Science

Almost no one thought SpaceX would make the catch, at least not on the first try. On the fifth integrated test flight of Starship, launched Oct. 13 from the company’s Boca Chica, Texas, site, the Super Heavy booster aimed to fly back to the launch tower, where massive mechanical arms — dubbed “chopsticks” — would

The northern pocket gopher (Thomomys talpoides) brings unexpected ecosystem benefits All Canada Photos/Alamy Two years after Mount St Helens erupted in 1980, a team of researchers helicoptered in a gopher to the ash-covered landscape. Decades later, the activity of that single gopher burrowing for a single day may have helped the decimated ecosystem regrow by

Quantized vortices seen in a supersolid for the first time – Physics World Skip to main content Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2024 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

HELSINKI — A Long March rocket launch sent four satellites into orbit late Friday to provide commercial X-band radar imaging services. A Long March 2C rocket lifted off at 10:39 p.m. Eastern Nov. 8 (0339 UTC, Nov. 9) from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert. Insulation tiles fell away from the rocket as

Elephants are masters at using a hose – considered a complex tool because of its flexibility, length and the physics of flowing water. Researchers studying three Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) at Berlin Zoo were surprised to see how nimbly they manipulated a hose to shower themselves and seemed to understand how to get the best

Top-cited author Vaidehi Paliya discusses the importance of citations and awards – Physics World Skip to main content Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2024 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

WASHINGTON — NASA has extended three contracts with companies to continue providing transportation of cargo to and from the International Space Station through the projected end of the station’s life in 2030. In procurement filings Nov. 8, NASA stated it planned to extend the existing Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) 2 contracts with Northrop Grumman, Sierra

A chimpanzee tackling a number test on a touch screen Akiho Muramatsu The pressure of a watching audience can have positive or negative effects on human performance, and it turns out the same is true of our closest relatives. Christen Lin at Kyoto University, Japan, and his colleagues tested a group of six chimpanzees housed

Four-wave mixing could boost optical communications in space – Physics World Skip to main content Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2024 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

TAMPA, Fla. — Logos Space has early financial commitments needed to deploy 1,000 satellites for global broadband coverage, according to the former Google executive behind the one-year-old megaconstellation startup. Milo Medin, who is also a former NASA project manager, did not provide specific financial details in emails to SpaceNews a week after Logos emerged from

Four-legged robot dogs learned to perform new tricks by practising in a virtual platform that mimics real-world obstacles – a possible shortcut for training robots faster and more accurately Read the original article here

The Arecibo Observatory’s ‘powerful radiation environment’ led to its collapse, claims report – Physics World Skip to main content Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2024 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

TAMPA, Fla. — Geostationary operator Viasat is in advanced talks to buy broadband capacity from Telesat’s future low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites as competition from Starlink is set to intensify in the incoming Trump Administration. Mark Dankberg, Viasat’s CEO and chair, disclosed the negotiations during a Nov. 6 earnings call with analysts, where he also said

Hairy animals including mice and dogs shake themselves dry atikinka2/Getty Images If you have ever been close to a dog after it has gone for a swim, you have probably been sprayed with water flinging from its fur. We now know the brain pathway that causes animals to rapidly wiggle themselves dry – a phenomenon

How to boost the sustainability of solar cells – Physics World Skip to main content Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2024 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

WASHINGTON — SpaceX has scheduled its next Starship test flight for as soon as Nov. 18, making incremental changes since the previous flight in October. The company announced Nov. 6 that it was planning the sixth integrated Starship/Super Heavy flight from its Starbase facility at Boca Chica, Texas, for the afternoon of Nov. 18. The

Sheep skulls modified by ancient Egyptians so that their horns grew upward instead of outward B. De Cupere Sheep with deformed horns are among the more mysterious animal remains discovered at an ancient Egyptian burial site dating back to around 3700 BC. They also represent the oldest physical evidence of humans modifying the horns of

‘Buddy star’ could explain Betelgeuse’s varying brightness – Physics World Skip to main content Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2024 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here