Muslims Look To Science For Start Of Ramadan

 PARIS – France’s Muslim leaders have agreed to end almost 1,400 years of Islamic tradition and use modern astronomy to determine the start of the holy month of Ramadan.

The French Muslim Council (CFCM) voted on Thursday to start using astronomical calculations to set the date rather than relying on the naked eye to sight the new crescent moon. This appies to other Islamic holidays as well.

Ramadan traditionally begins the morning after the sighting, which has in the past been delayed by a day or even two by weather. Council President Mohammad Moussaoui said the old method played havoc with French Muslims’ schedules for work, school and festivities. France’s five million Muslims are the largest Islamic minority in Europe.

“Now all this will be simplified,” he said, and promptly announced the Ramadan fast would begin on July 9 this year. Turkey began using scientific calculations to set the start of Ramadan decades ago. Muslims in Germany, who are mostly of Turkish origin, and those in Bosnia also use this method.

Muslim minorities elsewhere in Europe often start Ramadan according to its beginning in their countries of origin, or in Saudi Arabia. That can lead to different ethnic groups starting it on different days, even in the same country. “This is historic. Now all Muslims in France can start Ramadan on the same day,” said Lyon Muslim leader Azzedine Gaci.

Muslim scientists have been arguing for using astronomy to determine Islamic dates for years, especially now that globalised communications make it increasingly awkward for different countries to start Ramadan on different days. Complicating the calculations, the Islamic lunar calendar is 10 to 11 days shorter than the Gregorian calendar developed in Europe, so the dates for Ramadan fall a week and a half earlier as each year in the western calendar passes.

Moussaoui said French Muslims were not planning to ask for their holidays to be included in the national calendar. “It would be more important for us that they are taken into consideration, that’s all,” he said. — Reuters

Russian Astronauts To Take Olympic Torch Into Space.

Astronaut Oleg Kotov photographs the reflection in his visor during a session outside the International Space Station. Picture: AP/NASA Source: AP

Russian astronauts will take an unlit Olympic torch on a space walk ahead of the country’s hosting of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, the  Russian space agency said Sunday.

“It will not be a copy but exactly the same as the torch at the Olympics,” deputy head of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, Vitaly Davydov, told the Interfax news agency.

He said he believed the space walk ceremony “had already been confirmed” with the country’s Olympic committee, but gave no details about the event.

The torch will not be lit at any point because this would not be permitted for transportation to the ISS, he added.

A space industry source told Interfax that the schedule of spaceships ferrying astronauts to the ISS would be altered to allow for the torch ceremony, part of a relay taking in Lake Baikal and Russia’s highest peak, Mount Elbrus.

Russian astronauts Oleg Kotov and Sergei Ryazansky are expected to perform the space walk with the torch in November with the torch set to return to Earth on a manned flight landing on November 12, the source said.

The Russian space agency in March said the space walk was planned for August this year.  Source: News.Com.Au

Carrier rocket of manned spacecraft reaches launch centre

 The Long March 2-F rocket that will carry China’s new manned spacecraft Shenzhou-10 was delivered to the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Thursday, China’s manned space program announced. The Long March 2-F carrier rocket is technologically advanced and more reliable compared to the one that carried the Shenzhou-9, according to a press release.

China launches communications satellite

China launched a state-owned communications satellite into orbit Wednesday to beam television and data to commercial customers across Asia, Africa and Australia for the next 15 years. The Chinasat 11 satellite, owned by China Satellite Communications Corp., will link millions of customers in China and neighboring regions with direct-to-home television, digital broadband and streaming media services. The spacecraft is the heaviest and most powerful commercial communications ever built in China, according to its manufacturer, the China Academy of Space Technology.

 ATV-4 Scheduled for Summer Liftoff

 ESA’s space freighter ATV Albert Einstein will be the heaviest spacecraft ever launched into space by an Ariane rocket when it lifts off to the International Space Station on 5 June. Albert Einstein is the fourth in the five-vessel Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV)-series of space cargo freighters and is undergoing final integration and cargo loading at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou.

It will launch on board an Ariane 5 ES launcher, delivering over 2500 kg of dry cargo to the International Space Station. It will also haul fuel, water, and oxygen to space, as well as carrying its own fuel to reboost the Station’s orbit.

The total mass of ATV Albert Einstein with all its cargo is 20 235 kg, making this spacecraft the heaviest ever lofted into orbit by an Ariane rocket, beating the previous Ariane launch record by over 500 kg set last year by its predecessor ATV Edoardo Amaldi. 

Most diverse cargo ever

“ATV-4 is carrying the most diverse-ever cargo mix – around 1400 different items – ranging from food, spare parts, crew supplies and clothing to scientific experiments and other vital items,” says Alberto Novelli, ATV-4 mission manager.

“Launch is scheduled for 5 June on Ariane flight VA213, which would line us up for docking with the International Space Station on 15 June.”

Teams from ESA, Arianespace and Astrium, the vessel’s builder, have been working at Kourou on an intense pre-launch campaign that began the moment the two halves of ATV vessel arrived in French Guiana last September.

The spacecraft has been checked out, the two halves joined into one and fuelling is underway. ATV Albert Einstein will be hoisted to the top of its Ariane launcher in May.

Late-load cargo can be added just two weeks before launch, this year, around 620 kg of ‘last-minute’ items are expected to be shipped to the Space Station.

“Late loading offers flexible options to our partners to include critical items needed on the Space Station closer to the actual launch date” says Charlotte Beskow ESA’s acting launch campaign manager in Kourou.

In parallel, the joint ESA/French space agency (CNES) flight control team at the ATV Control Centre in Toulouse, France has been doing intensive training and simulations for the mission’s flight phases.

“The operations teams have achieved a high degree of readiness, and we are looking forward to pass a number of milestones between now and launch,” says Alberto.

“These include a series of readiness reviews with our partners in May and a final launch readiness review early in June. We are confident that our teams are ready. ATV Albert Einstein is shaping up to be a great mission.”

ESA Seeks Innovators for Orbiting Laboratory Ops-Sat

 ESA is offering software developers the opportunity to use its new testbed in space. The robust nanosat will allow individuals, companies and institutions to try out pioneering software without the danger of losing a mission.

Satellites are so complex and costly that their controllers cannot afford to take risks. The need for reliability means that onboard and ground control software has not altered significantly in the past 20 years.

But the tiny Ops-Sat, a CubeSat combining commercial off-the-shelf technology and ESA expertise, is a chance to try out new ideas in space as early as 2015.

“This satellite is designed for experimenting with mission-critical software both on board and on the ground,” says Dave Evans, Ops-Sat project manager at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany. “This means it must be flexible, powerful and robust.

“In this way we can offer a real flying laboratory for experimenters, whether they are experienced in dealing with space missions or not.”

As the satellite was first being designed, suggested experiments included encryption, data management and navigation services, but the design has limitless possibilities. 

The core includes much more powerful processors than those flown by ESA in the past and it is fully reconfigurable even down to the operating system and firmware levels. Peripherals include cameras, GPS and attitude control. The full details are available here.

“ESA will run some of its own experiments, but there’s lots of time and effectively a blank canvas for the other experimenters who have game-changing ideas,” says Ian Carnelli from ESA’s General Studies Programme, supporting the mission.

“It’s a great chance for those already involved in the space industry as well as companies, universities or Member States that haven’t flown a space experiment before to do so in the very near future, and inspire the next generation of space software.”

 Job creation and growth with space

Russia to Deorbit Space Station’s Pirs Module in 2013

 

Russia plans to deorbit and sink its Pirs docking module of the International Space Station later this year, a high-ranking official with the Russian space corporation RKK Energia said on Friday. Alexander Kaleri, the head of the company’s scientific technical center, said undocking and deorbiting Pirs will take place before a new Russian module docks with the station. Alexander Derechin, RKK Energia deputy chief designer said in late March the launch of the multirole laboratory module (MLM) is tentatively scheduled for the end of 2013. Read more

New Chairs for two UK Space Agency Advisory Committees

The UK Space Agency is pleased to announce new chairpersons for two of its advisory committees: the Science Programme Advisory Committee (SPAC) and Space Exploration Advisory Committee (SEAC).

Professor Michele Dougherty of Imperial College London, has been appointed Chair of the SPAC and will formally take on this role from 01 July 2013. Professor Mark Sephton, also of Imperial College London, has been appointed Chair of the SEAC, effective from 06 May 2013.

The SPAC provides strategic advice for the space science programme, taking account of scientific excellence, technology, industry, potential spin-off applications, science and society opportunities and education and skills.

The SEAC is responsible for advising on the overall UK strategy and priorities for involvement in the European Aurora programme for space exploration and the ELIPS programme (European Physical and Life Sciences). It has a key role to play in providing independent advice and guidance to the Agency in this area.

Further information on the purpose, activates and current membership of these committees can be found on the SPAC and SEAC web pages.

Herschel to Finish Observing Soon

ESA’s Herschel space observatory is expected to exhaust its supply of liquid helium coolant in the coming weeks after spending more than three exciting years studying the cool universe.

Herschel was launched on 14 May 2009 and, with a main mirror 3.5 meters across, it is the largest, most powerful infrared telescope ever flown in space.

A pioneering mission, it is the first to cover the entire wavelength range from the far-infrared to submillimeter, making it possible to study previously invisible cool regions of gas and dust in the cosmos, and providing new insights into the origin and evolution of stars and galaxies.

In order to make such sensitive far-infrared observations, the detectors of the three science instruments — two cameras/imaging spectrometers and a very high-resolution spectrometer — must be cooled to a frigid -271*C, close to absolute zero. They sit on top of a tank filled with superfluid liquid helium, inside a giant thermos flask known as a cryostat.

 The superfluid helium evaporates over time, gradually emptying the tank and determining Herschel’s scientific life. At launch, the cryostat was filled to the brim with over 2,300 liters of liquid helium, weighing 335 kg, for 3.5 years of operations in space.

 Indeed, Herschel has made extraordinary discoveries across a wide range of topics, from starburst galaxies in the distant universe to newly forming planetary systems orbiting nearby young stars.

 However, all good things must come to an end, and engineers believe that almost all of the liquid helium has now gone.

 It is not possible to predict the exact day the helium will finally run out, but confirmation will come when Herschel begins its next daily 3-hour communication period with ground stations on Earth.

 ”It is no surprise that this will happen, and when it does we will see the temperatures of all the instruments rise by several degrees within just a few hours,” says Micha Schmidt, the Herschel Mission Operations Manager at ESA’s European Space Operations Center in Darmstadt, Germany.

 The science observing program was carefully planned to take full advantage of the lifetime of the mission, with all of the highest-priority observations already completed.

 In addition, Herschel is performing numerous other interesting observations specifically chosen to exploit every last drop of helium.

 ”When observing comes to an end, we expect to have performed over 22,000 hours of science observations, 10% more than we had originally planned, so the mission has already exceeded expectations,” says Leo Metcalfe, the Herschel Science Operations and Mission Manager at ESA’s European Space Astronomy Center in Madrid, Spain.

 ”We will finish observing soon, but Herschel data will enable a vast amount of exciting science to be done for many years to come,” says Goeran Pilbratt, ESA’s Herschel Project Scientist at ESA’s European Space Research and Technology Center in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.

 ”In fact, the peak of scientific productivity is still ahead of us, and the task now is to make the treasure trove of Herschel data as valuable as possible for now and for the future.”

 Herschel will continue communicating with its ground stations for some time after the helium is exhausted, allowing a range of technical tests. Finally, in early May, it will be propelled into its long-term stable parking orbit around the Sun.

Space Station.

Russia may use future modules of its segment of the International Space Station (ISS) to build its own orbital station, a senior space industry official said. TRhis is  amajor step forward.

Russia is planning to launch four new ISS modules – a multirole laboratory module (MLM), a node module and two science-power modules – by 2020, when the time comes to de-orbit the existing international outpost in space.

“If the need arises, we could undock the new modules (from the ISS), starting with the MLM, and they will serve as a foundation for a new generation Russian space station,” said Alexander Derechin, deputy chief designer for Russia’s space corporation RKK Energia.

The launch of the MLM module is tentatively scheduled for the end of 2013, Derechin added.  The current ISS project involves NASA, Roscosmos, the Canadian Space Agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and 11 members of the European Space Agency (ESA).

The participants in the project are discussing the possibility of extending the ISS life until 2028.  The ISS currently has five Russian-built modules — the Zvezda service module, the Zarya cargo block, the Pirs docking module, the Poisk (“Search”) research module and Rassvet (“Dawn”) research module.

Russia’s space agency Roscosmos announced plans to build a low-orbit space station to support future exploration of the Moon and Mars in 2009. Zeenews

The European Union has launched a new program to tackle the threat of space junk, which litters the corridors of Earth orbit.

Space junk is man-made debris — spent rocket stages, dead satellites and even lost spacewalker tools — orbiting Earth. These bits of detritus pose a risk to orbiting satellites, which even a small piece of space trash could damage or destroy.

There are thought to be about 600,000 objects larger than 1 cm (0.39 inches) in diameter orbiting Earth, and at least 16,000 larger than 10 cm (3.9 inches). Satellite operators rely on Earth-based tracking programs to locate this orbital debris in time to maneuver spacecraft out of the way of impending collisions.

Europe Takes Aim at Space Junk Menace

An artist’s illustration of a satellite collision from space debris in orbit. Space traffic accidents only beget more such accidents. CREDIT: European Space Agency

The European Union has launched a new program to tackle the threat of space junk, which litters the corridors of Earth orbit. Space junk is man-made debris — spent rocket stages, dead satellites and even lost spacewalker tools — orbiting Earth. These bits of detritus pose a risk to orbiting satellites, which even a small piece of space trash could damage or destroy.

There are thought to be about 600,000 objects larger than 1 cm (0.39 inches) in diameter orbiting Earth, and at least 16,000 larger than 10 cm (3.9 inches). Satellite operators rely on Earth-based tracking programs to locate this orbital debris in time to maneuver spacecraft out of the way of impending collisions.

To better combat the problem, the European Union has proposed that its 27 member countries combine their space-surveillance efforts and work together in alerting satellite operators of collision risks. The European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, announced the new initiative on Feb. 28.[Why Europe is Tackling Space Debris Threat (Video)]

“Some EU Member States have national systems, radars or telescopes that could be used for monitoring satellites and space debris, but all in all, European satellite operators almost completely depend on United States SST [space surveillance and tracking] information,” European Commission officials said in a statement.”However, with increasing space activities, the U.S. will no longer be able to meet the information needs of an increasing number of spacecraft operators.”

European officials propose making contributions toward each country’s costs in setting up and operating space junk-surveillance programs.

Improved tracking could save satellite operators significant amounts of money. Officials estimate that losses from space junk collisions, plus the risky maneuvers necessary to avoid impacts with space junk, cost European satellite operators €140 million ($182 million) a year, and the costs could rise to €210 million ($273 million) per year within the next decade.

“Today, the only effective way satellite operators can mitigate collision risks is to move their satellites out of the way as soon as a collision risk has been identified,” officials said.”Each such avoidance maneuver costs fuel and shortens the satellite’s lifetime. Some European space agencies operating satellites report that, on average, they carry out one collision-avoidance maneuver every month.”

And the space junk problem not only affects the companies that operate satellites in Earth orbit. It has repercussions for most of the planet’s population, which increasingly relies on satellite technology in everyday life.

“Without being aware, European citizens rely on space technologies when they use their mobile phones, make financial transactions, take an airplane, watch the weather forecast or look for the nearest restaurant in their cars,” officials said.”Any interruption of services which rely on space-based systems can have dramatic economic consequences.” This article was first published on SPACE.com.

European Space Agency successfully puts three satellites into orbit
Xinhua
PARIS, May 7 (Xinhua) — A new Vega rocket lifted off at 0206 GMT on Tuesday from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, successfully placing three satellites into orbit, the European Space Agency (ESA) and Arianespace announced. Two Earth …

This Diagram is Better than 183487 Images
Editor’s Note: This guest post was written by Markus Pössel, a theoretical physicist turned astronomical outreach scientist. He is the managing scientist at the Centre for Astronomy Education and Outreach “Haus der Astronomie” in Heidelberg, Germany.

Commercial space flights in UAE will enhance tourism, foreign investment
Al-Bawaba
The UAE is in talks with Virgin Galactic to start commercial space flights in 2013 with Abu Dhabi as a regional hub for the 21st Century spaceport, said Frank Rose, deputy assistant secretary (Space and Defense Affairs) at the US Department of State.

Taiwan launches astronomical observation project in Mexico
The project is being led by scientists from Academia Sinica’s Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics in cooperation with the National Autonomous University of Mexico Institute of Astronomy and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory of the United …

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