Washington teen wins NASA “Why Space Matters to the Future” video contest

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There’s just something about Washington teenagers and their ability to talk about space exploration creatively. The Coalition for Space Exploration and NASA just announced the winners of their “Why Space Matters to the Future” national video contest and two Washington teens won first and second place. The contest asked three questions: How has space affected,… Read More…

Seattle gamers jam out with NASA

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In the span of 48 hours, Seattle-based independent game developers created working prototypes of computer games with help from NASA. They took part in a game jam, an event held in multiple locations in which teams of developers code and design a game in a short amount of time. While some game jams are competitive,… Read More…

From Space to SOPA: 10 Tech Triumphs of 2012

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Rovers, particles, and skydiving from the edge of space. And that was just the beginning. Earlier this week, GeekWire documented our favorite lowlights of 2012 with our list of biggest Tech Debacles of the Year. Now it’s time for the highlights, starting with a series of breakthroughs and accomplishments at the intersection of technology and… Read More…

Podcast: Space Shuttle Trainer and beyond, with Museum of Flight CEO Doug King

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A week from today, on Nov. 10, the Space Shuttle Trainer will make its official debut at the Museum of Flight in Seattle — giving the public an up-close look at the full-sized Space Shuttle replica that served as the training ground for every astronaut in the Space Shuttle’s three decades. The museum and the region… Read More…

Boeing wants to take down space junk with clouds of gas

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Orbital debris, also known as space junk, is a problem that many people in government and the commercial space industry are hoping to solve — clearing the Earth’s orbit of old satellites and other equipment. So here is Boeing’s idea: Get rid of the rubble with clouds of gas. In a patent application recently made… Read More…

No borders: Space heroes join together for epic night

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They were all up on stage when the cosmonaut Valery Kubasov was introduced. With a lapel full of medals he strode across stage. As he walked past Buzz Aldrin, Jim Lovell, and almost every other living American space hero, the Soviet anthem blared out over the audience. Soyuz nyerushimyy respublik svobodnykh / Splotila naveki Velikaia Rus. I wasn’t… Read More…

Museum of Flight lands trove of personal papers from NASA icon George Abbey

Former NASA Johnson Space Center Director George Abbey at the JSC ceremony handing over the "keys" to the space shuttle Full Fuselage Trainer to The Museum of Flight in January, 2012. (Ted Huetter/Museum of Flight)

They arrived at Seattle’s Museum of Flight in more than 100 boxes — nearly four decades worth of personal papers from George Abbey, the Seattle native and former director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center who was a key figure behind the Apollo program, the International Space Station, the Space Shuttle program and many other landmark… Read More…

Photos: A rare peek inside the Space Shuttle trainer

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Some people in the Seattle region might have been disappointed last year when we didn’t land a real Space Shuttle. But after getting a behind-the-scenes look at the Space Shuttle trainer being assembled at Seattle’s Museum of Flight, I walked away feeling like we got lucky. This thing is awesome. Over the 30-year life of… Read More…

‘NASA and We Know It’: Seattle team’s video goes viral

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You know you’re doing something right when your video about the latest NASA mission gets retweeted by NASA to its more than 2.7 million followers. That’s what happened to a crew from Seattle that debuted a new video today called “We’re NASA and We Know It,” a spoof on the LMFAO hit “Sexy and I Know It.”… Read More…

Amazon’s cloud powering NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover

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Amazon, the online super-retailer and South Lake Union Overlord, has the cloud computing system that best suits NASA’s latest and greatest mission to Mars — storing images and data from the space rover Curiosity’s mission. As reported by the LA Times, NASA‘s Jet Propulsion Laboratory picked Amazon’s web services for its Mars Exploration Rover and Mars… Read More…