Science

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

The contract awarded to Raytheon is for Overhead Persistent Infrared sensor payloads. WASHINGTON — Raytheon received a $37.4 million contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency for space-based early warning sensors for the Blackjack program, the agency announced June 12. Blackjack is a program to demonstrate the utility of a constellation of small satellites

Radar rig: Lieven Verdonck used an all-terrain vehicle to tow his ground-penetrating radar system over Falerii Novi. (Courtesy: Ghent University) Last week I was enthusing about how lidar has been used to discover a huge Mayan structure in Mexico – and this week, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) takes the spotlight in the Red Folder. The technique

SASC aide: “The acquisition piece was never formally transmitted to the Congress.” WASHINGTON — The Senate Armed Services Committee approved its version of the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act by a vote of 25-2 following three days of closed hearings, the committee announced June 11. The markup authorizes $740.5 billion for national defense

WASHINGTON — NASA’s inspector general found that former NASA Administrator Charles Bolden continued to use the services of an employee to manage his activities for almost two years after leaving the agency. The NASA Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report June 11 summarizing an investigation into allegations that Bolden’s former executive assistant, or

The essence of the perfect slice of sourdough bread is in the air right now. It is even on your hands. The heart of the sourdough is the starter, a fermented culture of flour and water. The sour flavor of the dough comes from lactic acid bacteria (LAB) who live in relative harmony and competition

A route to topological superconductivity? Courtesy: Stephan Kim, Princeton University Researchers at Princeton University in the US have become the first to observe a robust supercurrent at the edge of a superconductor that is very different to the supercurrent in the material’s bulk. This “topological superconductivity” could come in useful for a host of new

WASHINGTON — A launch vehicle processing “hiccup” has pushed back next month’s launch of NASA’s Mars 2020 rover mission by three days. NASA Associate Administrator Steve Jurczyk revealed the delay in a presentation to a joint meeting of the National Academies’ Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board and Space Studies Board (SSB) June 9. “We had

SAN FRANCISCO – German launch services provider Exolaunch announced an agreement to launch two Loft Orbital microsatellites on SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare missions. Under the contract, Exolaunch will handle mission management, deployment and integration services for Loft Orbital, a San Francisco startup planning to establish a constellation of standard microsatellites to fly payloads, sensors and

A day of action: The logo of the #ShutDownAcademia and #ShutDownSTEM campaign. (Courtesy: #ShutDownAcademia) Today – Wednesday 10 June – will not be a normal day in the physics calendar. That’s because, at the time of writing, more than 3000 physicists around the world have agreed to take part in a “Strike for Black Lives”.

WASHINGTON — SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft is performing well enough on orbit to give NASA confidence that the mission can last until August, an agency official said June 9. Ken Bowersox, the acting associate administrator for human exploration and operations at NASA, told an online meeting of two National Academies committees that NASA had been