DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft will launch to find whether life could exist on an icy ocean world
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-14 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft — designed to explore its namesake, Jupiter’s moon Europa — is expected to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket Monday at 12:06 p.m. If Europa Clipper doesn’t take off Monday, there are launch opportunities through November 6. NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft carries a special message from humanity onboard. There was no harder year than this one to get Europa Clipper over the finish line, said Curt Niebur, Europa Clipper program scientist. That’s what’s waiting us at Europa.”The Europa Clipper spacecraft is seen atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on October 13.

Persons: Mike McAleenan, Tim Dunn, Hurricane Milton, ”, Robert Pappalardo, Ada Limón, Curt Niebur, ” Niebur, “ It’s, we’ve, That’s, Haje Korth, ” Korth, ” Pappalardo Organizations: CNN, Clipper, SpaceX, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, 45th Weather Squadron, US Space Force, NASA’s, Hurricane, Europa Clipper, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, US, NASA, JPL, Caltech, Kennedy Space Center, European Space Agency, Europa, Johns Hopkins, Physics Laboratory Locations: Florida, Pasadena , California, Europa

☆ Starship flight 5: SpaceX will attempt ‘chopstick’ landing
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-13 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The inaugural test launch of a Starship and Super Heavy — called an integrated test flight — took off in April 2023. The last test launch — the fourth of SpaceX’s integrated test flight campaign — took off in June. The concept animation above simulates how a successful catch of the Super Heavy rocket by Mechazilla could play out. On the fifth test flight, the upper Starship spacecraft will once again attempt to land upright in a controlled maneuver over the ocean. For example, SpaceX must figure out how to refuel a Starship spacecraft while it’s stationed in orbit.

Persons: “ chopsticks, Artemis, —, Elon Musk, it’s, Mechazilla, Musk, ” “ We’re, ”, ” Musk Organizations: CNN, SpaceX, NASA, Super, YouTube Locations: Boca Chica , Texas, of Mexico, terra firma

☆ North Carolina’s Tylee Craft dies at 23 after cancer battle
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-12 | by ( Jacob Lev | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —University of North Carolina wide receiver Tylee Craft has died at the age of 23 after a cancer battle, the school announced on Saturday. “It is with love and fond memories that we announce Tylee Craft has begun his journey on the other side,” the school said in a release. “Tylee meant so much to so many and affected us in ways we’ll always be thankful for. The school honored Craft ahead of Saturday’s game against Georgia Tech at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Tar Heels head coach Mack Brown embraced Craft’s mother during a tribute that included 13 seconds of applause to honor Craft.

Persons: Craft, “, he’ll, Mack Brown, Craft’s, JJ Jones, Brown, Tyler Strong, ” Brown, they’re, ” Organizations: CNN — University of North, Disney Spirit, Georgia Tech, Kenan, Heels Locations: CNN — University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill , North Carolina

☆ Helicopter pilot who crashed into a hotel had drunk a ‘significant amount of alcohol,’ report finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-09 | by ( Hilary Whiteman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Brisbane, Australia CNN —A pilot who died when he crashed a helicopter into a hotel in Australia had “significant blood alcohol content” during the unauthorized flight, according to an official report into the incident. The pilot had been out with friends at various venues around Cairns and was seen consuming alcohol, according to witnesses and security camera footage, the report said. Cameras also caught the moment he positioned one of Nautilus Aviation’s Robinson R44 Raven II helicopters onto a helipad at Cairns Airport at around 1:30 a.m. local time. The report found they wouldn’t have seen a helicopter that was operating at night with no lights. It found the helicopter wasn’t upright when it hit the hotel, but there was also no sign of mechanical failure.

Persons: Australia CNN —, wasn’t, ”, Veronica Knight, Nautilus Aviation’s Robinson Organizations: Australia CNN, Hilton Hotel, Nautilus Aviation, Australian Transport Safety Bureau, ” Police, Nautilus, Cairns Airport, Australian Federal Police Locations: Brisbane, Australia, Cairns, Far North Queensland

☆ Qantas apologizes after R-rated film plays on every screen during Sydney-Tokyo flight
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-07 | by ( Karla Cripps | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Things got unexpectedly racy onboard a recent Qantas flight when an R-rated film was played on all the aircraft’s screens. In its statement, Qantas said crew initially attempted to fix the screens for customers who did not want to watch the movie. The airline said cabin crew apologized to passengers, “particularly those who had complained about the content” and will follow up with them. “The movie was clearly not suitable to play for the whole flight and we sincerely apologize to customers for this experience,” said a Qantas spokesperson. We are reviewing how the movie was selected.”CORRECTION: An earlier version of this report misidentified the movie’s star.

Persons: ”, Dakota Johnson, Sean Penn Organizations: CNN, Qantas, US Motion Pictures Locations: Sydney

☆ CNN aboard Israeli tanker for strike on Houthi-controlled port in Yemen
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-30 | by ( Nic Robertson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Israeli Air Force security regulations are so tight neither I nor Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, the IDF spokesman accompanying me, are allowed to bring our cellphones aboard. In its new guise as an Israeli tanker, signs remain of the aircraft’s past life, a reminder of its age. The seats are stripped out, its long body fitted with huge, pressurized fuel tanks, essential for Israel to project its firepower. He jockeys the two long levers beside his seat and steers the nozzle toward the gas-hungry fighter jet’s fuel port. Airstrikes in Hodeidah, Yemen.

Persons: –, Israel, Nadav Shoshani, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, ” Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Ras Issa, Hodeidah, Herzi Halevi, ” Halevi, Shoshani Organizations: Sea CNN, Boeing, Israel Defense Forces, Israeli Air Force, United Nations General Assembly, UN, CNN, Ben Gurion International, Air Force Locations: Saudi, Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, Tunis, Iran, Hodeidah Port, Tel Aviv, Red, New York, Hodeidah

☆ SpaceX set to launch mission that will bring home Starliner astronauts
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-28 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —A SpaceX mission due to take flight Saturday aims to unite the Boeing Starliner astronauts with the spacecraft that will bring them home. NASA’s Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore have already been on the International Space Station more than 100 days longer than expected. The two rode the Starliner to the International Space Station in early June for what was expected to be about a weeklong test flight. At liftoff, Hague and Gorbunov will be strapped inside the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, nicknamed Freedom, as it sits atop a Falcon 9 rocket. Gorbunov and Hague will join them after docking with the space station, set for Sunday.

Persons: NASA’s Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, Helene, ”, Steve Stich, Nick Hague, Aleksandr Gorbunov, Williams, Wilmore, Gorbunov, Stephanie Wilson, Zena, Cardman, “, Nick, Alex, ” Cardman, Wilson, I’m, ” Williams Organizations: CNN, SpaceX, Boeing, Space, Cape Canaveral Space Force, NASA, Mission, International Space Station, International, Station, Engineers, Ad astra, Hague Locations: Florida, United States, Hague, Russian

SpaceX is set to launch two new crew members to the International Space Station on Saturday, in a capsule that will eventually bring home two NASA astronauts who flew to orbit on Boeing’s problem-plagued Starliner spacecraft. On their return flight back to Earth, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will ride with them. After numerous delays, NASA opted to keep the two astronauts at the space station. Originally, the Crew-9 flight was supposed to carry four crew members to the space station, but in order to leave seats open for Wilmore and Williams, two NASA astronauts will have to wait for a future launch. Suni Williams, left, and Butch Wilmore at Space Launch Complex 41 in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on June 5.

Persons: Nick Hague, Aleksandr Gorbunov, Miguel J, Rodriguez Carrillo, Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, Williams, Chris O'Meara, Hurricane Helene, Helene Organizations: SpaceX, International, NASA, Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force, Expedition, Kennedy Space Center, Getty, Hague, Boeing Locations: Florida’s, Cape Canaveral, Fla, Gorbunov, Hurricane, Florida’s Big Bend

☆ Data reveals how the Artemis I mission fared against space radiation
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-19 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

NASA’s Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I mission was successfully recovered on December 11, 2022, off the coast of Baja California. Regan Geeseman/NASARadiation worriesNASA has studied the impact of space radiation on human health for decades, dating back to the first crewed space missions of the 1960s. Long-duration space missions to the moon and Mars will expose astronauts to radiation from cosmic rays, or high energy particles that move through space. Courtesy NASAPlanning for Artemis IIIf a solar storm were to occur while the Artemis astronauts were in space, it could last for days. NASA astronaut Christina Koch participates on August 1 in crew geology training in Iceland ahead of the Artemis II mission.

Persons: Artemis II, Artemis I, Artemis, torsos, Helga, Zohar, ”, Sergi Vaquer Araujo, Araujo, ” Araujo, NASA’s, Regan Geeseman, Earth’s Van Allen Belts, Van Allen Belts, Stuart George, Kim Shiflett, ” George, George said, Artemis III, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen, Robert Markowitz, Kelsey Young Organizations: CNN, Orion, European Space Agency, NASA’s Orion, NASA, Space, Apollo, Space Center, Kennedy Space Center, Canadian Space Agency, Goddard Space Flight Locations: Artemis, Baja California, Earth’s, Houston, Mars, Florida, Iceland, Greenbelt , Maryland

☆ Hong Kong investigators say Cathay Pacific’s A350 engine defect could cause ‘extensive’ damage
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-19 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Hong Kong CNN —Hong Kong aviation investigators say an engine problem that caused Cathay Pacific to ground its entire fleet of Airbus A350 jets for inspection earlier this month could have escalated into “extensive damage.”Cathay canceled dozens of flights in early September, citing the need to inspect its A350 planes after the engine issue forced a Zurich-bound flight to return to Hong Kong shortly after takeoff on September 2. The airline had previously identified an engine component failure on the affected aircraft, though it stopped short of revealing what the problem was. The AAIA recommended the European Union Aviation Safety Agency to require Rolls-Royce, the engine maker behind the popular A350 long-haul jets, to “develop continuing airworthiness information” on the problem. Following the incident, Cathay conducted a thorough inspection of its 48-strong A350 fleet and replaced components on 15 of the planes. CNN has reached out to Cathay and Rolls-Royce for comment.

Persons: Royce Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Hong, Cathay, Airbus, Accident Investigation, European Union Aviation Safety Agency, Royce, Trent, CNN Locations: Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific, Zurich

Days after returning to Earth, the four civilian crew members of the Polaris Dawn mission opened up about their experience seeing the planet from orbit, floating in weightlessness and conducting the world’s first all-civilian spacewalk. “The perfection of what you’re looking at is just awe-inspiring,” Poteet said, recalling the views of sunrises and sunsets out the window of their SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. The crew spent two-and-a-half years training for the Polaris Dawn mission, which included choreographing and rehearsing each step of the spacewalk. (The crew members also raised money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital during their time in orbit.) He said the larger goal for both SpaceX and the Polaris program is to eventually make humans a multiplanetary species.

Persons: NBC’s Lester Holt, Jared Isaacman, Scott “ Kidd ” Poteet, Sarah Gillis, Anna Menon —, ” Poteet, Lester Holt, Isaacman, ” Isaacman, “, Gillis, “ It’s, ”, Poteet, Menon, choreographing, Jude Children’s, Van Allen Organizations: Polaris, NBC, Air Force, SpaceX, St, Jude Children’s Research Hospital Locations: Gulf of Mexico, Florida

☆ Voyager 1 survives clogged thruster issue billions of miles away
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-16 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Engineers at NASA have successfully fired up a set of thrusters Voyager 1 hasn’t used in decades to solve an issue that could keep the 47-year-old spacecraft from communicating with Earth from billions of miles away. Currently the farthest spacecraft from Earth, Voyager 1 is about 15 billion miles (24 billion kilometers) away. Earlier this year, engineers spotted an issue when the fuel tube inside one of Voyager’s thrusters became clogged. Engineers switched again to the trajectory correction thruster set in 2018 when the second set also appeared clogged. Once the spacecraft has exhausted this thruster set, Voyager 1’s remaining option is the other already clogged set of attitude propulsion thrusters.

Persons: Calla, ”, It’s, Todd Barber, Suzanne Dodd, ” Barber Organizations: CNN — Engineers, NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, JPL, Caltech, Engineers Locations: Pasadena , California

☆ The strike could cost Boeing more than $1 billion. But that could be the least of its problems
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-16 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

How long the strike lasts will determine how serious the problems are for Boeing. Boeing has a long way back to profitability, no matter how long the strike lasts. So as bad as the strike might be for Boeing, it has plenty of other problems to deal with. So even with financial problems that might kill another company, Boeing isn’t going anywhere. The strike could last a whileNegotiations between Boeing, the union and federal mediators are expected to resume early this week.

Persons: Brian West, Boeing’s, Fitch, Moody’s, Poor’s, Richard Aboulafia, ” Aboulafia, ” Jim Bloomer, Max, “, you’ve, ” Organizations: New, New York CNN, Boeing, Federal Aviation Administration, Airbus, CNN Locations: New York, Washington, Renton , Washington

The Summary Boeing officials have made few public comments about the company's Starliner spacecraft over the last six weeks. Just over an hour after Boeing’s Starliner capsule made its uncrewed return to Earth, NASA convened a standard post-landing briefing to discuss the end of the tumultuous test flight. The capsule’s first crewed test flight, the mission was expected to last around eight days. The pair is scheduled to stay at the space station until February then return with members of an upcoming ISS crew. In 2019, an uncrewed test flight to the space station was cut short because of technical glitches and the company was forced to repeat it in 2022.

Persons: Eric Berger, Joel Montalbano, ”, Mark Nappi, “, NASA’s, Starliner, Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, Wilmore, Williams, Boeing’s Organizations: Boeing, NASA, Space Center, Ars Technica, NBC, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, International Space Station, Agency, SpaceX, ISS, Crew Locations: Houston, Florida

☆ China’s secretive space plane has returned to Earth
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-12 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Here’s what we know – and don’t – about China’s space plane. The term “space plane” often evokes NASA’s Space Shuttle, which flew 135 missions from 1981 to 2011, carrying astronauts into orbit and helping to construct the International Space Station. Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesWhat do we know about China’s space plane program? China’s space plane development comes as a growing number of countries are paying attention to the deepening connections between security on Earth and in space – and vying for so-called counterspace technologies with the potential to disrupt or even destroy adversaries’ assets in space. But observers have also raised questions about the activities of the space plane, including its own deployment of multiple small satellites.

Persons: –, “ It’s, Chance Saltzman, NASA's, “, It’s, ”, Juliana Suess, Clayton Swope, Joe Skipper, Brendan Mulvaney Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Boeing, Xinhua, Shuttle, Space, Space Force, Columbia, NASA's Kennedy Space Center, US Space Shuttle, Hulton, China Aerospace Science, Technology Corporation, Royal United Services Institute, Aerospace Security, Center for Strategic, International Studies, SpaceX, Earth, US Space Force, United, Foundation, China Aerospace Studies Institute, US Air Force Locations: China, Hong Kong, United States, Soviet, “, Florida, Xinjiang, London, Washington

☆ Boeing Starliner capsule returns home from space — without astronauts on board
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-06 | by ( Jackie Wattles | Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Relive the Boeing Starliner capsule’s return home as it happened. CNN —Boeing’s Starliner capsule returned from the International Space Station Friday evening — concluding its nearly three-month stay in space. This screengrab taken from a video shows Boeing Starliner as it touches down in White Sands Space Harbor, New Mexico, at 12:01 a.m. Boeing and NASA teams work around NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test Starliner spacecraft after it landed uncrewed at White Sands, New Mexico, on September 7. NASA astronauts Mike Fincke, left, and Scott Tingle look inside NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test Starliner spacecraft after it landed uncrewed at White Sands Missile Range’s Space Harbor, in New Mexico, on September 7.

Persons: CNN —, Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, Starliner, —, “, ”, Williams, Calypso, ” Williams, you’ve, uncrewed, Aubrey Gemignani, Mark Nappi, Steve Stich, we’ve, ” Stich, we’d, ” Stitch, Butch, Suni, NASA Starliner’s, Wilmore, Stitch, Stich, Mike Fincke, Scott Tingle, NASA ‘, …, Ken Bowersox Organizations: Boeing, CNN, International, NASA, NASA's Boeing, SpaceX, White, Space Operations, Software Locations: Sands, , New Mexico, terra firma, Starliner, White Sands , New Mexico, New Mexico

Lansky said he was inspired by a discussion he had with a pilot he sat next to on a flight years ago. When the safety demonstration video began, “I noticed he wasn't paying attention to it. “You really need to kind of visualize actually lifting the flap,” Lansky told CNBC Travel. “Oh yes,” a U.S. flight attendant with more than two decades of experience told CNBC Travel. He said he asked flight attendants how many times they bump passengers elbows, knees and feet on long-haul flights.

Persons: ”, Doug Lansky, Lansky, “, ” Lansky, I've, you’re, “ We’ll, they've Organizations: CNBC Travel Locations: U.S

☆ NASA to Say if Boeing Starliner Astronauts Will Stay Longer on Space Station
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-24 | by ( Kenneth Chang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

On Saturday, NASA is scheduled to finally announce its decision for how two of its astronauts, who went to orbit in June on Starliner, a spacecraft built by Boeing, will come home from the International Space Station. Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore arrived at the space station on June 6. If everything during the mission had proceeded perfectly, Starliner would have been docked for just eight days. But this is a test flight for Starliner, the first with people aboard, and it was not a surprise that some problems might pop up. But problems with the Boeing spacecraft’s propulsion system turned out to be more than minor glitches.

Persons: Will, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore Organizations: NASA, Boeing, International Space, Starliner Locations: Starliner

☆ This Is a Picture of the Last Thing Seen by NASA’s Asteroid Hunter
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-09 | by ( Katrina Miller | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On Thursday, scientists and engineers in Southern California got an exclusive glimpse at a recent snapshot of Fornax, a constellation of stars in the Southern Hemisphere. At the end of last month, the spacecraft’s survey concluded, and it closed its telescopic eyes for the final time. “This was the little space telescope that could,” said Amy Mainzer, an astronomer at the University of California, Los Angeles, and principal investigator for NEOWISE. “We were really lucky to get to do this work.”When the mission was launched in 2009, it was known simply as WISE. It spent the next year peering at faraway objects in the universe radiating infrared light, including supermassive black holes, brown dwarfs, dying stars and one of the most luminous galaxies in the cosmos.

Persons: ”, Amy Mainzer, “ Organizations: Southern Hemisphere, Survey, University of California Locations: Southern California, Los Angeles

☆ China rocket launch creates cloud of space debris in low-Earth orbit
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-09 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —One of China’s Long March 6A rockets has broken apart in low-Earth orbit and created a debris cloud consisting of hundreds of pieces, according to multiple space debris-tracking entities. And the reason for the rocket breakup remains unknown. Everything in low-Earth orbit travels at 17,500 miles per hour, Crassidis said. It’s the second time one of these rocket bodies has experienced a significant breakup event in low-Earth orbit, according to Victoria Heath, associate director of marketing and communications for LeoLabs. “Events like this highlight the importance of adherence to existing space debris mitigation guidelines to reduce the creation of new space debris and underscore the need for robust space domain awareness capabilities to rapidly detect, track, and catalog newly-launched space objects so they can be screened for potential conjunctions.”

Persons: China’s, SpaceX’s, “ USSPACECOM, ”, Rob Margetta, LeoLabs, John L, Crassidis, “, It’s, Victoria Heath, Audrey Schaffer Organizations: CNN, Taiyuan Satellite, Shanghai Spacecom, Satellite Technology, Space Command, US Department of Defense, NASA, International, Network, University, Buffalo’s School of Engineering, Applied Sciences, LeoLabs, Aerospace Locations: Taiyuan, Shanghai, Victoria

☆ NASA weighs Boeing vs. SpaceX choice in bringing back Starliner astronauts
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

NASA this week has been discussing the possibility of returning Starliner empty and instead using SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft to return its astronauts. The Boeing crew flight was initially planned to last a minimum of nine days. NASA previously noted that SpaceX serves as a backup but has sought to deemphasize that possibility, calling Boeing’s spacecraft the “primary option” for return. Already, Boeing’s Starliner losses total more than $1.5 billion due to repeated setbacks and years of delays in developing the spacecraft. If NASA backs Boeing and returns Wilmore and Williams on Starliner, the agency is accepting a currently unquantifiable amount of risk.

Persons: Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, —, ”, Williams, Mark Nappi, “ We’re, ” Nappi, Steve Stich, Starliner Organizations: NASA, SpaceX, International Space Station, CNBC, Boeing, Ars Technica, Boeing’s, Space, Commercial, Starliner Locations: Starliner

☆ Surprising element traced back to Renaissance alchemist’s basement laboratory
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-28 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Editor’s note: A version of this story appeared in CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Thousands of years ago, our ancestors produced the first maps of the stars and practiced alchemy, the precursor to chemistry. But ancient alchemists actually developed technology and discovered chemical elements that are still widely used today. Now, a new discovery links both astronomy and alchemy in one intriguing figure who lived during the Renaissance. Once the Starliner mission concludes, SpaceX will ferry a quartet of astronauts for NASA’s Crew-9 mission to the space station.

Persons: Sir Isaac Newton, Uraniborg, Tycho Brahe, Brahe, wasn’t, Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, Mark Nappi, Craig Smith, Diva Amon, Andrew Sweetman, Sweetman, ”, David Flannery, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, Chemists, Lund University Danish, NASA, Boeing, Engineers, SpaceX, NASA’s, Marine, Scottish Association for Marine Science, JPL, Caltech, Perseverance, CNN Space, Science Locations: Ireland, Brazil, Mars

☆ Boeing Starliner officials may know ‘root cause’ of issues with astronaut flight
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-25 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

They then fired the thruster to try out several ways the engines might fire on the way home from space, according to Boeing. Officials said they were able to recreate how the thrusters in space deteriorated during flight with the ground tests. Additional Starliner testingSeparately, engineers may have made headway understanding helium leaks that hampered the first leg of Starliner’s journey. “The key attributes of the flight rationale really are that we understand the helium leaks — we understand the stability of the leaks and how we can manage those, should they get bigger,” Stich said, referring to the possibility that helium leaks affecting the Starliner service module may worsen. NASA and Boeing plan to carry out a review to plan for Starliner’s undocking, which “could be as early as late next week,” according to Stich.

Persons: Mark Nappi, ” Nappi, Boeing’s, Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, ”, Steve Stich, NASA’s, Still, Butch, Suni, ” Stich, Williams, Wilmore, Stich, Nappi, Starliner’s Organizations: CNN, NASA, Boeing, International Space, Officials, International, Harmony, Station Locations: New Mexico, Starliner, White Sands , New Mexico

☆ NASA’s Chandra Observatory just celebrated 25 years in space. Budget cuts could threaten its future
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-24 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Chandra X-ray Observatory Center/NASASo far, Chandra has taken nearly 25,000 observations of the universe. Chandra X-ray Observatory Center/NASAShortly after launch, the observatory focused on what has become an iconic celestial target: supernova remnant Cassiopeia A. Chandra has returned to this feature again and again, revealing new insights each time. Chandra X-ray Observatory Center/NASA“Before Chandra, it was known that there was a sort of diffuse haze of X-ray emission coming from all directions in the sky. The NASA budget allotment for Chandra will gradually dwindle in the coming years, based on the agency’s budget request released in March. Chandra X-ray Observatory Center/NASADespite 25 years spent in space, Chandra remains in good health and virtually all of the spacecraft’s systems are in good condition, Slane said.

Persons: NASA’s Chandra, Chandra, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, Eileen Collins, ” Collins, ”, Pat Slane, astrophysicists Riccardo Giacconi, Harvey Tananbaum, NASA’s, Slane, Chandra’s, ” Slane, “ Organizations: CNN, NASA, Center, Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, Hubble, Telescope, Spitzer, Compton Gamma, “ NASA, Chandra Locations: Columbia, Cambridge , Massachusetts, “

☆ Elysian unveils fully electric 90-passenger plane
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-15 | by ( Jacopo Prisco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

“You shouldn’t assume that an electric plane is going to look like the (most successful) planes of today,” de Vries says, adding that a common misconception is that electric planes should essentially be electrified versions of the lightest regional turboprops. What you end up with is a plane that in weight proportions, for example, looks much more like old 1960s jets. Israeli-founded Eviation has flight-tested its plane, called Alice – a fully electric nine-passenger commuter plane with a range of 250 nautical miles that the company aims to put into service in 2027. “There are over 5,000 aircraft in service today in the E9X’s size category of 70 to 100 seats,” he says. If Elysian can surmount the technology and infrastructure challenges, he adds, it will then face the commercial challenge of entering a fiercely competitive market.

Persons: it’s, Reynard de Vries, ” de Vries, de Vries, Vries, Rob Wolleswinkel, Elysian’s, ”, de, Daniel Rosen Jacobson, Jordi Huisman, Çınar, Eviation, Alice –, Gary Crichlow, Crichlow, ” Crichlow Organizations: CNN — Commercial, Elysian, Boeing, Airbus, Delft University of Technology, “, University of Michigan, Heart Aerospace Locations: Netherlands, de Vries, British, American

Search resuls for: "Craft’s"

25 mentions found