Extreme wood bending with ammonia
An evening pause: For the science geeks in the audience.
Tag: commercial
Boston – More Than A Feeling
An evening pause: Performed live, Giants Stadium, June 17, 1979. The song is good, of course, but the improvisations are much better.
Hat tip Danae.
Dragon launchpad abort test a success
The competition heats up: SpaceX’s first abort test of its Dragon capsule was completed successfully this morning.
The test not only demonstrated the capsule’s ability to escape the launchpad and land safely in the ocean nearby, it proved that its SuperDraco thrusters have the power to lift the spacecraft off the pad, which also means they have the power to lower the capsule to a soft landing on land.
Video embedded below.
Lori Lieberman – Killing Me Softly with His Song
An evening pause: The song was written for Lieberman after she saw Don McLean perform in concert, but was made a big hit by Roberta Flack in 1973. Here, Lieberman shows us how its done.
Hat tip Danae.
Astronauts drink the first home-brewed coffee in space
Shades of Star Trek: In addition to drinking the first home-brewed coffee in space, the astronauts also used a 3-D printed mug, though the printing took place not in space but on Earth.
R.I.P. Grace Lee Whitney
R.I.P. Grace Lee Whitney, who played Yeoman Janice Rand in the original Star Trek.
Five things to know about the Dragon launchpad abort test
The competition heats up: In anticipation of its Wednesday, May 6, launchpad abort test of its Dragon capsule, SpaceX has put out a press release providing an overview of the test and what will happen.
The launch window opens at 7 am (Eastern), but don’t be surprised if it doesn’t happen then. They have a very long launch window, and could do it almost anytime during the day.
Johnny Carson Show – Egg trick
An evening pause: Some silliness from Johnny Carson and Dom Deluise.
India has successful rocket engine test
The competition heats up: India has successfully completed a full duration test of its upgraded cryogenic rocket engine.
This gets them much closer to not only having the ability to launch all of their own geosynchronous satellites, it gets them closer to building a rocket capable of putting human capsules into orbit.
Claude Bolling – Sentimentale, Suite No. 1 for Flute and Jazz Piano
An evening pause: Bolling, on the piano, and Jean-Pierre Rampal, on the flute, let it all hang out.
Hat tip Danae.
Indecision at Virgin Galactic over engine design
In the heat of competition: Sources at Virgin Galactic suggest that the company has still not made up its mind on the type of engine it will use on SpaceShipTwo.
Messier sums up the situation perfectly:
The lack of clarity about SpaceShipTwo’s main propulsion system is highly unusual. It’s difficult if not impossible to think of another space project that was uncertain about its primary propulsion system after nearly a decade of development.
Increasingly I do not see this spaceship ever flying, which saddens me. They had a ten year head start over everyone else, and have squandered it.
An update on Sarah Brightman’s astronaut training
The competition heats up: New detailed photos of Sarah Brightman’s training for her September tourist trip to ISS have been released.
The photos appear to dispel the rumors that Brightman might be replaced with her backup tourist for the flight to ISS.
Some might consider this flight nothing more than a publicity stunt. While it surely is that, for Brightman it also is a dream come true. And the publicity will not simply be good for her career, it will do wonders to sell the idea of space tourism and space exploration.
In fact, there is never really any downside to freedom and allowing people to follow their dreams, and this tourist flight to ISS will prove it.