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Mon, Feb 21


Just how big is space, and could we really explore the galaxy with the invention of light-speed engines? To try and make sense of all those HUGE numbers we hear when talking about space, we’ll first create a quick and easy map of the Solar System that shows its true scale. It’s a fun activity for kids and adults of all ages and requires only a blank piece of white paper (letter size), tape, scissors, and some coloring/drawing supplies. Next, we’ll use this map to learn about how we communicate with spacecraft and what it would mean to travel amongst the stars.

Registration: https://cornell.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYsdeysqjgoH9a7QUoBzPjwWpBXtHAsKosE

Tesla asks for help… SpaceX stacks… Elon Musk pays in Doge. It’s the free edition of Musk Reads #286.

And for our premium members — last week, you learned about Moon Bikes. This week, you will hear from author Jimmy Soni about what Musk’s earliest success reveals about his management style.

“They will be fine” — Elon Musk tweeted in response to a user wondering “How can I feel good about bringing kids into the world given climate change?” The real answer is much more complicated; the next few decades are fraught, and some children are already experiencing the worst of what climate change has to offer. Read more on Inverse.

Space colonization requires us to better understand how Earth sustains us.

In the coming decades, space agencies from around the world will be venturing farther out into space than ever before. This includes returning to the Moon (perhaps to stay this time), exploring Mars, and maybe even establishing human settlements on both. Beyond that, there are even proposals for establishing habitats in space that could accommodate millions. These plans build on decades of planning that go back to the dawn of the Space Age. In some cases, the plans are inspired by proposals made over half a century prior to that. While these grand visions for space exploration and colonization present many challenges, they also inspire innovative solutions. In particular, missions to deep-space require fresh thinking about environmental control and life-support systems (ECLSS) that can provide self-sufficiency in terms of air, water, food, and protection from radiation and the dangers of space. These are essential since missions that take astronauts far from Earth cannot depend upon resupply missions from the surface to Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

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Cornell chemists have discovered a class of nonprecious metal derivatives that can catalyze fuel cell reactions about as well as platinum, at a fraction of the cost.

This finding brings closer a future where fuel cells efficiently power cars, generators and even spacecraft with minimal greenhouse gas emissions.

“These less expensive metals will enable wider deployment of hydrogen fuel cells,” said Héctor D. Abruña, the Émile M. Chamot Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology in the College of Arts and Sciences. “They will push us away from and toward .”

For centuries, people have dreamed of being driven at speed across the vast oceans of space by winds of light.

As whimsical as the idea sounds, nudging reflective sails slowly towards the speed of light using nothing more than the punch of photons might be our only plausible shot at reaching another star inside of a single human lifetime.

It’s also far easier said than done. Particles of light might be fast, but they don’t push very hard. If you make a sail light enough to feel the inertia of radiation, then the constant barrage of photons could inadvertently damage its material.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is splitting the value of its common stock 10-for-1, CNBC has learned, with the company’s valuation having soared to more than $100 billion.

The split means that for each share of SpaceX stock owned as of Thursday, a holder now has 10 shares after the conversion. With SpaceX valued at $560 a share during its most recent sale, the split reduces SpaceX’s common stock to $56 a share, according to a company-wide email obtained by CNBC.

“The split has no impact on the overall valuation of the company or on the overall value of your SpaceX holdings,” the email said.

Virgin Galactic announced Friday that Chairman Chamath Palihapitiya is stepping down from the space tourism company’s board of directors, effective immediately.

Palihapitiya’s SPAC, or special purpose acquisition company, took Virgin Galactic public in October 2019. The company’s stock has experienced volatile trading since then – climbing above $60 a share in the months ahead of Sir Richard Branson’s test spaceflight, but recently falling back below its public debut price with the beginning of commercial service delayed more than two years from what the company forecast.

The now-former chairman sold his personal Virgin Galactic stake in early 2021 that was worth over $200 million at the time. But Palihapitiya indirectly owns about 15.8 million shares through Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings.

Jared Isaacman, the billionaire founder of payments company Shift4 who flew on the first private SpaceX flight to orbit last year, has purchased as many as three more flights from Elon Musk’s company.

The first mission in the so-called Polaris Program is set to launch a four-person crew led by Isaacman in the fourth quarter with the company’s Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft. According to the program’s website, the augural flight, Polaris Dawn, will be the first of up to three missions, with the final one to be the first crewed spaceflight of SpaceX’s Starship rocket.

“The Polaris Program is an important step in advancing human space exploration while helping to solve problems through the use of innovative technology here on Earth,” Isaacman said in a statement.