Places and Things

NASA has finally launched the James Webb Space Telescope At long last, NASA has launched the James Webb Space Telescope. On Christmas morning, the telescope launched from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on an Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket after 14 years of development and a number of delays. Continue Reading . . . https://www.engadget.com/nasa-james-webb-space-telescope-launch-123452649.html

Astronomers have a new theory that defies a fundamental necessity of life When searching for life on another planet, we often look to Earth-like worlds that have what it takes to sustain living organisms. But some scientists are now arguing that may not always be the best place to look. Continue Reading . . . https://www.inverse.com/science/life-in-space-land-planets-no-water

Legal questions linger as governments and companies keep pushing into space The Perseverance rover’s landing on Mars is still fresh in people’s memories, privately-owned companies are ferrying people and supplies into orbit, and NASA continues to work on “the most powerful rocket” it has ever built. Continue Reading . . . https://www.engadget.com/new-laws-needed-for-space-mining-exploration-sxsw-2021-194711581.html

Rare meteorite that fell on UK driveway may contain 'ingredients for life' A fireball that lit up the sky over the United Kingdom and Northern Europe on February 28 was an extremely rare type of meteorite. Fragments of the space rock discovered on a driveway in the Cotswolds could provide answers to questions about the early history of the solar system and life on Earth. Continue Reading . . . https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/08/europe/uk-meteorite-extremely-rare-scn/index.html

World's first space hotel scheduled to open in 2027 If you're daydreaming of future travels while stuck at home during the pandemic, why fantasize about the beaches of Bali or the canals of Venice when vacationing in space could be in your future? Then called the Von Braun Station, this futuristic concept -- comprised of 24 modules connected by elev Continue Reading . . . https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/voyager-station-space-hotel-scn/index.html

Virgin Orbit carries satellites to space for the first time Virgin Orbit’s second launch demonstration flight has been smoother than its first. The company has carried customer satellites into space for the first time after the Cosmic Girl host aircraft successfully deployed the LauncherOne rocket over the Pacific Ocean for its latest test. Continue Reading . . . https://www.engadget.com/virgin-orbit-sends-satellites-to-space-195604019.html

8K footage recorded on the Samsung Galaxy S20 will take up around 600MB per minute, according to Samsung, meaning that storage could quickly become an issue if you want to record video at the highest-possible resolution. from https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/12/21134451/samsung-galaxy-s20-8k-footage-recording-600mb-minute-storage-capacity https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/66299458/vpavic_200206_3899_0166.0.jpg

http://ift.tt/2hi79d3 The ISS crew won’t have to worry about running out of supplies this holiday season. Japan’s space agency loaded its ship called Kounotori 6 with 4.5 tons of food, water, spare parts and experimental hardware before sending it off to the ISS on top of an H-IIB rocket. Over a week ago, the Russian spacecraft that was supposed to ferry everything astronauts need to the orbiting lab burned up a few minutes into its journey. It’s still unclear why the spacecraft disintegrated, but it apparently has something to do with the Soyuz rocket’s third stage……