Space Shuttle External Tank Completes Sea Voyage, Arrives in Los Angeles
ET-94, NASA’s last remaining flight-qualified space shuttle external tank, arrives at Marina del Rey, completing its ocean voyage to Los Angeles, on May 18, 2016. Credit: California Science Center/David Knight via collectSPACE.com NASA’s last existing external tank built to launch the space shuttle has made landfall in Los Angeles after a five-week ocean journey. The […]
[Space Transportation Systems] H3 Launch Vehicle
About H3 Launch Vehicle Safer, more useful, more accessibleSupports future space applicationsJapan quality, global standard The H3 Launch Vehicle is a liquid propellant launch vehicle currently under development. This is the first full-scale development of the 21st century. The aim of this development is to respond to launch demands from global customers. Based on our […]
What I Learned by Watching Every 'Star Trek' Show and Movie
The writer finds that when it comes to marathoning “Star Trek,” resistance is futile. Credit: Jeremy Lips / Tom’s Guide Back in 2012, after a difficult year at an unsatisfying job that ended with a disagreeable departure, my life was in rough shape. Freelancing was barely making ends meet. Sending out hundreds of applications was […]
Kepler-223 System: Clues to Planetary Migration
A new study finds a solar system whose planets may resemble the ancient configuration of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. original
Spacewalk to catwalk
ESA and London’s Science Museum are working with leading fashion schools around Europe to design clothes for the space age with Couture in Orbit To source
Stargazing From the International Space Station
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) see the world at night on every orbit — that’s 16 times each crew day. An astronaut took this broad, short-lens photograph of Earth’s night lights while looking out over the remote reaches of the central equatorial Pacific Ocean. To source
Astronaut Hall of Fame Inducts Brian Duffy and Scott Parazynski
Veteran space shuttle astronauts Brian Duffy and Scott Parazynski were enshrined as the 92nd and 93rd members of the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida on Saturday, May 14, 2016. Credit: collectSPACE.com CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame inducted its 15th class of space […]
Why DARPA Is Pursuing the Reusable Military XS-1 Spaceplane
Boeing XS-1 Experimental Spaceplane artist concept. Credit: Boeing ORLANDO, Fla. – Here’s a phrase that’s not repeated everyday in the space community: “You’ve heard Elon’s comments … we want to go beyond that,” Brad Tousley, the head of the tactical technology office at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, said May 15 . Elon, of […]
Full-Scale Production of Plutonium Spacecraft Fuel Still Years Away
The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee has begun producing plutonium-238, but full-scale production of the spacecraft fuel isn’t expected until 2023 at the earliest. Credit: Oak Ridge National Laboratory The United States has begun manufacturing nuclear spacecraft fuel for the first time in a generation, but full production of the stuff […]
Molecular 'Midwives' Helped Give Birth to RNA
Fundamental work on RNA is intended to help assist with probing life’s origins. Credit: NASA/Jenny Mottar All life on Earth uses DNA to encode and store genes, and to pass them on from one generation to the next. RNA, a close molecular relative of DNA, is used within living cells to carry out a wide […]
Glider to Surf the Sky to the Edge of Space
The Perlan 2 glider during a May 9 test flight over Minden, Nev. Credit: Airbus A decade after adventurer and pilot Steve Fossett sailed an engine-less airplane 50,722 feet into the stratosphere, a follow-on glider will attempt to best the record by riding mountain air waves to 90,000 feet, more than twice as high as […]
Voyage around Earth
Human spaceflight and robotic exploration image of the week: The International Space Station has now circled Earth 100 000 times To source
Cut crater
Space science image of the week: A fault cuts through an ancient crater on Mars To source