Winter is coming…shifty interstellar winds

The Huffington Post posted this article today. According to the expert, “it could be a harbinger of more dramatic changes in our solar system.” Probably true, if only because things happening in space tend to be dramatic to begin with. But the statement seems a little OVER dramatic–maybe he needs attention, funding or both? Our […]

Brickmasters and NASA

Okay, I admit–this is whimsically related–but related nonetheless. Genius idea, really! You have space, and you have LEGO, what should you do? You mash them all together, of course. This Product Design and Development site shows what happens when you do mash them together: cool ideas and brick models. Don’t forget to click on […]

50 Kilometers above the moon

So tomorrow evening NASA is hoping to get this satellite launched out of Wallops Island, Virginia. Orbital Sciences is launching the satellite payload on top of a converted Peacekeeper ICBM (InterContinental Ballistic Missile), now called a Minotaur V. According to NASA’s mission statement, they would like to have the satellite orbiting the moon in a few […]

That’s no moon…

…at least according to this article it isn’t, but it is a “quasi-satellite.” They do say in about 5,000 years or so it might become one of Earth’s moons for a while. The interesting thing about this particular satellite (it’s natural) is the orbital configuration, which scientists label co-orbital. Such a weird one coinciding with […]

Why space matters: Imaging satellite operations, part 10–short bus schooling

Labor Day took its toll, but I’m back to write more (hopefully) interesting articles for you. What a space operator should know about satellite systems and space operations fills several volumes of books, folders and checklists. But, in essence, a space operator and space operations crew worries about three things: the satellite ground system, the […]