SpaceX’s Autonomous ‘Grasshopper’ Rocket Makes Milestone Flight

03-12-2013 • http://www.wired.com, By Jason Paur

SpaceX has reached the point of mission multitasking with a milestone flight for its autonomous Grasshopper rocket.

Elon Musk at SXSW: 'I Would Like to Die on Mars, Just Not on Impact'

03-12-2013 • mashable.com

The most popular name on Twitter during day two of South by Southwest was Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of SpaceX.

Build Your Own DIY Space Plane

03-12-2013 • popsci.com

A Swedish man modified an RC airplane, stuck a camera on it, and then flew it to space and back.

NASA: The Sun Is Not Behaving As Expected

03-11-2013 • Business Insider

The sun is currently nearing the peak of its 11-year solar cycle, which means we should be seeing a lot more action coming from the center of our solar system — in the form of coronal mass ejections, geomagnetic storms and auroras.

Here's How NASA Is Testing A New Biofuel Made From Flowers

03-11-2013 • Business Insider

One way to deal with the high cost of jet fuel and its impact on the atmosphere is to use biofuels.

SXSW: Elon Musk discusses hovering rocket, Mars and that NYT review

03-10-2013 • LA Times

Musk revealed to the crowd that SpaceX is one step closer to developing a reusable rocket, saying the company recently launched a 10-story rocket that burst into the sky, rose 262.8 feet, hovered and landed safely on the pad 34 seconds later using th

Elon Musk discusses hovering rocket, Mars and that NYT review

03-09-2013 • http://www.latimes.com

AUSTIN -- Elon Musk says if mankind doesn't make it to Mars by the time he dies, it'll be the biggest disappointment of his life.

If Earth Were Hosting An Alien Species, This Is What It Would Look Like

03-09-2013 • popsci.com

The unkillable tardigrade rears its tiny, weird-looking head.

Giant Milky Way bubbles blown by black hole merger

03-09-2013 • newscientist.com

A tiny galaxy that collided with the Milky Way spawned two huge bubbles of high-energy particles that now tower over the centre of our galaxy.

Open-Sourcing Outer Space: 3-D Printing Meets Rocket Science

03-08-2013 • Wired.com

Sure a 3D printed car is cool, but it doesn’t go to space. And there’s probably a good reason for that, but now a competition is aiming to launch the newest manufacturing fad into the final frontier by challenging people to design 3D printed rocket

Meet The Brilliant Ladies Who Send Rockets Into Space

03-08-2013 • Business Insider

Today is International Women's Day, which celebrates women's growing contributions to society and participation in the workforce.

Two Asteroids to Pass Near Earth on Saturday

03-08-2013 • Prison Planet

Two asteroids, one of them bigger in size than the celestial body that burst over Russia last month, will fly by the Earth on Saturday, though not as close as to threaten collision.

Private SpaceX Capsule Brings Big Science to Space Station

03-07-2013 • http://www.space.com, by Miriam Kramer

The International Space Station is now home to more than 1,200 pounds (544 kilograms) of supplies delivered by an unmanned, privately built space capsule that reached the orbiting science laboratory on Sunday (March 3).

NASA Puts Mars Rover Curiosity on Standby After Solar Flare

03-07-2013 • space.com

NASA's Curiosity rover has powered down to wait out a Mars-bound solar blast, complicating efforts to bring the 1-ton robot back from a computer glitch.

Balloon Flights Bring Near-Space Exploration to Masses

03-07-2013 • space.com

Talk about ballooning expectations. How about launching your own payloads into the exotic environment of near space?

Europa’s Oceans Might Taste Like Earth’s Oceans

03-06-2013 • http://www.wired.com, By Adam Mann

The subsurface water on Jupiter’s moon Europa probably has a similar salty taste to Earth’s oceans.

A Super Fast Comet Is Headed For Mars

03-05-2013 • Business Insider

A PAIR of middle-aged tourists (see previous post) are not the only thing headed for Mars.

Curiosity Is Awake Again And On The Path To Recovery

03-05-2013 • popsci.com

Curiosity on Mars This artist's concept depicts the Curiosity rover using its Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument to investigate the composition of a rock surface.

SpaceX Update: Dragon Now Mated to Space Station

03-03-2013 • http://www.slate.com

Well, that was fast! This morning, the SpaceX Dragon capsule was successfully berthed to the International Space Station. After all the drama that started this mission, the successful orbital mating brought cheers—and a sigh of relief

ALL FOUR SpaceX Dragon Thrusters Are Working Again

03-02-2013 • Business Insider

All four of the Dragon capsule's thrusters are working normally again, Elon Musk announced on twitter

Protecting Earth From Asteroids

03-01-2013 • arclein

Simply looking for potentially hazardous asteroids is one of the most important parts of this effort, said physicist and former astronaut Ed Lu, who helped found the B612 Foundation, a private non-profit dedicated to spotting dangerous objects from s

Watch SpaceX launch rocket from Cape Canaveral on resupply mission

03-01-2013 • NASA TV

Hawthorne-based SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is on the launch pad ready to blast off at 7:10 a.m. Pacific time from Cape Canaveral, Fla., to begin a resupply mission to the International Space Station for NASA.

Distant, Gargantuan Black Hole Spins At Almost The Speed Of Light

03-01-2013 • popsci.com

New telescopic findings help shed light on a black hole physics mystery.

Astronomers Think They've Captured The Birth Of The Youngest Planet Ever

02-28-2013 • popsci.com

Astronomers have likely caught one of the first glimpses of a planet being born.

Did The U.S. Buy Its Moon Program From Yugoslavia?

02-28-2013 • popsci.com

An attention-grabbing new "docudrama" puts forth a very unusual theory.

Private Plan to Send Humans to Mars in 2018 Might Not Be So Crazy

02-27-2013 • http://www.wired.com, By Adam Mann

An ambitious private manned mission to Mars aims to launch a two-person crew to fly around the Red Planet and return to Earth in 501 days, starting in January 2018.

Canadian Tour Companies Launch Private Spaceflight Deals

02-27-2013 • http://www.space.com, by Elizabeth Howell

Two high-end Canadian tourism companies are adding space to their list of exotic destinations.

SpaceX Fires Up Private Rocket for Friday Launch to Space Station

02-27-2013 • http://www.space.com, by Mike Wall

A private rocket has flexed its muscles in a key pre-launch test, firing up in preparation for lofting the next commercial cargo mission toward the International Space Station this Friday (March 1).