Space capsule crashes to Earth after chute failure: A few weeks ago we reported on plans to snag the Genesis capsule using helicopter stunt pilot (the post has a picture). Sadly, they never got the chance — the capsule’s parachutes never opened and it dropped like a rock.
Retrieval helicopters were supposed to snatch the capsule’s parachute with a hook as it floated down at 400 feet a minute, or more than 6 feet per second. But the capsule tumbled out of control. It was supposed to be spinning at 15 revolutions a minute to slice evenly through the atmosphere, but camera images showed it tumbling instead.
NASA prepares to catch a falling star sample: This is awesome. It's rare that the world of geeks and the world of action movie stars collides so enjoyably. To increase understanding of the sun's composition, NASA in 2001 launched the $264 million Genesis mission to collect samples from the solar…