Asteroid Tumbling Normalization with Momentum Wheel

Abstract:
The complexity behind landing on an asteroid surface and taking scientific measurements is increased when the spin profile of the asteroid is not about the principal axis of inertia. Tumbling asteroids present unique challenges to landing craft which can be alleviated through use of a momentum wheel. As a precursor to the main science mission, a simple spacecraft containing a momentum wheel would be secured to the asteroid. Over time, the angular momentum of the asteroid would transfer from the minor inertial axis to the major axis. This would greatly decrease the risk of the following science mission and would also provide for simplified thrusting along the principal axis if orbit modification or deflection of the asteroid was required.

How to Update Civ4 MAC and PC

Problem Statement:

Civilization 4 Beyond the Sword is a game that many of us know and love. However, Firaxis & 2K Games capability to distribute and communicate how to patch these games is limited. My finacee and I tried updating her MAC using the ingame tool only to find that they had downloaded a .EXE file (comical laugh). When I tried to upgrade from my 3.03 PC version using the ingame tool it downloaded and then promptly did, nothing at all. Here is a walkthrough which will allow you to update to the most recent patch level manually, and avoid the two hours of frustration that we experienced.

Problem Solution:

Patch Civ4 for PC

Open Civ4 Beyond the Sword and select Advanced / About This Build. They list the Civ Version number without periods so if you have build 303 that means you are patched up to 3.03. Once you know which patch level you are currently at, download each patch above that and install sequentially from the Firaxis website. That is to day, if you are at 3.03, you need to download and install patches in this order: 3.13, 3.17, and finally 3.19.

Patch Civ4 for MAC

(I think the MAC version was initially released at 3.17 so you need to upgrade to 3.19 and beyond but you don't have to start as low as 3.03.) Follow the instructions for Civ4 for PC but you need different patch files (.exe files don't play well with MACs). One site you can download your files from is Atomic Gamer:

Patch 3.19 Mac - Atomic Gamer

Final Comments:

Please comment with any updated links to MAC and PC patch content. And as always, before you download something from the internet, make sure it is coming from a trusted source.

Here Kitty Kitty!

Mine liebe katze, sufera de matze, matze a pleznit, katze a murit.

(My dear cat, suffers from her intestines, her intestines burst, the cat died)

Harvesting the Sun

I just finished reading through an article about manure on NY times (see more here), and it got me thinking. With mankind's ability to streamline production of everything from Milk to Power, we have surpassed the stage of simply harvesting resources and building all we can with them. Yesteryear we afforded ourselves the luxury of not worrying about how our resources would renew themselves or how we would deal with the resulting garbage from our every day operations. Yet as we product and consume resources at an ever increasing rate, the question of what to do with all the leftovers from our operations becomes more pressing.

So far we have become very industrious at making the world into our image, a one way street where we find resources, build factories to harvest them, bring goods to market and move on to the next resource. This bold forward arrow to progress is being tempered by the realization that if we do not renew our resources and tie up all the loose ends of the production process, we are limiting our future growth. A fancy way to say we are degrading our environment, the very place we live and call home.

The cycle they described in the article above I found intriguing, if not practical. Manure from the dairy cows was used to fertilize the fields that grew their feed. They ate the feed to give them sustenance and produce milk, which we use. The sun makes it all work by growing the grass. And that is where I get to our title for this post.

The image I have in my head is of people who survive by harvesting the energy given off by the Sun. All our oil (old forests grown in sunlight millions of years ago), milk (cows <- grass <- sun), fresh water (evaporated by the sun) all work because of the feint wisps of power that make their journey from the Sun to our home impart to all the beings here an enormous amount of energy. As human beings we are seeking the best and most efficient way to harvest that energy, wether it be through vast tracts of grain and grazing land to feed cattle or thin film solar energy. I think in some way that makes us children of the Sun.

The children of the Sun Harvest the Sun to survive. How fitting.

Finding the New California

Recent surveys of the moon by the LCROSS revealed a good probability that ice does exist at the poles of the moon. Finding critical resources in space can propel our exploration visions forward, but have we really found White Gold?

When we first began cononizing the north american continent we had no idea what treasures and wonders could be found by traveling west. It was only after a long laborious trip west that we discovered california and the bounty that it could provide. We have a lucious firtile land here that provides fruits and food to feed the nation year round.

In the same grain I believe we need to find our california in space, which will allow us to extend our tenuous tendrils into the vacuum and build sustained outposts. Since space exploration is so difficult and expensive, we need to find an area rich with resources that we can exploit to really begin expanding our investments.

There are two ways that I see we can find resources close to home. Survey the moon till we find the best composition of resources for our needs or survey asteroids and then move them into an orbit that is close enough for us to reach atleast as easily as the moon.

Power Storage Technologies

Flywheels

Technology: Big spinning mass, high speed, low friction

In/Out Efficiency: possibly up to 90%

Pros: Stable throughout high temperature variations, excellent power delivery speed

Cons: vacuum required

Life Expectancy (Terrestrial): 20 years (Extraterrestrial): possibly 100 years

Hazards: broken equipment would release stored momentum catastrophically

Notes: rolling out across the North East and CA for power regulation

Applications: Power cycle Regulation,

Companies: Beacon Power, Hitech Power

Chemical (L-Cell)

Technology: This approach involves mixing reactive chemicals to provide higher charge efficiency than normal rechargeable batteries.

In/Out Efficiency: 60%

Pros: Stable throughout reasonable temperature variations. More can be explored by increasing hazardous nature of chemicals, 10,000+ cycle capable system.

Cons: Fluid may need to be replaced every 5 years, lifetime dependent on charge / discharge cycle, low power density (investigate)

Life Expectancy (Terra): 20 years (Extraterrestrial): possibly 27 years

Hazards: leaking chemicals may cause damage to living creatures

Notes: Several charge / discharge cycles per day terrestrial cycle, extraterrestrial 1 cycle per day

Applications: Remote cell phone towers, diesel generator support

Companies: Deeya Energy VC's - Ira Ehrenpreis [Video] Technology Partners & Ravi Viswanathan NEA 

Chemical (L-Ion)

Pros: Widely deployed and well understood technology

Cons: 455 cycles for Tesla roadster with maximum electronic optimization, 1000 cycles w/ 80% charge capacity for new MacBook Pros

Notes: Information from Apple information from Tesla

Companies: Most of em

Compressed Gas (Air)

Pros: Cycles last as long as storage tank maintains containment

Hazards: Compressed air at 4500 PSI would cause serious injury if the containment was breached 

Notes: MDI news article , read more about MDI Specs

Companies: MDI 

Interesting Government News Sources

Gov Energy News - current Government energy funding, policy changes and more