All posts tagged: space

Japanese space tech startup Letara expands beyond satellite thrusters with M

Japanese space tech startup Letara expands beyond satellite thrusters with $16M

Published by skeptic

Japan is pouring billions of dollars into its burgeoning space industry and easing restrictions on defense exports, efforts designed to build a homegrown aerospace sector filled with domestic startups that have a global reach. Letara, a Sapporo-based startup developing hybrid propulsion systems for spacecraft, is looking to capitalize on that push. After focusing on hybrid thrusters for small satellites, the company now plans to develop large rocket systems for the space, defense, and security markets, company’s co-CEO Shota Hirai told TechCrunch. That expansion is being fueled by ¥2.6 billion (~$16 million) in new funding that comes as the startup tries to turn years of academic research and demonstrations into a commercial business. The round was co-led by Headline Asia, JIC Venture Growth Investment and Incubate Fund with participation from strategic investors including NES (Networked Energy Services) Corporation, an energy company; Toyoda Gosei, a Toyota Group supplier of rubber and plastic automotive components; and Frontier Innovations, an investment fund managed by Frontier Innovations and backed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Japan’s space agency. “With …

Researchers Seem to Have Figured Out Why It’s Harder to Poop in Space

Researchers Seem to Have Figured Out Why It’s Harder to Poop in Space

Published by skeptic

Most people experience constipation at some point in their lives. For astronauts, it’s a common occurrence. The problem is that no one knew exactly why. Now, science seems to have figured out the No. 1 reason why astronauts have problems going No. 2 in space. Research dating back nearly three decades has explored the effects of low- or zero-gravity environments on human digestion. A new study published in Nature by researchers at the University of Copenhagen working in tandem with NASA suggests that because astronauts spend so much time in microgravity, this state of near weightlessness causes food to move more slowly through the gut. To carry out the study, researchers took samples from 52 astronauts who had spent months aboard the International Space Station. They found that time in space significantly affected their gut microbiomes, likely leading to constipation and other gastrointestinal problems.  Here’s how it works. The gut microbiome generally breaks down carbohydrates and fiber first as its main energy source. Without gravity, however, food moves much more slowly through an astronaut’s digestive tract. …

The Download: threats from space mirrors and credit for AI drugs

The Download: threats from space mirrors and credit for AI drugs

Published by skeptic

Later this year, Reflect Orbital plans to launch a test satellite that will extend an 18-by-18-meter mirror in orbit. The goal is to eventually launch up to 50,000 larger satellites that can reflect sunlight to Earth on demand. Reflect Orbital says the technology could extend sunlight for solar panel charging, emergency response, and military activities. But new research suggests the giant beams could shine as bright as 10,000 full moons and scatter light over tens of kilometers, raising concerns about dark skies, aviation, and wildlife. Read the full story on the fierce debate over the space mirrors. —Jonathan O’Callaghan When AI designs a drug, who gets the credit? When Insilico Medicine used its computer models to propose a promising drug for pulmonary fibrosis, it enthusiastically claimed that the molecule had been “discovered by” generative AI. But when it filed a patent, the company made no mention of AI. Instead, it named five humans as the drug’s “inventors.” The discrepancy points to a fascinating wrinkle in intellectual-property law. No matter how fundamental an AI is to …

The Download: threats from space mirrors and credit for AI drugs

This company’s plans to deploy space mirrors could jeopardize the night sky for many

Published by skeptic

Reflect Orbital CEO Ben Nowack disagrees with the findings of Kocifaj’s paper. “Some assumptions are simply inaccurate,” he says. “The critical point is that our safeguards, including maintaining exclusion zones, take account of scattering.” He says that the company has “engaged substantively with legitimate concerns raised by astronomers, environmental researchers, and scientists,” and that their feedback has “informed our technology and operational plans.” Kocifaj says that Reflect Orbital has not provided data to back up its claims. The company “states that safeguards exist, that scattering is taken into account, and that the models are being updated, but it gives no numbers, no description of the model, no assumptions, and no data,” he says. “There is therefore nothing that can be engaged with technically. Our calculations produce concrete figures.” Reflect Orbital’s intention is to place its satellites into highly inclined orbits above Earth, almost from pole to pole. This will enable them to reflect sunlight in the hours before sunrise and after sunset, extending daylight hours in certain locations. Eventually, the company has said, it wants …

Invited media, military members held at gunpoint by Space Force security

Invited media, military members held at gunpoint by Space Force security

Published by Sam Flores

Five journalists and the two military members escorting them to an event at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., this week were briefly detained at gunpoint by security police who believed they were gate crashers, according to the local media affected. The Monday incident happened ahead of an invitation-only groundbreaking for a new training facility for… Source link

Space telescope to burn in Earth’s atmosphere after NASA rescue mission fails

Space telescope to burn in Earth’s atmosphere after NASA rescue mission fails

Published by Sam Flores

A complicated mission to save a NASA satellite from burning up in the atmosphere has failed, the US space agency said Wednesday, as the rescue spacecraft could not be controlled. The Swift space telescope, which studies the most powerful explosions in the universe, will now likely plunge back to Earth and disintegrate along the way later this year. The unprecedented $30 million dollar mission attempted to send a robot to grab the telescope and move it farther into orbit. “This is not the outcome we were working toward, but it does not change why this mission was worth attempting,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said. Read moreNASA robot rescue mission sets sights on a space telescope plummeting to Earth Planners had hoped the mission would pave the way for giving other satellites a second life. “The team moved with extraordinary speed to give Swift a chance to carry out more science while advancing capabilities America will need for satellite servicing in the future,” Isaacman added. Developed by American startup Katalyst, the unmanned spacecraft was launched on July 3 by a …

Extreme X-rays from a magnetar exposes that empty space may not be empty

Extreme X-rays from a magnetar exposes that empty space may not be empty

Published by Jenni Sidey

A highly magnetized neutron star produced unusually polarized X-rays, offering some of the strongest evidence yet that empty space can change how light travels. The star’s extreme magnetic field may be affecting short-lived particle pairs in the quantum vacuum, keeping the X-rays strongly aligned with the magnetic field. The signal is not yet a definitive detection. More X-ray observations and improved simulations will be needed to confirm whether vacuum birefringence is responsible. A magnetar with a magnetic field trillions of times stronger than Earth’s has produced an unusually polarized X-ray signal, giving astronomers some of their strongest evidence yet that empty space can alter how light travels. The effect, called vacuum birefringence, comes from quantum electrodynamics, or QED. The theory predicts that a vacuum is not truly empty. Virtual electron-positron pairs can briefly appear, and an intense magnetic field can affect how different orientations of light move through that quantum vacuum. The new observations focus on 1E 1547.0−5408, a magnetar with a 2.09-second spin period and a surface equatorial magnetic field of about 2.2 × …

The best packing cubes in the UK to save space and travel smarter – tested on real trips | Travel

The best packing cubes in the UK to save space and travel smarter – tested on real trips | Travel

Published by Sam Flores

Nightmarish scenes reminiscent of a Hieronymus Bosch painting used to erupt whenever I travelled with a case. Skirts and shirt sleeves slithered out from under compression straps, worn clothes frolicked with unworn clothes in the lid compartment, and even the best suitcases would sometimes leave my clothing creased and jumbled. Packing cubes have changed all that. Boxy, zippable and small to varying degrees, these organisation accessories are designed to keep items neat and separate inside a suitcase or bag. Luggage organisation accessories have been around for decades, but only in recent years has interest in packing cubes boomed. Formerly the preserve of travel aficionados, they’re now part of mainstream travel, borne on a wave of social media recommendations and celebrity endorsements. You’ll often find packing cubes sold as a set, with assorted sizes to suit different types of luggage (such as larger cubes for shirts, dresses or trousers, and smaller ones for socks and underwear). Most are a soft-sided cuboid shape, so packing cube is a misnomer. Some brands call them “packing cells”. As products …