The author of this article gives an entertaining account of participating in the Adult Space Academy program at Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama: From ‘moonwalking’ to landing a space shuttle, the Adult Space Academy in Huntsville, Ala., gives the starry-eyed a taste of what it’s like to train as an astronaut. – latimes.com.
Monthly Archives: October 2013
Sci-Tech: Elon Musk responds to Tesla Model S fire
As you may have heard, a Tesla Motors Model S vehicle caught on fire in Seattle on Thursday after striking metallic debris on the freeway: Elon Musk defends Tesla electric car after fire – USA Today [incl. video report].
A video of the fire (see below) caused quite stir, as stockholders and analysts imagined Tesla might be entering a Boeing 787 battery fire-like crisis. The rave reviews and high rankings of the Model S have sent the stock price soaring in the past few months and this is the first significant negative news that the company has encountered recently.
However, in a response from Elon Musk, he explains that the puncture led to a fire in a small section of the battery pack and it was isolated as planned by the firewall design. Similar damage to a gasoline car could have created a much bigger conflagration : Model S Fire – Tesla Motors Blog
Video: Interstellar flight on the SciShow
Hank Green gives his take on interstellar flight:
From the caption:
You like space exploration, and we like space exploration. So why aren’t we investigating our closest to galactic neighbor, the triple star system Alpha Centauri? Is it time to give interstellar travel a shot? How would we do it? Hank explains our options, and lays out the challenges. Short version: You’re gonna have to be patient!
Space policy roundup – Oct.4.13 [Update]
A handful of recent space policy/politics/law related links:
- Space Law in Down-To-Earth English: The FAA’s Six-Stepped Staircase to Space – Moonandback
- Outer Space May Rescue US Lawyers From A Saturated Job Market – ibtimes.com
- Mars orbiter granted reprieve from government closure – Spaceflight Now
- NASA’s MAVEN Mars orbiter granted ‘Emergency Exemption’ to Resume Processing during Government Shutdown – Unverse Today
- IAC 2013 Beijing: The relentless rise of China in space – Hyperbola/Flight Global
- NASA’s J-2X Engine To Be Mothballed After Testing – Hyperbola/Flight Global
Update: Why the Shutdown Could Further Delay NASA’s Lease of Pad 39A – SpaceNews.com
Update 2: US scientists boycott Nasa conference over China ban – theguardian.com
Robert Walker on the Space Show today – Mars colonization, etc.
I recently mentioned a couple of interesting essays on Science 2.0 by the “inventor and programmer” Robert Walker he which he discussed the use of asteroids to enable colonization of the solar system and what such colonization implies for the Fermi Paradox. He has many more such essays on his blog. The latest entry is With Mars Far From Ideal, Where Is The Best Place To Colonize In The Solar System?
Walker will be on The Space Show today to talk about such things – Twitter / SpaceShow:
Robert Walker on Mars (see http://science20.com ), 9:30 AM PDT (12 PM EDT) today. Listen @ http://www.thespaceshow.com . 1-866-687-7223 #fb #i.