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more about #defense Eriamjh: This explanation is ridiculous! It's nowhere near as reasonable as UFOs! more » Dirk Anger: Mynd you, møøse bites Kan be pretty nasti... more » Anekanta - Go Play!: Holy spiral contrails Bruce! I think there's something wrong with the bat-signal! more » firstofnormalin: Do believe that the rockets circulate fuel around the firing chambers and nozzles to cool them so they don't burn through. A small pinhole in the fuel... more » Ceiling90: See, I'm not even minding that this sounds like a cover up for an UFO, but I'm more concerned that someone shot a rocket and it went not so horribly a... more » L3G10N: I think I prefer the UFO story to the out of control Russian rocket. Is Norway not concerned about malfunctioning rockets flying above their skies?? ... more » Jester21: Sure, a missile launch... from the Frog People of Dimension Z! more » Joe Wojak: No, it was a friendly Cyno in local. more » okeribok: So, no x-mas diner or any kind of food at ISS then? more » Maya Twocents: Hmmm.. Project Blue Beam, perhaps? I'd link to the Wikipedia page but - whoops - it's been deleted. I'd put on my tinfoil hat, but that would probab... more » NerD: Blattella: See the biggest problem with this story is that the YouTube video of the explanation sent me into a 3 hour look at conspiracy videos. I had no idea t... more » comrade_leviathan: If a failed rocket launch looks like this... I'll give some tax dollars to a failed NASA launch every now and again! more » crosis101: Having seen the video of this this morning. I am going to start the "Boom Tube" theory, and figure that either Darkseid, or Kalibak are here now. Mayb... more » redqueenmeg: It's times like this that I'm glad I'm not doing phone tech support anymore. I can't imagine how many people will call in from places nowhere near Sca... more » Roklimber: Here's a simulation. more » SmokeDiver: Failure? That's what they want us to think. It's actually designed to spiral so you can't shoot it down! more » bish91: [www.reallifecomics.com] Only possible explanation. IT WAS TONY more » Aaron Altman: Wormhole. All that's missing is Terok Nor. more » Swifter: I totally called this. The HypnoMissile. more » JimBonJovi: I, for one, would like to welcome our new overlords from the Spirograph dimension. more » -
#mysteryspiral
Norway Light Spiral Was a Failed Missile Launch, Says Scientist [Updated]
New Scientist is reporting that the strange spiral of light that Norwegians saw in the sky two nights ago was in fact a failed Russian missile launch. More » -
#defense
The Art of the Space Race
Over at Berg London, Megan Prelinger has an amazing essay about the design of advertisements for defense industry companies during the mid-twentieth century space race. Interestingly, socialist-inspired designs were used to advertise anti-commie missile systems. More » -
#madscience
Build Your Own DHS-Approved "Seasickness Weapon"!
The US Department of Homeland Security has funded the creation of a non-lethal weapon called the Dazzler that's basically a flashlight that causes disorientation, nausea, and vomiting. Now you can make one too! Hardware hackers from Adafruit explain it all. More » -
#crimesofthefuture
Robot Fighter Jet Killed Before It Could Go AWOL
An autonomous fighter jet called a Reaper was shot down over Northern Afghanistan last weekend after it went AWOL and attempted to fly outside Afghan airspace. More » -
#madscience
Sonic Black Hole Swallows Every Sound It Hears
Imagine a giant tank that can roll into town emitting literally no sound. This could be the future of stealth warfare. Scientists have recently devised a "sonic black hole;" any sound that passes its edge can never come out again. More » -
#rant
Have War Movies Become Superhero Flicks?
War movies from Apocalypse Now to Rambo used to be where we dealt with issues like the morality of violence and the meaning of honor. Now superhero flicks like Wolverine and Watchmen are replacing them. More » -
#laserdeathmachine
Battle-Grade Laser Ready for War
Researchers at Northrop Grumman have just announced that they have a battlefield-ready laser. They can now get 100 kilowatts of power into a laser, which has long been a barrier. More » -
#coolscience
So You'd Like To Be An Explosion Scientist
Explosions aren't just for padding out Michael Bay movies. They are also crucial to the production of industrial materials, keeping medical supplies safe during shipping, and even to the future of treating heart disease.
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#bookreview
"Wired for War" Asks What Happens When Robots Kill for Us
If you're interested in the future of non-fictional robot armies, P.W. Singer's Wired for War will give you an intriguing glimpse into the present state of mechanized warfare. This is where scifi meets reality.
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#wargames
$36 Million Virtual Reality Game to Train US Soldiers
The Pentagon has just given the U.S. Office of Naval Research $36 million for what it calls a "futuristic" experiment in training soldiers to deal with terrorists by using immersive virtual reality scenarios. More » -
#quoteoftheday
What Happens When Wars Are Fought By Robots?
Journalist Peter Singer has a new book out called Wired for War, about all the scifi-influenced tech being deployed on battlefields right now, including autonomous robots. He explains the folly of robot war. More » -
#militaryfuturism
The Art of Defense Machines, Today in Washington, DC
Today the federal government of the US will be spending roughly $50 million on state-of-the-art defense during today's inauguration of President Barack Obama. Here, a robot bomb sniffer gets ready for the big day. More » -
#madsocialscience
Chart Reveals Future of the Air Force Lies in the Blogosphere
As part of a new campaign to interact with bloggers, the Air Force has issued this complicated flow-chart to teach officers how to comment on blog posts. More » -
#militarytech
We All Live in a Flying Submarine
For some military operations, you need a submarine. For others, you need a plane. But what if you need both? DARPA has a plan for that - a submarine that flies. Or a plane that submerges, depending on your point of view. More » -
#politicalsciencefiction
US National Intelligence Council Predicts Decline of America in New Report
Lefty types have been predicting the demise of America for the last century, but in 2008 even the most conservative elements of the US government are predicting it too. Every four years, the US National Intelligence Council issues a future-looking report about global trends, and this year one of those trends is the decline of American power in the world. More »
