Just what is life? What do we really know about God? What do we really know about the universe? Is there intelligent life out there? Are we likely to encounter aliens in our lifetime? Is there more than one universe? Will parallel universes soon be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt? These are just some of the questions that two friend have been asking since we were in grammar school together over 70 years ago. We have continued to speculate with each other about life, the universe, and the great unknowns that cause mankind to be such a special species here on earth. We have been living in different states, Mississippi and Florida, since high school graduation. One of us became an aerospace engineer and later a Vice President at Lockheed Martin Aerospace Company. The other became a trial attorney and went into private law practice. But we still meet, write, email and discuss our evolving thoughts and ideas. We recently decided to meet in Homosassa Springs Florida for a few days to chat about our ideas and see just what we really think about the answers to all the great questions of life and the universe. And although we did not discuss it outright, it was obvious that we may have been motivated to have this meeting because of increased interests in seeking answers to the questions: do we have souls and if so, is there an afterlife. We met in the wilderness of the springs to discuss and try to find the best answers available based on what mankind has learned to date and based on the life long questioning of two very curious old men. A series of modern day scientists and physicists from Einstein to Hubble to Heisenberg to Kaku to Hawking have postulated theories in an attempt to answer our most complex questions. Their once unconceivable theories are rapidly becoming acceptable and practical as billions of dollars are now being spent to test and prove the validity of their theories. We collected their findings and theories and drew our own conclusions about Life and the Universe and are publishing them in this book. We tackle some of the biggest questions of mankind with the confidence that we can arrive at the truth and convey that truth in comprehensible narrative. We felt that our findings and understandings would be of general interest to a wide audience, especially the 79 million baby boomers in the United States. We also thought that young people who are just beginning to form their opinions of life and the universe would find our materials interesting and useful. We hope you enjoy our efforts and even if you cannot agree with all of our conclusions we hope this book will stimulate you to continue to seek the truth about everything that is important to you. We are awed at the enormity of our universe. We have walked in the forests and by streams and are awed at the great variety and complexity of life here on earth. When we look into our deep oceans we see extreme life forms living even in the very hot volcanic vent flows from the ocean floor. Some of these life forms look like monsters from our imaginations. We have provided pictures of these alien creatures. We have found life in the extreme arctic conditions at the poles. Life here on earth occupies all environments no matter how severe. This suggests that we should therefore expect life on essentially all of the trillions of planets in our universe that have life acceptable temperatures. We believe that we will soon learn that millions if not billions of these alien life forms are intelligent; and thousands if not millions are more advanced than are we. It's just a matter of statistics and the older age of so many of the planets. All of our speculations lead back to the question: is there a God. We attempt to provide our views and the science on which we base our views. We hope that our efforts will, to paraphrase Oliver Wendell Holmes, stretch your mind with a new experience and perhaps change your life.

The work described in this paper was carried out by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology under a contact with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The support of the NASA Headquarters Office of Chief Engineer for the development and documentation of the force limited vibration testing technology described in this monograph is gratefully acknowledged.

This curriculum guide uses hands-on activities to help student and teachers understand the significance of space-based astronomy- astronomical observation made from outer space.

The formation of ice on wings and other control surfaces of airplanes is one of the oldest and most vexing problems that aircraft engineers and scientists continue to face. While no easy, comprehensive answers exist, the staff at NASA's Icing Research Tunnel at the Glenn Research Center in Cleveland has done pioneering work to make flight safer for experimental, commercial, and military consumers.

Science opens the door to speculations about Man's future. This book speculates about space travel in the far distant future based on our understanding of elementary particle physics, astrophysics and gravitation. It is technical in part (some math) although much of the material is understandable to the layman. Its theme: In tens of thousands of years Man may reach beyond our universe to countless other universes located in the space beyond our universe that we call the Multiverse. The multiverse is an infinite 16-dimensional flat space that we call the Flatverse. We see reason to believe that an infinity of universes, including our own universe, may exist within the Flatverse. They are separated generally by large distances - trillions of light years - island universes containing matter and energy. The all-enveloping Flatverse is like a desert - no matter and no energy - with universes dotting the Flatverse like oases. This book makes a leap of tens of thousands of years of research and development - perhaps 50,000 years (four times the approximately 12,500 year period from human hunter-gatherer clans to the present) - to describe travel to far universes from our universe. It describes the general features of a starship, called a uniship, for travel to other universes. Uniships differ significantly. Their drives must enable travel in fifteen different directions in the Flatverse. They require radically different mechanisms for seeing and navigating within the Flatverse. The mechanisms will have to accommodate using our 3-dimensional eyes to see and navigate in the 15-dimensional Flatverse space. The book proposes mechanisms for these purposes based on a fifth force of nature: a baryonic force that was suggested over sixty years ago. We show this force is embodied in a 15-dimensional field similar to the electromagnetic field. As the electromagnetic field enables us to see and navigate in three dimensions, so the fifteen dimensional baryonic field gives us eyes in fifteen dimensions. The book considers entry and exit from universes in some detail. Changing directions and dimensions are also significant problems. This book looks to the distant future and make assumptions that are reasonable but not guaranteed. The most significant assumption is the existence of a fifth force - a baryonic force - that makes travel out of our universe possible and plays a major role in travels in the multiverse. This assumption is supported by theoretical evidence - the conservation of baryon number. The second most significant assumption is the existence of the multiverse of universes. The existence of other universes and thus a multiverse is supported by the need for a mass for the Higgs Mechanism, the need for a quantum observer, and the need for a clock for the universe. The likelihood of these assumptions, and the novel, new perspectives they lead to, caused the author to proceed to explore the possibilities of emerging from our universe and traveling to other universes knowing that it would not be feasible for many tens of thousands of years. After Man has explored the stars, has explored the galaxies of our universe, there will still be the quest to explore the many universes of the Cosmos: to see eternity's sunrise, to reach the heights and depths of fundamental Reality, and so to grow to maturity as a species. This book is not a science fiction book but rather a reasonable extrapolation of current science and technology.

Stennis Space Center's test facilities, supporting infrastructure, and technical capabilities are described in this handbook, which should be considered a living and evolving document.

By their challenging nature, NASA programs are particularly demanding of technological input. Meeting the aeronautical and space goals of the past four decades has necessitated leading edge advancements across a diverse spectrum that embraces virtually every scientific and technological discipline.

The Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope is an international and multi-agency space mission that will study the cosmos in the energy range 10 KeV - 300 GeV.

President Clinton has called technology "the engine of economic growth." It is a key element in attaining one of the major goals enunciated by the President: reinvigorating American competitiveness in the global marketplace. Technological innovation is today the principal currency of international competition.

Presents the theories and applications of determining the position of an object in space through the use of satellites As the importance of space reconnaissance technology intensifies, more and more countries are investing money in building their own space reconnaissance satellites. Due to the secrecy and sensitivity of the operations, it is hard to find published papers and journals on the topic outside of military and governmental agencies. This book aims to fill the gap by presenting the various applications and basic principles of a very modern technology. The space electronic reconnaissance system in mono/multi-satellite platforms is a critical feature which can be used for detection, localization, tracking or identification of the various kinds of signal sources from radar, communication or navigation systems. Localization technology in space electronic reconnaissance uses single or multiple satellite receivers which receive signals from radar, communication and navigation emitters in the ground, ocean and space to specify the location of emitter. The methods, principles and technologies of different space electronic reconnaissance localization systems are introduced in this book, as are their performances, and the various methods are explained and analysed. Digital simulations illustrate the results. * Presents the theories and applications of determining the position of an object in space through the use of satellites * Introduces methods, principles and technologies of localization and tracking in the space electronic reconnaissance system, the localization algorithm and error in satellite system and near space platform system, and the tracking algorithm and error in single satellite-to-satellite tracking system * Provides the fundamentals, the mathematics, the limitations, the measurements, and systems, of localization with emphasis on defence industry applications Highly relevant for Engineers working in avionics, radar, communication, navigation and electronic warfare. Chapters include:- the introduction of space electronic reconnaissance localization technology, knowledge about the satellite orbit and basic terminology of passive localization, single satellite geolocation technology based on direction finding, three-satellite geolocation technology based on time difference of arrival (TDOA), two-satellite geolocation technology based on TDOA and frequency difference of arrival (FDOA), the single satellite localization technology based on kinematics theory, localization principles of near-space platform electronic reconnaissance systems, the orbit determination of single satellite-to-satellite tracking using bearings only(BO) information, the orbit determination of single satellite-to-satellite tracking using bearings and frequency information, the orbit determination of single satellite-to-satellite tracking using frequency only(FO) information. Each chapter ends with a problem and solution section, some using Matlab code.

The author of this work illuminates the overlapping, often conflicting roles of the individual, who originates ideas, and of the group, which manages today's complex technology. Many worthwhile ideas have doubtless been lost, at least temporarily, because individuals were unable to convince committees.

Titan offers a unique opportunity in solar system exploration. It is the smallest known body with an atmosphere. In terms of spacecraft entry dynamics, it has the most accessible atmosphere in the solar system.

The purpose of this monograph is to organize and present, for effective use in design, the significant experience and knowledge accumulated in development and operational programs to date. it reviews and assesses current design practices, and from them establishes firm guidance from achieving in the design effort.

The report, prepared by Prof. Longwell, summarizes the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the working groups. Specifications for an experimental, referee, broad-specification jet fuel are presented. These specifications were developed by Prof. Longwell from the recommendations of the workshop participants and through later consultations with NASA representatives and others.

Early in the morning of 4 October 1957, T. Keith Glennan went to work, just as he had for more than a decade, at the president's office of the Case Institution of Technology in Cleveland, Ohio. This work is his summary of his work.

The threat to Earth due to the impact of an Earth-crossing asteroid or comet is not new, but scientists have only recently recognized it as a continuing threat. The past ten years reveal several frightening near misses, and "hits" by bodies too small to survive long enough in the atmosphere to cause damage. The hazard created when an object strikes Earth varies greatly, from a minimum of no damage due to the object's destruction in the atmosphere to a maximum of millions of deaths, extinction of species, and an end to present civilization. While the potential hazard is great, the probability of occurrence is low, but an impact will happen; the only question is when. Technology exists to deal with this threat, but serious, organized effort to identify potential threatening objects and to deflect threatening objects is virtually nonexistent. This book analyzes planetary defense issues and develops seven recommendations for national policy and near term actions to be taken by the United States to develop and implement a system to defend Earth from potential impact by comets and asteroids.

Fifty years after the founding of NASA, from 28 to 29 October 2008, the NASA History Division convened a conference whose purpose was a scholarly analysis of NASA's first 50 years. Over two days at NASA Headquarters, historians and policy analysts discussed NASA's role in aeronautics, human spaceflight, exploration, space science, life science, and Earth science, as well as crosscutting themes ranging from space access to international relations in space and NASA's interaction with the public. The speakers were asked to keep in mind the following questions: What are the lessons learned from the first 50 years? What is NASA's role in American culture and in the history of exploration and discovery? What if there had never been a NASA? Based on the past, does NASA have a future? The results of those papers, elaborated and fully referenced, are found in this 50th anniversary volume. The reader will find here, instantiated in the complex institution that is NASA, echoes of perennial themes elaborated in an earlier volume, Critical Issues in the History of Spaceflight. The conference culminated a year of celebrations, beginning with an October 2007 conference celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Space Age and including a lecture series, future forums, publications, a large presence at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and numerous activities at NASA's 10 Centers and venues around the country. It took place as the Apollo 40th anniversaries began, ironically still the most famous of NASA's achievements, even in the era of the Space Shuttle, International Space Station (ISS), and spacecraft like the Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs) and the Hubble Space Telescope. And it took place as NASA found itself at a major crossroads, for the first time in three decades transitioning, under Administrator Michael Griffin, from the Space Shuttle to a new Ares launch vehicle and Orion crew vehicle capable of returning humans to the Moon and proceeding to Mars in a program known as Constellation. The Space Shuttle, NASA's launch system since 1981, was scheduled to wind down in 2010, freeing up funds for the new Ares launch vehicle. But the latter, even if it moved forward at all deliberate speed, would not be ready until 2015, leaving the unsettling possibility that for at least five years the United States would be forced to use the Russian Soyuz launch vehicle and spacecraft as the sole access to the ISS in which the United States was the major partner. The presidential elections a week after the conference presaged an imminent presidential transition, from the Republican administration of George W. Bush to (as it turned out) the Democratic presidency of Barack Obama, with all the uncertainties that such transitions imply for government programs. The uncertainties for NASA were even greater, as Michael Griffin departed with the outgoing administration and as the world found itself in an unprecedented global economic downturn, with the benefits of national space programs questioned more than ever before. There was no doubt that 50 years of the Space Age had altered humanity in numerous ways ranging from applications satellites to philosophical world views. Throughout its 50 years, NASA has been fortunate to have a strong sense of history and a robust, independent, and objective history program to document its achievements and analyze its activities. Among its flagship publications are Exploring the Unknown: Selected Documents in the History of the U.S. Civil Space Program, of which seven of eight projected volumes were completed at the time of the 50th anniversary. The reader can do no better than to turn to these volumes for an introduction to NASA history as seen through its primary documents. The list of NASA publications at the end of this volume is also a testimony to the tremendous amount of historical research that the NASA History Division has sponsored over the last 50 years, of which this is the latest volume.

Created as an aid for the astronauts training for Skylab missions, this Skylab Saturn IB Flight Manual is a comprehensive reference that contains descriptions of ground support interfaces, prelaunch operations, and emergency procedures. It also summarizes mission variables and constraints, mission control monitoring and data flow during launch and flight. Launch vehicle SL-2 (SA-206; first Skylab manned mission) was used as the baseline for the manual, but the material is also representative of the SL-3 and SL-4 launch vehicles. Also known as the "Uprated Saturn I," Saturn IB was first launched in 1966. The IB replaced the Saturn I's S-IV second stage with the more powerful S-IVB, allowing it to carry a partially fueled Apollo Command / Service Module or fully fueled Lunar Module into low Earth orbit. The Saturn IB allowed critical testing of the Apollo Program's systems to be conducted long before the Saturn V was ready. It also flew one orbital mission without a payload, with the extra fuel used to demonstrate that the S-IVB's J-2 engine could be restarted in zero gravity - a critical operation for translunar injection. The Saturn IB had a height of 141.6 feet and a mass of 1.3 million pounds without payload. It produced thrust equivalent to 1.6 million pounds force, and could carry 46,000 pounds of payload to low Earth orbit. Saturn IB flew nine times, including three Skylab missions and for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. Complete with many informative diagrams and photos, this manual is a wonderful reference for the museum docent, researcher, or anyone who ever wondered how these mighty rockets were designed and built.

Boris Chertok's memoirs are part of the second generation of publications on Soviet space history, one that eclipsed the (heavily censored) first generation published during the Communist era. Memoirs constituted a large part of the second generation. The distribution of material spanning the four volumes of Chertok's memoirs is roughly chronological. This, the fourth and final volume is largely devoted to the Soviet project to send cosmonauts to the Moon in the 1960s, covering all aspects of the development of the giant N-1 rocket. The last portion of this volume covers the origins of the Salyut and Mir space station programs, ending with a fascinating description of the massive Energiya-Buran project, developed as a countermeasure to the American Space Shuttle. NASA SP-2011-4110

This book proposes a long-term space program for solar system exploration and travel to the stars in an aggressive, cost-effective way. It develops a new multi-stage space gun to shoot large payloads cheaply into space up to 150+ kilometers. It proposes new types of nuclear rockets for cost-effective exploration in the solar system, and eventually for use on starships - "short range" nuclear rockets for the Solar System, and "long shelf life" nuclear rockets for starships. Also, it describes long shelf life nuclear reactors of new design that have hitherto not been developed. Most importantly, the book develops detailed, faster-than-light starship designs (qualitatively in the text - no math, and mathematically in appendices). The key to faster-than-light starships is a faster-than light ion thrust generated by quark-gluon plasmas. This book describes how quark-gluon plasmas can be created in high energy ion collisions and how they might be used for starship propulsion. Several possible starship designs are discussed in detail as well as a mechanism for artificial gravity for disc shaped and cigar shaped starships.

How would the existence of alien life forms from another world affect your faith? Your beliefs? Could you face the truth of life from other worlds? This manual will help you make sense of alien encounters from a theological perspective. This will help you come to terms with your view of other life in the universe and how to process its existence.