Air And Space - Page 671

October 21, 2015

Whoa! Mini-supernovas discovered

Astronomers have discovered a new kind of supernova, a star explosion so weak that scientists dubbed it a miniature stellar blast.

October 21, 2015

Massive solar storms may peak this year -- again

The sun is surprisingly quiet at the moment, but that may be because our star is gearing up for the second phase of a one-two wallop in its 11-year activity cycle, some scientists say.

October 21, 2015

'Virgin' comet may hit Mars in 2014

A newfound comet is apparently on course to have an exceedingly close call with the planet Mars in October 2014, and there is a chance — albeit small — that the comet may even collide with the Red Planet.

October 21, 2015

Married to Mars: 9 questions for Dennis Tito on private Martian trips

The world's first space tourist, Dennis Tito, has founded a new nonprofit organization to work toward launching the first manned mission to Mars in 2018.

October 21, 2015

The hypersonic spaceplanes of yesteryear

A host of science fiction writers have explored hypersonic travel, as did Walter Dornberger, former director of the V-2 program at Peenemunde in Germany, in 1956.

October 21, 2015

4.5 billion 'alien Earths' may populate Milky Way

Billions of Earth-like alien planets likely reside in our Milky Way galaxy, and the nearest such world may be just a stone's throw away in the cosmic scheme of things, a new study reports.

October 21, 2015

Could 3D printers build a future moon base?

The technology behind 3D printing has allowed users to craft musical instruments and prosthetic limbs, and now European scientists are taking a serious look at printing their own moon base.

October 21, 2015

The day the room went silent: NASA design engineer remembers Columbia explosion

We were the design engineers, and we knew the space shuttle better than anyone. We were just there in case something out of the ordinary occurred. On Feb. 1, 2003, that’s exactly what happened.

October 21, 2015

Ten years since space shuttle Columbia and crew lost; motherless boy now young man, skydiver

NASA lost the space shuttle Columbia 10 years ago Friday and 12 children lost a parent.

October 21, 2015

NASA tests vintage Apollo 11 rocket engine for ideas for new US missions

Young NASA engineers are testing a vintage rocket engine that was meant to blast the first U.S. lunar mission into Earth's orbit more than 40 years ago.