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CU’s Mars mission off the ground
Nov 19th
NASA’s Mars mission led by CU-Boulder
successfully launches from Florida
successfully launches from Florida
A $671 million NASA mission to Mars led by the University of Colorado Boulder thundered into the sky today from Cape Canaveral, Fla., at 1:28 p.m. EST, the first step on its 10-month journey to Mars.
Known as the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN mission, the MAVEN spacecraft was launched aboard an Atlas V rocket provided by United Launch Alliance of Centennial, Colo. The mission will target the role the loss of atmospheric gases played in changing Mars from a warm, wet and possibly habitable planet for life to the cold dry and inhospitable planet it appears to be today.
MAVEN spacecraft hauls CU research into space
“Our team is incredibly excited,” said Bruce Jakosky, MAVEN’s principal investigator who is at CU-Boulder’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP). “Everything went absolutely perfectly, exactly as we had planned when we accepted the challenge to develop this mission five years ago. Now it’s on to Mars.”
The spacecraft is carrying three instrument suites. LASP’s Remote Sensing Package will determine global characteristics of the upper atmosphere and ionosphere, while the Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer, provided by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., will measure the composition of neutral gases and ions.
The Particles and Fields Package, built by the University of California, Berkeley, with some instrument elements from LASP and NASA Goddard, contains six instruments to characterize the solar wind and the ionosphere of Mars.
NASA selected the MAVEN mission for flight in 2008. Scientists think Mars was much more Earth-like roughly four billion years ago, and want to know how the climate changed, where the water went and what happened to the atmosphere, said Jakosky, also a professor in CU-Boulder’s geological sciences department.
CU-Boulder also is providing science operations and directing education and public outreach efforts. NASA Goddard provided two of the science instruments and manages the project. In addition to building the spacecraft, Lockheed Martin will perform mission operations. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., is providing program management via the Mars Program Office, as well as navigation support, the Deep Space Network and the Electra telecommunications relay hardware and operations.
MAVEN is slated to begin orbiting Mars in September 2014. For more information about MAVEN visit http://lasp.colorado.edu/home/maven/ and http://www.nasa.gov/maven.
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Cloud on the electric utility horizon?
Nov 18th
City requests reconsideration of state commission ruling on acquisition process for possible local electric utility
The City of Boulder this afternoon asked the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to reconsider an Oct. 29 decision that would delay the city’s efforts to acquire Xcel Energy’s equipment and facilities for the purpose of creating a local electric utility.
The application for rehearing makes clear that Boulder concurs with many of the findings the PUC made on Oct. 29. The city remains 100 percent committed, for example, to working with the PUC on issues that are within the Commission’s jurisdiction and making sure that Boulder’s efforts do not negatively impact service or reliability for Xcel’s remaining customers.
Modern electric turbine
However, there are some issues with which the city does not agree. In its filing today, the city asserts that the Commission transcended the questions it was asked to consider and issued an overly broad ruling that overlooked the powers granted to the city by the constitution. More specifically, the city argues that there are practical and legal reasons for the Commission to reconsider its conclusion that it has the authority to decide what assets Boulder can acquire. The city also explains more fully why it would be premature for the Commission to evaluate any transition plans until a condemnation proceeding has been initiated and discovery has been completed by the city.
“Boulder has no objection to, and in fact is eager to work with Commission staff to prepare the various plans necessary to make Boulder’s acquisition of the Public Service (Xcel) system that serves Boulder as cost-effective as possible, and to ensure that the electric system, both inside and outside of Boulder, is at least as safe and reliable as the current Public Service system,” Senior Assistant City Attorney Deb Kalish said in the filing. “However, Boulder has the constitutional and statutory right to determine which assets it will acquire and the timing of any condemnation action that may be filed.”
Heather Bailey, the city’s executive director for Energy Strategy and Electric Utility Development, said Monday that the PUC’s ruling with regard to these questions could have important implications.
“Boulder voters on Nov. 5 reaffirmed their desire to move forward with the creation of a local electric utility, provided that certain conditions can be met,” Bailey said. “Determining the order of the required proceedings – and the scope of authority for each deciding body – is essential to charting out both the timeline and necessary work plan for moving forward. We are hopeful that the PUC will consider the city’s arguments and help us gain clarity around these questions in a way that is consistent with Colorado law. We look forward to working with PUC staff and commissioners to address any concerns they have.”
The complete filing is attached to this press release.
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Couple robbed at gunpoint on Flagstaff
Nov 18th
On Saturday, 11/16/13, at 9:44 PM, Boulder County Communications received a report of an armed robbery on Flagstaff Summit Road, about ¼-mile above Flagstaff Road, within Boulder County, Colorado.
Boulder County Sheriff’s Deputies responded and found two victims, a male and female couple, who reported that they had parked at the Realization Point Trailhead and began hiking up Flagstaff Summit Road toward the Flagstaff Amphitheater.
They stopped briefly at an overlook, where two males approached them. One of the males, described as about 6 feet tall and wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt, shined a bright flashlight at them and pointed what appeared to be a handgun at them.
The other male, described as about 5’8” tall and wearing a white hooded sweatshirt, ordered the couple to place all of their belongings on the ground. The male then picked up their belongings, and both suspects ran back down toward the trailhead.
The victims remained where they were, and saw an unknown description vehicle driving down Flagstaff Road. The victims recalled that when they parked at the trailhead, a silver possibly Toyota SUV was also parked there, which had since left. After a few minutes, the victims contacted another couple who were hiking down Flagstaff Summit Road, and used one of their cell phones to call 911.
Anyone with any information pertinent to this case is asked to contact the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office at (303) 441-4444.
