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Posts Tagged “
International Space Station
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international space station
On the International Space Station, You Can Watch Star Wars But Not Star Trek
In a stroke of weird genius, the people at GovernmentAttic.org issued a FOIA (freedom of information act) request to the US government to reveal the contents of the multimedia library on the International Space Station. Probably happy that they weren't being asked about the Patriot Act, the government happily complied, supplying us with a 13-page document containing the titles of every book, movie, and TV show in the ISS library. Not surprisingly there's a lot of science fiction in the mix, plus (of course) The Right Stuff. But there are some shocking choices in terms of what got put in — and what got left out. More »
international space station
European Space Agency Ready to Make Beer Runs to the International Space Station
The European Space Agency successfully completed a major test of the Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) on Monday, moving within 11 meters of the International Space Station. Tomorrow, in a final test, it will reach the ISS dock. The Jules Verne ATV, seen here from the ISS, is an amazing multi-purpose vehicle that will take over the cargo-ferrying duties of the Soviet Progress vessels and the American Space Shuttle, schlepping critical supplies to astronauts on-board the ISS. It's essentially a beta version of the kinds of vehicles that will bring beer and donuts to moon bases for hungry lunar tourists. More »
auroras
Here's a picture of a geomagnetic storm causing crazy auroras to light up the sky over Newfoundland, as seen from the International Space Station. The ISS is actually at the same altitude as these auroras, and sometimes flies straight through the Northern Lights. Click through for another trippy picture of Earth's auroras as seen from space.
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Eye-To-Eye With A Storm Striking Earth's Atmosphere
Here's a picture of a geomagnetic storm causing crazy auroras to light up the sky over Newfoundland, as seen from the International Space Station. The ISS is actually at the same altitude as these auroras, and sometimes flies straight through the Northern Lights. Click through for another trippy picture of Earth's auroras as seen from space.
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space shuttle porn
We finally got the Space Shuttle Atlantis off the ground, after two months of delays and accidents, and it looks totally rich and creamy, streaming into the sky on the back of its big booster rocket. How can we be planning to retire the space shuttle program when it's such an awesome source of porn? Not to mention the advancement of science: the shuttle's mission is to deliver that tiny Columbus laboratory to the International Space Station. Click through for a gallery.
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Space Shuttle Blastoff Looks Like Cotton Candy
We finally got the Space Shuttle Atlantis off the ground, after two months of delays and accidents, and it looks totally rich and creamy, streaming into the sky on the back of its big booster rocket. How can we be planning to retire the space shuttle program when it's such an awesome source of porn? Not to mention the advancement of science: the shuttle's mission is to deliver that tiny Columbus laboratory to the International Space Station. Click through for a gallery.
More »
japan
Japan to Send Peace Message from Space on a Paper Airplane
This week, researchers in the Tokyo area are testing an ultra-strong, heat-resistant paper airplane for space flight in a high-speed wind tunnel. The plane is shaped like a space shuttle and can endure Mach 7 winds. Since they don't know exactly where on earth it will land upon execution, they're going to write a universal peace message that will warm the hearts of humans and aliens alike. Japan Origami Airplane Association via Pink Tentacle
science art
Brazil's Sao Simao Reservoir looks like a painted scifi planetscape in this photo, taken by astronauts on the International Space Station. Astronaut photos from the ISS help with understanding and managing complex ecosystems like wetlands and coral reefs. But mostly they just look fucking cool. This is the 300,000th image NASA has downloaded from the ISS. Click through for a gallery of other recent images.
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Earth's Ecosystems Look Juicy When Seen From Space
Brazil's Sao Simao Reservoir looks like a painted scifi planetscape in this photo, taken by astronauts on the International Space Station. Astronaut photos from the ISS help with understanding and managing complex ecosystems like wetlands and coral reefs. But mostly they just look fucking cool. This is the 300,000th image NASA has downloaded from the ISS. Click through for a gallery of other recent images.
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art
Fragile little guys in their gym clothes dangle just above the curve of the Earth in this computer illustration of the Columbus laboratory module. Space Shuttle Atlantis will install this module on the International Space Station soon after tomorrow's launch. Image by ESA/AP.
Accidental Space Station Art
Fragile little guys in their gym clothes dangle just above the curve of the Earth in this computer illustration of the Columbus laboratory module. Space Shuttle Atlantis will install this module on the International Space Station soon after tomorrow's launch. Image by ESA/AP.
sci fashion
US vs. Russia on "World's Next Top Spacesuit"
The astronauts who spent the past week performing space walks outside the International Space Station wore the familiar puffy white jumpsuits that nostalgia buffs innocently refer to as a "space suit." But the spacefaring hardcore know it as an EMU, or "Extravehicular Mobility Unit," and the current ones have been in service since 1984. On the ISS, however, the EMU isn't the only space fashion in town. More »
space art
The International Space Station may be beautiful, but it has tragically been scorned by true interplanetary exploration enthusiasts as a money-sucking boondoggle. This month it enters the final stages of its complex assembly even though it's scheduled to be phased out by 2017 (and presumably allowed to burn up before plummeting into the sea). Nevertheless, the ISS is an absolutely glorious piece of orbital installation art. Peep at an image gallery of this high-tech, zero-grav masterpiece after the jump.
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Behold the Tragic Beauty of the International Space Station
The International Space Station may be beautiful, but it has tragically been scorned by true interplanetary exploration enthusiasts as a money-sucking boondoggle. This month it enters the final stages of its complex assembly even though it's scheduled to be phased out by 2017 (and presumably allowed to burn up before plummeting into the sea). Nevertheless, the ISS is an absolutely glorious piece of orbital installation art. Peep at an image gallery of this high-tech, zero-grav masterpiece after the jump.
More »
space life
Ramadan in Space With First Malaysian Astronaut
Yesterday in Malaysia crowds went wild as the first Malaysian astronaut, Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, blasted into space on Russian rocket launched from Kazakhstan. Shukor is heading for a 10-day stint on the International Space Station, where he'll be the first person to observe the Islamic holy month Ramadan in space. Malaysians turned out in droves to watch the blast-off on giant-screen TVs in Kuala Lumpur's Freedom Square, selling t-shirts and other space memorabilia. Shukor is an orthopaedic surgeon and professor — and pretty damn hot, too. Image via Getty.Rocket launches first Malaysian into space [via Reuters] More »
