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Space

How Old is the International Space Station?

November 4, 2010

The International Space recently celebrated its 10th year in full operation.

The second decade of a new era in human history — when not everyone lives on our home planet — began Nov. 2, 2010, as the International Space Station crossed the 1.5 billion mile mark of its travels with six residents on board and six visitors en route.

On Oct. 25, the station also set a record for being the longest continuously inhabited spacecraft. On that day, the International Space Station eclipsed the previous record of 3,644 days set by the Russian Mir Space Station. With each new day, NASA and its partners are pushing the envelope of human achievement in space into uncharted territory.

via NASA – 10 Years and Counting.

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Apollo Astronauts Life Insurance

July 28, 2010

How did the Astronauts of the Apollo missions get life insurance?

The answer was provided by NASA in the form of ‘Insurance Covers’, as seen here, a number of which were given to every crew member and subsequently signed by every astronaut involved, as close to launch as possible. Its value would instantly be high, but would no doubt sky-rocket (no pun intended) should the astronauts never return; the deceased’s surviving family then at least safe in the knowledge that in future they could cash-in their makeshift insurance policy if required.

via Ukinsurancenet | The Apollo Astronauts’ Fascinating Insurance Covers.

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The Biggest Stars in Space

Astronomers have discovered the most massive stars known, including one at more than 300 times the mass of our sun – double the size that scientists thought heavyweight stars could reach. These colossal stars are millions of times brighter than the sun and shed mass through very powerful winds. The stellar discovery, which represents the [...]

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The Great Moon Hoax

“The Great Moon Hoax” was a series of six articles that were published in the New York Sun beginning on August 25, 1835, about the supposed discovery of life and even civilization on the Moon. The discoveries were falsely attributed to Sir John Herschel, perhaps the best-known astronomer of his time. The articles described fantastic [...]

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Diamond Oceans With Diamond Icebergs in Space!

Oceans of liquid diamond, filled with solid diamond icebergs, could be floating on Neptune and Uranus, according to a recent article in the journal Nature Physics. The research, based on first detailed measurements of the melting point of diamond, found diamond behaves like water during freezing and melting, with solid forms floating atop liquid forms. [...]

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Did NASA Invent Tang?

Who invented Tang?   You’ve probably heard that NASA is responsible for the creation of the orange powdered drink mix.   But it was actually created by William A. Mitchell for General Foods in 1957. The mix was never very popular as a breakfast drink, which it was intended for, but gained massive popularity in [...]

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How Much Fuel Does the Space Shuttle Use?

Did you know if costs $450 million for a single shuttle mission?  Or that the shuttle carries 835,958 gallons of fuel at liftoff?  Thats 1,607,185 pounds of fuel! [NASA Shuttle FAQ]

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Volcanoes that Spew Water

Did you know that Saturn’s moon Titan has volcanoes that spurt water? Warm is a subjective term on Titan, where the average temperature is -290 degrees Fahrenheit (-179 degrees Celsius). One measure of the cold there is its volcanoes. While those on Earth spew molten rock, liquid water streams from Titan’s volcanoes. [space.com]

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