The Cybercraft Orbiting Laboratory

Not all that many years ago, space missions were the exclusive purview of the government.  Recently, businesses have begun venturing into space.  Virgin Galactic’s SpaceshipTwo rocket plane has completed several test flights, and is scheduled to launch later this year.  Last month, SpaceX’s Dragon spaceship transported necessary supplies to the International Space Station (ISS), and returned to Earth successfully.  The Anteries rocket, the biggest private-sector rocket ever produced, blasted into orbit early this week.  Using its Cygnus cargo carrier, Anteries should start supplying the ISS soon. 

Ordinary people like you and me are even pursuing their own space ventures.  Take, for example, Sarah Thee Campagna of Cybercraft Robots.  She scours through the “detris of daily life,” searching for “fragments of diassembled Robots, Rayguns, and Spaceships.”  She attempts to reconstruct these extraterrestrial relics, much like archeologists attempt to reconstruct earlier human civilizations through the artifacts they unearth, so that she can study the history and culture of the cosmos. 

This little fellow is negotiating for a starring role
in the sequel to the film, "Batteries Not Included."

While most Robots are peaceful,
they often carry Rayguns for their own protection.

Although she visits Earth often, she spends most of her time aboard her orbiting laboratory, where she regularly meets robots from other civilizations.  Just as a Martian might pause in his working day to study our rovers, she hails passing spacecraft, and attempts to communicate with their occupants.  After they leave, she constructs models of the robots she’s met, as a record of those encounters.

According to Sarah:
"The Spiderborg enjoyed a long career
starring in nightmares all over the Milky Way.
Now that he is semi-retired, he restricts his terrifying appearances
to private parties and dark alleys."

At the Cybercraft website, you can see photographs of these amazing robots.  You can also watch a short video, shot aboard her private space station, and see how she makes her reconstructions.  You can even support her research by “sponsoring” a robot.  To thank you for your one-time "donation," Sarah will "give" you a model of one of these interesting visitors to our world.  

Remember, while space may be open to everyone, it still costs a lot to operate a space station.  And that's before you consider all her rocket trips up into orbit.

Dragon Dave

Related Internet Links

Cybercraft Robots

The Anteres' maiden flight

The SpaceX Dragon’s last mission

SpaceshipTwo’s recent test flight