Anyone interested in 3D modelling and spacey things … Nasa have scaled dimensioned drawings of the various modules which make up the ISS (plus a handy exploded view) available for download in pdf format right about … here. Probably been online for yonks but I just found them. First person to send in their completed [...]

…or even Deep Impact. No roughneck oil drillers dropping nukes down holes, no Morgan Freeman “Life will go on” speeches, no quirky one-liners by American heroes on a suicide mission to drive their shuttle into the side of a big hairy rock, and no fucking Aerosmith songs. Nothing like that at all, but not far [...]

Returning to the subject of the space elevator because there was an interesting development over the weekend. The LiftPort Group, the blokes wot are developing a space lift, tested a robot climber, which crawled up a length of “ribbon” which was attached to a high altitude balloon. “The test run, conducted earlier this week, is [...]

I’m fascinated by the “space elevator” idea. It still really sounds like science fiction but apparently the technology needed to complete such a project already exists. Keithcu explains some of the technology involved and argues why NASA should be focussing on this rather than putting people back on the moon. I’m curious why Bush/NASA are [...]

Old news now, I had no time to post yesterday, great to see that the Discovery shuttle has made it home safely. No doubt there were serious concerns following the quick fix they had to do before starting their return trip. More space news, a new Mars probe was due for launch but has been [...]

More spacey news. A huge patch of ice has been found in an unnamed crater on Mars. “The photographs were taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera on board Mars Express, the European Space Agency probe which is exploring the planet.” “The existence of the water-ice patch on Mars raises the prospect that past or present life will one day be detected.”
And since reading this I can’t get the Bowie song “Life on Mars” out of my head, not that I mind, Bowie’s deadly.

Didn’t get a chance to post on this before now though it’s beeen in the news a few days. Astronomers have reported the discovery of a 10th planet in our solar system. It was first actually seen in 2003 but only now confirmed as a planet. “2003 UB313″ is a planet of rock and ice, somewhat larger than Pluto and about 3 times as far away. I wonder what name they will give it? I wonder when Celestia will add it to their program.
Update: Will we lose Pluto? *sniff*

I was looking forward to see how they would get on with this Cosmos-1 Solar Sail experiment, but it looks as if they’ve lost the damn thing. I suppose when you stick a pimped intercontinental ballistic missile up it’s ass and fire it off from a nuclear sub there’s a good chance something could go [...]