BRANDT'S RANDOM GOVERNMENT PRESS RELEASES

The objective of this website is to disseminate daily random publications of primarily U.S. government press releases as they appear on e-mails and websites sponsored by the U.S. Government. Editing is kept to a minimum and is related to introductions of the releases and some formatting issues related to compatibility. This website is ideal for those looking for a primary source of information related to issues and functions of the U.S. government.

A VIEW OF MERCURY FROM AFAR

This image of Mercury, acquired by the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) aboard NASA's MESSENGER mission on April 23, 2013, allows us to take a step back to view the planet. Prior to the MESSENGER mission, Mercury's surface was often compared to the surface of Earth's moon, when in fact, Mercury and the moon are very different. This image in particular highlights many basins near Mercury's terminator, including Bach crater. Many craters with central peaks and the nearby bright rays of Han Kan crater are also evident. Once per week, MDIS captures images of Mercury's limb, with an emphasis on imaging the southern hemisphere limb. These limb images provide information about Mercury's shape and complement measurements of topography made by the Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA) of Mercury's northern hemisphere. Image Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

REDIRECTING AN ASTEROID

This artist's rendering shows what capturing an asteroid could look like. NASA's FY2014 budget proposal includes a plan to robotically capture a small near-Earth asteroid and redirect it safely to a stable orbit in the Earth-moon system where astronauts can visit and explore it. Performing these elements for the proposed asteroid initiative integrates the best of NASA's science, technology and human exploration capabilities and draws on the innovation of America's brightest scientists and engineers. It uses current and developing capabilities to find both large asteroids that pose a hazard to Earth and small asteroids that could be candidates for the initiative, accelerates our technology development activities in high-powered solar electric propulsion and takes advantage of our hard work on the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, helping to keep NASA on target to reach the President's goal of sending humans to Mars in the 2030s. Image Credit: NASA/Advanced Concepts Lab

Replenishment-At-Sea

The Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Laramie (T-AO 203) conducts a replenishment-at-sea with the amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu (LHA 5). Peleliu is the flagship for the Peleliu Amphibious Ready Group and, with the embarked 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (15th MEU), is deployed in support of maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Michael Duran (Released) 130303-N-ZM744-278

What Is Wrong With The Sun?

Something unexpected is happening on the Sun. 2013 was supposed to be the year of "solar maximum", the peak of the 11-year sunspot cycle. Yet 2013 has arrived and solar activity is relatively low. Sunspot numbers are well below their values from 2011, and strong solar flares have been infrequent. The quiet has led some observers to wonder if forecasters missed the mark. Conventional wisdom holds that solar activity swings back and forth like a simple pendulum. At one end of the cycle, there is a quiet time with few sunspots and flares. At the other end, solar max brings high sunspot numbers and frequent solar storms. It’s a regular rhythm that repeats every 11 years. Image Credit: NASA/SDO

Fermi's Motion Produces a Study in Spirograph

Fermi's X-ray Space Telescope orbits our planet every 95 minutes, building up increasingly deeper views of the universe with every circuit. The pattern reflects numerous motions of the spacecraft, including its orbit around Earth, the precession of its orbital plane, the manner in which the LAT nods north and south on alternate orbits, and more. The LAT sweeps across the entire sky every three hours, capturing the highest-energy form of light -- gamma rays -- from sources across the universe. These range from supermassive black holes billions of light-years away to intriguing objects in our own galaxy, such as X-ray binaries, supernova remnants and pulsars. Image Credit: NASA/DOE/Fermi LAT Collaboration

BLUE ANGELS FLYING 18 INCHES APART

120615-N-BA418-048 BALTIMORE (June 15, 2012) Capt. Brandon Cordill, left wingman of the U.S. Navy flight demonstration squadron, the Blue Angels, flies with the canopy of his F/A-18 Hornet approximately 18 inches from the wingtip of Capt. Greg McWherter during the "diamond 360" maneuver over Baltimore's Inner Harbor during the Star Spangled Sailabration. The Sailabration coincides with Baltimore Fleet Week 2012 and commemorates the War of 1812 and the writing of the "Star Spangled Banner." (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Andrew Johnson/Released)

Flux Ropes on the Sun

This is an image of magnetic loops on the sun, captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). It has been processed to highlight the edges of each loop to make the structure more clear. A series of loops such as this is known as a flux rope, and these lie at the heart of eruptions on the sun known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs.) This is the first time scientists were able to discern the timing of a flux rope's formation. (Blended 131 Angstrom and 171 Angstrom images of July 19, 2012 flare and CME.) Image Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/SDO

THE FIRST FLAG ON THE MOON

Photo taken by Neil Arstrong of Buzz Aldrin with U.S. flag on the Moon. (mission time: 110:10:33) Buzz salutes the U.S. Flag. His fingertips are visible on the far side of his faceplate. Note the well-defined footprints in the foreground. Buzz is facing up-Sun. There is a reflection of the Sun in his visor. At the bottom of Buzz's faceplate, note the white 'rim' which is slightly separated from his neckring. This 'rim' is the bottom of his gold visor, which he has pulled down. We can see the LEC straps hanging down inside of the ladder strut. In the foreground, we can see the foot-grabbing loops in the TV cable. The double crater under Neil's Lm window is beyond Buzz and the LM shadow

LAUNCH OF MARINER 1 ON 7/22/1962

This was to be the first Mariner mission. It was intended to perform a Venus flyby. The vehicle was destroyed by the Range Safety Officer 293 seconds after launch at 09:26:16 UT when it veered off course. The booster had performed satisfactorily until an unscheduled yaw-lift (northeast) maneuver was detected by the range safety officer. Faulty application of the guidance commands made steering impossible and were directing the spacecraft towards a crash, possibly in the North Atlantic shipping lanes or in an inhabited area. The destruct command was sent 6 seconds before separation, after which the launch vehicle could not have been destroyed. The radio transponder continued to transmit signals for 64 seconds after the destruct command had been sent.

110319-N-XO436-136 MEDITERRANEAN SEA (March. 19, 2011) The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Barry (DDG 52) launches a Tomahawk missile in support of Operation Odyssey Dawn on March 19, 2011. This was one of approximately 110 cruise missiles fired from U.S. and British ships and submarines that targeted about 20 radar and anti-aircraft sites along Libya's Mediterranean coast. Joint Task Force Odyssey Dawn is the U.S. Africa Command task force established to provide operational and tactical command and control of U.S. military forces supporting the international response to the unrest in Libya and enforcement of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1973. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jonathan Sunderman/Released)

080605-N-0000X-001 PACIFIC OCEAN (June 5, 2008) Two modified Standard Missile 2 (SM-2) Block IV interceptors are launched Thursday, June 5, 2008 from the guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG 70) during a Missile Defense Agency test to intercept a short-range ballistic missile target. The missiles intercepted the target approximately 12 miles above the Pacific Ocean 100 miles west of Kauai, Hawaii on the Pacific Missile Range Facility. This was the second successful intercept in two attempts of the sea-based terminal capability and the fourteenth overall successful test of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense Program. U.S. Navy photo by the Missile Defense Agency (Released)

050713-N-3455P-003 South China Sea (July 13, 2005) - A BQM-74E aerial target drone launches from the flight deck aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4) during exercise Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Malaysia. The BQM-74E provides dynamic airborne threat simulation and supports the Fleet worldwide. The target can simulate aircraft or cruise missiles in a variety of threat profiles. Malaysia is the 3rd phase of CARAT 2005, which is a regularly scheduled series of bilateral military training exercises with several Southeast Asia nations designed to enhance interoperability of the respective sea services. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate Airman Paul Polach (RELEASED)

THE USS CONSTITUTION

SPACEX DRAGON LAUNCHES

The Launch of SpaceX Dragon KSC-2012-2913 (22 May 2012) --- On Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, Space Launch Complex-40 is ablaze as the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off at 3:44 a.m. (EDT) May 22, 2012. The launch is the company's second demonstration test flight for NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services, or COTS, program. During the flight, the Dragon capsule will conduct a series of check-out procedures to test and prove its systems, including rendezvous and berthing with the International Space Station. If the capsule performs as planned, the cargo and experiments it is carrying will be transferred to the station. The cargo includes food, water and provisions for the station's Expedition crews, such as clothing, batteries and computer equipment. Under COTS, NASA has partnered with two aerospace companies to deliver cargo to the station. Photo credit: NASA

BUZZ ALDRIN AND THE LUNA LANDER

SPACEX DRAGON HEADS INTO SPACE

The Launch of SpaceX Dragon KSC-2012-2897 (22 May 2012) --- The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soars into space from Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 3:44 a.m. (EDT) May 22, 2012, carrying the Dragon capsule to orbit. The launch is the company's second demonstration test flight for NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services, or COTS, Program. During the flight, the Dragon will conduct a series of check-out procedures to test and prove its systems, including rendezvous and berthing with the International Space Station. If the capsule performs as planned, the cargo and experiments it is carrying will be transferred to the station. The cargo includes food, water and provisions for the station's Expedition crews, such as clothing, batteries and computer equipment. Under COTS, NASA has partnered with two aerospace companies to deliver cargo to the station. Photo credit: NASA

USS TEXAS

The United States commissioned her first battleship, USS Texas, on Apr. 15, 1895. This coal-burning ship, had an overall length of 309 feet and an extreme beam of 64 feet, displaced 6,315 tons, and had a complement of 30 officers and 362 enlisted men. She carried two 12-inch and six 6-inch guns and was equipped with four 14-inch torpedo tubes. For protection she carried 12-inches of steel armor, and while not the titan of later years, for her era she was one of the most powerful ships in the world. Credit: U.S. Navy

U.S. NAVY SEA HAWK HELICOPTER TAKES OFF

DUMP TRUCKS IN AFGHANISTAN WORKING TO BUILD ROADS

MOSCOW FROM SPACE

Moscow appears at the center of this nighttime image photographed by the Expedition 30 crew aboard the International Space Station, flying at an altitude of approximately 240 miles on March 28, 2012. A solar array panel for the space station is on the left side of the frame. The view is to the north-northwest from a nadir of approximately 49.4 degrees north latitude and 42.1 degrees east longitude, about 100 miles west-northwest of Volgograd. The Aurora Borealis, airglow and daybreak frame the horizon. Image Credit: NASA

APOLLO 13 CREW

NASA's Apollo 13 was slated to be the United States' third lunar landing mission. It launched April 11, 1970, at 2:13 p.m. EST from Launch Pad 39A in Florida. From left to right are mission commander Jim Lovell, command module pilot John Swigert and lunar module pilot Fred W. Haise. The mission was aborted after the service module oxygen tank ruptured. Still, the mission was classified as a "successful failure" because of the experience gained in rescuing the crew. As the crew finished a 49-minute TV broadcast showing how comfortably they lived and worked in weightlessness on the evening of April 13, Lovell finished the interview stating, "This is the crew of Apollo 13 wishing everybody there a nice evening, and we're just about ready to close out our inspection of Aquarius and get back for a pleasant evening in Odyssey. Good night." Nine minutes later, oxygen tank No. 2 blew up, causing the No. 1 tank to also fail. The command module's normal supply of electricity, light and water was lost. The crew was about 200,000 miles from Earth. After an intensive investigation, the Apollo 13 Accident Review Board identified the cause of the explosion. In 1965, the command mudule had undergone many improvements that included raising the permissible voltage to the heaters in the oxygen tanks from 28 to 65 volts DC. Unfortunately, the thermostatic switches on these heaters weren't modified to suit the change. During one final test on the launch pad, the heaters were on for a long period of time. This subjected the wiring in the vicinity of the heaters to very high temperatures (1,000 degrees F), which were subsequently shown to have severely degraded the Teflon insulation. The thermostatic switches started to open while powered by 65 volts DC and were probably welded shut. Furthermore, other warning signs during testing went unheeded and the tank, damaged from eight hours of overheating, was a potential bomb the next time it was filled with oxygen. That bomb exploded on April 13, 1970 -- 200,000 miles from Earth. The Apollo 13 crew safely landed in the Pacific on April 17, 1970. Image Credit: NASA

HOME WORLD EARTH

"A 'Blue Marble' image of the Earth taken from the VIIRS instrument aboard NASA's most recently launched Earth-observing satellite - Suomi NPP. This composite image uses a number of swaths of the Earth's surface taken on January 4, 2012. The NPP satellite was renamed 'Suomi NPP' on January 24, 2012 to honor the late Verner E. Suomi of the University of Wisconsin. Suomi NPP is NASA's next Earth-observing research satellite. It is the first of a new generation of satellites that will observe many facets of our changing Earth. Suomi NPP is carrying five instruments on board. The biggest and most important instrument is The Visible/Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite or VIIRS.

ASTRONAUT TRAINING JET FLIES OVER WASHINGTON

A NASA T-38 training jet is seen as it flies over Washington, DC, Thursday, April 5, 2012. NASA, in cooperation with the Federal Aviation Administration, conducted training and photographic flights over the DC metropolitan area. T-38 aircraft have been used for astronaut training for more than 30 years as they allow pilots and mission specialists to think quickly in changing situations, experiences astronauts say are critical to practicing for the rigors of spaceflight. Image Credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz

AIR FORCE SPACE BASED INFRARED SYSTEM PAYLOAD IS LAUNCHED

FUTURE FLIGHT

Aeronautics: New Ideas for Greener Aircraft We are accelerating the nation’s transition to the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) and making commercial aviation safer, more fuel efficient, quieter, and more environmentally friendly through investments in revolutionary concepts for air vehicles and air traffic management. Three industry teams spent 2011 studying how to meet NASA's goals for making future aircraft burn 50 percent less fuel than aircraft that entered service in 1998, emit 75 percent fewer harmful emissions; and shrink the size of geographic areas affected by objectionable airport noise by 83 percent. Image Credit: NASA

ARES I-X TEST ROCKET SOARS

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - With more than 12 times the thrust produced by a Boeing 747 jet aircraft, the Constellation Program's Ares I-X test rocket roars off Launch Complex 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The rocket produces 2.96 million pounds of thrust at liftoff and goes supersonic in 39 seconds. Liftoff of the 6-minute flight test was at 11:30 a.m. EDT Oct. 28. This was the first launch from Kennedy's pads of a vehicle other than the space shuttle since the Apollo Program'sSaturn rockets were retired. The parts used to make the Ares I-X booster flew on 30 different shuttle missions ranging from STS-29 in 1989 to STS-106 in 2000. The data returned from more than 700 sensors throughout the rocket will be used to refine the design of future launch vehicles and bring NASA one step closer to reaching its exploration goals. NASA/Sandra Joseph and Kevin O'Connell

BRANDT'S RANDOM GOVERNMENT PRESS RELEASES

MOON TRAVELING ACROSS THE SUN

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Panetta, Clinton joint press briefing

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