Space Launch System (6)

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SPACE WATCH

Orion Ground Test Vehicle Arrives at Kennedy
NASA – The Orion Ground Test Vehicle arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Operations & Checkout (O&C) Facility on April 21. The vehicle traveled more than 1,800 miles from Lockheed Martin‘s Waterton Facility near Denver, Colo., where it successfully completed a series of rigorous acoustic, modal and vibration tests that simulated launch and spaceflight environments.

The ground test vehicle will now be used for pathfinding operations at the O&C in preparation for the Orion spaceflight test vehicle’s arrival this summer. The spaceflight vehicle is currently being fabricated at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, La., and is slated for NASA’s Exploration Flight Test, or EFT-1, in 2014.

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Homo Politicus, Part II: Washington’s Obedience to Authority Problem

BOOK REVIEW

Obedience to Authority, Author: Stanley Milgram.

By Ralph Benko – What is an “Obedience to Authority” problem? In 1961, Yale Professor Stanley Milgram proved that, without much overt pressure, about two-thirds of normal people will shock an innocent victim to torturous, and potentially deadly, levels. All it takes is an authority figure directing them.

Milgram’s findings are, politically, ominous. There is no reason to anticipate a freefall into an American Holocaust. But Milgram’s work strongly suggests that government officials may have an unhealthy propensity to defer to authority — leading to terrible public policies. more> http://is.gd/ngrcpu

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With new design, bulk semiconductor proves it can take the heat

R&D Mag – The intense interest in harvesting energy from heat sources has led to a renewed push to discover materials that can more efficiently convert heat into electricity. Some researchers are finding those gains by re-designing materials scientists have been working with for years.

A team of Boston College and Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers report developing a novel, nanotech design that boosts the thermoelectric performance of a bulk alloy semiconductor (silicon germanium) by 30 to 40% above its previously achieved figure. more> http://is.gd/oJOSUE

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Who’s Devouring AT&T’s Data Capacity?

Top of cellular telephone tower
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By Kevin Fitchard – What does a mobile network hosting 41.2 million smartphones look like? A network where growth in data traffic far exceeds data revenue growth.

AT&T’s chickens have come home to roost. Customers are finally starting to consume the big buckets of data AT&T is selling them, taking their fair share of network capacity while not paying more for the privilege. Consequently AT&T is seeing a massive increase in data traffic without a corresponding jump in data revenue.

AT&T has begun throttling back speeds on those customers once they exceed 3 GB on HSPA+ and 5 GB on LTE. more> http://is.gd/h4th6w