origin | Common News Update

Mar252023 by adminNo Comments

Have we found the ‘animal origin’ of Covid?

Science

ReutersBy Victoria Gill and Roland PeaseBBC News and BBC World ServiceWe now have "the best evidence" we are ever likely to find of how the virus that causes Covid-19 was first transmitted to a human, a team of scientists has claimed.It is the latest scientific twist in the troubled, highly politicised search for the cause of the worst pandemic in a century, one which has produced several competing theories which have neither been proved or disproved conclusively.The most recent analysis points to a particular species as the likely animal origin of the virus. That analysis is based on evidence that was gathered three years ago from the Huanan Wildlife Market in Wuhan, which has always been a focal point of the initial outbreak. During the early days of 2020, when Covid was still a mystery ...

Jul312022 by adminNo Comments

Blue Origin to launch space tourist flight next week

Science

July 29 (UPI) -- Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin plans to launch its sixth space tourism flight next week with six people, including the first Egyptian and Portuguese crew members to reach suborbital space. Blue Origin said in a news release that NS-22 will lift off at 8:30 a.m. from Launch Site One at the company's site in West Texas on Thursday. The flight will make Sara Sabry, an Egyptian mechanical and biomedical engineer, and Portuguese entrepreneur Mário Ferreira the first of their respective countries to reach space, according to Engadget. The other four members of the crew include Coby Cotton, a cofounder of the popular YouTube channel Dude Perfect, as well as British-American explorer Vanessa O'Brien and telecom CEO Steve Young. The sixth passenger, Clint Kelly III, started the Autonomou...

Dec112021 by adminNo Comments

Blue Origin plans to launch largest crew yet Saturday

Science

Dec. 10 (UPI) -- Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin rocket company plans to launch six people, its largest crew yet, including the daughter of late astronaut Alan Shepard and ABC News anchor Michael Strahan, into space Saturday from Texas. Blue Origin plans liftoff of the New Shepard rocket on its NS-19 mission at 8:45 a.m. CST from its Corn Ranch spaceport 160 miles east of El Paso. Launch personnel postponed a launch Wednesday because of high winds in the area. Previous launches in July and October carried Bezos and William Shatner, 90, respectively. Bezos also invited former aviator Wally Funk, 82, to fly with him in July. Those previous crews were composed of four people. Let's light this candle! We put Alan Shepard's famous words on the crew access gantry for the astronauts to see just before ...

Jan142021 by adminNo Comments

Blue Origin launches, recovers capsule with more space tourism amenities

Science

Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' rocket company, Blue Origin, successfully launched and recovered a new capsule Thursday that includes new amenities for space tourists. The uncrewed flight lifted off at 12:19 p.m. EST from the company's Corn Ranch spaceport about 150 miles east of El Paso, Texas. About 11 minutes later, the booster and capsule had returned safely to the dusty West Texas soil. Advertisement The NS-14 mission is the 14th flight of a suborbital New Shepard rocket. The capsule is outfitted with improved acoustics to dampen the roar, better interior temperature regulation, crew display panels, and speakers with a microphone and push-to-talk button at each seat, the company said. "You've seen in there the white acoustic paneling -- that's to dampen any engine noises ...

Jan142021 by adminNo Comments

Blue Origin to launch rocket with more space tourism amenities

Business

Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' rocket company, Blue Origin, plans to test launch a new capsule from Texas on Thursday that includes new amenities for space tourists. The uncrewed flight is scheduled for liftoff at 10:45 a.m. EST at the company's Corn Ranch spaceport about 150 miles east of El Paso. Advertisement The NS-14 mission is the 14th flight of a suborbital New Shepard rocket. The capsule is outfitted with improved acoustics to dampen the roar, better interior temperature regulation, crew display panels, and speakers with a microphone and push-to-talk button at each seat, the company said.[embedded content] "The mission will also test a number of astronaut communication and safety alert systems," according to Blue Origin's launch announcement. The goal is to sell tic...