2007.005 (January 5, 2007)

Classic Battle Brewing

Space Pirate was inspired by all the pretty fan art that Wingnuts produce, so he's begun a new animation based around some of his favorite ships. The contrasting whites and blacks of his preliminary renders already look pretty classy. These models are just the first step on the way to a battle scene that he's planned out. My money's on the Centurion.

Amazon Founder Unveils Spacecraft

The founder of Amazon.com, Jeff Bezos, has unveiled the first results from his new company's attempts to reach space. Bezos' company Blue Origin posted a video from a test launch of their development vehicle "Goddard". Starting from a launchpad, the craft managed an altitude of 285 feet before beginning its descent back to the ground. That's a little far away from reaching orbit, but it's a start. The project aims to eventually offer commercial flights to low Earth orbit, no doubt offering the flights for sale on Amazon. The full press release along with more photos and a video of the launch can be found here.