Atlantis
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Space station computers pass final test, Atlantis to come home
It's been a rocky few days in space, but it looks like the crashed Russian computers aboard the International Space Station are back up and running to spec, allowing the crew of Atlantis to depart tomorrow. There's still no word on what caused the computers -- which control vital life support systems, as well as the station's stabilizers and directional thrusters -- to fail, but the leading theory involves a surge from the new solar power array the shuttle astronauts installed. We're glad everything's okay -- but also we're totally curious as to what OS / processor combo they're running up there.
When good toys go bad VI: baby monitor swipes NASA shuttle feed
Looks like Summer Infant has a whole lot of explaining to do after one of its baby monitors has reportedly been able to "pick up black-and-white video from inside the space shuttle Atlantis." A Chicago-based mother probably had uncomfortable flashbacks to Signs after her newly purchased monitoring system chose to broadcast video of the mission right on the screen, but a NASA spokeswoman has already deflated hope that it was somehow coming directly from the shuttle. Apparently, a live feed is also available on NASA's website, which is leading investigators to focus on more earthly origins -- the mom, however, will probably just cancel her cable and keep on watching intently "to see what happens next."[Thanks, Joe]
Critical space station computers fail
An array of busted computers that control the International Space Station's orientation and oxygen and water supplies could force the orbiting hotel's three current residents to either extend their stay or make an emergency departure. The Russian-made computers are critical for sustaining life aboard the station, and while astronauts have a 56-day supply of oxygen remaining and the ability to manually fire the control thrusters, we've seen 2001 enough times to know that space and computer malfunctions don't mix. So far the cause of the failure is a real head-scratcher for Russian engineers tasked with troubleshooting the problem (where's Cosmonaut Gates when you need him?), though current suspicions lie with power issues related to the new solar array delivered by Atlantis on this most recent shuttle mission. For real-time updates on this crisis, just grab a telescope and follow along for yourself...[Thanks, Eli R]
$1.75 million game
With all this talk of people willing to pay crazy sums of money for a new system on eBay, what about paying crazy sums of money for a 25 year old game? One eBay auctioneer is hoping someone will pay $1,750,000.00 for a very rare copy of the game Atlantis II for the Atari 2600. The auctioneer, who has an extreme propensity to use exclamation marks, states, "The only way you could have obtained an original copy of this game is by entering the Defend Atlantis Contest and scoring over two million points on the original Atlantis cartridge." Our gaming history is good around here but, when it comes to gaming ancient history, we get a little fuzzy. Do we have a gaming archaeologist in the house?We have heard a lot of crazy things around here. Over launch week we expect to see a lot more; however, $1.75 million for a game? PS3 auctioneers haven't even mustered that level of greed. It's all good though, in the words of the great 20th century wordsmith Ice T, "Don't hate the playa, hate the game."
