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io9MoviesMarvelThere Were No New Mutants Reshoots
Wait, something you read about on the internet was wrong? Say it ain’t so! For years, fans have been waiting to see what director Josh Boone was going to do with the Marvel mutant film The New Mutants. The first trailer came out in 2017 and almost immediately, the film suffered multiple setbacks. Those setbacks … Continued
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Tech NewsThe Nazis Kept a List of Powerful American Friends in Los Angeles, Including the Co-Founder of UCLA
In 1945, the FBI raided a warehouse in Los Angeles that was used for storage by the German Consulate. Among the files, they found a collection of 3×5-inch cards kept by the Nazi regime containing contact information for important people in LA. The cards included the names, addresses, and phone numbers of people in the … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsLockheed Built a Blimp-Crawling Robot That Finds and Fixes Leaks
Satellites and autonomous drones have reduced our need for cutting-edge spy planes and stealth fighters. So Lockheed’s famed Skunk Works, creators of the SR-71 Blackbird, have now built a unique robot called the Spider that can crawl over the surface of blimps to find and fix tiny pinhole leaks. Inspecting an airship’s fabric inflatable envelope … Continued
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Tech News
Jewelry Made From an Actual SR-71 Blackbird Is Cool as Hell
Any old jerk can wear a fancy ring, but how many people can say their bling was made from materials that once flew at mach 3.2+ on the famed Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird spy plane? Now that’s some provenance. But before you fly off in a rage over the remaining SR-71 spy planes being sold off … Continued
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ScienceSpaceThe Grandfather of the Space Shuttle Looked Like a UFO
On this day in 1975, the venerable X-24B, an experimental aircraft that paved the way for the Space Shuttle’s lifting body design, made its 36th and final test flight in the skies over southern California. To honor that aviation milestone, here is the story of how the plane came to be. The following post originally … Continued
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Tech NewsGuam Could Get a Missile Shield to Deter North Korean Attacks
Guam’s strategic location just 1,500 miles South of Japan’s shores make the tiny island a very valuable piece of real estate for the US military and a very enticing target for Pyongyang’s missile program. To make sure that Kim Jong Un doesn’t get any funny ideas, Congress wants to arm Guam with our version of … Continued
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Tech News
Skunk Works Is Building a Drone That Carries Cars Instead of Cameras
Lockheed Martin Skunk Works’ Transformer TX started out as yet another design for the oft-predicted but never delivered flying car. But it’s since turned into an entirely different type of flying machine: an autonomous way for the military to airlift vehicles and cargo to dangerous areas. The Transformer TX is a DARPA-funded project that was … Continued
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Tech News
This Intense Real-Life F-35 Picture Looks Like an Iron Man Frame
This is an awesome shot of a test F-35 zipping around California’s Edwards Air Force Base sent to us by a tipster. Can you imagine this buzzing by your window? The F-35 might have a hard time getting off the ground, but when it does, it’s a majestic sight. https://gizmodo.com/the-trillion-dollar-f-35-is-grounded-yet-again-5986365
By Leslie Horn -
io9
Felix Baumgartner’s Supersonic Space Jump Has Been Aborted
Following a five-hour hold due to weather, today’s attempt at the first-ever supersonic space jump has been cancelled. The look on Baumgartner’s face after the mission-abort was announced, pictured above, says it all: this has been a disappointing day. https://gizmodo.com/felix-baumgartner-is-about-to-attempt-the-most-ambitiou-5950158 According to the Stratos live feed, the balloon used to lift Baumgartner to 120,000 feet … Continued
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io9Felix Baumgartner is about to attempt the most ambitious skydive in history — watch it here (UPDATED)
When most people skydive, they jump from an altitude between 3,000 and 15,000 feet. Today, extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner will leap from a balloon soaring 120,000 feet above sea level. Should Baumgartner survive the descent, he stands to shatter no fewer than four high-risk world records. UPDATE: Today’s supersonic jump attempt has been aborted. See … Continued
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Tech News
A Photo of the Most Elite Pilots on Earth Looking Incredibly Badass
No, that’s not a scene from The Right Stuff. It’s 14 pilots of the ultra-high-altitude Lockheed U-2 in full pressure suits posing like action heroes in front of their beautiful plane. Eat it, Ed Harris. Here’s an explanation of what’s going on from the Air Force: I wanted to send you a photo you might … Continued
By Kyle Wagner -
Tech NewsWhy Is the Military So Shockingly Bad at Art?
When a military contractor is trying to sell some wacky superweapon to the Pentagon, or when the Pentagon is trying to sell some wacky superweapon to Congress, it draws a cool action picture. But why are they so horribly terrible? Take this brand new image cooked up my Lockheed Martin. Lockheed Martin is working on … Continued
By Sam Biddle -
ScienceSpace
Lockheed’s Space Fence Prototype Starts Tracking Space Junk With Advanced Radar
Orbital debris is a large and growing problem, and no one is quite sure how to deal with it – polar lasers, nets and other concepts are still merely ideas. But we should at least monitor all that space trash, to be certain where it is and whether it’s heading for something we want to … Continued
Rebecca Boyle-Popular Science -
io9
Record-smashing supersonic space jump will happen in 2012
Oh, you’ve been skydiving? That’s nice. Extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner is underwhelmed by your “achievement.” What elevation did you jump from? 10,000 feet? 15,000? Later this year, Baumgartner plans to leap from near the edge of space itself, out of a balloon at an altitude of 120,000 feet. Baumgartner is no stranger to record-setting stunts. … Continued
