sts129_sunset.jpg

Phil Plait

Bad Astronomy

Shuttle lands in Florida

Grissom gives the thumbs-up to Hunt Club 1 in this stacked, enhanced image during recovery operations. The dye from the dye marker canister is also visible in the surrounding waters.
(Credit: NASA/Andy Saunders. Source: Stephen Slater)


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Sixty years later, we present a plausible explanation for one of the most enduring mysteries of the space race.

Did Static Electricity — Not Gus Grissom — Blow the Hatch of the Liberty Bell 7 Spacecraft?

Georgi Dobrovolski, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev pose during the Soyuz 11 mission. (Credit: NASA)

Soyuz 11 Crew

 The ill-fated replacement crew of Soyuz 11 spent three weeks performing experiments on the world's first space station. But their return trip ended in tragedy. 

Remembering the Crew of Soyuz 11, the Only Astronauts to Die in Space

(Credit: Miguel Guasch Fuxa/Shutterstock)

shutterstock 1774133360

The crustacean-inspired technology can help us analyze far-off phenomena, like supernovae collisions and solar wind, that extend past our own galaxy.

How Lobster Eyes Can Help Astronomers Get a Wider View of the Cosmos 

roadster in space - shutterstock 1030734130

Flying into space is risky even for fit, well-trained astronauts. Adding space tourists to flights will only boost the odds of something going wrong. What happens then?

Medical Emergencies in Space: Is Private Space Tourism Ready for a Worst Case Scenario?

An artist’s concept of a toroidal space colony that could accommodate 10,000 people. (Credit: NASA) 

toroidal space colony - NASA

NASA is funding new technologies for building things in outer space, from 3D printed spacecraft parts to habitats grown from fungi. 

Space Is Expensive. Can 3D Printing and On-Orbit Construction Drive the Cost Down?

In this photograph captured by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station on July 31, 2011, the oblique angle reveals the layers of Earth's atmosphere, along with a thin crescent Moon illuminated by the Sun sitting below the horizon. (Credit: NASA Earth Observatory)

Earth Atmosphere - NASA

Earth ends and outer space starts at the Kármán line, some 62 miles (100 kilometers) above the planet’s surface.

Shuttle lands in Florida

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