Tag: Space Travel
Even Astronauts Want to be Travel Writers
by Michael Yessis | 02.03.10 | 1:19 PM ET
At least one well-known astronaut does: The one who happened to be stuck in the middle of the drive-non-stop-from-Houston-to-Orlando-allegedly-in-diapers love triangle. In reporting on the case, Florida Today notes that former astronaut William Oefelein and former Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman—she was the victim of a pepper spray attack by her rival—are currently running this travel writing website.
Welcome to the travelsphere, William and Colleen! Please note, however, that someone is already on the disposable underwear beat.
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Yahoo! BuzzTop Five Songs We Wouldn’t Want to Hear in Space
by World Hum | 12.15.09 | 12:34 PM ET
istockphoto Thanks to Virgin Galactic, Spandau Ballet could become the first band to perform in space. That got us thinking.
Where no Travel Writer has Gone Before
by Rolf Potts | 11.16.09 | 10:22 AM ET
By Doug Mack In a five-part series, Rolf Potts joins Trekkies aboard a "Star Trek" theme cruise to Bermuda
Congratulations, First Clown in Space!
by Eva Holland | 10.01.09 | 12:09 PM ET
Space tourist and Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté blasted off for the international space station yesterday, red clown nose and all. Now that’s a milestone to remember.
The Wi-Fi-in-the-Sky Wars
by Rob Verger | 05.15.09 | 10:46 AM ET
AirTran fired off a powerful volley this week in the competition between airlines to provide wireless internet access on flights. It kicked the service off with a flight on Tuesday, and says that all 136 of its planes will have Wi-Fi by the end of July, making it, as USA Today reports, “the first large U.S. airline to offer wireless Internet access on every flight nationwide.”
As Ben Mutzabaugh put it in another story in the same paper, “AirTran’s promotional flight points up how fast airlines are racing to provide Wi-Fi capability on their planes after experimenting with it for more than a year.”
Filmed Here: ‘Men in Black’
by Eva Holland | 04.02.09 | 12:15 PM ET
Photo by Eva Holland I celebrated the spring weather this week by heading out to Flushing Meadows Corona Park, aka “the Central Park of Queens,” for a wander in the sun. I didn’t know much about the park, beyond the name of the nearest subway station—so imagine my surprise when I walked through the gates and saw ... an extra-terrestrial spacecraft?
More precisely: what I saw was the observation tower of the now-abandoned New York State Pavilion (a relic from the World’s Fair), which served as a murderous alien’s would-be get-away vehicle in the climactic scene of the 1997 Will Smith flick, Men in Black. I’d seen the movie before, of course, but had never known where that final battle was set. Coming across the “space ship,” and the nearby Unisphere (which also plays a role in the battle), got me thinking about action movies and the major landmarks they use as props.
Baikonur, Kazakhstan
by World Hum | 03.24.09 | 1:26 PM ET
REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov The Soyuz spacecraft is transported to its launch pad at Baikonur cosmodrome.
Meteor Crater, Arizona: National Treasure or Big Hole?
by Sophia Dembling | 01.29.09 | 11:37 AM ET
Photo by Sophia Dembling Meteor Crater in Arizona seemed a very long way off the highway. By the time my husband and I reached it and paid our $15 each admission, we could only agree with the little boy who, standing crater-side with us, turned to his mother and said accusingly, “It’s just a big hole.” Truly, it looked cooler when we saw it from an airplane.
Now the The New York Times reveals us as the philistines we are, in this story about the crater’s wonders. Guess we better return with the proper attitude.
Earthrise: ‘How a Picture Transformed Our View of Ourselves’
by Eva Holland | 12.02.08 | 1:41 PM ET
On the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 8 launch, the Guardian offers this thoughtful essay about the mission, its accomplishments and the iconic photograph (pictured) shot by its NASA crew. “Certainly, Earthrise is a striking reminder of Earth’s vulnerability,” Robin McKie writes. “We may have forgotten the men who risked their lives getting to the Moon and who explored its dead landscape—a ‘beat-up’ world as they put it—but the view they brought back of that glittering blue hemisphere continues to mesmerise.”
Have $100K to Spend? Take a Ride on Space Tourism’s New Oddity
by Valerie Conners | 10.29.08 | 12:47 PM ET
A plan has been unveiled for a “fishbowl”-like suborbital space shuttle that will offer 360-degree views of space. The vehicle can carry two passengers, and may be flying as soon as 2010. Worth noting: the shuttles look like giant outer space moon bounces—completely awesome.
Space ‘Tourist’ Returns Safely to Earth
by Valerie Conners | 10.24.08 | 2:08 PM ET
After his Soyuz capsule landed in Kazakhstan without incident, American Richard Garriott called his odyssey into space a “pinnacle experience.” And no worries, Richard, you’ll always be a space traveler in our eyes.
Travel Headline of the Day: ‘Tourist Reaches Space Station’
by Jim Benning | 10.14.08 | 5:04 PM ET
Don’t worry, Richard Garriott, in our book, you’re no space tourist. You’re a space traveler.
Travel Headline of the Day: ‘NASA Set to Approve Japanese Fleet of Origami Space Shuttles’
by Michael Yessis | 10.08.08 | 5:47 PM ET
The shuttles are apparently made from chemically-treated sugar cane fiber paper, and are designed to fly from space to the earth. Really. The experiment, which may take place next year, could offer insight into the next generation of spacecraft design. Video below.
Profile of a Space Tourist
by Eva Holland | 08.21.08 | 12:15 PM ET
The space tourism business is heating up, but who are these customers willing to spend millions of dollars for what they hope will be the ride of their lives? Wired offers a fascinating profile of one would-be space tourist—Japanese tech millionaire Daisuke Enomoto, who completed a grueling training program only to be grounded by a kidney stone.
NASA Celebrates 50 Years In Space
by Eva Holland | 07.30.08 | 10:09 AM ET
As private outfits like Virgin Galactic look ahead this week to the future of commercial space travel, NASA looks back, and celebrates 50 years in existence. Wired has an in-depth essay about the space agency’s history, scientific achievements and cultural impact—most notably, the iconic Cape Canaveral liftoffs of the 1960s, when news anchor Walter Cronkite “made it clear to his audience that they were taking part in something momentous, something that not only represented the flowering of a great technological achievement but stirred the human soul as well.”
Virgin Galactic Unveils ‘WhiteKnightTwo’ Mothership
by Michael Yessis | 07.28.08 | 3:37 PM ET
It’s so hot Xeni Jardin wants to fondle it. Other reports from today’s unveiling of the high-altitude aircraft that will carry SpaceShipTwo, Virgin Galactic’s commercial space ship, to the edge of the atmosphere were almost as breathless. Wired, the Los Angeles Times, Jaunted and others have reports from the scene in California’s Mojave Desert.
From Candy Consumer to Space Tourist
by Jim Benning | 07.16.08 | 10:54 AM ET
Photo via Virgin Galactic.