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The Exploration Company claims partial success of Mission Possible reentry spacecraft

WASHINGTON — The Exploration Company said it achieved “partial success” on a test flight of a reentry capsule but lost the spacecraft before it splashed down.

The company launched Mission Possible, a 1.6-ton reentry capsule, on SpaceX’s Transporter-14 rideshare mission. The Falcon 9 carrying Mission Possible and the other rideshare payloads lifted off at 5:25 p.m. Eastern June 23 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

Mission Possible was the last payload scheduled to be deployed on Transporter-14, about two hours and 45 minutes after liftoff. The capsule would then perform a controlled reentry and splashdown in the north Pacific Ocean and then be recovered by a ship.

ANALEMMA TOWER — Clouds Architecture Office

Analemma inverts the traditional diagram of an earth-based foundation, instead depending on a space-based supporting foundation from which the tower is suspended. This system is referred to as the Universal Orbital Support System (UOSS)

Which is based on the principles of a conventional space elevator. By placing a large asteroid into orbit over earth, a high strength cable can be lowered towards the surface of earth from which a super tall tower can be suspended. Since this new tower typology is suspended in the air, it can be constructed anywhere in the world and transported to its final location. The proposal calls for Analemma to be constructed over Dubai, which has proven to be a specialist in tall building construction at one fifth the cost of New York City construction.

Chart plotting tallest buildings in the world and their year of completion.

Breakthrough theory links Einstein’s relativity and quantum mechanics

For over 100 years, two theories have shaped our understanding of the universe: quantum mechanics and Einstein’s general relativity. One explains the tiny world of particles; the other describes gravity and the fabric of space. But despite their individual success, bringing them together has remained one of science’s greatest unsolved problems.

Now, a team of researchers at University College London has introduced a bold new idea. Rather than tweaking Einstein’s theory to fit into quantum rules, they suggest flipping the script. Their model, called a “postquantum theory of classical gravity,” aims to rethink the deep link between gravity and the quantum world.

Quantum mechanics thrives on probabilities, uncertainty, and the strange behavior of subatomic particles. It’s helped explain the structure of atoms and power modern technology. Meanwhile, general relativity offers a grand view of the universe, where planets and stars bend spacetime and create what we feel as gravity.

Fusion superkine and focused ultrasound could enable targeted, noninvasive therapy for glioblastoma

Researchers at VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center and the VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine (VIMM) have discovered a new and potentially revolutionary way to treat glioblastoma (GBM), the most aggressive type of brain cancer, which currently has no curative treatment options.

In a study led by Paul B. Fisher, MPh, Ph.D., FNAI, and Swadesh K. Das, Ph.D., recently published in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer, researchers created a that demonstrates the ability to introduce a combination of treatment outcomes—direct toxicity and immunotoxicity—to kill the tumor while exploiting immunotherapy to potentially prevent the recurrence of GBM. The new molecule, a fusion superkine (FSK), contains dual-acting therapeutic cytokines in a single molecule.

“This is the tip of the iceberg,” said Dr. Fisher, the Thelma Newmeyer Corman Endowed Chair in Cancer Research at Massey, director of the VIMM and professor in the Department of Cellular, Molecular and Genetic Medicine. “We’re optimistic that our first trial in , planned for 2026, will show that the IL-24 gene and these therapeutic viruses are effective and safe. And [the FSK] will be the one knocking it out of the ballpark.

Topological Twist for Phase Transitions

Contrary to conventional wisdom, so-called order parameters that distinguish symmetry-governed phases of matter can have topological structure.

From materials developing magnetization patterns to metals becoming superconductors, a wide range of phase transitions can be qualitatively described by a single framework known as Ginzburg-Landau theory [1, 2]. This framework generally assumes that a key quantity in its descriptions, called an order parameter, has trivial topology. But now, Canon Sun and Joseph Maciejko at the University of Alberta, Canada, have shown that order parameters can have hidden topological structure [3]. The researchers have developed an extension to Ginzburg-Landau theory that incorporates such hidden topology, revealing features absent from the original framework.

Symmetry constitutes a fundamental concept in physics. It appears in many guises but is especially important when studying how interactions of countless microscopic constituents give rise to macroscopic order in condensed-matter systems. For example, below a critical temperature, an ordinary magnet has a net magnetization because its spins all align in the same direction, breaking rotational symmetry. If the magnet is heated above that temperature, it loses its magnetization as its spins point in random directions, restoring rotational symmetry.