Despite an unplanned and disconcerting series of barrel rolls on the way up, FlightTwo and TripOne for SpaceShipOne was a rousing success. Now, if they can repeat the feat within the next ten days, the elusive X Prize is theirs, and the business of space tourism will have reached a watershed moment. (Indeed, Richard Branson has already announced he’ll be leasing SS1 tech to kick off Virgin Galactic.) But first, they might want to figure out what’s causing that roll.
Category: Space
Give me Genesis!
Alas, on its way back from exploring the solar winds, the Genesis capsule plowed into the Earth today at 100 miles an hour after its chutes failed to open.
All Along the Watchtower.
The International Space Station is soon slated to pick up a princely view.
It’s Super, Thanks for Asking.
In something of a breakthrough, astronomers discover a “Super-Earth” that’s smaller, rockier, and closer — a mere 50 light years away — than the many gas giants previously discovered. Alas, with a surface temperature of approximately 1160 degrees Fahrenheit, it’s probably not the best spot for finding any kind of life. Still, baby steps.
Not Exactly Soundgarden.
“The more black holes eat, the more they spill, and it is widely thought that their feeding frenzies power the violence seen in the nuclei of many galaxies, including the powerful quasars that are so bright they outshine their parent galaxies.” The NY Times delves into the strange sounds emanating from black holes. “The frequency of these waves was equivalent to a B flat, 57 octaves below middle C, the astronomers calculated.“
Scaling Back a Dream.
In according with the Dubya Mars timetable, NASA gives up on the ISS. Hmmm. “Publicly, NASA’s international partners have expressed support…Privately, they have voiced the opinion that the United States is not living up to its commitments.“
Short-sighted NASA.
An outside panel of experts entreat NASA to save the Hubble, “arguably the most important telescope in history.” Given it’s been both a rare PR victory for the administration and an amazing source of scientific data, one would think the Hubble would remain a top priority, even despite all the new talk of Mars.
Lord of the Rings.
NASA’s Cassini sends back detailed pics of Saturn’s finest.
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.
Mars, Inc.
A White House Commission on NASA will recommend increased privatization as part of the space agency’s upcoming redesign. At first glance, this sounds like Dubya kicking more money back to his favorite companies. That being said, my lefty-leaning friends who work in the aerospace industry have told me that NASA’s current culture is far too risk-averse and bureaucratic to ever be very efficient, and that privatization may be the only way to make continued space exploration feasible. If so, I guess I’m for it.