Posts Tagged japan
Scaled Endeavour
Posted by Danielle in Collectibles on July 13, 2010
I’ve long been a fan of Japanese goods—the detail, the quality—but this scale model of Space Shuttle Endeavour goes beyond anything I’ve seen. It’s simply gorgeous, and perhaps the most amazing thing is the amount of texture. No smooth-surfaced orbiter here:
At nearly $500, it’s out of my price range, but if you find yourself with the funds necessary this December, DO pick one up! (Hat tip to collectSPACE for the link and info!)
Japanese Sci-Fi, Part 2
Posted by Danielle in Art & Architecture on July 9, 2010
One more futuristic illustration by Shigeru Komatsuzaki, seeing as it’s a Moon train. I want to ride a Moon train..!!
Japanese Sci-Fi Illustrations
Posted by Danielle in Art & Architecture on July 5, 2010
These fantastic illustrations by Shigeru Komatsuzaki are a treat for the eyes! There’s many, many more at the aforementioned link.
Star Wars Day
Posted by Danielle in Entertainment, Picspam on May 4, 2010
I found this post weeks ago. I wasn’t intentionally waiting for Star Wars Day, but here we are, so here you go: “Artist Steve Bialik represents legendary Star Wars characters as samurai from traditional Japanese art.”
Milky Way Waterfall
This is the overall winner of the Galilean Nights Astrophotography competition (part of the International Year of Astronomy), taken at a beautiful waterfall in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. This photo won the Earth and Sky division, as well as the overall competition; oddly enough, second runner-up in Earth and Sky was also shot in Nagano Prefecture. Although I’m surprised to see that a third of the winning photos (2/6) come from Nagano, I really shouldn’t be — it is an exceedingly beautiful place.
Sapporo Space Barley Beer
Posted by Danielle in Food & Drink on December 9, 2009
It had to happen eventually, and it doesn’t surprise me that Japan is at the forefront of space beer. OnOrbit has an overview of the release — very pricey, very limited, and you have to be a Japanese resident to enter the lottery.
Sapporo Breweries Ltd. is launching sales of the world’s first beer produced using malt made 100% from “space barley,” the progenies of spaceflight barley seeds, This limited offer is exclusive to the Internet and proceeds will go to charity. Applications to purchase the beer, which is dubbed “SAPPORO Space Barley,” can be made from December 3 (Thu), 2009 on the dedicated web page set up on our company’s website. Two hundred and fifty successful customers will be selected from among the applicants by lottery.
The “space barley” used to make this beer is the fourth generation descendant of the Haruna Nijo malting barley that was developed by Sapporo Breweries and kept in space for five months during 2006 as part of our collaborative research with the Russian Academy of Sciences and Okayama University with the purpose of achieving self-sufficiency in food in the space environment. Since Sapporo Breweries was founded, we have continued to create excellent varieties for raw materials, and we are the only company in the world that operates breeding/research organizations for both barley and hops. This, the world’s first sale of this “space beer,” is the result of our extended nurturing/development of the required technologies.
At roughly $100 for six bottles of space beer, this is not a purchase for the fainthearted, but I like the sentiment:
It is our hope that our customers will feel able to sit back, relax, and enjoy SAPPORO Space Barley, letting their minds drift through the infinities of space and into dreams of the future.
Album Covers, Nagaoka Redux
Posted by Danielle in Art & Architecture, Entertainment on December 4, 2009
More space-faring album covers from Shusei Nagaoka. Check out the rest of his art for an amazing array of bellbottoms, launching into the final frontier….
Album Covers, Nagaoka Edition
Posted by Danielle in Art & Architecture, Entertainment on December 1, 2009
It’s been a while since I’ve posted album cover art, and I just couldn’t stop with the Shusei Nagaoka awesomeness. Viva la 1970s!
Japanese Futurism
Posted by Danielle in Art & Architecture, Entertainment on November 26, 2009
Another hat-tip to Sci-Fi-O-Rama for showcasing some of the 1970s-80s artwork of Shusei Nagaoka. (Unknowingly I featured his ELO album cover art quite a while ago. He has quite the funky, spacey portfolio going, as far as album covers go!) There is an amazingly hi-res selection of Nagaoka-san’s art at Pink Tentacle — don’t miss it! (It was hard to restrain myself to just two images, I admit. I may yet publish more.)
Kibo Kibo
Posted by Danielle in News & Happenings, Picspam on July 27, 2009
The crew of STS-127 has been busily installing Kibo, the Japanese module of the ISS, as seen above and below:
This image shows the Japanese Experiment Module – Exposed Facility as it looks from inside Kibo. The Japanese Experiment Module, or JEM, called Kibo — which means “hope” in Japanese — is Japan’s first human space facility and enhances the unique research capabilities of the International Space Station. Experiments in Kibo focus on space medicine, biology, Earth observations, material production, biotechnology and communications research. Kibo experiments and systems are operated from the Mission Control Room at the Space Station Operations Facility, or SSOF, at Tsukuba Space Center in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, just north of Tokyo.




















This blog celebrates space exploration, human spaceflight and the heavens, through
My name is Danielle Signor, and I am a space cadet.


