Static Test of the Largest Amateur Liquid Fuel Rocket Engine

Here is the text from the YouTube video that in a nutshell shows the firing on a static test platform of the biggest amateur built liquid fueled engine.

On May 20 2012 Copenhagen Suborbitals tested its liquid propellant TM65 engine running on LOX and 75% ethanol.

Also check the image gallery at: https://picasaweb.google.com/copsub

Trailer for Robot and Frank

Wow now if this isn't an interesting sounding film Frank Langella and Susan Sarandon among others are in a very low key (at first it would seem) film set in the near future. Frank Langella plays an ex-jewel thief who receives a gift from his daughter: a robot butler programmed to look after him. But soon the two companions try their luck as a heist team. Sarandon plays the love interest.

I know I must truly be getting older because even in this trailer I strongly identify with Langella's character!

I have a feeling that this has the makings of a fun, sweet and memorable film. Sadly Langella can not have many left and he is SO good.

BMU #320 now online

Another week done and it is time for BMU with episode 320. Wow be glad you didn’t try to listen live if you were close enough to the station….Bad weather was popping up all over the place! With it were the incessant weather alerts. So I ran out of time and my last story had alars in it. So if you downloaded the new episode 320, it is clean.
So I start with the conclusion to Ed McKeown’s There Was A Wild Colonial Boy. Nice finish up for this story this week. The closing story is The Intervention by David Sholes. Two aliens look for the last soldier of an ancient war, what they find is way more than they bargained for.
I review the Naruto Shippuden the Movie: Bonds, for only the second Shippuden movie I think it came out well.
Shace Junk is going to a growing problem for future generations, but the Naval Research Lab may have a safe cure…..Tungsten dust!
Plus I once again run Star Trek Trivia!

Review: Naruto Shippuden the Movie: Bonds

According the the wikipedia article Naruto Shippuden the Movie: Bonds
is the fifth ovaerall SNaruto movie and the second Shippuden movie released on August 2, 2008. The English dub version of the movie was released on DVD and Blu-ray on October 25, 2011 in America..

The movie centers around the Sora ninja from the Sky Country who attack Konoha for nearly destroying the Sky Country during the last Shinobi World War. After the Leaf village is attacked Naruto agrees to accompany Sakura, and Hinata who are on a medical mission. They are to travel to Konoha, along with a young apprentice and the child's Sensei.

I have to say that this, except or a few isolated instances, that the movie made sense. Or at least it was the last time the plot was easy to follow.

Motivations are unclear or suspect, Alliances shift regularly, plus responsibility, is often hard to track down, And finally no one is quite or really who they say they are. It is clear that intrigue is the main course today.

Don't get me wrong, I am not dissing the movie. I began watching Naruto several years ago right at episode one to present. I switched to Shippoden because of the 5 year jump ahead and his apprentice with Jiraiya, which was entertaining as were the more advanced episode arcs. So it wasn't difficult to make the choice to get the movie.

And what else can I say in or about this movie. If you like Naruto and are a Shippuden fan than you will enjoy Bonds. If you have never experienced Shippuden, this may be just the thing.

However almost non existent extras, some artwork, and some previews...that's it so I rate the film an 8, but strongly reccoment it for Naruto fans

How About Space Dust to Clean Up Space Junk?!

I know, I have hammered on this a lot, but it IS an interesting problem that needs to be dealt with.
From the Dvice article:

• NASA estimates that "there are more than 21,000 orbital debris objects larger than 10 centimeters (roughly four inches) in diameter in low Earth orbit and approximately 500,000 object particles between one and 10 centimeters, with the number of debris particles smaller than one centimeter in excess of 100 million."

100 million people  100 million!  Not an easy cleanup for sure but there might be an easier way that doesn't involve satellites that would trap, skim or just plain blow  stuff up.  

From the Naval Research Lab comes a really different idea.  They suggest boosting 10 to 20 tons of tungsten dust into low Earth orbit.  This would form a gigantic "cloud"  that would impart huge drag on anything small passing through it. One or two passes and the object start to de-orbit all on their own.   Plus the beauty of the dust system consists of particles so small that it has no effect on larger rockets passing through and the beauty is that it cleans itself up as well!  Just as it de-orbits small pieces of debris it has the same result on it's own material, slowly de-orbiting and burning up in the upper atmosphere like so much cosmic dust!

read the complete article here