SpaceX Dragon Launch Friday Morning

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is set to launch at 10:10am on the second of 12 missions to resupply the International Space Station. If successful, this trip will mark another step toward private industry proving that they can handle trips into space.  Eventually, manned space travel will return to the US for the first time since the shuttle program was disbanded.​

I wasn't able to make the trip down to Kennedy Space Center to witness the launch in person, but I'll be following the #NASASocial hashtag. You should too! I've embedded some of my favorite tweets below.

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Russian Boom Bap: Details on the Meteor

Details on the Feb 15th meteor that exploded above Chelyabinsk in Russia are in. Why didn't we see it? It flew in from the direction of the sun, where our telescopes couldn't  see it until it was too late.  The meteor lasted about 30 seconds within our atmosphere before it exploded with the force of about 20 nuclear bombs.  

 Check out the video below from ScienceCasts for more details. If you can't see the video below, please click here.​

The Universe: Bigger and Deffer

One of my favorite YouTube series, Minute Physics, ​just released a fascinating video on the size of the universe.  It boils down to this: we can observe a certain amount of the universe from Earth. When we observe stuff  that's really far away, the light takes so long to travel to our eyes that by the time we see it, it's already moved far, far away.  Earth within this huge observable universe (95 billion light years) is about the same scale as a teeny tiny virus is within our solar system. We are a TINY part of the universe.

If you can't see the video below, click here.

​Also, you know what Bigger and Deffer is right? B.A.D.? As in I'm Bad? Maybe this video below will remind you - if you can't see it, click here.

Google Glass: Augment My Reality, Four Eyes

​Robocop knows the law.

My favorite part of any movie that features a robot is when they show the robot's point of view. They usually show menus popping up with give further information on what the robot is seeing - someone's emotional state, directions to someone's place, etc.  The cool kids call it "augmented reality".

Google is stepping to the arena with Google Glass, which will be released later this year for consumers. It's essentially a pair of glasses that allow you to access the internet, take photos, and record video with your voice.​ Joshua Topolsky gives a preview of the device on The Verge. It looks great, but pricey - Google is only promising it will be "under $1500". Yeah ... hopefully it's not $1499. If you can't see the video below, please click here.

Google is expanding on a concept that has existed with other pieces of tech that I've tried. The iPhone Yelp app had an awkward mode where you hold up the camera and restaurants with Yelp reviews instantly appear, along with reviews and distances. If you can't see the video below, please click here.

My Nintendo 3DS came with cards that, when viewed through the 3DS camera, came to life and flew around on whatever background the camera was focusing on. If you can't see the video below, please click here.

I'm definitely looking forward to the release of Google Glass later this year.  I'm saving up now!

Shareef Does Like It ... Rock The Space Station

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I spent Wednesday in downtown DC at the latest NASA Social event. The main part of the event was televised, and I've embedded the video below. It includes a Q&A session with astronaut Don Petit dealing with the process of turning urine into drinkable water (or "yesterday's coffee into today's coffee" as he put it".  The coolest part has to be when we were able to speak directly to astronauts, including social media maven Chris Hadfield, that are currently in orbit inside of the International Space Station. Skip to 1:29:00 to see yours truly asking a question about engineering safety to Dr. Tara Ruttley!

If you can't see the video below, please click here

I live tweeted the event and the details of the lectures - please see below!.