Tag: Space
-
Two Seattle-area students are finalists in NASA design contest for lunar dirt-digging robots
Project Stardust by Ke “Max” Jiang, left, and Terebro, by Mason Lysaght. (Lunabotics Images) Dig this — two Seattle-area students were semifinalists in a national contest run by NASA in which kids in grades K-12 were tasked with designing a robot that could scoop up and transport lunar soil. The Lunabotics Junior Contest winners were named…
-
Microsoft and HPE put AI to the test on International Space Station … with gloves
An image of a spacewalker’s gloves is analyzed for signs of wear using AI. (Microsoft Photo) “Check my spacewalking gloves, HAL.” The HAL 9000 computer that starred in “2001: A Space Odyssey” — and made such a mess of maintenance issues on the Discovery One spaceship — isn’t on the job on the International Space…
-
Seattle’s Space Needle makes its debut on Rocket Lab mission patch, thanks to Spaceflight Inc.
The rocket nose cone for Rocket Lab’s mission to launch two BlackSky satellites is emblazoned with a mission patch that features Seattle’s Space Needle on the right side. (Rocket Lab via Twitter) What could be more fitting than to put Seattle’s Space Needle on the patch for an actual space mission? Even though this particular…
-
Chad in Space? ‘SNL’ comic Pete Davidson is reportedly up for a ride on Blue Origin spaceship
Pete Davidson portrays a slacker astronaut in a “Saturday Night Live” sketch. (NBC / SNL via YouTube) Comedian Pete Davidson co-starred with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk last year in a “Saturday Night Live” sketch about a slacker astronaut named Chad, but it sounds as if Davidson could soon go into space for real — courtesy…
-
Star Trek’s original Mr. Spock beams down for vaccine-boosting billboard campaign
Mr. Spock’s visage graces a pro-vaccination billboard in Los Angeles. (Julie Nimoy via Twitter) It’s been almost seven years since Leonard Nimoy, the actor who created the role of Mr. Spock on “Star Trek,” passed away due to respiratory disease — but his character may be coming soon to a billboard near you, as part…
-
Photos: Stunning Northern Lights dance over Seattle — here are tips for catching the next one
The Northern Lights are a mesmerizing but infrequent occurrence at our latitude in Seattle. Stargazers got a treat Monday night if they were looking northwards, as a moderate G2 geomagnetic storm from the sun produced a solar flare that pushed the Aurora Borealis southwards to us. Unlike in the Arctic where the Aurora often fill…
-
Billionaire belly laughs: SNL’s space skit pokes fun at Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson and Elon Musk
Jeff Bezos (left) gets the “Saturday Night Live” treatment from Owen Wilson. (Blue Origin / NBC Photos) You know that the billionaire space race has entered the nation’s mainstream when it’s skewered by NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” On tonight’s season premiere, guest host Owen Wilson played the starring role in “Star Trek: Ego Quest” as…
-
Funko reaches new heights: Company’s ‘Big Bang’ Pop! figure was part of crew on SpaceX mission
Funko, the Everett, Wash.-based maker of Pop! figurines and other collectibles, has expanded its market reach. To space. The company tweeted an image Thursday showing one of its popular toys floating high above Earth, thanks to the fact that it was packed along for the ride aboard the SpaceX Inspiration4 mission by Everett native Chris Sembroski.…
-
Blue Origin’s New Shepard spaceship joins the pantheon of model rockets
Estes’ New Shepard model rocket uses standard model-rocket launch equipment, including a single C6-3 or C6-5 engine. (Estes Industries via YouTube) Rocket fans will soon be able to follow in Jeff Bezos’ footsteps when it comes to ownership of a suborbital New Shepard space vehicle. Just be warned that everything will be scaled down: The…
-
Computing at the edge of space: HPE and Microsoft conduct International Space Station experiments
The International Space Station as seen from a departing Soyuz spacecraft. (NASA Photo) If your cell phone went out 17 times a day, for anywhere from 1 second to 20 minutes, you’d get a new wireless provider. That’s basically what astronauts on the International Space Station are dealing with, but they don’t have that option.…