Orbital’s Cygnus spacecraft was into the final leg of berthing with the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday morning, prior to a discrepancy relating to the way the ISS and Cygnus determine GPS data. The fascinating issue can be fixed via an update to Cygnus’ software, allowing for a second rendezvous and berthing attempt no …
RE.WORK Technology Summit in London, September, 2013 The RE.WORK Technology Summit is a one-day event that brings together entrepreneurship, science and technology to re-work the future and tackle some of the world’s greatest challenges. The event will showcase the opportunities of breakthrough technologies and their potential for a positive impact on business and society. Emerging …
Reaction Engines Ltd have signed a contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) for a €1 million study into the next European Launch System. The “Skylon-based European Launch Service Operator” contract has been finalised by the Launcher Directorate of the European Space Agency in Paris, France and work has started to study how the SKYLON …
Early information from Bigelow Aerospace finds private companies are interested in using a permanent moonbase by the 2020s. A study by Bigelow Aerospace, commissioned by NASA, shows ‘a lot of excitement and interest from various companies’ for moonbases and other space projects. The projects range from pharmaceutical research aboard Earth-orbiting habitats, to missions to the …
The IEA projects that under business as usual close to 1 billion people will still be without access to electricity and 2.6 billion people will still lack access to clean cooking facilities in 2030. The IEA estimates that total investment of nearly $1 trillion ($979 billion) would be required to achieve universal energy access by …
Several areas of investigation for deceleration of an interstellar probe have been identified and these include: Reverse engine thrust, solar sail, Magsail, Medusa sail, microwave sail, orbital slingshot, aerobraking. This is an analysis by the Icarus project. Reverse engine thrust simply means using the same engine as used during the boost phase, but to decelerate …
Japan’s industry minister Toshimitsu Motegi revealed that some of the country’s offline nuclear reactors may be restarted by autumn this year at the earliest if they pass the new safety assessment put in place by Japan’s nuclear regulators. The majority of the country’s nuclear power plants were shut down after the Fukushima disaster, forcing Japan …
Nabsys, a DNA technology startup, showed off today its solid-state gene sequencing machine at the Advances in Genome Biology and Technology conference in Marco Island, Florida. The company says that later this year it will begin selling its machine, which will allow researchers to determine the structural organization of long stretches of DNA. This differs …
The principal barriers preventing nuclear power from competing in today’s mix of energy technologies are relatively low efficiency and large scale. Current light water reactor technology tops out at about 34% efficiency, and typical advanced LWR plants cost on the order of $10 billion, which means that few utility companies in the US can afford …
Problem: Plastics are useful and inexpensive but are manufactured out of fossil fuels, used once and then thrown away and create systemic health and environmental health risks. Solution: Develop biodegradable plastics that are less expensive than petrochemicals while having similar or better material properties. Breakthrough technology that makes it possible: Bacteria eat methane gas from …
X-51 WaveriderThe Boeing X-51 WAverider will be undergoing testflights at the end of 2009 and into 2010 The tests are to try and fly hypersonic for 5 minutes instead of previous tests that lasted for a few seconds of hypersonic flight. The Waverider, a.k.a. the X-51, is designed to fly more than six times faster …
