Happy 2014 everyone!
“Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country.”
– Anaïs Nin (1903 – 1977)
Now that 2014 is finally here, Virgin Galactic‘s first commercial flight with its WhiteKnightTwo / SpaceShipTwo combo edges ever so closer to reality with every day that goes past. A few days ago, they launched SpaceShipTwo 71,000ft up in the sky and tested several critical features in the process, as Virgin Galactic’s Chief Pilot Dave … Read More “Virgin Galactic Breaks Own Altitude Record” »
Across the years, only a few humans have had the honor of being able to say that they walked on the moon – and John Watts Young is one of them. In 1972, he became the ninth man to walk on the Moon as the Commander of the Apollo 16 mission. However, his life has … Read More “John W. Young (1930-2021)” »
Check out this amazing video created by NASA, showing a scientifically accurate reenactment of how one of the iconic images in human history was captured by the crew of Apollo 8 forty-five years ago to the day: Earthrise
NASA‘s second manned mission launched exactly 45 years ago, in 1968. Apollo 8, its crew being made up of Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot Jim Lovell and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders, was the first manned mission orbiting the Moon. A pivotal milestone in U.S. President JFK’s plans to have a man walk on … Read More “Today In History – December 21” »
“We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special.”
– Stephen Hawking (1942), quoted from Der Spiegel (17 October 1988)
Edwin Eugene “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr. was born on January 20th, 1930 in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. The son of an Air Force Colonel, he followed in his father’s footsteps by enrolling in West Point and joining the United State Air Force – ending up being a decorated Air Force pilot with 66 combat missions in … Read More “Buzz Aldrin (1930)” »
Orbital Sciences Corporation (registered on the New York Stock Exchange as ORB, though commonly referred to as Orbital) is an American company which specializes in the manufacturing and launch of small- and medium-class space and rocket systems. Their client base includes the likes of the US Department of Defense and NASA. A pretty sizeable company, … Read More “Orbital Sciences Corporation” »
“All civilizations become either spacefaring or extinct.”
– Carl Sagan (1934 – 1996)
Japan is known for numerous things: sushi, samurai, advanced robotics, manga and a rapidly aging population to name but a few. Maybe not as well known abroad as NASA or ESA, Japan also has its own aerospace agency called JAXA, which in its current form is still very young. Its veteran astronaut – Koichi Wakata – … Read More “JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency)” »