Star Energy Share Discussion Threads

[scuba doo] 28/1/2008 21:37

LOL!!!

Let's be honest, Frank, you're not the longest fellow in the world ....

[scuba doo] 25/1/2008 17:49

pickymicky - 23 Jan'08 - 18:33 - 679 of 681


Talking of gingers, I was watching the tv the other week, and I saw the head honcho of O2 talking and thought he looked familiar.

When I saw his name, I only realised that we used to play football together 25 years ago for Hampstead garden Suburb.

He was our box to box midfield dynamo, and I was our wing back/right back.

I can hear you laughing now, wondering how a man of my dimensions could be a wing back, in the Gael Clichy mould.

Firstly, I'm not black, and secondly, I didn't sprint up the touchline like Clichyzy does, and thirdly, we were in the 5th division of a 7 league system.

I did win goal of the season award in 1983 though.

[waldron] 24/1/2008 07:58

Virgin unveils spaceship designs
SpaceShipTwo is pictured slung beneath its carrier, White Knight Two
Animation of the Virgin Galactic spaceliner in flight

Virgin Galactic has released the final design of the launch system that will take fare-paying passengers into space.
It is based on the X-Prize-winning SpaceShipOne concept - a rocket ship that is lifted initially by a carrier plane before blasting skywards.

The Virgin system is essentially a refinement, but has been increased in size to take eight people at a time on a sub-orbital trip, starting in 2010.

Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson said the space business had huge potential.

"I think it's very important that we make a genuine commercial success of this project," he told a news conference in New York.

"If we do, I believe we'll unlock a wall of private sector money into both space launch systems and space technology.

"This could rival the scale of investment in the mobile phone and internet technologies after they were unlocked from their military origins and thrown open to the private sector."

The 'experience'

Virgin Galactic has contracted the innovative aerospace designer Burt Rutan to build its spaceliners. The carrier - White Knight Two (WK2) - is said to be very nearly complete and is expected to begin flight-testing later this year.


SpaceShipTwo (SS2) is about 60% complete, Virgin Galactic says.
Both vehicles are being constructed at Mr Rutan's Scaled Composites factory in California.

The rocket spaceliner will carry two pilot astronauts and six ticketed passengers. They will fly initially from a new facility called Spaceport America in the New Mexico desert.

The journeys will last about two-and-a-half hours from beginning to end.


Passengers on SS2 will climb to an altitude of 110km, from where they will get to experience weightless for a few minutes, and see the curvature of the Earth and the black of space.
Seats cost $200,000. Virgin Galactic says more than 200 individuals have booked, and another 85,000 have registered an interest to fly.

Tens of millions of dollars in deposits have already been taken, the company adds.

Satellite potential

Sir Richard said the launch system would also be made available to industrial and research groups.

"The fact that this system will have the capability to launch small payloads and satellites at low cost is hugely important," he told the launch event at the American Museum of Natural History.

"As far as science is concerned, this system offers tremendous potential to researchers who will be able to fly experiments much more often than before, helping to answer key questions about Earth's climate and the mysteries of the Universe."


The designs released on Wednesday are a clear evolution of the concept that won the $10m Ansari X-Prize in 2005 for the first successful, privately developed, sub-orbital human launch-system.
The most obvious difference is the scale. At 18.3m (60ft) in length, SS2 is twice as big as its predecessor.

Virgin Galactic said in a statement: "It incorporates both the lessons learned from the SpaceShipOne programme and the market research conducted by Virgin Galactic into the requirements future astronauts have for their space flight experience.

"It also has built-in flexibility to encompass future requirements for other scientific and commercial applications."

A SS2 simulator is now available to train the pilots.

WK2 is 23.7m-long (78ft). Its wingspan is unchanged at 42.7m (140ft), but it will now sport four Pratt and Whitney PW308 engines.

Virgin Galactic is one of several companies hoping shortly to offer space trips.

Amazon.com entrepreneur Jeff Bezos has his own scheme, as does the Paypal founder, Elon Musk. Even Europe's EADS Astrium, the company that coordinates the manufacture of the Ariane 5 rocket, is developing a commercial suborbital ship.

Currently, the only way to buy a trip into space is to pay for a seat on the Russian Soyuz launcher. Tickets purchased through Space Adventures cost a reported $20m and take the recipient to the International Space Station for a short holiday.


Story from BBC NEWS:


Published: 2008/01/24 05:28:33 GMT

[grupo guitarlumber] 02/11/2007 13:08

UK made 'fundamental space mistake'
By Irene Klotz
Cape Canaveral, Florida



The UK's decision to shun human spaceflight was a mistake that needs to be changed, says Europe's International Space Station programme chief.
But with Nasa on the verge of ending its shuttle programme and the Russian Soyuz capsules overbooked, it will not be easy to reverse course, warns Alan Thirkettle, a Brit who left the country to head European Space Agency (Esa) projects.

"I think it's a fundamental mistake," Thirkettle said in an interview with the BBC News website. "They've totally blown it."

He was speaking in Florida where preparations are underway for the launch of Esa's Columbus module. The laboratory is scheduled to be flown to the International Space Station (ISS) in December.


Human beings are going to explore and we can't be left behind
Alan Thirkettle, Esa

Thirkettle says the UK decided in the early 1980s to only contribute to space programmes that were of immediate financial benefit to industry, such as communication satellites - but believes this was short-sighted.
It had left Britain inexperienced in technologies of long-term benefit, such as life support systems, which would be useful in dozens of Earth-based applications as well as for space travel, he said.

Long queue

The UK may be warming to the idea of joining the rest of the world in space.


Last month, the government said it would review studies assessing the benefits of human space activities and could reach a decision next year.
"Human beings are going to explore and we can't be left behind," Thirkettle said.

While it may be too late for the UK to build an astronaut corps in time to take advantage of programmes aboard the space station, the US is leading an effort to return astronauts to the Moon by 2020 and prepare for even longer duration missions to Mars and other bodies in the Solar System. The UK could build for these bold ventures.

"The UK really has no idea what's involved in human spaceflight," said Thirkettle.

"They think they can fly an astronaut for 10 days (on the space station) and that they're experienced.

"They also think they can buy Soyuz flights, but the Soyuz is fully booked with six-person crews coming up. There are no spare seats anywhere," the Esa chief said.

Great tradition

Nasa plans to finish building the space station by 2010 and then retire the space shuttles. The addition of a second crew module on the ISS in late 2009 or early 2010 will enable the space station to support six full-time residents instead of three.


A recent report envisaged UK citizens on the Moon


But with the shuttles grounded and a new US spaceship not expected to fly until about 2014, the ISS project will be dependent on Russia for crew transport unless a commercial firm proves capable of providing space taxi services.
In September, the UK Space Exploration Working Group (SEWG) said British participation in manned missions was vital for both UK science and the economy.

The panel, asked to review UK space policy as part of a government review, concluded that the long-standing block on "Brits in space" had to change: "The UK has a long and noble tradition for exploration across our planet. It is time for a new vision and a more distant voyage."

A major obstacle, however, is cost. Britain spends relatively little on its civil space programme compared with its European partners; at just £207m a year. Even just purchasing a couple of "tourist tickets" on Soyuz to the ISS would cost about £50-75m up to 2015, the SEWG said.


Story from BBC NEWS:


Published: 2007/11/01 20:19:44 GMT

[bigjohn75] 02/11/2007 11:47

Sorry; I thought that star was an oil firm.

[waldron] 19/10/2007 17:10

NASA drops deal with Rocketplane
Date : 19/10/2007 @ 17:03
Source : TFN


NASA drops deal with Rocketplane




OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - NASA said Thursday it dropped a multimillion-dollar
contract with an aerospace company because the firm failed to secure enough
private financing to develop a new commercial spaceship.
Rocketplane Kistler was one of two companies awarded "seed money" from NASA
last year to develop and test launch new spacecraft with the idea they would one
day deliver cargo to the international space station.
NASA said it informed Oklahoma City-based Rocketplane of its decision in a
letter from Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems Rick Gilbrech.
Rocketplane's chairman and CEO, George French Jr., said he was still
confident the company would participate in NASA commercial spaceship program in
the future.
"I'm very proud of our team. We passed numerous NASA milestones and we're
highly rated by NASA," he said.
Of the $206.8 million NASA agreed to invest in Rocketplane, the company
received $32.1 million, NASA said. The remaining $174.7 million will be offered
to aerospace firms in a new competition.
The second company awarded seed money, Space Exploration Technologies Corp.,
or SpaceX, of El Segundo, Calif., has met all of its financial and technical
milestones, NASA said.
NASA remains committed to the project, Alan Lindenmoyer, manager of the
Commercial Crew and Cargo Program Office, said in a news release.
"A vibrant commercial space industry will help NASA fulfill its promise to
support the International Space Station, retire the space shuttle and return
humans to the moon," Lindenmoyer said.
NASA's decision is the latest setback for Rocketplane, which in 2001
announced plans for a space tourism company that would use a spaceport in
western Oklahoma to make spaceflight as common as commercial air travel for
those who can afford the $200,000 ticket.
But the company has yet to get its spacecraft off the ground, and in spite
of mounting financial problems French has said Rocketplane remains committed to
the project.
Design drawings and other specifics about the company's Rocketplane XP
reusable spacecraft are scheduled to be rolled out at an X Prize event for space
exploration and technology in New Mexico next week, French said.
Financial pressures related to development of a separate vehicle for NASA
also slowed work on the Rocketplane XP spacecraft, officials said.

[teapreacher] 17/10/2007 08:16

He has started his own Fund now, apparently.

People should read this thread(and other threads on the same subject) before they put any of their hard-earned into it, i feel.

[ariane] 03/10/2007 16:54

Air Liquide(L Arianespace to launch 2 satellites Friday for Intelstat, Optus


PARIS (Thomson Financial) - European space services company Arianespace said
it will launch on Friday two satellites for telecoms operators Intelsat and
Optus.
The satellites are to be launched from Arianespace's centre in French
Guyana. They were manufactured by Orbital Sciences Corporation in the US.
Arianespace is owned by a European consortium, which includes French
shareholders EADS, Safran and Air Liquide.
[e-mail]
gt/jfr

[ariane] 14/9/2007 05:47

Google backs private Moon landing
Search giant Google is offering a $30m prize pot to private firms that land a robot rover on the Moon.
The competition to send a robot craft to the Moon is being run with the X-Prize Foundation.

To claim the cash, any craft reaching the lunar surface must perform a series of tasks such as shoot video and roam for specific distances.

Firms interested in trying for the prize have until the end of 2012 to mount their Moonshot.

High flier

In a statement announcing the competition, Google and the X-Prize Foundation said it had been created in a bid to stimulate research into low-cost robotic exploration of space.

The top prize of $20m will be given to the private firm that soft lands a rover on the Moon which then completes a series of objectives.

These include roaming the lunar surface for at least 500m and gathering a specific set of images, video and data.

A prize of $5m will be given to the second firm that manages to reach the Moon with a rover that roams the surface and shoots some pictures.

Google said it would give bonuses of $5m if the rovers complete other objectives such as travelling further on the Moon, taking pictures of Apollo hardware, finding water-ice and surviving the freezing lunar night.

Rovers taking part must be fitted with high-definition video and still cameras.

"We are confident that teams from around the world will help develop new robotic and virtual presence technology, which will dramatically reduce the cost of space exploration," said Dr Peter Diamandis, chairman of the X-Prize Foundation in a statement.

Great test

The prize will be on offer until 2012. After that a smaller sum of $15m will be offered and, if the cash goes unclaimed, the competition will end in 2014.


Sending a robot rover to the Moon is a formidable task - involving far greater hurdles than the first X-Prize competition. Indeed, sending any sort of craft to the Moon would normally require the funding support of national or international space agencies.
The prize is the third offered and administered by the X-Prize Foundation.

The first was run to encourage private space travel. The $10m (£4.9m) Ansari-sponsored prize was won in October 2005 when the SpaceShipOne rocket plane climbed to an altitude of 100km twice inside seven days.

In October 2006, the X-Prize Foundation created the $10m Archon X-Prize for Genomics, which will be given to the first private research group to sequence 100 human genomes in 10 days.


Story from BBC NEWS:


Published: 2007/09/13 17:34:25 GMT

[ariane] 10/9/2007 15:50

Reports: Kazakhstan bans Proton launches
Date : 10/09/2007 @ 15:45
Source : TFN


Reports: Kazakhstan bans Proton launches


ALMATY, Kazakhstan (AP) - Kazakhstan has suspended all launches of
Russian-built Proton rockets, following last week's crash that destroyed a
Japanese communications satellite and spread toxic chemicals over the Kazakh
steppe, media reports said Monday.
The incident Thursday was the second time in the past 14 months that an
unmanned Russian rocket launched from the Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome has
strewn rocket fuel and debris, prompting angry statements from Kazakh officials.
Deputy Prime Minister Umirzak Shukeyev was quoted by Russian and Kazakh news
media as saying the government had ordered flights of Proton-M rockets
suspended.
The announcement follows a statement last week by officials at Russia's
space agency that all Proton rocket launches had been suspended while experts
investigated.
No one was injured in the incident, but some of the debris fell near the
central Kazakh city of Zhezkazgan where President Nursultan Nazarbayev was on an
official visit.
The Interfax news agency also quoted Shukeyev as saying that Kazakh
officials have demanded more oversight over the launches, and to be allowed to
coordinate them with Russian officials.
U.S.-based International Launch Services, the American-Russian joint venture
coordinating the launch, said the Proton-M rocket failed to put the JCSAT-11
satellite into orbit because of a problem during the second stage of its launch.
Russia has been aggressively trying to expand its presence in the
international market for commercial and government satellite and space-industry
launches, though its efforts have seen several high-profile failures.
The malfunction of a Dnepr rocket in July 2006 also prompted angry
statements from Kazakh officials and a suspension of unmanned launches.

[mad3it] 27/7/2007 14:59

It must be a northern fashion statement imo.

[hammy_davies_snr] 27/7/2007 14:44

Shane's suit wasn't as wrinkly as I would have imagined for such a fashion concious star.

[scuba doo] 27/7/2007 14:41

I never took it out, Hammy (apart from when Shane was saying his vows - that obviously brought a tear or two)

No, I'm not one to show off with my hanky, more than could be said for some, eh ?

[hammy_davies_snr] 27/7/2007 14:01

Did anyone comment on your hankie Scubes?

[scuba doo] 26/7/2007 18:56

nearly 'bought' or 'rented' ?

[mad3it] 26/7/2007 17:14

I'd recognise that head anywhere!

Nearly bought a house in Beaconsfield once, many years ago.

[scuba doo] 26/7/2007 17:04

It has to be said, Brian was in bl00dy good form that day (we got on like a bl00dy house on fire)

I'd go into more detail, but you know me - I'm not one to names drop .

[scuba doo] 26/7/2007 17:02

I'm the one in the grey whistle looking over Bab's shoulder .

[mad3it] 26/7/2007 16:58

Cant see you Scube, unless you've changed colour and changed your name to Rudolph.