An unmanned rocket bound for the International Space Station exploded Tuesday night, seconds after its launch from a Virginia island. No one was hurt in the fiery explosion, but officials say there was extensive property damage.

Israel and Hamas blamed each other for an attack on a Gaza park today. When the park was hit, by either an Israeli missile or errant rocket fire from Hamas, children were playing on on a swing. At least 10 Palestinians were killed, including children. Forty-six were wounded.

For the third consecutive day, North Korea launched rockets into the sea of its east coast, as part of what the DPRK is describing as a "regular military exercise."

Everybody say hi to Qu8k ("quake"): An artisanal rocket made by Derek Deville that zoomed 121,000 feet above the surface of Planet Earth in only 92 seconds. Deville launched Qu8k on September 30 from Nevada's Black Rock Desert (the same spot where the Burning Man Festival of the One Percent takes place). The 14-foot…

Here we are on a normal August day and the New York Times says that the Defense Department is offering seed money to begin the very long process of designing a space ship to another star. But should we?

While the rest of America watches the economy go down the shitter all over again, the Pentagon is busy blowing hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on toys that don't work. Perhaps you've heard about the Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 and its alleged Prompt Global Strike™ capabilities? It failed for a…

NASA's hot new Glory satellite was supposed to reach orbit today, where it would begin a three-year mission to study airborne particles and their effect on the Earth's climate. Oh, but the Glory's ride into space inside a Taurus XL rocket failed about 15 minutes after launch. So much for that half-billion dollars!

[A Boeing Delta 4 Heavy rocket, which may someday be used to send humans into space, rises from the launch pad during its first unmanned launch in California. Image via AP]

Jacob Smith was recently chosen by the Boy Scouts to break a world record for the most rockets launched simultaneously. The old record? 975. The Scouts' goal? 3,200 (3,130 of which took flight). Watch what happened inside.

This creative and probably psychotic kid had the idea to pull out a loose tooth by tying it to a rocket and then launching the thing. It worked. Wonder what his next great idea will be.

56-year-old Chinese farmer Yang Youde got tired of commercial property developers lowballing him and trying to demolish his home, so he built and fired some rockets at them. The short-range rockets held off an onslaught of 100 people.

The Way We Live Now: Getting our gumption back. Money? There's plenty of ways to make money. Money! Shoot. We're already back to building outlandish yachts. Pay me a respectable banker wage or I'm outta here!

My God, it's full of stars! The Valley is crowded with big-league bigshots, and each deserves a testament to their lasting contributions to technology: in other words, a fake trading card.