Remembering Willie Ley
Remembering Willie Ley. He never flew in space, and died just weeks before the Apollo 11 landing. Yet he probably did as much if not more to make it happen than any other man.
Tag: spaceflight
Virgin Galactic’s launching system in doubt
Virgin Galactic, the company that is building a suborbital rocket to put tourists in space, appears to be delaying the development of its orbital launching system.
Meanwhile, the company resumed capture carry flights of WhiteKnightTwo, with SpaceShipTwo attached, with a five hour test flight on Thursday.
EPA fines SpaceX
How dare you succeed! The EPA has fined SpaceX $45,600 for hazardous waste violations.
More layoffs in Florida
With the end of the shuttle program looming, about 1100 shuttle workers will be laid off in Florida today.
Saudia Arabia celebrates anniversary of their first astronaut’s flight
This weekend, Saudia Arabia celebrates the 25th anniversary of the shuttle flight of their first astronaut, Prince Sultan bin Salman.
More info on next Falcon 9 launch
Here’s a further update on SpaceX’s plans for the second test launch of its Falcon 9 rocket, now set for November 8.
Russia to launch commercial space station by 2016
A Russian company says it plans to launch its own commercial space station by 2016.
Virgin Galactic begins offering flights in 18 months
Richard Branson of Virgin Galactic said today that his company is on schedule to begin flying the first tourist flights in eighteen months.
Soyuz lands safely after 24 hour delay
After a 24 hour delay due to an undocking problem, the Soyuz capsule with its three astronauts landed safely last night without a hitch.
Soyuz undocking at ISS delayed
The scheduled return of three astronauts on a Soyuz spacecraft has been delayed tonight because of a malfunction in the docking port.
Update: The return to Earth has definitely been canceled for tonight. The problem was caused when latches on the Soyuz, designed to secure it safely to ISS, refused to release on command. As of 12:43 am the plan was to recycle and try to land on Friday evening.
First tests of beer in zero gravity
Who says space exploration is dead? Sometime in November researchers will conduct the first zero gravity tests of the world’s first beer to be certified for drinking in space. The tests will take place during suborbital flights of what is commonly known as the Vomit Comet. Key quote:
Sampling the beer during weightless parabolas, the flight researcher will record both qualitative data on beverage taste and drinkability and biometric data on body temperature, heart rate, and blood alcohol content.
The $500 satellite
Check out the first do-it-yourself satellite. It is 60 cubic inches in size and cost only $500 to build.