44 articles from SATURDAY 30.5.2020

New sunspots potentially herald increased solar activity

On May 29, 2020, a family of sunspots -- dark spots that freckle the face of the Sun, representing areas of complex magnetic fields -- sported the biggest solar flare since October 2017. Although the sunspots are not yet visible (they will soon rotate into view over the left limb of the Sun), NASA spacecraft spotted the flares high above them.

SpaceX successfully launches Nasa astronauts into orbit

Donald Trump and Mike Pence witness launch in FloridaFirst attempt was cancelled minutes from blast-offA rocketship named Dragon breathed new fire into America’s human spaceflight programme on Saturday, carrying two astronauts on a much-anticipated adventure. Related: Trump wants America looking at the stars as he drags it through the gutter Continue...

Dragon-riding astronauts join exclusive inner circle at NASA

Astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken join NASA’s exclusive inner circle by catching a ride on a SpaceX rocket and capsule. It’s only the fifth time that NASA has put people aboard a brand new spacecraft line for liftoff. And it’s the first time the spacecraft belongs to a for-profit company in charge of the launch. The retired Marine colonel and former fighter pilot flew on NASA’s...

Millipede from Scotland is world's oldest-known land animal

A fossilized millipede-like creature discovered in Scotland may represent the oldest-known land animal, a humble pioneer of terrestrial living 425 million years ago that helped pave the way for the throngs that would eventually inhabit Earth's dry parts. Researchers said the fossil of the Silurian Period creature, called Kampecaris obanensis and unearthed on the island of Kerrera in the Scottish...

NASA astronauts just flew SpaceX’s Crew Dragon into orbit for the first time

Two NASA astronauts have just launched into space aboard SpaceX’s brand new Crew Dragon vehicle, en route to the International Space Station. It is the first time the company has sent humans into space, and the first time in nine years Americans have launched into space from US soil.  What happened: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Crew Dragon was launched at 3:22 p.m. Eastern Time from...

SpaceX’s Crewed Launch Restores America’s Status Among an Elite Group of Spacefaring Nations

You never know what you’ve got til it’s gone. And if you don’t believe that, consider the national jubilation at 3:22 PM EDT Saturday afternoon, when an American rocket carrying an American crew lifted off from American soil for the first time since 2011, carrying astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to the International Space Station (ISS). The successful launch comes just a...

SpaceX rocket ship lifts off with 2 Americans (Update)

A rocket ship built by Elon Musk's SpaceX company thundered away from Earth with two Americans on Saturday, ushering in a new era of commercial space travel and putting NASA back in the business of launching astronauts from U.S. soil for the first time in nearly a decade.

SpaceX and NASA reset the countdown for second try to launch first crewed Dragon

The countdown clock is running for a second time, in hopes of achieving a first: SpaceX is aiming to become the first company to send NASA astronauts to the International Space Station on a commercial spaceship. If liftoff from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida occurs today at 3:22 p.m. ET (12:22 p.m. PT), it'll be a feat that America hasn't been able to perform since NASA retired...

The eyes have it: communication and face masks

As more of us wear face masks and rely on eye contact, how will it change the way we relate to each otherA conversation with a girlfriend when I was in Italy a few weeks ago got me thinking about the latest new norm of the post-coronavirus society: enhanced eye contact. She had told me how, standing in the endless queue for the supermarket, wearing her mask, she had caught the eye of a handsome...