ANTENNAS SEARCHING FOR ET THREATENED BY WILDFIRE

 Press Releases , ATA News , SETI Institute

Sep 10, 2021
Facebook

View of the Dixie Fire from the Allen Telescope Array in Hat Creek, CA. Image Credit: Alex Pollak.

September 10, 2021, Mountain View, CA – The Allen Telescope Array, an ensemble of 42 antennas used in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), is once again threatened by wildfires. The scientists and engineers normally on-site have been evacuated as a precautionary measure, and in response to an order from the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office.

The Dixie Fire, which is currently approximately 12 miles south of the Array, covers just short of a million acres, or an area larger than the state of Rhode Island. It ranks as the second-largest fire in California history, just shy of last year’s August Complex fire. Now 59 percent contained, it is one of eight major conflagrations in northern California.

It is an unfortunate fact that environments that are suitable for radio telescopes – including the Allen Telescope Array – are also frequently places where wildfires are commonplace. Since microwaves, the type of radio signals sought by the Array, are not hampered by Earth’s atmosphere, there’s no reason to place such instruments on mountain tops, as is done for optical telescopes.

But like their mirror-and-lens cousins, radio telescopes are generally located in rural areas. The signals sought by the Allen Array are presumed to be extremely faint, and radio quiet is a necessity. The Hat Creek Radio Observatory, where the Array is located, was established in 1959 and is now run by the SETI Institute.  It was deliberately situated in a region of low population density. The surrounding landscape consists of pasture and forest land. On most days there are more cattle near the site than people.

According to Alex Pollak, the Array’s Science and Engineering Operations Manager, the fire’s slow northward march has provoked the need for evacuation. Anticipating the possibility that it might reach the antennas; the observatory staff contacted the U.S. Forest Service’s Fire Department to prepare the site against eventual damage. Two teams from the Forest Service, about a dozen people in total, removed brush from near the antennas. Trees in the area were pruned of any branches lower than ten feet above the ground.

This is not the first time the Array has been threatened. In the summer of 2014, the so-called Eiler fire reached State Highway 89, approximately two miles from the antennas. The mom-and-pop Circle K restaurant, the only public dining facility in Hat Creek, met its end in that conflagration.

The Allen Telescope Array is a unique facility. It is the only radio telescope constructed with SETI as a principal activity. It’s 42 telescopes are currently being refurbished with more sensitive receivers and follow-on electronics that will greatly speed the search for signals that would prove the presence of technological societies in other star systems. This upgrade is funded by Franklin Antonio, a co-founder of the California semiconductor company, Qualcomm.

As of writing, there are more than 4,000 firefighters battling the Dixie Fire, and the hope is that it will not reach the Observatory. But as Pollak notes, climate change has made “the entire west coast more susceptible to fire. The situation is not getting better.”

About the SETI Institute
Founded in 1984, the SETI Institute is a non-profit, multidisciplinary research and education organization whose mission is to lead humanity’s quest to understand the origins and prevalence of life and intelligence in the universe and share that knowledge with the world. Research at the SETI Institute encompasses the physical and biological sciences and leverages expertise in data analytics, machine learning and advanced signal detection technologies. The SETI Institute is a distinguished research partner for industry, academia and government agencies, including NASA and NSF.

DOWNLOAD FULL PRESS RELEASE HERE.

Wildfire Threatens A SETI Telescope In California

Posted by

Deborah Byrd

September 11, 2021

Wildfire threatens a SETI telescope

The SETI Institute said late Friday (September 10, 2021) that the Allen Telescope Array is being threatened by the large Dixie Fire in California. This radio telescope is the first to be designed specifically for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). On Friday afternoon, the fire was approximately 12 miles (19 km) south of the Array. Scientists and engineers normally on-site have been evacuated as a precautionary measure in response to an order from the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office. Inciweb said on Saturday morning (September 11) that this fire was 59% contained.

According to InciWeb, the Dixie Fire now covers just short of a million acres, or an area larger than the state of Rhode Island. It ranks as the second-largest fire in California history, just shy of last year’s August Complex fires.

The SETI Institute said:

According to Alex Pollak, the Array’s Science and Engineering Operations Manager, the fire’s slow northward march has provoked the need for evacuation. Anticipating the possibility that it might reach the antennas, the observatory staff contacted the U.S. Forest Service’s Fire Department to prepare the site against eventual damage. Two teams from the Forest Service, about a dozen people in total, removed brush from near the antennas. Trees in the area were pruned of any branches lower than 10 feet [about 2 meters] above the ground.

This isn’t the first time the Allen Telescope Array has been threatened by fire. In the summer of 2014, the so-called Eiler fire reached State Highway 89, approximately two miles from the antennas. The SETI Institute said:

The mom-and-pop Circle K restaurant, the only public dining facility in Hat Creek, met its end in that conflagration.

The Allen Telescope Array consists of 42 antennas used in the Search

 for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. They are located at the Hat Creek Observatory

, situated in the Cascade Mountains about 300 miles north of San Francisco.

 Image via SETI Institute.

Telescopes and wildfires

The SETI Institute explained:

It is an unfortunate fact that environments that are suitable for radio telescopes – including the Allen Telescope Array – are also frequently places where wildfires are commonplace. Since microwaves, the type of radio signals sought by the Array, are not hampered by Earth’s atmosphere, there’s no reason to place such instruments on mountain tops, as is done for optical telescopes.

But like their mirror-and-lens cousins, radio telescopes are generally located in rural areas. The signals sought by the Allen Array are presumed to be extremely faint, and radio quiet is a necessity. The Hat Creek Radio Observatory, where the Array is located, was established in 1959 and is now run by the SETI Institute. It was deliberately situated in a region of low population density. The surrounding landscape consists of pasture and forest land. On most days there are more cattle near the site than people.

The location of the Dixie Fire is highlighted in yellow on the map. 

To view this map interactively, go to CalFire.

Bottom line: Wildfire is threatening the Allen Telescope Array in California. This telescope was built specifically for SETI (the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence). Scientists and engineers have been evacuated from the site. The fire was 12 miles (19 km) away on Friday.

Mammals Carry a Graveyard of Viruses in Our DNA, And It Could Have a Crucial Purpose

(ktsimage/Getty Images)
HEALTH
TESSA KOUMOUNDOUROS
11 SEPTEMBER 2021


Huge swaths of our DNA library are made up of non-coding genes that were long regarded as "junk DNA". Recent findings, however, have shown these bits of DNA actually have many purposes in mammals.

Some help form the structure in our DNA molecules so they can be packaged neatly within our cell nuclei while others are involved in gene regulation. Now, researchers from the University of New South Wales in Australia have discovered another potential purpose for these non-coding instructions, within the genomes of marsupials.

Some of the gene sequences once considered "junk" are actually fragments of viruses left buried in our DNA from an infection in a long-forgotten ancestor.

Whenever a virus infects you, there's a chance it will leave behind a piece of itself within your DNA, and if this happens in an egg or sperm cell, it will then be passed on through the generations. These are known as endogenous viral elements (EVEs).

In humans, fragments of viral DNA make up around 8 percent of our genome. They can provide a record of viral infections through our evolutionary history, like genetic memory.

"These viral fragments have been retained for a reason," said paleovirologist Emma Harding. "Over millions of years of evolution, we would expect all DNA to change, however, these fossils are preserved and kept intact."

To try to work out why, Harding and colleagues searched for EVEs in the genomes of 13 species of marsupials, including the tammar wallaby (Macropus eugeni), Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii), and fat-tailed dunnarts (Sminthopsis crassicaudata).

They found EVEs from three viral groups – Bornaviridae, Filoviridae, and Parvoviridae – in all of the animals sampled.

"One of the EVEs I found was from the Bornaviridae family of viruses, which first entered the animals' DNA during the time of the dinosaurs when the South American and Australian land masses were still joined together," Harding said. Bornaviridae is present in the opossums of America as well as Australia's marsupials.

The Bornaviridae EVEs were particularly prevalent and more closely related to similar viral fossils found in birds and reptiles rather than those seen in placental mammals like us.

"Bornaviridae viruses were previously thought to have evolved 100 million years ago," Harding explained. "But the one I found in almost every marsupial DNA we looked at puts it at 160 million years old."

Surprisingly, some of these ancient viral fragments were still being transcribed into RNA. Often in cells, RNA transcriptions act as protein templates. But in this case they weren't being translated, effectively making them non-coding RNA.

That doesn't make them useless. Non-coding RNA is used in a number of cell functions, including the regulation of RNA transcription among other genes.

A tammar wallaby, one of the study species. (Hossein Anv/Unsplash)

Significantly, it is also known that this type of RNA is used for many cell functions, including regulating the creation of RNA, and it is also known to contribute to immune defense against viruses in plants and invertebrates. Bats have a particularly large cache of these fossil viral fragments too, and they're well known for their unfortunate ability to survive while carrying deadly viruses that do most other mammals in.

Looking at koalas in more detail, the researchers discovered some of the EVEs were indeed being transcribed into small RNA molecules known to be antiviral in invertebrates.


"This suggests the tantalizing possibility of this RNA defense system, previously thought to be abandoned in mammals in favor of the interferon system, still being active and protecting marsupial cells," Harding and colleagues wrote in Microbiology Australia.

As marsupials undergo most of their developmental time within their mother's pouch, some are born before they've even developed bones let alone fully functioning immune systems. So, this kind of antiviral defense could be critical to pouch young, the team suspects.

"This could be a mechanism similar to vaccination but is inherited through generations. By keeping a viral fossil, the cell is immunized against future infection," said Harding.

"If we can show it occurring in marsupials, it may also be occurring in other animals, including humans."

This researcher was published in Virus Evolution.

#FREEPALESTINE    #FREEALLPOLITICALPRISONERS

Israeli lawmaker demands end of occupation of Palestine

 

T

el Aviv, Sep 12 (Prensa Latina) If six Palestinian prisoners managed to escape from an Israeli prison, then the millions of inhabitants in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank can end the occupation, lawmaker Ayman Odeh said on Sunday.

On his Twitter account, the Israeli legislator thus referred to the escape last Monday of six Palestinians from the Gilboa maximum security prison, called 'the safe' due to its apparent inviolability.

If in the past the issue of the prisoners went up and down in order of priority, today it is very present, he said.

'I have a dream...(the prisoners) will all be released, and a Palestinian State will be established alongside Israel. My dream is that there are no prisons or occupation,' said Odeh, who is also the leader of the Joint List, an alliance of left-wing Arab parties, shortly after in an interview with Channel 12.

Two days ago, after the capture of two of the fugitives, Israeli legislator Ofer Cassif denounced on Twitter that both 'will be severely tortured, only to revenge their success in fooling the 'masters.'

This is how colonialism always worked. The end of violence is the elimination of the occupation, according to Cassif, a member of left-wing Hadash party, which is a member of the Joint List.

jg/lcr/oda/rob/gdc

Tributes and riots on the anniversary of the coup in Chile

 

Santiago de Chile, Sep 11 (Prensa Latina) Acts of tribute, as well as clashes between protesters and police forces in parts of this capital, marked today the 48th anniversary of the coup against socialist president Salvador Allende.

As is traditional, on this date, hundreds of people came early to pay tribute to the martyr president at the monument to his memory located next to the La Moneda Palace.

Little by little the base of the statue was covered with floral offerings deposited by opposition political parties, social organizations, unions and groups of relatives of victims of the dictatorship that was enthroned for 17 years after the sound that overthrew the legitimate Government of Popular Unity on September 11, 1973.

Numerous speakers recalled the achievements of the Allende government in just three years, the strong repression that followed the coup, and the legacy of the socialist leader, who regained special strength with the social outbreak of October 2019.

They also pointed out this anniversary takes place a few months before a presidential election that could bring progressive forces back to La Moneda, and in the middle of a process to draft a new Constitution that includes a good part of Allende's program.

Also like every September 11, thousands of people gathered in the Plaza de Los Héroes to march on pilgrimage to the General Cemetery, in the Recoleta commune, where the remains of Allende and many other victims of the dictatorship rest.

The march advanced through the emblematic Alameda, and when passing in front of the south facade of La Moneda, clashes began with the police forces that used water and gas launchers against protesters, who riposted with stones, fireworks and other objects.

The clashes were repeated in other points such as at the University of Chile and in San Antonio with Alameda, but the march continued its course to the General Cemetery, at whose entrance there were also clashes and groups of protesters erected barricades.

The demonstration was called by left-wing parties, youth organizations, unions, social movements and groups of relatives of the victims of the dictatorship.

A repeated claim on this occasion was freedom for the prisoners of the popular revolt, a general pardon for those people, and as always, the claim for truth, justice and reparation for more than a thousand disappeared detainees of the dictatorship whose whereabouts are still unknown. 

Russian segment of International Space Station causes concern

 

Moscow, Aug 31 (Prensa Latina) The flight director of the Russian segment of the International Space Station, Vladimir Soloviov, considered it worrying that the national module of the ISS is in a state of obsolescence, the local press reported.

Some of the equipment reached the end of its shelf life, Soloviov, who is also the general designer of the main group of Operational Control of the Space and Rocket Energy Corporation told the RIA-Novosti news agency.

He said that around 80 percent of the flight systems in the Russian part of the station are in this situation, 'which means that irreparable failures could occur at any time.'

Soloviov reported on Monday on the detection of cracks in the Zarya cargo module, dating from 1998, while there were air leaks reported on the Zvezda modules several occasions in 2019 and 2021.

The spokesman for the Russian Space Agency (RosCosmos), Vladimir Ustímenko, issued statements to the TASS news agency assuring that the security and functionality situation aboard the ISS is under control.

However, in April, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov declared that the status of the ISS left much to be desired, so Russia would focus on building its own orbital station.

The Rocket and Space Corporation Energia is tasked with ensuring that the first base module for the new Russian orbital station is ready by 2025.

The shelf life of the ISS expires in 2024. Roscosmos assured that the decision on its future would be made based on its actual technical conditions.

pgh/llp/mem/mml

Smoke sets off alarms on the International Space Station | Space

 

The planet that kept the earth alive

September 12, 2021 | by Archie Fowler | 

Jupiter is the fifth largest planet in the Solar System in terms of distance and size from the Sun. Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, together with Jupiter, are called gas giants. Another popular name for these four is the planet Jovian.

The primary constituents of Jupiter are hydrogen and a small amount of helium. This planet has 69 moons. Jupiter is the first planet in the solar system.

Jupiter or Jupiter, the gas giant of the solar system. Seen from space, this planet would look like an artistic painting. But the spacecraft that will be sent around this planet, the spacecraft that will study this planet, it is like a war.

The war is not with humans, but with the planet itself. This planet is 628 million kilometers away from the Earth. But this planet protects the earth in a way that the earth itself cannot protect itself.

For billions of years, Jupiter has changed the trajectory of billions of asteroids in the Milky Way galaxy. These asteroids could hit our Earth at any time.

There is some secret information hidden on this largest planet in the solar system. It is very difficult to study this planet by sending a spacecraft. Due to the excess radioactivity of the gas giant, no space probe can move around the planet or into the atmosphere.

So far, nine spacecraft have said ‘hello’ to Jupiter. These include the Galileo and Cassini spacecraft. But the spacecraft could not reach the atmosphere of this planet.

Eventually NASA conducted a mission to observe this planet. Speaking of Juno spacecraft. Juno will spend 10 years in space in 2021 on this বিল 1.5 billion mission.

In August 2011, NASA’s Juno Probe was sent from Florida to observe Jupiter for 5 years. Juno could go to Jupiter in January 2018. This time Juno takes a picture of Jupiter’s timelapse.

Juno is 4.6 million kilometers from Jupiter. Pictures of 4 satellites or moons of Jupiter after being captured in the picture. Juno arrived in Jupiter in July 2016 after a 5-year journey.

Juno is the fastest spacecraft in the history of human civilization, built in such a way that Jupiter’s radioactivity does not harm Juno. In August 2016, Juno completed one orbit around Jupiter.

At this time Juno makes some impossibly beautiful pictures of the planet. As seen in the picture, Jupiter’s dark blue clouds, dark red aurora, which is the most powerful aurora in the entire solar system. Scientists have not yet been able to find the source.

Due to Juno’s formation, the artificial satellite has been able to get much closer to Jupiter’s atmosphere. Sometimes Juno is only 3,100 miles away from Jupiter’s atmosphere. The whole planet is a gas giant, with no surface, just clouds of various colors.

I remember Jupiter’s Great Red Spot. This Great Red Spot is actually a cyclone, there is no bigger cyclone in the whole solar system. This storm has been going on for 300 years.

Juno took pictures of this Great Red Spot in July 2016. Juno also got the whole magnetic field of Jupiter. Juno was supposed to run the activities till 2018. But NASA has extended the mission time till 2025 due to Juno’s capability.

NASA will conduct this special test till September 10. NASA has named this special project Testing Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing, abbreviated EVTL. This project is covered by Advanced Air Mobility (AAM). Next Friday is the day of the final test of the California Electric Flight Base Big Sune.

An organization called Joby Aviation has been working with NASA on this project for the last 10 years. They are more accustomed to calling it a flying car. That means flying car. Because this aircraft can run on the ground with some road wheels. The company is dreaming of launching this air taxi service in different cities. But it all depends on the trial.

If the test is successful, the company plans to launch the electric air taxi in the city or surrounding areas in the coming days. It can be considered as an alternative transportation system. Through this transport people and luggage can be carried with two successes.

But before making a final decision, they will have to look into many more issues. Such as how much airspace can be found in the sky of the concerned area or where is the location of the air taxi etc.

An aircraft in the form of an air taxi. Four-seater plane with double engine. It is very easy to avoid traffic jams. Introducing taxis in metro cities will reduce travel time by about 90 percent.

The aircraft that will be used as air taxis will have multiple special types of electromagnetic technology in their motors, which will help keep the airspace free.

Archie Fowler

Archie Fowler was born and raised in Cleveland. As a Reporter, Archie has contributed to several online publications including City Visitor Publications and Quantum Grafix. In regards to academics, Archie has got a Post Graduation Degree in Department Of Business from Cleveland State University. As a Reporter for Chroniclex Archie Covers World Topics.

Email: Archie@chroniclex.com

Space – 

Next Generation of Orion Spacecraft in Production for NASA’s Future Artemis Missions to Mars

By NASA // September 12, 2021

NASA & SPACE NEWS

Over the next decade, NASA’s Orion spacecraft will carry astronauts during Artemis missions to the Moon to help prepare for human missions to Mars. (NASA image)

(NASA) – Over the next decade, NASA’s Orion spacecraft will carry astronauts during Artemis missions to the Moon to help prepare for human missions to Mars.

Work on the spacecraft for Artemis I is nearly complete, Artemis II is well underway, and NASA is making progress on vehicles for the missions beyond.

The agency recently completed welding on the Artemis III Orion pressure vessel, the underlying frame of the air-tight capsule for astronauts called the crew module. This structure is the first major piece of hardware in Orion’s production phase with lead contractor Lockheed Martin.

“NASA is shifting its focus from the development phase to the production phase for the Orion spacecraft to enable a long-term presence on and around the Moon,” said Cathy Koerner, Orion program manager.

The development phase — called design, development, test, and evaluation (DDT&E) — is when Orion’s requirements are defined, the design undergoes review and refinement, and the spacecraft and its systems go through rigorous testing.

“All of the intensive testing we’ve done has proven out the design of Orion’s structure,” said Stu McClung, chief of staff for Orion program, planning, and control. “A structure that’s well understood and defined gives us high confidence to move forward into the production phase.”

Each component of Orion has undergone thorough testing since the beginning of DDT&E to prepare Orion for this transition.

This includes Exploration Flight Test-1, Orion’s first flight test in 2014 that demonstrated its space-worthiness in a high-Earth orbit, and tested the spacecraft’s heat shield during entry into Earth’s atmosphere and the capsule’s recovery systems.

NASA has also completed successful testing of Orion’s parachute system, as well as the launch abort system with two flight tests known as Pad Abort-1 and Ascent Abort-2.

Simulated in-space environments testing also verified that Orion’s systems will perform as expected during Artemis missions, among countless other tests of the spacecraft.

The DDT&E phase will officially conclude with the Artemis II mission, the first test flight with crew. Although no structural changes on the vehicle are expected to come from Artemis I and II, the mission outcomes may drive minor changes or upgrades into subsequent builds.

ESA has signed a follow-on contract with Airbus for the construction of three additional Orion European Service Modules beyond Artemis III. The Artemis III service module is currently being integrated in Bremen, Germany, with components and hardware built and supplied by companies from 10 countries in Europe as well as the United States. (NASA image)

Orion European Service Module

“As we fly, we will learn and adapt the spacecraft to the missions as needed,” said Assistant Orion Program Manager Paul Marshall. This could include modifying crew systems or crew interfaces to help astronauts perform future missions as smoothly as possible.

In the production phase, engineers will apply refinements to Orion’s design to ensure that manufacturing and assembly are as efficient as possible.

One of many improvements was reducing the number of welded pieces that make up Orion’s pressure vessel.

The pressure vessel’s original design had 33 welded pieces, which was streamlined to seven for Artemis I and up, to improve manufacturability and save more than 700 pounds of excess weight.

With these seven welds recently completed on the Artemis III pressure vessel at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans — and structural design changes and testing complete — a more efficient and streamlined production line for spacecraft begins.

Under the Orion Production and Operations Contract (OPOC) awarded to Lockheed Martin, NASA committed to ordering a minimum of six and a maximum of 12 Orion spacecraft.

The agency ordered three Orion spacecraft in 2019 for Artemis missions III through V, and plans to order three additional Orion capsules in fiscal year 2022 for Artemis missions VI through VIII.

“Our strategy to go from design and development to production focuses on optimization by making changes in several different areas to emerge with a more efficient flow,” said Kelly DeFazio, program director for production operations at Lockheed Martin.

Some examples of optimizing Orion production include:

Changing the organizational structure of employees from a large, integrated product team structure centered on design, development, and qualification, to smaller multifunctional work teams focused on production throughput and quality of product. (NASA image)

Changing the organizational structure of employees from a large, integrated product team structure centered on design, development, and qualification, to smaller multifunctional work teams, focused on production throughput and quality of the product.

Incorporating systems to identify and address constraints in production flow, and the use of smart tools like augmented reality on the production floor.

The opening of Lockheed Martin’s Spacecraft, Test, Assembly and Resource (STAR) Center in Titusville, Florida, earlier this summer to streamline manufacturing capacity.

Reusing Orion crew modules and high-value systems, combined with the ability to bulk buy material and components, which contribute to considerable cost reductions compared to spacecraft produced under DDT&E.

“Our production plan activates unique manufacturing efficiencies that ensure we achieve the desired mission cadence while driving cost reductions,” said Marshall.

Those savings give NASA more resources to invest in developing the elements needed to pursue the lunar exploration campaign in the coming years, he added.

“The transition into production provides the opportunity to shift the focus of the Orion workforce to defining, implementing, and executing the exploration missions that Orion is built to fly,” said Marshall.

Queen leads explosion of British joy at Raducanu's stunning Slam win

Issued on: 12/09/2022

Winning smile: Britain's Emma Raducanu celebrates with the US Open 

trophy after becoming the first qualifier in history to win a Grand Slam

 TIMOTHY A. CLARY AFP

London (AFP)

Emma Raducanu's extraordinary US Open triumph on Saturday led to an explosion of joy in Britain, with Queen Elizabeth II leading the celebrations as the 18-year-old qualifier made tennis history in New York.

Raducanu beat 19-year-old Canadian Leylah Fernandez 6-4 6-3 to become Britain's first women's Grand Slam singles champion since Virginia Wade at Wimbledon in 1977, and the first player to win a major after coming through a qualifying tournament.

"I send my congratulations to you on your success," the Queen said. "It is a remarkable achievement at such a young age, and is testament to your hard work and dedication.

Raducanu's win even managed to knock football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo's two-goal return to Manchester United off Sunday morning's UK newspaper front pages.

The Express called it "Absolutely Emm-ense!" while the Telegraph proclaimed: "She did it!"

Social media caught fire after Raducanu sealed the win with an ace.

Former England footballer Gary Lineker broke off from presenting the English Premier League highlights programme "Match of the Day" on BBC TV to post:

"First time in my life I've ever tweeted whilst on air but my goodness what a performance, what a triumph, what an amazing young woman."

Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted: "What a sensational match! Huge congratulations to Emma Raducanu. You showed extraordinary skill, poise and guts and we are all hugely proud of you."

Raducanu's only previous Slam appearance, at Wimbledon in July, ended when she pulled out of her fourth-round match after an anxiety attack.

"Look at that bounce back @EmmaRaducanu US Open champion, amazing. Congratulations," tweeted England and Manchester United footballer Marcus Rashford, who had offered support to Raducanu after her Wimbledon exit.

Raducanu was born in Canada to a Chinese mother and Romanian father, but grew up in Bromley in suburban south London after moving to England at the age of two.

- 'It's mind boggling' -

At her former tennis club, Park Langley, members gathered in front of TVs Saturday night to roar her to victory.

"I'm speechless. I'm sore and hoarse from screaming," said her former coach Suzanne Williams.

Britain's Emma Raducanu celebrates with the US Open trophy. 'A star is born,' tweeted tennis great Martina Navratilova TIMOTHY A. CLARY AFP

Former British number one Tim Henman, who was courtside, said: "She will win more of these, she is that good. This is not some flash in the pan or fairytale. She is playing top-five tennis."

Australian Grand Slam winner Pat Cash told BBC radio that a qualifier winning a major is "something I never could have believed would happen. It's mind boggling."

And tennis great Martina Navratilova tweeted: "A star is born -- Emma Raducanu makes history... and she is just getting started. And will never have to qualify again:)"

In China, where the match took place in the early hours of Sunday, Tencent published an article with pictures of Raducanu visiting China as a child.

"An ethnic Chinese won the US Open" it trumpeted. "She claimed that her motivation (or power) comes from her Chinese mother!"

© 2021 AFP

 

 

SpaceX wins contract to launch weather satellite after ULA withdraws

by Jeff Foust — September 11, 2021

The GOES-T weather satellite (left), seen here in a Lockheed Martin factory in August, will

 launch on an Atlas 5 in early 2022, but GOES-U (far right) will launch on a Falcon Heavy in 2024. Credit: SpaceNews/Jeff Foust

WASHINGTON — NASA has selected SpaceX to launch the last in a series of geostationary weather satellites that had previously been launched by United Launch Alliance.

NASA announced Sept. 10 that it awarded a contract to SpaceX for the Falcon Heavy launch of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) U spacecraft. The launch is scheduled for April 2024 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The agency said the contract is valued at $152.5 million.

GOES-U is the fourth and final satellite in the GOES-R series of satellites, which monitor terrestrial and space weather from geostationary orbit. GOES-R launched in November 2016 and was renamed GOES-16, operating from the GOES East slot at 75 degrees west in GEO. GOES-S launched in March 2018 and became GOES-17, operating from the GOES West slot at 137 degrees west. GOES-T is scheduled to launch in January 2022 and will replace GOES-17 because of problems with that satellite’s main instrument, the Advanced Baseline Imager.

GOES-R and GOES-S each launched on an Atlas 5, and GOES-T is scheduled to launch on an Atlas 5. The NASA contract announcement did not disclose the reason for selecting SpaceX to launch GOES-U. The value of the GOES-U contract is slightly less than the award made to ULA in December 2019 for the GOES-T launch, $165.7 million.

ULA spokesperson Jessica Rye said the company withdrew its bid to launch GOES-U because it did not have any Atlas 5 vehicles available. “All of the remaining 29 rockets have been sold to customers for future launches so we had to withdraw our bid for NASA’s GOES-U launch service,” she said.

ULA is preparing to transition to the Vulcan Centaur rocket, whose inaugural launch is now scheduled for 2022. Tory Bruno, chief executive of ULA, has said recently the company is no longer offering the Atlas 5 after a final series of contracts announced earlier this year, such as an order for nine Atlas 5 launches by Amazon in April to launch part of its Project Kuiper broadband constellation.

During a panel at the Satellite 2021 conference Sept. 9, Bruno said the company did not expect to order additional Russian-built RD-180 engines used in the Atlas 5 first stage. “I have purchased all the RD-180s we require for the Atlas 5,” he said. “There are 29 Atlases left. All of those RD-180s are safely ensconced in a warehouse in Alabama. I believe that is more than I need to transition smoothly to Vulcan.”

The GOES-U win adds to a growing backlog of Falcon Heavy launches for SpaceX. In July, NASA awarded SpaceX a contract for the launch of the Europa Clipper mission to the icy, potentially habitable moon of Jupiter, also scheduled for 2024. Other NASA awards include the Psyche asteroid mission, the first two elements of the lunar Gateway and the Gateway Logistics Services contract, where SpaceX will use the Falcon Heavy for two launches of Dragon XL spacecraft to transport cargo to the lunar Gateway.

SpaceX also won a Falcon Heavy contract from Astrobotic in April to launch its Griffin lunar lander carrying NASA’s VIPER rover as part of the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. Falcon Heavy is part of SpaceX’s National Security Space Launch Phase 2 contract awarded in August 2020, making the vehicle eligible for future national security launches.

Falcon Heavy has launched three times, all successfully, but the last launch was the Space Test Program 2 mission in June 2019. The next Falcon Heavy launch, on a U.S. Space Force mission designated USSF-44, is scheduled for no earlier than Oct. 9.

VELIKOVSKY WAS RIGHT
Venera timeline: The Soviet Union's Venus missions in pictures


By Robert Z. Pearlman

Learn all about the Venera missions, which launched between 1961 and 1983.

The Soviet Union's Venera Venus missions (slideshow) | Space

Venera 13

The microphones on Venera 13 captured the sounds of the Venusian wind, the first recording of any sound on a planet other than Earth.

The lander, which operated for 127 minutes on the surface — almost three times longer than planned — also sent back color photos and analyzed a sample of Venus' soil, or regolith.


Venera 14

A twin of the Venera 13 spacecraft, Venera 14 landed on Venus on March 5, 1982, four days after its sibling.

It too recorded the sounds of the Venusian wind and sent back images. An attempt at measuring the compressibility of the surface soil accidentally measured an ejected lens cap instead.