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braindrainbahrain writes:
Is it time to think out of the box for funding space exploration? Governments are reluctant to commit money, and even private space tourism will only get us to low Earth orbit, but what about beyond that? In this article from the Journal of Cosmology, the author argues for a commercial, sponsored approach to finance the trip to explore and colonize Mars using advertising, naming rights, and merchandizing to raise the cash, not to mention reality TV. FTA: "The Human Mission to Mars, can be marketed and sold as the ultimate sports and reality TV extravaganza ...What could be more "real" than a Human Mission to Mars, where Astronaut heroes must overcome a grueling, competitive ordeal, with the "survivors" winning the right to face death while taking part in the ultimate adventure of all time? "
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braindrainbahrain writes:
Photographs of the Sea of Crises on the Moon taken by The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, show the Soviet lunar landers, Luna 20, Luna 23, and Luna 24, which landed on the Moon in the 1970s. In addition to the landers, it is possible to see the tracks made by the Lunokhod lunar rover! The Soviet Lunokhod lunar rover predates the first successful Mars Rover by some 30 years
(BTW: Very kewl old-style artists drawings of the soviet crafts on the wikipedia links above)
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braindrainbahrain writes:
The title says it all. Could it be true? Just read TFA here.
What does this mean for the future of Halo? Marathon anyone?
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braindrainbahrain writes:
In a story carried by the wires (AP, pun intended!), it is reported that subscribers to the Verizon Fiber Optic Service FioS are getting disconnected from the conventional copper-wire phone network when the fiber is installed.
While I'm sure everyone believes fiber to the home is the future, is Verizon implementing the future, or just using the service to create a monopoly?
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braindrainbahrain writes:
Yet another story about an engineering shortage, this time in Aerospace and Defense. The AIAA is claiming there will be huge shortages in those industries due to an aging and retiring workforce. Buried deep within TFA , there is talk about outsourcing design services overseas. Will the next (US) moon rocket or fighter plane be designed overseas, or by people holding H1-B visas?
83250
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braindrainbahrain writes:
Yikes! Sea Launch just blew up!
A launch of a communications satellite went wrong causing the rocket to fall back on the floating launch pad.
FYI: Sea Launch is the floating launch pad. It is used to launch satellites into orbit from the equator where they get an extra boost from the earth's rotation.
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braindrainbahrain writes:
Bill Moyers will feature a discussion on Net Neutrality on his PBS TV show, scheduled for Oct 18th (that's tonight!). The trailer features representatives from MoveOn and the Christian Coalition actually agreeing on something. (I'll give you three guesses as to what that is...)
