The two-man crew who recently returned from the International Space Station after six months in orbit got a special award from the future: a replica of the Starfleet emblem as seen recenty in Star Trek: Enterprise.

Mike Fincke, NASA astronaut, and Gennady Padalka, Russian cosmonaut, received the trophy during a recent visit to Mission Control in Houston. Fincke and Padalka returned to Earth October 23, after 188 days on the space station for the Expedition 9 mission, and on November 16 came by NASA's Johnson Space Center to thank the flight control team for their part in the mission's success. In turn, members of the ground crew arranged for Fincke and Padalka to be presented with a replica of the Starfleet Command emblem — that is, the new 22nd-century version as seen in the episode "Home" (appropriately enough), which aired the night before the two men landed on the ground in Kazakhstan. (The exact design was taken from a plaque seen in the hallway outside Admiral Forrest's office. See picture at left.)

Not only are several members of Mission Control Star Trek fans, but Fincke is quite the aficionado himself. In fact, while he was in orbit serving as Science Officer of the mission, Fincke had an opportunity to chat with Scott Bakula, using a very long-distance phone connection, while Bakula was on a break from filming Enterprise. Click here for more about the Expedition 9 space station mission.

Air Force Studying Teleportation?

A scientific paper purportedly delivered to the United States Air Force Research Laboratory in August puts forth what appears to be a serious study into the physics of teleportation, the instantaneous transport of matter across a distance without traversing the space in between. The paper examines different theoretical approaches to teleportation, including quantum entanglement (which is raised in the upcoming Enterprise episode "Daedalus"), the alteration of space-time geometry, and even psychic conveyance. The "SciFi" approach, defined as "the disembodied transport of persons or inanimate objects across space by advanced (futuristic) technological means," is identified but then dismissed for further consideration. However, the Introduction of the report credits science fiction of the 1950s and '60s and especially Star Trek ("spawned by the late genius television writer-producer Gene Roddenberry") for popularizing the concept. It was in the 1980s and '90s that developments in quantum theory and general relativity physics raised the prospect that a realistic discussion of teleportation could take place, the report asserts.

The paper, titled "Teleportation Physics Study," can be downloaded in PDF format from the Federation of American Scientists site, fas.org. It is very academic, but if you can even begin to understand it, you can judge for yourself if this is a serious scientific study. A full story on the report can be found at this Space.com link.

Artificial Gravity Becomes a Weighty Issue

By the 22nd Century space engineers have apparently found some exotic way to replicate Earth-like gravity conditions on a starship, so that down is always down and up is always up no matter which deck you're on. One of the principal reasons artificial gravity is so important is that the human body evolved under the influence of Earth's gravity and requires it to remain in good condition. Now that NASA has been directed to eventually send humans back to the Moon and on to Mars, a discussion of artificial gravity has taken on a certain degree of urgency. Several different approaches to the issue are now underway by various universities and research organizations, including the National Space Biomedical Research Institute in Houston, Texas, which is experimenting with short-radius centrifugation of individuals. A full discussion of the topic can be found in this Space.com article.

Solar Sail Launch Date Set

The Planetary Society has announced the launch date for its privately-funded experimental solar-sail vessel, the Cosmos 1. The spacecraft is set to launch on March 1, 2005, from a submerged submarine in the Barents Sea off the coast of Russia. A Volna rocket, retired from Russia's ballistic missile inventory, will boost Cosmos 1 spaceward into a near polar orbit. The mission goal is to perform the first controlled solar-sail flight as the spacecraft is propelled by photons from sunlight.

The concept of the solar-sail vessel as an early mode of space transportation was recognized in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Explorers."

A prototype of the vessel with only two solar-sail blades was launched in 2001, but the rocket did not develop enough thrust and the spacecraft failed to separate from the booster. The new lightship will deploy a full contingent of eight sails, configured like a giant windmill.

"It's been a long road ... four years of development," said Louis Friedman, executive director of The Planetary Society and director of the solar-sail project, in announcing the launch date. More information can be found at this planetary.org link. The society boasts strong ties to Star Trek, with card-carrying members that include Robert Picardo, Andre Bormanis, Michael Okuda and others.