Thank You Shuttle SE&I

Thanksgiving comes a day early this year with this highlight reel from Space Shuttle Systems Engineering & Integration. It's all the best shots from the launch of STS-129, and I don't mean just the stuff straight from the NASA TV feed, this footage is pooled from all the cameras and is artfully edited together.

Something Novel

Here's something from New Zealand; a private company there is getting ready to launch it's first rocket. What's interesting about this is that, as far as I can tell, this is something that the government of that country has never tried, or at least isn't pursuing at the moment. Private industry is giving it a shot, and even though it's only a sounding rocket it's an approach that I think few other countries have tried. The model of the US and Russia with the government fronting tons of money and research to figure out the basics and then the commercial groups give it a try, seems to be the most common. It'll be interesting to see how this goes for both the company, Rocket Lab, and for the country. Even though it's just a small sounding rocket, it could lead to much more, and I for one hope it does.