South Dakota’s Newest Landmark – “Dignity”

All Posts, Art, , ,

Peter Lobner

When I was in South Dakota last week, a major new landmark was created when the 50-foot tall, stainless steel statue named “Dignity” was installed on a bluff overlooking Chamberlin and the Missouri River. The statue of a young Native American woman with a star quilt was commissioned two years ago with a $1 million gift from Norm and Eunabel McKie of Rapid City, SD and was created by Sturgis, SD artist Dale Lamphere.

DSC_6091 cropPhoto by author.DSC_6082-84 panoPhoto by author.

Lamphere is quoted as saying, “My intent for this is to have the sculpture stand as an enduring symbol of our shared belief that we are in a sacred place and that we are all sacred.”

The star quilt is a traditional symbol of honor among the local Native American Lakota people. You’ll find more information on the star quilt and its symbolism at the following link.

http://aktalakota.stjo.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=8594

DSC_6078Photo by author.

Standing at the top of the bluff leaves the statue exposed to strong winds that are common in the area. To mitigate the effects of the wind, many of the pieces of the diamond quilt are articulated to allow the wind to pass freely through the stainless steel structure of the quilt.

DSC_6088Photo by author.

At the unveiling ceremony, South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard remarked:

“This is very meaningful for our state. In addition to being the state of Mount Rushmore and the state of Crazy Horse, I believe the prominent location of “Dignity” and the visibility she offers to so many millions of travelers who will be moving up and down Interstate 90, I think we’ll soon become not just the state of those two stone monuments, but also this beautiful metal sculpture as well.”

In the current climate of divisiveness that is permeating this nation, “Dignity” stands as a welcome symbol of hopefulness. Thank you, Norm and Eunabel McKie, for your generous gift to the state of South Dakota and to this great nation of ours.

Status of Ukraine’s Giant Transport Aircraft: Antonov An-124 and An-225

Aeronautical, All Posts, Aviation, Commercial aviation, Military technology, , , ,

Peter Lobner, updated 26 September 2023

Historically, the Antonov Design Bureau was responsible for the design and development of large military and civil transport aircraft for the former Soviet Union. With headquarters and production facilities in and around Kiev, this Ukrainian aircraft manufacturing and servicing firm is now known as Antonov State Company. The largest of the jet powered transport aircraft built by Antonov are the four-engine An-124 and the even larger six-engine An-225.

An-124 Ruslan (NATO name: Condor)

The An-124 made its first flight in December 1982 and entered operational service in 1986. This aircraft is a counterpart to the Lockheed C-5A, which is the largest U.S. military transport aircraft. A comparison of the basic parameters of these two aircraft is presented in the following table.

An-124 vs C-5A_Aviatorjoedotnet

Source: aviatorjoe.net

As you can see in this comparison, the An-124 is somewhat larger than the C-5A, which has a longer range, but at a slower maximum speed.

The An-124 currently is operated by the Russian air force and also by two commercial cargo carriers: Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines and Russia’s Volga-Dnepr Airlines. The civil An-124-100 is a commercial derivative of the military An-124. The civil version was certified in 1992, and meets all current civil standards for noise limits and avionic systems.

In their commercial cargo role, these aircraft specialize in carrying outsized and/or very heavy cargo that cannot be carried by other aircraft. These heavy-lift aircraft serve civil and military customers worldwide, including NATO and the U.S. military. I’ve seen an An-124s twice on the tarmac at North Island Naval Station in San Diego. In both cases, it arrived in the afternoon and was gone before sunrise the next day. Loading and/or unloading occurred after dark.

An-124_RA-82028_09-May-2010

An-124-100. Source: Wikimedia Commons

As shown in the following photo, the An-124 can retract its nose landing gear and “kneel” to facilitate cargo loading through the raised forward door.

An-124_ramp down

An-124-100. Source: Mike Young / Wikimedia Commons

The following diagram shows the geometry and large size of the cargo hold on the An-124. The built-in cargo handling equipment includes an overhead crane system capable of lifting and moving loads up to 30 metric tons (about 66,100 pounds) within the cargo hold. As shown in the diagram below, the cargo hold is about 36.5 meters (119.7 feet) long, 6.4 meters (21 feet) wide, and the clearance from the floor to the ceiling of the cargo hold is 4.4 meters (14.4 feet). The installed crane hoists may reduce overhead clearance to 3.51 meters (11.5 feet).

An-124-diagram_tcm87-4236

An-124-100 cargo hold dimensions. Source: aircharterservice.com

An-124_takeoff

An-124-100. Source: aircharterservice.com

Production of the An-124 was suspended following the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine. In spite of repeated attempts by Ukraine to restart the An-124 production line, it appears that Antonov may not have the resources to restart An-124 production. 

An-225 Mriya

The An-225 was adapted from the An-124 and significantly enlarged to serve as the carrier aircraft for the Soviet space shuttle, the Buran. The relative sizes of the An-124 and An-225 are shown in the following diagram, with a more detailed comparison in the following table.

An-124 & 225 planform comparison

An-124 & -225 comparison. Source: Airvectors.com

An-124 & 225 comparison

An-124 & -225 comparison. Source: aviatorjoe.net

The only An-225 ever produced made its first flight in December 1988. It is shown carrying the Buran space shuttle in the following photo.

AN-225 & Buran

An-225 carrying Buran space shuttle. Source: fcba.tumblr.com

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the cancellation of the Buran space program, the An-225 was mothballed for eight years until Antonov Airlines reactivated the aircraft for use as a commercial heavy-lift transport. In this role, it can carry ultra-heavy / oversize cargo weighing up to 250 metric tons (551,000 pounds).

An-225 gear down

An-225 Mriya. Source: AntonovAn-225 gear up

In 2016, it appeared that the giant An-225 was about to enter series production after Antonov and Aerospace Industry Corporation of China (AICC) signed a deal on 30 August 2016 for An-225 production in China. At the time, it was expected that the first new An-225 could be produced in China as early as in 2019. A Chinese An-225 would modernize and greatly expand China’s military and civil airlift capabilities.  While it isn’t clear how that airlift capability would be employed, it certainly will improve China’s ability to deliver heavy machinery, bulk material, and many personnel anywhere in the world, including any location in and around the South China Sea that has an adequate runway.  

26 September 2023 update

In late February 2022, the An-225 was destroyed by invading Russian forces at the Hostomel Airport near Kyiv, where the giant aircraft was undergoing regular maintenance intended to support its continued operational use into the 2030s. 

Source: Oleksii Samsonov / KCSA via The Moscow Times

Source: Oleksii Samsonov via Aero Times

A second unfinished airframe of the An-225, originally intended for ground testing, still exists at an unspecified location.  That second airframe, plus serviceable parts salvaged from the original An-225, would form a starting point for building another flyable AN-225.

Time will tell if an An-225 can be rebuilt.  I hope we’ll see Mriya fly again.

For more information

Video

Celebrate H. G. Wells 150th Birthday

All Posts, Science Fiction, , , , ,

Peter Lobner

Herbert George Wells was born on 21 September 1866 in Bromley, in southeast England. While he may be best known for his science fiction novels, H.G. Wells was a prolific writer in many genres, including history, politics, social commentary, and textbooks.

HG Wells photoH. H. G. Wells. Source: biography.com

His most memorable Victorian-era science fiction novels include:

  • The Time Machine (1895)
  • The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896)
  • The Invisible Man (1897)
  • War of the Worlds (1898)

Wells was a contemporary of Jules Verne (author of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Journey to the Center of the Earth, From the Earth to the Moon and much more) and Hugo Gernsbacher (author and publisher of the first science fiction magazine, Amazing Stories, and namesake for the science fiction Hugo Awards given annually by the World Science Fiction Society). Together, these men commonly are considered as the fathers of modern science fiction. Wells and Verne are strong influences on the modern science fiction subgenre known as steampunk, which incorporates Victorian-era (late 1880s) technology (steam power, early electrical devices) and design aesthetics (costumes, accessories) into a retro-futuristic alternative history of that period.

On 30 October 1938, Orson Welles’ radio adaptation of H. G. Wells War of the Worlds was broadcast on The Mercury Theater of the Air, causing a minor panic among listeners who mistook the broadcast for an actual news report of an alien invasion of Earth.

Several H. G. Wells science fiction novels have been made (and re-made) into movies.

War of the Worlds 1953 movie posterWar of the Worlds movie poster (1953). Source: Paramount Pictures

H.G. Wells also was a futurist, and he wrote extensively on his vision of life and technology in the 20th century. Important titles on this matter are:

  • Anticipation (1901)
  • The Discovery of the Future (1902)
  • The War in the Air (1908)
  • The Shape of Things to Come (1033)

Following is a brief overview of these four titles.

Anticipation (1901)

H. G. Wells’ first popular non-fiction work was entitled, Anticipations of the Reaction of Mechanical and Scientific Progress upon Human Life and Thought, which is commonly known by the shorter title, Anticipations. This work was first published in 1901 in serial form in magazines in the UK and the USA and then in book form later that same year. In Chapter 1, H. G. Wells describes the purpose of Anticipations as follows:

“It is proposed in this book to present as orderly an arrangement as the necessarily diffused nature of the subject admits, certain speculations about the trend of present forces, speculations which, taken all together, will build up an imperfect and very hypothetical, but sincerely intended forecast of the way things will probably go in this new century. Hitherto such forecasts have been presented almost invariably in the form of fiction…..Our utmost aim is a rough sketch of the coming times, a prospectus, as it were, of the joint undertaking of mankind in facing these impending years.”

The complex structure of the first sentence in the above paragraph might have been impressive enough to win H.G. Wells an award in the Bulwer – Lytton Fiction Contest (see my 6 September 2016 post on BLFC).

Anticipations is organized into nine chapters as follows:

  • Chapter 1: Locomotion in the Twentieth Century
  • Chapter 2: The Probable Diffusion of Great Cities
  • Chapter 3: Developing Social Elements
  • Chapter 4: Certain Social Reactions
  • Chapter 5: The Life History of Democracy
  • Chapter 6: War
  • Chapter 7: The Conflict of Language
  • Chapter 8: The Larger Synthesis
  • Chapter 9: The Faith, Morals, and Public Policy of the New Republic

You’ll find the full text of the 4th edition (1902) of Anticipations on the Internet Archive website at the following link:

https://archive.org/details/anticipationsofr00welluoft

For a quick synopsis of Anticipations, I refer you to Wikipedia at the following link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anticipations

With 115 years of hindsight, many of H. G. Wells’ predictions in Anticipations seem quite accurate, particularly with respect to the evolution of motor vehicles, development of urban sprawl, and the evolution of warfare to adapt to the availability of motor vehicles and aircraft. Within two years of publication, H. G. Wells publically took a stand against eugenics and for human rights, contrary to positions he had taken in Chapter 9 of Anticipations.

The Discovery of the Future (1902)

H. G. Wells provided another perspective on the future in his 1902 lecture at the Royal Institution of London, entitled The Discovery of the Future, which was published in magazines in the UK and USA and later published as a book. His basic thesis is that there are “two divergent types of minds” that can influence the future.

  • “The first of these two types of mind, and it is, I think, the predominant type, the type of the majority of living people, is that which seems scarcely to think about the future at all, which regards it as a sort of blank non-existence upon which the advancing present will presently write events.”
    • Retrospective
    • Interprets the present entirely with relationship to the past
    • Legal or submissive; referring to precedents set
    • Passive; the mind of age
  • “The second type, which is, I think, a more modern and much less abundant type of mind, thinks constantly and by preference of things to come, and of present things mainly in relation to the results that must arise from them.”
    • Constructive
    • Interprets the present entirely in relation to things designed or foreseen
    • Legislative, creative, organizing, masterful; perpetually attacking and altering the established order of things
    • Sees the world as one great workshop, and the present is no more than the material for the future, for the thing that is yet destined to be.
    • Active; the mind of youth

In this book, Wells states:

“I believe that it is not sufficiently recognized just how different in their consequences these two methods are, and just where their difference and where the failure to appreciate their difference takes one.”

Later in this book, Wells states:

“I must confess that I believe quite firmly that an inductive knowledge of a great number of things in the future is becoming a human possibility. I believe that the time is drawing near when it will be possible to suggest a systematic exploration of the future.”

He concludes this book by stating:

“All this world is heavy with the promise of greater things, and a day will come, one day in the unending succession of days, when beings, beings who are now latent in our thoughts and hidden in our loins, shall stand upon this earth as one stands upon a footstool, and shall laugh and reach out their hands amid the stars.”

You’ll find the full text of The Discovery of the Future on the Internet Archive website at the following link:

https://archive.org/details/discoveryoffutur00welliala

The War in the Air (1908)

This science fiction novel, serialized and published in 1908, provided a prophetic view of the use of aircraft and airships in warfare. This basic vision of military air power would be realized in less than a decade during World War I (July 1914 – November 1918), though at a much less destructive scale than in the novel.

You can download the audiobook from the Internet Archive at the following link:

https://archive.org/details/war_in_air_1110_librivox

You can read a short synopsis of this novel on Wikipedia at the following link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_in_the_Air

The Shape of Things to Come (1933)

Coming only 15 years after the end of World War I, this science fiction novel is a cautionary tale that addresses the terrible consequences of a future international war. Following the start of war in 1940, the plot follows the decay of society, the rise of local warlords and their fall following the creation of a benevolent “Dictatorship of the Air” to restore worldwide peace. The story jumps forward in time to the year 2036, where technology provides a high standard of living for all citizens. Nonetheless, there remains a tension between the technical leadership and citizens who are against progress.

A loose adaptation of the novel was made into the science fiction movie Things to Come, which was released in 1936.

Things to Come 1936 movie posterjpgThings to Come movie poster (1936)

The movie portrayed many of the advanced technologies that exist in 2036; many of which have become commonplace in our modern life, including desktop video displays, big flat screen television, global communications, compound helicopters, hydroponics, use of composite materials in building construction instead of steel. Other technologies, such as monorail urban transportation, powerful (laser) mining machines, large-scale holographic projectors, and an electric Space Gun for launching a manned spacecraft on a circumlunar journey from Earth, will have to wait a bit longer.

You can view the complete movie on YouTube at the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn76zoYjr4k

You’ll find a good summary of the movie by Mark Bourne at the following link:

http://markbourne.blogspot.com/2010/11/things-to-come-1936-hg-wells-explains.html

Some of the technologies appearing in the movie are discussed in a six-page article in the May 1936 issue of Modern Mechanix & Inventions Magazine. You’ll find the complete Modern Mechanix article at the following link:

http://blog.modernmechanix.com/h-g-wells-things-to-come/

Modern Mechanica May 1936

As a writer and futurist, H. G. Wells has enriched our lives in many ways. I hope you’ll follow the links posted above and take some time to get a better understanding of this great man.

Breakthrough Starshot: Crashing Through Interstellar Dust and Gas Clouds at 0.2c

All Posts, Nanotechnology, Spacecraft and Missions, ,

Peter Lobner

Yuri and Julia Milner founded the Breakthrough Initiatives in 2015 to explore the universe, seek scientific evidence of life beyond Earth, and encourage public debate from a planetary perspective. You’ll find an introduction to Breakthrough Initiatives at the following link:

https://breakthroughinitiatives.org/About

There are three initiatives described on this website:

Breakthrough Listen: This is a $100 million program of astronomical observations in search of evidence of intelligent life beyond Earth. It is by far the most comprehensive, intensive and sensitive search ever undertaken for artificial radio and optical signals. It includes a complete survey of the 1 million nearest stars, the plane and center of our galaxy, and the 100 nearest galaxies. All data will be open to the public.

Breakthrough Message: This is a $1 million competition to design a message representing Earth, life and humanity that could potentially be understood by another civilization.

Breakthrough Starshot: Yuri Milner and physicist Stephen Hawking announced the Breakthrough Starshot initiative on 12 April 2016. This is a $100 million research and engineering program with the goal of demonstrating proof-of-concept for a new technology: using laser light to accelerate ultra-light, unmanned, light sail spacecraft to 20% of the speed of light (0.2 c; 1.34 e+8 mph; 6.0e+7 meters/sec); and thereby enable a flyby mission to the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri, within a generation.

Breakthrough Starshot involves particularly intriguing engineering challenges. This initiative plans to launch many lightweight, light sail spacecraft from Earth and then individually accelerate each spacecraft to about 0.2 c using powerful terrestrial lasers. These lightweight spacecraft are expected to accelerate to about 0.2 c within a few minutes after laser propulsion begins. When the target speed has been reached, laser propulsion would be discontinued and the spacecraft will coast the rest of the way to its destination.

Solar sailing spacecraftThe Breakthrough Starshot light sail spacecraft after initial deployment, before the start of laser propulsion. Source: Breakthrough Starshot Initiative

Terrestrial laser power sourceThe terrestrial laser power source for the Breakthrough Starshot spacecraft. Source: Breakthrough Starshot Initiative

Breakthrough Starshot propelled by lasersBreakthrough Starshot light sail spacecraft being propelled by the terrestrial lasers. Source: Breakthrough Starshot Initiative

Spacecraft underwat toward deep spaceBreakthrough Starshot light sail spacecraft under power, heading for deep space. Source: Breakthrough Starshot Initiative

You can watch a short video on the Breakthrough Starshot spacecraft at the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMkWGN1G6Kg

A detailed video (1hr 16 min) on this initiative, with discussions by Stephen Hawking and Freeman Dyson, is at the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cVQwDdYF4w

While the concept of a terrestrial laser-powered, ultra-light, light sail spacecraft is intriguing, the reality of flying through interstellar space at a speed of 0.2 c relative to low-density cosmic dust and gas along the route may raise daunting engineering challenges related to spacecraft survivability. The approach being taken by the Breakthrough Starshot initiative will be to launch many light sail spacecraft to provide redundancy and improve the likelihood of mission success.

How much damage could a grain of space dust inflict on a spacecraft? The worst case would be for the spacecraft to absorb all the kinetic energy from the collision.

Wikipedia reports that cosmic dust falling to Earth has been studied and found to be composed of grains with masses between 10−16 kg and 10−4 kg.

The classical Newtonian equation for kinetic energy (Ek) will yield an adequate approximation of the kinetic energy transferred in an impact at a speed of 0.2 c:

Ek = ½ mv2

where m is the mass of the projectile, and v2 is the square of the velocity of the projectile.

The maximum kinetic energy deposited by a cosmic dust particle with an “average” mass, 10−10 kg, is estimated to be:

Ek = 0.5 (1e-10 kg)(3.6e+15 m2/sec2) = 1.8e+5 kg-m2/sec2 = 180,000 Joules

This is about 40 times the maximum kinetic energy of a projectile fired from a 12-gauge shotgun. That would be quite damaging, so hopefully there is a very low probability of encountering cosmic dust of this mass. In this case, that v2 term in the equation has a very bad effect on kinetic energy.

In comparison, the maximum kinetic energy deposited by a cosmic dust particle at the low end of the mass range, 10−16 kg, is estimated to be:

Ek = 0.5 (1e-16 kg)(3.6e+15 m2/sec2) = 1.8e-1 kg-m2/sec2 = 0.18 Joules

This is in the approximate kinetic energy range of a small projectile fired from an airsoft (paintball) type gun. If the spacecraft isn’t damaged, the momentum transfer, even from smaller impacts such as this, may be sufficient to alter the course of the spacecraft. As you can see, cosmic dust can be quite hazardous to fast moving spacecraft.

You can read more about the Breakthrough Starshot initiative at the following links:

arsTECHNICA, 23 August 2016: “Just how dangerous is it to travel at 20% the speed of light?

http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/08/could-breakthrough-starshots-ships-survive-the-trip/

National Geographic, 13 April 2016: “Is the New $100 Million ‘Starshot’ for Real?”

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/04/160413-fast-facts-stephen-hawking-starshot-space/

Winners of the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest

All Posts, Literature, , ,

Peter Lobner

Bulwer-Lytton old logo

You’ll find the home page for this fascinating literary contest at the following link:

https://www.bulwer-lytton.com

For a quick background, I’ve excerpted the following description from this website:

“Since 1982 the English Department at San Jose State University has sponsored the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest, a whimsical literary competition that challenges entrants to compose the opening sentence to the worst of all possible novels. The contest (hereafter referred to as the BLFC) was the brainchild (or Rosemary’s baby) of Professor Scott Rice, whose graduate school excavations unearthed the source of the line “It was a dark and stormy night.”

“Conceived to honor the memory of Victorian novelist Edward George Earl Bulwer-Lytton and to encourage unpublished authors who do not have the time to actually write entire books, the contest challenges entrants to compose bad opening sentences to imaginary novels. Bulwer was selected as patron of the competition because he opened his novel “Paul Clifford” (1830) with the immortal words, “It was a dark and stormy night.” Lytton’s sentence actually parodied the line and went on to make a real sentence of it, but he did originate the line “The pen is mightier than the sword,” and the expression “the great unwashed.” His best known work, one on the book shelves of many of our great-grandparents, is “The Last Days of Pompeii” (1834), an historical novel that has been adapted for film multiple times.”

Here are the basic rules, which are described in more detail on the above website:

  • Each entry must consist of a single sentence but you may submit as many entries as you wish.
  • Sentences may be of any length but we strongly recommend that entries not go beyond 50 or 60 words.
  • Entries must be “original” (as it were) and previously unpublished.

Judges select an overall winner and runner-up, as well as winners and “dishonorable mentions” in the following categories:

  • Adventure
  • Children’s literature
  • Crime / detective
  • Fantasy
  • Historical
  • Horror
  • Purple prose
  • Romance
  • Science fiction
  • Vile puns
  • Miscellaneous

Of course, the contest wouldn’t be complete without the Grand Panjandrum’s Special Award.

2016 Winners:

Here’s the direct link to the 2016 contest winners:

https://www.bulwer-lytton.com/copy-of-2018-winners-1

The overall winner was William “Barry” Brockett from Tallahassee, FL, whose winning entry was the following:

“Even from the hall, the overpowering stench told me the dingy caramel glow in his office would be from a ten-thousand-cigarette layer of nicotine baked on a naked bulb hanging from a frayed wire in the center of a likely cracked and water-stained ceiling, but I was broke, he was cheap, and I had to find her.”

I’m sure you’ll enjoy the other 2016 winners and the “dishonorable mentions.” But don’t stop there. The Bulwer-Lytton archives back to 1999 are available on their website. Unfortunately (or maybe, fortunately) earlier contest results appear to have been lost. The contest organizers remarked:

“At some point in time, we may come across them on a sheaf of forgotten parchment, a roll of dead papyrus, or more likely, a dusty floppy disk. If and when that happy day arrives, we shall post that information on this site post haste. Until then, we share your pain at their absence.”

The website explains how to submit your own entries for the next competition in 2017. Start now and “compose the opening sentence to the worst of all possible novels.” The judges may love it, and you’ll earn some minor bragging rights for your creative writing skills. Your English teacher would be so proud!

Update 24 September 2016:

Lyncean speaker Dave Zobel won the BLFC Grand Prize in 2004 with the following entry:

“She resolved to end the love affair with Ramon tonight … summarily, like Martha Stewart ripping the sand vein out of a shrimp’s tail … though the term “love affair” now struck her as a ridiculous euphemism … not unlike “sand vein,” which is after all an intestine, not a vein … and that tarry substance inside certainly isn’t sand … and that brought her back to Ramon.”

Dave’s September 2015 talk was entitled, “The Science of TV’s ‘The Big Bang Theory’: Explanations Even Penny Would Understand.”

Update 4 October 2018:

You’ll also find winning entries since 2016 listed under the “Winning Entries” tab on the Bulwer-Lytton website.

Philae Found in a Rocky Ditch on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

All Posts, Spacecraft and Missions, , , , ,

Peter Lobner

In my 24 August 2016 post, “Exploring Microgravity Worlds,” I described the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Rosetta mission to comet 67P and the Philae lander, which was intended to make a soft landing on 67P and attach itself to the surface. However, the securing devices (a pair of harpoons and screws on each leg) failed to work upon touching the surface the first time. In the microgravity environment of 67P, Philae rebounded and eventually came to rest adjacent to a rocky outcropping seen in a post-landing photo.

Rosetta_Auto52Main components of the Philae lander. Source: Philae teamPhilae as it was intended to land.Philae as it was intended to look after landing. Source: MEDIALAB/AFP/Getty ImagesPhilae landing photoView from Philae’s actual landing site. Source: ESA

On 2 September 2016, the ESA team managing the Rosetta mission found Philae in photographs taken from the Rosetta spacecraft at an altitude of about 2.7 km (1.7 miles) above the surface of 67P. The photos show that Philae, which is about the size of a washing machine, is lying on its side, wedged among large rocks. Knowing Philae’s actual orientation and environment is expected to help ESA reevaluate the data Philae transmitted from its resting place.

Philae is the “poster child” for the hazards of landing on microgravity worlds.

Philae_close-up_node_full_image_2Philae’s final resting place on comet 67P. Source: ESAPhilae_close-up_labelled_node_full_image_2Annotated Philae photo. Source: ESA

Meanwhile, Rosetta is being maneuvered into ever-closer orbits around 67P, with the goal be taking measurements of the comet’s “atmosphere” very close to the surface. The Rosetta mission is expected to come to an end in September 2016 with the spacecraft colliding with 67P.

Thank You, Gene Roddenberry, for 50 years of Star Trek!

All Posts, Science Fiction, , , , , , ,

Peter Lobner

By now, everyone knows that Gene Roddenberry originally created Star Trek as a utopian science fiction TV series. The pilot episode, “The Cage,” started filming on 27 November 1964 at the Desilu Productions studios, in Culver City, CA. The main cast members were Jeffrey Hunter (Capt. Christopher Pike), Roddenberry’s wife Majel Barrett (first officer, known as “Number One”), Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock), and John Hoyt (ship’s doctor, Dr. Philip Boyce) and their starship was the Enterprise. Filming and post-production were completed in January 1965. However, this pilot was not well received by NBC executives.

Star Trek pilot - The Cage - crewMain cast for “The Cage” pilot. Source: thespacereview.com

On the cnet.com website, Richard Trenholm reported:

“Unfortunately, NBC deemed the pilot episode “too cerebral” with “not enough action” — and demanded that Roddenberry “get rid of the guy with the ears”. But in a then-unprecedented move, NBC commissioned a second pilot. Hunter declined to be involved, so Shatner took over the conn as Capt. Kirk when the series began transmission on 8 September 1966. The rest is history.”

“The Cage” finally was released on VHS in 1986 and was broadcast for the first time in November 1988. You can watch the “The Cage,” at the following link:

http://www.disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/104239/Star_Trek_the_Cage/

Lucille Ball (the “lu” in Desilu Studios) is credited with supporting Gene Roddenberry’s plans for the original Star Trek TV series, and doubtless was instrumental in getting NBC to sponsor the second pilot. Thank you, Lucy! The second pilot, “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” had most of the main cast members that became fixtures in the original TV series: William Shatner (Capt. James Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Science Officer, Mr. Spock), James Doohan (Chief Engineer, Montgomery Scott), and George Takei (Lt. Sulu). Mark Piper preceded series regular DeForest Kelly as the ship’s doctor.   Nichelle Nichols (Communications Officer, Lt. Uhura) had not yet joined the cast. NBC approved the second pilot and the TV series was launched, but not by the second pilot. The second pilot actually was the third Star Trek episode broadcast in the U.S. on 22 September 1966.

The first U.S. broadcast episode of Star Trek was “The Man Trap,” which was the sixth episode filmed. This episode was broadcast by NBC on 8 September 1966 in the U.S., two days after it was broadcast in Canada.

Star-Trek-TOS crew-Star Trek the original series (TOS) crew of the Enterprise. Source: buzz.ie

Confused? Well there’s more. The plot of “The Cage” actually was salvaged and incorporated into Season 1 episodes 11 & 12, “The Menagerie,” with Jeffrey Hunter again playing the part of a now seriously injured Fleet Capt. Christopher Pike.

The original series lasted three seasons and produced 79 episodes by the time the last episode, “Turnabout Intruder,” was broadcast on 3 June 1969. The good news is that there were enough episodes for Star Trek to enter syndication, permitting endless re-runs to entertain a growing fan base for generations after the original series was cancelled.

You’ll find a list of all episodes in the original series at the following link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Trek:_The_Original_Series_episodes

From here, you can easily navigate to find details on each individual episode.

The original Star Trek’s series spawned five additional television series, thirteen feature films, a host of books and comics / graphic novels, and a huge variety of “toys,” which by now have become highly collectable treasures.

In 1976, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) named their first space shuttle Enterprise in honor of the starship in the original Star Trek series. The original cast members joined NASA and other officials for the rollout the North American Rockwell facility in Palmdale, CA.

Space shuttle EnterpriseSource: NASA. From left to right they are: NASA Administrator Dr. James D. Fletcher; DeForest Kelley, who portrayed Dr. “Bones” McCoy on the series; George Takei (Mr. Sulu); James Doohan (Chief Engineer Montgomery “Scotty” Scott); Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura); Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock); series creator Gene Roddenberry; U.S. Rep. Don Fuqua (D.-Fla.); and, Walter Koenig (Ensign Pavel Chekov)

Gene Roddenberry and the writers of the original Star Trek series deserve a lot of credit for envisioning a very different culture and an optimistic future while creating the series during a period of great political and social strife in the U.S. during the late 1960s. They also deserve credit for conceiving a whole range of advanced technologies that were needed to support their spacefaring mythology. Many of these Star Trek technologies seem to be less science fiction today than they did 50 years ago because we now have many new products and services that embody analogous technologies, or at least some rudimentary aspects of some of the Star Trek technologies.

Star Trek tech T1

Many of the technologies in Star Trek TOS still elude us in 2016, but these will be exciting challenges for scientists and engineers during the next 50 years.

  • Warp drive, for faster-than-light travel
  • Usable power generation from fusion reactions (for the impulse engines)
  • Usable power generation from matter – anti-matter reactions (for the warp drive)
  • Sub-space communications, for faster-than-light communications
  • Gravity plating, to simulate a gravity field inside a starship
  • Inertial dampeners, to counter the effects of rapid acceleration and deceleration
  • Shields, for absorbing the energy from incoming weapons and minimizing damage to the starship and crew
  • Tractor beam, for capturing objects at a distance and reeling them in. A microscopic scale tractor beam has been demonstrated in the laboratory.
  • Transporter, for dematerializing a person or object in one location and rematerializing the same person or object in a different location.
  • Time travel, for moving persons, objects, or whole starships into a different time continuum than our own
  • Suspended animation of humans, for long duration spaceflight
  • Neutronium, for impermeable armor / shielding

Gene Roddenberry and his writing staff incorporated all of these technologies into the original Star Trek mythology in the first year of the series. Later Star Trek series and movies introduced a host of additional technologies, including:

Star Trek tech T2

You can read more on Star Trek technologies at the following links:

NASA, 20 July 2016: “The Science of Star Trek”

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/technology/features/star_trek.html

Popular Science, 21 July 2016: “Status Report: 7 ‘Star Trek’ Technologies Under Development”

http://www.popsci.com/star-trek-technologies-where-are-they-now

Forbes, 24 June 2014: “8 Star Trek Technologies Moving From Science Fiction To Science Fact”

http://www.forbes.com/sites/paulhsieh/2014/06/24/8-star-trek-technologies/3/#722b17c3aa4d

Thanks again to Gene Roddenberry for creating the original Star Trek series, which led to a whole body of engaging spacefaring mythology that is certain to endure. Happy 50th anniversary!

Gene Roddenberry    Source: Reddit.com

Update on North Korea’s Sinpo (Gorae) Submarine and KN-11 SLBM

All Posts, Military technology, Nuclear Arms & Arms Control, , , ,

Peter Lobner

In the presentation files from my 5 August 2015 talk, 60 Years of Marine Nuclear Power, I noted that, while North Korea has a program to develop nuclear-armed submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), it appears that their current focus is on installing these missiles on conventionally-powered submarines. The particular conventional missile-launching submarines (SSBs) identified were a refurbished Russian-designed Golf II-class SSB and a new, small indigenous SSB provisionally named Sinpo, for the shipyard where it was observed, or Gorae. Both the refurbished Golf II and the new Sinpo (Gorae) have missile tubes in the sail and are capable of launching missiles while submerged. You will find my presentation files on the Lyncean website under the Past Meetings tab. The direct link to the file containing information on the North Korean program is listed below:

https://lynceans.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Part-4_UK-France-Others-60-yrs-of-marine-nuc-power.pdf

On 24 August 2016, North Korea launched a KN-11 ballistic missile from a submerged launcher, likely a submarine. The KN-11 missile flew 500 km (310 miles) downrange from the launch point into the Sea of Japan.

KN-11 launchSource: An undated photo from North Korean Central News Agency, “underwater test-fire of strategic submarine ballistic missile”

Range of the missile actually may be considerably greater because it appears to have been launched on a “lofted trajectory” that achieved a much higher apogee than normally would be associated with a maximum range ballistic flight. A similar higher-than-normal apogee was observed in the 21 July 2016 flight test of North Korea’s BM25 Musudan land-based, mobile, intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM), which flew 402 km (250 miles) downrange, but reached an apogee of 1,400 km (870 miles). The extra energy required for the KN-11 and Musudan to reach an unusually high apogee would translate directly into greater downrange distance on a maximum range ballistic flight.

You can see a summary of North Korea’s KN-11 test program on the Wikipedia website at the following link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KN-11#First_KN-11_Complete_Success_Test

For the best analysis of the Sinpo (Gorae) SSB and the KN-11 SLBM, I refer you to H. I. Sutton’s Covert Shores website at the following link:

http://www.hisutton.com/Analysis%20-%20Sinpo%20Class%20Ballistic%20Missile%20Sub.html

Sinpo_Gorae SSB_SuttonSource: H. I. Sutton Covert Shores

Sutton comments on the small size of the Sinpo (Gorae) SSB:

“It seems that she is built to the requirement of being the smallest possible boat to carry an NK-11……This reinforces the view that she is only a test boat with limited operational capability at most.”

While North Korea’s SSBs and SLBMs are works in progress, I think we are seeing substantial evidence that significant progress is being made on the submarine and the delivery vehicle. A big unknown is the development status of an operational nuclear warhead for the NK-11 missile. On 6 January 2016, North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test. It has been reported that the yield from this test was in the 10-kiloton range. For comparison, the Little Boy bomb dropped on Hiroshima had a yield of about 15 kilotons. You can find a summary of North Korea’s nuclear tests on the Wikipedia website at the following link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nuclear_weapons_tests_of_North_Korea

In the 29 Aug – 11 Sep 2016 issue of Aviation Week and Space Technology magazine, Daryl Kimball of the Arms Control Association is quoted as saying:

“North Korea’s accelerated pace of ballistic missile testing is definitely worrisome,” Kimball says. “They have not necessarily perfected some of these systems to the point where they are effective military systems. That said, if nothing is done to halt further ballistic missile testing, they’re going to eventually – and I mean within a few years – develop a rudimentary long-range capability to deliver a nuclear warhead.”

For quite some time, there has been speculation of technical collaboration between Iran and North Korea on development of long-range missiles, and perhaps nuclear weapons. North Korea’s credibility as a technology partner has been enhanced by their January 2016 successful nuclear test and the more recent tests of the KN-11 and BM25 delivery vehicles.

Cruise Liner Crystal Serenity is Navigating the Northwest Passage Now

All Posts, Arctic, Global Climate, Marine Technology, , , , ,

Peter Lobner

Background:

The Northwest Passage connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans via an Arctic sea route along the north coasts of Alaska and Canada. The basic routes are shown in the following map.

The Northwest Passage connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans via an Arctic sea route along the north coasts of Alaska and Canada. The basic routes are shown in the following map.

Northwest PassageSource: Encyclopedia Britannica

While it has been common for icebreakers, research vessels and nuclear submarines to operate in these waters, it is quite uncommon for commercial or private vessels to attempt to navigate the Northwest Passage.

The first recorded transit of the Northwest Passage was made in 1903 – 06 by the famous Norwegian polar explorer Roland Amundsen in the ship Gjoa.

Amundsens ship GjoaAmundsen’s ship Gjoa. Source: Underwood Archives/UIG/Everett Collection

Since then, there have been many full transits of the Northwest Passage. You’ll find John MacFarlane’s list of 126 transits for the period from 1903 – 2006 on the Nauticapedia website at the following link:

http://www.nauticapedia.ca/Articles/NWP_Fulltransits.php

Notable Northwest Passage transits by commercial and private vessels

In August 1969, the heavily modified oil tanker SS Manhattan, chartered by Humble Oil & Refining Company, became the first commercial vessel to navigate the Northwest Passage. At the time, the SS Manhattan was the largest U.S. merchant vessel, with a length of 1,005 feet (306 meters), beam of 148 feet (45 meters), draft of 52 feet (16 meters), and a displacement of 115,000 tons. Total installed power was 43,000 shaft horsepower (32,000 kW).

THE MANHATTAN SS Manhattan and CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent. Source: Associated Press

Prior to the Arctic voyage, the SS Manhattan was fitted with an icebreaking bow and heavy steel sheathing along both sides of the hull and in other vulnerable locations to protect against ice. The specific route of the SS Manhattan, from the Atlantic to Prudhoe Bay and then back to the Atlantic, is shown below. Several U.S. and Canadian icebreakers supported the SS Manhattan during its voyage.

Manhattan route 1969Source: NOAA, Susie Harder – Arctic Council – Arctic marine shipping assessment (AMSA)

Oil was discovered at Prudhoe Bay in 1968. A barrel of crude oil was loaded on SS Manhattan in Prudhoe Bay to symbolize that supertankers operating in the Arctic could serve the newly discovered oil field. Further testing that winter off Baffin Island showed that year-round oil tanker operations in the Arctic were not feasible. Instead, the Trans-Alaska Pipeline from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez, Alaska was built.

In 2007, the Northwest Passage became ice-free and navigable along its entire length without the need for an icebreaker for 36 days during August and September. During that period, the sailing vessel Cloud Nine passed through the Northwest Passage during its 6,640 mile, 73 day transit from the Atlantic to the Pacific. You can read David Thoreson’s blog about this Arctic voyage, Sailing the Northwest Passage, at the following link:

http://davidthoreson.blogspot.com/2007/09/completing-northwest-passage-2007.html

This voyage was a remarkable achievement for a small vessel. In his blog, David Thoreson commented:

“I feel strongly that we have witnessed the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. The golden age of exploration, Amundsen’s era, has come to a close, and a new era of exploration involving study and change in the earth’s climate is just beginning. We on Cloud Nine have experienced both eras. Frozen in and stuck in the ice twice over 13 years, and now sailing through unscathed and witnessing an ice-free Northwest Passage. We have bridged the two eras.”

Are we seeing the start of tourism in the Northwest Passage?

On 10 August 2016, Crystal Serenity departed Vancouver for Seward Alaska and the start of what is scheduled to be a 32-day voyage to New York City via the Northwest Passage. The ship is scheduled to arrive in NYC on 16 September 2016. The planned route for this cruise is shown below.

nwp-map-300-dpiSource: Crystal Cruises

The Crystal Serenity is smaller than SS Manhattan, but still is a fairly big ship, with a length of 820 feet (250 meters), beam of 106 feet (32.3 meters), draft of 25 feet (7.6 meters), and a displacement of 68,870 tons. On this voyage, Capt. Birger Vorland and two Canadian pilots will navigate the Northwest Passage with more than 1,600 passengers and crew.

Crystal Serenity will be accompanied by the icebreaking escort vessel RRS (Royal Research Ship) Ernest Shackleton, which was chartered by Crystal Cruises for this support cruise. Along the planned route, there are few ports that can accommodate a vessel the size of Crystal Serenity. Along most of the route emergency response capabilities are quite limited. Therefore, RRS Shackleton is equipped to serve as a first response vessel in the event of an emergency aboard Crystal Serenity. RRS Shackleton also carries two helicopters and additional crew to support special adventures during the cruise.

Crystal Serenity at Seward AlaskaCrystal Serenity in Seward, Alaska. Source: NPR.com, Rachel Waldholz/Alaska Public Radio

You can find a current report on the sea ice extent along the Northwest Passage at the National Snow and Ice Data Center’s website at the following link:

http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/

The ice extent report today is shown in the following chart, which shows that the current ice extent is well below the 1981 – 2010 median. However, there appear to be sections of the Northwest Passage around Banks and Victoria Islands that are still covered by the Arctic ice pack. Crystal Serenity is scheduled to be in these waters soon.

Ice extent 28Aug2016Source: National Snow and Ice Data Center

You can track the current position of the Crystal Serenity as it makes its historic voyage at the following link:

http://www.cruisemapper.com/Crystal-Serenity-location?imo=9243667

As of 5:50 PM PDT, 29 August 2016, the ship is approaching Barrow, Alaska, as shown on the following map.

Location of Crystal Serenity 29Aug16Source: cruisemapper.com

A second cruise already is planned for 2017. You can book your Northwest Passage cruise on the Crystal Cruises website at the following link:

http://www.crystalcruises.com/northwest-passage-cruise

Update 24 September 2016: Mission accomplished!

On 16 September, the Crystal Serenity became the first cruise liner ever to transit the Northwest Passage. The west – east passage from Seward, Alaska to New York City took 32 days and covered 7,297 nautical miles (13,514 km).

Crystal Serenity Arrives in New York after Historic Northwest Passage VoyageCrystal Serenity arrives in NYC. Source: Crystal Cruises

China is Developing Floating Nuclear Power Plants

All Posts, Power Generating Technology - Nuclear, , , , , , , , ,

Peter Lobner

Various reports in 2016 indicate that China has designed and is constructing its first indigenous floating nuclear power plant. This mobile power plant is intended for deployment to remote coastal locations and to islands being developed by China in the South China Sea. According to China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN), this floating nuclear power plant is intended to operate as a combined energy supply platform that is capable of delivering electric power, low-temperature process heat, and fresh water as needed by the particular application. Construction of the first unit started in 2015 and is scheduled to be completed in 2018 and operational by 2020. It also has been reported that China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) is building the first floating nuclear power plant, with plans to build a total of 20 for deployment in the South China Sea.

The availability of ample supplies of electric power, low-temperature process heat, and fresh water will enable more rapid development in remote regions, including construction of new infrastructure for harbors, airports, defense and commercial activities such as oil exploration and oil field exploitation and other marine resource development.

CGN reports that the nuclear steam supply system (NSSS) for the first floating nuclear power plant is a single “small modular offshore reactor” ACPR50S, which is a compact two-loop pressurized water reactor (PWR). China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) recently approved this reactor design as part of the 13th Five-Year Plan for innovative energy technologies. The ACPR50S is rated at 200 MWt, with an electrical output of 60 MWe.

In comparison, the first Russian floating nuclear power plant, Akademik Lomonosov, has 2 x KLT-40S modular PWRs that will provide 70 MWe net electrical output and low-temperature process heat for shore installations. Akademik Lomonosov is schedule for its initial core load at the Baltiisky Zavod shipyard in St. Petersburg, Russia in late 2016. After completing reactor testing, it is expected that Akademik Lomonosov will depart St. Petersburg in October 2017 and be towed along the north coast of Siberia to the Arctic port of Pevek, where it will be moored and connected to the grid.

The physical layout if the ACPR50S is shown below. The major components of the NSSS are the reactor vessel, two steam generators and primary pumps, and one pressurizer.

ACPR50S NSSSACPR50S NSSS. Source: CGN

The primary system is housed within a containment structure that is protected against damage from a ship collision (similar to design features in NS Savannah and other early commercial nuclear powered vessels). Active and passive safety systems provide for core and containment cooling during an accident. Severe (beyond design basis) accident mitigation measures include opening safety plugs to submerge the NSSS in seawater to ensure continued core cooling. The physical arrangement of the NSSS within the vessel is shown below.

ACPR50S shipboard arrangementAPR50S physical arrangement in the vessel. Source: CGN

The floating nuclear power plant is designed for on-ship refueling and pre-treatment of radioactive waste. When the floating nuclear power plant is deployed in a remote location, a visiting offshore engineering services vessel will provide logistics and maintenance services as needed.

The following figure shows how a floating nuclear power plant might look moored to a pier and delivering electric power, process heat and fresh water to a shore installation.

China Floating NPP moored at shore installationSource: CGN

The floating nuclear power plant also could be deployed to support one or many oil drilling platforms as shown below.

China Floating NPP at oil platformSource: CGN

A important issue related to China’s deployment of floating nuclear power plants is that they may be deployed to support military development of islands in contested areas of the South China Sea. Time will tell how this scenario plays out.