Foul Weather May Delay Space Shuttle Launch

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Dreary Florida coast weather might push back a planned Thursday launch of the space shuttle Atlantis and its seven-astronaut crew, NASA mission managers said today.

NASA's 100-ton spaceship is scheduled to launch on Feb. 7 at 2:45 p.m. EST (1945 GMT). Kathy Winters, the shuttle weather officer here at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), said conditions through Wednesday will be good but rain showers and low-hanging clouds expected on Thursday are lowering launch day expectations.

"By launch day, unfortunately ... we do have a chance of having some bad weather," Winters said, who gave Atlantis a 40 percent chance of taking off on Thursday. She said any precipitation could damage the thermally shielded belly of Atlantis as the spaceship rockets to more than 17,500 mph (28,200 kph) to reach orbit.

"We don't want to trigger a lightning strike," Winters said of the expected low-hanging clouds. Should unfavorable weather move mission managers to scrub the first launch attempt, she said conditions will improve vastly for a try on Friday or Saturday.

Issues ironed out

Other than the fickle Florida coast weather, NASA test director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said there are no outstanding issues with the orbiter for launch.

"Atlantis is ready to go fly and our team is prepared," Blackwell-Thompson said, but noted the agency will be keeping a close eye on a Freon-filled coolant hose within the payload bay of Atlantis. Technicians found the hose bent out of place last week and enacted a fix over the weekend using a V-shaped tool.

"It pretty much went to plan," she said of the fix on Sunday. "We didn't have any issues with it at all."

The kinked hose discovery came just short of two months after NASA found two faulty fuel tank sensors during pre-launch testing, ultimately prompting mission managers to delay Atlantis' launch to February.

The four engine cutoff (ECO) sensors, as they are known, ensure that cryogenically-cooled fuel in the 15-story external fuel tank of the space shuttle stops flowing before it runs out. Although the system is a backup for a primary on-board system, engineers made a fix by removing the devices, permanently soldering some troublesome connections together and reinstalling them.

Ready to fly

Commanded by Stephen Frick, a former Navy captain and veteran spaceflyer, the crew of STS-122 will bring a 10.3-ton European laboratory to the International Space Station (ISS). During their 11-day mission, the astronauts will also swap crew members at the ISS and set up experiments outside of the soon-to-be-attached lab.

Frick arrived today at KSC today at 10:29 p.m. EST (1529 GMT) along with the rest of the STS-122 crew: shuttle pilot Alan Poindexter, mission specialists Leland Melvin, Rex Walheim and Stanley Love, and European astronauts Leopold Eyharts and Hans Schlegel.

"We're feeling very good about this opportunity," Frick told members of the press from the tarmac, just after he and his crew arrived from Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. "We'll keep looking at the weather, but we're very happy about the condition of Atlantis."

Frick explained that rather than being frustrated at a flight delayed by two months, he was glad the time was used to resolve the ECO sensor issues.

"The ECO sensor problem has been nagging us for a very long time. We really rely on them," Frick said. "We use virtually all of our gas just to get up to orbit just for a normal mission, like 99.5 percent, and we can't afford to let the engines run dry because they tend to come apart."

NASA is set to start the three-day countdown for Atlantis' launch at 5:00 p.m. EST (2200 GMT) this evening.

NASA will broadcast Atlantis' STS-122 mission live on NASA TV. Click here for SPACE.com's STS-122 mission coverage and NASA TV feed.

SPACE.com -- Foul Weather May Delay Space Shuttle Launch

NASA's Best Missions to Get High Definition Treatment

NASA's greatest missions are about to get a high definition makeover by the Discovery Channel this year to commemorate the U.S. space agency's 50^th anniversary.

"When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions," a miniseries that follows Discovery's popular "Planet Earth" series, will showcase 50 years of space exploration. The series includes some never-before-seen film culled from 500 hours of footage plucked from NASA's archives and carefully restored for broadcast in high definition (HD).

"No gimmicks, no photoshopping, no CGI," said John Ford, president and general manager of Discovery Channel, in a preview webcast from the newly opened Davidson Center for Space Exploration in Huntsville, Alabama.

Moonwalkers Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11, and Charlie Duke, Apollo 16, were also on hand to discuss their experiences as Apollo astronauts.

"I was so excited during the entire 11 days [of the mission] that it bubbled up," Duke said, describing himself and fellow Apollo 16 astronaut John Young as "two little five-year-olds running around" and comparing their antics with those of his grandsons.

Duke also noted that one grandson owns an iPod with "a million times more computational power than what we had" on the lunar landing missions, which launched between 1969 and 1972.

"We did pretty well with what we had," Aldrin added.

A 10-minute preview clip of the upcoming Discovery Channel series highlighted the thrill and danger of the Apollo missions set against the Cold War's space race, with a stunning sequence of the 36-story Saturn V rocket roaring spaceward while burning 20 tons of fuel per second.

NASA will return to the moon with its Ares rockets and Orion spacecraft that are slated to replace the aging space shuttle. However, the shuttle's retirement in 2010 leaves a five-year gap in spaceflight capabilities until the new spacecraft come online.

"I would hope we have the national will and political will to get through this dry spell while we point back towards the moon," Duke said. He favored a "balanced" NASA approach between manned missions and unmanned robotic exploration.

Aldrin emphasized the need for "parallel access to low earth orbit" with private space ventures helping fill the spaceflight gap. He also pushed for a more aggressive timetable that looked beyond Earth orbit and the moon towards Mars.

"Mars is where we need permanence," Aldrin said. "We need to go to the moon to learn how to go to Mars, but to establish [lunar] permanence will maybe absorb too many resources."

Both astronauts observed that space exploration has not only pushed the technological envelope, but has also benefited ordinary Americans and people across the world.

"There's not one area of our life that has not been touched by space age technology," Duke said.

Although the astronauts were enthusiastic when asked about audiences getting to view space exploration in HD, Aldrin noted one downside.

"We don't have makeup people who go along with our crew," Aldrin said.

"When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions" will air as a six-hour special on consecutive Sundays, June 8, 15, and 27.

SPACE.com -- NASA's Best Missions to Get High Definition Treatment

World's Largest Turbine: One Powers 5000 Homes

 

It was almost a year ago that we told you about Enercon's previous absolutely-massive, largest-in-the-world wind turbine, the E-112. Well now Enercon's outdone itself once again with a 126 meter diameter wind turbine called (of course) the E-126.

Holy frikkin' crap! Not only is it larger than the E-112, it contains a slew of innovations that increase the efficiency of the conversion from motion to electrical energy. As a result, the turbine might produce as much as seven megawatts of electricity. Yes, that is a whole megawatt larger than the E-112. And, yes, it's enough power to fuel more than 5,000 European homes.

Two of the massive turbines were recently installed in Emden, Germany, and are officially being listed as prototypes. As of yet, no full farms are using the turbine, but with a power rating like that, they can't be far off. The advantages of the E-126 over the E-112 include easier transportation and installation due to modular design and light-weight materials. New complex blade designs that decrease resistance of the tower and increase capture of wind energy and an extra 11 meters in height, that push it just that much further into the faster, more constant higher winds.

You can read more about it in Enercon's yearly report (PDF.) I've also searched far and wide for the best and finest pictures of this rather impressive feat, and you can find those after the jump.

Spotted at MetaEfficient

Yes...there are little tiny men in there...if you look close enough, you can see them.

World's Largest Turbine: One Powers 5000 Homes | EcoGeek

New Call of Duty 4 Maps Coming to Consoles (Updated)

 

Update: In response to the question of whether the content would also make it to the PC, an Activision representative replied, "We haven't announced anything around the PC, but stay tuned."

Original story: Publisher Activision today announced its intention to release new downloadable multiplayer maps for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4.

The content packs should arrive this spring. No mention of pricing, map details, or a PC release was made in the statement.

"We're excited about the new maps, and the added gameplay variety, and we can't wait to wrap things up and get online with everyone," said Infinity Ward community manager Robert Bowling.

Activision should have plenty of customers, as Call of Duty 4 was named the best-selling game of 2007 recently, with sales of over 7 million units worldwide.

New Call of Duty 4 Maps Coming to Consoles (Updated) - Shacknews

Vista SP1 released to manufacturing, will arrive in March

 

Microsoft today announced that Service Pack 1 (SP1) of Windows Vista has been released to manufacturing.  Eagerly anticipated by Vista aficionados around the world, SP1 will be initially available in five languages—English, French, Spanish, German and Japanese. Users will be able to download SP1 beginning in mid-March, as Microsoft is timing its release to coincide with the retail availability of new systems pre-installed with SP1.

The beta testing of Vista SP1 identified device drivers which were improperly designed and likely to cause system incompatibilities with SP1.  As such, Microsoft will be making SP1 available to Vista users in mid-March via Windows Update, which will look for the presence of problematic drivers and not install on the systems it finds with the drivers.  No further details about who made the drivers, or the devices or specific technical problems have been given by Microsoft, but the company says it is currently working with some of their its hardware partners to make the necessary adjustments.

Here's the full schedule: Mid-March will see selected languages of SP1 made available via the Microsoft Download Center and on Windows Update. Customers who visit Windows Update can choose to install SP1. Mid-April will see SP1 pushed to systems with the automatic update option enabled. Full language support for SP1 will also come in April.

SP1 will address many of the issues bugging users since the release of Vista. Microsoft says it includes more than 300 hot fixes covering everything from data protection to video performance. In particular, copying and moving files should be up to 50 percent faster, and waking a Vista PC from sleep should be much faster. According to the Windows Vista Blog, anecdotal evidence points to systems running faster and more reliably on a SP1 system; our experience with SP1 builds leads us to agree.

Since the release of Vista last year, the conventional wisdom has been that most businesses and a fair amount of users would wait until the release of SP1 to make the transition from XP (or Win2K) to Vista. If Microsoft can deliver the goods with SP1—and it appears that the company will—Vista should get a significant boost where it needs it most. 

If you've been holding out on installing Vista, are you going to jump on board once SP1 arrives next month?

Vista SP1 released to manufacturing, will arrive in March

Maxthon Browser 2.0.8.1720

 Maxthon Browser 2.0.8.1720

Maxthon Browser is a powerful tabbed browser built for all users. Besides basic browsing functionality, Maxthon Browser provides a rich set of features to improve your surfing experience.
Features:

• Favorites - Bar Replace the old school Links Bar with this powerful and easy to access Favorites Bar
• Web Services On The Go - Quick access to URL-based web services via the menu of Go button
• URL Alias - Navigate to your favorite website by simply typing the URL Alias into the Address Bar
• URL Auto-Completion - Use key combinations to auto type "http://www." and ".com" for the URL
• Simple Collector - Grab and save your favorite text & images while browsing
• Boss Key - Hide Maxthon window with a shortcut
• Full IE compatibility and more...

What's New:
[New Features]
+ Added Maxthon Downloader
+ Support IE Extensions
[Changes]
* Fixed download file type monitor problem
* Added context menu download command to Sniffer
* Fixed problem that page display error in locked tab
* Fixed problem that close button may be erroneously activated when many tabs on tab bar
* Fixed "Up One Level" problem
* Fixed Ctrl + Scroll zoom problem
* Fixed a crash problem when switching split view
* Added start maxthon in Safe mode in crash dialog
* Fixed some screen capture problems
* Fixed a crash problem when url is dragged to a tab
* Fixed problem that urls containing some special characters cannot be opened
* Fixed problems on close tabs on the left/right
* Fixed several memory leak problems
* Fixed login dialog clean account data command problem
* Fixed some shortcut commands
* Fixed problem that URL Alias work in search bar
* Fixed problem that file type empty in some save dialogs
* Fixed problem that links in some websites cannot be opened by middle click
* Fixed problem that site icon disappear in tab
* Fixed problem that website icon cannot be disabled
* Fixed problem that cannot undo closed Maxthon Downloader Page
* Fixed problem that backspace key invalid in flash editbox
Download: Maxthon Browser 2.0.8.1720 | 3.76 MB (Freeware)

Neowin.net - Maxthon Browser 2.0.8.1720

DailyTech - Yahoo Chairman Resigns, Microsoft Bid Offering Heats Up

 

Yahoo Chairman Resigns, Microsoft Bid Offering Heats Up

Yahoo Chairman Terry Semel resigns, Gates looks to solidify his online empire with the acquisition of Yahoo
Only days ago, the news broke that Yahoo was in troubled waters and sinking fast.  The Internet giant, which ranks number 2 in terms of search engine traffic and number 1 in terms of total traffic to properties, posted a declining net profit for the fourth straight quarter.  Worse yet, it announced that it would be cutting 1,000 jobs, or almost 7 percent of its workforce.  CEO Jerry Yang stated that the company was facing "strong headwinds" and had to be prepared to make big changes.
Now, an opportunity has come knocking on Yahoo's door, which holds the promise of transforming the online business world.  Microsoft Corp. made an unsolicited $44.6 billion bid for Yahoo and its holdings this morning.  The offer is one half in Microsoft common stock, and the other half in cash.
The move promises a sweet payoff for share holders, who would see their stocks soar 62% from Thursday levels, up to a $31 per share payout.
Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer was among Microsoft's big guns to be pushing the move.  He enthused that the move is the "next major milestone" for Microsoft.  He continued, "We are very, very confident this is the right path for Microsoft and for Yahoo."
Ballmer informed the media that Microsoft has been in talks with Yahoo, preparing the offer, for nearly 18 months now.  He gave Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang a personal call on Thursday night to announce the bid in person.
A Microsoft-Yahoo team would shake up the online community by creating a legitimate competitor to Google, which current stands far above the competition in terms of search engine Traffic.  Traffic research site comScore indicates that Yahoo has 22.9% of the search engine market and Microsoft owns a 9.8% share.  Together, their 32.7% share, would pose a challenge to Google's 58.4% share of the U.S. search engine market.
Microsoft revealed that it had first had broached the possibility to Yahoo executives a year ago, but was rebuffed by Yahoo's board of directors and CEO. With today's resignation of Semel, the balance of Yahoo's board could lead to a different outcome.  Semel was strongly opposed to the merger last year.
A year after Microsoft's offering, Yahoo is much worse for wear and promises to evaluate Microsoft's proposal "carefully and promptly."  As UBS analyst Benjamin Schachte puts it, "Last year, Yahoo told investors it needed more time to get on the right track.  But you only get a certain amount of time to turn things around."
Steve Ballmer stated, "We have great respect for Yahoo, and together we can offer an increasingly exciting set of solutions for consumers, publishers and advertisers while becoming better positioned to compete in the online services market."
Google spokesman Matt Furman declined to comment, stating, "It would be premature to comment at this point."
However, its safe to say that Google is not blind to the impact a Microsoft acquisition of Yahoo would make on its competitive prospects.  It looks like Google may have a real fight on its hands for the first time in years, and Microsoft may soon add a new piece to its ever-growing empire.

DailyTech - Yahoo Chairman Resigns, Microsoft Bid Offering Heats Up