No Death Star For Defense Department

After an online petition to build a planet-destroying "Death Star", the U.S. government has decided against building the "Star Wars" weapon.



The government response even uses some Star Wars language, "This isn't the petition response you're looking for." You can check out the document here.

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/response/isnt-petition-response-youre-looking

Here's the link to the Twitter response by Darth Vader, which begins with "A serious mistake, Mr. President" --

http://twitter.com/darthvader/statuses/289920155851563008




What could you build for $850 trillion? Or is it $850 quadrillion? Pretty soon you're talking about real money.

Posted By: gdanea - Mon Jan 14, 2013 - Comments (3)
Category: Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy

This Is Kirk—Report

When the commander of the star-ship Enterprise requests a response from space -- he might not get it from his communicator.

Just from Twitter.

When William Shatner tweeted Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, inquiring if he was in space, he received the reply:

"Yes, Standard Orbit, Captain. And we're detecting signs of life on the surface," from the International Space Station.

Here's a picture of the two from a 2D encounter, which was also discussed.



Click here to read the invitation for Shatner to go to Canada for a live interaction.

http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2013/01/04/16348921-william-shatner-tweets-at-astronaut-who-replies-from-space?lite

Why can't they just beam him up?

Posted By: gdanea - Mon Jan 07, 2013 - Comments (7)
Category: Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy

Follies of the Madmen #196

This is a particularly egregious cut and paste job, even for the pre-Photoshop era. Never mind the far-fetched association of lady astronauts and booze.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Dec 26, 2012 - Comments (4)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy, Stereotypes and Cliches, 1960s, Alcohol

Life, The Universe and Everything

A mind-blowing four plus minutes!! At about :40 a series of circles puts us all into perspective as the longest zoom out ever shows our place in the universe.



I feel pretty insignificant after all of that.

A quick zoom in at about 3:00 reverses the process, then examines the sub-atomic world -- but I'm not sure what the stuff at the end could be. Guesses or actual explanations are welcome.

Posted By: gdanea - Sat Dec 08, 2012 - Comments (7)
Category: Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy

Jose Jimenez

Not a song, but still another entry in our fine old catalog of comedy that nowadays would have the PC-minded bearing down on you faster than a truck full of tortillas on Cinco de Mayo.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Nov 30, 2012 - Comments (6)
Category: Humor, Racism, Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy, Stereotypes and Cliches, 1960s

Cookie Monster Crater on Mercury

Sesame Street is invading the solar system!! NASA's Messenger mission scientists posted a questions on the Goddard Space Flight Center Flickr page asking, "Anyone else think this looks like the Cookie Monster?"



First Big Bird in politics and now the Cookie Monster on Mercury!!

Is Elmo headed for the red planet?

Posted By: gdanea - Sun Oct 14, 2012 - Comments (14)
Category: Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy

March 15: Space Bat Memorial Day

On March 15, 2009, the Space Shuttle Discovery launched from Kennedy Space Center without any issues, except one. From Wikipedia:

Posted By: Alex - Thu Mar 15, 2012 - Comments (5)
Category: Animals, Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy

Season’s Greetings!

I hope everyone has a Space Age Christmas!

Posted By: Paul - Fri Dec 23, 2011 - Comments (2)
Category: Holidays, Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy, 1960s

Sign Up for Space!

I thought this was a fitting item for the first day of the post-Space Shuttle era.

I wonder if the Hayden Planetarium kept these applications from 1952 on file down to the present?

Posted By: Paul - Fri Jul 22, 2011 - Comments (2)
Category: Contests, Races and Other Competitions, Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy, 1950s