Blue Origin is an American privately funded aerospace manufacturer and spaceflight services company set up by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos with its headquarters in Kent, Washington.
Bill describes the Alignment Optical Telescope used in the Lunar Module on the Apollo missions to the moon. This telescope took star sightings which were used to align the Module's guidance system. Bill shows how the telescope used an Archimedes spiral inscribed on its eyepiece to replace the heavy motors, worm gears, and rigid tracks used in a traditional sextant -- this shaved weight from the Lunar Module and allowed it to carry more fuel.
SpaceX‘s Falcon 9 rocket exploded during a hot run, a test fire before a launch planned for this Saturday at the launch site in Cape Canaveral.
SpaceX unveils the Interplanetary Transport System, a spaceship and rocket to colonize Mars.
