A wet dress rehearsal is a run-through of all the processes required before a rocket launch, up until, but not including, liftoff. What makes this simulation wet is that the rocket’s fuel tanks are filled, then drained once the countdown clock...
Quiz Guy John Chaneski sums up the events of 2009 in the form of limericks, all with a blank to be filled. Here’s one: NASA really put on a great show / A new lunar crater did blow / To the glee of mankind / The rocket did find / That the moon...
rocket docket n.— «In a court system in which clerks get behind on scheduling trial dates by an additional 220 cases each and every day, Dallas” “proof or plea” docket is a big help, disposing of about 200 cases during...
bee-hawking n.— «Wasps, and hornets in particular, are major predators of bees and the largest ones can make even the giant bees look puny. Some invade hives and steal grubs, while others swoop in and pluck loitering bees from the surface...
six-pack v.— «In volleyball parlance, she is a kill machine. Blink and you’ll miss her rocket hits. Opponents always run the risk of being “six-packed”—slang for getting smacked in the face with the ball.» —“Six Feet of...
R2-D2 n.— «Since laser defenses are still quite a way off, the Army has looked to an existing system to fill the need. The Navy’s Phalanx CIWS system, an autonomous 20mm gatling gun capable of firing up to 4,500 rounds per minute, has...