The International Space Station is due for decommission in the 2030s. NASA is currently evaluating how to go about retiring the station: options include letting it burn up in the atmosphere or pushing it into a graveyard orbit. There’s another option that doesn’t involve disposing of the ISS at all, which would extend the life of the station by leveraging its considerable size and mass for future space missions. The ISS could be the ideal anchor for a skyhook that would act like a slingshot to propel people and cargo into space cheaply, as Aeon reports. – José Rodríguez Jr. Read More
In 1988 a famous sailing yacht went missing, leaving behind a strange final message, a mangled investigation and questions of suicide, piracy, mutiny and drug trafficking. I’ve long been fascinated by ship wrecks and disappearances and this one is one of my favorites, not only because it’s such a mysterious story, but because the ship itself was so beautiful. – Erin Marquis Read More
A flight carrying British cruise-goers from Barbados to Manchester was forced to divert to Bermuda after an incident of extreme turbulence two days before Christmas. There were 225 passengers onboard the Airbus A330-200 operated by Maleth Aero, a Maltese charter airline. When the aircraft landed, 11 people were transported to a local hospital to treat minor injuries, according to the BBC. Everyone ended up spending the holiday stranded in Bermuda, as it took days to arrange a replacement flight. – Ryan Erik King Read More
There’s not a ton going on between Christmas and New Year’s, so I’m diving back into some of my favorite weird mysteries. The story of the first supposed murder in Antartica is a little hard to track down, but it’s one my Dad would often repeat when his snotty kids pulled out the chess set. – Erin Marquis Read More
Over 300 travelers from India were stuck in the small Vatry Airport in the Champagne region of France when their charter flight was held over claims of human trafficking, the AP reports. The flight was heading to Nicaragua and contained young children, families, and 11 unaccompanied minors, according to Insider. – Elizabeth Blackstock Read More
