NASA's Space X Crew-1 astronauts truly deserve a big hand as after surviving 167 days in space, the longest duration mission for a U.S. spacecraft since the final Skylab mission in 1974, Dragon and the Crew-1 astronauts returned safely to Earth.
The four Crew-1 astronauts splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico right on schedule, returning to Earth after a six-month stay on the International Space Station.
The astronauts — three Americans and one from Japan — had undocked from the station, flew through the atmosphere and then touched down in the Gulf of Mexico under four massive parachutes.
Vodafone Joins Google Cloud on Data Analytics
Vodafone Group PLC and the cloud division of Alphabet Inc.'s Google are planning to jointly develop data services, citing interviews with representatives from both companies. As per reports, about 1,000 workers in the U.K., Spain and the U.S. will be asked to create "Nucleus," the new cloud-based storage and analytics portal, which will host Vodafone's data. Nucleus will be able to process around 50 terabytes of data a day within the cloud.
As part of the six-year agreement Vodafone will transfer data from its own servers to Google Cloud.
Vodafone and Google will also invent a system, called Dynamo, that will extract and transport data across different countries where the telecoms company operates.
The two companies will also in the future seek to sell consultancy services to other multinational businesses seeking to move huge amounts of data to the cloud.
May 01, 2021
NASA Astronaut Harvests Two Plants in Space
NASA's Expedition 64 crew member Michael Hopkins harvested two crops in space -- amara mustard, and a previously grown crop, extra dwarf pak choi.
They were grown for 64 days, the longest leafy greens have grown on station, the US space agency said. The pak choi grew for so long that it began to flower as part of its reproduction cycle. Hopkins' efforts in eclipsing the mark included using a small paintbrush to pollinate plant flowers. A VEG-05 experiment with dwarf tomatoes is planned for next year.
Apr 30, 2021
China Launches Robot Prototype Capable of Catching Space Debris
A Chinese space mining start-up launched into low Earth orbit a robot prototype that can scoop up debris left behind by other spacecraft with a big net.
The 30kg robot developed by Shenzhen-based Origin Space will pave the way for future technologies capable of mining on asteroids.
Since the establishment of the world's first asteroid mining company Planetary Resources in 2009, more than a dozen firms across the world have entered the fledging sector, including 3D Systems of the United States and Japan's Astroscale.
Unlike Astroscale's technology, which uses magnets to gather up space junk, NEO-01 will use a net to capture debris and then burn it with its electric propulsion system, according to a report on the company's website.
Thousands of satellites have been launched globally. As they outlive their use, many end up as junk, posing danger to other operating satellites.
OptraSCAN, the leading end-to-end digital pathology solution provider, launched OS-Ultra 320 the world's first-ever affordable high-speed digital pathology scanner. The OS-Ultra 320 scans tissues/cells of size 15x15 mm area at 40x magnification in less than 60 seconds and features no-touch continuous loading operation. The OS-Ultra 320 is designed to reduce workflow errors and scale-up pathology laboratory operations.
OS-Ultra 320 represents a significant development in reducing technician time while maintaining perfect image quality for the healthcare professionals.
Apr 29, 2021
China Launches First Module of New Space Station
China has launched a key module of a new permanent space station, the latest in Beijing's increasingly ambitious space program.
The Tianhe module - which contains living quarters for crew members - was launched from the Wenchang Space Launch Centre on a Long March-5B rocket.
China hopes to have the new station operational by 2022.
The only space station currently in orbit is the International Space Station, from which China is excluded.
China has been a late starter when it comes to space exploration. It was only in 2003 that it sent its first astronaut into orbit, making it the third country to do so, after the Soviet Union and the US.
Apr 28, 2021
Jeff Bezos' Rocket Company Challenges NASA
Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, two of the richest men in the world, both with dreams of leading humanity out into the solar system, are fighting over the moon.
Blue Origin, the rocket company founded by Mr. Bezos filed a 50-page protest with the federal Government Accountability Office, challenging a $2.9 billion contract to SpaceX from NASA to build a lander for American astronauts to return to the moon.
NASA announced this month that Mr. Musk's SpaceX was the sole winner in the competition, beating Blue Origin and a third company, Dynetics of Huntsville, Ala., a defense contractor.
The dispute highlights that whatever the outsize ambitions of Mr. Musk and Mr. Bezos for the future, the present fortunes of their space companies and the ability to generate the profits needed to pay for their grandiose dreams depend on mundane business concerns like jousting for government contracts.
Bob Smith, chief executive of Blue Origin, said NASA's decision was based on flawed evaluations of the bids — misjudging advantages of Blue Origin's proposal and downplaying technical challenges in SpaceX's. He also said that NASA had placed a bigger emphasis on bottom-line cost than it said it would.
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