Tag: Space Exploration

Former Google chief Eric Schmidt takes the reins at rocket startup Relativity Space

NeRD

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has assumed the top job at an ambitious launch startup. Schmidt, who led Google from 2001 to 2011, has been named CEO at Relativity Space, a California company that’s building a rocket to compete with SpaceX and other major players in the launch industry. Schmidt, who’s worth about $33 billion, has also made a “significant” financial investment in Relativity Space, according to The New York Times, which broke the story on Monday (March 10). Former CEO & Chairman of Google Eric Schmidt speaks at Chainlink’s…

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Tom Hanks at ‘Moonwalkers’ film premiere predicts getting busy on moon

NeRD

Tom Hanks said he knows for certain there are two things that are going to happen in the future of space exploration. One, the day will come at some point when astronauts land on the moon and are greeted by other humans just like them, signaling that we have moved from the moon being a place we just visit to it being a home. The other — well, it is probably best to hear it straight from him. “Forgive my language, but someone’s going to get knocked up,” said Hanks,…

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SpaceX calls off Crew-10 astronaut launch for NASA due to hydraulics issue (video)

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SpaceX won’t launch its next astronaut mission for NASA today (March 12) after all. The company had planned to send the four-person Crew-10 mission toward the International Space Station (ISS) atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida this evening at 7:48 p.m. EDT (2348 GMT). About 45 minutes before liftoff, however, SpaceX called the attempt off due to a hydraulics issue with the transporter-erector, the structure that hauls the Falcon 9 to the pad and supports it once it’s there. “Great working with you today,” Crew-10…

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SpaceX Crew-10 astronauts depart for launch pad ahead of liftoff (video, photos)

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Update for 7:50 pm ET: SpaceX called off its planned launch of the Crew-10 astronaut mission for NASA due to a hydraulics issue with a clamp device on ground equipment securing the crew’s Falcon 9 rocket to the launch pad. Read our wrap story on today’s launch attempt. CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Members of the SpaceX Crew-10 mission are bound for the launch pad ahead of their journey to space. NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, as well as JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos…

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SpaceX rocket launches NASA SPHEREx space telescope and PUNCH solar probes (video)

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There was a glimmer in the air tonight at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, and it wasn’t only because a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket took to the skies carrying precious NASA cargo. As the agency’s SPHEREx space telescope and PUNCH solar mission rode toward their orbital stations tonight (March 11) at 11:10 p.m. EST (0310 March 12 GMT), members of mission control appeared elated, onlookers who caught a peek at the liftoff cheered, and the scientists who built these missions exuded a blend of relief and excitement. “I am…

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Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 jet flew in front of the sun so NASA could take this incredible shock wave photo

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NASA and Boom Supersonic just released an incredible photo capturing a shockwave emanating from the dark silhouette of the supersonic XB-1 aircraft while it traveled in front of the sun during a Feb. 10 test flight during which it broke the sound barrier three times. “This image makes the invisible visible — the first American made civil supersonic jet breaking the sound barrier,” Blake Scholl, Boom Supersonic founder and CEO, said in a statement. The photo was no accident. It required ideal conditions and perfect timing. Chief test pilot Tristan…

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NASA cutting programs, workforce to comply with Trump order

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NASA will close several offices and reduce its workforce to comply with an executive order from President Donald Trump. NASA‘s Office of Technology, Policy and Strategy will be shuttered, as will the Office of the Chief Scientist, and the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) and Accessibility Branch of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the agency announced in an emailed statement today (March 10). “To optimize our workforce, and in compliance with an Executive Order, NASA is beginning its phased approach to a reduction in force, known as a RIF,”…

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Scientists discover simpler way to achieve Einstein’s ‘spooky action at a distance’ thanks to AI breakthrough — bringing quantum internet closer to reality

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Scientists have used AI to discover an easier method to form quantum entanglement between subatomic particles, paving the way for simpler quantum technologies. When particles such as photons become entangled, they can share quantum properties — including information — regardless of the distance between them. This phenomenon is important in quantum physics and is one of the features that makes quantum computers so powerful. But the bonds of quantum entanglement have typically proven challenging for scientists to form. This is because it requires the preparation of two separate entangled pairs,…

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Property and sovereignty in space: Countries and companies face potential clashes as they take to the stars

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This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com’s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Wayne N White Jr consults with One Space Technologies Inc. He is a member and former Director of The National Space Society and an Associate Fellow of AIAA. Private citizens and companies may one day begin to permanently settle outer space and celestial bodies. But if we don’t enact governing laws in the meantime, space settlers may face legal chaos. Many wars on Earth start over territorial disputes. In order…

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Is there life out there? The existence of other technological species is highly likely

NeRD

We live in a golden age for space exploration. Scientists are gathering massive amounts of new information and scientific evidence at a record pace. Yet the age-old question remains unanswered: are we alone? New telescope technologies, including space-based tools such as the James Webb Telescope, have enabled us to discover thousands of potentially habitable exoplanets that could support life similar to that on Earth. Gravitational wave detectors have opened a new avenue for space exploration by detecting space-time distortions caused by black holes and supernovae millions of light-years away. Commercial…

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