SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule has safely splashed down in the Atlantic, making it the first privately built crew-capable spacecraft ever to complete a mission to the International Space Station. It’s one of several firsts SpaceX plans this year, but Boeing is hot on its heels with a crew demonstrator of its own — and of course the real test is doing the same thing with astronauts aboard.
View More SpaceX makes history by completing first private crew capsule missionCategory: International Space Station
SpaceX and Boeing commercial crew capsule test dates slip yet again
One of the most important upcoming events in the space industry is undoubtedly the advent of SpaceX and Boeing’s competing crew-bearing capsules, which the companies have been working on for years. But today brings yet another delay for both programs, already years behind schedule.
View More SpaceX and Boeing commercial crew capsule test dates slip yet againIt’s really hard to walk when you come back to Earth from space
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No one said it was easy to adjust to life on Earth after living in space.
From your lack of spatial awareness to missing that bird’s eye view from the International Space Station, astronauts come back home to solid ground and experience all kinds of symptoms as a result of long stays in space.
And according to a newly released video from NASA astronaut Drew Feustel, one of those symptoms is being unable to walk a straight line with your eyes closed.
Feustel posted the video to Twitter after some of his colleagues came home from the space station on Thursday.
Welcome home #SoyuzMS09 ! On October 5th this is what I looked like walking heel-toe eyes closed after 197 days on @Space_Station during the Field Test experiment…I hope the newly returned crew feels a lot better. Video credit @IndiraFeustel pic.twitter.com/KsFuJgoYXh
— A.J. (Drew) Feustel (@Astro_Feustel) December 20, 2018 Read more…
More about Space, Science, International Space Station, Astronauts, and Space Videos
View More It’s really hard to walk when you come back to Earth from spaceAlexa in space? Why free-floating AI friends are in our interplanetary future
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This post is part of Science of Sci-Fi, Mashable’s ongoing series dissecting the science (or lack of science) in our favorite sci-fi movies, TV shows, and books.
Not many American nerds these days know about a golden age sci-fi writer called Edmond Hamilton. If they do, it’s because of his Star Wars connections: Hamilton was the husband of Leigh Brackett, space opera queen and author of the first draft of The Empire Strikes Back; he also happened to be the first guy to use a “laser sword” anywhere in fiction.
But German nerds tend to remember Hamilton for something completely different, and the future may do, too. Because he didn’t just invent lightsabers. He also invented free-floating space brains. And in so doing, inspired a futuristic kind of Alexa built along those lines — an intelligent assistant that recently had its first orbital test run, and now seems poised to join our nonfiction interplanetary travels. Read more…
More about Robots, International Space Station, Science Fiction, The Science Of Sci Fi, and Science
Cosmonauts brought a knife to a spacewalk
Let’s be honest, spacewalks, as a whole, can be pretty boring to watch.
Yes, it’s one of the most dangerous things an astronaut or cosmonaut can do in space: floating out into the void with just a relatively thin spacesuit to protect them.
But …
Malfunction mars the landing for SpaceX’s latest Falcon 9 resupply mission to the ISS
The latest Falcon 9 mission launched successfully, but its reusable booster just missed sticking the landing thanks to a stalled hydraulic pump on the grid fin, according to a tweet by Elon Musk. Grid fin hydraulic pump stalled, so Falcon landed just out to sea. Appears to be undamaged & is transmitting data. Recovery ship […]
View More Malfunction mars the landing for SpaceX’s latest Falcon 9 resupply mission to the ISSSpaceX successfully launches to the space station but misses the landing
Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched to space on Wednesday, but it didn’t quite stick the landing.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX successfully lifted off from a launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida, carryi…
The incredible view of a rocket launch … from space
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Not many of us will get a chance to see a rocket launch live from this angle in our lifetimes, but at least we can see the photos.
European astronaut Alexander Gerst managed to photograph the launch of three new crewmembers to the International Space Station from his post aboard the orbiting laboratory.
The pictures, taken Monday, show the Soyuz rocket carrying the three new space station residents as it ascends to orbit just after launch.
Congratulations to the Russian Space Agency @roscosmos and all international partners for a flawless launch of #SoyuzMS11. And welcome to space, @Astro_DavidS, @AstroAnnimal and Oleg! #Exp57 #Exp58 #Horizons pic.twitter.com/rzEjtm2PcO
— Alexander Gerst (@Astro_Alex) December 3, 2018 Read more…
More about Space, Nasa, Science, Space Photos, and International Space Station
3 new crewmembers launch to space station after Russian rocket failure in October
The International Space Station is about to get three new residents.
On Monday, NASA astronaut Anne McClain, Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenkoof launched to the orbiting outpost aboard a Russian Soyuz …
Stunning video shows what a rocket launch looks like from space
You’ve probably seen plenty of impressive rocket launches but you’ve never seen one quite like this, which shows what a rocket launch looks like from space.
The launch of the Russian Progress MS-10 cargo spacecraft (a Russian Soyuz rocket) …
11 moments from the International Space Station’s first 20 years
It was November 20, 1998, when an unprecedented international coalition of astronomers, engineers, and rocket scientists saw years of collaboration come to fruition with the launch of the International Space Station’s first component. Since then the largest spacecraft ever built has hosted innumerable astronauts, experiments, and other craft. Here are a few notable moments in the history of this inspiring and decades-spanning mission.
View More 11 moments from the International Space Station’s first 20 yearsStunning astronaut photos show Australia’s outback ‘like an open geology book’
German astronaut Alexander Gerst posts many extraordinary views from his lofty perch in the International Space Station.
The European Space Agency astronaut and geophysicist has posted videos and photos from orbit showing the extreme power of Hurrica…