TechInScience

An illustration of ULA's Vulcan rocket launching toward space. (In this image, used-up rocket motors are falling back to Earth. SpaceX turned heads around the world on February 6 with the first-ever launch of Falcon Heavy. The 230-foot-tall rocket's three boosters helped push Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster into space, peeled off after running low on fuel, and then careened toward Earth. Two of the 16-story boosters rocketed to a safe landing (the third fell into the ocean), and the flight was hailed as a huge success. It proved SpaceX could lift twice as much payload to space for about 25% of the cost of its closest competitor while recycling rocket parts worth tens of millions of dollars. That primary rival is United Launch Alliance, a company that aerospace industry titans Boeing and Lockheed Martin formed in 2005. ULA's largest rocket, the Delta IV Heavy, costs $350 million per launch, according to company CEO Tory Bruno. Delta IV Heavy is far more expensive t...

There is still a lot more to talk about the Academy Awards after the official ceremonies. Did you know that the much-coveted Oscar statuette has the same gold coating used by NASA telescopes to glimpse into distant stars and galaxies?  NASA telescopes and Oscars trophies have something in common — their shiny gold coating is made by the same company. Epner Technology uses gold electroplating for NASA and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The recently concluded Oscars awarding ceremonies teemed with celebrities and talented actors, but the real star of the awards night was the little statuette that everyone was eyeing — the Oscars trophy. Who would have known that the golden trophy given to the best in their field has some space tech on it? The Oscars statuette uses the same electroplated gold present in NASA telescopes. Gold Is The Best The same company that is working on NASA's telescopes since the 1970s is now in charge of electroplating the O...