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Copernical Team

Copernical Team

An extremely lightweight fission rocket could reach the solar gravitational lens in 15 years
Aerogel that will be used to stabilize the fission fuel in the new FFRE. Credit: NASA / Ryan Weed

Novel propulsion ideas for moving around space seem like they're a dime a dozen recently. Besides the typical argument between solar sails and chemical propulsion lies a potential third way—a nuclear rocket engine. While we've discussed them here at UT before, NASA's Institute of Advanced Concepts has provided a grant to a company called Positron Dynamics for the development of a novel type of nuclear fission fragment rocket engine (FFRE). It could strike the balance between the horsepower of chemical engines and the longevity of solar sails.

FFREs are not a new concept in themselves, but many have massive technical hurdles to overcome before they can be considered useful. Their advantages, such as high specific impulse and extremely high power density, are offset by their disadvantages, such as requiring a complicated form of plasma levitation.

What is a UFO? The US shot down three mysterious objects as interest and concern increase over unidentified craft
In 2020, the U.S. Navy released multiple videos of unidentified aerial phenomena, sparking interest in the public and government. Credit: U.S. Navy

On the heels of the Feb. 4, 2023, shooting down of a Chinese balloon suspected of spying on the U.S., American fighter jets have shot down three additional objects in or near U.S. airspace.

When the media asked Glen VanHerck, the Air Force general responsible for overseeing North American airspace, about these events, he refused to rule out extraterrestrial forces at play. Other later clarified that otherworldly origins aren't a serious consideration, but the comment highlighted the U.S. government's lack of knowledge about these objects.

As a space policy expert, I'm often confronted with questions about UFOs and little green people. However, as these recent episodes have shown, a UFO is far more likely to be human-made, rather than originating from some faraway place in the universe.

Researchers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope are getting their first look at star formation, gas, and dust in nearby galaxies with unprecedented resolution at infrared wavelengths. The data have enabled an initial collection of 21 research papers which provide new insight into how some of the smallest-scale processes in the Universe — the beginnings of star formation — impact the evolution of the largest objects in our cosmos: galaxies.

History of landslides and road network in southern Italy

A new ground motion service utilising Copernicus satellite data is being used by the Italian road agency to detect and monitor unstable ground – helping improve nationwide road infrastructure safety.

History of landslides and road network in southern Italy

A new ground motion service utilising Copernicus satellite data is being used by the Italian road agency to detect and monitor unstable ground – helping improve nationwide road infrastructure safety.

Thursday, 16 February 2023 11:13

Acoustic inspection

Acoustic inspection Image: Acoustic inspection
Wuhan, China (SPX) Feb 16, 2023
China will employ BeiDou satellite-based augmentation system (BDSBAS) to provide high-precision positioning service in railway survey and construction, according to the China Railway Siyuan Survey and Design Group Co., Ltd. Four satellite-based and 12 ground-based observation stations will be set up along the Wufeng-Enshi railway section in central China's Hubei Province. This is the
Houston TX (SPX) Feb 16, 2023
The International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory is soliciting flight projects for in-space production applications focused on advanced materials and manufacturing. This research announcement seeks concepts to utilize the space-based environment of the orbiting laboratory to further applications that can bring value to humanity and enable business models in space. In-space product
Honolulu HI (SPX) Feb 16, 2023
Searching through existing data spanning 9 billion years, a team of researchers led by scientists at University of Hawai?i at Manoa has uncovered the first evidence of "cosmological coupling" -a newly predicted phenomenon in Einstein's theory of gravity, possible only when black holes are placed inside an evolving universe. Astrophysicists Duncan Farrah and Kevin Croker led this ambitious
Copenhagen, Denmark (SPX) Feb 16, 2023
When neutron stars collide they produce an explosion that, contrary to what was believed until recently, is shaped like a perfect sphere. Although how this is possible is still a mystery, the discovery may provide a new key to fundamental physics and to measuring the age of the Universe. The discovery was made by astrophysicists from the University of Copenhagen and has just been published in th
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