The Sky is Falling! Perseid Meteor Shower Coming

Even though the comet is far away now, in an elliptical orbit that brings it close to the sun just once every 133 years, rock and ice from it have spread out in a ring all along its path.  The comet itself will probably be pretty good to see if you can hang on until July 2126, but in the meantime, like clockwork, it gives us an annual meteor shower in mid-August.

This is not the best year to see the Perseid.  A full moon will brighten the sky on Friday night and Saturday morning, just as the shower peaks.

“The best time to look is during the hours before dawn especially on Saturday morning, August 13th,” writes Tony Phillips, an astronomer who manages the Science News page at NASA’s website.  “The full Moon will be relatively low, and the meteor rate should be peaking at that time.”

NASA Layoffs Planned as Space Shuttle Program Ends

(HOUSTON) — Now that space shuttle Atlantis has returned home safely, America’s human spaceflight program faces a period of retrenchment and doubt.

Atlantis’ landing early Thursday morning marked the end of NASA’s 30-year space shuttle program and the beginning of layoffs for the space agency.  On Friday, 1,500 shuttle workers are scheduled to get their pink slips.  By the time all the layoff notices are handed out, a total of 8,000 workers will have been cut.

At its peak, the shuttle program had about 11,000 people working for it.

NASA’s space program, however, is hardly over.  Astronauts will continue to live for months at a time on the International Space Station until at least 2020.  Eventually, the Obama administration proposes they go explore a passing asteroid and ultimately land on Mars.

An ambitious probe to orbit Jupiter is on the launch pad, scheduled for an August launch.  A new Mars rover, called Curiosity, is scheduled to leave in November.  NASA says it would announce Friday where on the Martian surface Curiosity would try to land.

But for now, the one way for Americans to reach orbit will be by hitching seats on Russian Soyuz spacecraft, at a cost of $60 million a pop.  

NASA says that in a few years the job will be taken over by private companies such as SpaceX, Sierra Nevada, or Boeing.  Each has a spacecraft and launcher in the works, though so far, only governments have ever launched people into orbit.

Orbiting Junk Threatens Shuttle Atlantis, Space Station

(HOUSTON) — Space shuttle Atlantis, which safely docked with the International Space Station on Sunday, may face a close call with space junk early this week. NASA has been notified that space debris will pass close to the space station/space shuttle on Tuesday, when the one spacewalk of this mission is scheduled. Mission Management Team Director Leroy Cain says it is too early to tell what, if any, evasive maneuvers are required. They have teams working around the clock to determine whether there’s a real threat to the spacecraft.

NASA's Charles Bolden Gets Emotional on End of Space Shuttle Program

“Some say that our final shuttle mission marked the end of America’s 50-year dominance in human space flight,” he said. “As a former astronaut and the current NASA administrator, I am here to tell you that American leadership in space will continue for at least — at least — the next half century because we’ve laid the foundation for success.”

Bus-Sized Asteroid Barely Misses Hitting Earth

(PASADENA, Calif.) — A small asteroid, estimated between 16 and 65 feet in diameter, whipped past Earth on Monday — missing by a mere 7,600 miles. The space agency had earlier predicted no probability of the asteroid striking the Earth. NASA’s @AsteroidWatch tweeted last week: “There is no chance that 2011 MD will hit Earth but scientists will use the close pass as opportunity to study it w/ radar observations.”

Asteroid to Pass Close to Earth Monday

(PASADENA, Calif.) — An asteroid will inch its way towards Earth on Monday but don’t expect any scenes from the movie Armageddon to play out.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory says asteroid 2011 MD will pass 12,300 kilometers, or 7,600 miles, above the southern Atlantic Ocean around 1:00 p.m. EDT.  Although the space rock is relatively small, measuring only between five and 20 meters in diameter, it will be bright enough to be seen with a medium-sized telescope.

According to NASA scientists, “an orbital analysis [of asteroid 2011 MD] indicates there is no chance it will actually strike Earth on Monday.”

Even if it did enter the planet’s atmosphere, they say an asteroid of that size would likely incinerate up high in the atmosphere, posing no threat to the Earth’s surface.

Space Shuttle Endeavour Fully Fueled; Moving Closer to Final Launch

(CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.) — Space shuttle Endeavour is one step closer to leaving for its mission to the International Space Station after its external tank was loaded with over 500,000 gallons of super-cooled liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen Monday morning, just hours ahead of its launch.

The six-man crew, headed by Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords’ husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, have completed their medical exams and are making preparations for the shuttle’s final launch at 8:56 a.m.  They will be suiting up close to 5 a.m. and will be briefed on the weather, which forecasters predict as 70 percent favorable for lift-off.

Endeavour’s launch will mark the second to last flight for NASA’s space shuttle program.  The shuttle’s crew will embark on a 14-day mission into space, where they will will install a $2 billion alpha magnetic spectrometer on the ISS.  The instrument could prove or disprove the Big Bang Theory of how the universe was formed.

Rep. Giffords, who was critically wounded during the shootings in Tucson, Arizona in January, is expected to be on hand at the Kennedy Space Center to watch Kelly and the other five astronauts ascend into space.

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Space Shuttle Endeavour's Final Launch Is Today

(CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.) — Rep. Gabrielle Giffords will be on hand Friday for the final launch of space shuttle Endeavour, watching from a restricted viewing area at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Barring a weather problem or technical difficulties, the penultimate flight of the shuttle program is scheduled for a 3:47 p.m. ET liftoff.

Ordinarily, it would be the final flight of Atlantis this June that would gather most of the media attention, but the human interest angle of this mission is particularly compelling because Giffords’ husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, is Endeavour’s commander.

The Democratic congresswoman was gravely wounded on Jan. 8 when a gunman opened fire at a meet-and-greet event in Tucson, Arizona.  Giffords nearly died from a bullet wound to the brain, while six people were killed and a dozen others were injured.

Initially, doctors called Giffords’ recovery miraculous but since being transferred to a rehabilitation facility in Houston, the progress has been more measured.  The congresswoman’s personality is said to be fully evident and while she can speak in simple sentences and walk, doctors contend her road back to full health will be long and difficult.

Still, Kelly says his wife was anxious to attend the launch and her medical staff gave her the okay to travel.  The couple have been married since November 2007.

During the 14-day mission to the International Space Station, Kelly and his crew will install a variety of equipment on the International Space Station, including a particle physics detector that searches for unusual subatomic matter.

They’ll also be taking space walks, conducting experiments and doing maintenance.

Besides Giffords, President Obama, the first lady and their two children will be on hand at Kennedy Space Center to watch Endeavour blast off.

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