Posts Tagged ‘space’

Video: UARS Burning Up Over Japan?

Video uploaded yesterday shows something burning in the sky over Nagareyama in Chiba prefecture:

The uploader isn’t sure what it is: UFO, or maybe a satellite?

Judging by the day the video was shot, it is possible that we could be looking at NASA’s Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), which was expected to re-enter earth’s atmosphere somewhere over the Pacific Ocean.

Although NASA believes that the reentry took place quite far from Japan, there is still a possibility that some smaller piece of the satellite may have broken off and burned up over Chiba.

Update: Some analysis of the clip from Level3:

That is not a falling satellite. It’s either old footage of a rocket launch or just a jet and a trick of the sunset (sunrise?) light.
Falling satellites do not leave billowy smoke/contrails at the same level as other clouds, they’re too high up and they don’t spew out fuel or a trail like a rocket. Any trails are be very long and thin and disappear quite fast, look at the Columbia disaster videos, and remind yourself that UARS is a lot smaller than a Shuttle. Also it’s moving way too slow across the sky for a satellite on re-entry. Further it’s just too big, and it’s staying in one piece, not spreading apart.

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Graph: Japan spacecraft launches

Wondering how many rockets Japan has lobbed into space lately? Here’s a useful graph from the Economist:

Although it looks like Japan is outranked by other countries, I’m sure that JAXA would argue that quality of junk launched into space is more important than quantity.

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Japanese probe to smash into the moon

A real Japan probe is set to crash into the surface of the moon:

Japan’s Kaguya lunar orbiter will end its nearly two-year mission when it collides with the moon at 1830 GMT on Wednesday. Observers in Asia and Australia may be able to spot a bright flash or plume of dust from the crash, and researchers will study its impact site to watch how radiation and micrometeoroids weather the newly exposed lunar soil over time.

[via Danny Choo]

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JAXA to offer astronaut training tours (in English!)

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has announced it will offer astronaut training tours to the public:

Training tour participants must be of third-grade primary school age or older.

Four types of tours have been planned, including:

– Wearing a lightweight space suit used when conducting external activities at the International Space Station

– Experiencing emergency measures undertaken when an air leak occurs inside the ISS.

It is possible to undergo the space training in English, as the astronauts themselves do.

Each course lasts about 45 minutes and members of the public can apply for up to three courses. Individual courses costs 2,100 yen, with three courses costing 3,150 yen.

For enquires and reservations, contact Tsukuba Space Center at (0298) 55-2014.

More tourist information on the Tsukuba Space Center can be found on its official homepage.

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AstroBeer!

Once again, Japan is on the cutting edge of beer technology. I remember being astonished back during my time studying abroad in Tokyo when my host brother (a marketing executive for Asahi Breweries) explained that Asahi was synthesizing beer from soybeans. Crazy. It wound up tasting…well, bad, in all honesty. But I’m all for pushing the limits of our current brewery capabilities. Sapporo Breweries Ltd. has stepped up to the plate this time around.

TOKYO (AFP) – A Japanese brewery Tuesday said it was planning the first “space beer,” using offspring of barley once stored at the International Space Station.

Researchers said the project was part of efforts to prepare for a future in which humans spend extended periods of time in space — and might like a cold beer after a space walk.

AFP via Yahoo! News

Ah, yes. Drunken astronauts – something which, I think we can all agree, would be worth realizing one day in spite of the plausible tax hikes to pay for the disasters it might cause. Excellent. This dystopia wonderful future is still a long way off, though, considering that the barley to be used is the third generation descended from some that spent a mere five months in orbit at the International Space Station.

Sapporo and Okayama University have grown seeds from barley used for the outer space tests and now expect to harvest 40 to 50 kilograms of barley descending from plants grown in outer space.

In a bid to stir interest in outer space, Sapporo said it plans to produce some 630 liters of beer and some 100 liters of tea, and provide opportunity for some consumers to drink the “space beer” and “space barley tea.”

“If production of barley and other agricultural products in outer space is demonstrated, it may mean that humans could stay in outer space longer while being self-sufficient in foods,” Manabu Sugimoto, an associate professor at Okayama University, said at a news conference.

AP via Breitbart

I can hardly wait until astrobeer is old hat and we’re dealing with space moonshine. Maybe it’ll be ready by the time Astroboy comes of drinking age.

Hat tip: Taro at 3 Yen
(subscription required for Nikkei / WSJ source article)

Also fun: Space yeast in New Mexico beer last year… (Wired Blog)

Video: Boomerang In Space

Video of the test is now public:

During his free time on the International Space Station, Japanese astronaut Takao Doi, 53, “threw a boomerang and saw it come back,” an official at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said. The newspaper Mainichi Shimbun reported the astronaut, who threw the boomerang at the request of Yasuhiro Togai, a world boomerang champion, said he was “very surprised and moved to see it flew the same way as it does on Earth.”