Blue Origin typically keeps pretty tight-lipped about its projects. The private space-travel firm claims it prefers to talk about what is has done, rather than what it hopes to do. As such, We recently heard about its "Space Vehicle" (that's its actual name,) having completed wind-tunnel testing, and now the firm (partly funded by Amazon's Jeff Bezos) has revealed a little more. The craft in question is a seven-seater, and it took 180 rigorous tests to get to the final design. Blue Origin has been working with NASA under the agency's CCDev program, which awarded the firm $22 million to develop the project. Under the same initiative, Blue Origin is about to start testing on its BE-3 engine thrust chamber, which will help give the BE-3 rocket motor its 100,000 pounds of thrust. Once complete, this engine will be used in the company's multi-launch vehicle, and is currently on the test stand at NASA's Stennis Space Center, Mississippi. We'll spare you the puns about it not being "rocket science."

Blue Origin dishes more details on its Bezos-backed spacecraft originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 06 May 2012 02:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NASA may have pushed back the Orion spacecraft's test flight to 2014, but you can get an early glimpse of the capsule in orbit thanks to this animated video from Full Werks studio. You'll see the capsule circle the planet before touching down in the Pacific -- all with a much better view than you can expect when that actual launch date rolls around. The animation features audio clips from the original Apollo and, as any NASA-related video worth its salt should, includes a vintage voiceover from space sage Carl Sagan.

Continue reading Animated video shows Orion spacecraft in orbit

Animated video shows Orion spacecraft in orbit originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Apr 2012 11:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Today, a group of billionaires and former NASA scientists will announce the first asteroid mining company in history. They claim they will "add trillions of dollars to the global GDP" and "help ensure humanity's prosperity" by mining asteroids for rare metals like gold and platinum. More »

Today, a group of billionaires and former NASA scientists will announce the first asteroid mining company in history. They claim they will "add trillions of dollars to the global GDP" and "help ensure humanity's prosperity" by mining asteroids for rare metals like gold and platinum. More »

One December 24, 1968, Frank Borman, Will Anders and Jim Lovell experienced one of the most amazing moments in history, the first earthrise ever witnessed by humans. More »

NASA successfully transported the Space Shuttle from Florida to Virginia yesterday on its way to the Smithsonian. But how you get a 150,000-pound space vehicle off a 230-foot airplane without dropping it? More »

NASA successfully transported the Space Shuttle from Florida to Virginia yesterday on its way to the Smithsonian. But how you get a 150,000-pound space vehicle off a 230-foot airplane without dropping it? More »

In 1990, the Broad Band X-ray Telescope orbited the Earth aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia, gathering data on galactic and intergalactic X-ray energy sources. Now it just gathers dust as government surplus. Unless, of course, you've got $7 million and a hankering for some nifty NASA memorabilia. More »

SpaceX Dragon will dock with the ISS in May, for realsies this time originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Mar 2012 16:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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1966, the folks at NASA wanted to nestle pilots' tushies. Pilots worked hard, they risked their lives, they deserved a happy backside. Some strategic nestling would also protect the tush in a crash or during sudden vibrations. More »

Rovio on Thursday released a video featuring NASA astronaut and International Space Station flight engineer Don Pettit. In the video, Pettit explains microgravity with the help of characters from the popular Angry Birds franchise, even making a slingshot and firing a bird across the station. The fourth major Birds release is scheduled to land on Android, iOS, OSX and Windows on March 22nd. In “Angry Birds Space,” users will be flinging birds on zero gravity planets with new gameplay features such as slow-motion and lightspeed destruction. Rovio has previously confirmed that the game will feature completely new birds along with some of the originals, who now possess various super powers. Rovio’s video follows below.

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Swooping through the trenches of the Death Star likely ranks high on every geek's bucket list, but thanks to the global financial crisis, we likely won't be seeing Dubai's Death Star any time soon. Fortunately, the folks at NASA have rigged up a passable alternative -- flying through a massive 19-mile crack across Antarctica's Pine Island Glacier. The crack was discovered last October and measures 60 yards wide and 50 yards deep, certainly more than enough clearance to accommodate adventurous fliers. Using data gathered by NASA's Operation IceBridge science flight team, the agency generated an animated fly through that, well, mostly flew over the crack -- but we're sure that was a defensive maneuver. After all, you just never know when a TIE fighter flown by someone's father might sneak up from behind. See the icy flyover yourself after the break.

Continue reading NASA simulates fly through of ginormous crack in Antarctic glacier, takes you for virtual ride

NASA simulates fly through of ginormous crack in Antarctic glacier, takes you for virtual ride originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Feb 2012 04:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There's nothing like a good, firm handshake. Especially when it's with a robot, and you're in space. Yesterday, NASA's Robonaut completed its systems checks aboard the International Space Station — and celebrated with a handshake. More »

NASA recently showed flashes of its old bravado by announcing plans for a lunar waypoint near the far side of the moon. Cold, hard reality brought the agency back to Earth this week, however, as it just announced a scaling back of its Mars exploration program. Thanks to funding cuts, NASA is scuttling its "ambitious" (i.e. expensive) flagship missions to the Red Planet for the near term. That means withdrawing from the ExoMars missions led by Europe and putting on hold plans to collect samples -- though the Mars Science Laboratory is still a go. NASA is slated to receive $1.2 billion for its planetary science program, down 20 percent from what it gets now, with more cuts likely on the way. In the meantime, the agency is still hopeful about sending humans -- or perhaps a wascally wabbit -- to Mars by the 2030s.

NASA scales back Mars exploration, Marvin the Martian thinks it's just lovely originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here are the three cities of Sunday's Super Bowl as seen from space: New York City (Giants), Greater Boston area (Patriots), and the host city, Indianapolis, Indiana. The high definition images were captured by NASA's Landsat 7. More »

NASA said that their Blue Marble 2012 was "the most amazing image of Earth ever." Now they have released the other half, answering to popular demand. More »

We may sing about purple mountains and amber grains, but one of America's most vital resources is its vast amount of carbon-catching, oxygen-spewing trees. Now, after six years of effort, NASA knows how many we've got. More »