tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148334262008-07-13T22:38:43.890-04:00Michael Belfiorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310369260652845748noreply@blogger.comBlogger138125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14833426.post-28958654956773369382008-06-11T12:59:00.003-04:002008-06-11T17:50:53.704-04:00

Check out my PopSci.com report of a Space Adventures press briefing in New York City this morning. CEO Eric Anderson announced new charter flights to the International Space Station.

Michael Belfiorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310369260652845748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14833426.post-48981281789346127572008-04-16T15:50:00.002-04:002008-04-16T16:07:40.851-04:00

I'm blogging for PopSci.com from the first annual BioMass conference in Minneapolis. Latest post here.

Michael Belfiorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310369260652845748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14833426.post-44529017443284295732008-04-15T19:33:00.004-04:002008-04-15T19:44:05.314-04:00

Yesterday I visited a research facility in North Dakota creating jet fuel out of vegetable oil, and I've posted a report on popsci.com.

Michael Belfiorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310369260652845748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14833426.post-30073675257822231852008-04-11T08:49:00.004-04:002008-04-11T09:06:48.302-04:00

I've just posted my reporting on last night's 50th anniversary celebration for the Defense Advanced Research Projects agency on the Popular Science website at PopSci.com.

Michael Belfiorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310369260652845748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14833426.post-20758262008314220262008-04-04T09:30:00.002-04:002008-04-04T11:11:00.817-04:00

One of the fascinating projects I'm researching for my book about DARPA is the Revolutionizing Prosthetics program. I recently spoke with DARPA's program manager for the project, Army Colonel and intensive care unit doctor Geoffrey Ling, who filled me in on how the program came to be and his goals for it. Ling was on a tour of duty in Afghanistan when he treated a young boy who'd lost an arm and

Michael Belfiorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310369260652845748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14833426.post-27502100047021285092008-03-26T12:44:00.004-04:002008-03-26T15:03:18.313-04:00

Yep, it's a suborbital spaceship. Check out my story on the unveiling of XCOR's new Lynx spacecraft, along with embedded video, on popsci.com.

Michael Belfiorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310369260652845748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14833426.post-20443027685456623022008-03-21T09:28:00.003-04:002008-03-26T12:54:08.997-04:00

The folks at XCOR Aerospace tell me that the company is planning a press event on March 26 in Los Angeles. These guys are not prone to frivolous or gratuitous PR, so I'm most definitely intrigued. Come to think of it, I don't think XCOR has ever held a press conference in the time I've been following them, since 2004. The engineers, technicians, and managers at XCOR prefer to keep their heads

Michael Belfiorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310369260652845748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14833426.post-58454947018285227982008-03-20T09:48:00.003-04:002008-03-20T10:24:19.457-04:00

I've just had a note from Tim Pickens, CEO of Orion Propulsion, pointing me to the latest news posed on his company's website announcing a contract from Bigelow Aerospace. Orion will build thrusters for Bigelow's planned first commercial space station. Bigelow's booming along on an excellerated schedule to launch its Sundancer space station by 2010. Orion's focus is on "selling shovels to the

Michael Belfiorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310369260652845748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14833426.post-64646267704547121652008-03-06T15:00:00.003-05:002008-03-06T15:17:10.203-05:00

I got a call this morning from a group of high school students led by my colleague Graeme Stemp-Morlock at the University of Waterloo's Waterloo Unlimited program. The students interviewed me and wrote a pair of articles, one of which I've posted here. Check out the other piece on Graeme's blog at http://www.graemestempmorlock.wordpress.com/. The Family Vacation of the Future You’ve been to

Michael Belfiorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310369260652845748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14833426.post-83872347037050450502008-03-04T05:19:00.002-05:002008-03-04T05:55:26.975-05:00

I'll be on Woodstock's own TV station tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time as a guest on Bill Pfleging's Tech Attack. Tune in live at www.woodstocktv.org, and call in to join the conversation at 845-679-7777. This is as close to home as it gets for me. The studio is just down the road from my house, right next to the playground where I walked my daughter during yesterday's break in the cold

Michael Belfiorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310369260652845748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14833426.post-35345661798635567042008-02-17T08:42:00.008-05:002008-02-17T09:57:56.983-05:00

This one's for my friend Ben Zackheim, who wanted to see the results of the office overhaul I did at the beginning of the year. Here's a little tour for those of you who are also interested: Mac: After five-plus years, it was time to upgrade my desktop computer. I'd had such a great experience with my iPhone that I upgraded to this iMac. I do believe I have purchased my last PC. Laptop: I'd

Michael Belfiorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310369260652845748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14833426.post-73023942975922157732008-02-16T07:24:00.003-05:002008-02-16T07:58:03.584-05:00

Check out the February Popular Science for my cover story on a European concept for a hypersonic (that is, faster than five times the speed of sound) airliner. If you're like me and live in a town that doesn't carry PopSci in any of its stores (gripe, grumble), you can also click over to the website and read the full story there. Interestingly, even though the editors specifically wanted me to

Michael Belfiorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310369260652845748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14833426.post-12014727852787954032008-02-08T21:11:00.000-05:002008-02-08T22:16:00.204-05:00

On Wednesday I discussed commercial spaceflight with Seamus O'Regan on Canada AM, CTV's national morning news show. Check out the interview here. It runs four minutes.

Michael Belfiorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310369260652845748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14833426.post-52405537205164727052008-02-08T08:20:00.000-05:002008-02-08T08:52:36.390-05:00

Whodathunkit. The little town of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada hosts a world-class research institute attracting physicists from around the world to probe the mysteries of the universe. I've just returned from the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, where I got the royal treatment--my own private office, limo rides to a fro, continuous access to an open food bar, and an audience of hundreds

Michael Belfiorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310369260652845748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14833426.post-61937908063063795742008-01-26T16:41:00.001-05:002008-02-25T10:08:57.959-05:00

I was busy last Wednesday. Not only did I live blog the unveiling of SpaceShipTwo on Wired.com, but I also reported on the event on camera. Wired posted the resulting video, produced by Randi Himelfarb, on YouTube.com last night. Click the image to link to the video.

Michael Belfiorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310369260652845748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14833426.post-68924393369534841452008-01-23T10:32:00.000-05:002008-01-23T10:34:54.875-05:00

I'm attending the press conference at New York's Natural History Museum for the unveiling of SpaceShipTwo, Virgin's commercial spaceship. Check it out at http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/01/spaceshiptwo-un.html

Michael Belfiorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310369260652845748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14833426.post-90538211648392711362008-01-18T06:11:00.000-05:002008-01-18T07:03:54.220-05:00

When I first saw the title of this book, I read it as "The 4-Hour Work Day," and I still thought it was outrageous. But no, this entrepreneur-turned-author really does aim to show you how to work a 4-hour work week. I'm a great believer in the power of books to change your life, and I just couldn't pass this one up. Turns out it's well-written, funny, and full of good ideas. And, yes, it has

Michael Belfiorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310369260652845748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14833426.post-21012158284927704992008-01-16T13:13:00.000-05:002008-01-16T14:00:26.827-05:00

Since SpaceShipOne spun through 29 rolls flying out of the atmosphere in 2004, the ship's designer, Burt Rutan, has been promising a new and improved design for his follow-on ship--one that won't shake, rattle, and roll paying passengers quite so much. SpaceShipTwo, to be owned and operated Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic, has been coming together behind closed doors, with its exact

Michael Belfiorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310369260652845748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14833426.post-69971268629837041352008-01-15T07:34:00.001-05:002008-01-15T07:57:02.602-05:00

Since the release of Rocketeers last summer, I've been retooling for my next project, a book about DARPA, the Pentagon's research arm. And what a long arm it is, sponsoring technology research and development that effects our lives in ways most people can hardly imagine. The computer network you're connected to, for instance, started as a DARPA project. Watch this space for updates on the

Michael Belfiorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310369260652845748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14833426.post-67050036535135170902007-10-26T17:59:00.000-04:002007-10-26T18:03:36.256-04:00

I'm on assignment for Wired News covering the DARPA Urban Challenge, which launched today. See my preview article at www.wired.com, and then head over to the Danger Room for my on-the-scene updates leading up to the main event on November 3.

Michael Belfiorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310369260652845748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14833426.post-59280602151198480882007-10-20T06:07:00.001-04:002007-10-20T06:19:58.641-04:00

My commentary on commercial spaceflight and its relevance to this month's Sputnik anniversary just went up on the website of Financial Times. Choice quote, from former space shuttle astronaut and now author Tom Jones: "I think we're stepping into a new era of human spaceflight," says Thomas Jones. "The ranks of astronauts will be augmented by commercial pilots and adventure guides accompanying

Michael Belfiorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310369260652845748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14833426.post-53399134823096854572007-10-16T08:23:00.000-04:002007-10-16T20:42:14.059-04:00

It's here! My video production partner Mark Greene of Pecos Pictures posted a video promoting my book Rocketeers to YouTube last night. The piece includes video we shot in Huntsville, Alabama along with great clips from many of the major players in the commercial spaceflight industry. Take four minutes to check it out--and turn it up! Many thanks to Mark, who wrote, directed, and produced the

Michael Belfiorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310369260652845748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14833426.post-15865091530192006422007-10-04T06:52:00.000-04:002007-10-04T07:12:48.219-04:00

Today marks two important anniversaries in the history of space travel. Fifty years ago today, the Soviet Union launched a beeping basketball sized satellite called Sputnik, and with it the space age. Sputnik was the first artificial satellite, and it lit a fire under the US government. As a result of it, President Eisenhower created the Advanced Research Projects Agency, or ARPA, and the

Michael Belfiorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310369260652845748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14833426.post-33387765318771363992007-09-30T12:55:00.000-04:002007-09-30T13:19:04.119-04:00

There's a transcript and a nice write-up of an interview I gave Bloomberg Radio recently at bloomberg.com. I talked with Robin Schatz about the viability of commercial spaceflight as a business and a bit about Bigelow Aerospace and other space ventures. There's a mugshot of me there too, taken on the Bloomberg roof. The Bloomberg headquarters in New York City is every bit as astounding as the

Michael Belfiorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310369260652845748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14833426.post-22436069549317469682007-09-19T08:05:00.000-04:002007-09-19T08:30:20.259-04:00

The October issue of Popular Science is out, with my cover story on EADS Astrium's new tourist spaceship design. The ship, the size of a business jet, with twin jet engines for takeoffs and landings, and a single rocket engine for the boost to space, bears more than a passing resemblance to Rocketplane Global's spaceship design. That's no accident, as Astrium's chief technical officer Robert

Michael Belfiorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08310369260652845748noreply@blogger.com