All posts tagged: Space industry

Warren questions SpaceX IPO oversight in new letter to stock indexes

Warren questions SpaceX IPO oversight in new letter to stock indexes

Published by Sam Flores

Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, speaks to members of the media in the Senate Subway at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, May 19, 2026. Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is raising concerns about whether recent rule changes at stock indexes cleared the way for SpaceX — and potentially OpenAI and Anthropic — to be included in indexes without some of the typical safeguards for investors. The letter to the heads of the Nasdaq, S&P Dow Jones Indices, FTSE Russell and Morningstar Indexes sent on Thursday asked the companies whether they had made or considered rule changes based on lobbying from Elon Musk, other SpaceX officials or officials from OpenAI or Anthropic, and asked for any communications between the companies and the indexes. CNBC is first to report the letter. Warren also detailed changes, or proposed changes the indexes had considered, including fast-tracking newly listed stocks into top indexes. “The changes to your index rules to accommodate these large companies, however, have the potential …

NASA Artemis II captures solar eclipse during moon flyby

NASA Artemis II captures solar eclipse during moon flyby

Published by Sam Flores

The crew of Artemis II captured what NASA’s chief called an “absolutely stunning” photo of the moon eclipsing the sun, as the spacecraft broke Apollo 13’s 56-year-old record for the longest distance traveled by humans from Earth. “This is not AI,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday. “This is why we do what we do,” said Isaacman, as Artemis II continued heading back home to Earth. The White House posted the photo taken Monday by Artemis II, and NASA released other photos from the Orion capsule, which conducted a six-hour flyby of the moon with four astronauts on board. Artemis II view of the moon eclipsing the sun. NASA Isaacman said, “I just looked at the pictures about five minutes before getting on … this interview, and I would just say they looked absolutely stunning.” Artemis’ crew “mentioned this last night during the webcast that they don’t know if human eyes are ready to see what they’ve captured,” he said. A view of the Moon as the …

Senate confirms private astronaut, Musk ally Jared Isaacman as NASA chief

Senate confirms private astronaut, Musk ally Jared Isaacman as NASA chief

Published by Sam Flores

Jared Isaacman, U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee to be administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) testifies during a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 9, 2025. Ken Cedeno | Reuters The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman to become President Donald Trump’s NASA administrator, making an advocate of Mars missions and a former associate of SpaceX CEO Elon Musk the space agency’s 15th leader. The vote on Isaacman, who Trump removed and then renamed as NASA administrator nominee this year, passed 67-30, two weeks after he told senators in his second hearing that NASA must pick up the pace in beating China back to the moon this decade. Acting NASA chief Sean Duffy, who also leads the U.S. Transportation Department, congratulated Isaacman on X, wishing Isaacman “success as he begins his tenure and leads NASA as we go back to the Moon in 2028 and beat China.” Source link

Artemis II: The 4 astronauts NASA picked for moon mission

Artemis II: The 4 astronauts NASA picked for moon mission

Published by Sam Flores

Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. CNN  —  Astronauts who will helm the first crewed moon mission in five decades were revealed on Monday, queuing up the quartet to begin training for the historic Artemis II lunar flyby that is set to take off in November 2024. The astronauts are NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency. Wiseman is a 47-year-old decorated naval aviator and test pilot who was first selected to be a NASA astronaut in 2009. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, he’s completed one prior spaceflight, a 165-day trip to the International Space Station that had launched aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket in 2014. Most recently, Wiseman served as chief of the astronaut office before stepping down in November 2022, making him eligible for a flight assignment. Wiseman will serve as commander of the Artemis II mission. Hansen, 47, is a fighter pilot who was selected by the Canadian Space …

Girls to design Africa’s first private space satellite

Girls to design Africa’s first private space satellite

Published by skeptic

Story highlights Africa will launch its first private satellite into space It’s been built by schoolgirls CNN  —  They may be teenagers, but 17-year-old Brittany Bull and 16-year-old Sesam Mngqengqiswa have grand ambitions – to launch Africa’s first private satellite into space in 2019. They are part of a team of high school girls from Cape Town, South Africa, who have designed and built payloads for a satellite that will orbit over the earth’s poles scanning Africa’s surface. Once in space, the satellite will collect information on agriculture, and food security within the continent. Using the data transmitted, “we can try to determine and predict the problems Africa will be facing in the future”, explains Bull, a student at Pelican Park High School. “Where our food is growing, where we can plant more trees and vegetation and also how we can monitor remote areas,” she says. “We have a lot of forest fires and floods but we don’t always get out there in time.” Information received twice a day will go towards disaster prevention. It’s …

This NASA astronaut voted from space

This NASA astronaut voted from space

Published by skeptic

Story highlights Shane Kimbrough is a NASA astronaut He voted in the 2016 election CNN  —  From infinity and beyond, he found a way to vote. Shane Kimbrough, a NASA astronaut currently living on board the International Space Station, filed his ballot in Tuesday’s presidential election, according to a Tumblr post by NASA. NASA told Yahoo News that Kimbrough filed his ballot in the 2016 election from the space station sometime over the past few days. For astronauts who will be in space on Election Day, the voting process starts a year before launch. At that time, they are able to select the elections in which they want to participate. Then, six months before the election, astronauts are provided with the form “Voter Registration and Absentee Ballot Request – Federal Post Card Application.” NASA astronaut David Wolf was the first American to vote in space while on the Russian Mir Space Station in a 1997 local election, according to NPR. Source link

Space travel: Going to space is a real pain in the back

Space travel: Going to space is a real pain in the back

Published by skeptic

Story highlights Astronauts can temporarily gain 2 inches in height but suffer muscle loss and back pain More countermeasures involving exercise may help mitigate pain and muscle loss CNN  —  A six-month stay on the International Space Station can be a pain in the back for astronauts. While they may gain up to 2 inches in height temporarily, that effect is accompanied by a weakening of the muscles supporting the spine, according to a new study. Astronauts have been reporting back pain since the late 1980s, when space missions grew longer. Their flight medical data show that more than half of US astronauts have reported back pain, especially in their lower backs. Up to 28% indicated that it was moderate to severe pain, sometimes lasting the duration of their mission. Things don’t improve when they return to Earth’s gravity. In the first year after their mission, astronauts have a 4.3 times higher risk of a herniated disc. “It’s sort of an ongoing problem that has been a significant one with cause for concern,” said Dr. …