Shuttle

Space Shuttle Final Flight Programmed: May 31 2010

NASA has put a final date on the shuttle program: May 31 2010. That day, the shuttle will launch for the last time, putting an end to 29 years of amazing missions, two of them with tragic endings. The final will be STS-133, in which Endeavour "will carry critical spare components that will be placed on the outside of the station," including new communication antennas, a gas tank, spare parts for giant space robot Dextre, and the coolest of them all: "micrometeoroid debris shields." I don't know about you, but I hope these involve invisible fields or laser micro-turrets or some kind of plasma generator. They also released details for the remaining flights of Endeavour, Discovery, and Atlantis: More »

4:00 PM on Tue Jul 8 2008
By Jesus Diaz
5,714 views, 46 comments

Latest by Mondoz: @GadgetPlay: Unless the next president helps out NASA by increasing the manned space exploration division more than Bush's meager scraps, I doubt we'll see men on Mars anytime soon. Certainly not within Bush's timetable. If he announced it, he endorses more »

Giz goes to Lego

750,000-Brick Kennedy Space Center Is the Mother of All Lego Models

Forget about the Lego Airbus A380 and the Lego Death Star, because this video will show you the mother of all Lego models: the 750,000-brick Kennedy Space Center. Using 1,506 square feet, it took 2,500 hours to build. It includes a 6.13ft-tall Space Shuttle on the launch pad, the space center with a 9ft-long Saturn 1B rocket, and the Vehicle Assembly Building—8ft long x 6ft high x 5ft wide—made out of 50,000 Lego bricks. I know. Mindblowing. This thing is so massive that it can probably affect Earth's orbit. Update: if Lego's Kennedy Space Center is the mother of all Lego models, Giz reader Florian Frischmuth has sent us his pictures of the father: the 1,300,000-brick Lego Allianz Arena stadium in Munich, Germany. This titan contains a mindblowing 30,000 mini-figs inside. More »

10:00 PM on Sat Jun 21 2008
By Jesus Diaz
167,714 views, 70 comments

Latest by n/a: Any one know someone that may be interested in "ELGO'S"... no it's not misspelled .. origionated in abt. 1953 .. in the paper tube containers w/ the metal screw top .. instructions included. RME II more »

pcs

Shuttle D10 Media Server With a 7-Inch Touchscreen

Here's a small form factor PC by Shuttle meant to function as a media server. What's clever is the 7-inch touchscreen and I hope some general UI for getting around your files and programs. I've stashed a Shuttle box or two in a closet, and it fit great but using a keyboard and mouse in the closet is rough. So is planting a monitor between your shirts and pants. So this is a nice idea. (Please ignore the photoshopped floating screenshots to the sides of the LCD.) [Shuttle]

1:25 PM on Sat Jun 7 2008
By Brian Lam
10,520 views, 9 comments

Latest by HeyBeav: Checking out the Shuttle website shows that they also have a remote for the system and a second LCD screen for remote viewing. I apologize for the clumsy sentence, but you know what I mean. Not mention goodies like security cameras more »

iss

Shuttle to Repair ISS Toilet, Save the Day

It must be a relief for the ISS crew to hear that their malfunctioning toilet will get some urgently-needed repairs next week, now that Discovery will be whizzing a new pump aloft. The dodgy loo has been unable to deal with liquid waste, and repair attempts failed. So NASA has cleared Discovery to fly on Saturday with a 13kg replacement pump, even though it means leaving other stuff behind. "Having a working toilet is a priority for us," said Scott Higginbotham~~Higginbottom~~, in charge of shuttle payloads. The Russian-made pump was even give special treatment: it was flown in a diplomatic pouch from Russia. Clearly when spacemen need to go, they need to go... [New Scientist]

5:30 AM on Fri May 30 2008
By Kit Eaton
2,244 views, 24 comments

Latest by FritzLaurel: Bahaha -- food literally flew out of my mouth when laughed at "Higginbottom." more »

hard drives

Charred Hard Drive from Space Shuttle Columbia Recovered (Best Data Rescue Ever?)

It's taken four and a half years, but the data recovery specialists charged with extracting data from a cracked, charred 400MB Seagate drive aboard the ill-fated Space Shuttle Columbia have done their duty, retrieving 99% of the information written to the disk. The Columbia burned up on re-entry on Feb. 1, 2003, over Louisiana and Texas. Computerworld reports that the drive was found in a dry lakebed and handed to a team at Kroll Ontrack about six months after the tragedy, but the successful recovery has only just come to light. So, you ask, what was on the drive that was so important? More »

11:10 AM on Thu May 8 2008
By Wilson Rothman
28,363 views, 48 comments

Latest by n/a: @Leathersoup: True, but I personally believe that wasn't worth the cost either. That's just a matter of opinion. more »

space fleet

Buran Space Shuttle Floats Along the Rhine

The Buran space shuttle was once the apple of the Soviet space fleet's eye. Unfortunately, it has now been reduced to floating peacefully down the river Rhine, where it will eventually come to rest at the Technik Museum Speyer in Mannheim, Germany. The great shuttle took to the skies only once during an unmanned test flight, but two decades later, the modern relic has gone the way of a crushed Buzz Lightyear—it's realized it can't fly, but at least it can put on one hell of an exhibition. Good on you, Buran. The images of the final float look stunning, and the video of the event, which is set against some seriously melancholic music, makes the whole event look like a sad and dignified funeral procession. Check out the pictures in the gallery below, then jump in to see the clip. Warning: have your hankies ready. More »

9:30 PM on Sat Apr 12 2008
By Haroon Malik
9,929 views, 35 comments

Latest by n/a: No wonder it didn't fly again.. they forgot to include a tail section. more »

shuttle kpc

Shuttle $99 PC Reviewed (Verdict: Great Value, But the Linux OS Is Bleh)

A $99 PC obviously isn't going to deliver a blockbuster experience, but Shuttle's toaster-sized KPC actually has the hardware to get the lightweight job done: 1.8GHz Celeron processor, 512MB RAM and an 80GB hard drive, all of which is expandable. Overall, Tom's Hardware thought the cheap-o box delivered "surprisingly good" performance and value, except for the default OS Foresight Linux—its user-unfriendliness and bugs are the KPC's biggest problems. But, the Windows XP install "worked flawlessly" in case you've got an extra copy lying around and want a low-power mini-PC. [Tom's Hardware]

7:30 PM on Fri Apr 11 2008
By matt buchanan
10,104 views, 35 comments

Latest by Brian Sexton: @cubensis: Intel GMA 950. AGP is pretty much dead, but PCI Express would be nice. Perhaps a future version will have either a PCI Express slot or a form factor that is small enough to justify its absence. more »

nasa

iPod Pictured Onboard Space Shuttle Endeavour

A TUAW reader has managed to spot an iPod onboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, which is currently floating around in a giant vacuum. The hawk-eyed reader spotted the iPod from official NASA photos, which showed the device, barely visible, through a cabin window. Interestingly, iPods cannot be taken into space willy-nilly. In fact, the usual lithium battery must be replaced with specially designed alkaline alternatives to ensure safety standards are met. That seems like a lot of planning to us, which is part of the reason we won't be leaving planet Earth anytime soon. Another equally valid reason is because we are not qualified astronauts. If you are having difficulty recovering from the shock of this new information, please sit down and drink some water. Jump for a zoomed out shot of the space shuttle, which indicates the founder was either very bored or has awesome Superman-like eyesight. You decide. More »

11:30 PM on Sat Mar 15 2008
By Haroon Malik
57,724 views, 55 comments

Latest by n/a: @markarian: About 6 years ago I think, the shuttles computers were replaced top to bottom with brand spankin' new first Genration Pentiums. Apparently they don't use the latest technology on the orbiter because it takes about four years to more »

robots

NASA Sending Robots into Space to do Astronauts' Dirty Work

NASA is sending a $200 million, Canadian-built robot named Dextre (Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator) up to the International Space Station to help carryout spacewalk missions too dangerous for humans to attempt. The currently disassembled robot is being flown up on the Space Shuttle Endeavour and will be built up on the Space Station. Once constructed, Dextre will be 10 feet high, 5 feet wide and have two arms comprised of seven joints apiece. [ABC News]

3:18 PM on Fri Mar 14 2008
By Adrian Covert
3,993 views, 33 comments

lego

LEGO Contest Picks Up Steam, Pod Racer, London Imperial Shuttle and Jeff Vader

Some of you asked for it when we showed you the LEGO Steampunk Tie Fighter and here it is: a LEGO Steampunk Pod Racer, the Darling Apollo IV driven by Trenton Telgaard. Whoever that is. It's also part of the LEGO Steam Wars contest, like the brilliant London Imperial Shuttle after the jump (right next to a hilarious LEGO animation set to Eddie Izzard's monologue on Darth Vader's at the Death Star's cafeteria. A must for a Monday morning.) More »

7:25 AM on Mon Jan 21 2008
By Jesus Diaz
14,349 views, 10 comments

Latest by Captain Angry: Eddie Izzard is amazing. I have that show on DVD. Great stuff. more »

laptops

Lenovo Y410 Notebook Has Facial Recognition, Special Media Playback

Lenovo's previously Asia-only Y-series notebooks just crossed the Bering Strait and landed in the US, bringing both facial recognition, a 1.3-megapixel webcam, and a special Shuttle Center control that lets you play back music and movies without booting the main system. Underneath these special features are pretty standard-issue equipment for a laptop around $735: 1.46GHz Pentium, Vista, 1GB Memory, 14.1-inch display, 160GB hard drive, and DVD burner. You can get a little beefier by buying from Office Depot and getting a 1.66GHz Core 2 Duo and 2GB memory, which costs $900. [Lenovo via Electronista]

3:20 PM on Mon Oct 29 2007
By Jason Chen
5,878 views, 6 comments

Latest by n/a: I have played with this little bit in office depot. It looked good except the mic. Has anyone tested or played with it ? more »

space waste

NASA Mistakes Star Wars for Reality, to Launch Lightsaber Into Space

Now the US space program has really jumped the shark. The Space Shuttle Discovery will carry into space Luke Skywalker's lightsaber, a prop used in Star Wars. The entire journey of this movie prop will be accompanied with crazy fanfare—from prop shop to space and back—all in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the 1977 premiere of the first Star Wars movie. More »

3:20 PM on Tue Aug 28 2007
By Charlie White
4,498 views, 29 comments

pcs

Shuttle SXDi: Water-cooled PC with CrossFire and Flames

This is the new Shuttle SDXi and although it's a variation of the XPC, it's also one BMF. It comes loaded for speed with a 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E6600, 2 GBytes Crucial Ballistix RAM and a 10.000rpm Western Digital Raptor hard drive. But more importantly, the painted flames on the sides are guaranteed to make it run even faster. Or something like that. More »

4:19 AM on Wed Apr 11 2007
By www.gizmodo.com
1,267 views, 25 comments

gadgets

Shuttle Car PC: A Techier Way to Die

Shuttle just announced their new Car PC—or what looks to be a Mac Mini genetically enhanced with car audio badassness (known to some as a heat sink). More »

2:00 PM on Sun Mar 18 2007
By Mark Wilson
9,201 views, 7 comments

pcs

Shuttle Updates XPC Mini Line with X200

The Shuttle XPC Mini X200 is no bigger that a stack of magazine, looks a bit like a Wii, and packs one hell of a punch. This machine comes loaded with a Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of DDR 2 ram, 7.1-channel audio, digital and analog TV tuner, FM tuner, Wi-Fi and even includes a remote. Media center, anyone? Tack on a card reader and a buttload of USB ports for one hell of a miniature computer. The X200 is going to be available in a high-end model for $1,300 and a lower end model for $1,000 or so. – Travis Hudson More »

12:48 PM on Thu Jan 4 2007
By Travis Hudson
730 views, 9 comments

Latest by Thunderous_Thor: Holy shit. I thought I would be able to hold on that grand that I've been sitting on. Damn you Gizmodo! You show me all these sexy gadgets and I spend all my money. Oh well. Right? more »

pcs

Shuttle's Flaming New Rig Ain't For N00bs

I've seen some fugly PC cases before, but this one definitely wins the dork award. Not that I could buy it anyways cause according to Shuttle, their new XPC 1337 caters toward "elite gamers" only.

"XPC 1337 systems offer the absolute best technologies available. This all comes together to make one unique system with performance to boot—only the 1337 apply."

So what kinda of specs do the "1337" get? More »

8:05 PM on Thu Dec 21 2006
By Louis Ramirez
239 views, 22 comments

pcs

Shuttle XPC P3100 Gaming PC Hands-On

The Shuttle XPC that we used with the iz3D Gaming Monitor deserves a mention as well. The XPC P3100 unit is quite small and generates barely any noise, thanks to its Silent X technology. More »

2:53 PM on Thu Sep 14 2006
By Jason Chen
466 views, 7 comments