Topic: Space Technology

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Beyond SpaceX: Five companies seeking to change space travel

During the past 10 years, Presidents George W. Bush and Obama have directed NASA to turn the job of transporting cargo and crew to the space station over to the private sector. As that process gathers pace, here is a list of the key players.
Blast-off: 6 recent missile advances

Missiles have been prominent in the news with India’s successful test, North Korea’s failed one, and much talk of missile defense systems in Europe and the Persian Gulf. Here are six recent noteworthy missile-technology advances.
20 essential Android tips and tricks

Several weeks ago, we highlighted 20 useful iPhone tricks everyone should know. We got such good feedback from that feature that we wanted to share the love with Android users – who, after all, make up the largest proportion of the smart phone community.
Top 10 cities where house prices are rising

House prices continue to fall nationwide, but here and there they’ve begun to turn up as Americans return to the housing market. Which 10 metropolitan areas have seen the biggest increase in the past year? The winners, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), include a state capital, a furniture-making center, and a resort that was once America’s foreclosure capital. Can you guess who they are?
Five places we might find life in our own solar system

Life on Earth occupies some bizarre places – pools of pitch, deep-sea hydrothermal vents, and lightless lakes buried under glaciers. While scientists hunt for hospitable planets circling other stars, the solar system has a few candidates. Here are five.

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SpaceX: Space Station crew likes what it sees in new transport vehicle

The crew of the International Space Station got its first look at the inside of its newest visitor – SpaceX's Dragon cargo ship – Saturday morning. For the next several years it'll be carrying cargo and astronauts to the space station.
NASA: SpaceX docking ranks near top of space-age 'firsts' (+video)

The successful docking of the SpaceX Dragon capsule with the International Space Station Friday is a landmark moment in opening space to wider use, NASA officials say.
SpaceX: Historic space station rendezvous at over 17,000 mph (+video)

The gleaming white Dragon was snared after a few hours of extra checks and maneuvers. The two vessels came together while sailing above Australia at 17,500 mph.
How you can watch SpaceX's Dragon dock with the space station

You can have a ringside seat to witness the space station's robotic arm pull in Dragon, the first commercial spacecraft to visit the outpost. Time to watch is between 10 a.m. and noon EDT.
SpaceX's Dragon craft is a star performer, so far (+video)

The Dragon spacecraft passed the underside of the space station and correctly calculated the distance between the two – two tests it cleared with flying colors on Thursday. The craft, owned by SpaceX, is set to dock on Friday.
SpaceX flyby of space station an historic first

The SpaceX Dragon capsule successfully made its first burn to approach the space station at 3:58 a.m Thursday. It was the final test before the SpaceX capsule docks at the ISS.
Mars Opportunity rover sees its own shadow in crater

Opportunity just started moving again two weeks ago, after spending more than four months at a site along Endeavour's rim called Greeley Haven. The rover sat out the harsh Martian winter at the site, whose tilt allowed Opportunity to angle its solar panels toward the low-hanging sun.
Horizons
SpaceX launch, a strong start for commercial spaceflight

With Tuesday's launch of the Dragon space capsule aboard the Falcon 9 rocket, SpaceX made a strong case for the viability of commercial spaceflight. But the craft still has quite a few tests to pass for its mission to be a success.
SpaceX rocket on its way to outer space (+video)

This is the first privately-funded spaceflight to the International Space Station; it launched Tuesday after a scrubbed mission over the weekend.
SpaceX launch to space station: humanity finds new wings

If all goes well, the first private capsule will dock at the space station Thursday, marking a historic turning point in the use of private space companies. This will help free up NASA for riskier space exploration.
SpaceX takes Star Trek's 'Scotty' to the Final Frontier

SpaceX: The ashes of the actor James Doohan, who played Scotty on 'Star Trek' were launched to space on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The price? $2,995 to launch 1 gram of ashes into Earth orbit.
SpaceX launch: private industry inspires new generation of rocketeers (+video)

SpaceX launch a reminder that NASA isn't the only game in town anymore. Aspiring engineers, rocket designers, space geeks look to 'New Space' companies to boldly go where only governments used to go.
With SpaceX launch, more than cargo is riding on space station mission (+video)

The Falcon 9 rocket and the Dragon capsule are the bread and butter of SpaceX, which hopes for more contracts with NASA and others to ferry things – and people – to and from space.
SpaceX will try private launch again on Tuesday

The rocket—the first private mission to the International Space Station—scrubbed its planned launch on Saturday.
SpaceX mission to space station scrubbed for now

SpaceX's first attempt to send its Dragon cargo capsule to the International Space Station ended abruptly Saturday morning when computers aboard the company's Falcon 9 rocket shut off the craft's engines just after ignition.
Why historic SpaceX mission to space station will be so difficult

When SpaceX launches its Falcon 9 rocket Saturday, it will be the beginning of a complex rendezvous with the space station that attempts to test several capabilities in one mission.
SpaceX private rocket to make history on Saturday (+video)

The unmanned Dragon space capsule, built by commercial firm SpaceX, is slated to lift off atop the company's Falcon 9 rocket early Saturday from here at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
Beyond SpaceX: Five companies seeking to change space travel

During the past 10 years, Presidents George W. Bush and Obama have directed NASA to turn the job of transporting cargo and crew to the space station over to the private sector. As that process gathers pace, here is a list of the key players.
SpaceX launch: A step-by-step guide (+video)

If all goes well on Saturday, SpaceX will launch the very first commercial visit to the International Space Station. Here is how the trip is expected to go.
From a ride in Ronald Reagan's limo, lessons on authenticity

On my first limousine ride alone with Ronald Reagan as a senior aide, he told me how much his mother shaped his beliefs. One thing about President Reagan, you knew what he believed in. Many voters may have a difficult time finding such rock-solid conviction in Romney or Obama.
Horizons
SpaceX Dragon blasting off to Space Station next week

If the SpaceX Dragon does link up with the International Space Station, it will represent a milestone for commercial space craft. 
New three-man space-station crew blasts off in Soyuz spacecraft

An American and two Russians lifted off in a Russian-made rocket from Kazakhstan Tuesday morning to begin their four-and-a-half month stint aboard the International Space Station.
Would you buy a ticket to a private, inflatable space station? (+video)

SpaceX and Bigelow Aerospace are joining efforts to offer trips to a privately owned orbital habitat.
Russian Soyuz (finally) lifts off for space station (+video)

A Russian Soyuz rocket, with three astronauts aboard, is due at the International Space Station Thursday. On Saturday, the SpaceX 'Dragon' will follow.
Asteroid Vesta: Is it really an asteroid?

The humongous asteroid Vesta is actually a protoplanet left over from the early days of our solar system, new observations from a NASA space probe suggest.