Tag: Space
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Planetary Resources’ veteran engineers launch First Mode to target wider frontiers
A wide-angle view provides an unusual perspective of First Mode’s new lab space on Western Avenue in Seattle. Click on the image for a 360-degree view. (First Mode Photo) Planetary Resources was assimilated into the ConsenSys blockchain venture months ago, but a troop of engineers who used to work for the asteroid mining company is…
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Jeff Bezos’ worlds collide: Cast of ‘The Expanse’ visits Blue Origin’s space turf
Cara Gee, who plays a tough-as-nails spaceship captain on “The Expanse,” takes a seat in a mockup of Blue Origin’s New Shepard crew capsule. “No one asked me to wear this helmet on our tour of the facility,” she tweeted. “But here I am in a real life space chair.” (Cara Gee via Twitter) Science…
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LIGO and Virgo detectors get in sync for gravitational-wave hunt that’ll last a year
Detector engineers Hugh Radkins (foreground) and Betsy Weaver (background) take up positions inside the vacuum system of the detector at LIGO Hanford Observatory to perform the hardware upgrades required for Advanced LIGO’s third observing run. (LIGO / Caltech / MIT Photo / Jeff Kissel) Physicists won’t be fooling around on April 1 at the Laser…
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GeekWire Calendar Picks: Jobs in space; a critical look at Facebook; women executives and pay equity
Space has always fascinated us geeks. Thanks to Star Wars, Star Trek and countless other science fiction media, gazing at the stars and dreaming of being an astronaut was a big part of childhood for many of us. It seems like NASA discovers something new all the time, like the recent finding of unexpected plumes…
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White House budget proposal tightens the screws on science, from space to salmon
An artist’s conception shows NASA’s Space Launch System in flight. (NASA Illustration) The White House’s $4.7 trillion spending plan for fiscal year 2020 aims to give a boost to the Space Force, but would dial down work on NASA’s Space Launch System, zero out the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope, leave salmon in the lurch…
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OK Go music group teams up with Blue Origin on zero-G space art contest for kids
OK Go’s zero-gravity art contest follows up on a music video that the group performed during a zero-gravity airplane flight. (OK Go Photo) Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture is joining forces with the music-video masters at OK Go to give students a chance to send art experiments into outer space on Blue…
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UW researchers and Florida middle school students form unusual bond over cosmic kidney stones
A collaboration between this Florida middle school robotics team and the University of Washington is potentially “life changing,” according to a science teacher at the school. (Pahokee Middle School Photo) Eight students from a low-income sugarcane town in South Florida spent months on a robotics project tackling kidney stones in space. Across the country, researchers…
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Artificial intelligence — and a few jokes — will help keep future Mars crews sane
A crew touches down on the Red Planet in “Mars,” a National Geographic miniseries that delves into the dynamics of future Mars crews. (Credit: National Geographic Channels) WASHINGTON, D.C. — When the first human explorers head for Mars, they’re likely to have a non-human judging their performance and tweaking their interpersonal relationships when necessary. NASA…
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After twin-astronaut tests, NASA readies new wave of studies on space health risks
NASA astronaut Scott Kelly gives himself a flu shot in 2015 during his nearly yearlong stay on the International Space Station. (NASA Photo) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Almost three years after NASA astronaut Scott Kelly returned from spending nearly a year in orbit, researchers are still poring over the data collected during an unprecedented study comparing his…
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Out-of-this-world coffee? Company generates buzz with plan to roast beans using heat from reentry
Perhaps you’ve heard someone refer to a strong cup of coffee as “rocket fuel.” That terminology could have especially fun relevance for a company called Space Roasters, which wants to use space technology to roast coffee beans. A new story in Ars Technica points to a previous Room magazine interview, which describes the out-of-this-world plan to…