TREK At 49

This night in 1966, STAR TREK premiered on NBC.  It only lasted three seasons on the network.

Little did anyone know then, that the franchise, through various television series, movies, and other media, would become a significant part of American and world popular culture.

Falcon Heavy

SpaceX' Falcon Heavy rocket is scheduled to fly a demonstration mission next spring.

The Falcon Heavy would be the most powerful American rocket since the legendary Saturn 5 that threw Apollo to the Moon.

Nine

With the arrival of the latest crew on Friday, the ISS currently has nine astronauts on board, the most since November, 2013.

That will last for only about a week, when another crew comes home.

Comet Hitchhiker

NASA is studying a concept called Comet Hitchhiker.  In it, a spacecraft would tether itself to a comet via a miles long tether attached to a harpoon.  Reeling in the tether would store kinetic energy, which could propel the spacecraft to its next target without the use of additional fuel.

Several targets could be visited on a single mission.

Tiny Telescopes

A team of European researchers are proposing sending a small telescope, 20 inches across, into space to study nearby Earth-like exoplanets in the infrared.

The telescope would be able to analyze the atmospheres of such worlds, suggesting which might have life.

Life Huntiing

NASA is considering launching two missions in the 2020s dedicated to searching for life-- one to Jupiter's moon Europa, and the other to Saturn's moon Enceladus.

The two moons, both well outside the Sun's theoretical habitable zone, are seen as the best bets to support alien life in the Solar System.

Starshades

A starshade sits in front of a telescope to block the light from a star, allowing the telescope to directly observe faint worlds that would otherwise be lost in the star's glare.

NASA plans to use starshades in conjunction with its next generation of space telescope to aid in the search for worlds that could support life.