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I have to say that this blog item has no relevance to the world of Space whatsoever! However, it is something very dear to my heart and something of which I am immensely proud. 

As many of you who know me well will be aware, I have been writing for as long as I have been able to hold a pen! I wrote my first book when I was 10 years of age, a simple book about astronomy. Since that time I have published other books and chapters, mainly Space related, I have written many, many academic papers, and contributed regularly to newspapers and magazines - especially my hometown newspaper, the Diario Popular for who I have written an article every week without fail, for the last 10 years. 

But............. I must confess that one of my biggest ambitions has always been to write a novel and luckily for me, at the beginning of this year I managed to find the time to do just that. And many thanks to both EDIPUCRS and Editora AGE who will launch the publication of the book on the 23rd November this year.

Initially published in Portuguese, it is currently being translated into English so I will soon be looking for a UK/USA publisher. 
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Mitrofan I Nedelin - died 24 Oct 1960
Yesterday, 24th October 2010, marked a significant and tragic date in Russian Space history, it being the 50th anniversary of a horrific but long time classified Space catastrophe. Known in the west as the Nedelin disaster (named after the commander of the Russian Strategic Missile Force), 126 people were burned alive during a launch pad accident, including Nedelin.

In 1960, the Soviet Union, whilst locked in the space race with the USA, was developing an intercontinental ballistic missile known as the R-16. Unfortunately, an incident took place when testing crew accidentally initiated the second stage of the rocket, igniting the first stage, and causing an immense explosion and inferno on the launch pad. This led to those nearest the rocket being burned alive, and in some cases entirely vaporized, while others died from inhalation of the noxious fumes or from serious burns.

 This event is just one of many dotted along the history time-line of Space exploration, and serves as a reminder of the potentially dangerous nature of this activity. From a Brazilian point of view, 22nd August 2003 proved to be a black day for the Brazilian Space Agency when a VLS-1 rocket unexpectedly exploded as it stood on the launch pad at the Alcantara Launch Centre in Maranhao, northern Brazil, killing 21 people.

With more and more nations now looking to both Space exploration and satellite launching capabilities, let us hope that we do not see a corresponding rise in industry accidents and fatalities.    

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It would seem that even the International Space Station (ISS) is not immune to the affects of the current poor financial climate, with the price of food for the cosmonauts sky-rocketing!

According to a Russian spokesman, there has been a near 50 percent increase over the last twelve months in the cost of rations, caused by price inflation on products used in making the rations, and rising costs of required testing and analyses.

"Last year, the cosmonaut's daily ration in space cost about 11,000 rubles (250 euros), and today the cost is reaching 15,000 rubles," said Viktor Dobrovolsky, director of the food institute that supplies space cosmonauts.

The weightless conditions onboard the ISS requires that some thought has to go into the provision of food for the astronauts to eat. Products that cause crumbs, like bread, are excluded as crumbs are light enough to simply float away and scatter throughout the space station, potentially clogging air vents, or contaminating equipment – instead tortillas are used as they have no crumbs, store easily, and of course, can double up as a  frisbee for a bit of fun! For the same reason of float-ability, salt and pepper are provided in liquid form. Food consumed is generally better if it has a moist or sticky consistency, such as porridge, scrambled eggs, or pudding, as this type of food will stay on the spoon or fork.
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The end of their ordeal is very much in sight now for the 33 Chilean miners trapped for more than 2 months, over 2000 feet beneath the Earth’s surface at the San Jose mine in Chile.

The rescue shaft has been dug and part-lined in preparation for the 13 foot tall rescue capsule to be lowered and pulled up again (complete with 1 miner) in a return journey that will take one hour.

Paramedics and a mining expert will be lowered first of all to evaluate the men, and the first extraction should take place in the early hours of Wednesday morning, in a capsule nicknamed Phoenix 1. Each man will then have the opportunity to be reunited with family members, before being flown by helicopter to the city of Copiapo for medical treatment.

Psychological support has been in place for the men during their ordeal far below ground, but it will be needed more so than ever before, for their reemergence into the media frenzy that will surround them. A torrent of emotion awaits the miners, and a deluge of questions from a world media trying to extract every moment of news worthiness from the story. Countless television appearances, expenses paid holidays, job opportunities, and book and movie deals will be on offer for sums of money that will make their minds boggle.

But then what?

In the fickle and fast moving world of the media, a story is chased, reported to saturation level and then shelved as world events move on to the next catastrophe or human interest event. And as for the 33 miners and their families, they will be left to pick up the pieces of their former lives, left to face a changed reality as they attempt to adapt to a strange new world.

May this week see them all successfully and safely brought to the surface once more, and may the very best of luck be with them as they try to put their lives back together again.
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First established by the United Nations in 1999, and an event held every year from 4-10 October, this week is a global annual celebration highlighting the contributions of space science and technology to life on planet Earth.

The theme this year is "Mysteries of the Cosmos," and activities include a Google Lunar X Prize Summit on the Isle of Man, an astronomy festival in Marrakech, Morocco, and a star camp for high school students in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The timing of the event coincides with two important dates in Space exploration - October 4th saw the launch by the Soviet Union 53 years ago of Sputnik, the world's first man-made satellite, and October 10th is the date in 1967 when the Outer Space Treaty came into effect, an agreement that formed the basis for international space law.

Last year, when the theme of World Space Week was "Space for Education," 713 events took place in 55 nations worldwide. Click on the link below to search for events that may be taking place in your country this year.
 
http://www.worldspaceweek.org/event_search.html
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