NASA: SpaceX Dragon capsule to reach ISS on March 3rd at 6:01AM ET

Didn't get enough of the Dragon capsule launch this week? Good news, because after a day's delay due to (now remedied, according to NASA and SpaceX) faults with three clusters of its Draco thrusters, the capsule is set to be grappled by the International Space Station at 6:31AM ET on March 3rd (tomorrow morning). If you'll recall, the mission is mainly aimed at getting refreshed supplies and some experiments up to the space station. As an aside, NASA also notes that Dragon is still set to arrive back on earth for a splashdown on the 25th, as initially planned. If you're up for it, NASA TV coverage starts at 3:30AM the same day and the final berthing process (actually getting the capsule connected to the ISS) should happen after 8AM -- all that said, initial "orbital maneuvers" are set for 2AM, according to a tweet from Elon Musk. For more details on this stage of the mission, including those involved, blast over to the NASA source link below -- and make sure you've got enough coffee ready.

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Via: The Verge

Source: NASA, SpaceX (Twitter), Elon Musk (Twitter)

Get Ready for a Fizzy Blast-Off With the Soda Bottle Rocket

Soda Bottle Rocket

Kids grow up way too fast. One minute you’re busy fussing with milk and diapers, the next you’re watching them strut across the stage to get their diploma. Parents often complain that their kids take them for granted, but I think the same can be said about some parents when it comes to their kids.

So while they’re still young and, well, living under your roof, why not set aside some time each week for some serious playtime? You can take on simple DIY projects where you can spend some time working on building toys or making crafts with your kid, and enjoy the fruits of your labor when it’s ready to be played with. And you can start with a project like the Soda Bottle Rocket.

Rockets are expensive, but they’re pretty fun to play around with in the yard. The good news is that they’re fairly easy to build, and require materials that you can buy easily from your local hardware store or online, like music wire, kite string, PVC pipe couplers, PVC plug caps, and of course, trusty o-rings to seal the deal.

You might already have a couple of o-rings already in your toolbox, given how they’re the most commonly used seals to prevent leaks at connecting surfaces for a number of mechanical applications. You’ll also need some hex bolts, eyebolts, and binder rings, but again, you might already have stowed away in your shed or something.

The best part is you do a bit of recycling with this project too, since you’re supposed to use a 2-liter soda bottle for the body of the rocket. Find out what you need and how you can build your own soda bottle rocket here.

VIA [ Make ]

South Korea successfully launches native rocket and satellite into space

South Korea launches first native rocket and satellite into space

The spacefaring club has been a small one: to date, just 10 countries have managed to build their own rocket and successfully deploy at least a satellite. Make that 11. South Korea has entered the fold by successfully launching its mostly self-developed, two-stage Naro rocket and putting the vehicle's Science and Technology Satellite-2C payload into orbit. The achievement comes after two prominent failures in 2009 and 2010, and is partly symbolic when there's no plans for a short-term follow-up. However, the success gets the ball rolling for the long run -- the Korea Aerospace Research Institute is working with contractors to build completely in-house rocket stages by 2016, and reach 300 tons of thrust as soon as 2018.

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Via: Space.com

Source: Yonhap News Agency

NASA rocket to paint the sky red, tune in tonight starting at 4:30PM ET (video)

NASA rocket to paint the sky red, tune in tonight starting at 430PM ET video

Decades ago, NASA would frequently light up the night sky with chemical trails as part of its measurements of upper atmosphere behavior. While those moments are increasingly rare, we'll get a rare chance to enjoy one of them this evening. The agency's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia is launching a suborbital rocket that will generate (and test) a pair of trails of red-tinted lithium as it flies above Eastern US coastline -- trails bright enough that large parts of the seaboard may get a first-hand look as the rocket gains altitude. If you fall outside of that range, don't fret. NASA will stream the whole affair starting from 4:30PM Eastern, with a hoped-for takeoff over an hour later. Catch the feed below when the launch is live, and hit the source links for more about the mission itself.


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Via: Space.com

Source: NASA

Watch SpaceX’s Grasshopper rocket hover, from its own point of view (video)

Watch SpaceX's Grasshopper reusable rocket hover, from its own point of view video

Ever wonder what it would be like to hover 131 feet above the ground through rocket power? You could come close with a jetpack, or you could watch a new SpaceX video that shows the Grasshopper reusable rocket's own perspective. The new angle on a December test flight emphasizes just how quick and precise the hover routine has become: it takes little time for the Grasshopper to stop at its intended altitude, and the rocket doesn't bob or sway to any significant degree. We'd most like to see the rocket reach its full two-mile potential, but we'll gladly be distracted by the recent footage found after the break.

Continue reading Watch SpaceX's Grasshopper rocket hover, from its own point of view (video)

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Watch SpaceX’s Grasshopper rocket hover, from its own point of view (video)

Watch SpaceX's Grasshopper reusable rocket hover, from its own point of view video

Ever wonder what it would be like to hover 131 feet above the ground through rocket power? You could come close with a jetpack, or you could watch a new SpaceX video that shows the Grasshopper reusable rocket's own perspective. The new angle on a December test flight emphasizes just how quick and precise the hover routine has become: it takes little time for the Grasshopper to stop at its intended altitude, and the rocket doesn't bob or sway to any significant degree. We'd most like to see the rocket reach its full two-mile potential, but we'll gladly be distracted by the recent footage found after the break.

Continue reading Watch SpaceX's Grasshopper rocket hover, from its own point of view (video)

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Christmas Tree Rocket is Like a Large and Festive Lawn Dart of Death

Did your Christmas tree take off like a rocket? No, I didn’t think so. If it did, you would have a hole in your roof and a large cleanup bill. Anyway, I’m sure that your tree was lovely, but here’s the thing. What do you do with the tree when Christmas is over?

Well, you could throw it by the curb with the trash or just keep it up all year and decorate all year round as it drops all of its needles on the rug. Here’s a better idea. Put some rocket engines on your tree and launch it into the air.
rocket tree
I’m sure your neighbors won’t mind. Unless it ends up sticking out of their roof after touchdown. Anyway, the awesome folks in this video made their tree into a rocket (dubbed the XMS Mistletoe) and it looks like they had a literal blast putting their tree out of its misery.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsDZbRankCs

Let the annual launching of our trees commence next January 1st! Rocket-tree is fun and easy!

[via Obvious Winner]

Give Your Christmas Tree the Old Heave-Ho to Outer Space

Rocket Tree

Christmas has passed and we’re well into the first week of the new year. It’s time to take down the holiday decorations, finish the leftovers from various family dinners, and get back to work. The biggest holiday clean-up hassle of all, though, is the tree. It’s huge, it’s bulky, and it’s probably the most tedious to take care of.

Several folks probably felt the same way, so they did something you probably wanted to do but never did with your tree: send it to outer space.

Well, almost-outer space anyway, since the tree rose over 120 feet before making its descent. The Christmas tree rocket was propelled upward by 32 rocket engines powered by a car battery. An on-board tree cam provided amazing views of the entire flight, as you can see in the clip above.

VIA [ The Daily Mail ]

SpaceX Grasshopper reusable rocket improves leap to 131 feet (video)

SpaceX Grasshopper reusable rocket improves leap to 131 feet video

Not to mix Aesop's Fables or anything, but when it comes to the world of commercial space race, sometimes slow and steady is the thing. A couple months back, we watched SpaceX's reusable vertical takeoff, vertical landing rocket, the Grasshopper, nudge its way off the ground. And while this current test isn't exactly the "few hundred feet to two miles" that we were promised, it's quite literally a step in the right direction, at 131 feet, plus some quality hover time. All in all, the test, conducted December 17th in McGregor, Texas, took around 29 seconds to unfold. Relive it in the video after the break.

Continue reading SpaceX Grasshopper reusable rocket improves leap to 131 feet (video)

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Via: The Next Web, Twitter

SpaceX lands a pair of plum US Air Force contracts for its Falcon rockets

SpaceX Falcon scores two US Air Force contracts

SpaceX vehicles have proved themselves thus far to be highly capable cargo-toters for hungry astronauts aboard the ISS, and now the company's Falcon rockets have chalked up a couple of US Air Force missions, too. They'll participate in the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program, launching the Deep Space Climate Observatory in 2014 aboard a Falcon 9 and a DOD satellite in 2015 from a Falcon Heavy. Those missions are part of the USAF's Orbital/Suborbital Program-3, a competition pitting SpaceX against Orbital Sciences for up to $900 million worth of contracts. That puts Elon Musk's little venture in the catbird seat for the chance to compete against Boeing and Lockheed Martin for prime EELV contracts, backing up some of the CEO's recent trash-talk.

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Via: SlashGear

Source: SpaceX