Logos representative only and should not be seen as an endorsement / preference / recommendation
Updates from the week through to Sunday, December 18th, 2022
This summary is generally published every Monday, and is a list of SL viewer / client releases (official and TPV) made during the previous week. When reading it, please note:
It is based on my Current Viewer Releases Page, a list of all Second Life viewers and clients that are in popular use (and of which I am aware), and which are recognised as adhering to the TPV Policy. This page includes comprehensive links to download pages, blog notes, release notes, etc., as well as links to any / all reviews of specific viewers / clients made within this blog.
By its nature, this summary presented here will always be in arrears, please refer to the Current Viewer Release Page for more up-to-date information.
Note that for purposes of length, TPV test viewers, preview / beta viewers / nightly builds are generally not recorded in these summaries.
Official LL Viewers
Release viewer: Maintenance P (Preferences, Position and Paste) RC viewer version 6.6.8.576863 Monday, December 12.
Release channel cohorts:
Maintenance Q RC viewer, version 6.6.9.577220, issued on December 16.
Project viewers:
glTF / PBR Materials project viewer, version 7.0.0.577157, December 14.
This viewer will only function on the following Aditi (beta grid) regions: Materials1; Materials Adult and Rumpus Room 1 through 4.
The Arctic Sanctuary, December 2022 – click any image for full size
Nailah Carlucci-Remain (Nailah Carlucci) recently invited me to visit her latest design, The Arctic Sanctuary. which she co-hold with Satria Pexington. Occupying a Homestead region, it is – as the name suggests – an Arctic setting, albeit it one with seasonal touches throughout and with the typical quirk of such settings in Second Life.
Walk through an arctic expanse, among the polar bears and penguins. Then climb onto the enchanted Hogwartz express. From there, stop for some tea and a look at the art and charming rooms at the classical chateau. Then warm yourself at the Christmas village for hot chocolate, ginger snaps, games and lots of skating. Take the balloon ride for a tour of the region.
– Nailah Carlucci-Remain (Nailah Carlucci)
The Arctic Sanctuary, December 2022
The balloon tour is actually one of the first elements in the region arriving visitors may encounter, sitting as it does alongside the landing point in the north-west of the setting. The landing point is perhaps a little unsteady, being an ice floe tipping and pitching in the waves. From here the path runs by way of ice passing around the base of an iceberg to where the flank of a larger iceberg blocks the way forward, necessitating a climb up the ice face.
A set of climbing poses rise at the ice cliff, but these appear to be poses only, not animations; to get to the top of the ice is a manual climb. From here it is possible to climb up to a small bivouac or continue onwards over the ice to the rest of the region, starting with a headland where penguins play and polar bears hunt for fish along the edge of the water. Hot pools, there sides formed by calcified sulphur, sit across the spit of land from where the polar bears are seeking a meal, suggesting this is a volcanic location.
The Arctic Sanctuary, December 2022
As the land opens out a little, visitors arrive at the express train mentioned in the description above – although a ride aboard it is liable to be problematic given the engine sits derailed with a snowdrift (not that it had anywhere to go; the rails end at the drift and rocks, presenting the train more for photographic purposes than a means of transit).
Within the carriages are the elements of the Harry Potter series also referenced in the description. These can be enjoyed by those boarding the train, the restaurant car offering tea and cakes via magically floating service tables. The best way to board the carriages is via the rails that bend away from the main track to the trestle bridge on which the carriages sit, and then entering the first carriage via the forward door.
The Arctic Sanctuary, December 2022
The chateau and village lie beyond the tunnel from which the train is emerging, the tunnel or the snow and ice at the foot of hill it cuts its way through apparently the only ways by which to reach either the village or the chateau on foot. The trip through the tunnel reveals another of the region’s little quirks (the first being the presence of penguins in an Arctic setting; a not unusual factor in winter / polar settings in SL despite the incongruity, as noted at the start of this article): whilst the tunnel has at one end a railway line exiting it, at the other it has a paved footpath passing over a stone bridge, a broad drive pointing north to the chateau, steps to the east descending down to the little village.
The chateau is pleasing furnished as a period setting offering plenty of opportunity for photography; the village offers a range of attractions, including ice skating, a catch-a-Santa game, cosy indoor sitting and outdoor paces to enjoy roasted chestnuts or hot chocolate. Interactive elements exist throughout the region, both above and below the waves.
The Arctic Sanctuary, December 2022
When aboard the train for example, it is possible to obtain drinks from the elf and also touch the books for a few surprises; and should you be tempted by the treasure at the bottom of the waters under the rail bridge, you might find yourself becoming a snack for Bruce the Shark (film buffs may get the reference here). And even if you get past him, another surprise awaits at the treasure itself – you have been warned! In the meantime, for those who prefer their critters a little more sedate, there are a number of ice sculptures scattered around the setting.
An easy visit, The Arctic Sanctuary offers multiple opportunities for photography and interactive elements that help to make a visit fun and just a little bit different from the usual seasonal fare this time of year. All of which makes time spent within the region worthwhile.
Ammonia coolant spews from the Soyuz MS-22 vehicle docked against the Rassvet module of the International Space Station. Credit: NASA TV
A potentially serious issue occurred at the International Space Station this week when Soyuz MS-22 developed a coolant leak in the early hours of Thursday, December 14th, almost 3 months after the vehicle had docked with the station to deliver Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin, together with American astronaut Francisco Rubio to commence a 6-month tour of duty.
Named for Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, the father of Russian cosmonautics, the vehicle experienced an uncontrolled leak of ammonia coolant which started at 00:45 UTC and ran for several hours, generating stream of material jetting outwards from the vehicle and causing the station crew to have to stabilise the structure.
At the time the leak was detected, cosmonauts Petelina and Prokopyev were preparing to embark on a spacewalk to carry out maintenance work on the Russian segment of the ISS, where the Soyuz is docked. The EVA was called off due to concerns the cosmonaut’s spacesuits could be contaminated with the hazardous coolant fluid.
A second Russian EVA set for December 21st was also later cancelled over concerns about the leak; however, NASA initially indicated a spacewalk due to talk place on the US / International side of the station would go ahead, later deciding to postpone it in favour of assisting Roscosmos in trying to assess the amount of damage caused to the Soyuz – and possibly to the ISS.
As the leak curtailed, cosmonaut Anna Kikina – the first Russian to fly to the ISS aboard an American commercial crew vehicle as a part of a seat exchange programme between NASA and Russian space agency Roscosmos – used a European-built robotic arm attached to the Russian Nauka science module delivered to the ISS in 2021 to inspect the Soyuz craft. Further inspections by both the Russians and Americas using their respective robot arms are also being scheduled.
Operated by Anna Kikina, the European- supplied robot arm attached to the Nauka module is extended to image the exterior of Soyuz MS-22 in an attempt to assess the damage caused by the coolant leak. Credit: NASA TV
The exact nature of the leak is unknown. However, the former head of spaceflight safety at the European Space Agency Tommaso Sgobba, believed the leak occurred with the vehicle’s active coolant system, most likely crippling it “beyond repair”. This appeared to be borne out both by the images captured by Kikina using the Nauka module’s robot arm – which shoe extensive damage to the outer skin of the instrument and assembly compartment of the vehicle. Since the leak, Roscosmos has reported the interior temperatures of the vehicle’s pressure modules had risen to 30C which, despite being referred to as being within “acceptable limits”
On Friday, December 16th, 2022, the Russian space agency began remote testing of a number of the vehicle’s systems – including its thrusters – in an attempt to ascertain its space-worthiness.
If the vehicle is unfit to fly, it means Prokopyev, Petelin and Rubio will be unable to use it to make their scheduled return to Earth in March 2023 – although reports that this leaves the three “stranded” in space are somewhat exaggerated. There are a number of ways in which the three can be returned to Earth either individually or collectively:
Soyuz is fully capable of automated flight and docking with the ISS (it can use the same system as the Progress re-supply vehicles – themselves essentially uncrewed Soyuz – to reach the ISS and provide the three with a ride home.
Failing this and allowing for the necessary crew alterations, both Soyuz and Crew Dragon can fly to the ISS with a vacant seat, which can then be used by one of the MS-22 crew.
The Boeing CST-100 Starliner is due to make a crewed flight to the ISS in April / May 2023, a month or two after MS-22 is scheduled to return. It could, with some adjustment to the mission, be used to return one or two of the MS-22 crew as well as the main crew at the end of its week-long stay at the ISS.
Of these three options, the first would appear to be the most likely. For now however, assessments of MS-22’s overall condition are on-going and (for now) leave the door open on a fourth option: if the vehicle is deemed safe to make an immediate return to Earth, the three crew members curtail their mission and come home three months early.
The Artemis 1 mission to cislunar space is a potential watershed moment in space exploration., potentially the first genuine step in a human return to the Moon, with the potential to reach even further into the solar system. It’s a mission I covered in these pages over a number of articles, up to an including the previous piece. However, for those who would like to relive it in a compressed manner NASA has released a video of the mission’s highlight from launch to splash-down.
Running to 24 minutes – just shy of a total reflecting the duration of the mission in days – the video is a fascinating compression of the mission, presenting many iconic images of the vehicle, the Moon and Earth.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 