James Webb Space Telescope to Now Cost $8.7 Billion

 
WASHINGTON — NASA has confirmed a new cost estimate for its James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) that a key congressional appropriator and critic cited in July in proposing to terminate the flagship-class astronomy mission.

"NASA has completed a JWST replan that assumes a revised life-cycle-cost of about $8.7 billion and a launch readiness date of October 2018," agency spokesman Trent Perrotto said in an Aug. 26 email to Space News. "The $8.7 billion life-cycle-cost includes development, launch, and five years of operations and science costs."
That figure is $2.2 billion higher than the already budget-busting lifecycle cost estimate provided by an independent review panel last year. At that time, NASA’s official cost estimate for the James Webb Space Telescope, the designated successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, was about $5 billion.

The Webb telescope, unlike Hubble, would be deployed far from the Earth at an Earth-sun Lagrange point — a point in space where the respective gravitational pulls of the two bodies cancel one another out. Hubble, on the other hand, is in a low Earth orbit and was deployed and later serviced by space shuttle astronauts.
Whereas Hubble makes its observations in visible light spectrum — and to a lesser degree in the ultraviolet and infrared spectra — JWST is optimized for observations in infrared wavelengths. Space.com

Coming Soon to Theaters : 'Underworld: Awakening'

adidas Originals JS Panda

adidas Originals JS Panda
White/Black/White
U42612
August 2011

Kobe Bryant's Nike Zoom Kobe VI “Lakers 3D”

Kobe makes plays that make you jump out of your seat, and if he ever gets a chance to lace up for the Lakers again, he’ll rock kicks that jump off the screen. Following the “Hollywood” Zoom Kobe VI that dropped around All-Star Weekend, this release will feature a white scaly base with yellow and purple 3D print. Mismatching heel cups and outsoles, which feature milky outsoles, provide on-court support. No release date is known for this one just yet, but expect it sometime this fall. You know, when the NBA season is supposed to start. NiceKicks

Nike Zoom Kobe VI “Lakers 3D”
White/Purple-Yellow-Grey
Fall/Holiday 2011
$130

 

adidas adiZero Rose 2.0 “Windy City”

Chinese exclusives and debut colorways always cause a stir. Is the adidas adiZero Rose 2.0 “Windy City” both? While the latest D-Rose signature has been seen before, this makeup looks to be the most official unveiling of the model yet. A red Sprintweb upper shows Crazy Light inspiration with backing from a black heel piece and ankle strap. Light blue laces and accents prove eye catching while an “All Flights Cancelled” theme plays on the tongue and insoles. NiceKicks 

adidas adiZero Rose 2.0
“Windy City”

adidas adiZero Rose 2.0
“Windy City”

 

Jordan 8.0 White/Grey-Blue

The Air Jordan 8 has often been identified as one of the first sneakers to step away from the traditional designs seen from the Air Jordan 3 to the Air Jordan 7. It seems only fitting that the Jordan 8.0 be one of the first hybrid Jordans to feature a flywire infused upper. Here’s a look at the white/grey/blue colorway of the Jordan 8.0, rumored to drop at select stores such as Ruvilla on October 22. MadOne

BOX OFFICE REPORT Aug 19th - 22nd Weekend

Walt Disney Pictures’ dramatic adaptation of The Help found itself moving up to the 1^st place spot with an estimated tally of $20.4 million, enough cash to win the race this weekend. The film’s sophomore score has increased its domestic gross to $71.8 million after 10 days of release, creating quite a profitable distance from the $25 million price tag. 

 

In the 2^nd place spot goes the reigning champion for the past three weeks, 20^th Century Fox’s origin tale Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The James Franco-Andy Serkis vehicle found another $16.3 million on 3,471 theaters across the nation. With the third frame’s numbers in the bag, the studio has $133.7 million after 17 days of release. If you want to include the $94.1 million it has from early foreign market distribution, this latest “Planet” adventure has $227.9 million worldwide. Not bad at all with director Rupert Wyatt and producers managing to keep its budget down to only $93 million. 

The Weinstein Company, Dimension Films and director Robert Rodriguez continued their family-friendly franchise of Spy Kids this weekend with the release of Spy Kids: All the Time in the World taking down the 3^rd place spot. Led by Jessica Alba and Antonio Banderas, the film launched into 3,295 theaters and found $12.0 million as a result. It may sound like a lackluster premiere for a family film but Team Rodriguez managed to keep their budget low at a cost of only $27 million. 

Unlike the above release, it’s Lionsgate and director Marcus Nispel that should worry about opening score versus budget cost. The two combined to premiere a revised Conan the Barbarian into 3D theaters and yet found only $10.0 million for the 4^th place spot. With the film entering 3,015 theaters, the average came out to only $3,317 per showing and they have quite a ways to go before they could hope to touch the $90 million budget. For their part, Lionsgate executives didn’t sugarcoat their lackluster results beyond remembering better times.  Mania.com

Rank	Movie	Weekend	Theaters	Average	Total	Budget
1	The Help	$20.4 mil	2,690	$7,613	$71.8 mil	$25
2	Rise of the Planet of the Apes	$16.3 mil	3,471	$4,696	$133.7 mil	$93
3	Spy Kids: All the Time in the World	$12.0 mil	3,295	$3,648	$12.0 mil	$27
4	Conan the Barbarian	$10.0 mil	3,015	$3,317	$10.0 mil	$90
5	The Smurfs	$8.0 mil	3,057	$2,617	$117.7 mil	$110
6	Fright Night	$7.9 mil	3,114	$2,537	$8.3 mil	$30
7	Final Destination 5	$7.7 mil	3,155	$2,442	$32.3 mil	$40
8	30 Minutes or Less	$6.3 mil	2,888	$2,181	$25.7 mil	$28
9	One Day	$5.1 mil	1,719	$2,983	$5.1 mil	$15
10	Crazy, Stupid, Love	$4.9 mil	1,940	$2,552	$64.4 mil	$50

 

Will and Jada respond to split rumors

Will and Jada Smith have issued a statement confirming they are still together after a report surfaced on Tuesday suggesting their 13-year marriage had come to an end. "Although we are reluctant to respond to these types of press reports, the rumors circulating about our relationship are completely false. We are still together, and our marriage is intact," Will and Jada said in a joint statement, issued to Access Hollywood. 

On Tuesday morning, InTouch Weekly claimed the Hollywood superstar couple has decided to split after 13 years of marriage. Will, 42, and Jada, 39, tied the knot in 1997. They have two children together - Jaden, 13, and Willow, 10. Will also has a son, Trey, 18, from a previous marriage. Will's previous marriage to Sheree Zampino lasted from 1992 to 1995. Will and Jada reportedly met when Jada auditioned for a role on Will's long-running series "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air." Back in 2008, Will opened up about his marriage during a visit to "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," and at the time, said "divorce is not an option." 

"What I found is divorce just can't be an option," Will told Ellen at the time. "It's really that simple. And I think that's the problem with L.A. - there are so many options. So a huge part of the success for [Jada] and I is that we just removed the other options." In 2005, Access spoke with Will while he was promoting "Hitch" to talk about the secret to making a marriage work. "Jada and I spend a lot of time studying relationships and why things work and why things don't work," Will told Access Hollywood at the time. "You've gotta love every aspect, you've gotta love it from every angle," Will later added. Meanwhile, Jada said one of the secrets to the couple's success was finding time - and a place - for each other. "You have to be willing to move around -- to move your romance around. Kitchen, closet, park, parked car," she laughed during the "Collateral" junket in 2004. "You'd be surprised!"

On Monday, Will was photographed in Miami and it appeared he was not wearing a wedding ring. However, it should be noted, Will often does not wear his ring. 

KICKS ON CELEBS: Aug 21st - Trey Songz, Dave Chappelle, Diddy...

Trey Songz in the Converse Chuck Taylor Black/White

Joe Budden in the Nike Zoom Hyperdunk 2011 Blake Griffin "10.0" PE

A-Trak in the Air Jordan 3 Black/Cement

Big Boi in the Air Jordan 7 "Bordeaux" and Dave Chappelle in the adidas Attitude White/Black-Grey

Don C in the Air Jordan 8 "Aqua"

LeBron James in the Nike Air Max LeBron Ambassador IV White/Black-Red

Rihanna in the Vans Authentic Black/White

P. Diddy in the Air Jordan 6 "Lakers" and Baron Davis in the Concepts x New Balance 1500 "Freedom Trail"

Wale in the Nike Air Max LeBron VII "Christ The King"

Meek Mill in the Air Jordan 2.0 Black/Red-Green

Pharrell Williams skates in the Vans Vault Old Skool "Heavy Metal Pack"

Wale in the Nike LeBron 8 V2 Low "Solar Red"

Memphis Bleek in the Air Jordan 6 Black/Infrared

Swizz Beatz in Maison Martin Margiela 22 Leather Chain Lace-up Sneakers

Swizz Beatz in the Reebok Kamikaze III Red/Red

Las Vegas best place to buy home

With prices at 20-year lows, Las Vegas ranks as the best city in the country to buy a home instead of renting, a survey by San Francisco-based Trulia.com real estate listing service shows. Home ownership beats renting in 74 percent of 50 major U.S. cities included in Trulia's Summer 2011 Rent vs. Buy Index, which compares the cost of buying and renting a two-bedroom apartment, condo or townhouse. Joining Las Vegas in the top five cities are Detroit; Mesa, Ariz.; Fresno, Calif.; and Arlington, Texas. Las Vegas came in with a price-to-rent ratio of 6, based on Trulia's median list price of $58,000 divided by $9,700 for 12 months of rent, or about $800 a month. 

"Homes in Las Vegas are a bargain by any criteria you want to apply -- comparative price approach to other cities, cost to replicate, investment approach," Murphy said. "That's why we're selling 50,000-plus resale homes each of the past two years. The only problem is, you need cash to be a buyer in this market because of high unemployment and lenders who don't really want to lend." Today's record-low mortgage rates have actually made banks less enthusiastic about approving residential mortgage applications. Until a middle ground on lending practices can be met, many highly qualified buyers may be forced to be renters for now. 

The five cities where it's clearly better to rent than buy are New York; Fort Worth, Texas; Omaha, Neb.; Seattle; and San Francisco. MadOne

Billionaire funds artificial libertarian islands

Pay Pal founder and early Facebook investor Peter Thiel has given $1.25 million to an initiative to create floating libertarian countries in international waters, according to a profile of the billionaire in Details magazine. Thiel has been a big backer of the Seasteading Institute, which seeks to build sovereign nations on oil rig-like platforms to occupy waters beyond the reach of law-of-the-sea treaties. The idea is for these countries to start from scratch--free from the laws, regulations, and moral codes of any existing place. Details says the experiment would be "a kind of floating petri dish for implementing policies that libertarians, stymied by indifference at the voting booths, have been unable to advance: no welfare, looser building codes, no minimum wage, and few restrictions on weapons."


"There are quite a lot of people who think it's not possible," Thiel said at a Seasteading Institute Conference in 2009, according to Details. (His first donation was in 2008, for $500,000.) "That's a good thing. We don't need to really worry about those people very much, because since they don't think it's possible they won't take us very seriously. And they will not actually try to stop us until it's too late." The Seasteading Institute's Patri Friedman says the group plans to launch an office park off the San Francisco coast next year, with the first full-time settlements following seven years later. Thiel made news earlier this year for putting a portion of his $1.5 billion fortune into an initiative to encourage entrepreneurs to skip college.

Another Silicon Valley titan, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, announced in June that he would be funding the "Clock of the Long Now." The clock is designed to keep ticking for 10,000 years, and will be built in a mountain in west Texas. MadOne

'Real Housewives' star found dead

Russell Armstrong, the estranged spouse of "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Taylor Armstrong, was found dead on Monday night at the age of 47, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office confirmed to Access Hollywood. The Los Angeles City Fire Department pronounced Russell dead at 8:16 PM on Monday, the spokesperson told Access. 

Russell, an investment banker, was found at his home on Mulholland Drive in West Los Angeles, the Coroner's Office rep added. The department is treating his death as a suicide, but an official determination will be confirmed on Wednesday after further examination. Taylor issued a statement through her rep on Tuesday afternoon. "Taylor Armstrong is devastated by the tragic events that have unfolded. She requests privacy at this time so that she may comfort her young daughter," the reality star's rep said in a statement to Access Hollywood . "Her thoughts and prayers are also with Russell's 11 and 13 year old sons." Russell had been featured alongside Taylor on Bravo's "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" and their relationship woes were documented on the show.

On Tuesday morning, Bravo issued a statement over the news. "All of us at Bravo are deeply saddened by this tragic news. Our sympathy and thoughts are with the Armstrong family at this difficult time," a spokesperson for the network said in a statement to Access Hollywood. Taylor filed for divorce from Russell last month. The couple tied the knot in 2005 and has one daughter, Kennedy, 5. MadOne

adidas “All Originals, All Icons” Commercial

Nike LeBron 8 “Denim”

We still don’t know what you’d wear this pair with, but the Nike LeBron 8 “Denim” has been spotted in some additional images today. As mentioned in our first look at this DJ Clark Kent creation, this pair sports a dark indigo denim material throughout the majority of the upper, which is set off with gold accents, black piping and a gum colored outsole. This is undoubtedly one of the most unique looks for a performance-based sneaker we’ve ever seen. Nicekicks

Nike LeBron 8 "Denim"