Private Spacecraft Lifts Off With Space Station Supplies

Orbital Sciences' Cygnus spacecraft has successfully launched from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on its way to becoming the second private vehicle to resupply the International Space Station.

Space.com says:

"The unmanned Cygnus spacecraft and its Antares rocket soared into orbit with a tremendous roar at 10:58 a.m. EDT (1458 GMT) today from [Wallops] — a huge success for the commercial spaceflight company Orbital Sciences Corp., which built both vehicles. The spacecraft is now chasing the space station and is due to arrive early Sunday (Sept. 22), when it will be captured by astronauts using the outpost's robotic arm."

Cygnus bears "1,300 pounds of food, clothing and goodies for the astronauts," The Associated Press says.

Orbital Sciences and billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX Corp. have been contracted to supply the orbiting outpost since the space shuttle was retired two years ago. Two SpaceX Dragon robotic capsules have already been up on resupply missions, the most recent one in March.

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New Private Spacecraft Set For Mission To Resupply Space Station

An artist's rendering of the Cygnus spacecraft approaching the International Space Station.

Orbital Sciences An artist's rendering of the Cygnus spacecraft approaching the International Space Station.

Orbital Sciences

The SpaceX Dragon may have gotten there first, but Orbital Sciences' Cygnus spacecraft is set to become the second private robotic ship to dock with the International Space Station after a Wednesday launch from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

The launch is scheduled for 10:50 a.m. EDT on Wednesday from Pad 0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops.

Space.com writes:

"Orbital Sciences' vehicle will fly into space atop the company's Antares rocket, which is ... about the size of a 13-story building, standing 131.5 feet (40 meters) tall. The two AJ26 engines used in the rocket's first stage are based on the NK-33 engine, which was originally developed to launch Russia's giant N-1 moon rocket — the Soviet answer to America's famous Saturn V — in the 1960s. However, the Soviet heavy-lifter was never launched successfully."

Orbital Sciences is contracted for eight cargo missions to the ISS under a $1.9 billion contract with NASA.

In May 2012, SpaceX, founded by billionaire Elon Musk, launched the Dragon on its first successful resupply mission to the ISS and in March of this year, a second robotic Dragon delivered 1,200 pounds of supplies to astronauts.

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HP Pavilion TouchSmart 23-f260xt review: This clunky-looking budget all-in-one will save you money and space

HP Pavilion TouchSmart 23-f260xt $800.00 HP resurrected the all-in-one concept many years ago, but there's nothing particularly great about this model. Here's hoping the company shakes the industry up again soon.

I love the sturdy, rectangular stands on the Toshiba and Dell all-in-ones, but I must admit they’re not exactly space efficient. HP’s Pavilion TouchSmart 23, which costs $800 as of 8/29/13, might not be the most attractive AIO of the bunch, but its signature picture-frame design certainly helps it take up less desktop real estate, which is always a plus if you’re trying to fit a 23-inch TouchScreen AIO on a cramped dorm-room desk.

The HP Pavilion TouchSmart 23’s design is functional, if not very sexy. The system has a glossy 23-inch touchscreen, which is surrounded by a slim bezel under edge-to-edge glass. Around this bezel is another bezel that’s thicker and fabricated from matte-black plastic. A silver metal frame is wrapped around this, extending past the bottom of the screen (where the speakers are located) to rest on your desktop. The entire system is propped up via an easel-like stand, which is sturdy, space-efficient, and easy to adjust.

HP's Pavilion TouchSmart is a well-built all-in-one, but a middle-of-the-road performer.

The biggest issue with this design is that it’s just not very attractive. While the Toshiba and the Dell look like they’re floating in midair, the TouchSmart 23 just looks clunky. And don’t even get me started on the bezel-within-a-bezel look.

Design issues aside, the HP Pavilion TouchSmart 23 is a solidly average performer, with a Intel Core i3-3220T processor; 6GB of DDR3/1600 memory; and 1TB, 7200rpm hard drive working together to deliver a Desktop Worldbench 8.1 score of 110. Like the other systems in this roundup, the TouchSmart 23 is good for schoolwork and basic entertainment, but not great for graphics-intensive editing or high-resolution gaming. In our Dirt Showdown graphics test (1024 by 768 pixels, image quality at Low), the TouchSmart 23 managed a barely playable 32.5 frames per second. Its BioShock Infinite performance, at the same settings, was worse: just 15.9 frames per second.

None of the all-in-ones delivered great gaming performances, but some machines were definitely better than others.

The TouchSmart 23 display resolution is the typical 1920 by 1080 resolution. It looks good: Images and text are crisp and colors are accurate, but I couldn’t shake the perception that video looked dull on this machine. Perhaps I’m used to looking at oversaturated, strangely vibrant screens, but the TouchSmart 23 just seemed to lack oomph. It is, on the other hand, a very good touchscreen, with smooth, accurate touch and a slick, sensitive surface.

The system also boasts a very usable wired USB keyboard, with flat, island-style keys, excellent feedback, and a comfortable feel. It’s a bit loud, but had no problem typing quickly and accurately on it. The mouse, which is also a wired USB model, felt just a little less comfortable. Its shiny, curved form factor isn’t very ergonomically designed, and it felt a bit awkward in my hand.

PCWorld's Desktop Worldbench 8.1 benchmark suite measures performance with a number of productivity, creation, and entertainment programs.

HP’s Pavilion TouchSmart 23 is a sturdy-looking computer with a slim, space-saving design. Although it lacks the minimalist sexiness that many other AIOs boast, it’s a solid performer with decent peripherals, a good port selection (including two USB 3.0 ports), and acceptable performance.

Editor's note: This all-in-one was reviewed as part of a roundup for back-to-school season. You can read that story, along with reviews of the five all-in-ones we compared it to, here.

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Japan sends talking robot into space as part of program to help lonely people

Kirobo, a talking robot that also recognizes faces, was launched Sunday on a cargo transfer vehicle and will reach the International Space Station in six days.

The robot is part of a program that aims to provide companionship using such devices to people living alone including the elderly.

Kirobo boarded the Kounotori 4 cargo transfer vehicle launched from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Tanegashima Space Center atop an H-IIB launch vehicle on Sunday morning, the Kibo Robot Project, which counts Toyota and Robo Garage as two of the project partners, said on its website.

The black and white robot, with red boots, is a little over 13-inches (34 centimeters) tall, and combines speech, voice and face recognition and other communications functions. Its first task will be to communicate with Koichi Wakata, a Japanese astronaut who joins the robot in November, according to reports. Backup crew member Mirata, who stays back in Japan, has similar capabilities.

"The Kibo robot has a special mission: To help solve the problems brought about by a society that has become more individualized and less communicative," the project wrote on its website.

Japanese-speaking Kirobo will spend 18 months on the ISS, talking to Wakata.

The project earlier asked people to suggest names for both the robots, and got 2,452 entries from 1,226 people.

John Ribeiro covers outsourcing and general technology breaking news from India for The IDG News Service. Follow John on Twitter at @Johnribeiro. John's e-mail address is john_ribeiro@idg.com

John Ribeiro covers outsourcing and general technology breaking news from India for The IDG News Service.
More by John Ribeiro, IDG News Service

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