Ever since NASA retired its space shuttle program in 2011, the only way to get up to the International Space Station is on a Russian Soyuz. That’s why the six humans currently orbiting in space—including two Americans and three Russians—might be paying attention to what’s happening on earth two hundred miles below. As tensions run high between the U.S. and Russia over the situation in Ukraine, geopolitics may find its way into space again.
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It may be hard to believe, but it’s already been a full two years since the Space Shuttle Program completed its final mission and put its magnificent fleet of ships into retirement. The last of these to settle into its final resting place was Endeavor, and professional launch photographer Scott Andrews caught it all in this fantastic stop-action video for Time.
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Shuttle has added a new 2-bay NAS server to its product page, the OMNINAS KD22. Featuring a durable aluminum body (2.5mm thick), this compact NAS server is equipped with a 1.2GHz Marvell 88F6707 processor, a 512MB DDR3 RAM, two 2.5-/3.5-inch SATA HDD bays, a built-in card reader in the front panel, RAID (0,1) & JBOD support, WiFi, Gigabit Ethernet, 2x USB 3.0 ports (front), 1x USB 2.0 port (rear), a built-in ultra-quiet 70mm cooling fan and runs on embedded Linux OS. The OMNINAS KD22 will go on sale in November for 156 Euro (about $210). [Shuttle]
The shuttle program is dead
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Here’s the newest member to Shuttle’s 2-bay NAS server line-up, the KD21. Featuring a durable aluminum exterior (2.5mm thick), this compact NAS server is equipped with an 88F6707 1.0GHz Marvell CPU, two 2.5-/3.5-inch SATA HDD bays, a hot-swap button, dual single backup function, RAID 0,1 & JBOD support, 2x USB 3.0 ports (front), 1x USB 2.0 port (back), Gigabit Ethernet and a built-in cooling fan on the back. The KD21 is available now for 22,800 Yen (about $232). [Shuttle]
Back in September, SpaceX posted a short video showing a glimpse of its reusable rocket, the Grasshopper. The company has released a new video of the rocket, this time sending it to its latest record of 131 feet. While not quite the two miles that was hinted, it was still an impressive distance. Check out the video of it after the jump.
For now, rockets make a crash landing into the ocean, never to be used again. Elon Musk’s SpaceX wants to shirk that reality, however, and utilize rockets that both take off and land vertically, allowing them to be reused. The Grasshopper has been shown off a total of three times now by SpaceX, the latest of which you can see in the video below.
While the rocket didn’t hit its target of at least a few hundred feet, it did improve over the last time we saw it. The rocket hovers in the air for a bit before gliding back down into place; the first time around, it did little more than bounce briefly into the air. The test was conducted in McGregor, Texas, on December 17, and was followed up by an announcement tweet by Elon Musk on Twitter.
This comes after SpaceX managed to score a contract with the United States Air Force on December 6. With the contract, SpaceX will get the chance to run two missions, during which it will get to demonstrate its space vehicles as part of the EELV program. The missions are slated to take place in 2014 and 2015.
[via TPM]
SpaceX’s latest reusable rocket test sends Grasshopper 131 feet is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
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I’ve seen the space shuttle in every possible way and angle. Even at the launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. But I’ve never seen it completely shrink-wrapped, as if someone just ordered one from Amazon. More »
Introduction
One of the first devices to draw our attention at this year’s Computex event was this particular NAS unit. Generally speaking, Shuttle had a lovely booth and this KD20 was one of the central pillars to draw a crowd.
Obviously skeptical, as we’ve tested plenty of 2 bay units from the veterans in the past, we couldn’t just resist inquiring about their new junior in the NAS game. 30 minutes and a full tour of the booth later, we decided we just had to test it. Both on the software …
On Friday, Space Shuttle Atlantis made its final voyage, marking the last time an orbiter in America’s shuttle program would be on the move. We were on-hand during the occasion and followed Atlantis as it slowly trekked to its destination, a 90,000 square-foot exhibit building at Kennedy Space Center’s Visitor Complex. To live out the event vicariously, check out the photos below or hit the jump for the video.
Filed under: Science
Visualized: Space Shuttle Atlantis makes its final journey, arrives at new home (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Nov 2012 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Check out this animated GIF. It’s the toughest moment of the space shuttle Endeavour’s drive across Los Angeles, en route to its permanent retirement place, at the Science Center. More »
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