Virgin Galactic Test Flight

Virgin Galactic aims to conduct its first test flight by the end of 2012.  The first commercial suborbital passenger flight is proposed to take place in 2013 or 2014. 

Almost 500 customers have purchased tickets to ride into space on the six-passenger spaceship, SpaceShipTwo.  Tickets cost $200,000.  The spaceship reaches an altitude around 68 miles into our atmosphere.  Passengers will experience a few minutes of zero gravity, and will be able to see Earth against the blackness of space. 

Source:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/28/space-business-idUSL2E8DS0M920120228

Interested in teaching your students more about space science? Check out SSR's Vol 41 DVD, episode Space Science – Everyday Astronauts.  If your school would like to receive this free resource, visit http://www.ssrvideo.com/nhcmsp.html.   

Interested in speaking to students about space science? E-mail Fallon@ssrvideo.com

3.5 Second Bridge Demolition

An 83 year old bridge over the Ohio River was quickly demolished this week.  The Fort Steuben Bridge was closed in 2009 after the Ohio Department of Transportation declared it “functionally obsolete.” 

The 1,255ft bridge was loaded with 153lbs of explosives, and was splashing down into the water below 3.5 seconds after detonation.  A video, filmed by the ODOT, can be found at the link below. 

http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-02-21/news/31081991_1_ohio-river-deadspin-transportation

Interested in teaching your students more about engineering? Check out SSR's Vol 41 DVD, episode Engineering – Bridges by Design.  If your school would like to receive this free resource, visit http://www.ssrvideo.com/nhcmsp.html.   

Interested in speaking to students about engineering? E-mail Fallon@ssrvideo.com

Going Up… and Up, and Up, and Up!

For those who do not enjoy a long elevator ride, perhaps this form of space tourism does not sound like the joy-ride others may think of it being.  A Japanese construction company has set its sights on constructing a 60,000 mile-long cable into space, roughly ¼ of the distance from Earth to our moon.  One end of the cable would be fixed in the ground here on Earth, and the other end suspended in space by a counterweight.  This is all made possible with the science of carbon nanotubes, which are 20 times stronger than steel. 

The elevator would take approximately one week to reach its destination, at a speed of 125mph.  It will be powered by magnetic linear motors.  The elevator will have the capacity to carry 30 people, and will dock with a terminal station, at 22,400 miles up, that has laboratories and a living area.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/international/space-elevator-could-be-ready-by-2050-ride-takes-a-week/

Interested in teaching your students more about space science? Check out SSR's Vol 41 DVD, episode Space Science – Everyday Astronauts.  If your school would like to receive this free resource, visit http://www.ssrvideo.com/nhcmsp.html.   

Interested in speaking to students about space science? E-mail Fallon@ssrvideo.com

Swaying Segment Added to San Francisco Bridge

The newly constructed San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge features a new quality: the ability to sway.  The engineers who’ve designed the bridge did so with the future in mind.  The bridge is anchored in blocks called “deadmen”, which are cast into the structure.  Cables are then run from deadmen to deadmen, which allow for tightening as the bridge ages and sags. 

The span is also designed to sway during an earthquake.  Steel piles are driven at an angle, 300ft into the ground, to increase bridge stability during an earthquake.  Additionally, 13 concrete piles, 8ft in diameter, are driven 200 feet into the ground to keep the tower stable; equivalent to a 20-story building. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/07/science/to-survive-a-quake-new-bay-bridge-span-will-offer-least-resistance.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

Interested in teaching your students more about engineering? Check out SSR's Vol 41 DVD, episode Engineering – Bridges by Design.  If your school would like to receive this free resource, visit http://www.ssrvideo.com/nhcmsp.html.   

Interested in speaking to students about engineering? E-mail Fallon@ssrvideo.com

50 Best STEM Social Media Feeds for Educators

Struggling to keep up with other countries’ progress in STEM professions, the US often faces issues with lacking trained STEM professionals to fill available positions.  Factors such as this are the driving force behind STEM-promoting initiatives among public and private organizations. 

An unconventional resource many STEM educators are turning to is social media.  Social media pages devoted to STEM education, such as www.Twitter.com/ScienceReport, and www.Facebook.com/SCIENCESCREENREPORT stream information regarding STEM programs, educational resources, and competitions for STEM teachers to involve classes in.  The below link also provides a list of Twitter feeds that promote STEM education:

http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2011/12/14/50-essential-twitter-feeds-for-stem-educators/

Boca Bearings 2012 Innovation Competition

A Boca Raton business, Boca Bearings Company, is giving away more than $20,000 in cash and prices in an effort to support companies and individuals with a focus on the arts, or STEM.  This event is in celebration of Boca Bearings Company’s 25^th year of business. 

Competitors submit videos of innovative mechanical projects that utilize ball bearings, roller bearings, linear bearings or full ceramic or hybrid ceramic bearings.  Project submissions must be innovative, and include at least one ball, roller, or linear bearing.   

                                                                                                                              

For more information about Boca Bearings Company, or their Innovation Competition, please visit:

http://www.bocabearings.com/innovation-contest/faqs.aspx