Gearfuse

Remember that Large Hadron Collider, which was supposed to figure out all the unsolved mysteries of existence or something? Less than two days after it was started up last week, the $10 billion atom smasher was damaged when a faulty electrical connection cause a mechanical failure. Oops.

Repairs will take a few months because scientists have to carefully warm the damaged area past the particle collider’s normal operating temperature of absolute zero. The hadron collider is located in a 17-mile long tunnel under the border between France and Switzerland.

This delay must be disappointing to researchers who hoped to use the collider to replicate the big bang and analyze antimatter in order to learn about the “hidden dimensions of space and time.” If they want to figure out the secrets of the universe they really need to start with learning proper wiring techniques.

Link

Following the failed space funeral of Star Trek actor James “Scotty” Doohan, his son told BoingBoing that portions of Scotty’s ashes will continue to be launched into space until they finally enter orbit. Scotty’s ashes were lost aboard the SpaceX rocket that spun out of control last weekend, but space burial company Celestis keeps “backup supplies” of their customers remains on hand in case rockets get lost.

Erich Blackhound, one of Scotty’s sons, said that the many unsuccessful attempts to send his father’s body to the stars have taken a toll on him and he’d “like to finish saying goodbye.” Though Blackhound thinks his father would have been glad to be a part of the continuing evolution, he says can’t bear to watch anymore burials for his father and “when news of the next launch rolls around… I won’t be paying attention.” A spokesperson for Celestis told the New York times that space launches are “very difficult” and failures are an inevitable part of the rocket business.

[Link] (via)

It turns out that space funerals might not be such a great idea after all. Commercial spaceflight company SpaceX had their third failed launch in a row last night when the Falcon 1 rocket began spinning out of control less than two minutes after liftoff in the Marshall Islands. Aboard the doomed rocket were the ashes 208 people including Star Trek actor James “Scotty” Doohan.

(more…)