Monthly Archives: December 2015

General, Space Policy, SpaceCasts

Video – TMRO 8.36: Where did all this space love come from?

The latest TMRO.tv program is now available on line: Where did all this space love come from? – TMRO

This week we ask the question, “Is there a sudden influx in space interest and where is it coming from?”

Space news topics discussed:

* Soyuz 2-1v launch with Kanopus ST Earth observing satellite
* Atlas V launch of Cygnus
* Long March 3B with Chinasat 1C satellite
* Zenit launch with Elektro-L 2 weather satellite
* Aerojet Rocketdyne wins propulsion contracts worth nearly $1.4 billion
* Angry McCain Demands Answers on ULA No-bid Decision
* Japan looking to further their relationship with the US… in Space!
* Soyuz TMA-17M Returns with three astronauts from the ISS
* SpaceX eyes Dec. 19 for first launch since June
* Motion Tracking = Better Space Station?

TMRO.tv is supported by viewers:

TMRO Live is a crowd funded show. If you like this episode consider contributing to help us to continue to improve. Head over to http://www.patreon.com/tmro for information, goals and reward levels. Don’t forget to check out our SpacePod campaign as well over at http://www.patreon.com/spacepod

Mars, Space Science, Space Systems

Video: Curiosity rover report – Dec.15.15

The latest report from NASA JPL on what’s happening with the Curiosity rover on Mars:

Curiosity performs the first investigation of active sand dunes on another planet. Studying the Bagnold Dunes on Mars will help scientists understand the physics of Martian dunes and how they move.

Solar Sci-Fi, Space films and videos

Video: Trailer for “Star Trek Beyond” (2016)

And now here’s the trailer for the next Star Trek movie, which will be released on July 22, 2016:

Rockets

Video: Watch 400 rocket builders watch their new baby land safely

I posted in November about Blue Origin‘s recent successful test flight of a reusable suborbital space launch vehicle: Videos: Blue Origin flies a suborbital rocket to space and then lands it safely.

Here is a video showing Blue’s rocketeers as they watched the landing:

Engineering is hard but it definitely has its joyful and rewarding moments.

Living in Space, Spaceflight & Parabolic Flight

Video: New spacesuit designs

Here’s a NASA video about new spacesuit designs that the agency is developing:

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Elon Musk talks in this interview about the spacesuits that SpaceX is designing for the company’s astronauts who will fly in the Crew Dragon vehicle: How Elon Musk Plans on Reinventing the World (and Mars) – GQ

.. And so this Monday evening, his mind is on space suits. Right now, specifically, he needs to go see the latest secret prototype of a new kind of space suit—the first to be made by a private rocket company for astronauts to wear into orbit and beyond, which he hopes will go into use in 2017.

“We’re trying to have a good balance between aesthetics and functionality,” he explains, sitting in his office at SpaceX. “It’s tricky to have something that works in reality and looks good.”

As with much of what Musk does, there is a plan, but then, behind that, there’s often a bigger plan. To Musk, it’s obvious that this new space suit not only needs to work well but also needs to look cool, because he needs people—regular people like you and me—to imagine themselves wearing it.