Rocket Report: Virgin Galactic delays flight, Falcon Heavy nets NASA mission
"There was a large bang and some white smoke went up." Enlarge / Inspiration4 reflected in the shores of the St. Johns River on the space coast of Florida. (credit: Trevor Mahlmann / Ars Technica) Welcome to Edition 4.16 of the Rocket Report!.....»»
NASA"s Deep Space Optical Communications demonstration transmits data over 140 million miles
Riding aboard NASA's Psyche spacecraft, the agency's Deep Space Optical Communications technology demonstration continues to break records. While the asteroid-bound spacecraft doesn't rely on optical communications to send data, the new technology ha.....»»
Hera asteroid mission"s side-trip to Mars
ESA's Hera asteroid mission for planetary defense will make a swingby of Mars next March, borrowing speed to help reach its target Didymos binary asteroid system......»»
Psyche spacecraft sends data back to Earth using lasers for the first time
NASA's experimental laser communication system, riding along with the Psyche spacecraft, has transmitted Psyche data from over 140 million miles away......»»
The Mars Sample Return mission has a shaky future, and NASA is calling on private companies for backup
A critical NASA mission in the search for life beyond Earth, Mars Sample Return, is in trouble. Its budget has ballooned from US$5 billion to over $11 billion, and the sample return date may slip from the end of this decade to 2040......»»
56% of cyber insurance claims originate in the email inbox
56% of all 2023 claims were a result of funds transfer fraud (FTF) or business email compromise (BEC), highlighting the importance of email security as a critical aspect of cyber risk management, according to Coalition. The 2024 Cyber Claims Report i.....»»
Vision Pro marketing chief retires after 36 years at Apple
Apple is losing another important director as a new report from Bloomberg has just revealed that Frank Casanova, currently senior director and head of product marketing for Apple Vision Pro, is retiring after working at the company for 36 years......»»
2024 Apple Watch Rumors Have Been Utterly Confusing
A new report has outlined another potential change coming to the Apple Watch and it only adds to the confusion surrounding this year’s flagship model. According to hit-or-miss publication Digitimes, a site that reports information gleaned from.....»»
Google can’t quit third-party cookies—delays shut down for a third time
Google says UK regulator testing means the advertising tech will last until 2025. Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) Will Chrome, the world's most popular browser, ever kill third-party cookies? Apple and Mozilla both killed.....»»
We may have spotted the first magnetar flare outside our galaxy
Not all gamma-ray bursts come from supernovae. Enlarge / M82, the site of what's likely to be a giant flare from a magnetar. (credit: NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team) Gamma rays are a broad category of high-energy.....»»
See incredible time lapses of two of space’s most famous objects
Two striking timelapses from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory show how two famous objects have changed over the last two decades......»»
Pushing the limits of sub-kilowatt electric propulsion technology for space mission concepts
NASA has developed an advanced propulsion technology to facilitate future planetary exploration missions using small spacecraft. Not only will this technology enable new types of planetary science missions, one of NASA's commercial partners is alread.....»»
NASA"s Chandra releases timelapse movies of Crab Nebula and Cassiopeia A
New movies of two of the most famous objects in the sky—the Crab Nebula and Cassiopeia A—are being released from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. Each includes X-ray data collected by Chandra over about two decades. They show dramatic changes in.....»»
A NASA rover has reached a promising place to search for fossilized life on Mars
While we go about our daily lives on Earth, a nuclear-powered robot the size of a small car is trundling around Mars looking for fossils. Unlike its predecessor Curiosity, NASA's Perseverance rover is explicitly intended to "search for potential evid.....»»
How NASA Repaired Voyager 1 From 15 Billion Miles Away
The far-traveled space probe is once again transmitting usable data, after a glitch caused months of gibberish......»»
Study recommends ending use of drug dogs, reducing police presence at future Mardi Gras
A study of policing at WorldPride and Mardi Gras events in 2023 found it was heavy-handed and damaging to its relationship with the LGBTQIA+ community......»»
Ross Young: New iPad Air won’t feature mini-LED after all, but a new mystery iPad is coming in Q4
Last week, we got a report from Ross Young with a nice surprise that the upcoming 12.9-inch iPad Air would use mini-LED for its display. Now an updated report from Ross says that’s not happening after all, but there could be an iPad surprise at the.....»»
iPhone activation market share hits new low as Android dominates
CIRP is out with a report on how iPhone activations compare to Android in the US. The latest data shows a notable drop over the last year bringing Apple’s US smartphone market share of new activations back in time six years. more….....»»
SpaceX has now landed more boosters than most other rockets ever launch
Can the Falcon 9 eventually challenge Soyuz for launch totals? Enlarge / SpaceX landed its 300th booster on Tuesday. (credit: SpaceX webcast) SpaceX launches have become extremely routine. On Tuesday evening, SpaceX laun.....»»
Black hole "traffic jams" discovered in galactic centers by astronomers
An international study, led by researchers from Monash University, has revealed crucial insights into black hole dynamics within massive disks at the centers of galaxies......»»
Some cannabis rolling papers may contain unhealthy levels of heavy metals
A team of chemists at Lake Superior State University, working with colleagues from Wayne State University, both in Michigan, and two representatives from JEOL U.S., a lab equipment maker, has found that some cannabis rolling papers contain high level.....»»