Space – Lifeboat News: The Blog

President Donald J. Trump

Posted by Michael Lance in policy, space

Jun 20
2018

FURTHER SPACE DEVELOPMENT: President Donald J. Trump signed Space Policy Directive – 3 directing the United States to lead the management of traffic and mitigate the effects of debris in space.

The U.S. Military Has Been in Space From the Beginning

Posted by Genevieve Klien in military, space

Jun 19
2018

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Colony ship to nearest star only needs crew of 100 to survive

Posted by Genevieve Klien in space

Jun 18
2018

A mission to Proxima Centauri b, the closest Earth-like exoplanet, would take over six thousand years – but you only need a small crew to get started.

New (?) ideas for utilizing space for business: hypergravity for isotopic enrichment

Posted by Klaus Baldauf in business, energy, space

Jun 17
2018

One night, as I was putting my daughter to bed and waiting for her to fall asleep, I tried to think of some new markets for space utilization.

We often hear about attempts to find industrial uses for microgravity for growing crystals, for purification of electronic materials (which is an actual thing with ACME Advanced Materials: http://www.a2-m.com/), maybe growth of certain metal foams, etc. However, in space, you’re in both a hard vacuum and not physically resting on anything, so you can spin up something, and it will simply keep on spinning (stably, if you spin it around the correct axis) nearly indefinitely without any additional energy input and no wear on bearings or anything. So in fact, you can get basically any gravity level you want, including HYPERgravity, nearly for free.

What are the applications of this?

Science liaison Mariya Lyubenova

Posted by Genevieve Klien in education, science, space

Jun 17
2018

Mariya Lyubenova is an astronomer at ESO. Her research focusses on the motions and chemical properties of stars in galaxies to unravel the build-up and evolution of galaxies. She also works as a science liaison in the education and Public Outreach Department (ePOD).

RIPPA The Farm Robot Exterminates Pests And Weeds

Posted by Dan Kummer in education, food, robotics/AI, space, sustainability

Jun 17
2018

RIPPA, a fully autonomous robot, can cover five acres a day on a solar charge — finding and exterminating pests and weeds on every single plant over the equivalent of four football fields. Are robots like RIPPA the future of farming?

RIPPA stands for “Robot for Intelligent Perception and Precision Application”.

Catalyst joins engineers from the Australian Centre for Field Robotics as they explore the world of agriculture to develop robots and smarter ways of farming.

Watch Catalyst on ABC iview now: https://iview.abc.net.au/programs/catalyst

Continue reading “RIPPA The Farm Robot Exterminates Pests And Weeds” | >

Astronauts install hi-def docking cameras for Crew Dragon, Starliner capsules

Posted by Genevieve Klien in space

Jun 17
2018

In preparation for the commercial crewed modules that will arrive at the International Space Station soon, astronauts took a lengthy spacewalk to install some crucial equipment to the docking module. The extra-vehicular activity moved commander Drew Feustel to third on the list of all-time spacewalkers.

NASA is about to launch astronauts into space again – and a massive business for big companies

Posted by Michael Lance in business, space

Jun 15
2018

It’s been seven years since astronauts launched into space from U.S. soil.

From idolized to anonymous, what it means to be an American astronaut is changing once more.

Stephen Hawking’s Voice Will Be Broadcast Into Space

Posted by Genevieve Klien in entertainment, space

Jun 15
2018

Hawking is being interred at Westminster Abbey on Friday, with a thousand members of the public (selected through a lottery system) present for the ceremony. The physicist’s remains will be placed between those of Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin.

His voice will be broadcast into space after the service honoring his life.

Hawking’s words “have been set to an original score by composer Vangelis, most famous for his Chariots of Fire film theme,” the BBC reports.

Spinlaunch has $40 million to fund development to first centrifuge space launch by 2022

Posted by Klaus Baldauf in energy, space

Jun 15
2018

SpinLaunch Inc. has closed a $35 million Series A funding round with a powerhouse syndicate of investors. Investors include Airbus Ventures, GV (formerly Google Ventures), and Kleiner Perkins. This syndicate joins institutional investors including Lauder Partners, ATW Partners, Bolt, and Starlight Ventures to total $40 million. Investment funds will be used to scale the team and technology, through first launch by 2022.

SpinLaunch is revolutionizing access to space by developing a kinetic energy launch system designed to provide the world’s lowest-cost orbital launch service for the rapidly growing small satellite industry. Their environmentally responsible approach is unmatched in the industry. SpinLaunch is currently considering four different states for potential launch sites within the United States.

Spinlaunch use large centrifuges to store energy and will then rapidly transfer that momentum into a catapult to send a payload to space at up to 4,800 kilometers per hour (3,000 mph). If successful, the acceleration architecture is projected to be both lower cost and use much less power, with the price of a single space launch reduced to under US$500,000.