Space

Build your own Sputnik

by Haitham Sabbah October 26, 2007

And possibly your Sputnik will get a chance to be launched to space. Isn’t this cool? BBC Magazine describes here ‘How to build your own Sputnik’ and promises that they’ll investigate how to get your Sputniks launched. It seems incredible that the technology that went into building the first successful satellite 50 years ago can [...]

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Raining Red Aliens in India

by Haitham Sabbah June 4, 2006

As bizarre as it may seem, the sample jars brimming with cloudy, reddish rainwater in Godfrey Louis�s laboratory in southern India may hold, well, aliens. In April, Louis, a solid-state physicist at Mahatma Gandhi University, published a paper in the prestigious peer-reviewed journal Astrophysics and Space Science in which he hypothesizes that the samples�water taken [...]

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Ras Al Khaimah Spaceport

by Haitham Sabbah February 17, 2006

Few days ago, the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah has announced the creation of RAK Airways, the UAE’s fourth national carrier which will start operations by the end of 2006. I thought, what the heck? Four carriers in UAE, what do they need all that for? And RAK… how many traveler do they actually have [...]

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Moon-to-Mars Plans Emerge

by Haitham Sabbah September 19, 2005

NASA is set to unveil today details of its new space architecture for Moon-to-Mars trip. Last week SPACE.com and Space News reported that NASA will announce today plans to send four astronauts to Moon in 2018 and sending humans to Mars thereafter. On the list: A re-usable vehicle that’s safer than the shuttle; technology for [...]

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On this day!

by Haitham Sabbah August 11, 2005

On this day, last year, I said: Perseid Meteor Shower – This week, the skies above the Northern Hemisphere will be peppered with little bits of space debris that create the annual Perseid meteor shower. It could be the best display in several years, peaking Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

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Google Moon

by Haitham Sabbah July 21, 2005

Once again, the geeks at Google have blown away people with their shenanigans. Their latest gag has been to import moon maps (courtesy of NASA maps), thus making Google Moon. Their reasoning? According to the FAQ, it’s the following: “Because we couldn’t think of a better way to commemorate the first lunar landing, which occurred [...]

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China to send pig sperm to space

by Haitham Sabbah July 19, 2005

China is planning to study the effects of space on sperm, by sending the semen from pedigree pigs into orbit. Some 40 grams of pig sperm will be taken on board the Shenzhou VI spacecraft for its October launch. Some of the sperm will be kept outside the spacecraft’s biological capsule and some inside, according [...]

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Russian sues Nasa for comet upset

by Haitham Sabbah July 7, 2005

Hours after a Nasa probe crashed into Comet Tempel 1, legal reverberations were felt in a Moscow court. A case which could see Nasa pay a local amateur astrologist millions of dollars in damages. Writer Marina Bay claims that by slamming the probe into the comet, Nasa endangered the future of civilisation. “Nobody has yet [...]

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Google Earth

by Haitham Sabbah June 29, 2005

Have you seen where do you live from space? Google Earth just launched the beta version. It’s amazing view. Give it a try, it’s worth it!

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Happy 15th birthday Hubble

by Haitham Sabbah April 26, 2005

Happy 15th birthday Hubble. One of the coolest slide shows ever.

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Toutatis: Almost Too Close

by Haitham Sabbah September 28, 2004

No, no… this is not real. It’s just simulation of asteroid impact if Kerry get elected. Vice President Dick Cheney echoed earlier remarks, warning the United States will risk direct impact by the asteroid Toutatis if voters make the wrong choice. IMO, the impact would be the same either (Bush/Kerry) get elected!

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Perseid Meteor Shower

by Haitham Sabbah August 11, 2004

This week, the skies above the Northern Hemisphere will be peppered with little bits of space debris that create the annual Perseid meteor shower. It could be the best display in several years, peaking Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Here are 10 cool facts you can use to impress friends and family late at night [...]

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Interplanetary Laser Communication

by Haitham Sabbah August 10, 2004

MIT-NASA team to test first interplanetary laser communication link. A NASA?MIT Lincoln Laboratory team will forge the first laser communication link between Mars and Earth. This unique experiment, part of NASA’s Vision for Space Exploration, will greatly benefit the transmission of data from robotic spacecraft. In 2010, the Mars Laser Communication Demonstration (MLCD) will test [...]

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European Satellites Track ‘Killer Waves’

by Haitham Sabbah July 27, 2004

Cataclysmic waves that smash ships to bits are considered the stuff of sailors’ tales. But data gathered by the European Space Agency proves otherwise: rogue waves exist and surface more frequently than previously known. More than 200 massive cargo ships sank over the past two decades and some of them could have fallen victim to [...]

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Space Technology Aids Life on Earth

by Haitham Sabbah July 25, 2004

Earthly spin-offs of technology developed for space travel has long been a bonus for nations launching humans and machines into orbit. Two new machines developed with the help of NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have found their way into hospitals on Earth, where physicians have put them to use sniffing out harmful microbes [...]

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