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Posted by Holmes Liao

Earth observation taken during a night pass over Taiwan by an Expedition 36 crew member on board the International Space Station. Credit: NASA / Karen Nyberg

When President John F. Kennedy stood before Congress in May 1961 and declared that the United States would land a man on the moon before the decade’s end, his purpose was not to invent the space program, but to impose a clear objective, a deadline and the resources to unify these efforts. The success of […]

The post Taiwan’s Moonshot: why ‘T-Dome’ needs systems engineering, not just a shopping list appeared first on SpaceNews.

thewayne: (Default)
[personal profile] thewayne
Very interesting article in The Guardian. When I was a kid in the '60s and '70s, we had glass bottles, tin and aluminum cans. But the petroleum industry knew that they could make plastic out of what they were extracting, and suddenly we had this huge outlay of plastic crap: PROFITS! Now glass bottles are almost only seen in alcohol containers, largely the same with aluminum cans. Plastic is everywhere and it's hard to drive for a day without seeing a grocery bag in or blowing across the street. We eat microplastics, we breathe microplastics, they're everywhere.

We've been told that our bodies are simply full of microplastics. Some pay $8,000+ to do through dialysis like those with failed kidneys go through to supposedly rid their bodies of microplastics.

Now there's questions being raised.

From The Guardian article: "...micro- and nanoplastic particles are tiny and at the limit of today’s analytical techniques, especially in human tissue. There is no suggestion of malpractice, but researchers told the Guardian of their concern that the race to publish results, in some cases by groups with limited analytical expertise, has led to rushed results and routine scientific checks sometimes being overlooked.

The Guardian has identified seven studies that have been challenged by researchers publishing criticism in the respective journals, while a recent analysis listed 18 studies that it said had not considered that some human tissue can produce measurements easily confused with the signal given by common plastics."


Another very telling excerpt: “Levels of microplastics in human brains may be rapidly rising” was the shocking headline reporting a widely covered study in February. The analysis, published in a top-tier journal and covered by the Guardian, said there was a rising trend in micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) in brain tissue from dozens of postmortems carried out between 1997 and 2024.

However, by November, the study had been challenged by a group of scientists with the publication of a “Matters arising” letter in the journal. In the formal, diplomatic language of scientific publishing, the scientists said: “The study as reported appears to face methodological challenges, such as limited contamination controls and lack of validation steps, which may affect the reliability of the reported concentrations.”

One of the team behind the letter was blunt. “The brain microplastic paper is a joke,” said Dr Dušan Materić, at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Germany. “Fat is known to make false-positives for polyethylene. The brain has [approximately] 60% fat.” Materić and his colleagues suggested rising obesity levels could be an alternative explanation for the trend reported in the study.

Materić said: “That paper is really bad, and it is very explainable why it is wrong.” He thinks there are serious doubts over “more than half of the very high impact papers” reporting microplastics in biological tissue."


False positives mimicking polyethylene. Contamination control problems. Interesting. I run into a similar thing when I get certain types of bloodwork done: my quantities are below the calibration level of the equipment. I might have certain types of antibodies, but they can't be easily detected, therefor they are functionally zero. But if we don't know how much microplastic is building up in people or animals, how can we know how much of a threat it is? It's easy to say that anything greater than zero is not good, but we commonly are exposed to air pollution and environmental pollutants that are greater than zero and live with minimal or no health problems. Of course, there are others living in areas with greater levels of pollution, or people with greater health risks, where it is a problem.

And that's the problem: we just don't know.

Which obviously doesn't mean that we can ignore the problem. Plastics is a scourge, and it may be a major problem. Medical instrumentation improves every year, so we will begin to know. We do know that there are rising trends in mental health impairment as we get older. And also in the young: I read yesterday about a 24 y/o in the UK who just died of frontal-temporal lobe dementia, youngest documented case yet of someone dying of dementia. Maybe it's related to plastics, maybe not. We don't know.

In today's world we're increasingly forced to live fast. And in many cases it seems like dying young is becoming a result. And no corpse is good-looking - it's still a corpse.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jan/13/microplastics-human-body-doubt

https://science.slashdot.org/story/26/01/14/004231/doubt-cast-on-discovery-of-microplastics-throughout-human-body
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Posted by Clinton Clark and Ralph "Dinz" Dinsley

Screenshot from ExoAnalytic’s ExoMaps tool depicting the spread of the debris across the GEO belt over a 14 day period. Credit: ExoAnalytic

If you stayed in a hotel last night, there’s a good chance you saw that familiar placard in the bathroom: “Help save the planet — hang your towel and we won’t wash it.” At a recent panel, I asked the audience how many had seen that sign. Most hands went up. Then I asked them […]

The post Space sustainability will evolve into a data-driven system appeared first on SpaceNews.

white rabbit

Jan. 14th, 2026 03:58 pm
[syndicated profile] urban_feed
person who introduces you to enclosed group of [interest] or people, origins of this comes from [the film] Matrix and book named Alice in [Wonderland]
[syndicated profile] spacenews_feed

Posted by Jason Rainbow

Falcon 9 launch

SpaceX’s 2026 IPO plans were an early Christmas present for space investors who were already bullish about the year ahead. The move helps push the industry further into the mainstream investment and public consciousness. It also paves the way for others to go public in a capital-intensive business. Despite ongoing financial uncertainty, demand for sovereign […]

The post Bringing outsiders into the space fold appeared first on SpaceNews.

Замер температуры

Jan. 14th, 2026 12:33 pm
[syndicated profile] auvasilev_feed

Вот я только сейчас без всяческой задней мысли. Исключительно ради получения хоть какой-то реальной информации поскольку во многом отрезан от её живых источников. Не мог бы мне кто-нибудь живущий в России пояснить следующее.

А что, правда большинство или по крайней мере значительная часть россиян искренне радуется, когда на Украине сотни тысяч человек остаются без воды, электричества и, главное, тепла в сильные январские морозы? Мне, конечно, такой вопрос и в голову не пришел бы, но я последние дни постоянно слышу и читаю подобное в разных СМИ. Однако, естественно, сам проверить не могу. Так как мои личные знакомые являются явно нерепрезентативной аудиторией для этого, а к настоящей российской "улице" у меня доступа нет.

В  общем, как оно там превалирующее настроение по данному поводу?

[syndicated profile] spacenews_feed

Posted by Frank A. Rose

The global security environment is becoming more volatile, not less. The war in Ukraine grinds on. China is increasingly assertive in the Indo-Pacific. The Middle East remains unstable. North Korea continues to test missiles and challenge regional stability. Together, these dynamics are straining the international system in ways not seen since the early Cold War. […]

The post When allies can’t count on U.S. ISR, commercial space becomes strategic appeared first on SpaceNews.

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Posted by Charles Galbreath

Provisioner

From civil science and exploration missions to national security, there are many space activities to look forward to in 2026. There will be at least three missions heading to the moon, Vast’s Haven-1 is scheduled to launch as the first prospective commercial low Earth orbit (LEO) destination. But perhaps more importantly, there will be a […]

The post Space operations will become more dynamic this year appeared first on SpaceNews.

Путь

Jan. 14th, 2026 11:01 am
[syndicated profile] auvasilev_feed

Трамп призвал персов захватывать правительственные здания и держаться, помощь уже идет. Я абсолютно не верю старику, но почему-то мне очень захотелось в этом пожелать ему удачи. И неожиданно вспомнилось стихотворение, которое я написал, если не изменяет память, летом между восьмым и девятым классом, то есть лет в четырнадцать-пятнадцать. Позволю себе напомнить его, возможно кому-то будет любопытно:

Забудем даты,

Вспомним имена.

Забудем стон постылых рифм

И ропот фей.

И вспомним, что когда-то

Брат Рем построил Рим,

Брат Эйфель — Тур Эфель.

А где-то там, на западе Брабанта

Сто девственниц, над пяльцами склонясь,

Вплетали шепот свой в призывный гул набата,

Свивая стягов золотую вязь.

И в день седьмой, в последний день творенья,

В последний день вершенья бытия,

Лишь тот имеет право на моленье,

Кто до конца испил сомненья яд.

А если день восьмой не наступил,

Не только стыд пурпуром жжет ланиты.

Заполнила ущелье Фермопил

Спецрота личной стражи Леонида.

Лишь тот достоин нежиться в тепле,

Кто скакуну стер в страшной скачке спину.

Кровавый вождь, мальчишка Демулен

Задумался, взойдя на гильотину.

А мимо, головой кивнув и — мимо,

Уже сорвав с груди кровавый бант,

Пронесся к центру, не помедлив мига,

Смешной артиллерийский лейтенант.

Ему простятся спешка и беспечность,

Ведь он и вправду бешено спешит

Узнать, как на него посмотрит вечность

С вершин оторопевших пирамид.

Еще его чело не знает плеши.

Еще не знает, хоть уже спешит,

Как будет счастлив всю свою поспешность

Отдать неторопливому Груши.

Еще над миром шпаги звон и блеск.

Конвент еще в туше решает споры.

Но вышел в свой обычный долгий рейс

Английский клипер в Караибском море.

И надоело кортикам сверкать.

На каждый поединок — время. Сколько!

В руках уже заворонела сталь

Игрушек юнги Самюэля Кольта.

И сразу меньше времени от финиша до старта.

Закат приходит чуть не на заре.

Брусилов положил ладонь на карту.

Самсонов потянулся к кобуре.

И хочется кричать из-за плеча,

Но на устах уже немеет слово:

— Гвардейцы, продержитесь только час,

Я приведу полки под Ватерлоо!

Держитесь все, кто лег щекой на плахе.

Хотя бы час еще держитесь все.

Всего лишь час, и на Залесском шляхе

Я вас сменю, попович Алексей.

Уже моторов рев на вираже

Смешался с треском гусеничных траков,

Лишь только час, и в опаленный Ржев

Ворвусь с колонной ошалевших танков.

Не опускайте веки утомленно,

Забвенья и спокойствия прося,

Я поднял штурмовые батальоны,

Рванули эскадроны на рысях…

Они держались в свой последний день,

Пока в тоске не прокричала полночь,

И молча растворились в темноте,

И никому я не пришел на помощь.


Падения “Хабра”

Jan. 14th, 2026 11:07 am
[syndicated profile] dxdt_feed

Posted by Александр Венедюхин

“Хабр” – известный ресурс про ИТ – тоже упал, и уже некоторое время лежит. То есть, индексная страница под habr.com с редиректом что-то иногда показывает, но статьи и сервисные страницы – возвращают HTTP 502.

Habr.com

(Update: к 16:00 14.01.2026 – вернулось.)

[syndicated profile] spacenews_feed

Posted by Jeff Foust

Firefly Aerospace says it will upgrade its Alpha launch vehicle, making changes intended to improve the reliability of a rocket that has experienced several failures.

The post Firefly to upgrade Alpha rocket to improve reliability appeared first on SpaceNews.

[syndicated profile] spacenews_feed

Posted by Debra Werner

SAN FRANCISCO – A Jan. 13 hearing underscored the importance of ongoing collaboration between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. armed services. U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy witnesses discussed their heavy reliance on datasets and weather models provided by NOAA and said their agencies are working closely to ensure NOAA’s […]

The post Congressional hearing highlights military’s reliance on NOAA weather data appeared first on SpaceNews.

[syndicated profile] spacenews_feed

Posted by Emma Gatti

A screenshot from ClearSpace's promotional video for PRELUDE, showing two spacecraft maneuvering near each other in orbit. Credit: ClearSpace

MILAN — The European Space Agency and Luxembourg’s ClearSpace announced Jan. 12 a new collaboration on an in-orbit servicing removal mission called PRELUDE, one that will involve two small spacecraft designed to test close-proximity operations and could eventually enable satellite life extension, repair and removal in orbit. Officials are targeting a 2027 launch. PRELUDE aims […]

The post ESA and ClearSpace announce PRELUDE mission to test debris-removal techniques appeared first on SpaceNews.

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