“Space Ventura,” Space Detective

This is an odd business opportunity, and one which Air and Space Evidence Ltd. looks keen and ready to exploit. Their work seems to identify a gap that civil local government services haven’t yet addressed: solving crimes using Earth Observation imagery. The company isn’t just focusing on capital crimes, such as murder (although this NewScientist story talks about […]

1980: Mt. Saint Helens from Space

I was only 10 years old when Mt. Saint Helens erupted in 1980. I remember the newspapers with pictures of the volcano spewing ash and smoke. I remember seeing pictures of cars in Spokane covered in the ash from that angry mountain. I remember the little cylinders of ash enterprising business-people sold to people who […]

NanoRacks Puts the Screws to its Deployment Problems

Almost exactly a month ago, I wrote about the faulty NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer (NRCSD) on the International Space Station (ISS–don’t forget to read the update–there’s some more accurate information there). It essentially launched very small satellites when it shouldn’t have and didn’t launch when it was expected to. According to this SpaceNews.com article posted last […]

DIY Space: Ardusat

Before I begin the fairly short DIY part, this is just a reminder for those who don’t know, or just plain forgot. Today is the anniversary of Sputnik I, the first man-made satellite, which was launched into orbit on the top of an R-7 rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome. The R-7 had already been successfully tested as a […]

A Landmark Anniversary for Space?

Oct. 3, 1942–72 years ago–an A-4 test rocket was launched from Peenemuende Army Research Center. The fourth A-4 to be tested, it was the first to successfully fly. It was also the first rocket to reach the edges of outer space (it flew about 85-90 kilometers above the Earth). If you’ve never heard of the A-4, […]