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Archive for the ‘space travel’ category: Page 281

Jun 6, 2020

SpaceX opens era of amateur astronauts, cosmic movie sets

Posted by in categories: entertainment, space travel

Amateur astronauts, private space stations, flying factories, out-of-this-world movie sets — this is the future the space agency is striving to shape as it eases out of low-Earth orbit and aims for the moon and Mars.

It doesn’t quite reach the fantasized heights of George Jetson and Iron Man, but still promises plenty of thrills.

“I’m still waiting for my personal jetpack. But the future is incredibly exciting,” NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren said the day before SpaceX’s historic liftoff.

Jun 6, 2020

SpaceX will answer Crew Dragon and Starlink questions on Reddit at 3PM ET

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, internet, space travel

If you’ve wanted to learn more about SpaceX’s projects than you normally see in the news, now’s your chance. The company’s software team is holding a Reddit AMA session today starting at 3PM Eastern to answer questions on the software that guides SpaceX’s projects, including Crew Dragon and Starlink. Six key staffers will be on hand, so you can expect a fair number of responses.

The spaceflight firm doesn’t hold AMAs often, and it’ll likely be worth following the discussion to see what emerges. When Elon Musk held a Reddit chat about BFR (now Starship) in 2017, for instance, he touched on everything from engine design to his vision for Mars colonies. You won’t necessarily get any shocking revelations, but this could fill in some knowledge gaps and satisfy your curiosity.

Jun 4, 2020

SpaceX’s Starship SN4 launch vehicle prototype explodes after static engine fire test

Posted by in category: space travel

SpaceX had just conducted yet another static fire test of the Raptor engine in its Starship SN4 prototype launch vehicle on Friday when the test vehicle exploded on the test stand in Boca Chica, Texas. This was the fourth static fire test of this engine on this prototype, so it’s unclear what went wrong versus other static fire attempts.

This was a test in the development of Starship, a new spacecraft that SpaceX has been developing in Boca Chica. Eventually, the company hopes to use it to replace its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rocket, but Starship is still very early in its development phase, whereas those vehicles are flight-proven, multiple times over.

SpaceX had just secured FAA approval to fly its Starship prototype for short, suborbital test flights. The goal was to fly this SN4 prototype for short distances following static fire testing, but that clearly won’t be possible now, as the vehicle appears to have been completely destroyed in the explosion following Friday’s test, as you can see below in the stream from NASASpaceflight.com.

Jun 4, 2020

Forget Dragon, the Falcon 9 rocket is the secret sauce of SpaceX’s success

Posted by in category: space travel

I’ve done crazier things than dry out a radio antenna.

Jun 3, 2020

SpaceX rocket returns to shore after historic astronaut launch (photos)

Posted by in category: space travel

The first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket that launched SpaceX’s Demo-2 mission arrived in Port Canaveral, Florida, on Tuesday (June 2).

Jun 2, 2020

These flexible feet help robots walk faster

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, space travel

Roboticists at the University of California San Diego have developed flexible feet that can help robots walk up to 40 percent faster on uneven terrain such as pebbles and wood chips. The work has applications for search-and-rescue missions as well as space exploration.

“Robots need to be able to walk fast and efficiently on natural, uneven terrain so they can go everywhere humans can go, but maybe shouldn’t,” said Emily Lathrop, the paper’s first author and a Ph.D. student at the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego.

The researchers will present their findings at the RoboSoft conference which takes place virtually May 15 to July 15, 2020.

Jun 1, 2020

Astronauts describe ride to space aboard SpaceX Crew Dragon

Posted by in category: space travel

SpaceX Crew Dragon astronauts say the ship is living up to high-tech expectations — but there was one rougher moment.

Jun 1, 2020

SpaceX to fly you anywhere on Earth in under an hour

Posted by in category: space travel

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Jun 1, 2020

SpaceX’s pioneering astronauts board the International Space Station

Posted by in categories: business, Elon Musk, space travel

Following a dramatic launch, 19-hour voyage and successful docking procedure, pioneering astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley have left the Crew Dragon and are now aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The pair emerged from the Crew Dragon capsule at around 1:15 PM ET and were greeted with bear hugs by astronaut Christopher Cassidy and cosmonauts Anatoli Ivanshin and Ivan Vagner. While describing the ride as less smooth than the space shuttle, Hurley said he “couldn’t be happier” about the Crew Dragon’s performance.

The astronauts, who christened the Crew Dragon “Endeavor,” chatted with NASA executives after their arrival. “It’s great to get the United States back in the crewed launch business,” said Hurley. “And we’re just really glad to be onboard this magnificent complex.” Earlier, SpaceX founder Elon Musk said he was “quite overcome with emotion,” adding “this is hopefully the first step on a journey towards civilization on Mars.”

Jun 1, 2020

Dark matter engine

Posted by in categories: cosmology, space travel

The Dark matter engine is the key to the extreme acceleration capabilities of the modern space ship. Invented by Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, the engines on the Planet Express ship harness the power created by burning dark matter in large furnaces, channels it through an afterburner that gives 200% fuel efficiency and propelles the ship through space fast enough to cover the whole universe in a matter of days.

How it works Edit

Let’s look at the real universe example of Rigel, a star in Orion’s Belt approximately 900 light-years away from Earth. This means that even traveling at the speed of light (300,000 km/s) it would take 900 years to get there. Traveling at 9 times the speed of light (2,700,000 km/s) it would take 100 years to get there and at 100 times the speed of light (30,000,000 km/s) it would take nine years. Albert Einstein’s famous statements that it would be mathematically impossible to travel faster than light seem to have held up through out the 3rd millennia and although in 2208 the scientific community allegedly raised the speed of light so that they could go faster, the problem that one cannot go faster than the speed of light remains.