Tag: NASA
Tech Digest daily round up: Parler is back, Bitcoin hits $50,000
Controversial social-media app Parler is back online after a month out of service. The Twitter-like app was a favourite among supporters of former US President Donald Trump and right-wing conservatives. It was banned from Google and Apple's app stores and Amazon's web-hosting service, after an armed mob broke into the US Capitol building on 6…
Elon Musk’s SpaceX becomes first private company to launch humans into space
Image copyright: NASA. Doug Hurley (L) and Bob Behnken (R) have flown to space twice before Elon Musk's SpaceX is to make history today when it becomes the first private company to launch humans into space. Although it will take around 10 minutes to reach its initial orbit, the mission has…
Top Tech Stories of the Week: Amazon profits surge, Apple sales up too
Chris Price looks at some of this week's top tech stories as most of the big tech brands announce their quarterly results with Amazon, Apple and Tesla all declaring profits despite Coronavirus slowdown.... Amazon sales up, but Bezos plans record investment Predictably, Amazon sales surged in the first three months of the year, as the…
Boeing capsule completes major flight test in desert
Boeing’s capsule for astronauts has undergone its first major flight test, shooting a mile into the air then parachuting back to the New Mexico desert. The Starliner capsule carried no crew, just a test dummy for the one-and-a-half-minute test of the launch abort system. Only two of the three main parachutes opened, but both NASA…
NASA probe Voyager 2 reaches interstellar space after 42 years
NASA Voyager 2 has reported back with its initial cosmic findings – a year after becoming the second man-made object to “leave” the Solar System. The probe blasted off from Earth 42 years ago – 16 days before its twin spacecraft, Voyager 1 – and crossed the outer edge of the Sun’s protective bubble, known…
First all-female spacewalk makes NASA history
The first ever all-female spacewalk has kicked off at the International Space Station (ISS). US astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir made history as they floated out of the orbiting space laboratory 12 minutes ahead of schedule at 12.38pm BST on October 18 to replace a faulty power unit. This is Ms Koch’s fourth spacewalk…
NASA brings all-female spacewalk forward after space station power failure
NASA has moved the first all-female spacewalk to this week because of a power system failure at the International Space Station. Astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir will now venture out Thursday or Friday, instead of next Monday. A battery power controller failed over the weekend, prompting the change. The women will replace the broken…
Listen to NASA’s InSight lander on Mars
NASA’s InSight lander on Mars has captured the low rumble of marsquakes and a symphony of other otherworldly sounds. Scientists released an audio sampling on Tuesday. The sounds had to be enhanced for humans to hear. InSight’s seismometer has detected more than 100 events, but only 21 are considered strong marsquake candidates. The rest could…
NASA unable to spot India’s lost moon lander
A NASA orbiter circulating the moon was unable to find India’s lost lander in newly released photos around its targeted landing site. The American space agency stepped in to help the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) find Vikram, part of India’s Chandrayaan-2 mission which was meant to make a soft landing on the moon earlier…
UK Space Agency launches scheme for young people
Young people’s chances of being able to engage with the UK space industry has been boosted by the announcement of a new scheme. The UK Space Agency has launched an initiative to help the sector deliver one million engagement activities a year. The sector generates billions of pounds for the economy and creates around 42,000…