Hi, Robot: Japan's android pets ease virus isolation
Thursday, 25 February 2021 14:04
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Nami Hamaura says she feels less lonely working from home thanks to her singing companion Charlie, one of a new generation of cute and clever Japanese robots whose sales are booming in the pandemic.
Smart home assistants such as Amazon's Alexa have found success worldwide, but tech firms in Japan are reporting huge demand for more humanlike alternatives, as people seek solace during coronavi Nicole Robinson named president of Ursa Space Systems
Thursday, 25 February 2021 14:00 Write a comment
SAN FRANCISCO – After 14 years at satellite communications fleet operator SES, Nicole Robinson is taking on a new role: president of Ursa Space Systems, a geospatial analytics firm based in Ithaca, New York.
Robinson was SES senior vice president of global government when she began talking in 2020 with Adam Maher, Ursa Space CEO and co-founder.
Artemis: How ever-changing U.S. space policy may push back the next moon landing
Thursday, 25 February 2021 13:48 Write a comment
Harrison Schmitt and Eugene Cernan blasted off from the Taurus-Littrow valley on the moon in their lunar module Challenger on December 14 1972. Five days later, they splashed down safely in the Pacific, closing the Apollo 17 mission and becoming the last humans to visit the lunar surface or venture anywhere beyond low-Earth orbit.
Now the international Artemis program, lead by Nasa, is aiming to put humans back on the moon by 2024. But it is looking increasingly likely that this goal could be missed.
History shows just how vulnerable space programs, which require years of planning and development spanning several administrations, are. After Apollo 17, Nasa had plans for several further lunar Apollo missions, even including a possible flyby of Venus. But budget cuts in the early 1970s and a reprioritising of human spaceflight to focus on the Skylab project precluded any further lunar missions at that time.
It was not until July 20 1989, the 20th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing, that President George H.W.
What geologists see when they look at Perseverance's landing site
Thursday, 25 February 2021 13:10 Write a comment
Geologists love fieldwork. They love getting their specialized hammers and chisels into seams in the rock, exposing unweathered surfaces and teasing out the rock's secrets. Mars would be the ultimate field trip for many of them, but sadly, that's not possible.
Instead, we've sent the Perseverance rover on the field trip. But if a geologist were along for the ride, what would it look like to them?
Geologists tell us there's no substitute for fieldwork.
NASA and Roscosmos leaders speak as plans finalized for flying astronaut on upcoming Soyuz flight
Thursday, 25 February 2021 12:40 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — It is increasingly likely that a NASA astronaut will fly on a Russian Soyuz mission to the International Space Station in April as the agency finalizes an agreement with its Russian counterpart.
In a Feb.
Report: Space weapons are a fact of life, but there are many ways to counter them
Thursday, 25 February 2021 11:00 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — Nations around the world — notably China and Russia — are building arsenals of weapons that can destroy or disrupt satellites in orbit. Not much can be done to slow that trend down, but these threats can be countered with technologies and tactics, says a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies released Feb.
Apply now to the ESA Teach with Space Online Conference
Thursday, 25 February 2021 09:10 Write a comment
Register now for ESA’s first-ever virtual teacher conference! Over the course of three days, from 6 to 8 July 2021, ESA Education will bring space into your classroom. Explore space by hearing from space experts; discover inspiring ways to use space as a context to teach STEM in your physical and virtual classrooms; experience demonstrations of our fun classroom activities; and enjoy social space-themed events and more!
Applications are open until 15 June 2021 on a first-come, first-served basis, so apply now!
Earth from Space: Vancouver
Thursday, 25 February 2021 09:00 Write a comment
The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over Vancouver – the third largest city in Canada.
Virgin Galactic further delays SpaceShipTwo test flights
Thursday, 25 February 2021 00:18 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — Virgin Galactic says it is delaying the next test flight of its SpaceShipTwo suborbital vehicle by more than two months to address technical issues, part of a revamped flight test program that will postpone flights of space tourists to 2022.
Orbex commissions 3D printer capable of producing 35+ rocket engines a year
Wednesday, 24 February 2021 21:11 Write a comment
VALETTA, Malta — On the heels of raising $24 million in December, Orbex announced Feb. 24 that it has commissioned AMCM to build a large-volume 3D printer for manufacturing its rocket engines.
The Scottish microlauncher startup is currently developing Prime, a two-stage launch vehicle powered by six first-stage and one second-stage biopropane engines.
Maxar remains focused on multiyear diversification strategy
Wednesday, 24 February 2021 20:40 Write a comment
SAN FRANCISCO — Maxar Technologies is continuing to diversify its business but remains in the “early innings” in attracting more defense and intelligence work, said Dan Jablonsky, Maxar president and CEO.
“It’s a multiyear journey that we’re on,” Jablonsky said Feb.
Space Force sees itself as a startup trying to launch a new product
Wednesday, 24 February 2021 19:57 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — The top enlisted leader of the U.S. Space Force compared the service to a startup that is trying to be “a little bit more adventurous” than the established branches of the military.
Comet makes a pit stop near Jupiter's asteroids
Wednesday, 24 February 2021 19:56
Stoke raises seed round to work on fully reusable rockets
Wednesday, 24 February 2021 17:05 Write a comment
WASHINGTON — A startup founded by a group of former Blue Origin and SpaceX employees has raised a seed round of funding to support their effort to make a fully reusable launch vehicle.
Stoke Space Technologies announced Feb.
Book excerpt | Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX
Wednesday, 24 February 2021 16:37 Write a comment
A fat, red sun sank into the Texas horizon as Elon Musk bounded toward a silvery spaceship. Reaching its concrete landing pad, Musk marveled up at the stainless steel, steampunk contraption looming above, which shone brilliantly in the dying light.