tech e blog

For those who've always wondered if a boomerang would work in a weightless environment, we have just the clip for you. Continue reading to watch.

We knew that boomerangs work in space because Takao Doi tried one in the International Space Station last month. Now, thanks to JAXA's obsession with cameras we have proof on video

Here's a rare look at the Buran space shuttle being transported along the Rhine "where it will eventually come to rest at the Technik Museum Speyer in Mannheim, Germany." Video after the break. Click here for first picture in gallery.

The great shuttle took to the skies only once during an unmanned test flight, but two decades later, the modern relic has gone the way of a crushed Buzz Lightyear—it's realized it can't fly, but at least it can put on one hell of an exhibition

This narration-free Shuttle launch clip offers "point-of-view shots from the perspective of the astronauts." Video after the break.

The sequence is edited from three separate shuttle launches, all of which were on their way to the International Space Station

The Xcor Lynx is a mini spaceship "that will take people up for a 25-minute space flight." Actual test flights are planned for 2010. Video after the break. Click here for one more picture.

nlike the space shuttle, which shuts off its engine and glides into land, the Lynx will have the ability to fire up its engines and re-attempt landing in the event of a borked descent.

NASA has just completed construction of Dextre, a giant robot with "11-foot-long arms capable of sensing movement and force." Click here for first picture in gallery.

The 3,440-pound (1,560 kg.) robot would be extremely valuable for the activity of the space station, saving time and risky spacewalks to astronauts, who will be able to dedicate themselves to experiments rather than fixing the ISS

Sure, there's nothing special about the Apple iPod other than the fact that space-bound players' "usual lithium battery must be replaced with specially designed alkaline alternatives to ensure safety standards are met." Click here for one more picture.

The hawk-eyed reader spotted the iPod from official NASA photos, which showed the device, barely visible, through a cabin window

No, it doesn't travel at warp speed, but what sets this UFO apart from the others is that you can actually live in it. Featuring "three floors, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen, living room and scenic view." Click here for first picture in gallery.

UFO house, which has a single entry point via a button activated stair case, curved bar area and customized bathtub, as well as various UFO paneled controls throughout that are simply priceless, or so you would think

Aside from being eye candy, this Living World model was "created using real space data culled by Eiichiro Kokubo, Assistant Professor at Japan's National Astronomical Observatory and Osaka University's Kato Tsunehiko." Product page. Click here for first picture in gallery.

This 12cm glass cube contains a pint sized model of our home galaxy. It's not just an abstract rendering; there are 80,000 individual points, representing the relative positions of 80,000 real stars, based on data from Japan’s National Astronomical Observatory

For just $200,000, you get "three days of training at Spaceport America out in New Mexico before your flight." Video after the break. Click here for first picture in gallery.

Virgin Galactic is on track to start launching commercial space flights in 2009, and they just announced their new spaceship designs. About 5 years after things get underway, the price should drop. How far? Who knows

NASA has announced that it will begin "a yearlong test of an inflatable moon base in Antarctica in January." Video after the break. Click here for first picture in gallery.

Fully inflatable in a mere 11 minutes, the base probably won't be housing astronauts on the moon in the near future, as after this test they'll probably need to test it in a vacuum chamber