Robonaut 2 is the International Space Station's friendly 300-pound killbot android assistant. It's there to assist the team with science experiments and probably capture alien life at the expense of the crew. After being fitted with more heat-sinks to enable its delicate machinery to work for longer, it was given the job of monitoring the on-board air velocity to ensure the humans didn't choke to death. Since it doesn't have legs (they're still being built on the ground), it was only able to monitor the air in the Destiny Laboratory, but the test proved so successful that NASA hopes future robots will take over the more dangerous or mundane elements of space work -- at least until they become self-aware and unionize.

Continue reading NASA's Robonaut 2 shown pushing buttons, firing lasers on the ISS (video)

NASA's Robonaut 2 shown pushing buttons, firing lasers on the ISS (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Jun 2012 16:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft successfully departed the International Space Station at 4:07am ET and began its gentle descent into the atmosphere soon after. It's the home straight for the historic private spaceflight company as it concludes its first ever supply mission to the heavens. It's due to splash down in the Pacific Ocean, a few hundred miles off the coast of southern California at 11:44am ET. If you'd like to watch the craft being retrieved from its watery berth then head on past the break, with coverage set to begin from 10:15am ET.

Continue reading PSA: SpaceX's Dragon due to splash down at 11:44am ET (video)

PSA: SpaceX's Dragon due to splash down at 11:44am ET (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 May 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

SpaceX's Dragon docked with the International Space Station on Friday, but if you think the involved crew is spending the US long weekend experimenting with how well grills prepare burgers in low gravity (hint: not very), you're in for a bit of an awakening. The private space capsule's hatch flew open just before 6AM ET on Saturday, and while that's a historic first docking for a private spacecraft, it's just the start of a long process. At the same time as we'll be catching fireworks on Monday, the ISS team will bring onboard the 1,014 pounds of cargo and science experiments that Dragon hauled as proof it could fulfill a 12-mission, $1.6 billion cargo delivery contract. Don't think the spacefarers won't get any time off for Memorial Day weekend -- they'll get Saturday and Sunday for reflection -- but the 25 hours' worth of cargo shuffling on Monday will spill over into Tuesday, just as we're all stumbling back into our offices on Earth.

[Image credit: NASA TV]

SpaceX Dragon team opens the hatch, to spend Memorial Day with more cargo hauling than barbecues originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 May 2012 14:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

SpaceX's Dragon is rapidly approaching its historic meeting with the International Space Station. It's due to begin its first docking procedure at 7:30am ET, and NASA is streaming footage from both the ground crew, the ISS and the private craft itself. Once within a safe range, the station will extend its robotic arm and draw the Dragon in to dock -- with the hatch being opened tomorrow. We've embedded the video after the break so you can watch along at home, popcorn in hand.

[Image credit: SpaceX]

Continue reading PSA: Watch the SpaceX Dragon's first attempt at docking right now! (video)

PSA: Watch the SpaceX Dragon's first attempt at docking right now! (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 May 2012 06:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Even if you squint real hard, you won't find Andie, Max or that rogue robot Jinx stowed away in that inner sanctum above. In fact, there are no humans on board Dragon whatsoever, given that this mission -- the first successful private / federal partnership with NASA -- is strictly cargo-only and a test flight to boot. After suffering several launch delays, Elon Musk's pet project finally achieved lift off this past Tuesday, giving space heads reason to exhale, all the while proving to the world that a new era in interstellar exploration has just begun. En route now to dock with the ISS and deliver its payload, SpaceX's capsule, the interior of which measures 14.4ft (4.4m) by 12ft (3.7m) and is filled with dehydrated astronaut food, clothes, supplies and student science experiments, will spend about one week tethered to that international outpost before crashing into the Pacific on its return trip home. Hit up the source below to gawk at additional shots of this spacecraft's maiden voyage.

Visualized: SpaceX's Dragon is a desolate vision in beige and white originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 May 2012 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

After being scrubbed a few days ago, it appears we are just minutes from viewing the launch of SpaceX's Dragon capsule on a Falcon 9 rocket. The plan is to become the first private company to successfully deliver cargo to the space station, as a step towards manned missions and eventually, Mars. Launch time is officially set for 3:44AM ET, and you can view it live via NASA's UStream embedded after the break or on SpaceX's feed at the source link. Assuming all goes well it will be a few more days until we actually see the capsule dock with the ISS, and we'll keep you updated every step of the way.

Update: This time the launch took place on schedule, and the Dragon capsule is on its way to space. NASA has a press conference planned for after the launch coverage ends at 5:15AM.

Continue reading SpaceX Dragon is ready for launch (update: launched!), view the live stream now

SpaceX Dragon is ready for launch (update: launched!), view the live stream now originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 May 2012 03:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We're crossing our fingers and toes so hard we can barely type and walk, since it looks like the oft-delayed Dragon launch will take place tomorrow. SpaceX founder Elon Musk confirmed that the company had passed final launch review with NASA and that everything was set for the Falcon 9 to lift off at 4:15AM ET on May 19th. The lift-off will be broadcast live from the official website and is on course to be the first private spaceflight to dock and deliver essential supplies to the International Space Station. For our part? We wish the craft (and the ground crew) all the best and hope it's a perfect flight -- we wanna stay in a space hotel sooner rather than later.

Update (05/19): At around 5:06AM ET, Elon Musk tweeted that the launch had been aborted due to high combustion chamber pressure around Engine 5. It won't be leaving for another couple of days.

Continue reading Space X's Dragon launch... is go! (update: aborted)

Space X's Dragon launch... is go! (update: aborted) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 May 2012 10:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Those secret space experiments you've been scheming? They may never happen if you try to go it alone. Fortunately, the space science group NCESSE can get you a ride, having started the countdown for its fifth wave of microgravity experiments aboard the International Space Station. US and international students from grade 5 up to university level can submit ideas until September 12th, 2012, with final culling by December 7. The mini-labs -- which can include experiments in seed germination or crystal growth, for example -- are set to be ferried aboard a SpaceX flight in April 2013. Three similar missions have flown nearly 60 student experiments already, with a fourth set as soon as the Falcon 9 craft deigns to go. If you've got a flat-out good idea being prevented by big G, hit the source to see how you could get it fired off to the ISS.

ISS ready for new zero-g experiments, students asked to float ideas originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 May 2012 09:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Stop us (oh, oh, oh stop us) if you've heard this one before (you have): SpaceX has announced that it won't be able to make that May 7th launch date. The company hasn't disclosed the cause (the static fire tests seemed to go okay) but spokesperson Kirstin Grantham said that the company is working through the "software assurance process" with NASA. A new launch window hasn't been set, but the company says it'll tell all before the end of tomorrow -- they'd better, since the ISS crew have been waiting for these space-rations since November last year.

This joke isn't funny anymore, SpaceX delays ISS launch... again originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 May 2012 08:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Today, SpaceX is test-firing the engines of its Falcon 9 rocket in preparation for that oft-delayed May 7th launch for its Dragon capsule. You'll be able to watch the static-fire test from the comfort of your own desk by pointing a browser at the company website (link below) from 2:30pm ET / 11:30am PT. If successful, then the rocket will lift-off properly in a week's time, with designs on being the first commercial craft used to resupply the International Space Station.

Update: For those who missed the live stream, you can check out a replay of today's event just after the break.

Continue reading PSA: Space X streaming test-firing of Falcon 9 at 2:30pm ET / 11:30am PT (update: video)

PSA: Space X streaming test-firing of Falcon 9 at 2:30pm ET / 11:30am PT (update: video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Apr 2012 11:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A pair of companies developing their own commercial space shuttles are presumably trying to flatten their hair after some rigorous wind tunnel testing. First up, Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos (the guy behind Amazon), a company that's remained pretty quiet on its efforts to shuttle astronauts to the International Space Station. Its Space Vehicle setup will plump for a biconic shape (seen above), with a flattened side and a split flap. According to Blue Origin's president, Rob Meyerson, the shape allows greater volume than traditional designs, but forgo the "weight penalty" of winged craft. Compared to earlier capsules, the Space Vehicle's shape, with its fuselage flap to generate lift, should also give it better control on re-entry to earth.

Juggling for wind tunnel time, Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser has also been blasted with smoke to test its own air resistance credentials. Its module would lauch from the top of the rocket, and glide (as much as anything that costs this much can) back to earth like NASA's own space shuttles. The Dream Chaser is planning its first flight for this fall. You can check out its more traditional take on the future of space travel after the break -- and decide which of the two you'll want sending your children to the mines.

[Picture credit: Blue Origin, SNC]

Continue reading Commercial space shuttle prototypes fly through wind tunnel testing

Commercial space shuttle prototypes fly through wind tunnel testing originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Apr 2012 09:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Just a week after NASA signed off on its launch, SpaceX has had to postpone the flight of the Dragon. It's yet another delay to NASA's efforts to supply the International Space Station using private spacecraft and reduce the US's dependence on Soyuz rockets. Taking to Twitter, founder Elon Musk said that the company needed to do more testing on the docking code for the capsule, while spokesperson Kirstin Brost Grantham told Space.com that the company needed more time to test and review the hardware. Pending NASA's approval, it'll begin its journey heavenward on the head of a Falcon 9 between May 3rd and May 7th. Given that the original mission was scheduled for November last year, they'll probably need to check the use-by dates on those space rations.

Update: Elon Musk has confirmed, via Twitter, that Falcon 9 and Dragon will lift off on May 7th and rendezvous with the ISS. So long as "the company" doesn't detour them to some mysterious rock first.

SpaceX redefines 'fashionably late' as Dragon trip to the ISS is delayed again originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 11:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

With the Space Shuttle now officially grounded, NASA has been researching alternatives for ferrying astronauts from Earth to the International Space Station, orbiting some 230 miles above the planet. One such vehicle has made its way from Boeing's HQ to the National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, where a full-size model is on display for conference attendees. Externally, the spacecraft appears very similar to the reentry modules of yesteryear, measuring 14.5 feet with room for up to seven people. The craft is designed to make its way through the atmosphere mounted to an Atlas V rocket, and is rated for up to 10 roundtrip missions. As is typical with spacecraft, it looks like astronauts won't be traveling with first-class accommodations -- things will likely feel quite cozy when the CST-100 is at capacity -- but such conditions come with the territory. There's no date set for delivery, but the craft could be making its way to space as early as 2015, and has reportedly been tested in the Nevada desert as recently as this month.

Boeing CST-100 capsule could shuttle astronauts to ISS, shows off its innards in Colorado Springs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Apr 2012 17:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A month ago to the day, SpaceX informed us all that it was aiming to launch its Dragon spacecraft skyward on April 30th, and rendezvous with the ISS a few days later. Now NASA's finally finished its flight readiness review and has given Elon Musk's capsule the green light to hit that launch window. The capsule will hitch a ride on one of the firm's Falcon 9 rockets and will launch from Cape Canaveral just after noon ET -- from there it'll perform a flyby of the station to check its sensors and flight systems before its inaugural docking with the ISS. Wanna watch the magic happen? Live video of the launch starts at 11AM on NASA TV, and night owls can watch the docking itself occur May 3rd at 2AM.

NASA deems SpaceX Dragon worthy of the ISS, locks in April 30th launch date originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Apr 2012 21:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading NASA activates Robotnaut 2 on board the ISS, watch it live (video)

NASA activates Robotnaut 2 on board the ISS, watch it live (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Europhysics Letters publishes first paper submitted from space, your homework excuses now deemed invalid originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Nov 2011 18:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Filed under: Tablet PCs

Angry Birds to ride Russian rockets into space, follow iPads bound for bored cosmonauts originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Oct 2011 22:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Presumably feeling a little left out after being turned down from the global love-in that is the International Space Station, China's decided to go it alone. The ever-expanding nation will be ready to launch the first module of it's very own space station, the Tiangong (Heavenly Palace), by the end of this month. The initial launch will be unmanned, delivering an 8.5-ton module ready for docking practise and other interactions with three more spacecraft that are planned to join it later this year. Pegged for completion by 2020 and with a complete weight of over 60 tons, the Tiangong will look positively petite compared to the hulking 419-ton ISS, but is also said to be significantly cheaper. Meanwhile, we still await China's take on the Robonaut.

China readies its own space station module for launch originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Sep 2011 08:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A vacation worth a cool million: five days in the CSS space hotel originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Aug 2011 15:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

NASA robotic gas station successfully installed -- our Jetsonian dreams (almost) fulfilled originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Jul 2011 07:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading UrtheCast to stream live HD footage of Earth from ISS, like Stickam for space

UrtheCast to stream live HD footage of Earth from ISS, like Stickam for space originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 25 Jun 2011 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Spy satellites become reluctant space celebs, get their own paparazzi originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Jun 2011 07:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

iPhone rides Atlantis into space, where no one can hear its ringtone scream originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Jun 2011 07:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading SIM-sized satellites to lift off with Endeavour this afternoon

SIM-sized satellites to lift off with Endeavour this afternoon originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Apr 2011 10:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

China unveils space station, launching by 2020 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Apr 2011 08:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

First Orbit offers a glimpse at Yuri Gagarin's spaceflight 50 years later (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 21:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Panasonic's AG-3DA1 camera will shoot 3D video, Robonaut vlogs on the International Space Station

Panasonic's AG-3DA1 camera will shoot 3D video, Robonaut vlogs on the International Space Station originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 11:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Japanese spacecraft's 'black box' recorder survives flaming fall to earth

Japanese spacecraft's 'black box' recorder survives flaming fall to earth originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 02 Apr 2011 09:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Japan sends Kounotori 2 spacecraft on suicide mission to study re-entry process originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 10:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Film recreation of Soviet cosmonaut Gagarin's historic spaceflight to be shown off next month originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 Mar 2011 07:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Robonaut 2 gets unboxed in space, plans for galactic domination

Robonaut 2 gets unboxed in space, plans for galactic domination originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 02:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

NASA and Ad Astra team up to test VASIMR plasma rocket in space originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 Mar 2011 18:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

NASA says International Space Station is now 'essentially' complete originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Mar 2011 19:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"We're standing on the shoulders of our ancestors, reaching out a small, child-like hand at the stars. And then returning safely to earth thanks to FAA certification. We're on the verge of the impossible."

Continue reading FAA gives SpaceX the first-ever commercial license for spacecraft reentry

FAA gives SpaceX the first-ever commercial license for spacecraft reentry originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Nov 2010 17:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

ISS gets a greenhouse for experiments, comforting homesick astronauts originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Nov 2010 11:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

International Space Station marks ten years of continuous habitation originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Nov 2010 16:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

President Obama signs $19 billion NASA funding bill into law originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Oct 2010 17:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Russian firm hopes to have luxury space hotel in orbit by 2016 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Sep 2010 15:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.