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Feb 3, 2022

SpaceX’s first converted Falcon Heavy booster already preparing for next launch

Posted by in category: satellites

SpaceX has rapidly recovered the first converted Falcon Heavy ‘side core’ after its first Falcon 9 launch and landing, kicking off preparations for its fourth launch less than two days after its third.

After four consecutive days of delays, one of which was caused by an inexplicably wayward cruise ship, former Falcon Heavy side core B1052 finally lifted off on January 31st on its first mission as a Falcon 9 booster. Despite the painful launch campaign, B1052 performed perfectly and helped send the Italian Space Agency’s (ASI) CSG-2 Earth observation satellite to a polar sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) before boosting back to the Florida coast and landing just a few miles south of where it launched.

As a Falcon Heavy side core, B1052 supported both of the only two launches of the Block 5 variant of the rocket – first on April 11th, 2019 and again on June 25th, 2019. Both times, side boosters B1052 and B1053 performed return-to-launch-site (RTLS) maneuvers and landed side by side at SpaceX’s LZ-1 and LZ-2 landing pads. CSG-2 thus marked B1052’s third launch and third RTLS landing.

Feb 3, 2022

Photographer Captures James Webb Space Telescope Traveling to Orbit

Posted by in categories: cosmology, space travel

Astrophotographer Jason Guenzel managed to capture the James Webb Space Telescope on its journey while it was 1 million kilometers away.

Feb 3, 2022

Mount Everest and the Alps Are Weirdly Getting Taller

Posted by in category: futurism

One mountain grew 30 feet overnight.


Recently, the Swiss Alps made the news when scientists found they were growing due to tectonic activity deep beneath Earth’s surface. Now, Mount Everest is also on the rise. Why is there so much, uh, “mounting” altitude?

Dive deeper. ➡ Get unlimited access to the weird world of Pop Mech.

Continue reading “Mount Everest and the Alps Are Weirdly Getting Taller” »

Feb 3, 2022

Koenigsegg Quark, Terrier Bring Big Power In Small Package To Electric Cars

Posted by in categories: business, particle physics, sustainability, transportation

Koenigsegg has announced new high power, compact motors and powertrains for electric cars.


Christian von Koenigsegg is an inveterate tinkerer who has built a business on his ability to squeeze extraordinary amounts of power out of internal combustion engines. Lately, he has turned his talents to electric motors and drivetrains. On January 31, his company announced two breakthrough products that could transform the world of electric cars.

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Feb 3, 2022

The New Ford F-150 Lighting Can Power Your Whole House for 3 Days in a Blackout

Posted by in categories: climatology, habitats

The battery-powered pick-up can also charge another EV.

Feb 3, 2022

MIT scientists filed two patents on a new, 2D material that’s stronger than steel

Posted by in category: materials

Scientists at MIT have created a new 2D material that’s stronger than metal! And it could enhance the robustness of bridge-building materials.

Feb 3, 2022

People struck

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience

At least 48 people in Canada have come down with symptoms indicative of a brain disease, describing debilitating symptoms.

Feb 3, 2022

Flying robots with flapping wings outperforms insect muscles

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

The flying robot with wings is controlled by a magnetic field instead of heavy motors and gears.

Feb 3, 2022

China inks $8 bln nuclear power plant deal in Argentina

Posted by in categories: engineering, nuclear energy

Feb 2 (Reuters) — State-owned China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC) has signed a contract in Argentina to build the $8 billion Atucha III nuclear power plant using China’s Hualong One technology, reviving a deal that had been stalled for years.

CNNC said on its WeChat account late on Tuesday that ithad signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract, which comes ahead of Argentine President Alberto Fernandez’s trip to China later this week.

Progress on the nuclear deal between the two nations had stalled since it was first negotiated by the administration of former President Cristina Fernandez, a left-wing populist who left office in 2015. She is now Argentina’s vice president.

Feb 3, 2022

New atomic clock is the most precise ever created

Posted by in categories: particle physics, quantum physics

If scientists could measure the oscillations of just one energized cesium atom, they’d be able to keep perfect time, but they can’t due to a weird phenomenon called the standard quantum limit.

Instead, they have to measure thousands of atoms at once and then average out the results for atomic clocks, which leads to a just slightly imprecise second.

Now, MIT researchers have found a way to create a more precise atomic clock by exploiting another weird quantum phenomenon: entanglement.