Space Shuttle Update (7)

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SPACE WATCH – NASA TV
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STS-134: Endeavour
NASA – Teams at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida continue to prepare space shuttle Endeavour for a liftoff on Monday at 8:56 a.m. EDT. Everything is going on schedule reported NASA Test Director Jeff Spaulding.

Shuttle Weather Officer Kathy Winters reported that the current forecast calls for a 70 percent chance of acceptable conditions a launch time.

The Space Shuttle is the world’s first reusable spacecraft, and the first spacecraft in history that can carry large satellites both to and from orbit. The Shuttle launches like a rocket, maneuvers in Earth orbit like a spacecraft and lands like an airplane. Each of the three Space Shuttle orbiters now in operation — Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour — is designed to fly at least 100 missions. So far, altogether they have flown a combined total of less than one-fourth of that.

Columbia was the first Space Shuttle orbiter to be delivered to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Fla., in March 1979. Columbia and the STS-107 crew were lost Feb. 1, 2003, during re-entry. The Orbiter Challenger was delivered to KSC in July 1982 and was destroyed in an explosion during ascent in January 1986. Discovery was delivered in November 1983. Atlantis was delivered in April 1985. Endeavour was built as a replacement following the Challenger accident and was delivered to Florida in May 1991. An early Space Shuttle Orbiter, the Enterprise, never flew in space but was used for approach and landing tests at the Dryden Flight Research Center and several launch pad studies in the late 1970s.

Two Themes from Obama’s Cybersecurity Proposal: Private Auditors and Immunity

Emptywheel – Two and a half years after privatized auditors largely signed off on practices that contributed to the collapse of Wall Street, and a year after coziness between government inspectors and the oil industry they regulate allowed a massive oil spill in the gulf, the Obama Administration proposes relying on private auditors to ensure that private companies guard our nation’s cybersecurity.

That’s one of two troubling aspects of the fact sheet the Administration just released, summarizing proposed legislation on cybersecurity it just sent to Congress.

At issue is who investigates the adequacy of a private companies’ cybersecurity plan to both certify it is adequate and ensure compliance with it. The answer? Auditors paid by the private companies. more> http://tinyurl.com/3q665pv

related>

• Senate Hearing – Protecting Cyberspace: Assessing the White House Proposal
• Cybersecurity: Lots of Answers, Now Let’s Ask the Right Questions ←
• White House Unveils Global Cyberspace and Cybersecurity Policies, Sarah Granger, TheHuffingtonPost.com
• ‘I’m the creeper; catch me if you can!’ Kathy Kemper, Hill
• President Obama’s cybersecurity plan – Part 1 updates for law enforcement, Chester Wisniewski, Naked Security
  Part 2 Data Breach Notification Act
• Good News and Bad News On Obama Cybersecurity Legislative Proposal Letter, Jon Oltsik, Network World
• U.S. Global Cybersecurity Plan Falls Short, Amy Lee, TheHuffingtonPost.com
• White House unveils first international cyber security strategy, Gautham Nagesh, Hill
• Cyber Attacks Ranked With Military Threats Under Obama Security Strategy, Juliann Francis and Gopal Ratnam, Bloomberg
• Obama cybersecurity plan ready for Congress, William Jackson, Federal Computer Week
• White House delivers cybersecurity legislation, Ellen Messmer, Network World
• White House Cybersecurity Plan: What You Need To Know, Bianca Bosker, TheHuffingtonPost.com
• White House reveals cybersecurity plan, Ellen Nakashima, Washington Post
• White House raises stakes in cybersecurity debate, Gautham Nagesh, Hill
• Obama presses Congress on cybersecurity measures, Diane Bartz, Reuters
• How President Obama’s Proposed Cybersecurity Law Would Affect Banks, Penny Crosman, Bank Technology News
• Sony: The Company That Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, Michael Riley and Ashlee Vance, BusinessWeek
• Cyber Security May Gain in Pentagon’s Budget Review, Lynn Says, Gopal Ratnam and Tony Capaccio, Bloomberg
• FACT SHEET: Cybersecurity Legislative Proposal, White House

SEC Whistleblower Office Does Not Want To Talk To You

By Edward Siedle – You have got to try this one for yourself. Just try calling the SEC saying you’re a whistleblower and want to report a securities scam. I did so myself recently and it was a hoot.

Telling this story reminds me of comedienne Kathy Griffin’s hysterical tales of bizarre encounters with Hollywood glitterati that embarrass themselves. It may be wrong to make fun of the SEC’s awkward, half-hearted and conflicted effort to respond to whistleblowers but it is, nevertheless, fun. more> http://tinyurl.com/3rey8a7

Online Privacy: Can the U.S. Get Its Act Together?

By Sara Forden – On May 10 executives from Google (GOOG) and Apple (AAPL) participated in the time-tested Washington ritual of a congressional grilling. Alarmed by revelations that smartphones store data on users’ locations, legislators demanded details on the companies’ privacy policies. “Consumers have a fundamental right to know what data is being collected about them,” said Minnesota Democrat Al Franken, who called the hearing. “They have a right to decide whether they want to share that information, with whom they want to share it, and when.”

Alan Davidson, Google’s director of public policy, and Apple’s vice-president for software technology, Bud Tribble, defended their employers’ handling of user-location information and said the companies do not track individual customers. more> http://tinyurl.com/45yakr3

related>

• Google, Apple, AT&T and the Hubris of Regulation, Robert Hahn and Peter Passell, Forbes

California’s installed renewable energy numbers may surprise you

By Bob Morris – If asked what type of renewable energy is most prevalent in California, most would choose solar or wind, but in reality, those two forms of renewable energy aren’t even close. Instead, the current California champion for renewable energy is geothermal, followed by small hydro. Say what?

As an example, on Wednesday May 4, 2011, geothermal energy production in California was 23,980 MWh, followed by small hydro with 13,210, then wind at 10,166. Solar power was last, with 3,094, behind biomass and biogas. Yes, that’s right, solar power produces the least amount of renewable energy, even as it (and wind) get most of the attention. Total renewables production for the day was 61,549 MWh against a total system demand of 670,435 MWh or about 9%. Clearly, California has a long way to go to meet its ambitious goal of 33% renewable energy by 2020. more> http://tinyurl.com/68ux2pv

related>

• Beyond Wind and Solar: What Are Our Real Options? Eric Wesoff, Ecomagination