Free Republic

Which of this generation's biggest tech luminaries and innovators will ultimately be remembered for having the greatest lasting effect on the world? It's a tough question, especially when you consider the role that people like Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg play in our everyday lives. But, if you ask renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, the answer is simple: Elon Musk. "As important as Steve Jobs was, no doubt about it — [and] you have to add him to Bill Gates, because they birthed the personal computing revolution kind of together — here's the difference: Elon Musk is trying...

If you study the history of NASA’s Apollo program in the 1960s, one thing you come to realize is that the tight timetable to reach the moon by the end of the decade meant that NASA didn’t have time to ossify into a bureaucracy, and they did things (i.e., took risks) in those days that would never be permitted today. But you knew NASA had slipped into the maw of the administrative state when President Obama told NASA administrator Charles Bolden in 2010 that “Muslim outreach” should be a primary mission for the space agency. Well now it appears NASA...

Scientists have discovered a thriving ecosystem of ‘infectious organisms’ aboard the International Space Station. A Nasa team found five different varieties of Enterobacter, which are similar to bugs found in hospitals down here on Earth. The toilet of the orbiting space base was one of the main sites of infection along with the exercise area. Researchers calculated that there is a ‘79% probability that they may potentially cause disease’, although analysis has only been carried out on dead samples at this stage so this risk could prove to be higher or lower following further research. Dr Nitin Singh, who has...

All systems are go for landing on Mars on Nov. 26, NASA personnel affiliated with the InSight mission confirmed during a pair of news conferences held today (Nov. 21). As of that news conference, the spacecraft had traveled about 295 million miles (475 million kilometers) of the 301 million miles (484 million km) that will make up its total journey. But one of the most serious hurdles remains, the entry, descent and landing process, which will begin at about 3 p.m. EST (2000 GMT) on Monday (Nov. 26). "My heart is beating inside of my chest like a drum," NASA...

By 2025 Elon Musk believes SpaceX can get us to Mars – a journey of about 500 million kilometres, needing a speed of over 100,000 km/h. By comparison travelling to the stars within a human lifetime via the known laws of physics requires energies millions of times more potent than that budget-price trip to Mars. In our energy hungry modern world the prospect seems fanciful, yet we are surrounded by energies and forces of comparable scale. By taming those forces we will be able to launch forth towards the stars, save our civilization and extend the reach of our biosphere....

Say hello to electroaerodynamic propulsion The feat was achieved using electroaerodynamic propulsion, which uses a pair of electrodes to push around ions and create ionic wind. The phenomenon has been known about since the 1960s (in fact, Apple even considered using it to cool its laptops back in 2012), but this is the first time it’s been used to propel a plane.

Vice President Pence on Tuesday declined to rule out the idea of deploying nuclear weapons in space, saying that the current ban on their use is “in the interest of every nation” but that the issue should be decided on “the principle that peace comes through strength.” The new positioning comes as the Trump administration moves to potentially exit a major nuclear weapons pact with Russia and possibly bolster U.S. military operations in the heavens by forming a “Space Force.” Pence argued that the Space Force is critical for U.S. national security as China and Russia expand their presence in...

Following a deorbit burn, the HTV-7 entered Earth's atmosphere on Nov. 10 at 4:14 p.m. EST (2114 GMT), and the little capsule separated from its mothership and began its own descent. It floated down to Earth via parachute and splashed down off the southern coast of Marcus Island, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) tweeted. The capsule's contents were then brought to JAXA headquarters at the Tsukuba Space Center for analysis. Inside the HSRC were samples of protein crystals grown at the space station. These microgravity-grown crystals can be used to study the structure of the proteins in greater detail...

NASA has accepted delivery of a key European part needed to power the world’s next-generation moonship. U.S. and European leaders gathered at Kennedy Space Center on Friday to mark the occasion. The newly arrived powerhouse, or service module, will propel NASA’s Orion capsule to the moon during a test flight without passengers planned for 2020. A mega rocket under development by NASA, known as SLS for Space Launch System, will launch the combo. […] Orion and the attached service module are meant to fly near the moon, but not land. Future missions will carry astronauts, with the goal of building...

SEX-BOTS will help humans colonise Mars, according to a love-doll enthusiast who helps "test drive" randy robots.YouTuber, love-doll collector and sex-bot consultant Brick Dollbanger told The Sun that we'll soon by relying on droids for space travel – and said we'll eventually become bots ourselves. A divorced property developer in his 60s, Brick (not his real name) has been buying sex dolls for over a decade, and regularly advises California sex robot firm Realbotix on their upcoming Harmony love droid.And he's convinced they're going to help advance the human race: "I think we have to remember [sex robots] are here to help us...

WASHINGTON — The moon may be the next space destination for American astronauts, but the frontier of Mars still beckons, NASA chief Jim Bridenstine says. Monday evening (Nov. 8), a crowd of reporters, scientists, politicians and space enthusiasts gathered here at National Geographic headquarters to celebrate and discuss Season 2 of the National Geographic series "Mars" and the Project Mars competition's film and poster winners. Bridenstine addressed the crowd, saying he was excited about the return of "Mars," the competition, and the steps the U.S. is taking to get back to the moon and then the Red Planet.  "We're going...

The stereotypical image of an astronaut is shaped by their spacesuit, with its puffy, white body and boxy backpack holding the life-support system. Dava Newman, an aerospace engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, wants to change that. She is designing what she hopes will be the next generation of spacesuits — which will give the life-saving devices the bulk and style of something more like athletic or camping equipment. "We're going to Mars not to sit in the habitat — we're going there to explore," Newman said. "We don't want you to fight the suit. We want you to...

China unveiled on Tuesday a replica of its first permanently crewed space station, which would replace the international community's orbiting laboratory and symbolises the country's major ambitions beyond Earth. The 17-metre (55-foot) core module was a star attraction at the biennial Airshow China in the southern coastal city of Zhuhai, the country's main aerospace industry exhibition. .... ....The International Space Station -- a collaboration between the United States, Russia, Canada, Europe and Japan -- has been in operation since 1998 but is due to be retired in 2024. China will then have the only space station in orbit, though it...

SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk is a big "Hitchhiker's Guide" fan, as Starman's Roadster shows. The car's entertainment display was programmed to read "Don't Panic!" — the phrase that adorns the cover of the eponymous electronic guidebook in Adams' beloved series. Musk has said that he launched the Roadster and Starman because the duo is a lot more fun than the typical inert-mass dummy payload... Launching a satellite or other valuable spacecraft wasn't an option, given the risks inherent in maiden flights. The Roadster and Starman will come within a few hundred thousand kilometers of our planet in 2091,...

================= On Journalists: ================= Kara: You pick fights with the press over Twitter, and then you have all your fans, of which there are many. Are you aware of what they do once you start them off? Elon: Well, I have to say, my regard for the press has dropped quite dramatically. Kara: Explain that, please. Elon: The amount of untruthful stuff that is written is unbelievable. Take that Wall Street Journal front-page article about, like, “The FBI is closing in.” That is utterly false. That’s absurd. To print such a falsehood on the front page of a major newspaper...

If SpaceX gets lucky the BFR development costs could come in at the $2 billion low-end estimate. Elon Musk had estimated that it would cost $2 billion to 10 billion to develop. A few more critical successes over the next year will enable SpaceX to solidify the finances and funding for the BFR. The needed critical successes are the NASA crewed launch certification in mid-2019 and successful Falcon Heavy launches in 2019. SpaceX has pre-sold a moon orbit tourist flight to a Japanese billionaire. This was likely for $500 to $800 million. The SpaceX Falcon Heavy already has up to...

A 180-pound parachute deployed in just four-tenths of a second -- twice the speed of sound -- setting a new record. The powerful parachute is needed for the heaviest payload yet to hit the surface of the red planet.

Just over eight months ago, the billionaire Elon Musk executed one of the more daring PR stunts in recent memory: he literally shot a car into space.For Musk, this no doubt marked a high water mark in good publicity. Here, as a symbol of American ingenuity, was Musk himself sending the most powerful rocket ever designed by his company, SpaceX, into orbit, with its payload also being a product that Musk manufactured. What’s more, that payload was sent to be launched into Mars’ orbit, meaning that one of the first things any potential future travelers to Mars would see would...

The system that delivers all that water is called the Ignition Overpressure Protection and Sound Suppression (IOP/SS) water deluge system, and seeing it in action is very impressive.

Elon Musk announced Sunday that the first tunnel of a proposed underground transportation network across Los Angeles County would open Dec. 10. “The first tunnel is almost done,” Musk tweeted to his 23.1 million followers shortly after 5 p.m. Musk’s Boring Co. is building the tunnel beneath the city of Hawthorne, part of his grand vision for a transportation network that whisks commuters across the county. Last year, Hawthorne officials approved the Boring Co.’s request to tunnel west from Space X headquarters. At the time, they said the tunnel had extended 500 feet. The company has said its technology...