Welcome to Astronotes
Hello, I’m Colin, welcoming you to Astronotes, the Planetarium’s official blog. Here you will find the latest news and views from the fascinating worlds of astronomy and space exploration. We hope you will come here to learn what is hot and exciting, profound or even weird from worlds beyond ours . So that's the introduction out of the way, now on with the Universe!
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Rockets Archive
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X-37: Speculation, Secrets and Espionage?
Posted on May 10, 2012 | No CommentsThe Boeing X-37, also called the Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), is an unmanned American spacecraft. Its first orbital mission was on 22 April 2010 returning back to Earth on 3... -
Image of the Month: Rockets Then and Now
Posted on March 9, 2012 | No CommentsOnce upon a time rockets were exciting symbols of a glorious and exciting future when everyone would get their chance to have a holiday on the Moon. Well the future... -
Space Tourism: the Frightening Truth
Posted on October 6, 2011 | 23 CommentsBack in December 2009, with great fanfare, space tourism company Virgin Galactic unveiled the vehicles their fare-paying passengers will ride in as they ascend into space. Built by the Spaceship... -
NASA Reveals Giant Rocket For Mission to Nowhere
Posted on September 15, 2011 | 5 CommentsOn 14 September 2011, NASA revealed the design of its new rocket, the Space Launch System. This titanic vehicle may send American astronauts to the Moon, Near Earth Asteroids or... -
X-37: Secrets of the Pentagon’s spaceship
Posted on April 5, 2011 | 6 CommentsX-37: a spaceplane developed in secret for classified missions in Earth orbit. It sounds like something from a Cold War techno-thriller novel but the United States Air force’s X-37B is... -
Image of the Month: the view from the top!
Posted on February 28, 2011 | No CommentsEurope’s ATV spacecraft has a vital role in maintaining and supplying the International Space Station, recently astronaut Paolo Nespoli and his crewmates had a unique view of this high-tech cargo... -
Richard Branson’s SpaceShip Enterprise boldly goes
Posted on October 11, 2010 | No CommentsVirgin Galactic, the space tourism company founded by Richard Branson, is celebrating the first glide test of its SpaceShipTwo spaceplane this weekend. Piloted by Pete Siebold and Mike Alsbury, the... -
Mars by ’85? NASA’s alternative history
Posted on September 27, 2010 | 2 CommentsIn the early 1960s, the sky had no limits for NASA . Planners for the agency foresaw an ever-expanding future of exploration through the Solar System . Some amazing missions... -
The amazing Aldebaran spacecraft
Posted on September 24, 2010 | 1 CommentThe late ’50s and ’60s were a different time from the anxious era that is today. Nuclear power and space travel were both cool and wonderful new technologies. The... -
Virgin Galactic boldly goes where no tourists have gone before
Posted on September 24, 2010 | No CommentsSub-orbital space tourism took a step forward on Monday 22 March 2010 when Virgin Galactic’s first spaceplane, VSS Enterprise, took to the air for the first time. The amazing craft...