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Mar 18, 2021

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Posted by in category: space travel

“We’re going to try to catch the Super Heavy booster with the launch tower arm, using the grid fins to take the load,” Musk said via Twitter on Dec. 30. SpaceX will try a different approach to landing its future reusable rocket boosters. There are some benefits with this landing method: first, by omitting landing legs from the rocket design altogether, SpaceX can save weight and cost, because unlike Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy first stages Super Heavy won’t need landing legs. In a second place, it could allow SpaceX to essentially recycle the Super Heavy booster immediately because the rocket would be “ready to refly in under an hour”.

~Video credits: @tijnm_02 Text credits: www.space.com www.techcrunch.com.

Mar 18, 2021

Starting a Mega-Project, such as Space Elevator

Posted by in category: space

7 Feb 2021


ISEC has great hopes for this new year. We have two studies coming to their conclusions, a Baseline Architecture, our conference is scheduled (25÷6 May), and we intend to participate in several others. Our current plans include working with potential sponsors as we present an aggressive program to the space community saying we are here and ready to help your vision. So, I thought I would give you a quick philosophical look at where I think we are and where we need to go. (background body of knowledge at www.isec.org)

Pete’s View of the Space Elevator Adventure: I have been in three mega-projects in space…I was in at the beginning of each; as such, here are my thoughts on success in Mega-Projects.

Continue reading “Starting a Mega-Project, such as Space Elevator” »

Mar 18, 2021

Researchers demonstrate practical metal nanostructures

Posted by in categories: energy, nanotechnology

Researchers at the University of Ottawa have debunked the decade-old myth of metals being useless in photonics—the science and technology of light—with their findings, recently published in Nature Communications, expected to lead to many applications in the field of nanophotonics.

“We broke the record for the resonance quality factor (Q-factor) of a periodic array of by one order of magnitude compared to previous reports,” said senior author Dr. Ksenia Dolgaleva, Canada Research Chair in Integrated Photonics (Tier 2) and Associate Professor in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) at the University of Ottawa.

“It is a well-known fact that metals are very lossy when they interact with light, which means they cause the dissipation of electrical energy. The high losses compromise their use in optics and photonics. We demonstrated ultra-high-Q resonances in a metasurface (an artificially structured surface) comprised of an array of metal nanoparticles embedded inside a flat glass substrate. These resonances can be used for efficient light manipulating and enhanced light-matter interaction, showing metals are useful in photonics.”

Mar 18, 2021

Creator who sold NFT house for $500,000: We’ll be ‘living in an augmented reality lifestyle’ soon

Posted by in categories: augmented reality, habitats, space

“NFTs can go into an augmented reality, 3D asset space,” contemporary artist Krista Kim told CNBC.

Mar 18, 2021

Five ways artificial intelligence can help space exploration

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, space travel

Do humans really have to go into space?


Artificial intelligence has been making waves in recent years, enabling us to solve problems faster than traditional computing could ever allow. Recently, for example, Google’s artificial intelligence subsidiary DeepMind developed AlphaFold2, a program which solved the protein-folding problem. This is a problem which has had baffled scientists for 50 years.

Continue reading “Five ways artificial intelligence can help space exploration” »

Mar 18, 2021

What’s Really Holding Back Flying Cars

Posted by in categories: engineering, transportation

We were all promised the future would be like the Jetsons, with push-button flying cars. What happened? Well, multiple firms are developing flying cars right now, but the inhibiting factor for widespread adoption may not be in the hardware or software: but due to an unlikely source: insurance. These vehicles are expected to be radically different from either helicopters or fixed wing aircraft, and as such insurance industry has little baseline data on which to assess risk. The obvious implications of vehicle falling a crowded downtown street make this a serious issue. What can be done? Jim has a definite opinion on the subject.

Manufacturing veteran James Anderton expresses his compelling and unique opinions about the state of the manufacturing sector. He shares his thoughts and insights to help engineering and manufacturing professionals navigate through the challenges of world events, the blending old with new technologies, evolving processes, gaps in skilled labour, in an effort to help maximize productivity of their daily operations.

Continue reading “What’s Really Holding Back Flying Cars” »

Mar 18, 2021

GALIX CONGRESS SESSION 1 The Future of Off-World Settlements. March 18th 2021

Posted by in categories: economics, government, space

# **A $3.5 Trillions Space Economy in 2040**

The first session of the GALIX Cyber-conference, that took place today, and I was in the panel, together with Michelle Hanlon (ForAllMoonkind), Madhu Thangavelu (Moon Village Association), Alicia Woodly (AXIOM). The panel was excellently chaired by Jean-Jacques Tortora (ESPI).

Mar 18, 2021

SLS Core Stage Firing Test 2 Green Run Hot Fire

Posted by in categories: habitats, space

Success! The SLS Core Stage had a successful eight minute hot fire test at NASA’s Stennis Space Center on 18 March 2021. See the run down to and the full duration eight minute firing of the Core Stage of the Artemis 1 Space Launch System. Now on to KSC and launch!

Engines fire at timestamp 44:09

Continue reading “SLS Core Stage Firing Test 2 Green Run Hot Fire” »

Mar 18, 2021

Three energy-innovation takeaways from Texas’ deep freeze

Posted by in categories: energy, military

Microgrids can connect and disconnect from the grid. By operating on normal “blue-sky” operating days as well as during emergencies, microgrids provide uninterrupted power when the grid goes down — and reduce grid constraints and energy costs when grid-connected. Previously the sole domain of military bases and universities, microgrids are growing 15% annually, reaching an $18 billion market in the U.S. by 2022.

For grid resiliency and reliable power supply, there is no better solution than community-scale microgrids that connect critical infrastructure facilities with nearby residential and commercial loads. Funding feasibility studies and audit-grade designs — so that communities have zero-cost but high-quality pathways to constructable projects, as New York State did with the NY Prize initiative — is a proven way to involve communities in their energy planning and engage the private sector in building low-carbon resilient energy systems.

Unpredictability and complexity are quickening, and technology has its place, but not simply as an individual safeguard or false security blanket. Instead, technology should be used to better calculate risk, increase system resilience, improve infrastructure durability and strengthen the bonds between people in a community both during and in between emergencies.

Mar 18, 2021

New Technique Reveals Genes Underlying Human Evolution

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, evolution, genetics

Summary: A new technique which involves fusing human and chimpanzee skin cells that have been modified to act like stem cells, allowed researchers to identify two novel genetic differences between humans and chimps.

Source: Stanford University.

One of the best ways to study human evolution is by comparing us with nonhuman species that, evolutionarily speaking, are closely related to us. That closeness can help scientists narrow down precisely what makes us human, but that scope is so narrow it can also be extremely hard to define. To address this complication, researchers from Stanford University have developed a new technique for comparing genetic differences.