Science and Technology Blog » Technology

First satellite launch into orbit by SpaceX

RedPepper — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:04:12 +0000

SpaceX successfully launched a Malaysian satellite into orbit late Monday night, the second successful launch for the private space exploration company, which aims to reduce the cost of orbital transport tenfold. After a series of expensive failures, SpaceX had its first successful launch last September, but that mission carried a dummy payload. Before, on previous [...]

The Swiss solar plane Solar Impulse

RedPepper — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 11:46:19 +0000

Scientists have been looking to replace fuel guzzling aircrafts with solar powered variants, an innovation that, in addition to passing the green test, would also enable planes to remain in the sky for longer. Darpa, the Pentagon’s advanced-research organization, recently developed an aircraft named Odysseus that could theoretically stay in the air for a decade. [...]

Second test satellite for GPS-like project Galileo

RedPepper — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:59:14 +0000

This weekend a second satellite for European GPS-like project Galileo has launched to the Earth’s orbit carrying a very accurate two rubidium atomic clock. The satellite’s build atomic clock is accurate to a 10 nanoseconds a day that is the most accurate clock on orbit. In the near future by 2010 the European Union will [...]

Heat from IBM datacenter used to warm swimming pool

RedPepper — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 14:37:40 +0000

A new computer center in Switzerland is making original use of the hot air thrown off by its servers and communications equipment. The heat is being funneled to warm the local swimming pool. The town pool in Uitikon, Switzerland, outside Zurich, will be the receiver of the waste heat from a data center recently built [...]

Substantial job cuts after the space shuttle retirement

RedPepper — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 21:34:58 +0000

More than 8,000 NASA contractor jobs in the nation’s manned space program may possibly be eliminated after the space shuttle program is shut down in 2010. The number of civil servants is expected to remain approximately the same, but dramatic job cuts are likely among private contractors as NASA transitions to the Constellation program programmed [...]

European spacecraft ATV ready for launch

RedPepper — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 09:28:33 +0000

The most complex automated spacecraft built by Europe is getting ready to launch from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana in late February or early March. The Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) is a massive craft, built for human spaceflight, but planned to be used mainly for carrying cargo to and from the International [...]

Nano-scale displays embedded into contact lens

RedPepper — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:59:30 +0000

An innovative contact lens embedded with electronic circuits may possibly be the beginning for bionic eyes that can see displays ahead on a person’s field of view, researchers say. The miniature circuitry might help the vision-impaired or can be used to produce small but visible readouts offering data such as driving directions or on-the-go web [...]

Uncontrolled US spy satellite may crash on Earth

RedPepper — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 09:04:18 +0000

A big U.S. spy satellite has lost power and might hit the Earth in late February or early March, government officials said Saturday. The satellite, which no longer can be controlled, might contain dangerous materials, and it is unknown where on the planet it may come down, they said. The officials spoke on condition of [...]

Russia’s GPS may holdup its space exploration plan

RedPepper — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 06:30:04 +0000

With big oil money flowing into Russia’s economy, it has seemed that the country’s space program would benefit from the largess. But at the moment a top Kremlin official has ordered that space exploration be put on the hold until the country’s Global Positioning System (GPS) competitor – Glonass truly begins operational. According to Reuters, [...]

NASA Moon rocket Ares I could shake violently

RedPepper — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 09:45:09 +0000

NASA is facing with a potentially dangerous trouble in a spacecraft, this time in a moon rocket that hasn’t even been built yet. Engineers are concerned that the new rocket Ares I intended to replace the space shuttle and launch astronauts to the moon may possibly shake violently during the first few minutes of flight, [...]