Axiom Space, SpaceX change the landscape of private spaceflight with Ax-1 mission

Four private astronauts made history today (April 25), splashing safely down on Earth after completing the first fully private crewed mission aboard the International Space Station.  Today, a SpaceX Dragon capsule splashed down off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida, ending the Ax-1 mission that Texas-based aerospace company Axiom Space launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on April 8.  During a post-splashdown news conference today, representatives of both Axiom and SpaceX shared their thoughts on how this historic mission could shape the future of private spaceflight. “There were a lot of…

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Elon Musk is buying Twitter for $44 billion

It’s official: Elon Musk is buying Twitter. The billionaire SpaceX and Tesla CEO will acquire the social media platform for $54.20 per share in a deal worth about $44 billion, Twitter representatives announced today (April 25). “Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,” Musk said in a statement.  “I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase…

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Large Hadron Collider hits world record proton acceleration

The newly-upgraded Large Hadron Collider (LHC) just broke a world record with its proton beams. The LHC, located at CERN near Geneva, Switzerland, restarted on Friday (April 22) after a planned, three-year hiatus during which a number of upgrades were made to the facility. These improvements are already being put to the test and, in restarting and preparing for its new operating phase, called Run 3, the LHC has already beaten a previous record.  This particle accelerator is both the largest and most powerful in the world. And, in a…

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Watch SpaceX’s Private Ax-1 astronaut mission leave the space station tonight

Update for April 24, 8:50 pm ET: The Ax-1 astronaut crew’s undocking is on track, but running a bit behind. It is now targeted for 9:10 p.m. EDT (0110 April 25 GMT), with a splashdown planned for Monday at 1 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT). The first-ever all-private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS) is about to head for home, and you can watch the departure live. A SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying the four crewmembers of the Ax-1 mission is scheduled to leave the orbiting lab today (April 23)…

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Large Hadron Collider restarts to push physics to the edge

Scientists overseeing the largest particle accelerator on Earth switched it on for the first time in three years this weekend to solve some of the biggest mysteries in physics.  The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the powerful particle accelerator located at CERN near Geneva, Switzerland, restarted on Friday (April 22) after a three-year shutdown for maintenance and upgrades. The reactivation kicked off what scientists call Run 3, the LHC’s third science run, which will perform experiments through 2024.  “The machines and facilities underwent major upgrades during the second long shutdown of…

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