“Crew Dragon’s hatch is closed, securing @AstroBehnken and @Astro_Doug in the spacecraft ahead of liftoff,” SpaceX tweeted an hour ago. Livestreaming of the launch has already begun, with liftoff scheduled in about 41 minutes. GeekWire reports: If liftoff from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida occurs today at 3:22 p.m. ET (12:22 p.m. PT), it’ll be a feat that America hasn’t…
Tag: pt
Virgin Orbit’s First Orbital Test Flight Cut Short After Rocket Released from Carrier Aircraft
An anonymous reader shares a report: On Monday, Virgin Orbit attempted the first full flight of its orbital payload launch system, which includes a modified Boeing 747 called ‘Cosmic Girl’ that acts as a carrier aircraft for its air-launched rocket LauncherOne. While Virgin Orbit has flown Cosmic Girl and LauncherOne previously for different tests and demonstrations, this was the first end-to-end…
This May the 4th Gets Unusual Celebrations For ‘Star Wars Day’
Star Wars Day “is getting a virtual convention,” reports Movieweb.
Reedpop, the organization behind New York Comic-Con and Star Wars Celebration have put the convention together… The two-day event is called An Online Revelry: May the 4th Be With You and Revenge of the 5th celebration. Star Wars fans can expect all kinds of activities to take part in, right from the…
Facing Criticism, Germany Switches to Google/Apple’s Decentralized Contact Tracing
“Germany changed course on Sunday over which type of smartphone technology it wanted to use to trace coronavirus infections,” reports Reuters, “backing an approach supported by Apple and Google along with a growing number of other European countries.” Chancellery Minister Helge Braun and Health Minister Jens Spahn said in a joint statement that Berlin would adopt a “decentralised” approach to digital…
Elon Musk Releases an Electronic Dance Music Song
CNET shares “the latest, strangest news from the world of Elon Musk…electronic dance music?” It’s the second song he’s released on Emo G Records’ Soundcloud page following 2019’s RIP Harambe. On Thursday, Musk posted a series of tweets suggesting he’d written a song he was calling “Don’t doubt yer vibe” and was releasing it on Emo G Records. There was a…
‘Watch SpaceX Blow Up a Falcon 9 Rocket in a Safety Test Saturday’
“SpaceX is setting out to prove a critical safety system will be able to save astronaut lives in the event of a launch emergency during ascent,” reports CNET: The Crew Dragon in-flight abort test is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 18. This is a required step before NASA will allow astronauts to fly to the International Space Station in the SpaceX capsule…