Dwarf Planet Discovery Could Help Show Life's Spread Through Solar System
Moffett Field CA (SPX) Apr 01, 2014 -
On March 26, researchers announced the discovery of 2012 VP133, an estimated 280-mile wide (450-kilometer) object that lies just beyond the Kuiper Belt of icy objects that swarm outside of Neptune's orbit. The new object is nicknamed "Biden" after the vice-president of the United States, because both Joe Biden and 2012 VP133 are "VPs." It is one of only two dwarf planets discovered beyond the Ku ...
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Ancient whodunit may be solved: The microbes did it!
Boston MA (SPX) Apr 01, 2014 -
Evidence left at the crime scene is abundant and global: Fossil remains show that sometime around 252 million years ago, about 90 percent of all species on Earth were suddenly wiped out - by far the largest of this planet's five known mass extinctions. But pinpointing the culprit has been difficult, and controversial.
Now, a team of MIT researchers may have found enough evidence to convict ...
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Cosmic barometer' could reveal violent events in universe's past
London, UK (SPX) Apr 01, 2014 -
Exploding stars, random impacts involving comets and meteorites, and even near misses between two bodies can create regions of great heat and high pressure.
Researchers from Imperial College London have now developed a method for analysing the pressure experienced by tiny samples of organic material that may have been ejected from dying stars before making a long journey through the cosmos ...
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The Space Debris Radar Developed By Indra Passes ESA Tests
Madrid, Spain (SPX) Apr 01, 2014 -
The demonstrator radar developed by Indra for detecting objects in space has successfully passed the validation tests performed within the European Space Agency's Space Situational Awareness (SSA) preparation programme.
The first phase of this programme aims to establish the basis for building the future European system that will monitor the waste from other missions that is floating freel ...
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China launches experimental satellite
Jiuquan, China (XNA) Apr 01, 2014 -
China successfully launched an experimental satellite into preset orbit from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in its northwestern gobi desert on Monday morning.
The Shijian-11-06 was boosted by a Long March-2C carrier rocket at 10:58 Beijing Time. The satellite, which was developed by China Spacesat Co. Ltd under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, will be used to conduc ...
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Earth's dynamic interior
Tempe AZ (SPX) Apr 01, 2014 -
Seeking to better understand the composition of the lowermost part of Earth's mantle, located nearly 2,900 kilometers (1,800 miles) below the surface, a team of Arizona State University researchers has developed new simulations that depict the dynamics of deep Earth. A paper published March 30 in Nature Geoscience reports the team's findings, which could be used to explain the complex geochemist ...
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NSIDC, NASA Say Arctic Melt Season Lengthening, Ocean Rapidly Warming
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Apr 01, 2014 -
The length of the melt season for Arctic sea ice is growing by several days each decade, and an earlier start to the melt season is allowing the Arctic Ocean to absorb enough additional solar radiation in some places to melt as much as four feet of the Arctic ice cap's thickness, according to a new study by National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) and NASA researchers.
Arctic sea ice ha ...
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Soyuz ready for Sentinel-1A satellite launch
Kourou, French Guiana (ESA) Apr 01, 2014 -
The Soyuz for Arianespace's seventh mission with its medium-lift workhorse launcher is now in the launch zone at French Guiana, ready to receive the Sentinel-1A satellite payload for Europe's Copernicus Earth observation program.
Applying the procedures that have been followed since the Russian-built Soyuz inaugurated the space age, the basic three-stage vehicle for Arianespace Flight VS07 ...
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Satellite Shows High Productivity from US Corn Belt
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Apr 01, 2014 -
Data from satellite sensors show that during the Northern Hemisphere's growing season, the Midwest region of the United States boasts more photosynthetic activity than any other spot on Earth, according to NASA and university scientists.
Healthy plants convert light to energy via photosynthesis, but chlorophyll also emits a fraction of absorbed light as fluorescent glow that is invisible t ...
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Pentagon's secret X-37B plane breaks space longevity record
Moscow (Voice of Russia) Apr 01, 2014 -
One of the US Air Force's most mysterious projects - an unmanned space-faring plane - has broken its own longevity record by staying in orbit for more than 469 days.
There aren't many details floating around in public regarding the X-37B - a classified project that's seen three launches into space thus far - but a new report by the IDG News Service suggests the plane is being used to test ...
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Keeping secrets in a world of spies and mistrust
Singapore (SPX) Mar 31, 2014 -
Revelations of the extent of government surveillance have thrown a spotlight on the security - or lack thereof - of our digital communications. Even today's encrypted data is vulnerable to technological progress. What privacy is ultimately possible? In Nature researchers Artur Ekert and Renato Renner review what physics tells us about keeping our secrets secret.
In the history of secret co ...
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Testing Begins on Third AEHF Satellite
Sunnyvale CA (SPX) Mar 31, 2014 -
The third Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite has begun transmitting using its protected communications payload, joining two other satellites undergoing system test in orbit with a suite of user terminals. AEHF satellites are produced by Lockheed Martin for the U.S. Air Force.
Launched on Sept. 18, 2013, AEHF-3 arrived in its final orbit position and began transmissions in J ...
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Philippines' Aquino firm on UN case amid China warnings
Manila (AFP) March 31, 2014 -
Philippine President Benigno Aquino vowed Monday to push through with a UN appeal to solve its maritime disputes with China, as Beijing warned of consequences.
"We are not here to challenge China, to provoke them into any action, but I do believe that they should recognise we also have the right to defend our own interests," he told reporters.
"There is a consensus (in the Philippine gov ...
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Saab continues support of military simulation system
Washington DC (UPI) Mar 30, 2014 -
Swedish defense company Saab says it has received a new contract to continue support and service of a simulator system used by the British Army.
The simulator is the Direct Fire Weapon Effects Simulator System.
The DFWES is a laser-based tactical engagement system for vehicles and anti-tank weapons to simulate the effect of weapon engagements that enables realistic and challengin ...
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Air show nets $54 million in orders for Airbus Helicopter subsidiary
Washington DC (UPI) Mar 30, 2014 -
Airbus Helicopters has announced its Chilean subsidiary reports $54 million in helicopter sales at the FIDAE 2014 air show last week in Chile.
The Bolivian Air Force ordered two EC145 aircraft from for government transport duties and emergency missions from Airbus Helicopters Cono Sur, with contracts inclusive of pilot training, technical assistance and a logistic package of tools and s ...
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Australian firm completes first vertical tail for F-35
Washington DC (UPI) Mar 30, 2014 -
Australia's Department of Defense reports the first of an expected 722 sets of vertical tails for F-35 aircraft has been manufactured in the country.
The vertical tail for Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter was made by engineering firm Marand.
"Melbourne-based Marand and its supply chain are commencing production of up to 722 sets of vertical tails for the F ...
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Google says Turkey intercepting its Web domain
Washington (AFP) March 31, 2014 -
Google says Turkey has been intercepting its Internet domain, redirecting users to other sites in the latest battle between Ankara and Web giants.
In a weekend post on Google's security blog, software engineer Steven Carstensen said the company has received "several credible reports and confirmed with our own research that Google's Domain Name System (DNS) service has been intercepted by mos ...
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U.S. Marine KC-130Js getting Rolls-Royce service for engines
Washington DC (UPI) Mar 30, 2014 -
Rolls-Royce has been awarded a contract to support the US Marines Corps fleet of KC-130J air-to-air refueling tankers, worth more than $50 million.
Engines on KC-130J tankers operated by the U.S. Marine Corps are to receive Rolls-Royce MissionCare sustainment services under a one-year contract.
In addition to services for Rolls-Royce AE 2100 engines on Marine KC-130Js, the $50 mi ...
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Fate of Israel spy Pollard linked to peace talks: sources
Jerusalem (AFP) March 31, 2014 -
Israel and the United States are discussing a possible deal which could secure the release of US-born Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard as a way of salvaging the crisis-hit peace talks.
According to two separate sources close to the talks, Pollard's release is being discussed in the context of efforts to secure an extension of the peace talks with the Palestinians, although no decision has yet be ...
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N. Korea vows not to rule out a new nuclear test
Seoul (AFP) March 30, 2014 -
North Korea vowed not to rule out a "new form" of nuclear test Sunday after the UN Security Council condemned its latest ballistic missile launch amid simmering tensions over Seoul's joint military drills with Washington.
Pyongyang has carried out a series of rocket and short-range missile launches in recent weeks which have prompted stern reactions from South Korea and the United States. ...
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Japan, N. Korea talks end on positive note: official
Beijing (AFP) March 31, 2014 -
Government-level talks between Japan and North Korea ended Monday in Beijing on a positive note, with Pyongyang apparently prepared to discuss the Japanese citizens kidnapped by its spies decades ago.
At their first formal meeting in 16 months, diplomats from the two countries spoke on a range of issues over two days, including North Korea's nuclear weapons programme, officials said.
"We ...
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Kerry meets Netanyahu, Abbas over peace talks crisis
Jerusalem (AFP) March 31, 2014 -
US Secretary of State John Kerry was holding late-night talks with the leadership in Jerusalem and Ramallah on Monday on his latest mission to salvage the crisis-hit peace process.
He flew in from Paris for what was expected to be little more than a 15-hour visit to push both sides to resolve a lingering dispute over Palestinian prisoners which is threatening to derail the negotiations ahead ...
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North, South Korea trade live fire over sea border
Seoul (AFP) March 31, 2014 -
The two Koreas traded hundreds of rounds of live artillery fire across their disputed maritime border Monday, forcing South Korean islanders to take shelter a day after the North drove up tensions by threatening a new nuclear test.
The exchange, triggered by a three-hour North Korean live-fire exercise that dropped shells into South Korean waters, was limited to untargeted shelling into the ...
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NATO to strengthen east in face of resurgent Russia
Brussels (AFP) March 31, 2014 -
NATO foreign ministers will gather in Brussels on Tuesday as the defence alliance seeks to reinforce its eastern frontier against a resurgent Russia emboldened by the annexation of Crimea.
In a regular two-day meeting of the 28 ministers, including US Secretary of State John Kerry, NATO will confirm the suspension of cooperation with Moscow, a decision made on March 5 after Russian troops gr ...
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Preparing for war, Ukraine's revolutionaries join the army
Novi Petrivtsi, Ukraine (AFP) March 31, 2014 -
A hail of gunfire rings out as a group of soldiers leap from a helicopter, do a combat roll, crouch and open fire.
Running through a haze of smoke, clambering up and down ropes and engaging in hand-to-hand combat: Ukraine's newly-formed National Guard is hard at work learning to defend the crisis-hit country.
At a military base in Novi Petrivtsi north of Kiev the recruits are showing off ...
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