1.5 terabytes of information a day , near Imax resolution !
these should be some awesome pictures .
Technewsworld
NASA hopes to launch its Solar Dynamics Observatory on Thursday, weather permitting. The SDO will capture views of the sun in IMAX-like high definition and return about 50 times more data than any other NASA mission so far. It's important to understand the vagaries of solar activity, because flareups can interfere with power grids, GPS navigation, air travel and all sorts of critical communications systems.
Originally planned for launch on Tuesday, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory was delayed once again on Wednesday due to high winds .
The new planned launch for the device from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida is Thursday, Feb. 11; the launch window is between 10:23 a.m. and 11:23 a.m. EST.
The SDO will undertake a five-year mission to investigate in unprecedented detail the energy processes driving the sun's stormy activity. The 6,555-pound spacecraft will return 1.5 terabytes of data every day -- equal to half a million downloaded songs -- and provide detailed images of near-IMAX-quality high resolution.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Sun-Gazing Observatory Set for Launch
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Missile Collaboration Between North Korea and Iran Goes Back Years
If North Korea is allowed to to launch it's missile this weekend it will be a green light for Iran to continue it's ballistic and nuclear program full steam ahead. CNS News
as long ago as the early 1990s, missile collaboration was underway. When North Korea in May 1993 tested its medium-range Nodong missile, Iranian experts attended, according to media reports at the time. Iran subsequently developed the Shahab-3, testing it in 1998 and 1991 with North Koreans this time reportedly observing.....
Although then Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani insisted the Shahab-3 was “entirely” Iranian-made, scientists said the missile, whose range of at least 620 miles threatens Israel as well as U.S. forces in the Gulf, was based on the Nodong (as was Iran’s earlier Shahab-2 essentially the same as an earlier North Korean Scud missile, the Hwasong-6).
Unclassified CIA reports to Congress on the acquisition of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and related technology have over a number of years noted a longstanding Iran-North Korea relationship in developing ballistic missile technology.
The reports identified North Korea as a key provider of missile technology, naming Iran as well as Syria, Pakistan and Libya, among its customers.
In Pakistan’s case, South Asian security analysts believe North Korea provided missile technology in return for nuclear know-how supplied by the black-market network run by A.Q. Khan. The exposure of the Khan proliferation activities in 2004 and Libya’s decision the previous year to shut down its WMD and missile programs deprived North Korea of customers – and major sources of hard currency.
By 2006, the CIA was reporting that Iran and Syria remained the countries of principal concern with regard to sales of North Korean missile technology.
North Korea Threatens War Against Japan if it shoots down missile
If anyone is going to shoot down the North Korean missile I think it'll be the Japanese. But as every day passes I get a feeling that no one will shoot it down.
Hypothetically speaking, if Japan does shoot down the missile and North Korea goes to war with Japan, will China enter the fight and who's side would they be on...hmmmm? Bloomberg
March 31 (Bloomberg) -- North Korea’s government vowed to wage war against Japan if Japanese defense forces try to shoot down a missile that the communist nation says will carry a communications satellite.
“Should Japan dare recklessly to intercept the DPRK’s satellite, its army will consider this as the start of Japan’s war of reinvasion more than six decades after the Second World War,” the official Korean Central News Agency said today in an e-mailed statement. North Korea is also known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada ordered his forces on March 27 to shoot down any North Korean object entering his country’s airspace and deployed guided-missile units around Tokyo. Japan, along with the U.S., China, South Korea and Russia want to forestall North Korea’s plans to launch what the government in Pyongyang calls a “peaceful” satellite, and refocus on joint efforts to end its nuclear program.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Iran missile experts in North Korea 'to help with rocket launch'
Another example how North Korea, Iran, Syria, Pakistan are all involved in the proliferation of nuclear technology and balistic missiles. Times Online
The experts include senior officials from the Iranian rocket and satellite producer Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group, the newspaper said.
The Iranians brought a letter from President Ahmadinejad to the North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il stressing the importance of co-operating on space technology, it added.
As tensions increase ahead of the rocket launch, Japan's Air Self-Defense Force began deploying units capable of shooting down a rocket to the northern prefectures of Akita and Iwate.
Friday, March 27, 2009
US says warships deployed before NKorea launch
Looks like the US Navy is preparing to shoot down North Korea's satellite ballistic missile. Japan already has two Aegis-equipped destroyers on stand-by and it appears South Korea will also deploy an Aegis-equipped destroyer. Thanks to Dinah Lord.
Any bets on who will shoot North Korea's missile down?
Here's what to expect next week...
From AP
TOKYO (AFP) — The US Navy said Thursday it had deployed two warships in waters off Japan ahead of North Korea's planned rocket launch early next month.
Two destroyers fitted with Aegis technology to track and destroy missiles left port on Wednesday, US Navy public relations officer Charles Howard told AFP.
"I would say we are ready for any contingencies," he said.[...]
The US Navy spokesman said two Aegis-equipped destroyers -- the USS McCain and USS Chafee -- left Sasebo port in southwestern Japan where a third, the USS Curtis Wilbur, remained docked.
The USS Stethem, another Aegis-equipped destroyer, was set to leave northern Aomori port Thursday after a port call of several days, a US Navy spokeswoman said, without specifying its destination.
The Japanese navy's two Aegis-equipped destroyers Kongo and Chokai are on stand-by at Sasebo, a defence ministry spokeswoman said.
A South Korean Aegis-equipped warship is also likely to be deployed in waters near Japan, public broadcaster TBS reported, without citing sources.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
North Korea Readies Rocket for Launch
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned the North Koreans that launching the satellite will be a provocative action with consequences. Clinton did not specify what type of consequences but President Obama had previously stated that new sanctions would be made.
Uh...er...how to place sanctions on a country that cannot feed its own people? Kim isn't scared of sanctions. You need something more concreted to convince him that launching this missile is not a good idea. Bloomberg
March 25 (Bloomberg) -- North Korea is placing a Taepodong rocket on its east coast launch pad in preparation for launching a communications satellite, a U.S. counterproliferation official said.....
The official, who requested anonymity, said that transporting the device to the facility may indicate the launch is imminent. In Mexico City, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton cautioned North Korea against firing the rocket, saying the action would be provocative.
“We expect to raise this violation, if it goes forward, in the UN,” Clinton said at a briefing with Mexican Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa, whose country is also on the United Nations Security Council. “This is a provocative act which we believe violates Security Council Resolution 1718.”
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
North Korea's Planned Satellite Launch Is Act Of Provocation
General Walter Sharp told congress that the military can shoot down North Korea's missile but it all depends on "if the President so directs". So we'll have to rely on someone to do the job. Luckily Japan says it will destroy the North Korean missile. Voice of America
U.S military leaders told the US Congress, Tuesday, that North Korea remains the greatest threat to peace in the Pacific region. They said the U.S. is ready to respond to any acts of provocation, including that country's planned launch of a communications satellite, which Washington and its allies in Asia say is a disguised long-range missile test.
General Walter Sharp, commander of U.S. Forces in Korea testified before the U.S. House of Representatives' Armed Service Committee that North Korea's military, poses a threat to the region and the world. "North Korea remains the world's leading supplier of ballistic missiles and related technology and remains a major proliferator of conventional weapons as well," he said.
He said North Korea's planned satellite launch that the U.S. says is actually a long range missile test is a provocative act, intended to intimidate the U.S. and its allies.
U.S. Pacific Commander, Navy Admiral Timothy Keating told committee that the U.S. is prepared for a possible North Korean missile attack and other potential threats against the U.S. "Congressman, we are up to task, I believe. We are ready to defend U.S. territory, our allies and our national interests if the President so directs," he said.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
North Korea to launch rocket April 4
This is like a game of chicken. North Korea testing their ballistic missiles under the guise of a satellite launch and Japan and the US saying they might shoot it down. Who will blink first? Thanks to Dinah Lord
New Kerala
The communist state earlier announced plans to launch a communications satellite between April 4 and 8. The US and South Korea have accused Pyongyang of using the launch as an excuse to test-fire a long-range missile.On a trajectory aimed straight for Hawaii
The three-stage rocket will be launched from the newly constructed Musudan-ri launch pad on the country's northeast coast, Japanese news agency Jiji Press reported.
The report cited diplomats in Beijing as saying that the launch would go ahead April 4 barring adverse weather conditions or last-minute repairs.
Pyongyang earlier said the first stage of the carrier rocket would fall into the Sea of Japan, and the second stage into the Pacific Ocean.
Japan has warned that it could position interceptor missiles, to shoot down any North Korean missiles threatening its territory.
Friday, March 20, 2009
U.S. commanders say ready for North Korea missile
The US is stated that it could destroy North Korea's anticipated missile launch with high probability. The question is will the US intercept the missile? North Korea has stated that if any nation destroy their missile, they will consider it an act of war. Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States could intercept a North Korean missile launched toward U.S. territory with "high probability" the top U.S. commander for the Pacific region said on Thursday.
Speaking to a U.S. panel amid North Korean preparations for what Pyongyang has said will be a satellite launch in early April, U.S. Pacific Commander Timothy Keating and other senior officers stressed American capabilities with out revealing intentions.
"We have a high probability," Keating, a U.S. Navy admiral, told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing when asked if U.S. forces could intercept a missile from North Korea.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
North Korea Says It Is Preparing Satellite Launch
Launching a 'satellite' sounds so much better than launching a ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Washingston PostTOKYO, Feb. 24 -- By announcing that it is preparing to launch a "communications satellite," North Korea on Tuesday dressed up its planned test of a long-range ballistic missile -- which may be able to reach Alaska -- as a benign research project.
"Outer space is an asset common to mankind and its use for peaceful purposes has become a global trend," said a spokesman for the North Korean Committee of Space Technology. [...]
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said last week that a missile test would "be very unhelpful in moving our relationship forward." In a tour of East Asia, she urged the government of Kim Jong Il to stop its "provocative actions."
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Pentagon concerned about Iran's satellite launch
Well it looks like Iran actually has launched a satellite into space. This is a big concern for the Pentagon and others because this signals Iran's ability to launch missile to the other side of the world.
But Iran insists the space program is for peaceful purposes, just like it's nuke program. See thats why they kept their nuke program secret, dug all their nuke installations deep underground to avoid detection/air-strikes. Those blueprints to build a nuke that the UN found? Don't worry about that, we were only curious.
Good thing President Obama will scrap the missile shield. No need for that. Aero-NewsIran's launch of a low-orbit satellite into orbit this week "is clearly a concern of ours" because it could lead to the development of a ballistic missile system, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said Tuesday.
....
Morrell responded to questions about Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's announcement that Iran had launched its first Iranian-built satellite into orbit. A domestically built Ambassador-2 or Safir-2 rocket reportedly carried the satellite into space.[...]
"It is certainly a reason for us to be concerned about Iran and its continued attempts to develop a ballistic missile program of increasingly long range," Morrell said today. "Obviously, there are dual-use capabilities in the technology here which could be applied toward the development of a long-range ballistic missile."
The United States isn't the only country concerned about Iran's activities. "Everybody in the region," including Israel and its Arab neighbors, as well as US allies in Europe and Russia, has raised concern, Morrell said.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Iran claims it launched its first satellite into space
Knowing the history of the mullahacracy to exaggerate claims I'm going to wait for confirmation from a third party. In August, Iran claimed to have successfully launched a dummy satellite into orbit but radar tracking by the USS Russell confirmed the satellite launch was a failure. Iran also likes to photoshop successful rocket launches when in reality they never left the ground. TelegraphThe launch of the Omid satellite, meaning Hope, was timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the Islamic revolution and United Nations talks aimed at stopping Iran's nuclear programme.
"Dear Iranians, your children have put the first indigenous satellite into orbit," said President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a broadcast on state television.
"With this launch the Islamic Republic of Iran has officially achieved a presence in space."
The launch has highlighted international concerns that Iran will use domestically developed space technology to develop intercontinental nuclear missiles.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Iran Plans to Launch Telecommunication Satellite
I don't know how they're gonna accomplish this when their last satellite launch was a dramatic failure. Reuters
Iran will need all of God's help to launch a telecommunications satellite
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran plans to launch a telecommunications satellite, the president said on Saturday, using missile technology the West fears is being developed to fire nuclear warheads.
Iran said last Sunday it had put a dummy satellite into orbit on a domestically made rocket for the first time, although U.S. officials said the attempted launch was a failure.
"Today, the Iranian nation has obtained the technology to produce different kinds of satellites and with God's help it will launch its first telecommunications ... satellite into space," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a rally.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Iran Plans to Put Man in Space Within 10 Years
Didn't these guys just have a failed launch?
....
The report Thursday quotes Space Agency chief Reza Taghipoor saying the mission's timing will be decided over the next year. It gives no other details.
Iran has stepped up its space ambitions in recent years, worrying world leaders already concerned about its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
Iran would have a ways to go before a manned flight.
On Sunday, Taghipoor said Iran test-fired a rocket capable of carrying a satellite into orbit. The two-stage rocket released equipment that beamed flight data back to ground control.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Iranian Satellite Launch 'a Failure'
According to a US official the Iranian satellite launch was a "dramatic failure". Reuters
Radar tracking by the USS Russell, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer patrolling the Persian Gulf confirmed the satellite launch was a failure. According to the data collected by the USS Russell, the dummy satellite lost control at high altitude never completing its ascent profile. Aviation Week
....
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iran's attempt to launch a dummy satellite into orbit was a "dramatic failure" that fell far short of the country's assertions of success, a U.S. official said on Tuesday
"The attempted launch failed," the official said.
"The vehicle failed shortly after liftoff and in no way reached its intended position," the official said. "It could be characterized as a dramatic failure."Iranian television showed the rocket on its launch pad, but did not show the actual lift-off.
"The failed launch shows that the purported Iranian space program is in its nascent stages at best -- they have a long way to go," the U.S. official said.
