Tag Archives: NASA
Holy Discovery, Space Bat! The Ship Is Launching!
I got a little bit carried away with 1960′s Batman lines in the article title here. This flying furry rodent decided to cling to the fuel tank during the launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery during the launch on Sunday, March 15. The fate of the bat during lift-off is a mystery because the NASA umbilical camera that takes pictures of the external tank was broken after the separation.
The bat may have flown away or might have gotten fried. Regardless, the “Space Bat” has gotten all the attention it needs, even getting its own website: space-bat.com. Below is a video tribute that RavenCK uploaded on YouTube.
February 11: The First Time Two Satellites Have Had A Major Collision
When you think of February 11 from now, remember it as the first time in history that one of the thousands of satellites orbiting the Earth have collided. Scientists at NASA is closely monitoring the after-effects of the collision. The accident took place about 400 miles above Siberia. After the collision, a large debris cloud formed and is drifting in space.
NASA wants to make sure that the damage from these satellites do not damage other spacecraft. It is pretty unlikely that this will happen.
“It will be weeks at least before the true magnitude of these clouds are known,” stated NASA in a message. “The risk to the space station is considered to be very small and within acceptable limits.”
The two satellites believed to be involved is one that belongs to Iridium, a U.S. company and a Russian Cosmos satellite that was no longer being used. The Iridium satellite was launched around 1997 and the Russian satellite was launched around 1993. Both were used for telecomm purposes. The Iridium satellite provided telephone service to 250,000 people around the world.
Gary McKinnon, NASA Hacker May Be Taken To U.K. Court
Gary McKinnon hacked into U.S. military computers in 2001 to find out whether UFOs exist. The U.S. military computers that McKinnon penetrated included those that belong to NASA. McKinnon believes that he did not cause any damage after hacking into the systems, but the U.S. government alleges that he stole 950 passwords and deleted files necessary for replenishing supplies for an Atlantic fleet according to PCWorld.com. If McKinnon is tried in the U.K., he said he would plead guilty.
The U.S. government believes that deleting files and stealing passwords wasn’t the only crime committed by McKinnon. They believe that McKinnon also disrupted military networks necessary for operations conducted after 9/11. The dollar value of the damage is estimated to be about $700,000.
McKinnon is currently on extradition to the U.S. for going to court based on a 2008 decision of the European Court of Human Rights. If McKinnon is tried in the U.K., it is unlikely that he will be extradited to the U.S.
“McKinnon has had tremendous support from the hacker community and even ordinary people – many IT workers have a lot of sympathy for his ongoing plight and would rather see him tried in Britain as opposed to the U.S.,” stated Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant for a security company called Sophos. “Any form of hacking is illegal and should be punished as such, and hacking into U.S. government networks is bound to come with harsh repercussions — anyone thinking about engaging in these types of activities in the future should think twice. This man’s sorry tale should warn other would-be hackers that they are playing with fire if they break into sensitive networks, and shouldn’t be surprised if the full force of the law goes after them.”
[via PC World]
Categories Gary McKinnon, NASA
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