Orbital Sciences Completes First Flight to Space Station as Astronauts Capture Cygnus Spacecraft

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) used a robotic arm to capture and attach a Cygnus cargo resupply spacecraft Sunday, marking several spaceflight firsts for NASA and its partner, Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va. The station’s Expedition 37 crew reported the spacecraft — loaded with about 1,300 pounds (589 kilograms) of cargo — …

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Dwave Systems scales up production of Quantum Computing systems with a deal with a semiconductor fab

D-Wave had the 512 qubit D-Wave 2 machine, which claims to be able solve some real-world problems faster than any other option available. NASA Ames, Lockheed and Google have both bought D-Wave machines. “We can make 120 quantum chips at a time, on an eight-inch wafer,” Colin Williams director of partnerships at D-Wave told TechWeekEurope. …

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NanoTHOR: Low-Cost Launch of Nanosatellites to Deep Space

To enable frequent, low-cost opportunities to deliver nanosatellites to destinations beyond Earth orbit, TUI proposes to develop the “Nanosatellite Tethered High-Orbit Release” (NanoTHOR) module. The NanoTHOR module will enable multiple nanosatellites carried as secondary payloads on upper stages launched into GTO to be injected into Earth-escape trajectories by scavenging orbital momentum and propellant from the …

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Elon Musk of SpaceX Interviewed by LA Times

LA Times interview of Elon Musk of Spacex. Q – The movies provide us with two space future models: “Star Trek,” where a government agency governs space, versus “Alien,” where a private space mining company makes its own rules. A – We need a new archetype. I’ve talked to James Cameron about this. He’s got …

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