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A company called Orbital Technologies has big plans to put a hotel in space, 217 miles above the Earth. Take a look at the cozy station where you could dream among the stars, for a mere $511,000. More »
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A record number of 13 astronauts were together on the Space Station this week. The Endeavour shuttle crew is leaving this largest-ever space gathering Friday, but one of their final tasks on the station was a five hour spacewalk today. More »
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With the toilet on the International Space Station busted once again, we can't help but wonder whether humanity is doomed to a space-faring future without working facilities. Fortunately, there are plenty of fictional, functional space toilets to ease our minds. More »
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Today, millions of Americans are traveling to spend Thanksgiving Day with their loved ones. But for the astronauts currently aboard the International Space Station, going home for the holiday isn’t an option. The station will host a Thanksgiving meal of its own, but while we’ve come a long way from the powders and edible goo of early spaceflight, the irradiated turkey and freeze-dried beans are a far cry from home cooking. More »
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Click to viewFor those who can't imagine a universe without Stephen Colbert, there's good news. The satirist's DNA is going to be preserved for future generations, and perhaps future civilizations. Video game designer and soon-to-be space tourist Richard Garriott is adding Colbert's genetic code to the Immortality Drive, the digital time capsule Garriott plans to take to the International Space Station to serve as an "offsite backup" for the human race. And should an alien civilization happen upon the archive and decide to clone those inside, Lord British has lined up a few other humans to keep Colbert company. More »
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Robert Bigelow, owner of the Budget Suites hotel chain and head of Bigelow Airspace, has two functioning space stations in orbit around Earth. The older module, Genesis 1, just passed its 10,000th orbit, and both it and Genesis 2 appear to be functioning normally. It's pretty exciting that an entrepreneur can keep two small stations in orbit , and move ahead with his plans to launch a crewed "Sundancer" version by 2011. But has anyone thought about what Bigelow's really up to? "Bigelow Aerospace" sounds an awful lot like "Drax Industries" in Moonraker... oh sure, there's probably nothing to worry about. But could it really hurt if we politely asked Mr. Bigelow to search the Genesis modules for nerve gas? (from Space.com) More »
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If you've ever lived in a dorm or a small apartment, you know how hard it can be to cram in all your computers, books, and general stuff while still staying organized. This problem has reached epic engineering proportions in the International Space Station's "living quarters" on the the Zvezda Module. Three people use the 43-foot cylinder for sleeping, eating, relaxing, cleaning up, going to the bathroom, exercising, doing science experiments, and using their computers. What can you learn about space saving from people in space? Turns out there are three basic rules of organization on Zvezda that are useful on Earth, too. More »
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By the early 1980s, the Soviet Union will have a fleet of space shuttles far superior to our own, plus a network of space stations and a second fleet of orbital vehicles to service them. Oh, and mega laser weapons. That was the prediction in a 1974 book Soviet Conquest From Space. How did Peter James get it so wrong? More »
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