The solar wind is a brisk 389 km/sec and the proton count is blazing at 10.8 per cubic centimeter. There are 9 sunspot clusters on the Sun today, three of which can blast out M-Class flares. Nothing to worry about, really, Mark your calendar: The annual Geminid meteor shower peaks this year on Dec. 14th when dark-sky observers around the world could see as many as 120 meteors per hour. The source of the display is "rock comet" 3200 Phaethon. As November comes to a close, Earth is entering the outskirts of 3200 Phaethon's debris stream, and this is causing some Geminids to appear weeks ahead of peak night.
New Miner Job Openings are Coming Soon
TOKYO (AFP)-
Japan on Monday will launch a space probe on a six-year mission to mine a distant asteroid after the event was postponed due to bad weather, officials said.
Hayabusa2 is now scheduled to blast off aboard Japan's main H-IIA rocket from Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan at 1:22 pm (0422 GMT), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said Saturday.
The agency had originally planned to launch the rocket on Sunday only weeks after a European spacecraft's historic landing on a comet captivated the world's attention.
But a forecast of thick cloud over the weekend forced the agency to delay the launch.
The 31 billion yen ($260 million) project is sending a probe towards the unpoetically-named 1999 JU3 asteroid in deep space.
It will blast a crater in the asteroid to collect virgin materials unexposed to millennia of solar wind and radiation, in the hope of answering some fundamental questions about life and the universe.
Hayabusa2, about the size of a domestic refrigerator, is expected to reach the asteroid in mid-2018 and will spend around 18 months studying the surface
Orion: Manned Space Exploration’s next Step
AUDIO LINKOrion-Test-Flight.wav
NASA is schedule to launch an uncrewed test of its first space capsule in 40 years on Dec. 4. The space agency's prototype Orion space capsule is due to launch into space atop a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 Heavy rocket for a 4.5 hour test of its key systems.
TheOrion spacecraft — built for NASA by Lockheed Martin — is designed to take humans deeper into space than ever before. Officials hope that future versions of the spacecraft will transport astronauts to deep space destinations like Mars or an asteroid towed into orbit around the moon.
The space agency and Lockheed Martin — the company that manufactured Orion for NASA — have given the "go" to proceed with the capsule's robotic test on Dec. 4. The company and agency finished their "Flight Readiness Review" on Nov. 20, clearing the way for Orion's first test flight.
"The FRR [Flight Readiness Review] is a rigorous assessment of the spacecraft, its systems, mission operations and support functions needed to successfully complete Orion’s first voyage to space," NASA officials said in a statement.
NASA officials hope that Orion will eventually be able to take humans to deep space destinations like Mars, but first, the capsule's systems need to get through a series of flight tests starting with the first one next week.
Orion is scheduled to launch to space atop a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 Heavy rocket from Florida. The spacecraft is outfitted with more than 1,000 sensors to gather data about how the capsule performs under the harsh conditions in space and during re-entry.
In total, the test flight should last about 4.5 hours. Orion will make two orbits of Earth with one of them taking it as high as 3,600 miles (5,793 kilometers) from the planet. The spacecraft will gain speed as it comes back down from its position in orbit, before re-entering the atmosphere. Orion's heat shield is the largest of its kind ever manufactured, and the test will help scientists see if it can efficiently protect the capsule during re-entry.
The test — called Exploration Flight Test-1 — will also help officials check out Orion's parachute system, designed to slow down the spacecraft before its expected splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. Officials will be on hand to fish Orion out of the ocean after it returns to Earth.
NASA, U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin officials have started to prepare for activities after splashdown.
"At Naval Base San Diego, two Navy ships, the USS Anchorage and the USNS Salvor, have been outfitted with the necessary tools and equipment needed to return Orion to land after the flight test," NASA officials said in the same statement.
You can follow the entire mission live on Tuesday yourself by going to Space.com
Drone Wars Update
By the way, birds fitted with cameras and transmitters have been caught in the battlefield. KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghan police said they are investigating how a wild bird came to bear an antenna, electronic devices and explosives. Police came across the strange sight around 8 a.m. in the northern Faryab province, a volatile region ravaged by Taliban violence. When police spotted the white bird — which isn't native to the area and appeared larger than an eagle — walking along a highway, they noticed it had an antenna and decided to shoot it, provincial police chief Maj. Gen. Abdul Nabi Ilham told NBC News on Saturday. The bird then exploded, he said, and "suspicious metal stuff" scattered around.
"We are gathering all the stuff, but found parts of what looks to be GPS and a small camera," Ilham said. He added that this was the first time police have made such an encounter. Police added that it is possible the bird had been "deployed" on a surveillance mission. Using animals in warfare or for suicide missions is unusual but not unheard of. Hamas militants reportedly put explosives on a donkey and pushed it in the direction of Israeli soldiers as fighting intensified this summer in Gaza.
Strange Spacecraft May Be Russian Satellite Killer
It sounds like the plot of a James Bond movie. If it’s true, can we convince Sean Connery to come out of retirement to save the world one more time? NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) is now tracking a Russian space vehicle launched in May that has recently been making unusual movements towards other objects launched by Russia – movements that resemble those of a satellite killer approaching its prey.
The object, now code-named Object 2014-28E, was carried into orbit on a rocket with three Rodnik communications satellites used by the Russian military. No explanation was given for its unannounced launch. It has been under observation since its discovery and in recent weeks has begun making odd yet seemingly deliberate maneuvers. One thought is that it’s designed to collect or destroy space junk that could be deadly to other satellites or the International Space Station. That same movement could also mean something more sinister, according to Patricia Lewis, research director at think-tank Chatham House.
Whatever it is, [Object 2014-28E] looks experimental. It could have a number of functions, some civilian and some military. One possibility is for some kind of grabber bar. Another would be kinetic pellets which shoot out at another satellite. Or possibly there could be a satellite-to-satellite cyber attack or jamming.
While anti-satellite weapons programs were allegedly discontinued after the Cold War ended, rumors out of Russia indicate they may have begun again. The actions of Object 2014-28E could confirm this.
The Financial Times reports that the satellite is stoking fears that the Kremlin has revived a defunct program to destroy satellites.
Worries that the object may be a ‘satellite killer,’ however, are wide of the mark, according to Brian Weeden, technical advisor to the Secure World Foundation, a nonprofit organization promoting space sustainability.
“All of the wild speculation about this being some sort of a space weapons test is hugely overblown,” he told FoxNews.com, in an email. “It may make for a snappy headline, but there's absolutely zero evidence available right now to support it.”
Plenty of attention has been focused on the object’s maneuvers, which took it close to other Russian space hardware.
Weeden noted that the object, which was launched with three Russian Rodnik military communications satellites, maneuvered into an orbit close to the remnants of the rocket that took it to space. This, however, is hardly unusual.
“The same thing happened with the previous Rodnik launch back in December of 2013, which also included a fourth object that did a series of maneuvers after launch,” he told FoxNews.com.
The expert believes that the latest satellite’s moves were likely a test of its rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO) capabilities. RPO refers to a satellite’s ability to maneuver close to another space object and remain nearby for a period of time - it can be used for tasks such as removing space debris, as well as refueling and servicing satellites.
Furthermore, the satellite’s slow course was hardly in keeping with an offensive mission, according to Weeden.
“The maneuvers took weeks to execute, providing a long period of warning for whomever the target might be,” he told FoxNews.com.
Joan Johnson-Freese, professor of National Security Affairs at the Naval War College, believes that the satellite may fulfill two roles.
“Most space technology is dual use, meaning of value to both the civilian and military communities, and if military, difficult to determine if it is for offensive or defensive purposes,” she told FoxNews.com, in an email. “Dual use technology inherently generates angst and should be monitored, but it would be premature and over-reactive to assume anything about the technology.”
“I don't think we can infer nefarious intent [from the mystery space object],” she added.
Johnson-Freese noted that the U.S. has similar maneuverable satellite programs, such as NASA’s Demonstration for Autonomous Rendezvous Technology (DART) and the U.S. Air Force’s Experimental Satellite System-11 (XSS-11). China’s SJ-12 program also fulfills a similar role.
The mysterious space object, however, entered orbit at a time of tense relations between the U.S. and Russia over Ukraine. Russia’s military air activity is also being closely monitored. Increased activity, for example, has been reported in the Baltic region and two Russian strategic bombers circled the U.S. island of Guam last week, possibly timed to coincide with the G-20 summit in Brisbane, Australia.
I guess I'm more interested in "WHY" is NORAD telling us this? Since our government never tells us anything else, why this and why now? Do we have a need to know?
Kind-a of like our government is planning on shooting this satellite down, so they broadcast some silly reason, (its moving funny). But wait, wait a minute, perhaps we should charge NORAD with aiding and abetting the Russian terrorist? I'm not worried about what Russia is doing, not more that then what our own US Mafia style government is doing. Must be some kind of propaganda, else NORAD would not be telling us anything.
Treasury Ponzi Process Begins
Let’s suppose you had taken out a note at the bank to pay for a gambling trip to Las Vegas. I know. Sounds risky, doesn’t it? But let’s suppose you had a sure thing. You take out this bank note for say $100,000 and you go to Vegas in style, because you’re going to win, right? The junket comes and goes, and you recover from whatever you did to yourself while you were there. You check your wallet, and realize that instead of winning, you lost it all. What the heck. You had memories that would last a lifetime, right? If you could remember everything.
Then, let’s suppose you forgot about it and went about your business. Then, you get a letter from the bank that payment in full is required on that note on 30 days. You don’t panic. You know people at the bank. You’re friends. They have never turned you down before. You go down on a Tuesday morning about 10 AM, because everyone knows bankers don’t work on Monday or Friday, and you see your favorite, well-manicured banker. You don’t have a dime of the bank’s money left, and you can’t make the payment. But, you’re not sweating it, because you have a plan.
You tell your banker that everything is working out perfectly, and you would like to borrow another $110,000. With the first $100,000 from the note proceeds, you will pay off the previous note. The last $10,000 would be used to pay for a golf trip, to which the banker and his nephew graduating this year from the War College who is seeking a position in the Spring.
What do you think? Nice plan, huh? No worries. You have been doing it for 10 years, and have never paid a dime to the bank.
The Daily United States Treasury Statementwas released Wednesday afternoon as Americans were preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving. These types of reports always come late on the day before a long weekend, it seems. The report revealed that the U.S. Treasury has been forced to issue $1,040,965,000,000 in new debt since fiscal 2015 started just eight weeks ago in order to raise the money to pay off Treasury securities that were maturing and to cover new deficit spending by the government. That deficit Mr. Obama said he personally cut in half? Well, that is not exactly factual.
During those eight weeks, Treasury took in $341,591,000,000 in revenues. That was a all-time record revenue for the period between Oct. 1 and Nov. 25. But, not even that record $341,591,000,000 in revenues was enough to finance ongoing government spending let alone pay off old debt that matured.
The Treasury also drew down its cash balance by $45.057 billion during the period, starting with $126,568,000,000 in cash and ending with $81,511,000,000. In other words, not only could they not pay the credit card payment, they spent 30% of the cash in their wallet as well.
The only way the Treasury could handle the $942,103,000,000 in old debt that matured during the period plus finance the new deficit spending the government engaged in was to roll over the old debt into new debt and issue enough additional new debt to cover the new deficit spending. Have you ever traded in a car on a new car, only to find out you owed more on the trade-in than it was worth? So, the old car’s loan balance is rolled into the new car’s loan. That, my fellow Earth explorer’s, is called being upside down.
This mode of financing the federal government resembles what the Securities and Exchange Commission calls a Ponzi scheme. “A Ponzi scheme," is defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission, “as an investment fraud that involves the payment of purported returns to existing investors from funds contributed by new investors,” says the Securities and Exchange Commission. In other words, you use the new investment money to pay off old investors, less the handling charges of course.
“With little or no legitimate earnings, the schemes require a consistent flow of money from new investors to continue,” explains the SEC.“Ponzi schemes tend to collapse when it becomes difficult to recruit new investors or when a large number of investors ask to cash out.” It is also sometimes called “multi-level-marketing.”
In testimony before the Senate Finance Committee in October 2013, Lew explained why he wanted the Congress to agree to increase the federal debt limit—and why the Treasury has no choice but to constantly issue new debt, unless of course the Republicans want to throw retirees out in the street and let children starve.
“Every week we roll over approximately $100 billion in U.S. bills,” Lew told the committee. “If U.S. bondholders decided that they wanted to be repaid rather than continuing to roll over their investments, we could unexpectedly dissipate our entire cash balance.”
“There is no plan other than raising the debt limit that permits us to meet all of our obligations,” Lew said.
“Let me remind everyone,” Lew said, “principal on the debt is not something we pay out of our cash flow of revenues. Principal on the debt is something that is a function of the markets rolling over.”
I guess that means that the only way lenders will ever see their money back, is for the entire market to collapse, and for the balance to be charged off. They are forgetting to include one minor detail. The lender will repossess the collateral.
The vast amount of debt that the Treasury must roll over in such a short time frame is driven by the fact the Treasury has put most of the debt into short-term “bills” and mid-term “notes”—on which it can pay lower interest rates—rather than into long-term bonds, which demand significantly higher interest rates. In other words, it would be the same as you paying your house loan at 5.5% interest with your credit card at 29.5% interest.