Aug 12 1999
From The Space Library
NASA's GRC announced that, for the first time, researchers had suspended particles of frozen hydrogen in liquid helium, the first step toward creating new rocket fuels that could revolutionize rocket-propulsion technology. Researchers had poured small amounts of liquid hydrogen at a temperature of 14 K (-435°F or -259°C), just above freezing point, onto the surface of liquid helium of a temperature just above absolute zero, at 4 K (-452°F or -269°C). The liquid hydrogen had formed small, solid hydrogen particles, which floated on the surface of the helium. Scientists planned to use the suspension to create "futuristic atomic fuels," making it possible to develop rockets with "liftoff weights one-fifth that of today's [rockets] or with payloads three to four times more massive." In addition, the suspension could "reduce or eliminate on-orbit assembly of large space vehicles," thereby contributing to the exploration of the entire solar systems
A burst of radiation from Jupiter hit NASA's Galileo spacecraft as it gathered data about Jupiter's moon Callisto, causing computer malfunctions. However, NASA reported, "recently loaded software automatically restarted command sequences, minimizing the loss of science data." James K. Erickson of NASA's JPL, Project Manager of the Galileo Program, remarked on the highly variable nature of the radiation, explaining that, previously, the spacecraft had entered safe modes during radiation bursts, resulting in the loss of data. Galileo's instruments had only lost about 1 hour of data during the radiation burst, successfully recording data about magnetic fields and particles. Project scientists expected that the data would help them study the event. To emphasize the value of the software, Erickson stated, "If we didn't have the automatic restart software, we wouldn't be getting any data at the encounters.”
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