Space & Tech newsdump

Busy with uni work and yes, projects! =P
[need to finish an Android app in two 1-week sprints that allows year 10 students to learn functional programming by doing it!]
So as pointed out already, I'll abandon the idea of posting news items as blog articles regularly. This doesn't mean I'll stop posting all news type articles though!

Because I don't want to spend the time regurgitating news articles in nice English, here's a link dump of noteworthy articles in the past few weeks: (it also serves as a personal favourite/bookmarker =P) =D

http://www.sciencealert.com/australian-researchers-have-converted-sunlight-into-electricity-with-more-than-40-efficiency

http://garethhayes.net/hackrf-blue/

http://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/2014/11/22/private-cubesat-start-ups-join-the-space-race/14165748001263

www.space.com/27588-nasa-asteroid-capture-mission-mars.html

http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/factory-upgrade

Why CSIRO is important:
http://csironewsblog.com/2014/11/20/megans-seven-reasons/

gmailblog.blogspot.com.au/2014/11/going-under-hood-of-inbox.html

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/12/01/penniless_and_desperate_wikipedia_sits_on_60m_cash/

http://lunar.xprize.org/news/blog/lunar-mission-one-takes-crowd-funded-route-moon

www.space.com/27936-nasa-orion-spaceship-survives-test-flight.html

http://www.space.com/27833-nasa-orion-capsule-first-test-flight-infographic.html

https://www.reddit.com/r/learnprogramming/wiki/faq

www.space.com/27944-nasa-orion-spaceship-textbook-spaceflight.html

http://www.csoonline.com/article/2853027/malware-cybercrime/report-hacker-group-fin4-stealing-insider-info-to-exploit-significant-changes-in-stock-prices.html

http://www.citylab.com/cityfixer/2014/09/when-adding-bike-lanes-actually-reduces-traffic-delays/379623/

http://www.parabolicarc.com/2014/12/08/jaxa-testing-deep-space-microsat-with-asteroid-flyby/

http://www.livescience.com/49028-farthest-quantum-teleportation.html

www.space.com/27955-spacex-rocket-ocean-landing-platform.html

http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-tesla-plugs-into-australia-20141209-story.html
Tesla finally updates their website to show superchargers on the Hume Hwy in 2015! YESS!! Can't wait to drive a Tesla from MEL-CBR! =)

SpaceX landing on floating platform in the ocean CONFIRMED! =P && Antares (by Orbital Sciences) explodes. =( UPDATED

SpaceX landing on floating platform in the ocean CONFIRMED! =P

So Elon Musk has confirmed SpaceX will attempt to land on a floating platform 90m*50m for their next Falcon 9 flight. YAY!

Florida Today:

He estimated no better than a 50-50 chance of a successful platform landing on the first attempt.
[...]
"So I think we're quite close," he said.

SpaceNews.com:

“We actually have a huge platform that’s being constructed in a shipyard in Louisiana right now,” Musk said in the interview, which was webcast live. He described the platform as about 90 meters long by 50 meters wide. “We’re going to try and land on that on the next flight.

“There’s at least a dozen launches that will occur over the next 12 months,” Musk said. “I think it’s quite likely — probably 80 to 90 percent likely — that one of those flights will be able to land and refly.”

Space.com coverage: www.space.com/27538-spacex-reusable-rocket-test.html


_________________________________________________________

Antares (by Orbital Sciences) explodes. =(

Sadly, the Antares rocket has exploded seconds after launch for their CRS-3 mission:


From simple visual inspection of this video, it seems like an engine failure for one or both engines - from the small engine flash and subsequent smoke; (or other failure causing engine flame-out or automatic shutdown). Subsequently, with no thrust, the rocket fell back to earth and the impact caused the big explosion.

Cargo carried included normal CRS foodstuffs, experiments, etc, and the Arkyd3 - a testbed for Planetary Resources' telescope satellites, including one which was Kickstarted (including a contribution from yours truly). 

According to Wikipedia, Orbital Sciences hasn't had that many failures, with successes in all Minotaur vehicles and the Pegasus with 3 outright failures and 2 partial successes (on primary payload) early in their launch history.Note that this is in line with many launch vehicle companies including SpaceX, whose Falcon 1 platform was their testbed which failed 3 out of 5 times.

However, SpaceX's Falcon 9 has had no failures except 1 secondary payload failure over its 13 total launches these last 4 years. Add to that: NASA pays $1.6 billion to SpaceX to deliver cargo over 12 missions while they have to pay $1.9 billion to Orbital Sciences for only 8 missions. Add to that each mission delivering more cargo in the Dragon by mass than Orbital Sciences' Cygnus spacecraft. The Cygnus is only superior in delivering more pressurized volume than the Dragon, and can't return cargo to Earth like the Dragon does.

Talk about SpaceX cutting costs and competition savings! (The citizens of USA should be glad SpaceX is now able to compete for USAF/DoD/NRO contracts.) I'm glad it's SpaceX that won the CCDev contract, and has a really cool Dragon V2 crewed spacecraft coming out, designed for reusability and landing by thruster functionality. Hurray for SpaceX reusability - providing sustainable and cheaper access to space!

Dailymail's coverage, in-depth: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2810128/Ready-liftoff-Nighttime-rocket-launch-International-Space-Station-visible-East-Coast.html
Space.com's coverage, editor promises updates on this page:
www.space.com/27576-private-orbital-sciences-rocket-explosion.html

UPDATE:

More about the accident and engine here: http://www.spacenews.com/article/launch-report/42340antares-rocket-explodes-after-liftoff includes spectator video and sound of explosion:


Press conference at 9pm ET (12pm AEDT, now) on Nasa TV

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream

More updates to follow probably; from conference:
Emphasis of launch/rocket science and space science being hard (obviously). No injuries, only lost hardware.
Orbital Sciences - will investigate what's wrong, solve the problem and prevent future problems.
Investigation includes evaluating debris (like aircraft investigations [like ATSB]!) - don't touch debris, could be dangerous.
Wallops - good range clearing of safety area.
ISS - incl crew in good shape, have supplies for at least 4-6months always, Progress spacecraft tomorrow, SpaceX on Dec 9, quite a bit of research hardware lost and spare hardware.

Investigation data and everything locked down until investigation process goes through; wait for daytime for debris collecting. Solid propellant burning in area. Contract - provides for ability to eventually get hardware lost on this flight to orbit, Orbital compensates NASA if they don't reach orbit. Launchpad could be damaged, tank pressure sensor readings still available and holding pressure - extent of damage not known until fully investigated.
Engine failure observed in telemetry and visually ~T+10s and range then sent the destruct command ~T+20s, before it hit the ground.
Investigation: Orbital in command, supported very well by NASA and MARS (@Wallops), debris in morning, cameras, telemetry/data. Orbital obviously won't fly until they know and correct the problem.
Insurance - Orbital does have various/some amounts of insurance on their launches.
Engines - Orbital chose to go with this (Russian) engine as there weren't many choices for powerplants of this size, especially in USA, and it was extensively tested and has proved robust. They've also chosen another engine for future Antares, according to the link above providing the video of spectator view. Wonder if they considered using SpaceX's engines =P

Facebook Acquires Oculus Rift VR

So earlier today, we saw this: FB buys Oculus Rift for $2bil in ~300-400mil cash and rest stock and the internet has been virally complaining.
People have been massively disappointed (myself included) and posting things like "FACEbook is taking things a little too literally", with a FB logo plastered on the front of the OR, but I think our fears shouldn't make us lose hope as explained throughout this article. 

Great article analysing both sides and future outcome of things:
http://gizmodo.com/facebook-could-give-you-the-oculus-you-always-wanted-1551561433 
Some other news outlets:
http://kotaku.com/facebook-buys-oculus-rift-for-2-billion-1551487939
http://techcrunch.com/2014/03/25/facebook-to-buy-oculus-vr-maker-of-the-rift-headset-for-around-2b-in-cash-and-stock/
Minecraft backs out of OR:
http://www.theverge.com/2014/3/25/5547626/minecraft-oculus-vr-cancelled

At first I was like "What. In. The. World." Mark Zuckerberg's even considering ads!?

Palmer tries to allay concerns, which is nice, but to small effect, although does confirm their independent status and FB not screwing them over like MS or Apple buying out a company and disassembling it (which was amusing for me, as most indie techs/devs probably has similar sentiments, especially supporters of Linux and open source or just people who were screwed by M$/Apple):
http://www.reddit.com/user/palmerluckey/comments/?sort=hot

But now that OR ultimately seems to be able to operate independently and do stuff as they've always had without excessive FB intrusion like needing an FB account to connect to OR, I am cautiously optimistic again. Especially with Palmer saying stuff like: (double quoted passages are Palmer quoting redditors)

Sure, we could have made more money down the road, but this deal was not about making the most money. It was about doing the best thing for the long term future of virtual reality.

This lets us make CV1 everything we want it to be, which is going to drive much larger sales and adoption.

We defined the milestones. They are exactly in line with our prior plans.

We promise we won't change. If anything, our hardware and software will get even more open, and Facebook is onboard with that.

They are champions of open hardware and software.
Our relationship with the community is not going to change, and we are not going to spy on anyone. Feel free to rag on me if things turn out the way you predict, but you have my word that nothing will change for the worse.

However, if anyone has more control or say on ANY decision then Palmer and John do, then I'm out. They were the top, they didn't answer to anyone but the consumers.

We have had to answer to people since the Kickstarter, and even more so after raising two rounds of funding from investment partners to hire the people we need. This deal gives us more freedom to make the right decisions, not less!
Facebook has a good track record for letting companies operate independently post-acquisition, and they are going to do the same for us. Trust me on this, I would not have done the deal otherwise.

Just promise me there will be no specific Facebook tech tie-ins.

I promise.
Why would we want to sell to someone like MS or Apple? So they can tear the company apart and use the pieces to build out their own vision of virtual reality, one that fits whatever current strategy they have? Not a chance.

And:

This deal specifically lets us greatly lower the price of the Rift.

We have not gotten into all the details yet, but a lot of the news is coming. The key points:
1) We can make custom hardware, not rely on the scraps of the mobile phone industry. That is insanely expensive, think hundreds of millions of dollars. More news soon.
2) We can afford to hire everyone we need, the best people that fit into our culture of excellence in all aspects.
3) We can make huge investments in content. More news soon.

And:

Nothing changes. Keep in mind that Mark Zuckerberg has publicly spoken against NSA surveillance.

is that 75-100 million dollars of VC not enough to bring the CV1 to market?

It it enough to bring a consumer product to market, but not the consumer product we really wish we could ship. This deal is going to immediately accelerate a lot of plans that were languishing on our wishlist, and the resulting hardware will be better AND cheaper. We have the resources to create custom hardware now, not just rely on the scraps of the mobile phone industry. There is a lot of good news on the way that is not yet public, so believe me, things will become a lot more clear over time.

Why did Oculus VR choose to risk their reputation with their core supporters in such a substantial way, before there is even a real product on store shelves?

Because it is the best thing in the long term for virtual reality, and the best thing in the short term for our core supporters. We are going to stay as community focused as we have always been! We now have the freedom to make the right decisions without worrying about short financial profit or investor returns.

Facebook is making a long term bet on VR, not a short term run on profit. We have more freedom to do what we want now that our investment partners are out of the picture.

 We are already working on our own VR game platform/launcher, but we are not going to force everything to go through it. Facebook has no interest in changing that, they believe in what we have been doing all along.

 I guarantee that you won't need to log into your Facebook account every time you wanna use the Oculus Rift.

And:

The appeal of Oculus (as compared to Sony, for example) is because it is on a PC platform, and thus allows us, the developers, freedom over what we want to do with it.

None of that will change. Oculus continues to operate independently! We are going to remain as indie/developer/enthusiast friendly as we have always been, if not more so. This deal lets us dedicate a lot of resources to developer relations, technical help, engine optimizations, and our content investment/publishing/sales platform. We are not going to track you, flash ads at you, or do anything invasive.

The Rift is absolutely targeted towards the gaming population, which tends to be teenage to early 20s/30s, which is the exact population that Facebook is currently losing. By partnering with Facebook, you are gaining access to a massive userbase of people that the rift is not targeted towards, which people might feel is a very bad move.

Almost everyone at Oculus is a gamer, and virtual reality will certainly be led by the games industry, largely because it is the only industry that already has the talent and tools required to build awesome interactive 3D environments. In the long run, though, there are going to be a lot of other industries that use VR in huge ways, ways that are not exclusive to gamers; the current focus on gaming is a reflection of the current state of VR, not the long term potential. Education, communication, training, rehabilitation, gaming and film are all going to be major drivers for VR, and they will reach a very wide audience. We are not targeting social media users, we are targeting everyone who has a reason to use VR.

What we fear is not that Oculus will be partnering with Facebook, but that you are selling out the company to Facebook and no longer retain control over Oculus. I can say that I, personally, support Oculus because I believed in the goals and visions that you had.

This acquisition/partnership gives us more control of our destiny, not less! We don't have to compromise on anything, and can afford to make decisions that are right for the future of virtual reality, not our current revenue. Keep in mind that we already have great partners who invested heavily in Oculus and got us to where we are, so we have not had full control of our destiny for some time. Facebook believes in our long term vision, and they want us to continue executing on our own roadmap, not control what we do. I would never have done this deal if it meant changing our direction, and Facebook has a good track record of letting companies work independently post-acquisition.

If I ever need a Facebook account to use or develop for the Rift, I'm done. - You will not need a Facebook account to use or develop for the Rift.
If I ever see Facebook branding on anything that's not optional, I'm done. - Not really reasonable in a literal sense, but I get your drift.
If I ever see ads on anything that I've already paid for, I'm done. - That is a developer decision, not our decision. If someone wants to sell a game with built-in ads, they will have to deal with the natural consequences.

I'm just wondering if OR will go public and about how kickstarters don't actually get shares in the startup ... I know some kickstarters already feel betrayed, screwed over and that OR sold out.


Update: More interesting articles -
From a VR non-believer
A positive spin on things (or devil's advocate =P)

GLXP (Google Lunar X Prize) $420 million?!

So as far X Prizes (suborbital plane, tricorder, lunar, etc.) go, I'm pretty sure I've already intimated they were all cool.

I have been following GLXP - my favourite - for a while now and talked/planned how to participate with Lunar Numbat as part of White Label Space (now "Hakuto") team.

Anyway, the purpose of this post is to point out and critique shoddy reporting which doesn't verify its sources as two outlets say Google is offering $420 million in prizes. Since the first prize is $20 million, I'm assuming someone accidentally pressed another '4' after pressing 'shift-4' which is '$' on US keyboards. Then it got thru QA and was published as $420 million instead of $20. Well there is a total of $40 million in prizes, but not even NASA is spending that kind of money in 'prizes' unless you go through all milestones of a CCDev1&2.

Australian Space Agency - why

Came across a good article here about why Australia needs a space agency, and how we can create our own solutions instead of piggybacking off others and be able to build a new industry which benefits us.


The ACSER seems pretty cool.
I wonder if the GPS module could be used for other Australian spacecraft ...

Also, if you read my Mt Stromlo (AIAA tour) post back in early August when AIAA Sydney Section toured Canberra, here are some projects that the AITC are looking at at the moment. Hope I get to participate soon =)

ARKYD Funded & Apple buys Samsung products?

So ARKYD, the Space Telescope for everyone was successfully funded at $1.5mil, and they hosted a livestream broadcasted by spacevidcast (woot!), I'm sure you can see my comments during the livestream if you look hard enough =P

You can still join in the fun (pledge & get rewards) with the grace period: http://www.planetaryresources.com/arkyd-newsletter-signup/
I wonder if I'll actually get time on this telescope (without pledging enough for reward on time) as a student ... Was hopeful about Ardusat (1st kickstarter for me). 

Also, check out the sweet $99 pledge deal, you get planetary annihilation (a previous kickstarted game) and Richard Garriot/Lord British was backing it too! (He's so well connected, space tourist, Star Citizen friend, etc.)

Wish DSI did something like this. They seemed like the ones who would do something like this ... good thing PR got the ball rolling =)

- Break -

So I didn't know this before, but apparently Apple uses Samsung chips in their devices. As Samsung's biggest (read $billions/year) customer. Lol. #USPO&IPsucks

IP, law, patents

This is why I think the USPTO is ridiculous, especially in light of Apple vs. Everyone they can extort  =P (eg, Samsung, HTC, Google, etc.) ;P
http://blog.joshuafox.com/2012/10/the-evil-engineers-guide-to-patents.html

That said, this is on my do to list just to see the whole process and whether or not I should do it for something in the future just to protect my/our work (so people like Apple can't just patent something you made but didn't bother patenting). And then I could open source/give out ALL the licences for it. =D

Game piracy (+drone that sticks on walls)

http://www.greenheartgames.com/2013/04/29/what-happens-when-pirates-play-a-game-development-simulator-and-then-go-bankrupt-because-of-piracy/

I lol'd like the dev, but it is pretty sad. Most games have 'DRM' in the form of having to connect to a server on the internet to be able to play multiplayer. But for single player games, this would be stupid, and everyone loves DRM free, for reasons stated. They have a demo, so no excuse dl'ing the torrent.

In other news:
http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2013-05/gecko-like-drone-can-land-on-walls-and-ceilings