In this episode of the Physics World Weekly podcast Giovanna Fragneto explains why neutrons are an ideal probe for studying the SARS coronavirus that is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. Fragneto is leader of the Large Scale Structures group at the Institut Laue-Langevin, which is a world-leading centre for neutron science in Grenoble, France. In
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WASHINGTON — Two entrepreneurs who founded a high-altitude ballooning company nearly a decade ago have started a second such venture, hoping to realize their original vision of giving the public a taste of spaceflight. Space Perspective, founded by Jane Poynter and Taber MacCallum, announced its plans June 18 to develop a system to fly people
WASHINGTON — NASA officials say they’re confident that the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission will launch this summer amid the special measures the agency had to take to keep the mission on track during the coronavirus pandemic. The mission is currently scheduled for launch July 20 on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 from Cape
Taken from the June 2020 issue of Physics World, where it appeared under the headline “Shock and awe?”.. Members of the Institute of Physics can enjoy the full issue via the Physics World app. How do you react when something unexpected happens in physics? Robert P Crease runs through the gamut of emotions
“The use of space by the United States and our allies and partners is underpinned by sustained, comprehensive U.S. military strength.” WASHINGTON — The Defense Department has released an updated space strategy that replaces the 2011 document issued by the Obama administration. The Defense Space Strategy unveiled June 17 provides broad guidance to DoD for
Imagine a world where everyone is right-handed. The world may not look different, but eventually, the question might arise: Why is no one left-handed? In the world of the molecules that make up the bodies of living things like DNA and RNA, this is a real question—and astrophysics researchers think they might have an answer.
WASHINGTON — NASA will allow SpaceX to reuse Crew Dragon spacecraft and the Falcon 9 first stages for launching them as soon as next year. A modification to the Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contract NASA has with SpaceX, published last month, will allow SpaceX to reuse both the Falcon 9 first stage and Crew
et al./Advanced Functional Materials)”> Taking the strain: this highly elastic film contains large quantities of conductive graphene nanosheets (Courtesy: MA O’Mara et al./Advanced Functional Materials) A strain sensor capable of measurements ranging from the touch of a feather to hard-hitting impacts has been developed by Marcus O’Mara and colleagues at the University of Sussex in
SAN FRANCISCO – In-space transportation provider Momentus announced agreements June 16 with Bulgaria’s EnduroSat to provide transportation for two cubesats scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare flight in February 2021. Under the agreement, Momentus will enclose Kuwait’s first spacecraft, QMR-KWT, and EnduroSat’s Shared Platform for Applied Research and Technology Affirmation (SPARTAN) in
SAN FRANCISCO – Raytheon won a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration contract to study High-Resolution Infrared Sounder (HIRIS), a weather instrument designed to offer detailed views of cloud tops and the dry line, where moist and dry air meet. Under the May 12 NOAA contract valued at nearly $295,000, Raytheon will spend seven months fleshing
Probing the structure of liquid silicates under high pressure conditions similar to those at the interface between the mantle and the Earth’s core. Courtesy: Greg Stewart/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory A technique that reproduces the conditions of the Earth’s mantle at a depth of more than 2000 km could help researchers simulate our planet’s earliest days,
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Federal Communications Commission remains unconvinced that low Earth orbit satellite internet constellations are worth subsidizing through its $16 billion rural broadband program despite tweaking the rules for that program to give LEO constellations a better chance to qualify for funding. In a move meant to benefit the likes of SpaceX, Telesat,
WASHINGTON — NASA has selected the longtime manager of its commercial crew program to be the next head of its overall human spaceflight efforts. NASA announced June 12 that Kathy Lueders will take over as associate administrator for human exploration and operations, effectively immediately. Lueders, the first woman to hold that post, had been manager
Collision course: artistic representation of the current interaction between the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy and the Milky Way. (Courtesy: Gabriel Pérez Díaz, SMM (IAC)) The solar system may have been formed in a long-ago collision between the Milky Way and its orbiting companion the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy. That is the conclusion of astrophysicists in Spain, who
WASHINGTON — A Rocket Lab Electron rocket successfully launched a set of payloads for the National Reconnaissance Office and two universities June 13 on a mission delayed two and a half months by the coronavirus pandemic. The Electron lifted off from the company’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand at 1:12 a.m. Eastern. The company
WASHINGTON — SpaceX completed its ninth bulk Starlink launch June 13, a mission that included a rideshare customer for the first time. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 5:21 a.m. Eastern, carrying 58 Starlink broadband satellites instead of the usual 60. The rocket carried slightly fewer
Taken from the June 2020 issue of Physics World, where it appeared under the headline “Kicking the habit”. Members of the Institute of Physics can enjoy the full issue via the Physics World app. We all knew that we should have travelled less and video conferenced more. But with COVID-19, we have no other choice
WASHINGTON — Spaceflight Industries has completed the sale of its satellite rideshare business, Spaceflight Inc., to a pair of Japanese companies following a U.S. regulatory review and the modification of an Intelsat loan. Spaceflight Industries said the sale to Mitsui & Co., in partnership with Yamasa Co., closed June 12, roughly four months after it