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☆ Chris Birch: ‘I absolutely would love to explore off this planet,’ says track cyclist turned NASA astronaut
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( George Ramsay | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

“I love realistic space movies … I’m definitely a nerd,” reads Chris Birch’s answer on her profile page. That response proved prescient: shortly after stepping away from her professional cycling career, the Arizona native was selected from more than 12,000 applicants to join NASA’s astronaut class of 2021. The further she progressed with her application to join NASA, the more convinced she became that she had a future in spaceflight. “I really just had a blast,” Birch tells CNN Sport. “I absolutely would love to explore off this planet,” says Birch.

Persons: Christopher Nolan’s, “, Chris Birch’s, sidesteps, Birch, ” It’s, keener, Artemis, Luis Acosta, ”, I’m, ” Birch, that’s, she’s, There’s, “ I’m, I’ll Organizations: CNN, USA Cycling, NASA, CNN Sport, Space, Soyuz, Houston’s, Space Center, Getty, Tokyo, Games, Colorado –, Houston Marathon Locations: Arizona, madison, Peru, AFP, Leadville, Colorado, Montana, California

☆ Elon Musk calls out Boeing's historic first crewed spaceflight, saying SpaceX beat them to the punch years ago
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

SpaceX beat Boeing to the punch, flying NASA astronauts to the space station four years ago for cheaper. NASA astronauts Suni Williams (left) and Butch Wilmore (right) conduct suited operations in a Boeing Starliner simulator. AdvertisementThe SpaceX Crew Dragon spaceship that accomplished the feat came from the same NASA initiative that's flying Starliner on Monday. NASA astronauts Bob Behnken (left) and Doug Hurley (right) were the first people to fly aboard a private spaceship, SpaceX's Crew Dragon. SpaceXWith each flight, SpaceX has earned money, while Boeing has been sinking more and more funds into Starliner.

Persons: Elon Musk, —, Boeing's, Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, Robert Markowitz, Bob Behnken, Doug Hurley, bTXWAfxfrh — Elon, Musk, Eric Berger, Cory Huston, Starliner's, Berger, George Nield, Nield, Scrappy SpaceX Organizations: Boeing, SpaceX, NASA, Service, Twitter, International Space Station, ISS, Atlas, Reuters, Department of Defense, Space Transportation Locations: Starliner

☆ While Boeing's passenger planes glitch, NASA is entrusting the company's spaceship with 2 astronauts' lives
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Boeing is about to fly NASA astronauts to the International Space Station for the first time. Still, the FAA, NASA, and other aerospace experts have questioned Boeing's overall safety culture. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams conduct suited operations in the Boeing Starliner simulator at NASA's Johnson Space Center. This Crew Flight Test mission is over a decade in the making. He added that those calculations are for a full 210-day mission, while Whilmore's and Williams's test flight lasts just one week.

Persons: —, NASA's Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, Robert Markowitz They're, jetliner, AeroSystems, Bill Nelson, Kim Shiflett, George Nield, Bjorn Fehrm, Fehrm, KPIs, Doug Loverro, Baz Ratner, Bill Ingalls, Steve Stich, Nield, We've, Wilmore, Starliner, Whitmore, Williams Organizations: Boeing, NASA, International Space Station, FAA, Service, Defense, Boeing's, International Space, Space Center, ISS, Max, NTSB, AP, Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Justice, Atlas, Cape Canaveral Space Force, Space Transportation, New York Times, Leeham, Business, Ethiopian, Ethiopian Airlines, Aerospace, Committee, White, Bill Ingalls NASA, US, Spaceflight Locations: Portland, Florida, It's, New Mexico

☆ Richard Branson shares the simple mindset that's key to his success: 'I don't ever think of myself as a businessperson'
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Richard Branson doesn't think of himself as a businessman — and he believes that helped him build Virgin Group into what it is today. "I don't ever think of myself as a businessperson, or even really an entrepreneur," Branson tells CNBC Make It. "I just see myself as somebody that loves to create things that I can be proud of." "There's many things that we've done that we wouldn't have done if we'd listened to accountants," says Branson. Perhaps ironically, the strategy has proved lucrative for Branson, whose current net worth is estimated at $2.5 billion, according to Forbes.

Persons: Richard Branson doesn't, —, Branson, we'd Organizations: Virgin Group, CNBC, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Galactic, Branson, Forbes Locations: Branson

☆ Richard Branson says money isn't a good way to measure success: Focus on this 1 word instead, it's 'all that really matters'
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Richard Branson doesn't want to be defined by his money. Specifically, he finds it "quite insulting" when he is introduced as "the billionaire Richard Branson," rather than as the co-founder of Virgin Group, he tells CNBC Make It. "Maybe in America, 'billionaire' is a sign of success, but that rankles me," says Branson. "Your reputation is [whether] your team of people who work with you are proud of what they've created," Branson says. Financial success has often followed, but Branson is adamant that money has never been his chief motivating force.

Persons: Richard Branson doesn't, Richard Branson, Forbes —, they've, Branson, — Organizations: Virgin Group, CNBC, Branson, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Mobile Locations: America, Branson, Vietnam

☆ Richard Branson says this decision helped build his $2.5B net worth: 'I don't think I would have gone to space' otherwise
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

He's referring to selling record label Virgin Records to Thorn EMI for nearly $1 billion in 1992. Branson needed the money to focus on a newer venture, Virgin Atlantic. CNBC Make It: How did you make the decision to sell Virgin Records? What I decided was: If I sold Virgin Records, all the people's jobs would be secure. I could then use that money to build and protect Virgin Atlantic.

Persons: Richard Branson, He's, —, Branson, Richard, Virgin, We'd, Janet Jackson Organizations: CNBC, Virgin Records, Thorn EMI, Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, Virgin Group, Forbes, Virgin Locations: London, Branson

☆ Mohammad Faris: ‘Armstrong of the Arab World’ and Syria’s first astronaut dies in exile
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-21 | by ( Eyad Kourdi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

In 1987, Faris, a pilot in the Syrian Air Force, spent eight days in space with the Soviet Union’s Interkosmos spaceflight program. Faris flew with a Soviet crew to Mir space station becoming the first and only Syrian astronaut and second Arab to make it to space. Upon his return to Syria, Faris was celebrated as a national hero by tens of thousands of Syrians. Faris decided in 2012 to defect and publicly oppose the Syrian regime, putting his family and himself in life-threatening danger. In 2020, Faris was granted Turkish citizenship, as reported by the Turkish state broadcaster TRT.

Persons: CNN — Mohammad Faris, Armstrong, Faris, Hafez al, Assad, Bashar, “, Jazeera, Assad, Faris –, Hafez al - Assad, Prince Sultan bin Salman, Allah, “ let’s, ” Faris, Bashar al, Al Jazeera, Moscow propping Organizations: CNN, Syrian Air Force, Saudi, Free Syrian Army, Turkish, TRT, Star City, AP Locations: Turkish, Gaziantep, Soviet, Syria, ”, Aleppo, Turkey, Istanbul, Russia, Moscow, Soviet Union

Kam Ghaffarian, co-founder and chairman of Axiom Space Inc., speaks during an interview at the company's headquarters in Houston, Texas, U.S., on Friday, Jan. 14, 2022. IBX's Kam Ghaffarian wants to go even further: the stars. Ghaffarian has been instrumental in ushering in the new space economy, having co-founded and invested in a cadre of commercial space ventures. Unlike other high-profile billionaires building commercial space companies, Ghaffarian made his fortune through the space industry, and rather than focusing on access to space, he's leveraging those falling costs to build out infrastructure and business activities in space. Ghaffarian believes the space economy will be worth trillions of dollars — and sooner than many realize.

Persons: Kam Ghaffarian, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, Elon Musk, IBX's Kam Ghaffarian, CNBC's Morgan Brennan, Ghaffarian, Odysseus, he's, We've, Jeff, Bezos, we've, Morgan Brennan, it's Organizations: Space, International, Elon, Technologies, NASA, KBR, SpaceX Locations: Houston , Texas, U.S, Colorado Springs, Iran

☆ How the Columbia disaster changed the future of spaceflight
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-13 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The CNN Original Series “Space Shuttle Columbia: The Final Flight” uncovers the events that ultimately led to disaster. The tragedy killed seven astronauts as the Columbia shuttle disintegrated upon its return to Earth on February 1, 2003, due to damage the vehicle sustained during launch. Changes at NASA were necessary, according to a formal investigation about the Columbia disaster published six months after the accident. Cultural changes: ‘Safety days,’ review boards and round tablesColumbia marked the second deadly mishap for the shuttle program after the space shuttle Challenger exploded during launch in January 1986. Following the Columbia disaster, NASA grounded its remaining fleet of three shuttles as the space agency sought to parse what went wrong.

Persons: ”, “, ” Wayne Hale, Rick D, Evelyn Husband, Bill Readdy, Bruce Weaver, Hale, ” Hale, Garrett Reisman, ” Reisman, Ilan Ramon, Reisman, —, NASA didn’t, SpaceX’s, Kevin Dietsch Organizations: CNN, Shuttle Columbia, Sunday, Columbia, SpaceX, NASA, Space Shuttle Columbia, Kennedy Space Center, Getty, Endeavour, Atlantis, International Space, Elon, Boeing, Columbia —, Challenger, International Space Station, Vigilance, ” Locations: Russia, AFP, California, Israel, Columbia

☆ Families of the Columbia crew members keep their memories alive
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Editor’s Note: The CNN Original Series “Space Shuttle Columbia: The Final Flight” uncovers the events that ultimately led to disaster. After work, the crew members and their families would gather for cookouts and laser tag at one another’s homes. The STS-107 mission crew included five men and two women of diverse backgrounds, religions, interests and hobbies. They were the Columbia crew. Jonathan Clark met his future wife, Mission Specialist Laurel B. Clark, at US Navy diving school in 1989.

Persons: ”, Michael P, Anderson, David M, Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Laurel B, Clark, Rick D, William C, Willie ” McCool, Ilan Ramon, Laura Husband, Rick Husband, “, ” Laura, Rick, Laurel, Rosalind Hobgood, Jonathan Clark, Jonathan, Jonathan said, ” Laurel, Iain Clark, ” Jonathan, “ It’s, ” Jonathan Clark, Iain, Jonathan Clark “, “ God, Evelyn, Matthew, Laura, Evelyn Husband, Faith, ” Evelyn, it’s, Evelyn Husband “, Tal Ramon, Tal Organizations: CNN, Shuttle Columbia, Sunday, Columbia, NASA, Israeli Space Agency, US Navy, Training, Johnson Space Center, Texas Tech University, Dallas Cowboys, ” Locations: Wyoming, Columbia, Texas, Panama City , Florida, Laurel, Houston, Amarillo , Texas

Amid preparations for its spaceplane's maiden flight and an initial public offering as soon as next year, Sierra Space is expanding its satellite offerings. "We've actually been waiting for six months, so it's like, this [name], we really thought about it," Tom Vice, Sierra Space chief executive said in an interview for CNBC's "Manifest Space" podcast. Valued at $5.3 billion as of September, Sierra Space was spun out of defense contractor Sierra Nevada Corporation three years ago. Sierra Space touts a diverse space and defense tech portfolio spanning space transportation, space habitation, propulsion and satellites. It's perhaps best known for its NASA-contracted, reusable spaceplane Dream Chaser which will run cargo resupply missions to the International Space Station and eventually carry humans to and from orbit.

Persons: We've, Tom Vice, Eren, Jeff Bezos Organizations: Space, Sierra Space, Sierra Nevada Corporation, Fatih, NASA, International Space Station, Pentagon, U.S, FAA

☆ NASA’s space shuttle program reimagined rocketry. What went wrong?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

The CNN Original Series “Space Shuttle Columbia: The Final Flight” uncovers the events that ultimately led to disaster. Deemed an “engineering marvel,” the first of five winged orbiters — the space shuttle Columbia — made its inaugural flight in 1981. Crews aboard the recovery ships Liberty Star and Freedom Star retrieve a reusable right solid rocket booster (below) after a space shuttle mission. Space Shuttle Columbia launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 10:39 a.m. NASA Space Shuttle Columbia lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 16, 2003.

Persons: ”, Sean O’Keefe, Casey Dreier, Crews, O’Keefe, Scott Andrews, NASA's, Michael P, Anderson, William C, McCool, Rick D, David M, Brown, Laurel, Ilan Ramon, Kalpana Chawla, Joe Skipper, Karl Ronstrom, Ramon, NASA Chawla, Clark, Chawla, Robert Giroux, Kathryn O'Neill, Zachary, Brett Coomer, Florida Sen, Bill Nelson, Matt Stroshane, Tommy Peltier, Eric Gay, Smiley, Gene Theriot, Sean O'Keefe, George W, Bush, Ron Dittemore, Joe Cavaretta, O'Keefe, Mannie Garcia, NASA Sandy Anderson, Carlos Noriega, Michael L, Coats, Evelyn Husband, Thomas, John Raoux, Glenn Benson, Kim Shiflett, Rodney Rocha, Columbia’s, Rick Husband, “ Roger, Sen, Mark Kelly, “, ” Kelly Organizations: CNN, Shuttle Columbia, Sunday, NASA, Columbia, America’s, Planetary Society, European Space Agency, Space, International Space, Hubble, Liberty Star, NASA’s Ames Research Center, Space Shuttle Columbia, Kennedy Space Center, Reuters Space Shuttle Columbia, Scott Andrews People, Control Center, Getty, NASA Space, Israeli Air Force, Space Shuttle, Red Team, Blue Team, Johnson Space Center, Former, Houston, Houston Chronicle, People, US Navy Corps, Columbia Reconstruction, NASA Workers, Astronauts Memorial Foundation, Reuters, Bannock, Bannock Junior, Senior, Bannock High School, Johnson Space, Challenger, Shuttle, East Texas Locations: Columbia, America’s Soviet, Florida, Houston, Israel, SPACEHAB, New York, Laguna Hills , California, Texas, San Augustine , Texas, Washington ,, Shoshone, Fort Hall , Idaho, New Mexico, East

☆ Human activities are changing Earth's spin so much that it might affect how we keep time
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Ellyn Lapointe | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Polar ice melt driven by climate change is affecting Earth's rotation, according to new research. A human-driven change in the Earth's rotation has never been seen before, and may affect computing. DrPixel/Getty ImagesDon't worry — this change in Earth's rotation won't be catastrophic. Denis Tangney Jr./Getty ImagesAs a result, scientists predict that we would need the first-ever negative leap second by 2026. iStock / Getty Images PlusThere are three main mechanisms that control the Earth's spin:One is tidal friction, or the interaction between moving ocean water and the ocean floor, which slows Earth's rotation.

Persons: Duncan Agnew, what's, Denis Tangney Jr, Felicitas Arias, Judah Levine, Agnew, Andres Forza, you've Organizations: Service, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, International Bureau, Time Department, National Institute of Standards, Technology, Washington Post, Northern, Reuters, CNN Locations: Wellesley , Massachusetts, Needham, Northern Canada, Scandinavia, Argentina

☆ Investing in Space: Boeing takes backup role in flying NASA astronauts
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter offers a view into the business of space exploration and privatization, delivered straight to your inbox. Boeing's Starliner program finally feels close to flying people in space for the first time. It was originally planned to launch this crew flight test in November 2018. On the eve of flying crew, Boeing's messaging is now closer to "NASA wants us as backup and we're not committing beyond that." The additionally unfortunate aspect of this situation is that none of these years of setbacks and cost overruns seem to have lit a fire under Boeing's space management.

Persons: CNBC's Michael Sheetz, Boeing's, we're, Starliner, it's, SpaceX's Dragon, Boeing's Starliner, Mark Nappi, Nappi Organizations: ISS, Boeing, SpaceX, NASA

☆ Billionaires going to space aim to industrialize the moon, asteroids, and Mars. It's time to set some ground rules.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Read previewThe space business is in bloom and, so far, it's largely unregulated. Other space startups have ambitions including asteroid mining, in vitro fertilization (IVF) in space, and space hotels. As space startups and billionaires vie for a foothold on the moon and beyond, experts say governments probably need to start setting some ground rules. Seven of the world's 10 biggest commercial space operators are based in the US, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. AdvertisementIn another vein, last year Florida passed a bill to protect space companies and their owners from getting sued over spaceflight passenger death or injury.

Persons: —, Jeff Bezos's, Elon Musk, Bezos, NASA What's, George Nield, Galileo, Joel Kearns, Richard Branson, Galactic's, Lyndon B, Johnson, Jeff Bezos, Joe Raedle, Michelle Hanlon, Jared Isaacman, William Shatner, Hanlon Organizations: Service, NASA, Houston, SpaceX, Business, Northeastern University, Federal Aviation Administration's, Space Transportation, JPL, FAA, Virgin Galactic, Virgin, Getty, Artemis Accords, Hague Institute, Global Justice, Washington, Companies, Shepard, Center for Air, Space, University of Mississippi School of Law, titans, US International Trade Commission, Organisation for Economic Co, Federal Communications Locations: Mars, Russia, China, Blue, Florida

☆ SpaceX is poised to make rocket launches 10 times cheaper with Starship, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Marianne Guenot | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

With its recent Starship mission, SpaceX is poised to cut launch costs 10-fold, said an expertThe firm flew its flagship mega-rocket to space without exploding on Thursday for the first time. AdvertisementSpaceX's Starship launch on Thursday didn't only look cool. SpaceX has already shaved launch costs downStarship-Super Heavy is the biggest launch system ever developed. AdvertisementA picture shows Starship fully stacked on its launchpad. "Lowering launch costs has always been the first step to unlocking broader, deeper sources of value from space," he said.

Persons: —, Elon, Brendan Rosseau, Abhi Tripathi, Elon Musk, Starship's, George Nield, Harvard's Rosseau, Tripathi Organizations: SpaceX, Service, Harvard Business School, Super, Mission, University of California, Space Sciences Laboratory, Space Shuttle, Space Transportation

☆ 17 crucial upgrades helped SpaceX finally get Starship to space without exploding
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Ellyn Lapointe | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

SpaceX's third test launch of its Starship mega-rocket went off without a hitch. SpaceX has made a series of upgrades to the rocket system that helped it finally reach space. As for Starship, SpaceX added three new angled liquid oxygen vents to the underside of the engine skirt that likely helped with attitude control. AdvertisementWhile this was the most successful Starship test launch to date, it didn't achieve all mission objectives. AdvertisementSpaceX officials said the company plans to complete at least six more Starship test flights this year, subject to regulatory approval, Reuters reported.

Persons: —, we've, Siva, Jonathan Newton, cowbell, Starship, it's, Kate Tice Organizations: SpaceX, Service, Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, Getty, FAA, Business, Super, NASA Spaceflight, SpaceX Quality Systems, Reuters Locations: Starbase, Boca Chica , Texas

☆ Video of SpaceX's Starship reentry shows the ultra-hot plasma plummet back to Earth like never before
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

SpaceX's Starship captured a stunning video of its reentry as it fell back to Earth. It's the best and clearest video footage yet of a spacecraft enduring the fiery fall back to Earth. AdvertisementSpaceX's Starship captured a stunning video of its reentry into Earth's atmosphere as it finished its first successful flight through space on Thursday. SpaceX aired the footage live on its webcast on X, showing thick ultra-heated plasma lashing Starship and turning parts of the spacecraft red-hot. AdvertisementAn astronaut's view of what it looks like inside a spacecraft that's plummeting to Earth at breakneck speed.

Persons: SpaceX's, Starship's, —, to4UOF2Kpd — Elon, reentries, Jonathan McDowell, Kate Tice Organizations: Service, SpaceX, NASA, YouTube, Super

☆ SpaceX will attempt its 3rd Starship launch today. Watch live to see if the rocket explodes again or finally reaches orbit.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

SpaceX's Starship, the world's largest rocket, may launch toward orbit on Thursday. AdvertisementWatching a rocket launch is a thrilling experience. Watching SpaceX's Starship, the world's largest rocket ever, is even more exciting. A screengrab from SpaceX's livestream on X shows SpaceX's Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket on the launchpad. AdvertisementThis would be Starship's third attempt at orbit, launching atop its Super Heavy booster.

Persons: —, it'll, Starship's Organizations: Service, SpaceX, Super, NASA Locations: Australia

Sitting atop its stainless steel Super Heavy booster, Starship stood taller than the Statue of Liberty at the company's new orbital launchpad in South Texas. As the booster fell back to Earth, Starship continued to climb toward the heavens, then shut off its engines to glide through space. Once fully operational, Starship will be able to carry up to 150 metric tonnes (165 US tons) to space, per SpaceX. Illustration of SpaceX Starship human lander design that will carry NASA astronauts to the Moon's surface during the Artemis mission. NASA's new moon rocket, SLS, could send 46 tons into orbits beyond the moon.

Persons: —, Elon, Musk, Dan Huot, Marianne Ayala, Morgan Stanley, Artemis, Artemis III Organizations: Service, SpaceX, Business, SpaceX's, Texas launchpad, X, NASA, Super, Saturn, Morgan, SLS, SpaceX SLS, Apollo Locations: South Texas, Texas

☆ Will Starship explode again, or will it finally reach orbit? Watch the launch live and see for yourself.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

SpaceX's Starship, the world's largest rocket, may launch toward orbit on Thursday. If Starship reaches orbit it will be a major spaceflight achievement. AdvertisementWatching a rocket launch is a thrilling experience. Watching SpaceX's Starship, the world's largest rocket ever, is even more exciting. Screenshot of SpaceX's Starship-Super Heavy rocket on launch pad.

Persons: —, SpaceX SpaceX's, Starship's Organizations: Service, SpaceX, Super, NASA Locations: Australia

☆ Opinion | From ‘Dune’ to Decadence (and Back)
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Ross Douthat | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

There are three great novels that I read as an early adolescent that I would take to a desert island if I ever needed to be set up for decades of rereading: The “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, “Watership Down” and “Dune.” I’ve written more in the past on J.R.R. Tolkien’s work and even on Richard Adams’s great rabbit epic than on Frank Herbert’s magnum opus. So I can’t let the occasion of “Dune: Part Two” and its imperial command of the box office pass without some kind of comment. The first is about the story’s contemporary resonance. What’s getting less attention, and what I want to highlight, is the larger civilizational dynamic that the book sets up, and how it speaks to our own moment.

Persons: Richard Adams’s, Frank Herbert’s, Denis Villeneuve’s, What’s

☆ Analysis-As China's Xi Summons 'New Productive Forces', Old Questions Linger for Economy
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( March | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +5 min

By James Pomfret, Kevin Yao and Ellen ZhangHONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) - Facing its deepest economic challenges in years, China's leadership has tasked ministries and local governments with implementing a new mantra from President Xi Jinping: unleash "new productive forces". Beijing hopes the “new productive forces” campaign will strengthen China at a time when geopolitical pressures including steps by the United States to “decouple” or “de-risk” have curtailed access to foreign technology. "To support innovation, we should give people more freedom to think and talk, because many innovations result from the collision of ideas. The new mantra was also taken up by China's state planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission. Its annual report on Tuesday pledged support for industries including satellite internet applications, China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, and research into nuclear fusion.

Persons: James Pomfret, Kevin Yao, Ellen Zhang HONG, Xi Jinping, Li Qiang, Xi’s, Xi, Tianchen Xu, Li, Steve Tsang, Ellen Zhang, Nick Macfie Organizations: Communist Party, Party, Reuters, Economist Intelligence Unit, SOAS China Institute, National Development, Reform Commission Locations: Ellen Zhang HONG KONG, BEIJING, China, China’s, Beijing, United States, London, Pearl

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Four astronauts headed to the International Space Station on Sunday where they will oversee the arrivals of two new rocketships during their half-year stint. SpaceX’s Falcon rocket blasted off from Kennedy Space Center, carrying NASA’s Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt and Jeanette Epps and Russia’s Alexander Grebenkin. “When are you getting here already?” space station commander Andreas Mogensen asked via X, formerly Twitter, after three days of delay due to high wind. Epps should have launched to the space station on a Russian rocket in 2018, but was replaced for reasons never publicly disclosed. Flight controllers are monitoring a growing cabin leak on Russia’s side of the space station.

Persons: Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps, Russia’s Alexander Grebenkin, “, Andreas Mogensen, Epps, Billy Joel, Dominick, Barratt, ” Barratt, Joel Montalbano Organizations: International, Kennedy Space Center, SpaceX, NASA, Sierra, Ford Motor Co, CIA, Navy, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla, U.S, Denmark, Japan, Russia, New York, Syracuse, N.Y, Russian

☆ A dead Russian spacecraft almost collided with a NASA satellite. The crash could have sent 7,500 bits of debris rocketing around Earth.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | Ellyn Lapointe | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

In the worst-case scenario, the collision would have ejected 7,500 bits of debris into low-Earth orbit. Satellite collisions are becoming more likely as the amount of space junk in low-Earth orbit grows. Even the tiniest debris can damage the space station and endanger astronauts, though no astronaut has lost their life due to space debris (yet). The race to clean up spaceThe consequences of space debris are very real, so much so, that the worst-case scenario has a name: Kessler syndrome. TransAstra's capture bags could help solve Earth's space debris problem.

Persons: —, LeoLabs, Darren McKnight, NASA ODPO, Kessler, Astroscale Organizations: Service, Space, NASA, European Space Agency, Federal Communications Commission, Dish Locations: Russia, India

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