The after effects of the giant storm on Saturn.
The after effects of the giant storm on Saturn.
Year: 2012
The Air Force has released its investigation into the failure of the August test flight of the X-51a hypersonic scramjet.
The Air Force has released its investigation into the failure of the August test flight of the X-51a hypersonic scramjet.
As first surmised, the problem was a control fin. Though they haven’t set the date for the next test flight, it appears they do intend to proceed.
Stratolaunch has officially opened its production facility in Mojave.
The competition heats up: Stratolaunch has officially opened its production facility in Mojave.
On Wednesday Richard Branson told an audience of students in Poland that the first paid tourist flight of SpaceShipTwo is at least 12 to 18 months away.
On Wednesday Richard Branson told an audience of students in Poland that the first paid tourist flight of SpaceShipTwo is at least 12 to 18 months away.
That seems about right. This gives them about a year of powered flight tests, all manned but with no paying customers, in order to make sure the system is save for customers.
Judy Garland – But not for me
An evening pause: From the 1943 film Girl Crazy.
The son of a Democratic Congressman in Virginia has been caught on video helping to facilitate voter fraud.
The son of a Democratic Congressman in Virginia, a paid member of the Congressman’s re-election campaign, has been caught on video helping to facilitate voter fraud.
Singing sand dunes
Singing sand dunes. With video.
Reactions to the Italian conviction of seven earthquake scientists
Two reactions today to the Italian conviction of seven earthquake scientists:
- Italy’s top scientists resign their government posts after quake conviction.
- What’s wrong with punishing bad predictions?
In the first, scientists are appalled. In the second someone asks what I think is at least a reasonable question. Even if we agree that prison is an overreaction in this case, it does seem valid to me that scientists face some consequences for misstating risks in certain circumstances.
The rock found on Sunday is not part of the meteor that fell over San Francisco last week.
False alarm: The rock found on Sunday is not part of the meteor that fell over San Francisco last week.
Kat Edmonson – Lucky
An evening pause:
The comet that vanished
The comet that vanished.
The TSA is pulling its invasive X-ray scanners from the country’s busiest airports.
Good news: The TSA is pulling its invasive X-ray scanners from the country’s busiest airports.
Unfortunately, they aren’t getting rid of them, only moving them to less busy airports. Nonetheless, this action suggests that the refusal of many people (such as myself) to submit to these machines slowed things down enough that the TSA was forced to abandon them. This suggests that more people should refuse and force them to do as many body searches as possible. In the end we get rid of them all.