Launch

Seven years ago, philanthropist Paul G. Allen collaborated with aerospace expert Burt Rutan, to create SpaceShipOne – the first privately-funded, manned rocket ship to fly beyond Earth’s atmosphere, and winner of the Ansari X PRIZE. Now, in the post-Shuttle era, the two men have reunited to create a reusable vehicle for launching both manned and unmanned rockets into space. The project was announced in Seattle today.  Read More

Two unmanned Chinese spacecraft, the Shenzou 8 and the Tiangong 1, have rendezvoused and docked in low Earth orbit. With this, the People’s Republic of China took a step closer toward fulfilling its ambitions of becoming a major space-faring nation. If this mission continues to prove successful, China will be on the road toward its goal of building a manned space station by 2020.  Read More

The future of the International Space Station (ISS) became more secure today when the Russian space agency, Rosocosmos carried out a successful launch of an unmanned Progress spacecraft. The 15,718 lb (7,130 kg) cargo ship carried its three tons of supplies into orbit and successfully deployed its solar arrays without incident. This launch confirms that the Soyuz-U launch vehicle is once again safe to carry the manned spacecraft needed to ferry crews to the ISS.  Read More

Sending a man to outer space in a homebuilt spacecraft worth US$70,000 may seem like a crazy idea to most of us, but not for a Danish group of enthusiasts who call themselves Copenhagen Suborbitals. Their shoestring-budget single-person flying bullet might have come one step closer to an actual manned flight, thanks to a partially successful test flight last Friday (June 3).  Read More

Robonaut 2 will become the first humanoid robot to head into space next month when the space shuttle Discovery blasts-off. R2 has been waiting for this trip for a while, but will have to wait a little longer to get its “space-legs” since only its torso, head and arms are making the initial journey. Because R2’s legs are still being tested, they’ll be sent up on a later launch, as will a few other upgrades that are designed to ultimately allow the robot to help astronauts with extra-vehicular activities.  Read More

Nintendo has finally announced a release date and price for its much anticipated 3DS. Those hoping to add the 3D portable games console to their Christmas list will be disappointed as it is not set to hit stores until February 26, 2011 – and that’s only in Japan. Other markets will have to wait a bit longer with North America and Europe reportedly seeing a release sometime in March, 2011. It also looks like the extra dimension won’t come cheap with an asking price of 25,000 yen (approx. US$299) in Japan.  Read More

Gliders that have engines which can be used for take-off to remove the need for catching a tow to altitude by an airplane or a winch are quite common now. Such engines are usually of the electric or small-piston motor variety, but New Mexico-based company, Desert Aerospace, has gone a step further by fitting a glider with a retractable jet engine.  Read More

This Friday, June 30, sees the release of Apple’s iPhone 4 in an additional 17 countries. And the big question being asked is will the recent hoopla about the device’s antenna problems affect the launch, or will Apple’s recent announcement of free bumpers for all new and existing iPhone 4 customers mean it’s the standard frenzy that has gone hand-in-hand with the launch of Apple products in recent times?  Read More

If you’ve ever tried getting in or out of a canoe or kayak that’s floating alongside a dock... well, it’s actually not that hard if you’ve got some practice, but a quick viewing of just about any funny home videos program will show that mishaps do indeed happen. That moment of transferring your weight between a stable dock and a less-stable boat can sometimes end up in an unintended dunking, and plenty of laughs at the paddler’s expense. A new product, the EZ Launch, is a floating ramp system that eases boat and paddler in and out of the water, and is intended to keep such impromptu baptisms to a minimum.  Read More