T-51 Days (October 14) - OA-4 Cygnus Service Module Arrives At KSC Marking A Major Milestone In Its Prelaunch

That feel when you’re so drained of creativity that you have to ask your friend to just pick a number from 1-44. Yeah this hasn’t been my greatest week in terms of art so I’m very this isn’t that great. ANYWAYS Teddy Roosevelt is the literal embodiment the shark from the body building ad from that one spongebob episode (I overdosed my add meds today so I’d like to apologize ahead of time). But yeah, sick of being the scrawny asthmatic kid he was, Teedy (he was actually called that) wanted to buff up and oh my god did he freaking accomplish that. He turned out to be basically invincible stopping a bullet with his chest at one point while being charismatic as fuck, but he would basically just disappear into the void whenever someone would say a dick joke. Also, apparently he didn’t swear on the bible when taking office when McKinley was assassinated so that’s why he’s saying oh my god.

@wingmanoftheuniverse: thank

It’s a U.S. Record! Cumulative Days in Space: 383

Today, Astronaut Scott Kelly has broken the record for longest time spent in space by a U.S. astronaut! Over the course of his four missions, Kelly has spent 383 cumulative days in space. This record was previously held by Astronaut Mike Fincke, with 382 days in space over three flights. Here are some more fun facts about this milestone:

4: The number of humans that have spent a year or more in orbit on a single mission

215 Days: The record currently held by Mike Lopez-Alegria for most time on a single spaceflight by U.S. astronaut. On Oct. 29, Kelly will break this record

377 Days: The current record for most days in space by a U.S. female astronaut, held by Peggy Whitson

879 Days: The record for most cumulative days in space by a human, currently held by Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka

Why Spend a Year in Space?

Kelly’s One-Year Mission is an important stepping stone on our journey to Mars and other deep space destinations. These investigations are expected to yield beneficial knowledge on the medical, psychological and biomedical challenges faced by astronauts during long-duration spaceflight.

Kelly is also involved in the Twins Study, which consists of ten separate investigations that are being conducted with his twin brother, who is on Earth. Since we are able to study two individuals who have the same genetics, but are in different environments for one year, we can gain a broader insight into the subtle effects and changes that may occur in spaceflight.

For regular updates on Kelly’s one-year mission aboard the space station, follow him on social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

REBLOG IF A VIDEO GAME ENDING HAS EVER MADE YOU CRY

Curiosity moved approximately 8.0m ESE (119º) on Sol 1151. Quick stitch of the available end-of-drive Navcams. More info to follow

http://space-pics.tumblr.com/

Beirut: Two suicide bombings have killed 41+ people. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34805466

Japan: A tsunami warning has been issued for parts of Japan after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off its south-western coast. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34816292

Paris: Dozens dead, 3 explosions, and 60+ hostage situation. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34814203

Saturn V Cutaway ~ This fascinating Saturn V cutaway drawing is by far the most detailed I’ve ever come across. It’s an original, official Boeing engineering breakdown by Don Sprague and includes everything you ever wanted to know about the Saturn V’s internal workings – right down to millimetre accurate measurements … 

Thanks, Doc

The planet closest to our Solar System might have just disappeared

Oops.

Alpha Centauri bb, an Earth-like planet orbiting our closest star, has just vanished. In fact, a new study suggests it never actually existed outside of a blip in the data.

The planet was discovered in 2012, and it was a pretty big deal at the time. According to researchers’ best estimates, Alpha Centauri bb appeared to have a mass similar to Earth and was orbiting its star at a distance similar to Mercury.

Best of all, it was only 4.3 light-years away – a whole lot closer than most other Earth-like exoplanets – and existed in a star system that had housed the science-fiction characters of Avatar and Transformers.

But a year after its discovery, a separate group of researchers called the discovery into question, when they found only weak evidence that the planet existed. And now a new study suggests that Alpha Centauri bb was never more than a ‘ghost’ in the data.

The research serves as a cautionary tale to astrophysicists hunting for evidence of planets orbiting distant stars, and reminds us of how hard it is to work out what’s going on using sporadic data taken from distant star systems.

Continue Reading.