Connect with us

Published

on

British billionaire Richard Branson on Sunday soared more than 50 miles above the New Mexico desert aboard his Virgin Galactic rocket plane and safely returned in the vehicle’s first fully crewed test flight to space, a symbolic milestone for a venture he started 17 years ago.

Branson, one of six Virgin Galactic employees strapped in for the ride, touted the mission as a precursor to a new era of space tourism, with the company he founded in 2004 poised to begin commercial operations next year.

“We’re here to make space more accessible to all,” an exuberant Branson, 70, said shortly after embracing his grandchildren following the flight. “Welcome to the dawn of a new space age.”

The success of the flight also gave the flamboyant entrepreneur bragging rights in a highly publicised rivalry with fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos, the Amazon online retail mogul who had hoped to fly into space first aboard his own space company’s rocket.

“Congratulations on the flight,” Bezos said on Instagram. “Can’t wait to join the club!”

Space industry executives, future customers and other well-wishers were on hand for a festive gathering to witness the launch, which was livestreamed in a presentation hosted by late-night television comedian Stephen Colbert. Joining the reception was another billionaire space industry pioneer, Elon Musk, who is also founder of electric carmaker Tesla.

Grammy-nominated R&B singer Khalid performed his forthcoming single “New Normal” after the flight.

The gleaming white spaceplane was carried aloft attached to the underside of the dual-fuselage jet VMS Eve (named for Branson’s late mother) from Spaceport America, a state-owned facility near the aptly named town of Truth or Consequences. Virgin Galactic leases a large section of the facility.

Reaching its high-altitude launch point at about 46,000 feet, the VSS Unity passenger rocket plane was released from the mothership and fell away as the crew ignited its rocket, sending it streaking straight upward at supersonic speed to the blackness of space some 53 miles (86 km) high.

The spaceplane’s contrail was clearly visible from the ground as it soared through the upper atmosphere, to the cheers of the crowd below.

At the apex of the climb with the rocket shut down, the crew then experienced a few minutes of microgravity, before the spaceplane shifted into re-entry mode, and began a gliding descent to a runway back at the spaceport. The entire flight lasted about an hour.

“I was once a child with a dream looking up to the stars. Now I’m an adult in a spaceship looking down to our beautiful Earth,” Branson said in a video from space.

Back at a celebration with supporters from a stage outside Virgin Galactic’s Gateway to Space complex at the spaceport, he and crewmates doused one another with champagne.

Retired Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield pinned Virgin-produced astronaut wings onto the blue flight suits worn by Branson and his team. Official wing pins from the Federal Aviation Administration will be presented later, a company spokesman said.

High-cost tickets

Virgin Galactic has said it plans at least two further test flights of the spaceplane in the months ahead before beginning regular commercial operation in 2022. One of those flights will carry four Italian astronauts-in-training, according to company CEO Michael Colglazier.

He said 600 wealthy would-be citizen astronauts have also booked reservations, priced at around $250,000 (roughly Rs. 1.86 crores) per ticket for the exhilaration of supersonic flight, weightlessness, and the spectacle of spaceflight.

Branson has said he aims ultimately to lower the price to around $40,000 (roughly Rs. 29.7 lakhs) per seat as the company ramps up service, achieving greater economies of scale. Colglazier said he envisions eventually building a large enough fleet to accommodate roughly 400 flights annually at the spaceport.

The Swiss-based investment bank UBS has estimated the potential value of the space tourism market reaching $3 billion (roughly Rs. 22,340 crores) annually by 2030.

Proving rocket travel safe for the public is key.

An earlier prototype of the Virgin Galactic rocket plane crashed during a test flight over California’s Mojave Desert in 2014, killing one pilot and seriously injuring another.

Space race

Branson’s participation in Sunday’s flight, announced just over a week ago, typified his persona as the daredevil executive whose various Virgin brands – from airlines to music companies – have long been associated with his ocean-crossing exploits in sailboats and hot-air balloons.

His ride-along also upstaged rival astro-tourism venture Blue Origin and its founder, Bezos, in what has been popularised as the “billionaire space race.” Bezos has been planning to fly aboard his own suborbital rocketship, the New Shepard, later this month.

Branson has insisted he and Bezos are friendly rivals and were not racing to beat one another into space.

“We wish Jeff the absolute best and that he will get up and enjoy his flight,” Branson said at a post-flight press conference.

Blue Origin, however, has disparaged Virgin Galactic as falling short of a true spaceflight experience, saying that unlike Unity, Bezos’s New Shepard tops the 62-mile-high-mark (100 km), called the Kármán line, set by an international aeronautics body as defining the boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and space.

“New Shepard was designed to fly above the Kármán line so none of our astronauts have an asterisk next to their name,” Blue Origin said in a series of Twitter posts on Friday.

However, US space agency NASA and the US Air Force both define an astronaut as anyone who has flown higher than 50 miles (80km).

A third player in the space tourism sector, Musk’s SpaceX, plans to send its first all-civilian crew (without Musk) into orbit in September, after having already launched numerous cargo payloads and astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA.

The spaceplane’s two pilots were Dave Mackay and Michael Masucci. The three other mission specialists were Beth Moses, the company’s chief astronaut instructor; Virgin Galactic’s lead operations engineer Colin Bennett; and Sirisha Bandla, a research operations and government affairs vice president.

All recounted afterward being mesmerised by the view through Unity’s windows. Mackay described the immense blackness of space against the brightness of Earth’s surface, “separated by the beautiful blue atmosphere, which is very complex and very thin.”

“Cameras don’t do it justice,” he told reporters. “You have to see it with your own eyes.”

© Thomson Reuters 2021


Continue Reading

Science

T Corona Borealis May Erupt Soon: Rare Nova Could Be Visible to Naked Eye

Published

on

By

T Corona Borealis May Erupt Soon: Rare Nova Could Be Visible to Naked Eye

T Corona Borealis is a binary star system in the Northern Crown constellation which is being monitored closely by astronomers worldwide for signs of a rare stellar eruption. The system consists of a white dwarf and a red giant orbiting each other with the white dwarf pulling material from its companion. The gradual accumulation of matter on the surface of dwarf white planet can lead to a thermonuclear explosion, known as a Nova. Scientists recorded the last erupted Nova in 1946. Now, there have been some indications that we might experience another nova outburst in the near future.

The researchers have recorded a brightening event in 2015 followed by a dimming in 2023, which has mirrored the pattern seen in the last eruption. This leads the experts to believe that there might be another nova outburt. If an eruption occurs T Corona Borealis could become visible to the naked eye and shine as brightly as the most prominent stars.

Accretion Activity and Expert Predictions

According to a study published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, the system has exhibited behaviour similar to the years leading up to its previous eruption. T Corona Borealis is one of only eleven recurrent novae observed in recorded history with eruptions noted in 1217, 1787, 1866 and 1946. As per the latest data available with the researchers, the accretion disc surrounding the white dwarf has became highly active and bright between 2015 and 2023. The study reveals that this heightened activity could trigger an eruption within a year or two.

There are multiple predictions from the scientists based on orbital analysis suggesting possible eruption dates. As per multiple reports, the Nova outburst might take place between March 27 or November 10 this year or June 25, 2026. The researchers has also suggested a theory regarding a potential third object influencing the binary system. Astronomers like Dr Léa Planquart of Université de Strasbourg and Dr Jeremy Shears of the British Astronomical Association have dismissed this theory citing the absence of supporting evidence. Both experts believe the activity of the accretion disc remains the most likely cause of an impending eruption.

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who’sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.


Vivo X200 Ultra Confirmed to Feature Dedicated Camera Control Button; Design Teased



Facebook Introduces Friends Tab Without Recommended Content as Part of ‘OG’ Revamp

Related Stories

Continue Reading

Science

Scientists Spot a Key Difference in Matter and Antimatter Decay

Published

on

By

Scientists Spot a Key Difference in Matter and Antimatter Decay

A key difference has been observed in the behaviour of matter and antimatter particles by researchers working at a particle physics laboratory. A new measurement has been carried out that recorded the decay of a specific type of matter particle and its antimatter equivalent. This development is being seen as significant because it may explain why the universe is filled with matter while antimatter is nearly absent. The discovery has been described as a step towards solving one of physics’ biggest mysteries.

New Study Reveals Baryon Decay Difference

According to the research shared by the LHCb experiment at CERN and posted on the arXiv preprint server, a difference has been recorded in how a particle called the beauty-lambda baryon and its antimatter counterpart decay. These particles belong to the proton family and are classified as baryons. The report further added that the decay was observed into a proton and three mesons based on data collected between 2009 and 2018.

The evidence suggests that the decay of the beauty-lambda baryon differs from its antimatter twin. According to sources involved in the study the likelihood of this difference being a random occurrence is less than one in three million. Tim Gershon who is a particle physicist at the University of Warwick and part of the research team told Nature that this is the first time such a difference has been spotted in baryons.

Experts Say Findings Could Aid Understanding of Matter’s Prevalence

Tara Shears who is a particle physicist at the University of Liverpool stated to Nature that the observation could offer new insight into why matter is found in abundance while antimatter is not. She said that this imbalance is one of the major unresolved questions in physics.

Yuval Grossman a theoretical physicist from Cornell University mentioned to Nature that while the current measurement does not fully explain the imbalance it helps add a crucial piece to the puzzle.

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who’sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.


Portronics Beem 520 Smart LED Projector With 2,200 Lumens Brightness, In-Built OTT Apps Launched in India



Honor Play 60 Price, Design, Colours, Key Features Surface Online; May Use a MediaTek Dimensity 6300 SoC

Continue Reading

Science

China Loses 26 Percent of Its Glaciers Due to Global Warming, Claims New Study

Published

on

By

China Loses 26 Percent of Its Glaciers Due to Global Warming, Claims New Study

China has reportedly witnessed a significant decline in glacier area over the last six decades. As per a new study published online,  the country has lost nearly 26 percent of its total glacier coverage since the 1960s. The study claims that the lost of such glacier area might be due to the rapid increase in global temperatures around the globe. Official data confirmed that close to 7000 small glaciers have entirely vanished from the landscape. The shrinking of glacier masses has been observed to accelerate over the past few years as warming trends continue to intensify.

Glacier Loss Confirmed by Chinese Academy of Sciences

According to a study released by the Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources under the Chinese Academy of Sciences it was recorded that China’s glacier area had reduced to nearly 46000 square kilometres by 2020. The total number of glaciers was stated to be around 69000 at that time. This marked a steep fall from an earlier figure of approximately 59000 square kilometres reported between 1960 and 1980 when glacier count stood at roughly 46000.

Impact of Glacier Retreat on Water Security and Environment

The melting of glaciers has raised concerns over freshwater availability across several regions. Environmental agencies have cautioned that the loss of glacier mass may result in higher competition for water resources in the years to come. The Tibetan Plateau which hosts a large portion of these glaciers has been referred to as the Third Pole owing to the vast ice reserves it holds.

Efforts to Slow Glacier Melting

Attempts have been made by Chinese authorities to slow the melting process through technological interventions. Artificial snow systems and snow blankets have been deployed as part of these initiatives.

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who’sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.


Audio-Technica ATH-CKS50TW2 Star Wars-Themed Limited Edition TWS Earphones Launched: Price, Features



Portronics Beem 520 Smart LED Projector With 2,200 Lumens Brightness, In-Built OTT Apps Launched in India

Related Stories

Continue Reading

Trending