Space and astronomy news
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – Boeing expects to launch the first unmanned test flight of their commercial CST-100 manned ‘space taxi’ in “early 2017,” said Chris Ferguson, commander of NASA’s final shuttle flight in an exclusive one-on-one interview with Universe Today for an inside look at Boeing’s space efforts. Ferguson is now spearheading Boeing’s human …
Facing sanctions from the United States government, a high-ranking Russian official took to Twitter today (April 29) to express his frustration, warning that NASA has few options should Soyuz flights to the International Space Station cease. “After analyzing the sanctions against our space industry, I suggest to the USA to bring their astronauts to the International …
Continue reading “U.S. Should Send Astronauts To Space Station By Trampoline: Russian Official”
And now, time for some thrilling heroics. NASA astronaut Steve Swanson sent out the first Instagram from space last week wearing none other than a Firefly T-shirt. There’s something to be said about a space-faring guy evoking images of Captain Mal doing the impossible in the plucky Serenity spaceship, isn’t there? We’re happy the epicness …
Continue reading “Shiny: Astronaut Wears ‘Firefly’ T-Shirt In First Instagram From Space”
As Virgin Galactic aims for a spaceflight this year, founder Richard Branson is asking the public to help track down the kid (now an adult) who prompted him to start the company 26 years ago. Above you can see a Virgin video showing an 1988 clip from an old BBC show called “Going Live!” Branson answered …
A secretive mission will pass a quiet milestone at the end of this month when the U.S. Air Force’s unmanned spaceplane the X-37B surpasses 500 days in space. Launched atop an Atlas V rocket flying in a 401 configuration from Cape Canaveral Florida after several delays on December 11th, 2012 on OTV-3, the X-37B has …
Continue reading “The USAF’s Super-Secret X-37B Approaches a Milestone”
Space is a hostile environment for human beings. No part of it will permit you to survive longer than a minute. But what’s the fastest way to die in space? Just in case you were planning to jump out into the vacuum of space without a spacesuit, I urge you to reconsider. There’s nothing but …
Delta 4 Heavy rocket and super secret US spy satellite roar off Pad 37 on June 29, 2012 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. NASA’s Orion EFT-1 capsule will blastoff atop a similar Delta 4 Heavy Booster in December 2014. Credit: Ken Kremer- kenkremer.com Stroy updated[/caption] CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, FL – The urgent need by …
It’s a staple of science fiction, restarting our dying star with some kind of atomic superbomb. Why is our Sun running out of fuel, and what can we actually do to get it restarted? Stars die. Occasionally threatening the Earth and its civilization in a variety plot devices in science fiction. Fortunately there’s often a …
When you think of the asteroid belt, you probably imagine a region of rock and dust, with asteroids as far as the eye can see. Such a visual has been popularized in movies, where spaceships must swerve left and right to avoid collisions. But a similar view is often portrayed in more scientific imagery, such …
Continue reading “Why the Asteroid Belt Doesn’t Threaten Spacecraft”
If your spaceship comes back in rural Kazakhstan, and it’s blowing snow, and rescue forces can’t get there right away, how would you survive the cold? This winter survival video below shows how cosmonauts and astronauts would leave the spacecraft and make shelter while waiting for help to arrive. An even more complicated scenario would …
Continue reading “How Astronauts Could Survive In The Cold After A Soyuz Landing”