NASA To Cryogenically Freeze Satellite Mirrors

coondoggie writes "NASA said it will soon move some of the larger (46 lb) mirror segments of its future James Webb Space Telescope into a cryogenic test facility that will freeze the mirrors to -414 degrees Fahrenheit (~25 K). Specifically, NASA will freeze six of the 18 Webb telescope mirror segments at the X-ray and Cryogenic Facility, or XRCF, at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, in a test to ensure the critical mirrors can withstand the extreme space environments. All 18 segments will eventually be tested at the site. The test chamber takes approximately five days to cool a mirror segment to cryogenic temperatures."

Re:Cryo!

[TapeCutter]

>i>"Some states probably spend millions of dollars keeping staff, equipment, materials, procedures, etc. on hand and updated and still they end up in court because lethal injection doesn't always work right."

Gaffa tape a hand grenade to their face an the won't feel a thing. Since such soultions are obvious I think the underlying argument is about the death penalty itself rather than the form of execution. It's a political argument and as such if you move the legal boundries even in very small ways then it's a "win".

I grew up in Australia, I was 8 when they hung Ronald Ryan [wikipedia.org] but still recall that adults were making a big deal about it. Sure some people deserve stringing up but it leaves no room for error and we all know the legal system is anything but error free. I agree with Albert Pierrepoint [wikipedia.org] who after hanging around 400 people (including a friend) came to the conclusion that capital punishment is not justice, it's formalised revenge. The only "just" way for the death penalty to actually be "just" is on the spot during the act, eg: the Somali pirates that were taken out by snipers.