#069: The Rocket Edition
The European Answer
When it comes to space and rocket launches, the attention is on NASA, the Russians, and more recently, China. Europe was also always present, but never really all that present. That’s despite the fact that French-Guiana harbors probably the best spaceport to launch rockets from, and that the Ariane 5 is one of, if not the, most reliable rockets that currently exist. Now that SpaceX is demanding more of the spotlight, the European rocket industry vows to resist.
But why?
Why even go to space? It’s hard to reach, not that hospitable without a lot of gear, and you’re surrounded by nothing. But it’s also an excellent place to put satellites, which can fulfill all kind of tasks for us: Space: The Next Trillion Dollar Industry (YouTube)
Don’t Go Outside
Space is, as already mentioned, not the kindest environment for humans. But if we ever want to set foot on another planet, we’ll have to spend a lot of time in Space. What does that do to a human body? Astronaut Scott Kelly on the devastating effects of a year in space
No One-Way Ticket, Please
Speaking of going to Mars, it’s not just that we humans have to survive the journey. We also need to figure out how to even get there (and back) in the first place. Franklin Chang Díaz, a former astronaut, has some ideas: The Astronaut Who Might Actually Get Us to Mars
Evil Icon
Darth Vader might be one of the most iconic villains in movie history. That’s despite being on screen for a total of less than 34 minutes over the 6 hours and 28 minutes total runtime of the original Star Wars trilogy. How come he’s that well-known? What Made Darth Vader Visually Iconic? (YouTube)
Productive Busywork
To be productive, the thinking goes, is partly to not do unproductive things. But our minds are weird, and the key to being productive might be to be busy, even if its unproductive: How Busywork Can Actually Enhance Your Productivity
These are not the Keywords You’re Looking For
When you Google something, you expect Google to return useful and authoritative results. But for some keywords, the search results are devoid of any useful links: Google’s keyword voids
A New Player in Town
E-Sports have been gaining traction over the last few years, but now there’s a new milestone: There are now official, team-supported leagues for many of the most popular games: E-sports leagues are starting to look a lot like the NFL and NBA
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She launches spaceships, sells rockets, and deals with Elon Musk: SpaceX’s Secret Weapon Is Gwynne Shotwell