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Archive for the ‘space travel’ category: Page 494

Aug 4, 2015

From the Earth to the Moon: 1865/1968

Posted by in categories: alien life, astronomy, space, space travel

How does science fiction become science fact? Often the link between art and science can be hard to pin down. It can be unclear if science fiction is actually influencing science or merely observing it, giving the public sneak peaks into the implications of scientist’s work.

But some work of science fiction create direct links to the future. As a young man in Russia, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky read a translation of Jules Verne’s ‘From the Earth to the Moon.” And although Verne’s plan to get to the moon wouldn’t have worked, the novel had just enough science mixed in with its romance to make the central idea seem plausible. Tsiolkovsky became obsessed with the idea of spaceflight, and his life’s work created the foundations of modern rocketry.

One hundred years after Verne wrote his novel, a group of individuals who had been inspired by Verne’s fantasy as children launched a voyage to the moon.

Jul 28, 2015

‘Impossible’ EM Propulsion Engine Confirmed

Posted by in category: space travel

We shall see…


The EM Drive has been laughed at by scientists in the past, but now it appears to actually work.

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Jul 28, 2015

100 Year Starship Announces the Canopus Award for Interstellar Writing

Posted by in categories: futurism, space, space travel

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100 Year Starship (100YSS) today announced the establishment of the Canopus Award, an annual writing prize recognizing the finest fiction and non-fiction works that contribute to the excitement, knowledge, and understanding of interstellar space exploration and travel.

100YSS, led by former astronaut, engineer, physician and entrepreneur Dr. Mae Jemison, is an independent, long-term global initiative working to ensure that the capabilities for human interstellar travel, beyond our solar system to another star, exist within the next 100 years.

Continue reading “100 Year Starship Announces the Canopus Award for Interstellar Writing” »

Jul 26, 2015

SpaceX ‘Complacent’ Before Rocket Explosion, Elon Musk Says — by Mike Wall, Space.com

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, space travel

http://i.space.com/images/i/000/048/994/i02/dragon-explosion.JPG?1437545318

The explosion of a SpaceX rocket during a space station resupply mission last month jolted the company awake in some ways, CEO and founder Elon Musk said.

Prior to the June 28 Falcon 9 rocket explosion — which ended the company’s seventh robotic cargo mission to the International Space Station less than 3 minutes after it blasted off — SpaceX had enjoyed a string of 20 straight successful launches over a seven-year stretch. Read more

Jul 24, 2015

New Horizons says goodbye to Pluto with beautiful high-resolution photos

Posted by in categories: space, space travel

Our time with Pluto may have come to end for now, but NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft still has a few parting shots for us. The probe sent back these breathtaking photographs of Pluto in even higher resolution, as well as one final image of the planet in silhouette. These are the last images we’ll get from Pluto until September, as it will take NASA a few months to downlink the bulk of the data gathered by the spacecraft.

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Jul 21, 2015

Colonizing The Moon May Be 90 Percent Cheaper Than We Thought

Posted by in categories: space, space travel

And that in turn could help us get to Mars, says NASA-commissioned study.

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Jul 18, 2015

Soar Over Pluto’s Heart at 77,000 Kilometers in This New Animation

Posted by in categories: space, space travel

Stunning!

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Jul 14, 2015

How to plan the ultimate long-term project, from the team who got us to Pluto — By Daniel Terdiman | Fast Company

Posted by in categories: space, space travel

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One thing you don’t expect when planning a nine-year mission to the most distant planet in our solar system is the eventuality that Pluto might not be a planet once you got there.

Yet that’s exactly what went down in 2006. That January, NASA launched its unmanned New Horizons probe, a baby grand piano-sized, 1,054-pound spacecraft, on the first-ever route to Pluto. Then, in August 2006, the International Astronomical Union demoted Pluto to the diminutive status of “dwarf planet.”

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Jul 12, 2015

Interplanetary Travel Is Only for the Rich in the Short Film The Leap

Posted by in category: space travel

The Leap is a short film from Karel van Bellingen that takes place decades from now, where interstellar travel has opened up access to a new world, but only for a select few who can afford the journey. This is a film that packs a lot in to just half an hour.

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Jul 11, 2015

New Horizons Update: Latest Pluto Images Reveal ‘Tantalizing’ Surface Features

Posted by in categories: space, space travel

After a journey of over nine years, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is finally close enough to discern surface features on the cold, dwarf planet.

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