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Archive for the ‘space travel’ category: Page 363

Oct 4, 2018

5 Sci-Fi Books Biotech Geeks Should Read Right Now

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, robotics/AI, space travel, time travel

From space colonization to resurrection of dinosaurs to machine intelligence, the most awe-inspiring visions of humanity’s future are typically born from science fiction.

But among an abundance of time travel, superheroes, space adventures, and so forth, biotech remains underrepresented in the genre.

This selection highlights some outstanding works (new and not so new) to fill the sci-fi gap for biotech aficionados.

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Oct 3, 2018

Jeff Bezos plans to build and launch a ‘large lunar lander’ in his quest to colonize space

Posted by in categories: economics, robotics/AI, space travel

Jeff Bezos, the richest person on Earth, is designing a spacecraft to land on the moon with his rocket company, Blue Origin. The “Blue Moon” robot is expected to deliver several metric tons of supplies to the surface, though Blue Origin is working with others to establish a larger lunar economy.

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Oct 3, 2018

SpaceX executive talks rocket R&D: “Nobody paid us to make Falcon Heavy”

Posted by in categories: government, space travel

Set to give a keynote speech on October 3rd at 2018’s International Astronautical Congress (IAC), Hans Koenigsmann – SpaceX Vice President of Build and Flight Reliability – attended an impromptu talk one day prior, titled “From the University of Bremen to SpaceX”.

Speaking before a small audience, the University of Bremen graduate and fourth employee to join SpaceX discussed his opinions of Falcon Heavy, BFR, and more, frankly relating how SpaceX intentionally chose to build Falcon Heavy on its own, going so far as to turn down funding reportedly offered by one or more US government agencies.

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Oct 3, 2018

Jeff Bezos explains why Blue Origin is ‘the most important work I’m doing’

Posted by in categories: futurism, space travel

The Amazon chief explained that while the solar system has plenty of resources that can be used by future generations, the current cost of space travel is far too expensive.

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Oct 3, 2018

Traveling to Mars Could Cause Life-Threatening Damage to Astronauts’ Guts, Says Study

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, health, space travel

Spend months in space, and you could develop cancer.


To study the effects of deep space radiation exposure on astronaut health, researchers exposed mice to comparable levels of radiation. It hurt their guts.

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Oct 1, 2018

Blue Origin and Airbus back ‘The Moon Race,’ a space contest yet to be defined

Posted by in categories: space travel, sustainability

A new nonprofit organization is partnering with Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture, Airbus and other heavy-hitters to create a moon-centric prize program known as “The Moon Race.”

The contest’s goal is to boost technologies that could contribute to sustainable lunar exploration. A lot of the details, however, are still up in the air — including exactly what those technologies will be, and how much the prizes will amount to.

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Oct 1, 2018

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin beats key rival to rocket engine deal

Posted by in category: space travel

Blue Origin is best known for its own rocket programs, but it just scored a deal that could make it an important name in the spaceflight industry. United Launch Alliance has chosen Blue Origin’s BE-4 engine (two of them, to be exact) to power the booster stage its next-generation Vulcan Centaur rocket, which is due to launch in mid-2020. Jeff Bezos’ outfit won’t be the only rocket vendor involved, but it crucially beat out Aerojet Rocketdyne — a behemoth in the industry that had tried to pressure ULA into avoiding Blue Origin tech altogether.

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Sep 30, 2018

360 Video: Inside Boeing’s Starliner space capsule

Posted by in categories: futurism, space travel

The gumdrop-shaped capsule is designed to function essentially as a space taxi, ferrying up to seven astronauts and their cargo to and from the International Space Station. Boeing is expected to conduct the spacecraft’s first crewed test flight to the ISS next year. (SpaceX is putting the finishing touches on its Crew Dragon capsule, which is also scheduled to carry its first crew in 2019.)

Recently, NBC News MACH visited a Starliner mock-up at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to get an insider’s look at the spacecraft — and a sense of what it would be like to fly aboard the futuristic capsule. [Editor’s note: Boeing is a sponsor of MACH’s Making of an Astronaut series.]

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Sep 30, 2018

SpaceX restores a Falcon 1 rocket for 10th anniversary of first launch success

Posted by in category: space travel

With plans to give the historic rocket its own place on display inside the company’s Hawthorne factory, SpaceX has refurbished the last remaining Falcon 1 rocket booster and an old Merlin 1C engine to create a model representative of the same Falcon 1 that saved SpaceX and made history on September 28th, 2008, becoming the first privately-developed liquid-fuel rocket to reach Earth orbit.

In the process of celebrating the tenth anniversary of that crowning achievement, one is reminded just how meteoric SpaceX’s rise has been over the course of that decade, marked by relentless progress with Falcon 1, Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, Cargo Dragon, Crew Dragon, and even the early phases of BFR construction.

Ten years ago today, Falcon 1 became the first privately developed liquid fuel rocket to achieve Earth orbit. Here are a few of our SpaceX employees who helped us achieve this historic milestone! pic.twitter.com/zwgXor0YXt

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Sep 28, 2018

Tesla without Musk at the wheel? That’s what the SEC wants

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, government, space travel, sustainability

Can Tesla survive without Elon Musk? If he is banned from CEO or director positions or being a board member what will the impact to SpaceX be?


Tesla without Elon Musk at the wheel? To many of the electric car maker’s customers and investors that would be unthinkable. But that’s what government securities regulators now want to see.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has asked a federal court to oust Musk as Tesla’s chairman and CEO, alleging he committed securities fraud with false statements about plans to take the company private.

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