Star Trek’s William Shatner to fly on next New Shepard flight
Blue Origin confirmed Oct. 4 that William Shatner, the actor best known at Capt. James T. Kirk from the original “Star Trek” TV series and movies, will fly on the company’s next New Shepard suborbital flight this month.
First Russian film in space an 'experiment': director
Russian film director Klim Shipenko said Monday the first movie in orbit would be an "experiment," on the eve of his journey into space hoping to beat a rival Hollywood project.
The 38-year-old director and one of Russia's most famous actresses, Yulia Peresild, 37, are due to blast off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan at 0855 GMT on Tuesday to shoot scenes for upcoming Russian movie "The Challenge".
Russia's space agency Roscosmos is sending them into orbit with experienced cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, 49. Cosmonauts on board the International Space Station are expected to appear in cameo roles in the film.
The 12-day mission was announced in September 2020, four months after a Hollywood project involving "Mission Impossible" actor Tom Cruise was revealed.
"We are doing an experiment," Shipenko told reporters.
"There is nobody to get advice from. There is not a single cameraman who could answer how to work with light from a porthole," he told an online news conference.
On top of directing, he will also be handling the cameras, lighting, sound and make-up.
Shipenko conceded that "some things will work out and some things will not".
To boldly go: Star Trek's Shatner spacebound with Blue Origin
Blue Origin on Monday confirmed William Shatner, who starred as Captain James T. Kirk in the original Star Trek series, will fly to space October 12 aboard the company's crewed rocket, becoming the oldest ever astronaut.
"I've heard about space for a long time now. I'm taking the opportunity to see it for myself. What a miracle," said the 90-year-old Canadian actor in a statement.
The science fiction television show aired for only three seasons starting in 1966, but was hugely influential in popular culture and has spawned more than a dozen movies and several spin-off series.
It was notable for the utopian vision of its creator Gene Rodenberry, who imagined a future where by the 23rd century humanity had put aside its divisions and united with other peaceful space-faring civilizations.
Thomas Pesquet takes commanding role on Space Station
Today ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet became commander of the International Space Station, taking over from Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut and fellow Crew-2 member Akihiko Hoshide. Thomas will hold this role until shortly before Crew-2 return to Earth in November.
Voyager Space acquires propulsion company Valley Tech Systems
Voyager Space announced Oct. 4 it has acquired Valley Tech Systems, a company that developed a solid-fueled propulsion system for long-range missiles, as well as signal processing and geolocation technologies for military surveillance aircraft.
NGA renews Maxar contract for satellite imagery
Maxar Technologies won a $44 million contract option from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to continue to provide U.S. government agencies with access to unclassified high-resolution commercial imagery from Maxar and other commercial data providers.
Science of Psyche: Unique asteroid holds clues to early solar system
Set to launch next year, NASA's Psyche mission marks the first time the agency has set out to explore an asteroid richer in metal than rock or ice.
More than 150 years have passed since novelist Jules Verne wrote "Journey to the Center of the Earth," but reality has yet to catch up with that science fiction adventure. While humans can't bore a path to our planet's metallic core, NASA has its sights set on visiting a giant asteroid that may be the frozen remains of the molten core of a bygone world.
Russia film crew set to blast off to make 1st movie in space
HySpecIQ turns to BridgeComm for optical downlinks
Hyperspectral analytics company HySpecIQ and optical communications specialist BridgeComm announced an agreement to integrate BridgeComm's high-speed optical downlink with HySpecIQ satellites destined for low Earth orbit.
World View revives plans for stratospheric balloon passenger flights
World View, a company founded to carry people into the stratosphere to give them space-like views of the Earth, is reviving those plans, putting it into competition with two of its co-founders.
