Science

Magnetic prosthetic: A magnetic sensing array enables a new tissue tracking strategy that could offer advanced motion control in artificial limbs. (Courtesy: MIT Media Lab/Cameron Taylor/Vessel Studios) In recent years, health and fitness wearables have gained popularity as platforms to wirelessly track daily physical activities, by counting steps, for example, or recording heartbeats directly from

WAILEA, Hawaii — A Space Force general endorsed the development of commercial systems for removing space debris, saying they can address congestion in Earth orbit without the policy concerns a government-run alternative might have. Maj. Gen. DeAnna Burt, vice commander of the Space Force’s Space Operations Command, told an audience of space traffic management experts

KIHEI, Hawaii — SpaceX’s first fully commercial Crew Dragon mission is being closely watched by both NASA and other companies in the commercial human spaceflight sector, who see it as a pathfinder for future missions but not necessity a model for them. SpaceX is scheduled to launch the Inspiration4 mission on a Falcon 9 from

Left behind: many fear that science in Afghanistan may not exist in the foreseeable future after the Taliban regime took power in the country in August (Courtesy: Karel Prinsloo/AP/Shutterstock) Calls have been made to help scientists in Afghanistan after the country was plunged into chaos in August when the Taliban regime took power in the

TAMPA, Fla. — OneWeb is about halfway through deploying its low Earth orbit constellation, after Arianespace successfully launched another 34 satellites for the broadband operator Sept. 14. The satellites launched on a Soyuz rocket at 2:07 p.m. Eastern from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, expanding OneWeb’s network to 322 satellites of a planned 648-strong constellation. Arianespace said

TAMPA, Fla. — Newly listed small satellite constellation operator Spire Global is buying Canadian ship-tracking company exactEarth in its first major acquisition, inflating expectations of more space consolidation amid a surge of companies going public. Vienna, Virginia-based Spire, which provides data-gathering and analysis services in maritime and other markets with more than 110 Lemur satellites

Wavelia microwave breast imaging: coronal breast section (left); full 3D microwave breast image (right). (Courtesy: MVG Industries) Microwave breast imaging (MBI) represents a promising non-invasive technology for detection of breast tumours. It does not utilize ionizing radiation nor require breast compression, potentially offering a safer and more comfortable method for breast cancer screening. As of

WASHINGTON — SpaceX launched its first dedicated polar Starlink mission Sept. 13 as the company moves into the next phase of deployment of its broadband satellite constellation. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 11:55 p.m. Eastern. The rocket’s payload of 51 Starlink satellites

BlackSky is projected to earn $40 million this year and is forecasting to more than double that amount next year WASHINGTON — BlackSky CEO Brian O’Toole on Sept. 13 rang the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange. The satellite imagery and geospatial data provider began trading on the NYSE on Friday, a day

Smart fabric: Yifan Wang bending the nylon chain mail, encased in a plastic envelope and vacuum-packed, which makes it 25 times stiffer than when under ambient conditions. (Courtesy: NTU Singapore) Physicists have designed a chain mail fabric that is easily foldable in normal conditions but becomes much stiffer when compressed. The lightweight and tuneable fabric

WASHINGTON — Virgin Galactic is further delaying its next SpaceShipTwo suborbital flight in order to check a potential issue the company says is unrelated to an ongoing Federal Aviation Administration investigation. In a statement issued late Sept. 10, Virgin Galactic said a third-party supplier, which it did not identify, notified the company of a potential

WASHINGTON — SpaceX is gearing up for its first purely commercial human spaceflight, but many details about the mission remain unclear. A SpaceX Falcon 9 is scheduled to launch a Crew Dragon spacecraft on the Inspiration4 mission next week. Four people will fly on the mission, announced in February, spending three days in orbit but

Wisdom of crowds: this year’s Ig Nobel physics prize highlights human’s ability to navigate busy places. (Courtesy: iStock/Nikada) The Nobel Prize for Physics is almost upon us, but before we know who is heading to Stockholm (maybe via Zoom again), the Ig Nobel prizes take the limelight. Meant to make you “first laugh, then think”,

WASHINGTON — NASA has selected SpaceX to launch the last in a series of geostationary weather satellites that had previously been launched by United Launch Alliance. NASA announced Sept. 10 that it awarded a contract to SpaceX for the Falcon Heavy launch of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) U spacecraft. The launch is scheduled

A new solicitation from the Defense Innovation Unit seeks “mature commercial technologies that can provide power and propulsion in the near term” WASHINGTON — The Defense Innovation Unit last week issued a call for bids for small nuclear-powered engines for space missions beyond Earth orbit. DoD wants “lightweight, portable and long-duration power sources that can

Taken from the September 2021 issue of Physics World where it first appeared under the headline “Flights of fancy, feet on the ground”. Members of the Institute of Physics can enjoy the full issue via the Physics World app. Philip Moriarty reviews Fear of a Black Universe: an Outsider’s Guide to the Future of Physics

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The good news for the Earth observation industry is that their capabilities to collect and analyze imagery are better than ever. The bad news for the industry is that many prospective customers don’t understand those capabilities. During a panel session of the Satellite 2021 conference Sept. 9, industry officials lamented that,

WASHINGTON — The House Science Committee approved its portion of a massive budget reconciliation spending bill Sept. 9, making no major changes to its NASA provisions. The full committee voted 21-17 after a daylong markup to advance its portion of the package, allocating $45.51 billion to agencies under its jurisdiction, including NASA, the National Oceanic