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[Dons his skeptic's hat]

Guess what? You need Flash to even see the Gates Millennium Scholarship Program site. And when you do, it's strictly elitist. Bill's essentially trying to buy the allegience of the best and brightest students in America. Only. The kind of people who would probably succeed without his intervention.

$750 million over five years to [...] the World Health Organization, the Rockefeller Foundation, Unicef, pharmaceutical companies and the World Bank.

Looks more like an investment than a donation.

$350 million over three years to teachers, administrators, school districts and schools to improve America's K-12 education, starting in Washington State.

$200 million to the Gates Library Program, which is wiring public libraries in America's poorest communities in an effort to close the "digital divide."

Specifically, to equip them with Windows?

All those hundreds of millions pouring into the vaccination industry is getting a bit frightening, even if some of those are dupes. You don't eradicate most diseases by swamping them in vaccine, you eradicate them by improving people's living conditions. By and large, Bill isn't doing that.

If he really wanted to make a durable name for himself, Bill could do a lot more for those poor countries by giving them cheap access to space industry with either a $5G seed donation or $10G to get the first one working.

Space.com

Bill could buy this little toy for CASH, and either of Larry or Scott could probably rake together the cash to fund it single-handed.

The original AC is correct - Helium 3 is where it's at.

Since radio astronomy on the whole requires larger telescopes than their optical counterparts (radio waves being that much larger than those of visible light) getting an equivalent project in orbit -- or on the far side of the moon -- would be that much more prohibitively expensive to build and lift into orbit.

The only real advantage of placing radio telescopes on the moon would be a relative lack of interference with earthly radio signals.

I don't doubt that space-based astronomy is ultimately the way to go, but don't count out the significant advances ground-based telescopes have made in recent years.

8-{)}

http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/imagegallery/

It's not much, just 10 pictures. Click on "Voyager's Photo Legacy", then again for a Javascript pop-up gallery.

Man, even Microsoft can't afford $2.2 Trillion.

Hmm. Given that they have something approaching 100 billion in $$$CASH$$$* available (and that's just Microsoft proper, nothing said about affiliates, subsiduaries, directors etc), 2 thousand billion in liquefiable assets doesn't seem too far fetched at all. Throw in the $$$CASH$$$ resources of Bill, Steve and a few other executives plus a flock of related companies, and you'd be well on your way (I guess over half a trillion $$$) to paying the fine out of $$$CASH$$$ - without even having to sell anything!

Yo, Trey Gates must really be rattling in his boots over those `stern measures' the DoJ is taking against him. People wonder about whether Linux will torpedo him on technical merit. Taking into account everything he's stashed away over the years, pies he has fingers in, etc, the dude could probably rustle up near on ten trillion hit points IRL if the need arose.

And you can bet he's too cheap to spend even a measly $10G on the world's biggest conveyor belt.

* this is one time I miss the BLINK tag

I fully agree, which is why I'm glad that a company in my own city is working on a space elevator that should cost around $10 billion - which is less than we're looking to spend to replace an earthquake-damamged viaduct.

There are some other interesting Mars mission links. There is a planned British mission here. The 2001 odyssey mission to mars is here. And info about the NASA missions here..

There are some other interesting Mars mission links. There is a planned British mission here. The 2001 odyssey mission to mars is here. And info about the NASA missions here..

He could fund a space elevator. USD$5-10G, cheaper than a bridge, bargain price and roughly 10% of Microsoft's current cash reserves.

I was going to say `no strings attached,' because nobody would be stupid enough to use Microsoft software to stabilise something that big (and therefore dangerous), but then I thought (1) sez who? they run Navy ships on it; and (2) the thing's just a great big carbon string anyway... a superstring, sort of.

He could fund a space elevator. USD$5-10G, cheaper than a bridge, bargain price and roughly 10% of Microsoft's current cash reserves.

I was going to say `no strings attached,' because nobody would be stupid enough to use Microsoft software to stabilise something that big (and therefore dangerous), but then I thought (1) sez who? they run Navy ships on it; and (2) the thing's just a great big carbon string anyway... a superstring, sort of.

I saw this last week or so (I don't remember where exactly), but I did a search and found the story on Space.com. Here's what it said:

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- Did a 27-year-old with perfect vision and admitted pickiness help prevent disaster on the space shuttle?

NASA may never know, but the manager of the shuttle program said inspections will be more thorough from now on.

The first of 11 tiny hairline cracks that grounded the entire shuttle fleet was spotted by David Strait, a sometime surfer with 20/20 vision who works for United Space Alliance, one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's contractors.

Within the space agency there's talk of an award for the systems inspector, who caught the biggest potential hazard at the launch site since an engineer spied a 4-inch (10-centimeter) pin wedged against Discovery's fuel tank during a countdown in 2000.

First, read this. Yes, it is hearsay, but it will get you started on the issues involved with the current monopoly and the barrier put in place by NASA and the FAA. Also, look at this: The sad story of Beale Aerospace.

Second, I payed 50K to the feds last year. I wish it would all go to NASA. It does not. Even if it did - is NASA the best way to spend space money? What have they done in the last 30 years that is noteworthy? The space shuttle (no economy of scale, since they only built a few), the ISS (a nice experiment that takes almost the entire crew's time to maintain it, and they won't let more of them up there due to "safety reasons", even if they wanted to personally risk it). The moon shot destroyed NASA as a space agency, and made them into a beauracracy with budget problems, politics, pork barreling, and nice fiefdoms.

I wish it was as simple as "get the money and go". There are plenty of people with the money, but as long as the government controls the "permission" and protects their interests first....

Donut

Apparently, you can't expect privacy in your own home anymore either.

Is there anywhere on earth with NO light pollution?

Yes, there are, but those places are far and wide apart. Luckily, however, somebody is doing something about it. I just wish more countries had legislation like this.

Saw this on the article over at Space.com:

Few Perseids are ever visible from the Southern Hemisphere.

So I guess you're out of luck, uh? (and me too, by the way)

1. Don't even bother with binocs, much less a scope.

2. Get outside of the city and lay on the hood of your car.

3.Bring a flashlight with a red filter to save your night vision.

4. The Perseids come from a point near the constellation Perseus (go figure). It's actually closer to Cassiopeia, which is much easier to find (it's the big W). Find this point for the best viewing.

SKARO - The familiarity of the moon laser pods seen in recent coverage of the proposed NASA Comet/Asteroid Protection System is "merely a coincidence," say Langley Research Center officials.

In a written statement, CAPS project lead Dr. Alan Davros staked his personal assurance that CAPS pods are capable "only of routine extermination," given their advanced Thal technology.

- Edward Johnson; Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862- 9200

You do realize, theres alot more solar energy in space than there is on earth? You do realize there are particles in space, waves carrying these particles allow solar sails to travel as such great speeds.

In space, you should in theory be able to create a laser thousands of times more powerful than it would be if its on earth, due to the fact that if done right, the suns energy could be harnessed.

Also theres other ways, you could simply use more than one laser aimed at the same target to increase how effective the laser is.

Airforce

current plans to deflect astriods

you can see two sites there with lasers currently in the works which are said to be powerful enough to do it.

See picture

You do realize, theres alot more solar energy in space than there is on earth? You do realize there are particles in space, waves carrying these particles allow solar sails to travel as such great speeds.

In space, you should in theory be able to create a laser thousands of times more powerful than it would be if its on earth, due to the fact that if done right, the suns energy could be harnessed.

Also theres other ways, you could simply use more than one laser aimed at the same target to increase how effective the laser is.

Airforce

current plans to deflect astriods

you can see two sites there with lasers currently in the works which are said to be powerful enough to do it.

See picture

• SMART-1 from ESA (the only one this BBC article mentions)
• LUNAR-A from ISAS/NASDA (Japan).
• SELENE also from ISAS.
• TrailBlazer and Electra from TransOrbital Inc.
• Lunar Retriever from AppliedSpace Resources
• IceBreaker from Lunacorp
• Lunar Service from Celestis (you have to be dead...)
• Lunar Architecture is a subject of study for HJ Rombaut, including a recent Lunar Base design workshop
• Bill Mook's lunar tours
• The Artemis Project

Actually, according to this article, we're between spiral arms. The arms themselves are apparently areas of intense star formation activity, and are thus too chaotic and contain too much hard radiation to allow long-term biological evolution.

The Czech Republic recently became the first country in the world to pass a dark-sky law. From what I've heard, it works. The idea is simple enough: shine the light on the things you're trying to light up, and quit shining so much of it into the sky. Details are here (as well as lots of other places).

For those who think this doesn't matter, wouldn't it be swell if light polution became so pervasive that we couldn't see that next mass-extinction event meteor heading our way? The headlines read: Doomsday Meteor Arrives Unannounced. Subtitle reads: At least the few survivors had a well-lit view of the damage. :o)

Well aimed gamma ray bursts from supernovae have the potential to destroy life on planet-wide scales. If the right kind of star, oriented in the right direction were to end it's life in our galactic neighborhood, bacteria might be the only survivors. For any given planet in the Milky Way, a global extinction event due to gamma ray bursts should occur on the scale of every 100 million years. Interestingly, this is roughly the time between mass extinction events in Earth's history. Perhaps the reason we don't see intelligent life throughout the galaxy is that life is recurringly wiped out before it can advance far enough to migrate to adjacent star systems.

Fortunately for us, the changing composition of the Milky Way is slowly making GRB extinction events less likely. Maybe this is why we've gotten so far. After all, it's not inconceivable to me that humanity could begin intergalactic travel within the next few thousand years. Intelligent life in our galaxy may be on the verge of a watershed.

Congratulations! You've just described Fermi's Paradox.

... this means they might lose Lance Bass too.

There's been some initial work using cold plasma.

Actually an example of a rather large security hole:

Space.com Easter Egg

You can get the page to display any image and execute arbitrary javascript. An easter egg of a sort. I emailed the webmaster about it once, but never heard back.

What if fundamental constants of the universe turn out not to be constant?

My car gets 50 rods to the hogshead and that's the way I likes it.

No good lie is complete invention; the most effective lies contain all the truth the audience can easily understand.

Bald chicken 'needs no plucking'

Food of the Future: Fish Flesh Grown without the Fish

• does anyone actually believe the Russian promise to fund 30% (6 billion +) of the mission? Given their record with the ISS and the sorry state of their economy, I highly doubt it.

Does anyone believe the US promise to fund $14.5 billion of the ISS? Given their record with the UN and the sorry state of their economy, I highly doubt it.

Oh, plus Bush has already reneged. Perhaps if we renamed it the "US Anti Terrorist Orbitting Death Platform" it could get funding under the current climate.

Enough with the petty bitterness. Instead of casting stones at Russia for doing what we won't, why not spend some energy exhorting your elected representative to support, or if you prefer, to compete with them. If you're looking for suggestions as to where we could get the money from, how about a reform of tort law that cost $82 billion a year. Back in 1990, that is. Want to bet that it isn't $100 billion a year now? We could fund a Mars mission easily if we just stopped parasiting off of ourselves and start looking outwards instead of inwards.

Well, at least your spacecraft could have avoided this little $125 million accident: Units Blunder Sent Craft Into Martian Atmosphere: NASA ;-)

I was gonna say that since we planted a US Flag on the Moon, then basically we claimed it. (At least that's the way it works in cartoons.) But as I recall, we actually brought the flag back with us.

The US has limited outer space jurisdiction, according to the Outer Space Treaty of 1967. The treaty limited State sovereignty over outer space. Outer space was declared to be the common heritage of mankind. It prevented certain military operations in outer space and upon celestial bodies, specifically, the placing in orbit of any nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction, and the installation of such weapons on celestial bodies. Outer space was otherwise to be reserved for peaceful uses. Various other international conventions, such as the Moon Registration, and Liability Treaties, expand upon provisions found in the Outer Space Treaty.

The Moon Treaty of 1979 essentially stated that the exploration and use of the moon shall be the province of all mankind and shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries.

Yep that's the problem.

With the hundreds of hobbyists pouring over the thousands of Nasa Mars photos, they are sure to find some wierd things.

But unfortunately, the fruitcakes are the ones who will be most dedicated to promoting their agenda, etc. When the weirdos get a hold of it, watch out! NASA has received more than it's share of heart burn from these guys.

Take for example this news story from a couple of weeks ago where a relatively recent collision spawned a family of asteroids. This story combines well with this one on the BBC, which goes into the comet that killed off the Dinosaurs. It note how something fundamental changed in the Solar system 65 Million years ago.

This starts to coordinate well with this proposition, that something destroyed a planet back then, but the wacko elements on the site make the whole proposition less palettable.

Interesting mars photos all the same. I have no explanation, yet.

On a side note, the article says:

Michaelson said his team, made up of people from around the country, had an original launch date of Sept. 26, 2001, but pushed it back to June following the terrorists attacks of Sept. 11.

How much are you willing to bet that Tom Ridge's folks are keeping a keen eye on their team? Whatever they learn about rocketry must give the feds the willies.

The US Department of Defense paid untold millions for zero bytes, which means there is a divide by zero error in this hypothesis. Recall that when the war on terror began the DOD bought all the time that Ikonos was over Afghanistan. This was effectively to ensure that it produced zero bytes of information.

follow the link here for more info and a nice map of what you expect to see the eclipse time is ~6PM PST, which mean the sun is FAR from set -- at the bay area, anyway, the sun does not set till ~9 and don't stare at it! 2 good ways to look at the eclipse 1) bioculars / telescope reflected on paper 2) get a bucket of water, tint the water (ink, whatever) and look at the reflection (used to do this in low-tech China)

But it wouldn't be very interesting to report this story factually, since it literally has no effect on the station's operation, except requiring that another gyroscope be installed before not the next one, but the one after that fails.

As usual, spaceflightnow.com and space.com have better articles with more detail. These sites usually have space/shuttle/station information up very quickly so I tend to rely on them more.

The BlackLight Rocket link on Wired isn't slashdotted, it's just wrong. Here's the real page and a much more informative writeup of the whole concept at space.com, April 2000 , where Wired seems to have gotten most of their story. Sigh.

The best eclipse map I've seen is in this May 20th article at space.com.

The best eclipse map I've seen is in this May 20th article at space.com.

In one of the few decisions of the Bush administration that I agree with, they're finally starting to look at nuclear propulsion again.

Heck, all you have to do is say that it'll help fight terrorism... people will buy anything that claims that, these days.

We just do not matter that much.

Nonsense. Clearly we can save the Earth and move its orbit by having everyone on varying sides of the globe jump up and down on a timed schedule.

yes, carbon nanotubes are the perfect material for a space elevator i cant find the article, but the first thing i ever read about carbon nanotubes was in popular sciencea few years ago and the first use they mentioned was a space elevator, it went on about how carbon nanotubes had 20 times the (weird unit of mesurement, soemthing doing with length and weight) of the ideal material for a space tether, theres a ton of other uses for nanotubes mentioned in some good articles at

...

Greeley notes that "the track record is pretty good" in exploring Venus, but disputes any notion that therefore Mars is an unusually difficult destination. Venus, he notes, is an extremely harsh environment, especially for landers. The higher failure rate of Mars missions, he thinks, is just the luck of the draw.

or maybe it was Marvin.

How long can electronics last in space? NASA contacted the Pioneer 6 spacecraft after 35 years in space. An even more interesting question is how long LIFE can last in space. The Surveyor III camera brought back from the moon by Apollo 12 had bacteria in it from where somebody had coughed on it. Commenting on this, astronaut Pete Conrad (who died recently in a motorbike accident) said, "I always thought the most significant thing we found on the whole goddamn Moon was that little bacteria who came back and lived and nobody ever said shit about it..."

It had this explanation for the black oil. Life on Earth was seeded by meteorites from Mars. Well, this is an old idea, called Panspermia. You don't have to be a conspiracy nut to give it consideration.

The Mars inoculation of life on Earth came with an "Alien Virus". Excuse me? If the inoculant for all life on Earth came from from Mars, and the virus is also from Mars, how is it any more alien than any other life on Earth?