Archive for the ‘Space Technology’ Category
For those of you who weren’t awake, aware or available, there was a full eclipse of the moon last night. Now, I’m also one of those who, for various reasons, wasn’t able to cast my eyes skyward and catch the moon at its best. Sometimes the moon just doesn’t seem to take into consideration that many of us are located on the wrong side of the globe (or clock) to be able to glimpse at the glowing red orb up in the nighttime sky.
Thank goodness for Slooh.
If ever anyone wanted to be an astronomer and didn’t have the time, patience or ability to go to school for astrophysics, yet wanted to partake of the universe in an engaging and useful way, then Slooh is for you. It’s a membership organization and it isn’t cheap, but anyone will have access to high-powered telescopes in the Canary Island and Chile, plus get in on a myriad of missions. The universe is literally at your desktop.
As a participant, one also joins a community of like-minded individuals who cast their eyes skyward share what they observe. Also, one gets in on all kinds of neat stuff that NASA offers, too. In fact, Slooh engages NASA and a community of citizen astronomers to help with its near Earth asteroid project. So if you see something, you can say something!
I’ve included the below link for those how want to experience the eclipse and/or get a taste of what Slooh can do for you. Enjoy!
http://live.slooh.com/stadium/live/slooh-covers-the-total-lunar-eclipse-of-october-2014-as-it-slides-across-the-pacific-ocean
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Credit: Obayashi Corporation
For years, there’s been all sorts of conjecture about creating an elevator to space. Why bother with rockets when space comes to you at the press of a button? It’s relatively cheap, efficient and kind of cool. NASA’s been tinkering with this idea for some time now, even offering a competition to intrepid folks willing to come up with a winning design.
In the meantime, a Japanese construction company, Obayashi, plans to have one functioning by 2050. Thanks to the use of carbon nanotechnology, it plans to begin construction somewhere around 2030. Extending 96,000 kilometers in space, it will provide an economical alternative to traditional launch-based technologies (otherwise known as rockets).
Considering what rockets cost to build and launch, it’s expected to be quite a savings in both time and resources. It is expected to transport up to 30 people to a space station and will take seven days to reach it.
From there, getting to the moon with the sky taxi should be a piece of cake. So when you next hear Frank Sinatra croon, “Fly Me to the Moon,” perhaps you’ll know what he was talking about. Who knew that man was such a predictor of the future of space?
Here’s a video thanks to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that’ll give you an idea of what to expect. Watch for yourself!
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Moon, Stars and Beyond 