blivet radio
The Radio weblog of Hal Rager

Wednesday, March 6, 2002

T-Rex's baby brother 'had feathers'. The first fossil of a dinosaur that appears to have had mature feathers identical to those of modern birds has been unearthed in China. [Ananova: News] It will be interesting to see how this find will intergrate into the phylogenetic schemes. 9:43:05 PM    comment   trackback []

Hubble rebooted with crucial new power unit. Spacewalking astronauts successfully reactivate the telescope's power after its first ever shut down [New Scientist] Mission Updates :: Mar 6 - Flight Day 6 (EVA 3) Wed | Mar. 6, 2002 - 1:45 pm EST The new Power Control Unit (PCU) installed during EVA3 has now passed its lengthy Functional Test with flying colors! The new PCU, in combination with the new Solar Arrays, provide a major upgrade to the reliability and output of the HST power system and ensures it will support the needs of the full-complement of science instruments, as they are upgraded in this and the next Servicing Mission. The HST gyros have now also been powered back on successfully (except for gyro 5 which remains failed, as expected). The current Science Instruments are now all receiving power in their standard "safe modes" and will shortly be brought up to various low-level operate or hold modes. All continues to go extremely well." [Mission Updates] 9:32:25 PM    comment   trackback []

frisson. [Dictionary.com Word of the Day] 5:59:09 AM    comment   trackback []