The European Space Agency’s Jules Verne is a 21-ton automated cargo ship designed to deliver supplies to the International Space Station.
X-Wing sled ready to maneuver straight down hill
Neatorama points us towards this gallery of an Art Sled Rally at Minneapolis’ Powderhorn Park. Other entries included a wooly mammoth, a truck, and a whale.
Video du jour: Finally, the truth can be told
What really happened to the X-Wing rocket. I can only assume this ‘true version’ has been suppressed by the government. And LFL. Together.
Dark Side Wins…Sort of.
If you’re Andy Woerner and his crazy rocketeer friends (translation: Geeks), and you have an idea, four Class M solid-fuel rocket engines, Baltic Birch wood, solid aluminum, CAD software, and friends at Polecat Aerospace (helped by RMS Laser and Aerotech Consumer Aerospace), what would you do?
Build a flyable X-wing fighter, of course.
The Flight of the X-Wing occurred on October 6.
There’s another, more extensive video here. There’s also a link at the bottom to the launch of a Y-Wing on the same day, with in-flight camera footage!
Tuesday morning reading list
Building notes and video of the X-Wing rocket.
Can Matt Sloan and Aaron Yonda move beyond Chad Vader?
ABC News featured the Wilhelm scream Sunday night.
Drew Struzan’s original paintings on display at Oregon gallery.
Roleplaying jokes meet Star Wars in the Darths & Droids webcomic.
Always the bridesquadron…
Y-Wing rocket fares slightly better than X-Wing. Of course, it’s still in pieces, but I don’t think anyone is expecting otherwise.
Elsewhere, Gizmodo polls on what the X-Wing folks should do next. As I post this, the Millennium Falcon is winning. People are sadists, man.
For charity: George-signed X-Wing
Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry, the latest host of the Science Meets Imagination exhibit, is auctioning off an X-Wing miniature autographed by George Lucas.
X-Wing rocket flies, but…
The rocket did launch, but didn’t… exactly… stay up very long. Oh well! (via)
UPDATE: Longer version with background chatter on Gizmodo. (Thanks, Fen!)
Up, up and away: The X-Wing rocket
Andy Woerner and friends have a built a 21-foot by 19 foot X-Wing out of plywood and aluminum, powered by four solid-fuel rocket engines. The wings are radio-controlled and actually move. All the way. Into attack position. How crazy are these folks?
The X-Wing will launch next week (unmanned!) Gizmodo has the full story and all the rocket-geek details.
Fanwank* this!
Why do X-Wing fighters have wings? (via SF Signal)
* The traditional definition, that is.