The maverick theory that radioactive decay is somehow affected by proximity to the Sun is probably not true, but I’ve thought it should be definitely put to rest by adding such an experiment to a solar probe.
I hadn’t heard of that one. Where did it come from?
Some people claimed to have measured a seasonal variation of radioactive decay that apparently matched the Earth’s elliptical orbit. The current consensus is that the measurements were being affected by poor control of environmental factors on the experimental apparatus and/or random measurement errors. Still, it’s the sort of thing that would be so revolutionary if it were true that I would think it worth at least a kilo or two on a spacecraft to check.
How odd. Were these researchers at any reputable institution?
It seems like crackpot fringe stuff which contradicts a lot of known and well-studied physics.
Of course a few things once contradicted known physics of the time (like radioactivity itself, of course), and opened up whole new areas of knowledge. But I rather doubt this is one of them?
Here are brief summaries from 2008 and 2010. The researchers are from Purdue University, but the theory is controversial.
Hmm, interesting. Never heard that before.
Eric Berger has written an article:
The mystery is because Jimmy Carter was not a strong supporter of human space exploration (other problems more important)–while he did support robotic, etc scientific space exploration.
The question is would the U.S. have been better off if it had been canceled? [And continued using expendable launches for human space exploration]. Would SpaceX type companies would have arrived faster? …
The success or failure of the Shuttle hinged on two technologies that were completely new at the time: reusable engines and a refurbishable thermal protection system. Both ultimately proved problematic. It was perhaps overoptimistic to simply presume that both would work, in a program that due to budget constraints could brook no delays. In hindsight maybe a subscale research model to demonstrate the technology should have been done first, but realistically a slow-and-steady developmental approach wasn’t going to be politically possible. To get approved at all, the Shuttle program had to promise an up and flying system.
Lately it’s been in the news that Dream Chaser is expected to fly in the near future. Nice, but other than the convenience of returning crew and experiments to a central base I’m not sure what’s the point. It will be launched on an expendable booster; space glider concepts as the payload for expendable boosters go all the way back to the proposed X-20 DynaSoar, and the weight gain over a conventional capsule was never thought worth it until the unmanned X-37 Orbital Test Vehicle the DoD currently operates for whatever purpose that serves. What will Dream Chaser do that Crew Dragon cannot?
According to this article, New Glenn will launch Wesnesday, Jan 8th, at about 1:00 a.m. with a backup window on Friday.
An exciting week! And SpaceX plans to launch the next Starship on Jan 10.
I might actually be more excited about New Glenn. Although overall I have more interest in Starship, the next flight will largely be more of what we’ve seen already, while New Glenn is brand new and has the first reusable booster outside of SpaceX. I’m looking forward to them providing some real competition. And we’ll see if their slow-and-steady approach pays off. Although I like explosions, it’s possible that they’ll manage to land it on the barge on the first try.
Blue Origin is definitely moving a lot faster now that they got that Honeywell doofus out of the picture.
Latest news straight from Blue Origin: Launch will be no earlier than Jan 10. Launch window opens at 1:00 a.m. (10:00 p.m. Pacific time) and lasts 3 hours. So not just an exciting week but an exciting day!
And they’re going to try to land the booster on their barge. Ambitious, but they’re going for it.
The barge is named after Bezos’ mom. An honor, I guess? But I can’t help but think “Yo mamma’s a barge and I plowed my rocket into her last night.”
Launch delayed due to poor weather for booster recovery. They’ll try again on Sunday, Jan 12, same time.
Dumb Q but I’m on my phone. Where is blue origin’s launch site?
Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex 36 specifically.
ETA: Though in the future they plan on launching from Vandenberg, CA.
I hoped so.
From my balcony I can’t see a Canaveral launch much below 40K ft. But the rest of the show to the top of the atmosphere is great if the wx is clear. Which it has been the last few days.
Shame about the time of day.
Too bad you guys don’t get northern polar launches. You’d get a nicer view. Most of those go out of Vandenberg, and the exceptions go southeast with a dogleg. The Cubans get a nice view, I guess.
The Falcons are nice.
The ESA’s BepiColombo probe has just sent back images of Mercury from its most recent flyby:
ESA - Top three images from BepiColombo’s sixth Mercury flyby