Lifeboat Foundation

According to NASA, in order for a satellite to stay in orbit with the Earth, the pull of gravity must be balanced with the object’s speed. As such, the two satellites on course for collision are travelling at an extremely fast relative velocity of 14.7 kilometres per second.

“They’re going to be colliding at an incredibly high speed. And, at that speed, it’s going to probably cause the smaller satellite to break up completely into smaller fragments. And each of those fragments becomes a piece of space debris in its own right,” Gorman told ScienceAlert.

The NASA/NIVR IRAS satellite and the NRO/USN POPPY 5B satellite (aka GGSE 4) are predicted to make a close approach on Wednesday. POPPY 5B has 18-metre-long gravity gradient booms so a 15-to-30 metre predicted miss distance is alarming

Continue reading “Two satellites could hit each other Wednesday — scientists call it ‘one of the most dangerous possible collisions’” »

An unusual chunk in a meteorite may contain a surprising bit of space history, based on new research from Washington University in St. Louis.

Presolar grains—tiny bits of solid interstellar material formed before the sun was born—are sometimes found in primitive meteorites. But a new analysis reveals evidence of presolar grains in part of a meteorite where they are not expected to be found.

“What is surprising is the fact that presolar grains are present,” said Olga Pravdivtseva, research associate professor of physics in Arts & Sciences and lead author of a new paper in Nature Astronomy. “Following our current understanding of solar system formation, presolar grains could not survive in the environment where these inclusions are formed.”

Chinese state media confirmed that Liang Wudong, an ENT specialist who retired in March 2019, died after treating coronavirus patients in Wuhan.

Chinas-coronavirus-hospital-OPENS-today.

China’s first coronavirus hospital has opened in a city near Wuhan after workers and volunteers spent just two days converting an empty building to a 1,000-bed emergency facility.

Continue reading “China’s first coronavirus hospital OPENS today” »

WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT: Norwegian Alf Jacob Nilsen, 64, visited Tomohon Extreme Market in northern Indonesia to document the cruel trade in cats, dogs and endangered animals.

A photograph of the infant cosmos reveals the precise amounts of dark matter and dark energy in the universe, leaving precious little room for argument.

Very predictable since China started offering data. It projects to 16k infected Fri and 88k next Mon Feb 3.

Does the mkt understand this growth rate? Or will it freak?

Details here

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Northrop Grumman was awarded a $13 million contract from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for the Glide Breaker program. The contract provides for the research, development, and demonstration of a technology that is critical for enabling an advanced interceptor capable of engaging maneuvering hypersonic threats in the upper atmosphere.

The U.S. is bolstering its investment in hypersonic weapons, and all the major services are participating in various development programs in conjunction with DARPA. The additional objective is protecting against hypersonic weapons other countries are developing.

The Glide Breaker program was launched in 2018 as part of this hypersonic missile defense effort. This particular project is intended to defend against boost glide vehicles, which are glide bodies lofted into the atmosphere on a ballistic missile. The glide body separates from the missile and glides unpowered to its target, with the ability to maneuver and follow unpredictable flight patterns. This maneuvering capability is one of the factors that makes these types of weapons harder to defend against than traditional ballistic missiles that follow predictable ballistic trajectories.

ESA’s Solar Orbiter mission’s innovative heat shield will enable humanity’s first good close up look at the Sun’s poles.