Space tourists becoming boring

The founder of the Cirque du Soleil company -- formerly a charming group of European and North American hippies, now a multi-billion dollar corporation with simultaneous nightly productions in cities around the world -- was shot into space as one of those "space tourists" (in other words, he paid $10 billion for the privilege) -- and almost no one noticed, despite the fact that he reportedly spent most of the trip wearing a clown nose. I'm sure the dedicated scientists and pilots who worked for twenty or thirty years to get the same privilege really appreciated that.

technorati: space tourists, Laliberte

Astronauts relieved as toilet functions with flying colors

NASA was relieved to find that a space toilet was working right, allowing astronauts to recycle piss as drinking water. The gizmo is essential for NASA's plan to double the number of people in orbit.

Meanwhile, you remember the bonehead play earlier this week when a space walker let a tool bag drift away. An Australian hobbyist has captured the debris in a photo.

technorati: space travel, NASA, toilet, pissing

Quick deal for psycho astronaut book

An author of true crime books, Diane Fanning, got a deal for a book about the astronaut who snapped:

Novelist and true crime author Diane Fanning tackles the bizarre case of Lisa Nowak, the astronaut accused of attempting to murder a fellow astronaut's girlfriend because of her obession with her colleague, to Charles Spicer at St. Martin's.

Courtesy Publisher's Marketplace. Here's a good piece with a lot of background on Nowak, in case you can't wait for the book.

technorati: dianefanning, lisanowak, astronaut