Science

SAN FRANCISCO – Boston University took home top honors in the 2024 SmallSat Alliance 2024 Collegiate Space Competition. For the competition, which focused on congestion and orbital debris, Boston University students proposed pushing defunct satellites from geosynchronous Earth orbit to a graveyard orbit with cubesats. The proposed GEO Rendezvous and Space Debris Pusher Satellite Swarm,

Fractal geometry is common in nature Shutterstock/Sabine Hortebusch You have almost certainly seen computer-generated fractals – beautiful, trippy images in which colourful, intricate structures repeat ad infinitum as you fall ever further down the rabbit hole. Formally speaking, fractals are infinitely complex patterns that are self-similar across different scales. But, in an echo of their

Shrinivas Kulkarni wins Shaw Prize in Astronomy for work on variable and transient objects – Physics World Skip to main content Close search menu Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2024 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

SAN FRANCISCO – Privateer’s recent acquisition of Orbital Insight sheds new light on the Hawaiian startup’s ambitious plans, which may include future acquisitions. “We’re trying to build Uber for space data,” Alex Fielding, Privateer CEO and co-founder, told SpaceNews. “We’re treating nation states like drivers, satellites like cars and those of us that need to

Biodiversity contains several dimensions Hans-Joachim Schneider/Alamy At first blush, the idea of biodiversity seems simple enough. It is essentially the variety of all life on Earth. But making sense of biodiversity in a way that can help us halt or even reverse its decline is anything but straightforward. “People often use the word biodiversity just

The fusion industry must rise to its tritium challenge – Physics World Skip to main content Close search menu Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2024 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

Updated 1:30 p.m. Eastern with post-flight statements and statistics. WASHINGTON — Blue Origin conducted its first crewed New Shepard mission in nearly two years May 19, carrying six people, including the first American Black astronaut candidate, on a suborbital spaceflight the company called a success despite a parachute issue. New Shepard lifted off from Blue

Research on the health effects of low-carbohydrate diets like keto has had mixed results nadianb/Shutterstock A ketogenic diet causes damaged cells to accumulate in the organs of mice. Their build-up suggests the keto diet may accelerate organ ageing, raising the risk of conditions like heart disease and cancer. Although many people have adopted low-carbohydrate diets

Institute of Physics launches new inclusion programme for universities – Physics World Skip to main content Close search menu Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2024 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

WASHINGTON — NASA and Boeing have once again delayed first crewed flight of the company’s CST-100 Starliner as they work to resolve a helium leak in the spacecraft’s propulsion system. In a statement late May 17, NASA announced that the Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission, previously scheduled for May 21, has been pushed back to

Some claims of high-temperature superconductivity were unable to be recreated Shutterstock / Dragon Claws Physics is in a crisis. Over the past year, a series of research papers claimed to find evidence for high-temperature superconductors – materials that conduct electricity without losses, which could revolutionise global energy use. These were retracted after all efforts to

Ancient lull in Earth’s magnetic field may have allowed large animals to evolve – Physics World Skip to main content Close search menu Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2024 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

The recent acquisition of geospatial intelligence firm Orbital Insight, which has a satellite imagery search engine platform, by Privateer, the Steve Wozniak startup that came out of stealth to raise $56 million in Series A funding, may have important consequences for how we manage space traffic.. It stresses end-to-end vertical integration, cross-functionality, and newfound alignment

The common spotted orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii) seems to send food to its seedlings Mark Bulmer/Alamy Some orchids share resources with their seedlings, in what seems to be a form of parental care by plants. The young seedlings don’t have chlorophyll, so are unable to make their own food through photosynthesis, and biologists were in the

Zurich Instruments launch their SHF+ series platform for quantum computing technologies – Physics World Skip to main content Close search menu Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2024 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

For satellite operators, AI’s potential benefits are impossible to ignore. As Earth observation and communications constellations expand, AI tools promise to streamline operations, reduce on-orbit collisions and speed up analysis of remote sensing data. Opportunities and challenges for space-based AI with experts from the Aerospace Corporation, Stanford University’s Center for AEroSpace Autonomy Research (CAESAR), Magnestar,

The Red Pyramid at Dahshur in Egypt was one of many built close to a lost branch of the Nile Eman Ghoneim Many of the pyramids of ancient Egypt were built along a now extinct branch of the river Nile, geological surveys have revealed. This could explain why these pyramids, including the famed Great Pyramid