Jiuquan, China (AFP) May 29, 2023
China will send its first civilian astronaut into space as part of a crewed mission to the Tiangong space station on Tuesday as it pursues its ambitious plans for a manned lunar landing by 2030. The world's second-largest economy has invested billions of dollars in its military-run space programme, trying to catch up with the United States and Russia after years of belatedly matching their m

Jiuquan, China (AFP) May 29, 2023
China will send its first civilian astronaut into space as part of a crewed mission to the Tiangong space station on Tuesday, the country's Manned Space Agency said. "Payload expert Gui Haichao is a professor at Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics," China Manned Space Agency Spokesperson Lin Xiqiang told reporters Monday. Until now, all Chinese astronauts sent into space h

Beijing, China (SPX) May 29, 2023
The Shenzhou XVI spacecraft, transporting three Chinese astronauts to the Tiangong space station, is slated to launch on Tuesday morning, the China Manned Space Agency has announced. Marking the inaugural mission for China's third generation of astronauts, this event will also represent the first occasion a Chinese civilian ventures beyond Earth's atmosphere. Speaking at a news confe

Oslo, Norway (SPX) May 26, 2023
Planet Labs PBC (NYSE: PL) has announced a partnership with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Space Agency, to build a regional satellite data-driven loss and damage atlas for climate change resilience. The initiative aims to provide data to a select country facing high degrees of climate risk to help build resilience, make informed policy decisions, and stimulate financial programs for climate ada

Washington DC (SPX) May 26, 2023
NASA successfully completed a flight test of its super pressure balloon carrying the Super Pressure Balloon Imaging Telescope (SuperBIT) science mission at 9:27 a.m. EDT, Thursday, May 25, after some 39 days and 14 hours of flight. The mission began at 11:42 a.m., Sunday, April 16 (7:42 p.m. April 15 in U.S. Eastern Time) launching from Wanaka Airport, New Zealand, which is NASA's long-dur

Greenbelt MD (SPX) May 25, 2023
Dr. Alice Agogino was researching spherical, skeletal robots that might one day be dropped onto Mars or the Moon to collect information and conduct science, when she realized her NASA-funded technology could have terrestrial benefits too. Reading a report on the dangers and death toll of disaster response, Agogino thought her robots, fitted with the right sensors, could gather data at the

Boulder CO (SPX) May 25, 2023
China's newest hypersonic missile, the DF-27, can fly as far as Hawaii, penetrate U.S. missile defenses and pose a particular threat to U.S. aircraft carriers, according to news reports of an assessment from the Pentagon. Chinese researchers claimed in a May 2023 research journal report that the country's hypersonic missiles could destroy a U.S. carrier group "with certainty." This capabil

Cleveland OH (SPX) May 25, 2023
NASA has made significant progress toward its goal of creating a more fuel-efficient jet engine core for next-generation sustainable commercial aircraft. In just a year and a half since it began, the Hybrid Thermally Efficient Core (HyTEC) project already is moving forward into the advanced testing required before conducting an engine core demonstration with industry partners. "The first s

Arlington TX (SPX) May 25, 2023
Today, large commercial jets fly around 580 mph. The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird introduced in 1966 is the fastest supersonic jet vehicle in the world, reaching speeds of more than 2,200 mph, nearly four times faster than a commercial jet. The fastest rocket-powered hypersonic vehicle developed in the late 1960s carrying a human has been the North American X-15, reaching a top speed of 4,520

Washington (AFP) May 26, 2023
Neuralink, Elon Musk's brain-implant company, has won US approval to test on humans. Here is what to know about the multi-billionaire's dream project to enable the human brain to communicate directly with computers. - Cyborg future? - Neuralink is a neurotechnology company co-founded by Musk along with a team of scientists and engineers in 2016 to build direct communication channels betw