to be a major growth driver for Pfizer as its other top medicines begin to face generic competition in the next few years.

Reuters Pictures

Editors Choice: Best pictures
from the last 24 hours.
View Slideshow

"We believed that the study was coming along as expected and this new information was totally unexpected and disappointing, given the potential benefits of this drug," said Dr. Philip Barter, chairman of the steering committee overseeing the Illuminate study and director of the Heart Research Institute in Australia.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in a statement that it supports Pfizer's decision to suspend the trial.

Just two days earlier, new Pfizer Chief Executive Jeffrey Kindler told hundreds of analysts at a research meeting that the drugmaker could seek approval for the medicine as early as next year if clinical data supported it.

Pfizer planned to pair torcetrapib with its Lipitor, the world's best-selling drug that cuts bad cholesterol, to maintain sales once Lipitor loses U.S. patent protection in 2011. The company has said it would spend about $800 million to develop torcetrapib.

But torcetrapib has been shown to increase blood pressure, a side effect that led some analysts to push back their timelines for the drug.   Continued...

192、Pfizer ends development of cholesterol drug
Sun Dec 3, 2006 10:32am ET

advertisement
Business News
OPEC divided on need for deeper output curbs
Mack-Cali pulls out of Icahn's Reckson bid
Jobs and data to call stocks' year-end tune
VIDEO: Manufacturing hurts markets
More Business News... Email This Article | Print This Article | Reprints [-] Text [+] By Edward Tobin

NEW YORK (Reuters) - In a surprising setback for the world's largest drugmaker, Pfizer Inc. (PFE.N: Quote, Profile , Research) halted development on Saturday of its top experimental medicine, the cholesterol drug torcetrapib, due to safety concerns.

The company said an independent safety board recommended it end a clinical trial called "Illuminate" because of "an imbalance of mortality and cardiovascular events."

Pfizer immediately terminated the trial and ended the entire development program for the drug. The product, which raises levels of "good" HDL cholesterol, was expected to be a major growth driver for Pfizer as its other top medicines begin to face generic competition in the next few years.

Reuters Pictures

Editors Choice: Best pictures
from the last 24 hours.
View Slideshow

"We believed that the study was coming along as expected and this new information was totally unexpected and disappointing, given the potential benefits of this drug," said Dr. Philip Barter, chairman of the steering committee overseeing the Illuminate study and director of the Heart Research Institute in Australia.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in a statement that it supports Pfizer's decision to suspend the trial.

Just two days earlier, new Pfizer Chief Executive Jeffrey Kindler told hundreds of analysts at a research meeting that the drugmaker could seek approval for the medicine as early as next year if clinical data supported it.

Pfizer planned to pair torcetrapib with its Lipitor, the world's best-selling drug that cuts bad cholesterol, to maintain sales once Lipitor loses U.S. patent protection in 2011. The company has said it would spend about $800 million to develop torcetrapib.

But torcetrapib has been shown to increase blood pressure, a side effect that led some analysts to push back their timelines for the drug.   Continued...

193、Pfizer ends development of cholesterol drug
Sun Dec 3, 2006 10:32am ET

advertisement
Business News
OPEC divided on need for deeper output curbs
Mack-Cali pulls out of Icahn's Reckson bid
Jobs and data to call stocks' year-end tune
VIDEO: Manufacturing hurts markets
More Business News... Email This Article | Print This Article | Reprints [-] Text [+] By Edward Tobin

NEW YORK (Reuters) - In a surprising setback for the world's largest drugmaker, Pfizer Inc. (PFE.N: Quote, Profile , Research) halted development on Saturday of its top experimental medicine, the cholesterol drug torcetrapib, due to safety concerns.

The company said an independent safety board recommended it end a clinical trial called "Illuminate" because of "an imbalance of mortality and cardiovascular events."

Pfizer immediately terminated the trial and ended the entire development program for the drug. The product, which raises levels of "good" HDL cholesterol, was expected to be a major growth driver for Pfizer as its other top medicines begin to face generic competition in the next few years.

Reuters Pictures

Editors Choice: Best pictures
from the last 24 hours.
View Slideshow

"We believed that the study was coming along as expected and this new information was totally unexpected and disappointing, given the potential benefits of this drug," said Dr. Philip Barter, chairman of the steering committee overseeing the Illuminate study and director of the Heart Research Institute in Australia.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in a statement that it supports Pfizer's decision to suspend the trial.

Just two days earlier, new Pfizer Chief Executive Jeffrey Kindler told hundreds of analysts at a research meeting that the drugmaker could seek approval for the medicine as early as next year if clinical data supported it.

Pfizer planned to pair torcetrapib with its Lipitor, the world's best-selling drug that cuts bad cholesterol, to maintain sales once Lipitor loses U.S. patent protection in 2011. The company has said it would spend about $800 million to develop torcetrapib.

But torcetrapib has been shown to increase blood pressure, a side effect that led some analysts to push back their timelines for the drug.   Continued...

194、Astronauts Whack Golf Ball and Outfit Station in Spacewalk Ker Than
Staff Writer
SPACE.com
Thu Nov 23, 10:00 AM ET



A Russian cosmonaut set a new record for the longest golf drive in history today after hitting a lightweight ball while tethered to the outside of the International Space Station (ISS).

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The golf shot was the first of several tasks performed by Expedition 14 commander Michael Lopez-Alegria and flight engineer Mikhail Tyurin as part of a busy spacewalk that got off to a late start. Fellow crewmate, European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Reiter, provided support from inside the ISS.


Tyurin hit the 3 gram golf ball about 40 minutes into the spacewalk, using a gold-plated six-iron golf club.


"There it goes!" Tyurin said after making the one-handed shot [image]. "It went pretty far. It was an excellent shot. I can still see it as a little dot that's moving away from us."


The cosmic golf drive was part of a commercial agreement between the Russian Federal Space Agency and the Canadian golf firm, Element 21.


Cosmic golf shot


For the stunt, a makeshift tee box was set up outside space station's Pirs docking compartment. During the shot, Lopez-Alegria held Tyurin's feet, which were affixed to a ladder. Tyurin carried three golf balls, but only had time to hit one of them before ground flight controllers instructed the spacewalkers to proceed to their other tasks.


Video: Spacewalk Golf
Expedition 14 lead spacewalk officer Glenda Laws narrates plans for the Nov. 22, 2006 spacewalk.

The golf ball did not travel in the full retrograde direction, away from the space station, as intended. Instead, Tyurin shanked the ball, causing it to fly past the starboard side of the Zvezda service module.


    NASA officials estimate the ball will travel about a million miles round the Earth before deorbiting and burning up in the planet's atmosphere in 2 to 3 days, thus posing no risk to the station or to a scheduled December shuttle mission.


The previous record for an in-space golf shot was set by Al Shepard in 1971, when he hit a golf ball while on the surface of the Moon during Apollo 14. Shepard estimated that ball traveled 200 to 400 yards (183 to 366 meters). The longest recorded terrestrial golf drive is 515 yards (471 meters), and was set by golf pro Mike Austin in 1974.


A late start


The spacewalk began more than hour late after Tyurin discovered that a kink in a hose on his Russian Orlan spacesuit was causing its cooling system to work only intermittently. The problem was eventually resolved and the spacewalk officially began at 7:17 p.m. EST (23:17 GMT), when the Pirs hatch was finally opened after some initial resistance.

After the golf shot, the spacewalkers moved to the aft end of the Zvezda service module to examine a docking antenna that failed to retract during the docking of the Progress 23 service module with the space station in late October.


After a visual inspection revealed the antenna was jammed against a handrail on the Zvezda module, the astronauts depressed a latch that should have enabled the antenna to be retracted. However, repeated attempts by the astronauts to manually retract the antenna failed, as did computer commands beamed up by Russian mission controllers.


Time constraints forced the spacewalkers to move on to other tasks, but not before they took about 35 digital photographs of the balky antenna for engineers on Earth to analyze.


"There isn't much else we can do with it," a Russian ground controller said.


Two other tasks


Next up for the spacewalkers was the unbolting and repositioning of a navigation antenna blocking the cover of a station reboost engine, a task that went off without a hitch. The antenna will be important for guiding unmanned European cargo ships to the Zvezda docking port next year.


The initial delay caused by problems with Tyurin's spacesuit forced Russian ground controllers to dock one hour from overall time allotted for the spacewalk, since valuable lithium-hydroxide had been used up to scrub carbon dioxide from the suits. As a result, the spacewalkers were pressed for time when entering into their final task: the attachment of a BTN Neutron solar flare experiment [image] on Zvezda's forward section of the Zvezda.

The 5 hour and 38 minute spacewalk was the sixth for Lopez-Alegria and the fourth for Tyurin. It was the 73rd EVA-or extravehicular activity-out of the ISS and the first of four spacewalks planned for Expedition 14 crewmembers.

Complete Coverage: ISS Expedition 14
Orbital Tee Time: Spacewalkers Set for Golf Shot, ISS Maintenance
Canadian Firm Hopes for Orbital Hang Time in ISS Golf Shot
IMAGES: Launch Day for Expedition 14 Crew, Anousheh Ansari


Original Story: Astronauts Whack Golf Ball and Outfit Station in Spacewalk
Visit SPACE.com and explore our huge collection of Space Pictures, Space Videos, Space Image of the Day, Hot Topics, Top 10s, Multimedia, Trivia, Voting and Amazing Images. Follow the latest developments in the search for life in our universe in our SETI: Search for Life section. Join the community, sign up for our free daily email newsletter, listen to our Podcasts, check out our RSS feeds and other Reader Favorites today!

195、Astronomers Spot Black Hole's Tantrum SPACE.com Staff

SPACE.com
Mon Nov 27, 4:15 PM ET



An eruption of high-energy radiation recently signaled a tantrum unleashed by a black hole, astronomers announced today.

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The event, which occurred near the crowded center of our galaxy, is a rare prize for astronomers.


The outburst was discovered Sept. 17 in data from the European Space Agency's orbiting gamma-ray observatory, Integral. Gamma rays are the highest form of radiation known.


The Integral astronomers notified other observatories, and a watch began for the gamma rays, X-rays and other wavelengths of light [image].


The outburst continued to rise in brightness for a few days before beginning a gradual decline that lasted for weeks. The pattern is called a light curve.


The light curve from this event suggests it was created by an eruption in a binary star system containing a Sun-like star and a black hole. In these systems, the gravity of the black hole is ripping the Sun-like star to pieces. As the doomed star orbits the black hole, it leaves its gas in what's called an accretion disk surrounding the black hole.


Occasionally, this accretion disk becomes unstable and collapses onto the black hole, causing the kind of outburst Integral witnessed.


Astronomers expect Integral to see such an outbursts only once every few years in our galaxy. The results of what is now called X-ray nova IGR J17497-2821 will be detailed in an upcoming issue of the Astronomy and Astrophysics.

VIDEO: Birth of a Black Hole
Black Holes: Solving Mysteries Creates More Mysteries
The Strangest Things in Space
All About Black Holes
Original Story: Astronomers Spot Black Hole's Tantrum

Visit SPACE.com and explore our huge collection of Space Pictures, Space Videos, Space Image of the Day, Hot Topics, Top 10s, Multimedia, Trivia, Voting and Amazing Images. Follow the latest developments in the search for life in our universe in our SETI: Search for Life section. Join the community, sign up for our free daily email newsletter, listen to our Podcasts, check out our RSS feeds and other Reader Favorites today!

196、Bigelow Orbital Modules: Accelerated Space Plans Leonard David
Senior Space Writer
SPACE.com
Wed Nov 22, 10:16 AM ET




ADVERTISEMENT

The success of Bigelow Aerospace's Genesis 1 module, which has been operating in orbit since July 12, has put the company well ahead in its plans for bigger and more capable modules that eventually will host visitors in orbit.




"From a technological standpoint, we are years ahead of where we thought we would be at this time...due to the success of Genesis 1," said Bigelow Aerospace Corporate Counsel, Mike Gold. "At this point, we feel we're ready to move ahead and tackle what will be the largest challenge to date for Bigelow Aerospace...to develop a habitat that will actually be capable of supporting a crew."




At present, Bigelow Aerospace is readying the next space module mission and gearing up company plans to orbit a human-rated habitat--the Sundancer--at the firm's ground control central in Las Vegas, Nevada.




The Genesis 1 is nearly 15-foot (4.4 meters) long. The module filled itself out to over 8 feet (2.54 meters) in diameter from its tightly-packed launch configuration of some 5 feet (1.6 meters) across. In its pressurized fully-expanded status, the structure yields 11.5 cubic meters of usable volume. The module is energized by eight solar arrays--a set of four on each end of the craft.




Now being groomed for flight is Genesis 2. Its launch campaign will begin in January, Gold told SPACE.com, with liftoff of the hardware slated for the first quarter of next year. Barring launch delays, Genesis 2's flight could come on the early end of that quarter, he added.




Like its predecessor, Genesis 2 will plow into orbit via a Dnepr booster under contract with ISC Kosmotras, the Russian and Ukrainian rocket-for-hire company. The Dnepr is a converted Cold War SS-18 intercontinental ballistic missile.




New and different payloads




Externally, Genesis 2 looks very similar to the company's earlier orbital module. However, the newer craft will carry a variety of new and different payloads and experiments, along with enhanced systems, Gold advised.




Onboard the next-to-be-launched expandable module, Gold said that additional cameras are to relay images down to several ground locales--an expansion of Bigelow's mission control network beyond the Las Vegas complex.


"We're first adding ground sites domestically...with possible international sites after that. The more stations we have, the more data and value we obtain from our missions," Gold said.


Bigelow Aerospace also introduced with the Genesis 2 mission a "Fly Your Stuff" program. Orders are no longer being accepted so engineers can ready Genesis 2 for takeoff.


The Fly Your Stuff participation program enables customers to send individual items into Earth orbit onboard the Genesis 2 module. Once the craft is in space, the objects inside the module are to be photographed by onboard cameras for down-link to Earth--and a way to create a revenue stream too.


Sundancer


Bigelow Aerospace leader, Robert Bigelow, unveiled more details about his entrepreneurial habitat plans in September, spotlighting a new module project that is dubbed Sundancer.


That craft would offer 180 cubic meters of habitable space, fully-equipped with life support systems, attitude control, on-orbit maneuverability, as well as reboost and de-orbit capability. This larger module--sporting a trio of windows--could support a three-person crew and be on-orbit in a late 2009-2010 time frame, Bigelow reported.


Gold said that work is already underway in designing Sundancer. Genesis 2, in fact, will carry technology that could be implemented in the Sundancer module. Furthermore, Sundancer is itself a progressive step toward the BA-330 orbital habitat. The "330" signifies the cubic meters of that module's internal volume.


Lessons learned from the performance of both Genesis 2 and Sundancer is driving the design and schedule of future projects, such as the BA-330, Gold said.


Human-rated Atlas V rockets


Because Sundancer is larger, heavier and more complex than Genesis-class modules, it most likely is beyond the capabilities of a Dnepr booster.


A medium launch vehicle would be required--say a Falcon 9 launcher from SpaceX, a Ukrainian/Russian Zenit, or an Atlas booster, Gold said. But given a Sundancer bopping around the globe, or the larger BA-330, how to get people up to Bigelow-supplied live-in modules is another matter.


In September, Bigelow Aerospace announced a partnership with Lockheed Martin to explore the capability of launching passengers to Bigelow-built commercial space complexes on human-rated Atlas V rockets.


According to George Sowers, Atlas Business Development and Advanced Programs Director, Lockheed Martin is working with Bigelow Aerospace "to evaluate the market of space tourism and research to determine if Atlas could be a part of this potential new market area."


Passenger capsule


The Atlas has a celebrated past history. The booster hurled America's first astronauts into orbit in the 1960s.


A potential passenger capsule for Bigelow would likely be launched aboard the Atlas V 401 configuration. Demonstrating human-qualified system upgrades could be done by pre-testing those upgrades on commercial or government missions prior to flying the first passengers.


"As a merchant supplier of launch services, Lockheed Martin is working with Bigelow to explore the feasibility of using the Atlas V system to launch passengers to a Bigelow-built space habitat," said Julie Andrews, spokeswoman for Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. "The feasibility study will address the technical aspects of human-qualifying the Atlas as well as business considerations," she told SPACE.com.


The two space companies have agreed to explore the technical requirements for launch services that haul commercial crew and cargo to expandable orbital space complexes.


Also, Bigelow and Lockheed Martin are probing the production and supply of Atlas rockets, as well as delving into flight safety and performance of the booster. Potential business models and business plans are on the table too.


Following this initial work, each company will assess the feasibility of going forward with a program to develop a human-qualified Atlas to match the expected demand.


Fill the talent pool


Space operations and programs at Bigelow Aerospace are on the upswing--so much so that the company is increasing its talent pool, on the lookout for expert engineers, technicians, managers as well as astronauts, Gold pointed out.


Projects underway at Bigelow Aerospace--along with activities at other private organizations like SpaceX and Scaled Composites, for example--should help offset, somewhat, worries about the graying of the aerospace workforce.


"It gives people solid, hands-on experience. The lack of that has been part of the problem in the past," Gold said. "We have ambitious plans and we're looking for good people. We like to think that this is the biggest adventure in space."


Close Encounter of the Bigelow Kind
Bigelow's Big Gamble: Building a Space Station
EXCLUSIVE: Bigelow Orbital Module Launched into Space
Test Your Space Knowledge!


Original Story: Bigelow Orbital Modules: Accelerated Space Plans
Visit SPACE.com and explore our huge collection of Space Pictures, Space Videos, Space Image of the Day, Hot Topics, Top 10s, Multimedia, Trivia, Voting and Amazing Images. Follow the latest developments in the search for life in our universe in our SETI: Search for Life section. Join the community, sign up for our free daily email newsletter, listen to our Podcasts, check out our RSS feeds and other Reader Favorites today!

197、Bigelow Orbital Modules: Accelerated Space Plans Leonard David
Senior Space Writer
SPACE.com
Wed Nov 22, 10:16 AM ET




ADVERTISEMENT

The success of Bigelow Aerospace's Genesis 1 module, which has been operating in orbit since July 12, has put the company well ahead in its plans for bigger and more capable modules that eventually will host visitors in orbit.




"From a technological standpoint, we are years ahead of where we thought we would be at this time...due to the success of Genesis 1," said Bigelow Aerospace Corporate Counsel, Mike Gold. "At this point, we feel we're ready to move ahead and tackle what will be the largest challenge to date for Bigelow Aerospace...to develop a habitat that will actually be capable of supporting a crew."




At present, Bigelow Aerospace is readying the next space module mission and gearing up company plans to orbit a human-rated habitat--the Sundancer--at the firm's ground control central in Las Vegas, Nevada.




The Genesis 1 is nearly 15-foot (4.4 meters) long. The module filled itself out to over 8 feet (2.54 meters) in diameter from its tightly-packed launch configuration of some 5 feet (1.6 meters) across. In its pressurized fully-expanded status, the structure yields 11.5 cubic meters of usable volume. The module is energized by eight solar arrays--a set of four on each end of the craft.




Now being groomed for flight is Genesis 2. Its launch campaign will begin in January, Gold told SPACE.com, with liftoff of the hardware slated for the first quarter of next year. Barring launch delays, Genesis 2's flight could come on the early end of that quarter, he added.




Like its predecessor, Genesis 2 will plow into orbit via a Dnepr booster under contract with ISC Kosmotras, the Russian and Ukrainian rocket-for-hire company. The Dnepr is a converted Cold War SS-18 intercontinental ballistic missile.




New and different payloads




Externally, Genesis 2 looks very similar to the company's earlier orbital module. However, the newer craft will carry a variety of new and different payloads and experiments, along with enhanced systems, Gold advised.




Onboard the next-to-be-launched expandable module, Gold said that additional cameras are to relay images down to several ground locales--an expansion of Bigelow's mission control network beyond the Las Vegas complex.


"We're first adding ground sites domestically...with possible international sites after that. The more stations we have, the more data and value we obtain from our missions," Gold said.


Bigelow Aerospace also introduced with the Genesis 2 mission a "Fly Your Stuff" program. Orders are no longer being accepted so engineers can ready Genesis 2 for takeoff.


The Fly Your Stuff participation program enables customers to send individual items into Earth orbit onboard the Genesis 2 module. Once the craft is in space, the objects inside the module are to be photographed by onboard cameras for down-link to Earth--and a way to create a revenue stream too.


Sundancer


Bigelow Aerospace leader, Robert Bigelow, unveiled more details about his entrepreneurial habitat plans in September, spotlighting a new module project that is dubbed Sundancer.


That craft would offer 180 cubic meters of habitable space, fully-equipped with life support systems, attitude control, on-orbit maneuverability, as well as reboost and de-orbit capability. This larger module--sporting a trio of windows--could support a three-person crew and be on-orbit in a late 2009-2010 time frame, Bigelow reported.


Gold said that work is already underway in designing Sundancer. Genesis 2, in fact, will carry technology that could be implemented in the Sundancer module. Furthermore, Sundancer is itself a progressive step toward the BA-330 orbital habitat. The "330" signifies the cubic meters of that module's internal volume.


Lessons learned from the performance of both Genesis 2 and Sundancer is driving the design and schedule of future projects, such as the BA-330, Gold said.


Human-rated Atlas V rockets


Because Sundancer is larger, heavier and more complex than Genesis-class modules, it most likely is beyond the capabilities of a Dnepr booster.


A medium launch vehicle would be required--say a Falcon 9 launcher from SpaceX, a Ukrainian/Russian Zenit, or an Atlas booster, Gold said. But given a Sundancer bopping around the globe, or the larger BA-330, how to get people up to Bigelow-supplied live-in modules is another matter.


In September, Bigelow Aerospace announced a partnership with Lockheed Martin to explore the capability of launching passengers to Bigelow-built commercial space complexes on human-rated Atlas V rockets.


According to George Sowers, Atlas Business Development and Advanced Programs Director, Lockheed Martin is working with Bigelow Aerospace "to evaluate the market of space tourism and research to determine if Atlas could be a part of this potential new market area."


Passenger capsule


The Atlas has a celebrated past history. The booster hurled America's first astronauts into orbit in the 1960s.


A potential passenger capsule for Bigelow would likely be launched aboard the Atlas V 401 configuration. Demonstrating human-qualified system upgrades could be done by pre-testing those upgrades on commercial or government missions prior to flying the first passengers.


"As a merchant supplier of launch services, Lockheed Martin is working with Bigelow to explore the feasibility of using the Atlas V system to launch passengers to a Bigelow-built space habitat," said Julie Andrews, spokeswoman for Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. "The feasibility study will address the technical aspects of human-qualifying the Atlas as well as business considerations," she told SPACE.com.


The two space companies have agreed to explore the technical requirements for launch services that haul commercial crew and cargo to expandable orbital space complexes.


Also, Bigelow and Lockheed Martin are probing the production and supply of Atlas rockets, as well as delving into flight safety and performance of the booster. Potential business models and business plans are on the table too.


Following this initial work, each company will assess the feasibility of going forward with a program to develop a human-qualified Atlas to match the expected demand.


Fill the talent pool


Space operations and programs at Bigelow Aerospace are on the upswing--so much so that the company is increasing its talent pool, on the lookout for expert engineers, technicians, managers as well as astronauts, Gold pointed out.


Projects underway at Bigelow Aerospace--along with activities at other private organizations like SpaceX and Scaled Composites, for example--should help offset, somewhat, worries about the graying of the aerospace workforce.


"It gives people solid, hands-on experience. The lack of that has been part of the problem in the past," Gold said. "We have ambitious plans and we're looking for good people. We like to think that this is the biggest adventure in space."


Close Encounter of the Bigelow Kind
Bigelow's Big Gamble: Building a Space Station
EXCLUSIVE: Bigelow Orbital Module Launched into Space
Test Your Space Knowledge!


Original Story: Bigelow Orbital Modules: Accelerated Space Plans
Visit SPACE.com and explore our huge collection of Space Pictures, Space Videos, Space Image of the Day, Hot Topics, Top 10s, Multimedia, Trivia, Voting and Amazing Images. Follow the latest developments in the search for life in our universe in our SETI: Search for Life section. Join the community, sign up for our free daily email newsletter, listen to our Podcasts, check out our RSS feeds and other Reader Favorites today!

198、Bigelow Orbital Modules: Accelerated Space Plans Leonard David
Senior Space Writer
SPACE.com
Wed Nov 22, 10:16 AM ET




ADVERTISEMENT

The success of Bigelow Aerospace's Genesis 1 module, which has been operating in orbit since July 12, has put the company well ahead in its plans for bigger and more capable modules that eventually will host visitors in orbit.




"From a technological standpoint, we are years ahead of where we thought we would be at this time...due to the success of Genesis 1," said Bigelow Aerospace Corporate Counsel, Mike Gold. "At this point, we feel we're ready to move ahead and tackle what will be the largest challenge to date for Bigelow Aerospace...to develop a habitat that will actually be capable of supporting a crew."




At present, Bigelow Aerospace is readying the next space module mission and gearing up company plans to orbit a human-rated habitat--the Sundancer--at the firm's ground control central in Las Vegas, Nevada.




The Genesis 1 is nearly 15-foot (4.4 meters) long. The module filled itself out to over 8 feet (2.54 meters) in diameter from its tightly-packed launch configuration of some 5 feet (1.6 meters) across. In its pressurized fully-expanded status, the structure yields 11.5 cubic meters of usable volume. The module is energized by eight solar arrays--a set of four on each end of the craft.




Now being groomed for flight is Genesis 2. Its launch campaign will begin in January, Gold told SPACE.com, with liftoff of the hardware slated for the first quarter of next year. Barring launch delays, Genesis 2's flight could come on the early end of that quarter, he added.




Like its predecessor, Genesis 2 will plow into orbit via a Dnepr booster under contract with ISC Kosmotras, the Russian and Ukrainian rocket-for-hire company. The Dnepr is a converted Cold War SS-18 intercontinental ballistic missile.




New and different payloads




Externally, Genesis 2 looks very similar to the company's earlier orbital module. However, the newer craft will carry a variety of new and different payloads and experiments, along with enhanced systems, Gold advised.




Onboard the next-to-be-launched expandable module, Gold said that additional cameras are to relay images down to several ground locales--an expansion of Bigelow's mission control network beyond the Las Vegas complex.


"We're first adding ground sites domestically...with possible international sites after that. The more stations we have, the more data and value we obtain from our missions," Gold said.


Bigelow Aerospace also introduced with the Genesis 2 mission a "Fly Your Stuff" program. Orders are no longer being accepted so engineers can ready Genesis 2 for takeoff.


The Fly Your Stuff participation program enables customers to send individual items into Earth orbit onboard the Genesis 2 module. Once the craft is in space, the objects inside the module are to be photographed by onboard cameras for down-link to Earth--and a way to create a revenue stream too.


Sundancer


Bigelow Aerospace leader, Robert Bigelow, unveiled more details about his entrepreneurial habitat plans in September, spotlighting a new module project that is dubbed Sundancer.


That craft would offer 180 cubic meters of habitable space, fully-equipped with life support systems, attitude control, on-orbit maneuverability, as well as reboost and de-orbit capability. This larger module--sporting a trio of windows--could support a three-person crew and be on-orbit in a late 2009-2010 time frame, Bigelow reported.


Gold said that work is already underway in designing Sundancer. Genesis 2, in fact, will carry technology that could be implemented in the Sundancer module. Furthermore, Sundancer is itself a progressive step toward the BA-330 orbital habitat. The "330" signifies the cubic meters of that module's internal volume.


Lessons learned from the performance of both Genesis 2 and Sundancer is driving the design and schedule of future projects, such as the BA-330, Gold said.


Human-rated Atlas V rockets


Because Sundancer is larger, heavier and more complex than Genesis-class modules, it most likely is beyond the capabilities of a Dnepr booster.


A medium launch vehicle would be required--say a Falcon 9 launcher from SpaceX, a Ukrainian/Russian Zenit, or an Atlas booster, Gold said. But given a Sundancer bopping around the globe, or the larger BA-330, how to get people up to Bigelow-supplied live-in modules is another matter.


In September, Bigelow Aerospace announced a partnership with Lockheed Martin to explore the capability of launching passengers to Bigelow-built commercial space complexes on human-rated Atlas V rockets.


According to George Sowers, Atlas Business Development and Advanced Programs Director, Lockheed Martin is working with Bigelow Aerospace "to evaluate the market of space tourism and research to determine if Atlas could be a part of this potential new market area."


Passenger capsule


The Atlas has a celebrated past history. The booster hurled America's first astronauts into orbit in the 1960s.


A potential passenger capsule for Bigelow would likely be launched aboard the Atlas V 401 configuration. Demonstrating human-qualified system upgrades could be done by pre-testing those upgrades on commercial or government missions prior to flying the first passengers.


"As a merchant supplier of launch services, Lockheed Martin is working with Bigelow to explore the feasibility of using the Atlas V system to launch passengers to a Bigelow-built space habitat," said Julie Andrews, spokeswoman for Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. "The feasibility study will address the technical aspects of human-qualifying the Atlas as well as business considerations," she told SPACE.com.


The two space companies have agreed to explore the technical requirements for launch services that haul commercial crew and cargo to expandable orbital space complexes.


Also, Bigelow and Lockheed Martin are probing the production and supply of Atlas rockets, as well as delving into flight safety and performance of the booster. Potential business models and business plans are on the table too.


Following this initial work, each company will assess the feasibility of going forward with a program to develop a human-qualified Atlas to match the expected demand.


Fill the talent pool


Space operations and programs at Bigelow Aerospace are on the upswing--so much so that the company is increasing its talent pool, on the lookout for expert engineers, technicians, managers as well as astronauts, Gold pointed out.


Projects underway at Bigelow Aerospace--along with activities at other private organizations like SpaceX and Scaled Composites, for example--should help offset, somewhat, worries about the graying of the aerospace workforce.


"It gives people solid, hands-on experience. The lack of that has been part of the problem in the past," Gold said. "We have ambitious plans and we're looking for good people. We like to think that this is the biggest adventure in space."


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Original Story: Bigelow Orbital Modules: Accelerated Space Plans
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199、Britain gives go-ahead to GMO potato trials
Fri Dec 1, 2006 8:56am ET

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More Science News... Email This Article | Print This Article | Reprints [-] Text [+] LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's farm and environment ministry said on Friday it had given the go-ahead for research trials on disease resistant genetically modified potatoes.

German chemicals group BASF will be allowed to hold trials on two sites in England, starting next year. The GMO potatoes, which have been developed to be resistant to potato blight, will not be used for food or animal feed.

There has been strong opposition among consumers in Britain to the use of GMOs in food crops.

Environment Minister Ian Pearson said in a statement that an independent assessment had concluded the trials did not give rise to any safety concerns.

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Several scientists welcomed the news.

"Potato blight was the cause of the potato famine in Ireland in the 1840s and is still a problem in farming today -- one which is prevented by chemical spraying with fungicides," Chris Leaver, plant sciences professor at Oxford University.

"In my opinion using a natural biological method to control blight is better than using chemicals," he added.

Britain's largest organic certification body, the Soil Asssociation, said, however, it was dismayed by the decision, adding there would be no market for GMO potatoes in Britain.

"The government is ignoring what consumers want to eat and their health and safety...The chances of anyone in the UK willingly buying GM potato crisps or chips are zero. This trial is a monumental waste of time and money," Soil Association policy director Peter Melchett said.   Continued...

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