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Last week it came to our attention that the phrase "blast off" was coined—not in a purely scientific context, but a science fictional one—by E. E. Smith, an early science fiction author often referred to as "the father of space opera." The term appeared in Smith's 1937 story Galactic Patrol, when one character inquires of another, "How long do you figure it'll be before it's safe for us to blast off?" More »
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Not all NASA gigs involve rockets and spacesuits. Zero-G motion sickness is a common problem for astronauts, and someone has to test the bags o' biliousness. Meet those intrepid scientists who make NASA's fake vomit. More »
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Today a 727 "Vomit Comet" lifted off from Las Vegas in order to film a scene of a woman dancing in zero gravity for an upcoming science fiction film called Stardance. Filmmaker Jeanne Robinson (choreographer and wife of scifi writer Spider Robinson) won the trip after showing this astonishingly bad preview video at the Heinlein Centennial earlier this year in Kansas City. It's a little bit John Tesh, and a little bit yoga. Here's the whoa: it's funded, and set to screen at an IMAX theater near you. More »
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