SpaceX has launched another batch of its Starlink satellites — the usual complement of 60 of the low Earth orbit spacecraft, which will join the more than 1,000 already making up the existing constellation. This is the fifth launch of Starlink satellites for SpaceX this year, and the 20th overall. From a report: Earlier this year, SpaceX opened up Starlink access…
Tag: Texas
SpaceX Mars Prototype Rocket Nails Landing For the First Time, But Explodes On Pad
A SpaceX rocket prototype, known as SN10, soared over South Texas during test flight Wednesday before swooping down to a pinpoint landing near its launch site. Approximately three minutes after landing, however, multiple independent video feeds showed the rocket exploding on its landing pad. CNN reports: SpaceX’s SN10, an early prototype of the company’s Starship Mars rocket, took off around 5:15…
SpaceX successfully landed its giant Starship, but it exploded a few minutes later
We’ve got good news and bad news about the latest explosive SpaceX Starship test in Boca Chica, Texas. Source: https://www.livescience.com/starship-sn10-lands-then-explodes.html
Watch SpaceX launch and (hopefully) land its giant 10th Starship prototype today
SpaceX looks set to launch yet another Starship prototype over Texas today. Two previous tests ended in explosions. Source: https://www.livescience.com/spacex-starship-test-sn10.html
Asteroid dust in Chicxulub crater seals deal on dino extinction
Scientists examined rock cores taken from the Chicxulub crater in Mexico, site of the asteroid impact that triggered dinosaur extinction, and found iridium, a telltale sign of asteroids. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/asteroid-dust-iridium-chicxulub-crater-dinosaur-extinction…
Are Texas Blackouts a Warning About the Follow-on Effects of Climate Change?
This week in America, “continent-spanning winter storms triggered blackouts in Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi and several other states,” reports the New York Times. But that was just the beginning… One-third of oil production in the nation was halted. Drinking-water systems in Ohio were knocked offline. Road networks nationwide were paralyzed and vaccination efforts in 20 states were disrupted. The crisis carries a…
Elon Musk Co-Authors COVID-19 Paper Accepted For Publication In ‘Nature’
Slashdot reader Rei writes: On 15 February, 2021, the paper Discrete SARS-CoV-2 antibody titers track with functional humoral stability was accepted for publication by the prestigious journal Nature — interesting not only for being a large-cohort study on COVID-19 reinfection, but for the presence of one of its coauthors: one Elon Reeve Musk. According to reporting, Musk — concerned in April…
Why thousands of turtles were paralyzed off the coast of Texas this week
Here’s why thousands of sea turtles were paralyzed in the frigid waters along the Texas coastline during the unprecedented winter storm that swept across the country this week. Source: https://www.livescience.com/sea-turtles-paralyzed-winter-storm.html
Texas Was ‘Seconds and Minutes’ Away From Catastrophic Monthslong Blackouts, Officials Say
Texas’ power grid was “seconds and minutes” away from a catastrophic failure that could have left Texans in the dark for months, officials with the entity that operates the grid said yesterday. Texas Tribune reports: As millions of customers throughout the state begin to have power restored after days of massive blackouts, officials with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or…
Meet Elizabeth Ann, the First Cloned Black-Footed Ferret
Her birth represents the first cloning of an endangered species native to North America, and may bring needed genetic diversity to the species. From a report: Last year, Ben Novak drove across the country to spend New Year’s Eve with a black-footed ferret. Elizabeth Ann had just turned 21 days old — surely a milestone for any ferret but a particularly…