A surprising piece of news was buried in an article this week. Friday, The Mercury News reported the three top executives at Google, Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Eric Schmidt, are offering to pay $33 million to finish the restoration of the historic airship hangar at Moffett Field. The giant structure, built in the 1930s and called Hangar One, sits a few miles from the Googleplex and it’s well known the Google executives have special permission from NASA to park their jets at Moffett.

The jets are not owned or operated by Google. Instead, the 3 Google leaders operate the fleet through an LLC called H211. Google has no official relation with H211. Ken Ambrose, the Director of Operations for H211, announced the funding offer at a public meeting this week. He also complained that NASA, which owns Hangar One, has taken too long to respond to the offer.

On first glance, it sounds like a purely noble gesture by the Google trio. The building is in the middle of a project to strip toxic materials in its siding. Lack of taxpayer funding to complete the project has raised fears that could lead to the demolition of one of the world’s largest freestanding structures.

But, as the Mercury News reported, “There’s a catch: They want to use up to two-thirds of the floor space of the hangar to house their fleet of eight private jets.” Most of the members on the Hangar One committee, along with the local congresswoman, support the idea, although there is some concern about the public-private partnership.

But whoa. Wait a minute. The Google execs own eight jets? 2.6 jets per person, for the 2 co-founders and the executive chairman?

In 2007, TechCrunch reported on the Google execs first jet, a modified Boeing 767 and the controversy it created. (See Search Engine Land’s Guide To The Google Jet for more info.) In addition to the Boeing 767-200, they own two Gulfstream Vs.

Later, in 2007, the team picked up another Boeing, a 757 this time. A NASA lease document with tenant H211 lists those four planes. (PDF: see Exhibit C) Images of the Google jets can be seen here. Despite some fake images appearing around the web, there’s no Google logo on the planes.

In 2008, the New York Times reported they appear to have added a Dornier Alpha fighter jet to their fleet.

But, counting the fighter jet, that’s only 5 jets. What about the other 3? Perhaps, the Merc got the number wrong?

Thanks to a “Google Search,” two more articles came up confirming Ken Ambrose said “8″ planes at the meeting. One in the Mountain View Voice, and another with detailed notes of the Moffett Field Restoration Advisory Board subcommittee meeting on a Moffett Users website. At the meeting, a member of “Save Hangar One” said they don’t want to see “Google” in 200-foot letters on the hangar as part of the deal. Ambrose said the Google team didn’t want that either.

TechCrunch is trying to contact Mr. Ambrose for more information about the additional three jets.

The Google leaders and their friends are not the only ones using the jets. NASA conducts flights on the planes with its own researchers and equipment to gain scientific data. That deal was part of the unusual agreement with NASA allowing the Google team the use of Moffett Field, an airport closed to private aircraft. When that deal was announced, it raised concerns from the local community leaders opposed to expansion at Moffett. Other Silicon Valley private jet owners and users, who are not allowed to use the airport, couldn’t have been pleased either.

The Google jet fleet has been a source of fighting and controversy over the years. The Wall Street Journal reported on the lawsuits with its contractors and the famous dispute, settled by Schmidt, over what size beds the co-founders would have on the plane.

Of course, lots of CEOs and executives own or lease private jets. On one hand, the Google leaders can spend their money any way they please. Their time is valuable, and using the jets makes them more efficient. On the other hand, using private jets is not very environmentally friendly for leaders of a company that prides itself on being green. See Google Green.

Speaking of private jets, Michael Arrington posted this photo of the TechCrunch jet on his posterous page in 2010. It hasn’t been seen since our AOL buyout.

While giveaways and “follow us and win!” contests aren’t always worth calling out, this promotion from @NASA is too great to pass up. They’re planning on inviting 150 of their followers to watch the Curiosity Mars Rover launch. Yes, the actual launch, from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The tweetup will take place just prior to the launch window, which begins at 10:21 a.m. EST on Nov. 25. That is, of course, the day after Thanksgiving, which is a NASA holiday. So activities commence on the 23rd and you can forage around Orlando for spare turkeys. You’ll return for the launch on the 25th, and you’re welcome to stick around for up to an extra 24 hours if the launch is delayed by bad weather or sabotage.

Note that this trip is not paid for! You will be invited to the launch and will have a chance to tour the facility and rub elbows with NASA staff, but you’re responsible for your flight and accommodation. What, you think they have room in their budget to put up 150 freeloaders for three nights?

Registration opens at noon eastern time on October 5th and ends on the 7th. You have to have a Twitter account to win, which sadly leaves me out. They’ll be releasing updates and registration info with the hashtag #NASAtweetup, so keep an eye out.

You’ve likely already heard about that defunct six-ton satellite hurtling its way to the Earth’s surface. Unless you’re paranoid, you also know that the chances of this changing anyone’s life, anywhere (save for a few NASA peeps) are very small. Like, microscopic.

Still, it’s been a slow news week and the media has to keep pumping things out — and so begins the emergence of a thousand different news stories on several hunks of space metal that will likely land in an ocean. Rather than feign some notion of severity in this situation, my favorite comedic newscaster Stephen Colbert has weighed in.

While his stats may be a little off (I mean, he’s no Walter Cronkite, and decidedly so), his analysis of the situation is solid: NASA clearly doesn’t know what the bleep it’s talking about.

Have a little giggle at the video below, and try not to fret if you’re one of those people who worries about every possible disaster: there’s only a 1-in-3,200 chance that someone somewhere in the world will be hit.

Space buffs like me are sure to get a kick out of this one: NASA has released a score of historical sound bites from the space program for use as ringtones or system sounds.

I ask you, what could be more appropriate to herald an error on your PC than Jack Swigert’s “Houston, we have a problem” from Apollo 13? Or, alternately, what better way to celebrate a successful boot than listening to the ground crew celebrate Apollo 11′s liftoff?

The sounds on offer range from bizarre (like Saturn: Radio Emissions #1) to funny (the guys on Apollo 12 really had a sense of humor) to heartwarming (think Apollo 8′s “Merry Christmas” to the planet earth).

While I appreciate NASA doing a solid for all us smartphone users, and as cool as it is to have snippets of history on your phone, only a few of the sounds really have what I call “ringtone potential.” The Sputnik beep? Sure, why not. Sally Ride comparing her first shuttle launch to a ride at Disneyland? Not so much.

In an effort to be as platform-agnostic as possible, all the sounds are available as MP3s and M4Rs. Android users have an easier time of things here, as all they need to do is download (or update) the NASA App from the Android Market.

This beauty is a Nikon F Photomic T, which first hit the streets all the back in 1965. Aside from being a gorgeous piece of retro tech, it’s also one of several NASA-owned cameras from the estate of collector Arthur Keir that have been put up for auction.

Keir’s NASA collection spans the decades, from the Nikon F you see above, to its successor the Nikon F2 (1978), to a bulky Canon L2 video camera that flew on the Space Shuttle Columbia (1998).

For those less interested in photography, Keir has also amassed quite a bit of NASA effluvia, ranging from a glove bladder to thermal slippers, both of which were meant for extra-vehicular activity.

If this blast from the past has you reaching for your wallet, be warned: prices seem to be a bit on the steep side. Still, some of these pieces could be gifts of a lifetime to the maniacal photographer in your life, so feel free to check out the rest of Keir’s collection. Even if you resist the temptation to buy something, you’re sure to get your daily dose of retro camera porn.

Yes, that headline sounds a little ridiculous. But it’s not much of an exaggeration.

Today Google has posted a video showcasing how the Nexus S is being used by NASA to power its SPHERE satellites — the free-floating devices that NASA says were actually inspired by the lightsaber sparring droid seen in Star Wars. The satellites have been on the International Space Station since 2006, so they obviously predate Android, but they include a special expansion port that lets NASA add additional sensors and other capabilities.

Which is where the Nexus S comes in. After taking a ride up to the ISS on the last manned Shuttle launch, two Nexus S devices are being used by NASA to give these droids — err, robots — more powers. The SPHEREs are taking advantage of the Nexus’s CPU to power its ‘brains’, and the phone’s sensors allow it to monitor more external data. One of the neatest new features: NASA is planning to use the phone’s Wifi connection to control devices remotely from Earth.

In the video, NASA lays a lot of love on Android, which it says is “the first commercial smartphone certified by NASA to fly on the space shuttle and to be cleared for use on the space station”. Research engineer DW Wheeler says that NASA went with the Nexus S because “the phone is very easy to take apart. Android is easy to program, we’re familiar with it, and we needed to make a lot of customizations that are easier to make with Android”.

The fact that the Nexus S would be sent on the Space Shuttle to the ISS was announced back in July, but the new video includes some footage and background videos of it in action. This is actually Android’s second adventure into the great beyond — back in December, Google showed off footage of some Nexus S devices taking rides through the atmosphere on some large weather balloons.

Better lay your millions on the table now and reserve your spot on the ISS now. Russia, NASA, and the rest of the ISS’ partners announced today that they are going to allow the ISS to crash into the atmosphere after it’s decommissioned in 2020. The reason? Space doesn’t need more junk.

The first ISS component launched in 1998 and has slowly grown into a large space station with 15 units. The original plan was to bring the ISS down in 2015 but the European Space Agency extended its life to 2020. But it can’t stay up there forever.

The ISS will eventually follow the path blazed by Skylab and MIR and fall to Earth. The intent is to have it crash harmlessly into the Pacific Ocean. However, as Australia will confess that, plans don’t always work out. See Skylab history.

Not all is lost in space, though. Discovery notes that Russia, like the US, are currently developing a new launch vehicle. The US retired the Space Shuttle earlier this month and Russia plans on doing the same to its Soyuz craft in 2015. Manned space exploration is seemingly still in the cards. Let’s just hope it doesn’t fall victim to politics.

The launch is scheduled for 11:26 EDT today, but it might not happen. The weather isn’t cooperating but Launch Director Mike Leinbach told the launch team, “We do have a shot at this today.” If today’s launch is scrubbed, they will try again tomorrow.

NASA has the social media thing down. There are several different venues to follow along. The Ustream feed is embedded after the jump and NASA’s official Twitter feed is understandable active this morning. Xeni Jardin also happens to be on site and is liveblogging the event. Follow her updates here.

It’s all up to the weather now. NASA gave a “Go” to fuel the external tank at 2:01AM this morning despite the weather. Lightning actually stuck near the shuttle last night. Atlantis’s 33rd and final mission will be delayed and given a “No Go” if the weather deteriorates. But the weather won’t stop the inevitable. The final Space Shuttle mission will happen in the next few days.

Free Ustream Facebook app

There are two more scheduled spaceflights for the remaining shuttles.

NASA already works with Russia’s space program and has booked 12 flights between now and 2016. These “commercial” flights will replace the regular shuttle missions and hopefully bring the commercialization of space flight closer to a common reality.

“The next American-flagged vehicle to carry our astronauts into space is going to be a U.S. commercial provider,” Ed Mango, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager, said in a statement. “The partnerships NASA is forming with industry will support the development of multiple American systems capable of providing future access to low-Earth orbit.”

via CNET

Don’t fret if NASA passed up your place as one of the Shuttles’ permanent homes as there are plenty of avation icons to go around. Like this Concorde. It’s only $150k. But there’s a catch. Yeah, there’s always a damn catch, but in this case I think it’s better this way.

You see this isn’t a real Concorde. Nope, it’s a 1/2 scale model of the real thing and used to sit atop a British Airways advert in Times Square. This is good. You don’t want a real Concorde. What the hell are you going to do with it? It’s not like you can fly it anywhere. No, what you want is a Concorde to show off to your drinking buddies and this one plays that part nicely. Just think, you get most of the fame of owning a Concorde without the expense of constant upkeep and maintenance. I say go for it. The model will be auctioned off during the Bonhams Space History Sale on May 5th. [Dvice]

30 years ago today the Space Shuttle Columbia blasted off on the first shuttle mission. Two missions ended in disaster, but a total of five different shuttles spent a collective 1289 days in space over 132 missions. The program is set for retirement after Atlantis’ final voyage later this month. The three remaining shuttles, along with the Enterprise prototype, are going to need cozy homes.

Of course every museum around the US wants one, but there are only four shuttles to go around with one already reserved for the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. The shuttles new homes are to cover the $28.8 million cost of prepping and transporting the massive shuttles, but those costs should be easily recovered with ticket sales. NASA has been talking with suitors for the last few months and used the historic anniversary to announce the winners.

Space Shuttle Discovery

Somber fact about the Discovery: After her final space mission this past March, she became the only original Shuttle to survive her final launch and landing unlike the Challenger and Columbia. She’s going to end up at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum to replace the Enterprise prototype.

Space Shuttle Atlantis

The Atlantis first took off from Kennedy Space Center in April of 1985 and flew for the last time on May 14, 2010. She logged 120 million miles over 32 missions. Her final destination will be in Florida at the Kennedy Space Center after NASA removes all the dangerous fluids and equipment.

Space Shuttle Endeavour

Save a disaster, the youngest Space Shuttle Endeavour is on her way to the California Science Center in Los Angeles after flying her Space Shuttle mission later this month.

Enterprise prototype

The Enterprise is to be moved from its current home at the Smithsonian to the Intrepid Sea Air and Space Museum located on Manhattan’s West Side. While it never actually reached outer space, the Enterprise conducted upper atmosphere test flights and actually flew over New York City in 1983. Likewise, NYC itself never had a major historical claim to the Shuttle like several other vying locations, but the 1943 warship museum does pull in close to a million visitors a year and helped recovery early NASA launch vehicles.

Update: Atlantis is the final shuttle mission and the post was updated as such. Thanks for pointing out the error.

Get ready for a nuclear-powered spacecraft—maybe! The Russian Federal Space Agency says that it will hold talks with Nasa and a number of countries on April 15 to see if they can’t get started on creating a “nuclear engine” by 2012. Such an engine, it’s believed, would only cost around $600m to develop.

There’s a few issues here, and the first is the expectation that people will freak out upon hearing “nuclear-powered spacecraft,” particularly after what’s happened in Japan these past few weeks. Odds are we won’t be able to travel to far-off world using currently available engines, so if we’re serious about getting off this planet—let’s not forget Stephen Hawking’s warning—we’re going to have to seriously think about bigger, more powerful engines.

Whether or not the engine being proposed by Russia will be used for propulsion or merely to generate electricity is unclear.

What is clear, however, is that Nasa isn’t exactly hurting for nuclear engine designs. It’s just a matter of sorting out the funding, and possibly trying to calm the nerves of the public.

The delay also allows NASA to repair slight damage recent Florida storms caused to the protective foam on the shuttle’s external fuel tank. But if all goes as planned, the youngest of all the Space Shuttles is set to blast off from the Kennedy Space Station for the very last time on April 29th. Sad.

Image from Wikipedia and here’s a link to a massive version in case you want to make a poster.

Nasa is planning to stream their next launch in HD. This will be the first time Nasa will show a launch in HD on their online HDTV channel. The ISS crew will fly out to the ISS in the Soyuz spacecraft from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Make sure you’re around for the launch on April 4th at 5:18 pm EST.

You can watch the events leading up to the launch, along with the launch, here.

Press Release

It’s not impossible that it could be reinvigorated by a fresh breeze and some sun (like many of us), but things don’t look good.

If James Cameron were to take all the revenues from both Titanic and Avatar, then he may be able to send his own mars rover to space. That’s the closest he’ll ever get to having his 3D tech blasted into orbit now that Nasa pulled the plug on his plans.

The Hollywood director along with San Diego-based tech firm, Malin Space Science Systems, had plans to install special 3D zoom-lenses on the mars rover named Curiosity, but Nasa says there just wasn’t enough time to test it before launch.

Cameron lobbied Nasa last year to install the special 3D motion cameras on Curiosity. The footage would then be used to bring 3D video content from space to the public. “While Curiosity won’t benefit from the 3-D motion imaging that the zooms enable, I’m certain that this technology will play an important role in future missions,” Cameron said.

[via The Telegraph]

One day after McAfee warned about the dangers of corporations becoming vulnerable to hackers, we now learn that Nasa has similar concerns. Its inspector general, Paul Martin, has written a report [PDF] entitled “Security Practices Expose Key Nasa Network To Cyber Attack,” and you can guess what that means. Actually, don’t bother guessing. The report warns that six of Nasa’s servers that just so happen to contain critical data are vulnerable to remote attack. And if a hacker were so inclined, he could exploit those vulnerabilities to get further inside Nasa, wreaking all sorts of havoc (say, “cripple Nasa’s operations”) in the process. Again, panic.

The report criticizes Nasa for both not recognizing or doing much of anything to address these problems. Head in the sand, la-la-la nothing’s happening, nothing’s happening, that kind of thing.

Oh: the inspector general made these same warnings last year, and Nasa, apparently, hasn’t done a darn thing to address the situation.

Then again, given that Nasa has the budget of the average lemonade stand it’s probably not too surprising to learn that it has to be selective where it applies its resources.

But don’t worry! Nasa says that it will now take Martin’s reports to heart, and that it will do something to make sure evildoers don’t cause any mischief.

Why this is making a splash today, I can’t really answer, but here we go. Nasa published a white paper [PDF] in November that discusses how best to protect our GPS satellites from any sort of impropriety. The primary suggestion is to have the president declare our GPS satellites critical infrastructure. Once they’ve been classified as such the Department of Homeland Security will be put in charge of making sure they’re fully operational.

Once that’s taken care of you can move onto the smaller steps: establish a program to more quickly report (and subsequently repair) any malfunctioning satellite; criminalize the jamming of GPS signals; tell commercial manufacturers to ensure that their GPS devices don’t clonk out because, say, it’s cloudy outside or there’s a light breeze; and and to fun a GPS back-up service. If, for whatever James Bond reason, the satellites stop working and GPS ceases to function it’d be helpful to have a Plan B so that airplanes don’t fall out of the sky and whatnot.

(There used to be a system that could accomplish much the same tasks as GPS called LORAN, based on radio, but that’s been phased out in the U.S.)

It turns out that The Economist recently reported on a DARPA project that would create a free smartphone app that people could use that would detect GPD jammers. Once detected, the app would inform the authorities that something was afoot, much like that “good citizen” app that made headlines several months ago.