Recently in Space Category

Traveller thoughts been all over the place as I've started to re-engage. First thought was a revival of idea for making a more realistic Traveller - 3D space maps, realistic solar systems, AI etc, but its just too big a jump (although its a "powered by Traveller" setting I might do some time, and for my latest work on 3D star maps see http://www.daden.co.uk/blog/2011/02/its-all-full-of-stars-25-light.html.

I then thought of finishing my Port2Jump application, but thought it too big (although I may soon get back to it), and moving my Minerva model to OpenSim will be a big job (although watching Dune I'm drawn to the idea of just creating some environment sims in OpenSim).

So I finally hit upon the idea of creating a Referee's Screen on the web that I could use from the iPad. Had a great time over the last few days pulling bits together from IMTU rules and MT (my favourite OTU rules) and Snapshot/AHL. What's now dawned on me though is that what I really want is microTraveller - a version of the Traveller rules that's so simple and easy to use that not only will they fit on a few screens of the iPad but I can actually play it more or less from memory (the task system of course being key here). The other part to the Referee's Screen/Companion is of course the software, automating all those parts of the rules that are needed that are just too complex to remember for data reasons (eg encounter tables etc), so that you can create encounters, map a world, jump to orbit etc just in a single mouse-click. So that's the aim, lets see where it goes to.

Cross posted from http://www.converj.com/sites/gushemege/

http://www.themysteryworld.com/2010/12/abandoned-remains-of-russian-space.html

Lovely set of pics of the old Buran launch site, now rusting and overgrown. Even interior pics of the cockpit.

Just been playing with the export/import feature of Hippo and managed to get the Apollo LEM I did for our Tranquility Base build out of SL and into my Virtual Mars build on OpenSim. Very nice. Next step must be to make a 9 sim version of the Tranquility Base build, complete with the overlays and then maybe make it available as an OAR file.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11041449?goback=%2Egde_37945_news_178002176

Nice article about the need to spend some SETI time looking for AI signals and hang-outs, rather than focussing solely on the activities and locations of biological life-forms. Personally I still think that "first contact" is likely to be with a dormant/dead AI controlled Von Neuman type probe in orbit around a gas giant or a NEAR type orbit.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/12/hubble_space_telescope_advent_1.html

Stunning collection of 25 Hubble images.

Nice summary by New Scientist of the Augustine report and what NASA's priority should be. The scores work out as:

• 1: Status Quo: -15
• 2: ISS and Minimum Moon: -5
• 3: Moon but no ISS: -1
• 4: Moon and ISS: 4 - 5
• 5: Deep Space (Moon, asteroids, Mars): 7 - 9

Full scoring (PDF)

The Augustine Commission has released its summary report on the future of US manned spaceflight. The key points appear to be:

• Finish Space Shuttle ops as planned in 2011
• Extend IISS to 2020
• Abandon Ares 1 and probably Ares V to develop a new Ares V Lite mid-range booster
• Hand man to LEO operations over to private contractors
• Shift the emphasis from Moon then Mars to "flexibility", which may include both, plus L5, near earth asteroids and even Phobos and Deimos, but no dates

Looking to commercial contractors to do the lift to orbit is a nice step - but:

• The assumption still appears to be that the contractors will use rockets, and not any form of re-usable system (a super Spaceship 1)
• Although there is some talk of in-orbit refueling for lunar/mars injection, it appears to be discounted in favour of the single lift approach
• Although Orion (the new crew capsule - a big Apollo CM) is seen as possibly too big and in need of a trim (everything is "lite" in this report), there still appears to be an acceptance of the "apollo" model rather than going for a spacecraft that only travels orbit to orbit and never has to re-enter

Be interesting to see what extra detail/decisions there are in the final version.

I've started work on a pet Futurology project called Five by Five - five themes over the next five half-centuries.

As a first element I've just updated my future timeline - mainly focussed on space exploration and AI development. Other issues like poverty. the environment and politics will be added as part of the larger project.

BTW the wiki that the timeline on is one of the reasons there are less posts to the blog - the wiki is a better tool for some of the writing I'm doing at the moment - and easier to use from the iPhone!

http://arbesman.net/milkyway/

Not bad, but could have been done better - and anyway haven't they decided that the Milky Way is a barred spiral now.

Stunning images and video of the heart of the Milky Way. Never realised they were resolving the individual stars there. The image above is only 1 parsec across - just short of the distance from us to Alpha Centauri. Particularly striking as I'm reading Incandesence by Greg Egan which is set there.