Warp drives could generate gravitational waves
Monday, 17 June 2024 17:18
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Will future humans use warp drives to explore the cosmos? We're in no position to eliminate the possibility. But if our distant descendants ever do, it won't involve dilithium crystals, and Scottish accents will have evaporated into history by then.
Warp drives have their roots in one of the most popular science fiction franchises ever, but they do have a scientific basis. A new paper examines the science behind them and asks if a warp drive containment failure would emit detectable gravitational waves.
The paper is titled "What no one has seen before: gravitational waveforms from warp drive collapse," and it is posted to the arXiv preprint server. The authors are Katy Clough, Tim Dietrich, and Sebastian Khan, physicists from institutions in the U.K.
Cells grown in microgravity show 3D structures that could be used in medicine
Monday, 17 June 2024 17:01 Write a comment
Humanity is on the verge of entering a new era of space exploration, with the Artemis III mission planning to return humans to the moon in 2026, for the first time in 50 years. Not only will Artemis see a woman and a person of color walk on the lunar surface for the first time, but the week-long mission to the south pole of the moon will begin a period of longer and longer stays in space.
This means that the impact of space environments on human health needs to be thoroughly investigated. This includes understanding the effect of "weightlessness" due to the microgravity found in space on physiology. While this seems to be negative, scientists are also investigating the impact of microgravity on cells, which suggests that microgravity can be advantageous.
NASA again delays Boeing Starliner's return home
Monday, 17 June 2024 12:23 Write a comment
NASA said June 14 that the Boeing Starliner and its crew will now return to Earth from the International Space Station no earlier than Saturday, June 22.
"The extra time allows the team to finalize departure planning and operations while the spacecraft remains cleared for crew emergency return scenarios within the flight rules," NASA said on its Kennedy Space Center blog.
The Starliner's test mission launched on June 5 from KSC with astronauts Butch Whitmore and Suni Williams. During its journey to the ISS, helium leaks were found in the spacecraft's thruster system.
Earlier in the week, NASA said its teams were continuing to assess what impacts, if any, the five small helium leaks would have on Whitmore's and Williams' return to Earth. At that time, the space agency scheduled Starliner's return for Tuesday, June 18, "pending weather and spacecraft readiness."
NASA has said that engineers had determined the helium leaks shouldn't impact Starliner's return. The agency said the craft had enough helium for 70 hours of free flight time when only seven hours would be required as part of its journey home.
Redwire wins contract for VLEO demonstration
Monday, 17 June 2024 10:30
Rocket Lab to Expand Semiconductor Production for Spacecraft with CHIPS Act Funding
Monday, 17 June 2024 09:00 Write a comment
Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) has announced the signing of a non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms (PMT) with the Department of Commerce to receive up to $23.9M in funding under the CHIPS and Science Act. The investment aims to increase Rocket Lab's production of compound semiconductors for spacecraft and satellites by expanding and modernizing its facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico Montana ballooning project confirms hypothesis about eclipse effects on atmosphere
Monday, 17 June 2024 09:00 Write a comment
A Montana State University researcher has announced the first confirmed detection of eclipse-induced gravity waves in Earth's stratosphere in data collected by students participating in an MSU-led nationwide atmospheric science program.
Angela Des Jardins, director of the Montana Space Grant Consortium and an associate professor in the Department of Physics in MSU's College of Letters and Heat-Resistant Metal Alloys Under Study
Monday, 17 June 2024 09:00 Write a comment
Stainless steel owes its popularity to the metal chromium, which reacts with oxygen to form a protective layer. Scientists and engineers now aim to design alloys that withstand extreme environments, such as those in nuclear fusion reactors and high-temperature jet engines. They are experimenting with multi-principal element alloys or medium- to high-entropy alloys. These alloys combine many meta Just thinking about a location activates mental maps in the brain
Monday, 17 June 2024 09:00 Write a comment
As you travel your usual route to work or the grocery store, your brain engages cognitive maps stored in your hippocampus and entorhinal cortex. These maps store information about paths you have taken and locations you have been to before, so you can navigate whenever you go there.
New research from MIT has found that such mental maps also are created and activated when you merely think ab Fired SpaceX workers sue Elon Musk over workplace abuses
Monday, 17 June 2024 09:00 Write a comment
Workers fired by SpaceX filed a lawsuit Wednesday accusing Elon Musk of fostering a sexist "Dark Ages" culture at the company he founded.
The civil complaint filed in a California court in Los Angeles contends Musk had the workers terminated after they published an open letter detailing their concerns and calling on the American aerospace firm's board to distance itself from the SpaceX chief ESA Impact 2024 – June Council Edition
Monday, 17 June 2024 07:30 Write a comment
ESA Impact 2024 – June Council Edition
ESA Impact Council Edition: Spotlight on recent milestones
Moving the Ariane 6 upper part to the launch pad for first flight
Monday, 17 June 2024 07:29 Write a comment
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Moving the Ariane 6 upper part to the launch pad for first flight China takes small step towards the moon with rocket test
Monday, 17 June 2024 07:18
Preparing ESA's Arctic Weather Satellite for liftoff
Monday, 17 June 2024 07:12 Write a comment
With ESA’s Arctic Weather Satellite due to launch in a few weeks, the satellite is now at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California being readied for its big day. Once in orbit, this new mission will show how short-term weather forecasts in the Arctic and beyond could be improved.
Immune System Changes During Space Travel Could Affect Aging on Earth
Monday, 17 June 2024 05:08 Write a comment
As long as humans have been traveling into space, astronauts have experienced significant health effects from the extreme conditions of space flight, notably the reduction of gravity.
Two Buck scientists led a team that has revealed for the first time how the lack of gravity affects the cells of the immune system at single cell resolution. As co-senior authors, along with Christopher E. Ma