Mission | Common News Update

Apr152019 by adminNo Comments

Billionaire plans second mission to the moon for Israel

April 14 (UPI) -- Billionaire Morris Kahn has announced plans for a second attempt to successfully land a spacecraft, Beresheet 2, on the moon for Israel -- a project that might take two years. On Saturday, the SpaceIL chairman said on Channel 12's Meet the Press, "we started something and we need to finish it. We'll put our flag on the moon." The 5-foot-tall Beresheet 1, the world's first privately funded moon lander, crashed into the moon while attempting a landing Thursday. Apparently, a technical glitch caused its main engine to stop mid-landing. Beresheet, whose name means "in the beginning" in Hebrew, was launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in February. For the next six weeks, it pushed its orbit slowly outward. On April 4, Beresheet was captured by lunar gravity. Israel became...

Mar212019 by adminNo Comments

DARPA taps BAE for autonomous air mission planning software

Business

March 21 (UPI) -- The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has awarded BAE Systems a new contract for its work on an autonomous air mission planning system for the U.S. military. The $ 3.1 million contract, announced Wednesday by BAE, is for development work on the Resilient Synchronized Planning and Assessment for the Contested Environment, or RSPACE, system. RSPACE is meant to develop software to aid air operators in planning and making battlespace decisions during daily operations, including when communications are limited or unreliable. BAE is focused on software called the Distributed, Interactive, Command-and-Control Tool, or DIRECT, which is meant to improve battlespace awareness. The system uses a visual interface to alert operators of areas of concern when planning missions...

Mar212019 by adminNo Comments

March Madness: Top prospect James Wiseman has mission to bring Memphis back

Sports

March 21 (UPI) -- No. 1 high school basketball recruit James Wiseman is headed to Memphis next season. He says his mission is to lead the Tigers back to the NCAA tournament. Memphis (22-13) isn't sitting at home, as they play in the NIT tournament, but the Tigers are missing out on the "big dance" for the fourth consecutive season. Wiseman has the skills to turn that tournament drought around. The 7-foot, 230-pound senior led Memphis East High School to a 24-8 record in 2018, averaging 25.8 points, 14.8 rebounds, 5.5 blocks and 1.3 steals per game. He chose to stay in Memphis and join a Tigers program taken over by coach and former NBA star Penny Hardaway, who previously coached at East. Wiseman -- who won the Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year award Tuesday -- also ha...

Mar202019 by adminNo Comments

U.S. deploys B-52s to Europe for training mission

Business

March 19 (UPI) -- The U.S. Air Force deployed six B-52 bombers to Europe last week for training flights over the continent. In an announcement Monday, the Air Force said the aircraft were conducting a training mission that's part of a coordinated effort across U.S. European Command, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and U.S. Strategic Command. The deployment of the aircraft also included more than 450 airmen who first arrived at Royal Air Force base Fairford in Great Britain, NATO said in a news release last week. The U.S. has made similar deployments of its strategic bombers to Europe at least once annually since 2014, NATO said. "This is a routine deployment, but it shows that the U.S. nuclear umbrella protects Europe and demonstrates the unique capabilities the U.S. could bring to Europe in a...

Jan32019 by adminNo Comments

China Moon mission lands Chang'e-4 spacecraft on far side

Science

Media playback is unsupported on your device China says it has successfully landed a robotic spacecraft on the far side of the Moon, the first ever such attempt and landing.At 10:26 Beijing time (02:26 GMT), the un-crewed Chang'e-4 probe touched down in the South Pole-Aitken Basin, state media said.It is carrying instruments to analyse the unexplored region's geology, as well to conduct biological experiments.The landing is being seen as a major milestone in space exploration.There have been numerous missions to the Moon in recent years, but the vast majority have been to orbit, fly by or impact. The last crewed landing was Apollo 17 in 1972.Why China has its eye on the stars ...