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Category: government – Page 87

More than 21,000 evacuated as heavy rains continue to lash flood-hit Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: More than 21,000 people affected by Malaysia’s worst flooding in years — most of them in Selangor — were sheltering in relief centres on Sunday (Dec 19).

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced the government would allocate an initial sum of RM100 million for house and infrastructure repairs, and will provide financial aid to affected households.

In a Facebook post, the prime minister said he had “directed all ministries to double up efforts in helping flood operations especially in the severely affected areas as soon as possible”.

Lightest Sound Insulation Ever Created Will Make Aircraft Engines 80% Quieter

In aviation, any advancement in design must either reduce weight or the benefit has to be worth the extra weight. Researchers at the University of Bath seem to have achieved the perfect balance between the two by developing a way to reduce aircraft engine noise by up to 80% while adding almost no extra weight.

As Green Car Congress reports, the research team at the University of Bath developed a graphene oxide-polyvinyl alcohol aerogel, which only weighs 2.1kg (4.6lbs) per cubic meter and therefore makes it the lightest sound insulation ever manufactured.

Researchers developed a graphene aerogel that reduces engine noise to the same level as a hair dryer.

Third Test Of The Air Force’s Hypersonic Weapon Has Failed Like The Ones Before It

The U.S. Air Force has failed for a third time to conduct a successful test of the rocket booster on a prototype AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon hypersonic missile, or ARRW. This can only add to the palatable frustration within the service, as well as elsewhere in the U.S. military and in Congress, about the progress, or lack thereof, in the testing of various new hypersonic weapons.

The Air Force Life Cycle Management Command’s Armament Directorate confirmed to The War Zone today that another attempted ARRW flight test had failed on Dec. 15, 2021. The Air Force says that it has not yet determined the cause of the issue that led to the test being aborted. The prototype missile never left the wing of the B-52H bomber carrying it.

World’s Next Gen Cosmic Observatory: Webb Space Telescope and Ariane 5 — Preparing for Launch [Video]

The world’s next generation cosmic observatory, the James Webb Space Telescope 0, is due for launch on an Ariane 5 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

Webb is a joint project between NASA

Established in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the United States Federal Government that succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). It is responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. It’s vision is “To discover and expand knowledge for the benefit of humanity.”

Jamie Metzl: Lab Leak Theory | Lex Fridman Podcast #247

Jamie Metzl is an author specializing in topics of genetic engineering, biotechnology, and geopolitics. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
- Mizzen+Main: https://mizzenandmain.com and use code LEX to get $35 off.
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EPISODE LINKS:
Jamie’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/JamieMetzl.
Jamie’s Website: https://jamiemetzl.com/
Jamie’s lab leak blog post: https://jamiemetzl.com/origins-of-sars-cov-2/
Hacking Darwin (book): https://amzn.to/3lLqLsM

PODCAST INFO:
Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast.
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr.
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8
RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/
Full episodes playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4
Clips playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOeciFP3CBCIEElOJeitOr41

OUTLINE:
0:00 — Introduction.
1:27 — Lab leak.
1:00:01 — Gain-of-function research.
1:09:32 — Anthony Fauci.
1:19:14 — Francis Collins.
1:23:56 — Joe Rogan, Brett Weinstein, and Sam Harris.
1:53:53 — Xi Jinping.
2:08:24 — Patient Zero.
2:21:38 — WHO
2:45:28 — Government transparency.
3:07:28 — Likelihood of a cover-up.
3:09:16 — Future of reproduction.
3:44:55 — Jon Stewart.
3:50:14 — Joe Rogan and Sanjay Gupta.
4:15:19 — Ultramarathons.
4:25:21 — Chocolate.
4:33:34 — One Shared World.
4:48:37 — Hope for the future.

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NASA Is Conducting An Environmental Assessment Of New SpaceX Proposal To Build A Starship Launch Site At Launch Complex-49 In Florida

On December 15, NASA announced that SpaceX submitted a new proposal to build a Starship launch site at Launch Complex-49 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Previously, SpaceX officials mentioned plans to build a Starship launch tower at historic Launch Complex-39A, the launch site from where NASA Apollo astronauts lifted off atop Saturn V on a voyage to the Moon half a century ago. NASA and SpaceX are working to return humans to the lunar surface by 2025. SpaceX is developing a lunar-optimized Starship Human Landing System (HLS) to land astronauts on the moon as part of the Artemis program that aims to build a sustainable presence on our closest celestial neighbor.

The unbuilt Launch Complex-49 is an 175-acre land located north of Launch Pad-39B and Pad-39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center premises. The agency released a map of the region, pictured below, that outlines the locations of each launch site. “LC-49 has been a part of Kennedy’s master plan for several years,” said Tom Engler, Kennedy’s director of Center Planning and Development. “The Notice of Availability was updated in 2014.”

“Every new construction project, whether government or commercial, goes through a comprehensive environmental review process,” said Don Dankert, technical lead for the Kennedy Environmental Planning Office. “This ensures that we are able to identify potential environmental impacts and define any associated mitigations prior to project implementation.”

Greenspot submits application for 1,000MWh big battery at former coal plant

Greenspot lodges development application for Wallerawang battery, and it hopes to have the first stage in operation in just two years.

Privately owned NSW development company Greenspot says it has lodged a development application for a huge 500MW, 1000MWh big battery at the site of the closed Wallerawang coal fired power station near Lithgow, and hopes to bring it into service within two years.

The development application to the state government comes just weeks after the last chimney stacks of the closed coal generator were brought down. The battery will be called the “Wallerawang 9 Battery,” to acknowledge the legacy of units 7 and 8, which were the last coal fired units at the power station.

“The lodgement of the development application for the Wallerawang 9 Battery is an important early marker in repurposing the site for the next chapter of success”, Greenspot CEO Brett Hawkins said in a statement.

Neoen doubles size of Canberra big battery, dumps Tesla for Doosan

Neoen has doubled the size of its proposed Capital big battery, and started construction, after eyeing emerging market opportunities.

French renewables and battery storage developer Neoen says it has begun construction of a 100MW/200MWh big battery in the Australian Capital Territory, after doubling the size of the project because of emerging market opportunities.

Neoen is Australia’s most successful investor in battery storage, having built the original “Tesla big battery” at the Hornsdale Power Reserve in South Australia, which was then the world’s biggest, and then expanding that facility, adding another at Bulgana in Victoria, and last week opening the 300MW/450MWh Victorian Big Battery, now the country’s biggest.

Now Neoen has begun construction of the 100MW Capital battery, which will have two hours of storage and will be double the size of the battery canvassed in its 2020 tender win with the ACT government.

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