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Goodnight, Yutu?

So it seems that the Chinese space program has the same problem I do: Their little one won’t go to sleep. But while mine is keeping me up all night because of screaming, the Chinese are up scrambling...

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Water On Mars. Life on Mars?

Being married to a Chemist has its advantages. While I can tell you (and build for you) what size of rocket you need to put a spacecraft in orbit around Mars, I can’t tell you why adding iron powder to...

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Why Planes Crash and Craig Pushes a Button Every 108 Minutes

“If the crew lives, blame the maintainer. If the crew dies, blame the pilot.” This was the first thing we were taught in aircraft mishap forensics. It wasn’t pretty, not always factual, but general...

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Craig Hates Cheap Flights

Last week I talked a bit about what potentially brought down Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. A week has gone by and it appears we are no closer to find the aircraft and it’s passengers than we were...

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Was That a New American Supersonic Bomber in the Texas Skies Last Week?

It’s a fact: Uncle Sam has the best toys. But he keeps them hidden away and we only get to see them after he is done playing with them. Is that what happened last week over Texas? Secret military...

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Why the ATK and Orbital Sciences Merger Makes Sense

ATK, the guys who made the solid rocket motors for the space shuttle and dozens of other booster rockets is merging with Orbital Sciences, the people who make small launch vehicles. Outside of the...

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What Do Trampolines, Lasers, Rails, Slings and Space Guns Have In Common?

They’re all alternative spacecraft launch options. When Dmitry Rogozin, Russia’s deputy prime minister and the head of the Russian space agency, told the United States their astronauts could use a...

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SpaceX Delivering on Promises

A few days ago SpaceX recovered their Dragon capsule full of science equipment from the international space station. (Get? Rockets? Uplifting?… Of course you do, it’s a horrible joke.) This marks the...

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CST-100 vs the Dragon

Currently, there is only one way to deliver humans into space. That is aboard the Soyuz capsule and rocket. While I believe this has given NASA and the United States the opportunity to foster stronger...

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Recycling Helps the Environment, But Hurts Your Space Program

Back in the 70s, NASA showed off their concept of the Space Shuttle and claimed that by reusing the shuttle and the solid rocket motors a huge amount of savings could be capitalized on. Sadly those...

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Rocket Powered Training Wheels

My daughter is learning to ride her “big-girl” bike and it has been pretty terrifying… for me. For example, the other day she was riding along, when her training wheel got too close to where the...

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SpaceX: It IS Rocket Science!

My daughter has a book she likes me to read called “Rosie Revere, Engineer”. The book is about a young girl who longs to be a great engineer, but doubts herself because of some perceived earlier...

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Are Electric Aircraft in our Near Future?

Electric and solar powered cars have been around for a while now. But cars are not the only vehicles boosting their green credentials. Momentum is building in the aviation sector too. Hybrid Electric...

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UFOs: The Truth IS Out There

Is it a coincidence that a number of new “Project Blue Book” documents were released within days of David Duchovny announcing he’s on board for a reprise of the X-Files? Fans and fanatics have been...

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Craig vs. Mars One

Well Mars One has announced their down selection from 200,000 applications to 100. I am, of course, not among them. I say of course because: I refused to even apply. While I at first humored them and...

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What We Don’t Know About Composites CAN Kill Us!

Composites materials, like carbon fiber, are a common occurrence today. You find them in everything from ski poles to car parts and even airplanes. Composite materials’ relatively light weight and...

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Solar Impulse 2′s Record-Breaking Journey

On March 9th a monumental journey began. Solar Impulse 2 set off to become the first solar powered aircraft to fly around the world. The flight will be broken into lots of shorter legs and began in Abu...

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Space is Tough, But Our Tech is Up to the Challenge

If there are two things you can say about humans its: We like to dream big. We are borderline narcissists. I would like to say it was the first that drove me to support the ARKYD project on...

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What on Earth (or in Space) is a Hall Effect Thruster?

The DoD just gave us a small taste of what the next X-37B mission will be doing while it’s in orbit for the next few months, and it spurns more questions than answers: The military states it will be...

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Getting to the root of a problem

Last week I wrote about the importance of staying in the “problem space” for as long as you need to before making the move to find a solution. Ignoring the tendency (that most engineers seem to have)...

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