'Star Wars' Tech: 8 Sci-Fi Inventions and Their Real-Life Counterparts
A long time ago in a studio far, far away, filmmaker George Lucas created one of the seminal works of science fiction: the “Star Wars” movie series. Nearly 40 years later, the ideas introduced by the films are still staples of the genre, and with the theatrical premiere of the latest installment, “Star Wars: The […]
Galileo lifts off
Replay of liftoff of Soyuz carrying Galileo satellites 11 and 12, at 11:51 GMT, from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana To source
ESA confirms James Webb telescope Ariane launch
The next great space observatory took a step closer this week when ESA signed the contract with Arianespace that will see the James Webb Space Telescope launched on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou in October 2018. To source
Stratolaunch Backer Says It Remains Committed to Transforming Space Launch
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, right, confers with airplane designer Burt Rutan during the 2011 unveiling of the Stratolaunch concept.Credit: SpaceNews WASHINGTON — Paul Allen’s Vulcan Aerospace is taking issue with reports that its Stratolaunch project is in jeopardy because of a market shift towards smaller satellites that don’t require the massive mothership the company is building for an […]
Euclid dark Universe mission ready to take shape
Euclid, ESA’s dark Universe mission, has passed its preliminary design review, providing confidence that the spacecraft and its payload can be built. It’s time to start ‘cutting metal’. To source
Spaceplanes Vs. Reusable Rockets – Which Will Win?
This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Live Science’s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Launching satellites, spacecraft and people into space is expensive because we only use our launch vehicles once . After delivering their payloads into orbit, our rockets either burn up in the atmosphere or crash […]
Do the Robot! NASA's Valkyrie Gets Down in New Video
Maybe it’s time to rethink the stiff, mechanical movements of the popular “robot” dance: A new NASA video features the agency’s humanoid R5 robot breaking it down on the dance floor to an epic techno beat. Although the robot, also known as Valkyrie, isn’t as graceful as a prima ballerina or as quick on its […]
Move Over, R2-D2! NASA Already Has Plenty of Robots in Space
NASA’s Robonaut is just one of many real world robots that help astronauts in space.Credit: NASA Robots in space aren’t limited to science fiction: NASA has a long list of robotic technologies currently operating in orbit and benefiting humans, even though astronauts don’t yet have anything like a trusty R2-D2 bleeping comments and questions. The […]
Soyuz Arrives at Station 50 Years After 1st Space Rendezvous by Gemini
Separated by 50 years, Soyuz TMA-19M flies a rendezvous with the International Space Station (at left), just as Gemini 6 and Gemini 7 first did on Dec. 15, 1965.Credit: NASA via collectSPACE.com Fifty years ago, two spacecraft met in orbit, achieving the world’s first rendezvous between two piloted space vehicles. On Tuesday (Dec. 15), two […]
'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' – Review
Mild spoilers ahead. Credit: Disney/Lucasfilm STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENSWritten by Lawrence Kasdan, J.J. Abrams, Michael ArndtDirected by J.J. AbramsFeaturing Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Max von Sydow Reviewing a Star Wars movie is a hazardous […]
[ISS / Japanese Experiment Module (KIBO)] JAXA Astronaut Activity Report, September 2015
JAXA Astronaut Activity Report, September, 2015 Last Updated: December 17, 2015 This is JAXA’s Japanese astronaut activity report for September, 2015. Astronaut Takuya Onishi continues training for his ISS long-duration stay Astronaut Takuya Onishi, a crew member for the Expedition 48/49 mission to the International Space Station (ISS), underwent training for a long-duration mission at […]
Expedition 46 Soyuz Approaches Space Station for Docking
Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko manually docked the Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft on Dec. 15, 2015 to the International Space Station’s Rassvet module after an initial automated attempt was aborted. Flight Engineer Tim Kopra of NASA and Flight Engineer Tim Peake of ESA flanked Malenchenko as he brought the Soyuz to the Rassvet port. To source
Expedition 46 Soyuz Approaches Space Station for Docking
Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko manually docked the Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft on Dec. 15, 2015 to the International Space Station’s Rassvet module after an initial automated attempt was aborted. Flight Engineer Tim Kopra of NASA and Flight Engineer Tim Peake of ESA flanked Malenchenko as he brought the Soyuz to the Rassvet port. To source