Massive Beast asteroid to have close call with Earth
Washington (UPI) Jun 7, 2013 -
The so-called Beast asteroid is expected to miss Earth by about 777,000 miles, which is a good thing because the 1,100-foot wide behemoth could do serious damage.
There's no chance the asteroid will hit Earth, scientists say, but at 777,000 miles away - 3.25 times the distance from the Earth to the moon - it's a relatively close call.
The asteroid is about 10 to 20 times bigger ...
more
NASA's human spaceflight program doomed to fail: study
Washington (AFP) June 06, 2014 -
The US space agency NASA has been warned that its mission to send humans to Mars will fail unless its revamps its methods and draws up a clear, well-planned strategy to conquer the red planet.
The National Research Council said in a congressionally-mandated report that Washington should use "stepping stones" to achieve its goal of a manned flight to Mars.
This could involve exploring an ...
more
Northrop Grumman tapped for new miniature navigation system
Woodland Hills, Calif. (UPI) Jun 6, 2013 -
A miniature inertial navigation system is to be built by Northrop Grumman for the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency under an Army contract.
The award is for one year and has an initial value of $648,000. Its potential value, however, would be an estimated at $13.4 million if multiple contract options were exercised.
Northrop said that under the award it will develop ...
more
Chatty Japan robot makes friends on first day at work
Tokyo (AFP) June 06, 2014 -
A chatty humanoid robot whose makers claim it can understand people's emotions made its first friends Friday as it struck up conversations with shoppers in Tokyo.
And the device - named Pepper by its designers - proved an effective marketing tool for mobile carrier SoftBank, delighting managers who put it to work collecting customer opinions.
"So you came to meet me today?" asked Peppe ...
more
Inmarsat to deliver in-flight connectivity across EU
London, UK (SPX) Jun 09, 2014 -
Inmarsat is to deploy a unique integrated telecommunications network delivering aviation passenger connectivity across the EU. The company has placed an order for a new S-band satellite, called Europasat, and expects to complement this satellite with a fully integrated air-to-ground network across the European Union.
Inmarsat's new aviation network will deliver high-speed broadband service ...
more
Alexander's first week in space
Paris (ESA) Jun 09, 2014 -
ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst has now spent a week in space on the International Space Station. As he grows accustomed to floating in weightlessness, he has been busy learning about his new home, taking over experiments, drawing blood, keeping fit and, yes, cleaning the toilet.
Alexander arrived in the early morning 29 May together with NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman and Roscosmos commander M ...
more
Russia Mulls Privatizing ERA-GLONASS Emergency Network
Moscow (RIA Novosti) Jun 09, 2014 -
The Russian government will consider privatizing the state-owned ERA-GLONASS emergency calls network, according to the Russian newspaper Kommersant.
A source in the know told Kommersant Thursday, a plan to privatize ERA-GLONASS, a real-time satellite service for reporting and responding to traffic accidents, was recently discussed at a Kremlin meeting attended by President Putin's chief of ...
more
