Jalopnik: Space

In the future, we will travel through space at 120 mph!

Mike Spinelli — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:30:00 EST

The year 1918 doesn't seem all that far away, all things considered. And yet, futurists of the time thought some day we'd be traveling through space at the "terrific" speed of two miles a minute. That's 120 mph. To the moon in 83 days? Preposterous! More »

This tire pile is so large it can be seen from space

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 10:00:00 EST

A man in Calhoun County, South Carolina collected so many used tires on his rural property his neighbors could see it from space using Google Maps Satellite View. How many tires does it take to make a dent in the planet's face? About 250,000. More »

How Driving On the Moon Made Us Care About Space Again

Kwame Opam — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 16:10:00 EDT

Back in 1969, the Apollo 11 mission put mankind on the moon. It was a massive accomplishment. Two years later, though, people were getting bored. 40 years ago today, it become the moon buggy's job to make space fun again. More »

Houston deserved a damn space shuttle

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 16:16:00 EDT

Washington was not the first word spoken on the moon. When a situation turns bad no one says "Los Angeles, we have a problem" because no wants help from Charlie Sheen. Houston is Space City, the birthplace of the shuttle program, and the rightful home of one of the retired shuttles. More »

Fly To The Edge Of Space In A Russian Fighter Jet

Matt Hardigree — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 16:30:00 EDT

Climbing 65,000 feet into the stratosphere in a MiG-31 usually involves enlisting in the Russian Air Force, but leave it to the Russians to give you the supersonic jet fighter experience at a value price of just $25,000. More »

Ten Great Racetracks As Seen From Space

Tony Borroz & Betsy Mason, Wired.com — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 12:30:00 EDT

With the notable exception of human beings, automobiles, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk's jacket, almost everything looks better from space. Tony Borroz and Betsy Mason of Wired.com assembled these satellite images of well-known race tracks. —Ed. More »

Atlantis Hits It One Last Time

Sam Smith — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 16:30:00 EDT

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An Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle patrols Florida airspace during the final launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis in May. Adios, shuttle program — we're gonna miss ya. [Discover via Ruthless...] More »

What It Feels Like To Land The Space Shuttle

Matt Hardigree — Fri, 14 May 2010 09:30:00 EDT

The Space Shuttle approaches earth backwards at approximately 18,000 mph before turning nose-down towards home. This incredible video shows what it's like to glide to Earth after slowing to 700 mph. The landing gear is jarringly loud. More »

Dude, Where's My Flying Car? The Popular Science Fantasy

Sam Smith — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:20:00 EST

Few machines represent The Future like the flying car, and no publication has championed the fantasy more zealously than Popular Science. Here's a look back at its feverish, 77-year-long vision. More »

New NASA Space Telescope Launches Aboard Delta II Rocket

Ray Wert — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 10:00:00 EST

NASA launched its Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) space telescope Monday morning aboard a Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 9:09 AM. Launch and shot of the probe-like capsule opened to show WISE below. More »

Rockets Blow Up, Video Exists, Elton John Unharmed

Sam Smith — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:15:00 EST

Wired has assembled footage of six of the most costly and catastrophic failures in spacecraft history. This is what it's like to watch billions of dollars burn. More »

Giant NASA Wind Tunnel Blows One Last Time For Concept Plane

Ray Wert — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EDT

NASA pressed a once-decommissioned wind tunnel at its Langley Research Center back into service for one last time in August to help test the prototype of the X-48C — Boeing's new, turbojet-powered, advanced blended wing body (BWB) aircraft. More »

One Giant Leap For Mankind: Apollo 11 Moon Landing

The Auto Insider — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:15:00 EDT

Today, forty years ago, mankind took a giant leap and stepped foot on the surface of our moon. It's a perfect time to celebrate with a look back at the Apollo 11 mission. More »

A Blast Into Space And The Amazing Fall Back To Earth

The Auto Insider — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:30:00 EDT

Take a ride to the edge of space with space shuttle Atlantis, following along with cameras mounted to the solid rocket boosters, then watch as they disengage and free fall all the way back to Earth. More »

Parking With a Gatling Gun

Peter Orosz — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 12:00:00 EDT

XKCD issue #562 depicts a scene dear to everyone’s heart who has ever witnessed a moron fail egregiously at parking. Let’s advance the idea and move from blowtorches to rotary cannons. More »

Bat Hangs On For Dear Life During Space Shuttle Discovery Launch

The Auto Insider — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 09:20:00 EDT

Have we gone bat-s#!t mad? Another Planelopnik post? NASA spotted a little hairy, winged mammal grasping within an inch of its life during this weeks launch of the space shuttle. Could it have been Batman?? More »

Lunokhod or MOLAD? Rollin' Extraterrestrial Style!

Murilee Martin — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:30:00 EST

Initially, this post was to be about NASA's Great Moonbuggy Race, a competition for brainiacal science types who want to design human-powered vehicles approximating the size of the original LRV used on the later Apollo missions. But our research led us to the Lunar and Planetary Rovers website, and there we obsessed over the seriously cool space-exploration wheeled vehicles. The training vehicles used in preparation for lunar driving are expecially fun; it's a shame that an AMC V8 would have been impractical for use in an atmosphere-free environment. [LunarAndPlanetaryRovers.com] More »

Tokyo Motor Show: Volkswagen Space Up! Concept Car

Ray Wert — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 23:30:00 EDT

Here in Tokyo, V-Dub's just revealed a new version of it's Up! concept car revealed last month during the Frankfurt Auto Show. Unlike the last one, a micro-car measuring a minuscule 3.45 meters, this one's giant. And by giant, we mean it's 3.68 meters long. Yes, yes, it's ginormous — exactly 23 centimeters longer than the last one. And like the last up! the gasoline, diesel and electric powertrains of this up! will always be located in the rear - just like on the Beetle. Full press release below the jump, and Spinelli's going to have shots of the live reveal post haste. More »

Massive Massiveosity, Thy Name is Crawler-Transporter

Davey G. Johnson — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 15:30:00 EDT

Their nicknames are "Hans" und "Franz," and yes, they are far from styro-puff faux Austrian bodybuilders. They're NASA's twin Crawler-Transporters; machines that make the run from the hangar to the launch pad for many of America's most important space vehicles. Gobsmacking facts: The duo are the largest self-powered tracked vehicles in the world. Their tracks weigh roughly 450 tons. Just the tracks! They feature sixteen electric motors powered by two diesels pumping out ponies well over the high side of 2,500 just to run the generators. They've been in service for over 40 years, and are only due to be replaced within the next ten. Kevin Nealon and Dana Carvey's characters may have been schmucks, but these two vehicles? Well, they just aren't. Hear us now, believe us later. – Davey G. Johnson More »