NASA’s Orion Spacecraft at the Launch Pad

With access doors at Space Launch Complex 37 opened on Nov. 24, 2014, the Orion spacecraft and Delta IV Heavy stack is visible in its entirety inside the Mobile Service Tower where the vehicle is undergoing launch preparations. Orion will make its first flight test on Dec. 4 with a morning launch atop the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket. Orion’s crew module is underneath the Launch Abort System and nose fairing, both of which will jettison about six minutes, 20 seconds after launch. The tower will be rolled away from the rocket and spacecraft 8 hours, 15 minutes before launch to allow the rocket to be fueled and for other launch operations to proceed.

The spacecraft will orbit the Earth twice, including one loop that will reach 3,600 miles above Earth. No one will be aboard Orion for this flight test, but the spacecraft is being designed and built to carry astronauts on exploration missions into deep space. Launch is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 4 at 7:05 a.m. EST, the opening of a 2 hour, 39-minute window for the day.

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Rape Claims Affect Bill Cosby’s Philanthropy

Marilyn Gardner Milton’s Latest Blog Post

Recently, famed comedian Bill Cosby has been bombarded (again) by sexual assault and rape claims that have spanned his career and reared their heads time and time again; the difference this time being that people are finally taking them seriously and he might finally face some sort of consequence for his predatory actions. The resurgence of the rape claims and the unearthing of all the previous claims began when comedian Hannibal Buress made a joke at a performance about Cosby being a rapist. This led to a number of old stories getting uncovered and scrutinized as well as known victims, as well as new ones, coming forward to tell their painful stories again in the hope of finally finding some sort of justice.

Obviously, all of this renewed scrutiny has led to the (possibly) permanent tarnishing of Cosby’s reputation as America’s favorite family man comedian. Multiple entertainment outlets have pulled reruns of shows as well as new projects that had Cosby on board and he has also been offering refunds to tickets on his current world tour. Interviews have bombarded him with questions over the allegations and he has done nothing but maintained a shameful silence, all but proving his guilt in the minds of many. But what people don’t realize is that there’s another, more complicated, victim in this story. What is happening when it comes to Cosby and all of his charitable and philanthropic donations?

Bill Cosby and his wife, Camille, are huge philanthropists. From donating money to high schools and colleges to finding individual students, the Cosby’s have put massive amounts of time, effort, and money into improving the lives of thousands across the country. And so now all of these educational institutes are faced with an unpleasant situation: either support Cosby and get his money but have everyone turn against you or turn on Cosby and gain everyone’s support but lose his gigantic monetary donations. While what Cosby did is indefensible by any stretch, it’s so unfortunate that the money he has donated to so many good causes has also been tarnished by his foul legacy. With millions of dollars hanging on this decision, many financially-pressed colleges and universities might be forced, by circumstance, to not withdraw their relationships with Cosby; something that many would rightfully see as an ultimate betrayal. However the world is never that simple and so these institutions need to weigh what is worth more, the money or what’s right.

If you’d like to read more, the link is here.

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GOP Staffer Resigns After Trashing Obama’s Children

Marilyn Gardner Milton’s Latest Blog Entry

There are two constants that have proven themselves to be true throughout history. The first is that politics is a dirty game and that most things are open targets when it comes to scrutiny. The second is that teenagers are difficult people to deal with at their best and when they’re at their worst, they can be little monsters. While these two might always be true, there is usually an unwritten rule when it comes to attacking and smearing the children of politicians; as in don’t do it because it shows how awful a person you are and how desperate you are to make political waves. Sadly, this rule was broken by one Elizabeth Lauten, a GOP staffer who is now out of a job due to the massive backlash that her comments over Thanksgiving caused.

With comments ranging from calling them classless to slut-shaming them, Elizabeth Lauten truly unleashed her pent-up and misguided anger at the presidency and all liberals upon Sasha and Malia. If you read the rant in whole, you realize that the reason for it doesn’t really make all that much sense. Sasha and Malia were acting like teenagers at the yearly Thanksgiving pardoning of the turkey. Everyone admits that it’s a strange and silly ritual and no one, from either political side, took offense at how the two Obama girls were acting like what they were; bored teenagers who didn’t want to be there and who were unamused by their dad’s lame dad-jokes. Yet, for some reason, Elizabeth Lauten felt the need to bombard the girls in a vicious attack that also took swings at both their father and their mother (what a surprise).

Now it seems as though this miserable woman has gotten her comeuppance for her vile and out-of-the-blue attack on two teen girls acting like teen girls. Along with resigning (0r being fired), Elizabeth Lauten has also earned the ire and hatred of the internet as a community. People, regardless of political affiliation, have been trashing her public pages and they have clearly been heard. Not only is she out of a job, but Lauten’s title of media manager is clearly something she never learned about and it seems like she won’t be getting hired any time soon.

If you’d like to read more, the link is here.

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Old Tactic Gets New Use: Public Schools Separate Girls and Boys by MOTOKO RICH

By MOTOKO RICH

Single-sex classes are increasingly common in the nation’s public schools, particularly in poor areas, prompting new scrutiny.

Published: December 1, 2014 at 12:00AM

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Chinese Students Lead Foreign Surge at U.S. Colleges by KARIN FISCHER | THE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION

By KARIN FISCHER | THE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION

In 2013-14, American colleges enrolled a record 886,052 foreigners, an increase of 8 percent from the previous year. Chinese were almost 60 percent of the growth in foreign students.

Published: December 1, 2014 at 12:00AM

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Black Hole Friday

In this artist’s illustration, turbulent winds of gas swirl around a black hole. Some of the gas is spiraling inward toward the black hole, but another part is blown away.

A black hole is a place in space where gravity pulls so much that even light can not get out. The gravity is so strong because matter has been squeezed into a tiny space. This can happen when a star is dying.

Because no light can get out, people can’t see black holes. They are invisible. Space telescopes with special tools can help find black holes. The special tools can see how stars that are very close to black holes act differently than other stars.

How Big Are Black Holes?

Black holes can be big or small. Scientists think the smallest black holes are as small as just one atom. These black holes are very tiny but have the mass of a large mountain. Mass is the amount of matter, or “stuff,” in an object.

More information on black holes.

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International Space Station’s 3-D Printer

The International Space Station’s 3-D printer has manufactured the first 3-D printed object in space, paving the way to future long-term space expeditions. The object, a printhead faceplate, is engraved with names of the organizations that collaborated on this space station technology demonstration: NASA and Made In Space, Inc., the space manufacturing company that worked with NASA to design, build and test the 3-D printer.

This image of the printer, with the Microgravity Science Glovebox Engineering Unit in the background, was taken in April 2014 during flight certification and acceptance testing at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, prior to its launch to the station aboard a SpaceX commercial resupply mission. The first objects built in space will be returned to Earth in 2015 for detailed analysis and comparison to the identical ground control samples made on the flight printer prior to launch. The goal of this analysis is to verify that the 3-D printing process works the same in microgravity as it does on Earth.

The printer works by extruding heated plastic, which then builds layer upon layer to create three-dimensional objects. Testing this on the station is the first step toward creating a working “machine shop” in space. This capability may decrease cost and risk on the station, which will be critical when space explorers venture far from Earth and will create an on-demand supply chain for needed tools and parts. Long-term missions would benefit greatly from onboard manufacturing capabilities. Data and experience gathered in this demonstration will improve future 3-D manufacturing technology and equipment for the space program, allowing a greater degree of autonomy and flexibility for astronauts.

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