Hasta La Gadget!

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.

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]

Entrepreneur Elon Musk is well-known for talking trash about the vehicular competition… just not when it involves rockets instead of four wheels. Still, that’s what we’re facing in the wake of a BBC interview. He tells the broadcaster that the Ariane 5 rocket stands “no chance” in the face of the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy systems from his own SpaceX outfit, as it’s more expensive to use — and the contrast will only get worse when a cheaper, next-generation Falcon 9 arrives, he says. Musk echoes France’s position that Ariane should skip a mid-life upgrade to its vehicle and jump directly to a less expensive Ariane 6. The executive has a point when there’s more than 40 booked SpaceX flights so early into the Falcon program’s history, although there’s something left to prove when the first scheduled Dragon capsule launch ran into a non-critical engine failure. We’ll know that Musk can walk the walk if there’s still a long line of SpaceX customers by the time Ariane 6 hits the launchpad.

Filed under: Transportation

CE-Oh no he didn’t!: SpaceX creator Elon Musk says Ariane 5 rocket has ‘no chance’ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Nov 2012 11:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One small step in May is poised to turn into one giant leap for space capitalism as NASA approved the Sunday evening launch of SpaceX‘s Dragon capsule. The scheduled trip comes just a little over four months after the project successfully completed a docking test by the unmanned private spacecraft with the International Space Station. The Sunday flight — dubbed CRS-1 — will have the Dragon capsule piggybacking on a Falcon 9 rocket to punch through the atmosphere while carrying more than a thousand pounds of cargo. The capsule will then dock with the station for about three weeks before being sent back to Earth to deliver more than a ton of scientific samples and used hardware from the ISS. The launch is scheduled for 8:35PM ET from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station barring a tantrum from Mother Nature (we’ve also seen our share of aborted SpaceX Dragon launches before so we’re keeping our proverbial fingers crossed). NASA says that Orbital Sciences‘ competing Cygnus spacecraft and Antares rocket will also make a demo flight later this year.

[Image credit: Jim Grossmann, NASA]

Filed under: Transportation, Science, Alt

SpaceX Dragon capsule launch gets go signal from NASA originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 07 Oct 2012 08:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SpaceX just put a date on when private space travel becomes a seemingly everyday affair: October 7th. That’s when the company and NASA expect to launch a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station delivering the first of a dozen cargo loads to the International Space Station through the unmanned Dragon spacecraft. While we’re not expecting any trouble — SpaceX has done this before — there’s a chance for a rescheduled launch on October 8th if there are any minor setbacks. The flights won’t achieve the cachet of government-funded runs with human beings onboard, but we’re sure the company doesn’t mind when it’s taking steps towards democratizing spaceflight… and pocketing $1.6 billion in the process.

Filed under: Transportation, Science

SpaceX to start International Space Station cargo runs on October 7th, kick off routine private spaceflight originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Sep 2012 08:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While it’s not landing on Mars any time soon, NASA took a breather from Curiosity’s adventures to showcase the Morpheus Lander. The prototype went through its first (tethered) flight test at the Kennedy Space Center just before the weekend, showcasing its methane-powered rocket system. It’s this rocket setup which could make the Morpheus Lander a strong candidate for future landings. It’s both safer than rocket fuel and NASA suggests that methane gas discarded from the International Space Station could be enough to top up the lander’s fuel tanks without necessitating a visit back to Earth. Morpheus’ built-in guidance system also reduces the amount of input needed from mission control — the pod has been practicing hard on its own hazard field near the Space Center. After passing the test with its training wheels on, the first free flight descent has been tentatively penned in for later today. Crank the volume low — it gets loud — and watch Morpheus test those right rockets after the break.

Continue reading NASA’s Morpheus lander detects hazards, noisily passes tethered flight test (video)

Filed under: Transportation, Science

NASA’s Morpheus lander detects hazards, noisily passes tethered flight test (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Aug 2012 10:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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