Coming along nicely.
Sep 132013
Sep 132013
So if you’re like me, you like toy spaceships. If you’re *not* like me, you can afford these toy spaceships:
Star Trek: The Next Generation Enterprise D Artisan Replica
Your Price:
$9,995.00
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Your Price:
$6,995.00
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Your Price:
$9,995.00
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Your Price:
$3,495.00
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Your Price:
$6,995.00
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Your Price:
$3,995.00
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And while not a spaceship, I guess this falls into the same category:
Sep 122013
So, I just fired off draft #5 of my science fiction story to Analog’s online submission site. Within 6 weeks I guess I’ll find out if it’ll be accepted for publication. Realistically… nah.
Sep 122013
Progress…
Sep 122013
A neat little animated movie about a rationalist encountering a newager. Some NSFW language, and it is at points a bit mean-spirited… but some really good points put entertainingly and concisely. I think we’ve all met someone much like “Storm.” OR if not “met,” then perhaps “collided with” would be more accurate.
[youtube HhGuXCuDb1U]
Sep 122013
Voyager 1, which has been noted for a few years seemed to be passing through the heliosphere and about to pass into interstellar space (mentioned on this blog in 2012 and 2010), has now been confirmed to have passed the heliopause about August 25, 2012. It’s now out there. We (humanity, Americans, aerospace engineers, etc.) can now say with honesty and hopefully some pride “We built a starship.”
It’s Official! Voyager 1 Spacecraft Has Left Solar System
NASA confirms Voyager 1 has left the solar system
Should we add August 25 to a list of modern holidays?
April 12: Yuri’s Night.
July 20: Apollo 11 (landed on the moon)
August 25: Mankind goes interstellar (“Voyager Day?”)
Sep 122013
A Boeing artists impression of a 747 modified to launch ICBMs (probably Minuteman IIIs). Dates from 1974. Missile load appears to be at least 4. Given how far aft the missiles are dropped, there would likely be an impressive pitch even upon drop.
From an old ebay auction.
Sep 122013
Confirmed as a legit photo of the recent LADEE launch from Wallops:
Sep 122013
September 12, 1962, President Kennedy gave a speech at Rice University that is remember for a grand total of one thing: some of the most uplifting words ever about the importance and value of space exploration. Here is the whole thing:
[youtube VaFTVR-hZqg]
Here’s the important bits:
[youtube _RaRC6YuYCQ]
Kennedy, of course, didn’t give a damn about spaceflight, the conquest of the universe, any of that stuff. His goal was purely strategic and propagandistic: beat the Soviets. But even so, his words were, and remain, uplifting and important
Sep 112013
Issue number 4 of US Bomber Projects is now available (for background, see HERE). This issue includes:
McDonnell System 464L: McDonnell’s entry into the initial Dyna Soar contest, 1958
Lockheed-Martin Falcon: A recent design for an unmanned hypersonic global range bomber
Lockheed Senior Peg: Lockheed’s competitor to the Northrop B-2
Boeing Mobile Missile Carrier: A giant hydrogen fueled amphibian
Boeing Model 701-273-4: A very asymmetrical supersonic predecessor to the B-59
Lockheed Cruise Missile Carrier: A large nuclear-powered cargo plane converted to carry 90 cruise missiles
Boeing Model 462-5: A six-turboprop B-52 ancestor
Martin Model 223-4: A twin-fuselage design on the road to the B-48
USBP#04 can be downloaded as a PDF file for only $4:
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