During a live game of Dungeons & Dragons on Twitch, Khagol the Fighter fell asleep and started snoring much to the amusement of his adventuring partners and Dungeon Master.
Discussion: “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” Was AMAZING… BUT! [WARNING: SPOILERS]
For those who have seen the movie, read on. For those who haven’t, skip this post if you don’t want me to spoil anything for you guys.
I really loved the movie and I’m going to go and see it a second time next week, but there are two things that have annoyed me a little about the film. If you’re reading this from the front page, hit the “more” link below for the rest of the discussion, and be sure to let me know your thoughts in the comments!
The Wonders of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center
Last summer, my family and I took our vacation along Florida’s Space Coast, and I have to say, this was among the most awesome and interesting vacation spots I’ve visited in a long time. Located just an hour east of Orlando, Cocoa Beach is not only bordered by beautiful beaches, it’s also surrounded by plenty of interesting attractions, such as SeaWorld, Legoland, Disney World, Universal Studios, the Kennedy Space Center, and a lot more.
As a geek who’s particularly interested in anything that is related to space, visiting the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) was almost like a religious pilgrimage for me. From humanity’s first step into space up to everything that is currently happening with space exploration and technologies, I can guarantee that visiting KSC is more than worth your time if you ever visit this area.
Each year, millions of tourists stop by the visitor complex of the Kennedy Space Center to discover the history of the U.S. space program — from its infancy back in 1958 when NASA was created by the United States Congress — up until today where the Space X installations can be admired via a bus tour.
The Rocket Garden
Upon arrival, you are greeted by the magnificent view you see at the top of this post: The gates of the center with the Rocket Garden in the background. After passing through the gates, visitors can stroll around the garden to admire some of the first rockets that were used to launch satellites in space, some of which reach over 100 feet into the sky!
Below, a picture of myself in a reproduction of the one-man Freedom 7 capsule, which brought the first American astronaut (Alan Shepard) into space on May 5, 1961, propelled by the Mercury-Redstone 3 rocket.
The Birth of the U.S. Space Program
After going through the garden, you can enter the pavilion dedicated to the first few years of the space program, especially the Mercury and Gemini missions, where some of the tools that were used by the early astronauts are on display.
There’s also a section dedicated to the Russian Space Program, with a Soyuz module on display, as well as a Vanguard 1 satellite, the oldest man-made satellite (March 17, 1958) that is still in orbit today.
Journey To Mars: Explorers Wanted
After going through the Rocket Garden once again, we entered the exhibition dedicated to Mars, which featured a live presentation of what will happen in the near future at NASA, including the exploration of the red planet and some of the technologies that will be used on future manned missions in space. Below, a space suit prototype and a mock-up of the vehicle that might one day carry astronauts around Mars.
Kennedy Space Center Bus Tour
Even though everything we saw at the visitor complex was absolutely fascinating, the best part of the day for me was the bus tour that brought us around the actual Kennedy Space Center, where a kind NASA veteran showed us the true marvels of the site: The Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and the launch platforms for past and future space missions.
The Vehicle Assembly Building (pictured above) is the world’s largest single-story building with a total volume of 129,428,000 cubic feet (3,664,883 cubic meters.) The structure is over 525 ft. tall (160 meters) and was originally built for the vertical assembly of the Saturn V rockets from the Apollo Program. In the future, the VAB will be used to prepare NASA’s upcoming Space Launch System (SLS) rockets and various commercial launchers.
Once assembled, rockets are brought to the launching platforms via a crawler-transporter (pictured below.) Unfortunately, estimating the size of that thing with this picture alone is difficult, but for scale, each of the vehicle’s tracks is about as big as a school bus.
The Apollo/Saturn V Center
Once the bus tour was over, we were brought to the Apollo/Saturn V Center, where the original launch room of the Apollo program was on display. After a short presentation, the doors to the main exhibit were opened to reveal a MASSIVE Saturn V rocket, one of the most impressive things I’ve seen in my life, measuring 363 ft (110.6 m) tall with a diameter of 33 ft (10.1 m.)
Saturn V rockets were originally built to bring us to the moon, and later, Skylab, the first American space station, was sent into orbit thanks to them. Alongside the rocket, the van that brought the astronauts to the launch platforms was on display, as well as one of the original Apollo Lunar Modules and Lunar Roving Vehicles that were never used (all pictured below.)
Space Shuttle Atlantis
We finished our day with Kennedy Space Center’s newest attraction, the exhibition featuring the now-retired Space Shuttle Atlantis. Apart from the shuttle, there were also over 60 interactive installations, including a full-scale model of the Hubble Space Telescope, and a fun (but rather mild) shuttle launch simulator.
To conclude, I’d say that if you ever go to or near the Space Coast for your vacations, be sure to visit the Space Center while you’re there. It’s certainly a more than worthwhile experience.
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New “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” Books Get Released Just in Time for the Holidays!
Since today is the official day “The Force Awakens” comes out, a lot of products that are tied to the film are getting released at the same time. Here are four hardcover books that might make some perfect gifts for the Star Wars fans in your life!
The Art of Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Bursting with hundreds of stunning works of art, including production paintings, concept sketches, storyboards, blueprints, and matte paintings, this visual feast will delight Star Wars fans and cineastes for decades to come. The Art of Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the definitive expression of how the latest chapter in the Star Wars saga was dreamed into being.
–The Art of Star Wars: The Force Awakens – $40 $23.84 (40% Off)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens Incredible Cross-Sections
See the vehicles of Star Wars: The Force Awakens™ in unparalleled detail with this newest addition to the Star Wars Incredible Cross Sections series. Twelve breathtaking artworks bring the new craft to life, showing all of the weapons, engines, and technology, while engaging text explains each vehicle’s backstory and key features.
–Star Wars: The Force Awakens Incredible Cross-Sections – $19.99 $14.02 (30% Off)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens Visual Dictionary
The definitive guide to the characters, droids, aliens, and creatures of Star Wars: The Force Awakens™. Beautiful photography and clear, authoritative text by Lucasfilm insider Pablo Hidalgo names and explains all the details of costumes, weapons, and accessories. Includes three exclusive, specially commissioned cutaway models produced by Industrial Light & Magic model maker John Goodson.
–Star Wars: The Force Awakens Visual Dictionary – $19.99 $12.82 (36% Off)
Star Wars The Force Awakens: Before the Awakening
A companion piece to the “Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens” character novels, Star Wars: Before the Awakening is an anthology book that focuses on the lives of Rey, Finn, and Poe before the events of the Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
–Star Wars The Force Awakens: Before the Awakening – $12.99 $9.30 (28% Off)
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Star Wars: A New Hope – The Alternate Ending and End of the Saga [Comic]
Destiny Fan Wins Mind-Blowingly Beautiful Custom-Made Titan Armor [Video]
Wow. Just wow. This one-of-a-kind Titan armor was specially made for one very lucky fan of Destiny: The Taken King by the folks from Super-Gamer Builds. Building this thing took an entire team 5 weeks of work!
[AWE me]
A Beautiful Violin and Piano Tribute to Star Wars [Video]
On violin and keys, Rob Landes and Jake Justice pay tribute to the music of John Williams in this medley of Star Wars songs including Duel of the Fates, Leia’s Theme, Han and Leia’s Theme, and the Star Wars Theme Song.
This was all filmed on location near Las Vegas.
Knight Rider Heroes: A Knight Rider Movie Featuring David Hasslehoff is In the Works? [Video]
I’m not too sure what to think of this? A Knight Rider movie featuring The Hoff?Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of details available online, and the official website (knightriderheroesmovie.com) only has a form that you can fill in to receive updates about the project in the future.
Behold the World’s First R2-D2 Drone Quadcopter [Videos]
From Donny Melara:
Say hello to “Arturo”, the worlds first actual flying R2D2 drone. Custom build by Don Melara (By a fan for the fans). Complete with DJI GPS autopilot navigation system, Articulating dome, LED jetpack lights, Speaker box for sounds and even a ccd camera installed into his eye. It took approximately 8 days to complete the build. It was always a childhood dream of mine that someday, someone would build a flying version of our favorite StarWars Droid. Now, thanks to todays technology and a little bit of a passion for aviation it has become a reality. This is the first of a few episodes I plan on releasing, the next will be a short inspirational story on how R2 got his wings and learned to fly at an airport in Los Angeles. If you like my video be sure to subscribe for the next episode and please contact me at [email protected] if you wish to use it on any of your online social media platforms.
Plane Seat Designers Have Their Heads In The Clouds
You could enjoy your next flight atop the plane if a new product takes hold. It’s not for budget airlines to squeeze more people in but rather for premium passengers to get a unique experience.
The SkyDeck, produced by Windspeed Tech, is a canopy dome that would sit on the top of the plane. It’s made of a similar transparent material to cockpit windows, meaning people sitting in it can get an almost uninterrupted view of the sky.
In its current plans, the dome could house either one or two seats. It could be reached either with a staircase, or by the seating rising up elevator-style.
The company says it has carried out feasibility studies on the dome, including making sure it would be able to withstand both load strains and impacts such as bird strikes. It’s also earmarked an anti-condensation film.
According to the makers, the shape, size and positioning of the dome would not interfere with tail performance, while any additional drag would only mean a “small to neglible” increase in fuel, though this will be tested in a wind tunnel if and when the product develops.
Although the dome would increase overall weight on the plane, Windspeed says this wouldn’t necessarily be a problem. It reasons any airline using the feature is likely offering premium seating of some kind rather than packing passengers into every available space, meaning there’ll be some weight capacity to spare.
While some reports suggest Windspeed is in talks with a plane-maker, that’s actually one step away from the situation. It’s actually a manufacturer of cockpits which has made preliminary plans to offer the product to plane manufacturers. They in turn would have to convince airlines it is a feature that is worth having on their planes.
Whether any airline would find it financially viable remains to be seen. Windspeed suggests airlines could either sell the seats as the ultimate premium class, or instead let multiple passengers pay a fee to each visit the deck for a set period.