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Behold, replica Nazi-code-cracking Colossus computer IN LEGO FORM
Pics A Lego fan's miniature representation of the famous codebreaking Colossus Mark 2 has agreeably gone on show at Bletchley Park, where the original machine did vital wartime work breaking Germany's Lorenz ciphers.
James Pegrum's homage to Colossus is entertaining visitors as part of the The National Museum of Computing's (TNMOC) …
LOHAN lays mitts on second Iridium sat comms kit
We're pleased to announce that the Low Orbit Helium Assisted Navigator (LOHAN) team has got its grubby mitts on a second Iridium satellite comms unit, courtesy of Rock Seven.
Click here for a bigger version of the LOHAN graphic
Those of you who've been following our audacious spaceplane mission will recall we took delivery of …
LOHAN serves up Raspberry Pi sensorgasmotry
The Low Orbit Helium Assisted Navigator (LOHAN) team is battling away on several fronts ahead of next month's launch of the Vulture 2 spaceplane, and while there's still plenty of work to do, we do at least have the mission electronics fit for duty.
Click here for a bigger version of the LOHAN graphic Our recent test flight of …
SPEARS joins the 19-mile-high club: Intimate snaps
Pics and vid The Low Orbit Helium Assisted Navigator (LOHAN) team is just about done sifting through the photos and vid from our recent test flight of the Special Project Electronic Altitude Release System (SPEARS) control board, and we hereby present highlights for your viewing pleasure.
Click here for a bigger version of the LOHAN graphic …
Boffins: Dolphins call each other NAMES. Not RUDE ones!
Boffins have piled on yet more evidence that dolphins call each other by name when they whistle to each other.
Dolphins play in the water
Scientists have reckoned for some time that dolphins have a unique whistle that acts as a distinctive name.
Research by marine biologists Stephanie King and Vincent Janik from the …
How our shaken Reg Playmonaut survived a 113,000ft stratodangle
We're pleased to report that the intrepid Playmonaut who last weekend soared to 34,571m (113,421ft) during the test flight of our Special Project Electronic Altitude Release System (SPEARS) control board is, although somewhat shaken, otherwise none the worse for suffering a dramatic stratodangle.
Our intrepid miniature pilot was …
Heavenly SPEARS gives LOHAN a hot satisfying BANG
The Low Orbit Helium Assisted Navigator (LOHAN) team has been sifting the data from last weekend's successful test of the Special Project Electronic Altitude Release System (SPEARS) control board, and is delighted to report that it worked as advertised.
Click here for a bigger version of the LOHAN graphic SPEARS is designed to …
El Reg Playmonaut soars to 113,000ft
The Low Orbit Helium Assisted Navigator (LOHAN) team has just about recovered from last Saturday's successful test flight of the Special Project Electronic Altitude Release System (SPEARS) control board, which featured a dramatic attempt by our newly-recruited replacement Playmonaut to break the Paper Aircraft Released Into …
Click here for hot live SPEARS test action
As we speak, the the Low Orbit Helium Assisted Navigator (LOHAN) team is in Brightwalton in Berkshire preparing to dispatch the Special Project Electronic Altitude Release System (SPEARS) control board to the stratosphere.
If all goes according to plan, SPEARS will trigger the custom igniter designed to fire our Vulture 2 …
Watch LIVE tomorrow: LOHAN team attempts second pop at SPEARS
This afternoon, The Register's Low Orbit Helium Assisted Navigator (LOHAN) team will assemble in Blighty's Baikonur (aka Brightwalton, Berkshire) ahead of tomorrow's flight of the Special Project Electronic Altitude Release System (SPEARS) control board.
Specifically, this is a test flight to check that the aforementioned …
LOHAN team girds loins, aims to take SPEARS to heaven again
The Low Orbit Helium Assisted Navigator (LOHAN) team is girding its loins ahead of this weekend's second test flight of the Special Project Electronic Altitude Release System (SPEARS) control board.
Click here for a bigger version of the LOHAN graphic SPEARS is designed to fire the Vulture 2 space plane's rocket motor by means …
Your own £19 Pocket Spacecraft could be FOUND ON THE MOON
An international team of scientists, engineers and designers is offering mere mortals the chance to fly to the Moon for as little as £19 via the Pocket Spacecraft: Mission to the Moon initiative.
The boffins have come up with a cunning plan to launch a rack of slimline "Scout" spacecraft, specifically "flexible hybrid printed …
LOHAN cranks up old-school clockwork failsafe
We're obliged to Low Orbit Helium Assisted Navigator (LOHAN) fans for answering our call for suggestions as to just how a back-up ignition system for our Vulture 2 spaceplane's rocket motor might work.
Click here for a bigger version of the LOHAN graphic Our primary system is the Special Project Electronic Altitude Release …
El Reg rocket squad poised to select Ultimate Cuppa teabag
Vulture Central's pursuit of the ultimate cuppa is set to enter the final straight as we prepare to decide once and for all what constitutes the pinnacle of cha perfection.
Mug with our Vulture logo Followers of our resolutely no-IT-angle-whatsoever path to tea heaven will be aware that we've already established a brewing …
Reg readers tumesce as they get their tongues round 'podule'
Our recent coverage of Brit adventurer Nick Hancock's thwarted attempt to land on the Atlantic islet of Rockall has demonstrated a growing reader penchant for the word "podule".
Hancock had intended to spend 60 days atop the remote granite outcrop in a survival podule, and the mere mention of this splendid term prompted one …
Gourmet chemists sniff out ultimate cheese on toast
The splendidly monikered British Cheese Board has launched a search for the "perfect cheese on toast formula" - a quest that will nicely complement our own efforts to nail the ultimate bacon sarnie and pinnacle of cha perfection.
The board is seeking submissions from Brits, who have the chance to win "a top-of-the-range toasted …
Brit adventurer Nick Hancock postpones Rockall holiday to 2014
Brit adventurer Nick Hancock has postponed his attempt to occupy Rockall until next year after the cruel sea ended his attempt to land on the Atlantic granite outcrop last Friday.
Hancock had intended to spend 60 days atop the the sacred islet - some 480km west of Scotland - in aid of Help for Heroes, in the process breaking …
LOHAN team regroups for second pop at SPEARS
Fans of the Low Orbit Helium Assisted Navigator (LOHAN) spaceplane project should mark Saturday 13 July in their diaries, because that's when our elite team will once again assemble in Blighty's Baikonur* for the second test flight of the Special Project Electronic Altitude Release System (SPEARS) board.
Click here for a bigger …
Sacred islet Rockall defeats Brit adventurer
Brit adventurer Nick Hancock is returning to western Scotland after inclement weather thwarted his attempt to land on the sacred islet of Rockall.
Hancock had intended to spend 60 days in a survival podule atop the Atlantic granite outcrop – some 480km off the west coast of Scotland – in aid of Help for Heroes. Speaking recently …
Sacred islet Rockall repels Brit adventurer's first assault
Heavy seas have thwarted Brit adventurer Nick Hancock's first attempt to land on the sacred islet of Rockall, and he's beaten a retreat to St Kilda ahead of a second pop tomorrow.
If he can get atop the remote granite outcrop - which lies 480km off the west coast of Scotland - Hancock plans to spend 60 days there in support of …
My, my Pi, did it spy ya? Bye, bye Pi, did it go higher?
Pictures High Altitude Ballooning (HAB) head honcho and Low Orbit Helium Assisted Navigator (LOHAN) team member Dave Akerman has grabbed some spectacular images of Blighty from the stratosphere, using a Raspberry Pi eye in the sky.
Devon and Cornwall from an altitude of 38.9km. Pic: Dave Akerman Devon and Cornwall from an altitude of 38 …
LOHAN is GO! Reg spaceplane BLASTS OFF on 14 September
We're absolutely delighted to announce that our Low Orbit Helium Assisted Navigator (LOHAN) spaceplane mission is cleared for blastoff on 14 September.
Click here for a bigger version of the LOHAN graphic Yes indeed, ballocket fans, the time is almost nigh to dispatch the Vulture 2 heavenwards towards its date with aeronautical …
Space dogs and Dragons: A brief history of reentry tech
In August 1960, Soviet dogs Belka and Strelka1 - accompanied by several mice - became the first animals to travel into space and return alive.
Belka and Strelka seen inside the Vostok capsule Belka and Strelka seen inside the Vostok capsule
Packed into their Vostok spacecraft, the space canines relied on some venerable …
Rolls-Royce climbs aboard Bloodhound SUPERSONIC car
Rolls-Royce has announced it will back the Bloodhound SuperSonic Car (SSC), despite the company's "pretty robust policy about using our power plants in applications for which they were not designed".
Bloodhound will be partially powered by a Rolls-Royce EJ200 jet engine, normally found giving the Eurofighter-Typhoon a powerful …
Lego fan constructs Bletchley Park Colossus
It's a tip of the hat today to Lego fan James Pegrum, who's created a splendid miniature representation of Bletchley Park's famous Colossus Mark 2:
James Pegrum's Lego Colossus. Pic: James Pegrum James Pegrum's not-so-colossal Colossus Mark 2
Working from an original photo of the Colossus, Adult Friend Of Lego (AFOL) James …
Builder-in-a-hole outrage sparks Special Projects Bureau safety probe
Last year, I uncovered the perfect antidote to the internet in an entertaining dig-a-well project, which went down, well, well with those who subscribe to the tenet "man cannot live by IT alone".
However, one aspect of the project did cause a bit of a health and safety furore among our beloved commentards: the moment when …
Brit adventurer all set to assault ex-Reg haunt Rockall
A Brit adventurer is poised to occupy the North Atlantic granite outcrop of Rockall - once described as "the most isolated speck of rock, surrounded by water, on the surface of the earth".1
Nick Hancock plans to spend 60 days atop the sacred islet - which lies some 480km off the west coast of Scotland - during his Rockall Solo …
Quid-a-day nosh challenge hack enters the final furlong
My "Live Below the Line" quid-a-day nosh challenge has entered its final stretch, and as I wait for the Tibetan blackbird* to spread its mighty brown wings over the great white telephone, I've got time - and just enough remaining energy - to ponder what purpose the last week has served.
Before I do that, though, I'd like to …
Impoverished net user slams 'disgusting' quid-a-day hack
FoTW Since Monday, this hack has been subsisting on just £1 a day for food, in support of the charity Malaria No More UK.
The "Live Below the Line" challenge is an imperfect exercise, to be sure, but is nobly intended as "an innovative awareness and fundraising campaign that's making a huge difference in the fight against extreme …
Weary quid-a-day nosh hack fears colonal mass ejection
It's day four of my "Live Below the Line" challenge to survive for five days on just a fiver for nosh, and while things are going well overall, I fear a storm is brewing.
Since Monday I've been subsisting on a diet comprising pretty much just fried egg butties, chickpea stew, rice and tea - livened up with the results of some …
Quid-a-day nosh challenge hack forms foraging party
It's been a tough winter here in the mountains of central Spain, so Mother Nature isn't lending much of a hand as I attempt to sustain myself spending just £1 a day for nosh in the "Live Below the Line" challenge.
As many readers have pointed out, I should be able to venture forth into the countryside in search of free …
Quid-a-day nosh challenge hack in bullet-hard chickpea drama
Day two of my "Live Below the Line" challenge has kicked off with another two fried egg sarnies and a couple of cuppas, following a long, hungry cooking slog yesterday thanks to some particularly obstinate chickpeas.
To recap, I'm subsisting until for five days on just £1 a day for nosh as part of "an innovative awareness and …
Fried-egg sarnies kick off Reg man's quid-a-day nosh challenge
Coffee, bacon and black pudding were strictly off the menu this morning as this hack kicked off his "Live Below the Line" challenge with a couple of fried-egg sarnies and a mug of builders' tea.
Until Friday, I have to subsist on just £1 a day for food as I participate in "an innovative awareness and fundraising campaign that's …
Texan stitches stratosphere into stunning panoramas
Take one mighty hydrogen-filled orb, six panoramic vid cameras, hours of image-stitching jiggery-pokery and you too can produce fully spherical panoramic imagery from the stratosphere...
Panoramic view at 29,000m The 360 degree view at 29,000m
...or capture a 360 degree movie of your balloon burst at a breathtaking 29,378m ( …
Reg hack to starve on £1 a day for science
As of next Monday, this hack will live for five days with just £1 a day to spend on food, having rather recklessly signed up for the "Live Below the Line" challenge.
Inspired by the news that Ben Affleck will starve himself for charity - and also we presume in penance for his part in cinematic outrage Pearl Harbor - I decided …
Outsourced space trucks battle for US middleweight lifting title
Comment There was much popping of champagne corks and back-slapping last Sunday when Orbital Sciences Corporation's Antares rocket finally blasted off from the launch pad at NASA's new Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
Antares launch on 21 April. Pic: NASA Antares soars heavenwards on 21 April
Following a launch abort on 17 April …
It's official! Register hack is an alcohol-flushed cave dweller
It's official: this Reg hack is 2.7 per cent Neanderthal, belongs to the J1c3b haplogroup, is at increased risk of coronary heart disease and Restless Legs Syndrome, has wet ear wax, and slightly decreased odds of suffering male pattern baldness.
That's according to the enlightening results of a personal genome test by 23andMe, …
Readers, we need you... for LOHAN ignition failsafe brainwaves
The Low Orbit Helium Assisted Navigator (LOHAN) team is inviting experts among our super readers to submit final proposals for a back-up ignition system for our Vulture 2 spaceplane's mighty rocket motor.
Click here for a bigger version of the LOHAN graphic As SPB ballocket regulars know, the primary system designed to light …
Raspberry Pi space jaunt ends in dramatic mountain rescue
Blighty's two-pronged High Altitude Ballooning (HAB) assault on Europe over the weekend ended dramatically with the rescue of one payload from the slopes of a snow-capped Austrian mountain, while the other is officially AWOL somewhere in France.
Low Orbit Helium Assisted Navigator (LOHAN) team members Dave Akerman and Anthony …
Space elevators, vacuum chutes: What next for big rocket tech?
Pic special We recently suggested that even the most advanced rocket currently slipping the surly bonds of Earth is nothing more than glorified V2, over 70 years since Hitler's Vergeltungswaffe 2 first lifted off the pad at Peenemünde.
Today, we'll have a look at some technologies that may one day allow us to escape V2 designer Wernher von …
LOHAN chap to launch Raspberry Pi eye in the sky
High Altitude Ballooning (HAB) geezer Dave Akerman will tomorrow dispatch a Raspberry Pi camera into the stratosphere, promising live images from altitude as the diminutive snapper drifts from Blighty into European skies.
Dave, who's head hydrogen handling honcho for our Low Orbit Helium Assisted Navigator (LOHAN) mission, …
Pyongyang to unleash NUKULAR horsemen of the Norkocalypse?
Last week, UK prime minister David Cameron raised a few eyebrows when he insisted North Korea has the capability to launch a missile strike against the the US and the UK.
Just like Blighty was once warned of Saddam Hussein's terrifying Weapons of Mass Destruction, the PM forewarned: “North Korea does now have missile technology …
