A Vomit Comet Ride Is Now Under $5K

While I would love to sky dive - something that I have never done - I think I would rather take the Zero G parabola flight. First, because it's safer, and second, because it simulates being an astronaut, floating around a contained space. It is more expensive than sky diving but a hell of a lot less than a ride on Virgin Galactic

The ZERO-G Experience, which includes a flight of 15 parabolas [each gives you 30 seconds of weightlessness], flight suit, complimentary merchandise, awards, a post-event party, photos, and a DVD of the flight, is offered at a price of $4,950 per seat.

The Zero G site says that by the end of the flight you will log about 7 to 8 minutes of reduced gravity - that's about as much zero-gravity time as Alan Shepard experienced on America's first human spaceflight.

In case you were wondering, a Virgin Galactic doesn't provide weightlessness, only a sick view and experience, and costs $200,000.

Via Neu

Tragedy or Farce?

Karl Marx famously said, "History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce" and nothing better could be used to describe how James Doohan's ashes were destroyed yesterday when a rocket carrying them into space failed to make it into orbit and instead blew up.

If you don't know the name James Doohan, maybe you know him as Scotty from "Star Trek." He passed away in 2005 and to have his ashes to make it to the stars, the locale where he made his living, would have been oh so poetic.

The first attempt was made last year and it was unsuccessful - the rocket crashed and it was over two weeks later before they found his remains.

As "they" say, if at first you don't succeed, try, try again. The Doohan family obvioulsy shares this adage as they launched his remains again one year after the failed attempt. This time, they were even less successful because not only did the rocket fail, but the ashes were destroyed.

I'm not sure how one destroys ashes. I guess they are just hopelessly scattered.

Via Neu

The Lego Vault

I love Legos. A lot of people love Legos. One of my favorite blogs Gizmodo loves Legos. Not only did they post about the best Lego sets in history but they recently paid a visit to Denmark and found out in the process that Lego keeps a (sort of) secret corporate vault that contains every Lego set ever made - 4,720 in total. "Great Googly Moogly!" and"Holy Mary Mother of God!" immediately come to mind.

I could not wait to take a fun trip down memory lane and started to look at some of the photos. Only a few pics into the stroll I immediately froze, like the proverbial deer in headlights, when I saw the set below:

I had that one and still have it - the bricks and hopefully the blueprint are in my Mom's attic somewhere.

In terms of the various Legoland themes, I was always a Lego Space guy. My grandfather and father instilled in me a love of the cosmos and in very "chicken and the egg" type situation, I'm not sure if my love of space is due to Legos or if my love of Legos is due to the space theme of the bricks I played with as a wee lad. I never had any Legoland Castle or Town sets - only Space. I had about half to three quarters of the sets in the Legoland Space part of Gizmodo's "Best Lego Sets In History" photo collection and loved every single one of them.

In terms of time, I must have spent months - not days nor weeks but months - during my formative years stooped over hundreds of bricks that were spilled out on my carpet, hunting for the exact brick that I needed in order to either complete the Lego provided blueprint or the one that I dreamt up that day. I remember my back hurting on many of an occasion due to the hours that I sat Indian style, hunched over looking for these specific bricks. I remember when Don Mattingly first developed back problems, I thought to myself, "It must be like he's looking for Legos..."

I'm acutely aware of my own childhood now that I see another one unfolding right before my eyes. I never want to force anything upon my daughter, I want all of her loves to be genuine, but I do hope that she enjoys playing with Legos as much as I did. Then again, Mega Blocks seem pretty cool too these days...

Via Neu

Moon 2.0

The next race to the moon has begun! The X PRIZE Foundation and Google Inc. today announced the Google Lunar X PRIZE, a robotic race to the Moon. The press release boldly states: "Moon 2.0, the second era of lunar exploration, will not be a quest for “flags and footprints.” This time we will go to the Moon to stay."

To win the Grand Prize - worth $20 million dollars - a team must successfully:

• Soft land a privately funded spacecraft on the Moon
• Rove on the lunar surface for a minimum of 500 meters
• Transmit a specific set of video, images and data, called a "Mooncast," back to Earth

The Mooncast consists of digital data that must be collected and transmitted to the Earth composed of the following:

• High resolution 360º panoramic photographs taken on the surface of the Moon
• Self portraits of the rover taken on the surface of the Moon
• Near-real time videos showing the craft’s journey along the lunar surface
• High Definition (HD) video
• Transmission of a cached set of data, loaded on the craft before launch (e.g. first email from the Moon).

Just as the Ansari X Prize led Burt Rutan to build Spaceship One, hopefully someone in the near future will actually be able to pull this off. That would be, in the words of my inner 12 year old, totally sweet.

Via Adam

China and Space

Ever since I read the "2001" series by Arthur C. Clarke, I've been thinking about China and its relationship to space. For those unfamiliar with the first book and/or the movie, the Chinese launch a space shuttle at the beginning of the story which takes everyone by surprise. I've always been fascinated by other societies and people that can date their history back a couple thousand years (maybe because I'm Jewish). I've always thought that for China, being a civilization that has been around for 5,000 years (give or take a millennia) and one that has over a billion people, conquering space has been only a matter of time. If the US doesn’t work harder to keep our lead, we'll lose it altogether. It's bad enough that China is holding trillions of dollars in T-bills and holds our economic future in their banks. Soon, they might control our military future as well. My overall fear is that China is like the slow, plodding turtle in the "Tortoise and the Hare" fable. While it lumbers and takes forever, in the end it'll win.

To that end, I read in today's NY Times about a secret Chinese missile test from this past week - they blew up one of their own satellites and proved they can shoot anything out of the sky. Check it out:

China’s Muscle Flex in Space

China spread alarm and consternation among space powers when it destroyed one of its own satellites last week with a missile fired from the ground, thus becoming the first nation in more than two decades to successfully test an anti-satellite weapon. This aggressive show of force puts a wide range of United States military and intelligence satellites at risk and holds the danger of starting an arms race in space. Too bad the Bush administration’s own bellicose attitudes — and adamant refusal to consider an arms control treaty for space — give it scant standing to chastise the Chinese. The administration needs to reverse course promptly and join in talks aimed at banning further tests or use of anti-satellite weapons.

The Chinese test, which Beijing has not acknowledged but was tracked by intelligence agencies, destroyed an aging communications satellite some 500 miles above the Earth. The missile smashed the satellite into hundreds of pieces large enough to pose a danger for a decade or more to spacecraft or satellites that pass through the debris.

The Chinese have now demonstrated that — should they ever choose — they could destroy essential American satellites used to conduct military reconnaissance, spot nuclear tests and direct smart weapons. A top intelligence official told reporters last August that China had used a ground-based laser to illuminate an American satellite. That could signal a nascent effort to develop a way to blind satellites or to guide a missile to a target in space.

The Bush administration has been flexing its own muscles in space. A national space policy issued in October declared that “freedom of action in space is as important to the United States as air power and sea power.” It asserted a need to deter others from interfering with America’s right to operate in space. The policy did not address whether Washington would place weapons in space — as some in the Pentagon have been urging — but the administration continues to oppose any restrictions.

Surely it would make military and diplomatic sense to pursue the opposite course and seek to ban all tests and any use of anti-satellite weapons.

The United States and the Soviet Union successfully tested such weapons decades ago and have no overriding need to develop better versions, although the United States is clearly trying. China’s success in matching the feat reportedly came after three earlier tests failed, so the Chinese could only benefit from additional testing. The United States, with many more satellites in orbit than any other power and a military that has become increasingly dependent on satellites, has the most to lose from an unbridled space arms race.

Some experts suggest that China’s latest test is intended to prod the United States to join serious negotiations. The way to counter China or any other potentially belligerent space power is through an arms control treaty, not a new arms race in space.

Throwing Out A Spacesuit

The astronauts at the ISS are stuffing an old spacesuit with discarded clothes and a radio transmitter and will then toss it out the door into space. The transmitter will send recorded messages in six languages to amateur radio operators for several days before eventually re-entering Earth's atmosphere and burning up. The project, called SuitSat-1, was the brainchild of a Russian ham radio operator.

Cool.

Via Phyl

Space News

I had a fitfull night's rest last night, woke up twice early this morning and each time turned on the tele to see if Discovery made it back okay. Due to bad weather, we'll all have to wait until tomorrow to see. My friend Phyllis asked, "I wonder if the wee hours were on purpose, or just orbit-related" and you know what? I'm wondering the same thing...

In other space news, I found on Chris's site an excellent analysis of the shuttle program, it's limited success, and its multiple shortcomings written by one Maciej Ceglowski. If you are at all interested in space, its a fascinating read.

Phyll sent me to a Smoking Gun post about a memo William Safire wrote in 1969 which provided a speech for President Nixon to read in case Armstrong and Aldren were stranded on the moon. Just like the SG, I find the "widows-to-be" part mordibly amusing.

Back In Orbit (for now)

As NASA's foam problems continue (meaning that future shuttle launches are scratched after Discovery gets back), you may want to check out video of Tuesday's shuttle launch courtesey of AOL (click on the "watch the launch" tab) because it took 2.5 years to get a shuttle back into space after the Columbia disaster and who knows how long we'll have to wait again. First Live 8, now the shuttle launch; they really are on a roll over at Columbus Circle. I hope this trend continues as AOL transforms itself into more of a media delivery company. The cool part is that you can choose from multiple camera angles: I'm a fan of the launch pad and beach tracker ones myself.

3 Words: Lego Death Star

I have already identified 10 months before Channukah the number one item on my wish list: a Lego Death Star.

From the Lego web site: "This incredibly detailed and faithful replica of the Death Star II from Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi will make an awesome addition to any Star Wars collection. The partially constructed Death Star looms in space above the forest moon of Endor, super laser ready to fire. This unique collectable is sure to rank as one of the greatest LEGO Star Wars models ever produced!"

Here are the specs for this coolest of Lego products:
>> Includes display stand and Imperial Star Destroyer to scale.
>> Measures a full 25 inches (65 cm) high and 19 inches (50 cm) wide (including stand).

I have only one word in response: mint! It will be released in the fall of 2005 and the only thing missing at this point is the price. I'm figuring that it will be about $100 and I just don't care. Family and friends, starting pooling your money together and Jessie, make some room on the bookcase.

Interview with Burt Rutan, developer of SpaceShipOne

I've grabbed from Space.com this interview with Burt Rutan, aerospace maverick and winner of the X Prize. He's been in the papers a lot in recent years (feel free to read the article from Wired back in July, 2003 which is especially good). This new article, basically an interview with Burt, is incrediblity enlightening and if you have any interest in being a civilian astronaut in your lifetime, read it! Also, it's amazing how much he looks like a grizzled Wolverine - if Logan ever had a father, Burt would be my first choice to play him in the fourth or fifth X-Men movie (see below).

Thursday, October 14, 2004

MOJAVE, California -- Nobody can claim that Burt Rutan, the innovative aerospace designer, doesn't have his head in the clouds - and his eyes focused on the stars.

Fresh from success of nudging the piloted SpaceShipOne's nose to record-setting heights and capturing the $10 million Ansari X Prize, Rutan and his team at Scaled Composites have clearly set their sights on far loftier goals.

One gets the feeling that in restricted niches of the Mojave Spaceport here, work is already underway on bigger and better spaceships. Asked directly about that prospect, Rutan is quick with a "no comment" that comes wrapped in a guarded smile.

"You think this is cool?" Rutan asked, pointing to the freshly flown SpaceShipOne. "Wait 'til you see SpaceShipTwo ... it is erotic," he added, alluding to the smooth lines of a craft that would seem tangible and touchable - not a minds-eye image of vaporware.

In an exclusive interview with SPACE.com the day after his design won the X Prize, Rutan discussed his passion for making the space frontier accessible to the public.

Simplicity of design

Standing in Scaled Composite's hangar alongside his creation, Rutan examined the spacecraft. It looks fresh and ready for flight; no worse the wear from its high-speed, back-to-back suborbital jaunts.

"Any damage is actually kind of hard to find," Rutan said. A slight charring in a couple of spots on the vessel is all that's visible. "You're hard pressed to find anything else."

Thermal protection is not an issue for suborbital space tourism, Rutan said. "We got to 3.3 Mach number, but we only go there momentarily. We don't sit there for about an hour like the SR-71 does," recounting the abilities of the super-fast military reconnaissance aircraft.

Looking into the hybrid rocket motor area of SpaceShipOne, Rutan underscores the simplicity of the power plant's design.

"The fewer things you have that can leak or can fail in a rocket motor the fewer problems you have," is a Rutan rule of thumb.

Similarly, there's the plumbing of the craft, pneumatic cylinders and valves to control the large movable tail section rather than using electrical systems. Like your garden hose under pressure, a turn of the valve and water is definitely going to come out, Rutan said. "It's just that reliable."

Tomorrowland upbringing

On any number of topics -- be it NASA (news - web sites), large aerospace contractors, or inept television reporters -- Rutan has an opinion, mischievously taking out a handmade ear from his shirt pocket and casually slipping it on.

Wording on the false ear speaks volumes: "Bull**** Deflector".

Time traveling back to when he was 12 years of age, Rutan recalls a seminal moment that triggered his yearning about space travel.

In 1955, Walt Disney took television viewers into Tomorrowland - a series of Disneyland presentations that included rocket genius Wernher von Braun detailing space travel in matter-of-fact prose. Those TV shows also talked about floating in weightlessness, lunar exploration, as well as the potential for life on Mars.

"It influenced my life like you wouldn't believe," Rutan recalled. Those television airings came before Sputnik in 1957, the selection of America's first astronaut corps, and the flight of the Soviet Union's Yuri Gagarin - the first human into Earth orbit.

"And we're sitting there amazed throughout the 1960s. We were amazed because our country was going from Walt Disney and von Braun talking about it - all the way to a plan to land a man on the Moon - Wow!"

The right to dream

But as a kid back then, Rutan continued, the right to dream of going to the Moon or into space was reserved for only "professional astronauts" - an enormously dangerous and expensive undertaking.

Over the decades, Rutan said, despite the promise of the Space Shuttle to lower costs of getting to space, a kid's hope of personal access to space in their lifetime remained in limbo.

"Look at the progress in 25 years of trying to replace the mistake of the shuttle. It's more expensive, not less, a horrible mistake," Rutan said. "They knew it right away. And they've spent billions - arguably nearly $100 billion over all these years trying to sort out how to correct that mistake - trying to solve the problem of access to space. The problem is - it's the government trying to do it."

Forecast of things to come

The flights of SpaceShipOne, Rutan said, permit a forecast of things to come.

"I predict in five or six years, the average kid is no longer just hoping and dreaming that he'll go to space. He knows he will. He'll at least take one of these suborbital flights that are flying every other day or every day here at Mojave," Rutan stated. While initially expensive, flights into space will drop in price over time, he added.

"And I predict that within 10 years from now, maybe 12 years, kids will know that they will go to orbit in their lifetime. They will know they will - not just dream and hope," Rutan explained.

IBM mentality

Turning his attention to the larger aerospace firms like Boeing and Lockheed Martin that offer pricey lines of boosters, Rutan offers free advice.

"They are thinking SpaceShipOne is a toy," Rutan said. That assumption is akin to the mentality of IBM in 1975. At that time, they believed people aren't going to have cheap computers. Computers are main frames and they have to be complex and very specialized. That was the view of IBM, he pointed out.

"IBM didn't know in 1975 that they were going to build $700 dollar computers for people and that they were going to build them by the tens of thousands. But then came Apple," Rutan said, "and they had to."

That being the case, Rutan made another prediction: "Lockheed and Boeing will be making very low-cost access to space hardware within 20 years. They just don't know it yet - because they're going to have to."

Thousands of probes

Rutan said that an upshot of public space travel is the creation of far less expensive boosters in order to satisfy growing numbers of customers.

That development -- coupled with advances in computers and sensors - will enable thousands of probes to be launched that flood the solar system 25 years from now, Rutan said.

"You'll be able to do a lot more exploration if you send thousands. And it'll be cheap because the boosters were developed because people can't afford to spend too much to get into orbit," Rutan concluded.

"I could be wrong - but these are the things that keep me up nights."

Homage to the X Prize

SpaceShipOne soared into space today, the second time in less than a week, and won the X Prize which worth if you were wondering a cool 10 million dollars. Here is how Google honored the winners, who will usher in a new age of space tourism:

The ultimate goal of the Burt Ratan crew is to bring the cost of a space flight for passengers down to the price of a low-cost car. I would gladly sell my Yugo to experience weightlessness. Richard Branson is already on the SpaceShipOne bandwagon - he's licensed the technology to create Virgin Galactic, a company that will sell flights on a more consumer friendly version of Scaled Composite's prize winning spacecraft. Branson says he's naming the first plane the V.S.S. Enterprise. Talk about an homage. I hear they are only accepting applications from pilots named either Sulu or Checkov...

Star Wars Quote of the Day

There has been a ton of Star Wars attention lately due to the first three movies, episodes IV - VI, being released as a boxed set in DVD format (finally). The best line I've heard/read so far is from Luke himself, actor Marc Hamill:

"How can you be so serious on a film where you are dodging explosions and running away with Sir Alec Guinness on this side and an eight-foot monkey on this side, and the eight-foot monkey is the one flying the spaceship?"

>>> Courtesy of CNN.com Entertainment news.

NASA's fucked

Looks like NASA has some home repairs to make.

The Best SW Vintage Figure Book Ever

I first read about this book in this month's Wired mag. Even though I'm not an avid vintage SW collector, in fact I haven't collected any vintage figures (I just have the ones from my childhood though I did buy lots of the 90's reissued figures as well as Episode 2 figures in the past two years - that is another story altogether though as eBay and free time can be a very dangerous combination), I absolutely love these figures and not just because my Dad pronounces the word figures as fig-urs. They remind me of when life was simple, when an afternoon creating the Hoth base out of blocks and replaying the opening of "Empire" felt like it lasted for 2 months, when the world was just black and white (or red and green). God, I love original trilogy and those toys....

This book that John Kellerman has painstakingly put together should be requisite "Child of the 80's" bookshelf material. It looks beautiful and even if you are never going to buy an original mint Darth Vader figure for about $50, you'll love flipping through the pages any day of the week. It's the kind of book that you wow company with (ok, fellow sci-fi loving nerd company) and that will make rainy days more fun. I would have ordered my copy already but I have a birthday coming up soon and a certain someone said, "Don't buy it - send me the link."