Archive for September, 2014

SpaceX Falcon 9 Lifts Off on a Midnight Ride

SpaceX Falcon 9 Lifts Off on a Midnight Ride

Merlin 1-D Vacuum Engine Glows as it Drives Second Stage: Image Credit SpaceX Lit by the glow of 9 Merlin 1-D engines generating 1.3 million lbs. of sea level thrust, a SpaceX Falcon 9 V1.1 lifted off from Cape Canaveral in the early hours of Sunday morning, carrying with it the AsiaSat 6 communications satellite. […]

Posted in: SpaceX
SpaceX Counting Down to a Midnight Flight

SpaceX Counting Down to a Midnight Flight

AsiaSat 8 Streaks into the Night Sky: Image Credit: SpaceX “Fly By Night Away from Here!” belted out Rush’s Geddy Lee, and SpaceX is hoping its Falcon 9 booster will do just that on a launch scheduled for 50 minutes after midnight out of Cape Canaveral’s SLC-40. After a 10 day interlude to check for […]

Posted in: SpaceX
A Cosmic Weather Forecast (Very Long Range)

A Cosmic Weather Forecast (Very Long Range)

Image Credit: ESO Another “Beautiful Universe” Friday from the European Southern Observatory. As always, it is worth a click on the site to get the expandable image. European Southern Observatory Top News: Lupus 4, a spider-shaped blob of gas and dust, blots out background stars like a dark cloud on a moonless night in this […]

You Are Here:

You Are Here:

Nature.com unveils new research (and a map) revealing our place in the universe. They call it Laniakea, which means “immeasurable heaven” in Hawaiian. Video helps.  

Posted in: Uncategorized
Next Week Will Feature Asteroids Overhead, in Congress Too

Next Week Will Feature Asteroids Overhead, in Congress Too

NASA reports that a small asteroid will harmlessly pass relatively close to Earth on September. As is often the case, it was not detected until just a few days ago. On a vaguely related note, when Congress returns to session next week, there will be a sub-committee hearing on H.R. 5603 (pdf),  the American Space […]

Posted in: Asteroids
Range Rover, Virgin Galactic To Award “Tickets to Space”

Range Rover, Virgin Galactic To Award “Tickets to Space”

Land Rover, in participation with Virgin Galactic, announced yesterday the latest in a series of promotions which has seen KLM and Unilever hold contests to give away a  “ticket to space.” The current contest, designed to promote the new Land Rover Discovery Sport, is divided along regional lines, with video submission promoting the spirit of […]

Posted in: Space Tourism
NASA Review Suggests Mars Rover is Underachieving

NASA Review Suggests Mars Rover is Underachieving

Image Credit: NASA JPL Remember the “7 minutes of terror?” Apparently it has been followed by two years of boredom. A senior level review of NASA space science missions, a routine procedure in which missions are graded for a series of extensions beyond their original mission, was conducted earlier this year, and it came down […]

Posted in: Mars, NASA
SpaceX Targeting Saturday (Now Sunday) Morning Launch for AsiaSat 6

SpaceX Targeting Saturday (Now Sunday) Morning Launch for AsiaSat 6

Update: According to the Air Force, SpaceX has moved the AsiaSat launch date to the same time on Sunday morning. Neither SpaceX or AsiaSat has posted anything regarding the launch. Original story Florida Today reports that SpaceX is apparently targeting a 12:50 AM EDT launch for the AsiaSat 6 comsat headed to geostationary transfer orbit. […]

Posted in: SpaceX
Cassini Captures Shining Mimas Against the Shadow of Saturn’s Rings

Cassini Captures Shining Mimas Against the Shadow of Saturn’s Rings

Although Innerspace.net tends to focus on Mars as the most inhabitable planet outside Earth, Saturn’s system holds a unique fascination, much of it due to the amazing Cassini space probe. It is also the case because even though it is much further out than Jupiter and its many moons, Saturn’s system does not present the […]

Posted in: Outer Planets
3-D Printing in Space and a Castle on Mars

3-D Printing in Space and a Castle on Mars

Two items in the news highlight the potential of additive manufacturing, or 3D printing to benefit an expanding future in space. The first is very near term, with the upcoming launch of the first 3-D printer to the International Space Station. The printer, which is manufactured by NewSpace company Made in Space,  is among the […]

Posted in: Mars, NASA, NewSpace
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