Giving bug-like bots a boost
Saturday, 01 January 2022 06:59When it comes to robots, bigger isn't always better. Someday, a swarm of insect-sized robots might pollinate a field of crops or search for survivors amid the rubble of a collapsed building. MIT researchers have demonstrated diminutive drones that can zip around with bug-like agility and resilience, which could eventually perform these tasks. The soft actuators that propel these microrobot
Step forward in quest to develop living construction materials and beyond
Saturday, 01 January 2022 06:59Some engineered living materials can combine the strength of run-of-the-mill building materials with the responsiveness of living systems. Think self-healing concrete, paint that changes color when a specific chemical is detected or material that could reproduce and fill in a crack when one forms. This would revolutionize construction and maintenance, with wide-reaching economic and environmenta
US Govt orders Polyakov to sell Firefly Aerospace stake
Saturday, 01 January 2022 00:56The businessman revitalised the space company using his own funds back in 2017, when it was on the brink of bankruptcy. Since then, the firm secured its first contracts with the US government and held a partially successful first launch of a satellite. The US government demanded Ukrainian software mogul Max Polyakov to sell his entire stake in the space company Firefly Aerospace, which man
Bezos' Blue Origin teams up with U.S. military 'rocket cargo' program
Saturday, 01 January 2022 00:56Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin has teamed up with the U.S. military to explore the possibility of using rockets to transport cargo and people, U.S. Transportation Command announced Monday. The Amazon founder's Blue Origin rocket company and USTRANSCOM, which oversees global military logistics, signed the cooperative research and development agreement, CRADA, on Dec. 17, according to the announcem
Biden administration extends ISS operations through 2030
Saturday, 01 January 2022 00:56The Biden administration has extended operations on theInternational Space Station through 2030 to "enable a seamless transition" to commercial space stations, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced Friday. Nelson said in a statement that NASA will continue working with the European Space Agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Canadian Space Agency, and Russia's StateSpace Corporati
Astra Space faces critics, skeptics as it plans Florida launch
Saturday, 01 January 2022 00:56Astra Space, one of few new rocket companies to reach orbit, is facing stiff criticism from skeptics about its business model as it plans its first launch from Florida.. The California-based company announced Dec. 6 that it planned to launch NASA satellites in January from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Since then, the company has released no further details about a launch date and ha
Zero gravity conditions in space may advance stem cell research, scientists say
Saturday, 01 January 2022 00:56The zero-gravity conditions in outer space may hold the key to producing large batches of stem cells for medical research and treatment of various diseases on Earth, according to a paper published Thursday by Stem Cell Reports. Biomanufacturing, a type of stem cell production that uses biological materials such as microbes to produce substances and biomaterials suitable for use in resea
Quadrantids offer winter meteor spectacle
Saturday, 01 January 2022 00:56Northern hemisphere stargazers can look forward to what could be 2022's best meteor shower on 3-4 January. Observers enjoying dark skies could see 50 or more meteors an hour that night, as the Quadrantids shower reaches its peak. Meteors are the result of small particles entering the Earth's atmosphere at high speed, typically around 40 km per second for the Quadrantids. The pieces of debr
Three rings to bind them in ancient cosmic history
Saturday, 01 January 2022 00:56Astronomers have managed to link the properties of the inner planets of our solar system with our cosmic history: with the emergence of ring structures in the swirling disk of gas and dust in which these planets were formed. The rings are associated with basic physical properties such as the transition from an outer region where ice can form where water can only exist as water vapor. The astrono
China heads launch list of space rockets
Saturday, 01 January 2022 00:56China launched a Long March 3B carrier rocket at Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province early on Thursday, marking the completion of the country's annual launch schedule. The rocket blasted off at 0:43 am and transported the Communication Technology Demonstrator 9 experimental satellite into a geosynchronous orbit, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, the nation's lead
White House commits to ISS extension
Friday, 31 December 2021 21:13The Biden administration formally supports extending operations of the International Space Station through the end of the decade, an announcement that is neither surprising nor addresses how to get all the station’s partners, notably Russia, to agree on the station’s future.
NASA funds thermal control solutions for harsh lunar environments
Friday, 31 December 2021 17:50Advanced Cooling Technologies (ACT) has won NASA funding for thermal control solutions that enable vehicles and other equipment to survive harsh lunar environments without an active power source.
NASA Plans Coverage of Webb Space Telescope Deployments
Thursday, 30 December 2021 15:12Update: NASA Plans Coverage of Webb Space Telescope Deployments
Thursday, 30 December 2021 15:12Webb separation from Ariane 5
Thursday, 30 December 2021 13:00This real-time video shows the separation of the James Webb Space Telescope from the Ariane 5 launch vehicle and the subsequent solar array deployment.
Webb’s launch on an ESA-provided Ariane 5 rocket was performed by Arianespace on behalf of ESA from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, at 12:20:07 GMT (13:20:07 CET) on 25 December 2021.
Webb separation from the Ariane 5 occurred at 12:47:14 GMT (13:47:14 CET) with solar array deployment starting 69 seconds later.
Thanks to Ariane 5’s highly precise launch trajectory Webb’s solar array was able to deploy soon after separation from the Ariane 5, capturing sunlight to