Musk hopes "Mechazilla" will catch and assemble the Starship and Super Heavy boosters for rapid reuse
Friday, 20 August 2021 10:25
In January of 2021, Elon Musk announced SpaceX's latest plan to increase the number of flights they can mount by drastically reducing turnaround time. The key to this was a new launch tower that would "catch" first stage boosters after they return to Earth. This would forego the need to install landing legs on future Super Heavy boosters and potentially future Starship returning to Earth.
Musk shared this idea in response to a tweet made by an animator who goes by the Twitter handle Erc X, who asked if his latest render (of a Starship landing next to its launch tower) was accurate. As usual, Musk responded via Twitter, saying:
"We're going to try to catch the Super Heavy Booster with the launch tower arm, using the grid fins to take the load… Saves mass & cost of legs & enables immediate repositioning of booster on to launch mount—ready to refly in under an hour."
Mechazilla #SpaceX#Starship@elonmuskpic.twitter.com/0hUWHj1BKe
— Erc X (@ErcXspace) August 13, 2021
The ground crews at SpaceX's South Texas Launch Facility near Boca Chica recently finished stacking the nine sections of bolted steel that make up the tower, which now stands about 145 m (440 ft) tall.
A-74 iceberg near collision with Brunt Ice Shelf
Friday, 20 August 2021 09:15
Image:
New radar images show the A-74 iceberg spinning around the western tip of the Brunt Ice Shelf, brushing slightly against it before continuing southwards. Comet Atlas may have been a blast from the past
Friday, 20 August 2021 08:30
Baltimore MD (SPX) Aug 20, 2021
However, this nameless space visitor is not recorded in any known historical account. So how do astronomers know that there was such an interplanetary intruder?
Enter comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4), which first appeared near the beginning of 2020. Comet ATLAS, first detected by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), operated by the University of Hawaii, quickly met an untimely
However, this nameless space visitor is not recorded in any known historical account. So how do astronomers know that there was such an interplanetary intruder?
Enter comet ATLAS (C/2019 Y4), which first appeared near the beginning of 2020. Comet ATLAS, first detected by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), operated by the University of Hawaii, quickly met an untimely SpaceX 23rd resupply mission will carry bone and plants studies to ISS
Friday, 20 August 2021 08:30
Houston TX (SPX) Aug 20, 2021
The 23rd SpaceX cargo resupply services mission carrying scientific research and technology demonstrations to the International Space Station is targeted to launch in late August from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Experiments aboard include an investigation into protecting bone health with botanical byproducts, testing a way to monitor crew eye health, demonstrating improved dext
The 23rd SpaceX cargo resupply services mission carrying scientific research and technology demonstrations to the International Space Station is targeted to launch in late August from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Experiments aboard include an investigation into protecting bone health with botanical byproducts, testing a way to monitor crew eye health, demonstrating improved dext A 'True' Blue Moon occurs this weekend
Friday, 20 August 2021 08:30
Washington DC (SPX) Aug 20, 2021
The full Moon of Sunday, August 22nd, will be a "Blue Moon" according to the original - but not the most popular - definition of the phrase.
In modern usage, "Blue Moon" has come to refer to the second full Moon in a month (the last of these occurred on October 31, 2020) - but that hasn't always been the case. This colorful term is actually a calendrical goof that worked its way into the p
The full Moon of Sunday, August 22nd, will be a "Blue Moon" according to the original - but not the most popular - definition of the phrase.
In modern usage, "Blue Moon" has come to refer to the second full Moon in a month (the last of these occurred on October 31, 2020) - but that hasn't always been the case. This colorful term is actually a calendrical goof that worked its way into the p Kleos builds its military knowledge under US DOD program
Friday, 20 August 2021 08:30
Luxembourg (SPX) Aug 20, 2021
Kleos Space S.A, a space-powered Radio Frequency Reconnaissance data-as-a- service (DaaS) company, has appointed Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Mario E. Zaltzman as a military advisor
for a 12-week period under a secondment program with the US Department of Defence.
LTC Mario Zaltzman is a member of the US Army Reserve, where he is responsible for critical technology and product acquisitio
Kleos Space S.A, a space-powered Radio Frequency Reconnaissance data-as-a- service (DaaS) company, has appointed Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Mario E. Zaltzman as a military advisor
for a 12-week period under a secondment program with the US Department of Defence.
LTC Mario Zaltzman is a member of the US Army Reserve, where he is responsible for critical technology and product acquisitio Russia's Soyuz Spacecraft Launches 34 New OneWeb Satellites Into Orbit
Friday, 20 August 2021 08:30
Baikonur, Kazakhstan (Sputnik) Aug 20, 2021
Initially, the launch was scheduled for August 5, but due to satellite production problems, it was reportedly postponed, as some devices had to be replaced because of low-quality components at the company's factory in Florida.
Russian space agency Roscosmos will launch a Soyuz 2.1b spaceship with a new batch of 34 UK OneWeb satellites from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Friday night.
Initially, the launch was scheduled for August 5, but due to satellite production problems, it was reportedly postponed, as some devices had to be replaced because of low-quality components at the company's factory in Florida.
Russian space agency Roscosmos will launch a Soyuz 2.1b spaceship with a new batch of 34 UK OneWeb satellites from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Friday night. Vibration tests for Moon rocket help ensure safe travels on road to space
Friday, 20 August 2021 08:30
Huntsville AL (SPX) Aug 20, 2021
Driving down a bumpy gravel road, even an off-road vehicle experiences bumps and vibrations, partly because of the car's natural frequency. An object's natural frequency is the frequency or rate that it vibrates naturally when struck. When forces like speed and the smoothness of the road are just right, the car will vibrate in tune with that same frequency.
Rockets flying through the atmos
Driving down a bumpy gravel road, even an off-road vehicle experiences bumps and vibrations, partly because of the car's natural frequency. An object's natural frequency is the frequency or rate that it vibrates naturally when struck. When forces like speed and the smoothness of the road are just right, the car will vibrate in tune with that same frequency.
Rockets flying through the atmos NASA spacewalk briefing to highlight new solar array installation
Friday, 20 August 2021 08:30
Houston TX (SPX) Aug 20, 2021
Two astronauts will venture outside the International Space Station Tuesday, Aug. 24, for a spacewalk to install a support bracket in preparation for future installation of the orbiting laboratory's third new solar array.
NASA will discuss the upcoming spacewalk during a news conference at 2 p.m. EDT Monday, Aug. 23. Live coverage of the news conference and spacewalk will air on NASA Telev
Two astronauts will venture outside the International Space Station Tuesday, Aug. 24, for a spacewalk to install a support bracket in preparation for future installation of the orbiting laboratory's third new solar array.
NASA will discuss the upcoming spacewalk during a news conference at 2 p.m. EDT Monday, Aug. 23. Live coverage of the news conference and spacewalk will air on NASA Telev Construction begins on NOIRLab Windows on the Universe Center
Friday, 20 August 2021 08:30
Tucson AZ (SPX) Aug 20, 2021
What was once the largest solar observatory in the world is now undergoing a transformation to become a one-of-a-kind facility for sharing the wonders of astronomy with people around the globe. Construction work has started to recast the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope facility at Kitt Peak National Observatory into the NOIRLab Windows on the Universe Center for Astronomy Outreach.
Dedicated
What was once the largest solar observatory in the world is now undergoing a transformation to become a one-of-a-kind facility for sharing the wonders of astronomy with people around the globe. Construction work has started to recast the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope facility at Kitt Peak National Observatory into the NOIRLab Windows on the Universe Center for Astronomy Outreach.
Dedicated Researchers from IRSOL and IAC solve twenty-year-old paradox in solar physics
Friday, 20 August 2021 08:30
Locarno, Switzerland (SPX) Aug 20, 2021
In 1998, the journal Nature published a seminal letter concluding that a mysterious signal, which had been recently discovered analysing the polarization of sunlight, implies that the solar chromosphere (a very important layer of the solar atmosphere) is practically unmagnetised, in sharp contradiction with common wisdom. This paradox motivated laboratory experiments and theoretical investigatio
In 1998, the journal Nature published a seminal letter concluding that a mysterious signal, which had been recently discovered analysing the polarization of sunlight, implies that the solar chromosphere (a very important layer of the solar atmosphere) is practically unmagnetised, in sharp contradiction with common wisdom. This paradox motivated laboratory experiments and theoretical investigatio Scientists detect never-before-seen radio waves from nearby stars and distant galaxies
Friday, 20 August 2021 08:30
Staffordshire, UK (SPX) Aug 20, 2021
Scientists have measured thousands of nearby stars and far away galaxies that have never been identified before at radio wavelengths, while studying a galactic body that neighbours our own Milky Way galaxy - the Large Magellanic Cloud.
Led by Keele University PhD student Clara M. Pennock and Reader in Astrophysics, Dr Jacco van Loon, the international team of researchers used the Australia
Scientists have measured thousands of nearby stars and far away galaxies that have never been identified before at radio wavelengths, while studying a galactic body that neighbours our own Milky Way galaxy - the Large Magellanic Cloud.
Led by Keele University PhD student Clara M. Pennock and Reader in Astrophysics, Dr Jacco van Loon, the international team of researchers used the Australia New chip scale atomic clock best yet for extreme environments
Friday, 20 August 2021 08:30
Chandler AZ (SPX) Aug 20, 2021
Advanced military platforms, ocean-bottom survey systems and remote sensing applications all require precise timing for mission success. Chip Scale Atomic Clocks (CSACs) ensure stable and accurate timing even when Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) time signals are unavailable. Helping industrial and military system designers to meet this requirement, Microchip Technology Inc. has announ
Advanced military platforms, ocean-bottom survey systems and remote sensing applications all require precise timing for mission success. Chip Scale Atomic Clocks (CSACs) ensure stable and accurate timing even when Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) time signals are unavailable. Helping industrial and military system designers to meet this requirement, Microchip Technology Inc. has announ NASA watches water to help grow our groceries
Friday, 20 August 2021 08:30
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Aug 20, 2021
Every day - up to thirty times a day, in fact - one of Mark Mason's employees at Nature's Reward Farms in Monterey County, California brings him the results of a soil test for discussion.
Mason supervises fertilizer and irrigation for the farm's 5,000 acres along California's Central Coast, which is nicknamed "America's Salad Bowl" and is one of the most productive and diverse agricultural
Every day - up to thirty times a day, in fact - one of Mark Mason's employees at Nature's Reward Farms in Monterey County, California brings him the results of a soil test for discussion.
Mason supervises fertilizer and irrigation for the farm's 5,000 acres along California's Central Coast, which is nicknamed "America's Salad Bowl" and is one of the most productive and diverse agricultural FSU researchers refine estimate of amount of carbon in Earth's outer core
Friday, 20 August 2021 08:30
Tallahassee FL (SPX) Aug 20, 2021
New research from Florida State University and Rice University is providing a better estimate of the amount of carbon in the Earth's outer core, and the work suggests the core could be the planet's largest reservoir of that element.
The research, published in the journal Communications Earth and Environment, estimates that 0.3 to 2.0 percent of the Earth's outer core is carbon.
Thoug
New research from Florida State University and Rice University is providing a better estimate of the amount of carbon in the Earth's outer core, and the work suggests the core could be the planet's largest reservoir of that element.
The research, published in the journal Communications Earth and Environment, estimates that 0.3 to 2.0 percent of the Earth's outer core is carbon.
Thoug