Our culture is replete with examples of androids and humanoid robots in space. From David in Ridley Scott’s brand-new film, Prometheus, to the iconic C-3PO in George Lucas’s Star Wars, androids and humanoid robots are often portrayed as our trusted servants and protectors, capable of tasks we ourselves cannot or will not perform. Further, the […]
Read More Telepresence, Androids, and Space ExplorationAirships. There’s a certain nostalgic thrill to the streamline, art deco aircraft heyday that nearly was. To the point (and as illustrated above): the Empire State Building’s observation tower was originally intended to serve as a mooring point for airships. Achieving the power of flight by harnessing a buoyant gas is simple, reliable, quiet, low-velocity, […]
Read More Airships: A century from prototype to spaceflight?When you gaze outside of your spacecraft, what do you see? What’s it really like to be there? With the advent of digital photography in the hands of determined astronauts willing to make time to steal moments to snap images like the above, now we can know. Have a look. Blow the image up with a click. […]
Read More Room with a (global) viewThere are a number of other space and spaceflight stories deserving of my attention, but I had to fast-track this one out. Why the rush? Frankly, I’m thrilled, for my previous prediction of blues in space has been proven true! In a fun “home video” piece, NASA Astronaut Ron Garan goes “missing,” and a search […]
Read More Blues in Space Predicted!…commercial spacecraft manufacturer/provider Excalibur Almaz (EA), that is. And they ferried two partially-constructed commercial space stations with them. A primary competitor to Bigelow Aerospace on the commercial space station frontier, EA has leveraged 20th-Century Russian military space technology in a bid to accelerate a fully-functioning private spaceflight program to orbit. Because it is based on […]
Read More Excalibur back in British Isles!Recently, two companies have arisen to challenge Bigelow Aerospace’s domination of the commercial space station market. Now, quietly, Bigelow has fired back where it hurts most: Timeframe. It seems that the first to get a station to orbit will be in a position to pluck the ripest government and corporate space station user contracts. In […]
Read More Bigelow Aerospace accelerates station plansBy education and trade, I’m a geologist, having worked now in the professional world for more than six years getting my boots dirty performing hydrogeology, water resources, drilling, geomorphology research, and environmental contaminant transport and remediation work in some of the most remote territory this country has to offer. However, in my push toward becoming […]
Read More A Radioactive Astronaut-Hopeful (Space update)According to a story reported yesterday by the Associated Press, China has demonstrated nimble maneuvering of its satellites in orbit, a feat few other nations have been able to achieve. The rendezvous between two of its orbiting craft, which occurred on August 19 and was not declared by China but was instead observed by international […]
Read More Chinese satellite makes a moveA short note this morning on humanity in the cosmos. In the above image, an outstanding French photographer managed to capture what otherwise would have whipped by in the blink of an eye. For an instant on May 22nd, the International Space Station (ISS) and the docked Atlantis orbiter (space shuttle) moved between Earth and […]
Read More Humanity’s outpost in the sky
Chronicles of an Atomic Astrowright 