Whether the front office considers moving George if things don’t turn around is unlikely, but persistent problems could force some big changes. That said, this roster still has the talent for a deep playoff run when healthy, so the Sixers are more likely to be buyers than sellers at the deadline.
The Sixers’ Trade Situation
Philadelphia is in a tight spot cap-wise. They are just over $1 million under the first apron and about $13 million under the second, giving them limited flexibility. The most movable contracts are guys like Andre Drummond, Kelly Oubre Jr., Eric Gordon, and Kyle Lowry. Bigger names like Paul George or Jared McCain aren’t realistic to shop.
The biggest needs? Probably a 3-and-D wing, a true backup point guard, or another big to rotate behind Joel Embiid. They also need to convert Dominick Barlow’s and/or Jabari Walker’s two-way deals before they hit the 50-game limit.
With those constraints in mind, here are five realistic trade targets the Sixers could pursue to stay financially flexible while upgrading the roster:
A move like this will most likely require some draft capital but could prove worth it in the long run if the Sixers are able to make a run.
2) Tyus Jones (Orlando Magic)
A veteran point guard who could steady the second unit. For a very affordable price, he’d give the sixers a legitimate ball-handler and organizer off the bench, something they have been missing. His role is very minor currently on the Magic and they could look to move him at the deadline.
3) Jay Huff (Indiana Pacers)
A solid power forward/center having a strong season so far in Indiana. He can spell Embiid with scoring, rim protection, and shot-blocking—averaging over 2 blocks per game while stretching the floor a bit. He is having an excellent season and it’s no secret the Pacers are looking to sell.
He’s been linked to the Sixers for years, and now he’s not getting heavy minutes in Houston after recovering from injury. DFS is the prototype 3-and-D forward—you could never have too many lengthy wings like him who impact winning on both ends.
Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
A fully healthy Sixers team probably doesn’t need major additions to contend. But with the usual health questions and the goal of winning a championship for the first time in over 40 years (last one was ’83), some move feels like it’s on the horizon. Let’s see what Daryl Morey cooks up.
An Earth-orbiting NASA telescope is slowly falling out of the sky, with a 90% chance of uncontrolled reentry by the end of 2026. To avoid this risk and extend the observatory’s lifespan, NASA has tapped an Arizona-based spaceflight startup to launch a daring rescue mission.
Katalyst Space Technologies, headquartered in Flagstaff, has received a $30 million award from NASA to give the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory an orbital boost. To that end, Katalyst is developing the “LINK” spacecraft, designed to autonomously rendezvous with Swift and shift it into a more stable orbit.
Katalyst has less than eight months to get LINK off the ground and save Swift, with a launch deadline of June 2026. Oh, and according to a company announcement made Wednesday, it plans to launch the mission via a rocket dropped out of a plane. No biggie.
Saving Swift from its slow demise
The Swift observatory launched in 2004 to observe gamma-ray bursts—the most violent explosions in the known universe. Over its two decades in low-Earth orbit, Swift has gradually lost altitude, as all satellites do. But recent spikes in solar activity have increased atmospheric drag on the spacecraft, accelerating its orbital decay to a concerning rate.
As Swift sinks back to Earth, atmospheric drag intensifies. At this rate, the observatory has a 50% chance of uncontrolled reentry by mid-2026 and a 90% chance by the end of next year, according to Katalyst. Though Swift would completely burn up in the atmosphere and pose no threat to people and property on Earth, NASA and Katalyst hope to extend its lifespan.
Pegasus’s heroic comeback
Katalyst has selected Northrop Grumman’s Pegasus rocket as the launch vehicle for this rescue mission. Pegasus is an air-launched rocket, meaning it gets dropped from a carrier aircraft at 40,000 feet (12,000 meters), then freefalls for five seconds before igniting its first-stage rocket motor and ascending to orbit.
Pegasus’s launch cadence has slowed significantly as cheaper, ground-launched rockets have become widely available. The Katalyst mission will be its first flight since 2021. According to the company, “Pegasus is the only system that can meet the orbit, timeline, and budget simultaneously.”
Swift orbits the planet at a 20.6-degree inclination to avoid the South Atlantic Anomaly—a large weak spot in Earth’s magnetic field that exposes satellites to higher levels of radiation. Because of this, a rocket launched from Cape Canaveral or Vandenberg would require a huge amount of propellant to reach the right orbital plane for this mission, Kieran Wilson, vice president of technology at Katalyst, told SpaceNews.
Pegasus’s air-launch design overcomes this hurdle. And since it’s a flight-proven vehicle, it’s ready to launch on short notice.
Once Pegasus deploys LINK, the spacecraft will approach Swift with a series of precise maneuvers known as rendezvous proximity operations, according to Katalyst. Because Swift doesn’t have docking ports or grappling fixtures for LINK to grab onto, it will use a custom-built robotic capture mechanism to attach to a feature on the body of the satellite and adjust its orbit.
If the mission succeeds, it won’t just extend the lifespan of a highly valuable research satellite; it will demonstrate a useful new capability for NASA. Being able to execute a rapid response to orbital decay would be a key asset to the agency, helping it better maintain its fleet of spacecraft in low-Earth orbit.
This blog contains links from which we may earn a commission.Credit: LOGAN WEAVER | @LGNWVR-Unsplash
The Philadelphia 76ers have built their reputation on more than just star power; they thrive on defensive intensity, tactical discipline, and adaptability.
As the NBA evolves into an offense-driven league defined by pace, spacing, and three-point volume, the Sixers continue to assert themselves as one of the few teams capable of neutralizing high-octane attacks.
Their ability to defend elite offenses like those of Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, and even the upstart Houston Rockets tells a compelling story about where this team stands, and what it will take to make a deep postseason run.
Let’s take a deep dive into the elite opponents the 76ers could face and what that reveals about Philadelphia.
When the Philadelphia 76ers face the Cleveland Cavaliers, the matchup becomes a showcase of defensive intelligence versus calculated offense.
Cleveland thrives on tempo control and physical half-court sets driven by Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell. Yet, Philadelphia’s defense, anchored by Joel Embiid’s rim protection and reinforced by versatile wings, forces Cleveland’s guards into uncomfortable midrange attempts.
The Sixers excel in closing driving lanes and switching seamlessly between pick-and-roll coverages, limiting Cleveland’s second-chance opportunities. Tyrese Maxey’s quick rotations and Kelly Oubre Jr.’s length have become essential in stifling perimeter scorers, forcing the Cavs to rely more heavily on interior playmaking.
According to recent trends on FanDuel, the Sixers often hold the Cavaliers below their season scoring average, underscoring their ability to dictate tempo and defensive flow.
This matchup reflects what defines Philadelphia’s defensive identity: physical containment, communication, and a refusal to let opponents dictate pace.
Dallas Mavericks: Neutralizing An Elite Offense
Few teams present a greater tactical challenge than the Dallas Mavericks. Kyrie Irving’s shot creation creates a near-impossible puzzle for most defenses, but not for the Philadelphia 76ers. Philly’s defensive strategy against Dallas focuses on calculated containment rather than overcommitment.
By deploying length on the perimeter and funneling drives into Embiid’s area, the Sixers force Dallas to take tough step-backs rather than create open looks for shooters.
Philadelphia’s help defense is among the most disciplined in the league; rotations are crisp, and double-teams are timed to disrupt rhythm rather than simply pressure.
Against Dallas’s spread offense, the Sixers rely heavily on switching versatility. The 76ers’ defensive IQ and Tobias Harris’s mobility allow them to handle mismatches without compromising structure.
The result is a system custom-built to frustrate Dallas’s preferred pace and expose the Mavericks’ overreliance on isolation play, a testament to how fundamentally sound the Sixers’ defense remains.
Denver Nuggets: A True Test of Defensive Structure
Defending the reigning champions, the Denver Nuggets, is the ultimate measuring stick for any contender. Nikola Jokić is an offensive system unto himself, capable of dissecting defenses with surgical precision.
Yet, the Philadelphia 76ers have found ways to challenge his dominance through layered defensive schemes.
When Embiid anchors the paint, the Sixers can afford to stay home on shooters, forcing Jokić into contested hook shots rather than wide-open kick-outs. Philadelphia alternates between drop coverage and soft doubles, ensuring Jokić sees multiple looks without exposing weak-side vulnerabilities.
Perimeter containment is equally vital: Maxey will disrupt Jamal Murray’s timing, while Oubre’s wingspan deters entry passes. Against Denver’s movement-heavy offense, the Sixers rely on communication and positional awareness, hallmarks of a mature defensive identity.
The result isn’t always perfection, but Philadelphia’s ability to slow the Nuggets’ efficiency demonstrates how preparation and versatility can stand up to elite offensive orchestration.
Houston Rockets: Young Energy vs. Veteran Discipline
While the Houston Rockets are still developing into a playoff-caliber team, their youthful energy and uptempo offense provide a valuable test for the Philadelphia 76ers’ defensive endurance.
Houston’s attack thrives on pace, quick decision-making, and aggressive penetration, the kind of approach that punishes sluggish defensive rotations.
Philadelphia inevitably responds with discipline. The Sixers excel in limiting transition points, forcing Houston’s young guards to operate in half-court scenarios where mistakes are magnified. Embiid’s rim presence discourages reckless drives, while defenders use physicality to deny second-chance buckets.
In these matchups, Philadelphia’s experience becomes its greatest weapon. The Sixers slow down Houston’s rhythm, impose half-court sets, and capitalize on defensive rebounding.
Their ability to neutralize high-energy teams showcases how defensive maturity can outlast youthful exuberance, a defining characteristic for a team aiming to contend deep into the postseason.
Bettor Takeaway
For bettors, understanding the Philadelphia 76ers’ defensive blueprint offers a clear advantage. While many wagerers focus on offensive trends, defense often dictates the spread and total outcomes.
Credit: LOGAN WEAVER | @LGNWVR-Unsplash
When the Sixers face top-tier offenses, their ability to hold teams below average scoring outputs can make under wagers particularly appealing.
The Sixers’ consistency in forcing inefficient shots and slowing the pace translates directly into betting value. Games against Cleveland and Denver, for instance, tend to be lower-scoring affairs, while matchups with Dallas and Houston often depend on how well Philadelphia controls the first quarter.
Savvy bettors on platforms like FanDuel recognize that the Sixers’ defense doesn’t just win games, it reshapes odds.
Moreover, Philadelphia’s combination of Embiid’s rim protection and elite team defense often leads to in-game betting opportunities, such as live unders or player prop unders for opposing stars.
Understanding these defensive patterns is key for bettors looking to capitalize on value that others overlook.
The Blueprint for Sustained Success
The Philadelphia 76ers’ identity rests on defense, intelligence, adaptability, and relentlessness.
Against elite offensive teams, from Cleveland’s methodical approach to Denver’s fluid precision, the Sixers continue to prove that defense can still win in a league dominated by offense.
Their ability to impose pace, protect the paint, and frustrate superstars isn’t just a byproduct of talent; it’s a philosophy.
When the postseason looms, the Sixers’ path to contention will hinge not only on scoring power but on maintaining their defensive DNA. In an NBA landscape where points come easy, Philadelphia reminds the league that containment, communication, and discipline still separate the great from the merely good.
For fans and bettors alike, the message is clear: the Sixers’ defensive evolution isn’t just about stopping opponents, it’s about redefining what it takes to win in modern basketball.
Just off the southern coast of Kyushu lies Tanegashima, an island where tropical beaches, wellness retreats, and rocket launches coexist. Part of Kagoshima Prefecture, it’s the second largest of the Ōsumi Islands. Unlike its neighboring secluded Japanese island, Yakushima, Tanegashima is relatively flat with gentle slopes that lead to wide stretches of beach and fields of sugarcane. Its subtropical climate supports lush vegetation, including banyan and palm trees. With clear waters lapping at the shore and a scenic landscape, Tanegashima offers a place to swim, practice yoga, and even watch rockets launch into orbit from the island’s space center.
Long before it became known for rocket launches, Tanegashima played a key role in Japan’s first encounter with Europeans. In 1543, a Portuguese ship accidentally landed on the island after veering off course. With them came advanced firearms, a technology previously unknown in Japan. Tanegashima’s local lord recognized their value and purchased several weapons. He later commissioned local swordsmiths to reproduce both the guns and their gunpowder. This encounter sparked a major shift in Japanese warfare. Centuries later, in 1969, Tanegashima underwent another transformation when the Tanegashima Space Center, Japan’s largest rocket launch facility, was developed.
View rocket launches from the Tanegashima Space Center
Satellite towers between hills and by the beach in Tanegashima – Norimoto/Getty Images
There were several practical reasons why Tanegashima was chosen as the site for Japan’s space center. Its location closer to the equator lets rockets take advantage of Earth’s rotation and makes launches more efficient. The island’s remoteness also minimizes disruption to Japan’s fishing zones. Additionally, Tanegashima had the necessary infrastructure to support space operations. This included available land, along with access to communication systems, water, electricity, and public transportation.
Today, the Tanegashima Space Center covers nearly 104 million square feet and serves as Japan’s primary launch site for orbital missions. The facility includes areas for assembling satellites, inspecting parts, and launching rockets. Visitors can watch live launches from the Takesaki Observation Stand, which offers wide views of the coastline. The complex also features a free Space Museum with hands-on exhibits and real rocket components that visitors can touch. Within the museum, the Liftoff Theatre lets guests experience a simulated rocket launch that consists of sound and smoke effects.
Explore Tanegashima’s coastal beauty and yoga destinations
Rocks over blue waters and along a sandy beach in Tanegashima – norinori303/Shutterstock
Along with exploring the space center, Tanegashima’s coastline is one of the main attractions of the island. Its beaches are known for white sand and calm water, which makes them ideal for a range of activities. On the island’s northern tip, Urada Beach offers swimming and snorkeling in clear waters where colorful tropical fish are usually visible. Toward the southern coast, near the space center, Takezaki Beach is a popular surfing spot among sandstone cliffs. About 18 minutes away by car, Hamada Beach is home to the Chikura no Iwaya cave. Visitors can enter the sea cave during low tide and take in views of the ocean.
Beyond outdoor recreation, Tanegashima is a destination for wellness travelers. In 2020, Nishinoomote City was certified as a “Sacred Place of Yoga.” The designation was given because of its natural landscapes, which are believed to support physical and mental well-being. Yoga sessions are usually held on beaches or coastal overlooks, where participants can meditate by the sea.
Travelers can reach Tanegashima by flying into Tanegashima Airport from either Osaka, nicknamed “Japan’s Kitchen,” or Kagoshima, often called the “Naples Of Japan.” Alternatively, ferries leave regularly from Kagoshima Port. Travel times vary from 45 minutes to three and a half hours, depending on the type of vessel. Once on the island, rental cars are the most convenient way to get around. To see some of Tanegashima’s scenic highlights, the Tanegashima Route offers a recommended driving course that passes beaches, coastal roads, and the island’s space center.
CORNELIUS, N.C., October 14, 2025 (Newswire.com)
– Valworx, Inc., a leading supplier of actuated valves and controls, has partnered with The Rocket Propulsion Laboratory at UC San Diego to develop the next generation of
“The Rocket Propulsion Laboratory at UC San Diego strives to provide challenging and exciting projects for students to develop their technical knowledge, leadership abilities, and hands-on skills. Our work seeks to improve the technical skills and diversity of the next generation of emerging talent, as well as continuously push the limits of what an undergraduate rocketry team can do.” said Daniel Carrillo, President, RPL @ University of California, San Diego.
“Through their sponsorship and support, Valworx has provided us with components that will enable us to validate rocket component characteristics such as max. pressure and flow rate, as well as the discharge coefficient of injectors. The valves will also be used as a basis for theoretical actuation mechanisms that will be integrated into future rockets or test stands and as a basis for throttling experiments to control the flow rate within a future rocket system”, said Steven Smith, Phoenix Chief Engineer.
“The Rocket Propulsion Laboratory program continues to build on prior innovations, and we’re excited to play a part in helping the next generation of aerospace leaders push the boundaries of student-led rocketry,” said Kurt Naas, President of Valworx.
About Valworx
Established in 1991, Valworx is a leading supplier of actuated valves and controls in stainless, brass, PVC, and sanitary ball and butterfly valves. They offer free shipping on orders over $99, free lifetime technical support, extensive online documentation and a generous return policy. All products are backed by a comprehensive one-year warranty.
Valworx-brand products are known, trusted and preferred by tens of thousands of users worldwide, meeting their customers’ expectations for price, delivery, and performance.
About the Rocket Propulsion Laboratory at UC San Diego
RPL’s goal is to provide student-led research opportunities for students passionate about space exploration. We strive to provide challenging and exciting projects for students to develop their technical knowledge, leadership abilities, and hands-on skills.
When the suit didn’t produce instant results, Musk went jingoistic. A few months earlier, in February 2014, Russia had invaded Ukraine, illegally annexing the Crimean Peninsula and triggering a global wave of condemnation against Moscow. Musk rode that wave in his successful push to get Congress and the Obama administration to wind down use of the United Launch Alliance’s signature rocket, the Atlas V, because it relied on Russian RD-180 engines. (The suit was eventually settled out of court.) The combination helped break ULA’s grip on government space launches.
Another big leap came in 2017. SpaceX started reusing its rocket cores, which dramatically brought down the price of getting to orbit. (Eight years later, its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy are still the only rockets in their weight classes with reusable cores.) But nothing was more important than Mueller’s continued development of SpaceX’s Merlin engine. It became one of the most durable in aerospace history, even though, as a former employee told me, “performance-wise, it’s terrible.” Its power and efficiency are nothing special. “We didn’t have the resources to do a lot of design and analysis,” he adds. “And so we just tested the ever-loving shit out of the engine. We hot-fired it thousands of times. Now they have an engine that’s super robust.”
Today, thanks in part to its nine reusable Merlin engines, a Falcon 9 can take a kilogram to low Earth orbit for one-third the previous cost; the Falcon Heavy, which uses 27 Merlins, drops the cost nearly in half again. Some 85 percent of Falcon 9 missions go to space with previously used first stages. In 2022, SpaceX jumped from doing around 30 launches per year to more than 60, and last year it hit 138. NASA’s space launch and human exploration efforts are now almost entirely controlled by Musk. A whole new space economy has grown up around him, one that relies on his cheap space access to get networks of small spacecraft into low Earth orbit. Take Planet Labs, the satellite imaging company. Hundreds of its spacecraft were carried by Falcon 9.
Really, no one is even trying to catch up; they’re just trying to find niches in a Musk-dominated ecosystem. ULA is building rockets optimized to reach geostationary orbits, which are farther out, even as many of its customers follow Musk’s lead and keep their satellite constellations closer to Earth. Upstarts like Rocket Lab and Firefly are admired for their ingenuity. But their current operational rockets are tiny by comparison—capable of carrying, at most, a couple thousand pounds, versus 140,000 for the Falcon Heavy.
“SpaceX is a cornerstone in the space industry. And then there’s other cornerstones, like Firefly. We’re very complementary to SpaceX,” says Jason Kim, the CEO of Firefly Aerospace. “It’s kind of like air, land, and sea. There’s no one-size-fits-all kind of transportation method.” (Kim’s not alone in this thinking; Firefly just went public at a valuation of $8.5 billion; Rocket Lab’s market cap is about $21 billion.)
Jeff Bezos has the cash to compete with SpaceX. And he’s certainly been at it long enough—his rocket company, Blue Origin, started a quarter-century ago. But it has had, shall we say, competing priorities. It’s been hard at work on engines; its BE-4 engine is actually powering the first stage of ULA’s new rocket, confusingly enough. You may have seen that Blue Origin has a rocket for near-space tourism, the one that recently carried Bezos’ wife, Lauren Sánchez, and Katy Perry aloft. But the company’s big rocket, the one that’s supposed to compete with SpaceX, has flown exactly once. And when I ask Blue Origin’s rep what makes their rockets any better—or, at least, any different—from Musk’s, he tells me: “I don’t have a solid answer for you on that one.”
China, which once seemed poised to dominate global launch, has had trouble keeping up with Musk’s rising totals, successfully launching between 64 and 68 rockets annually over the past three years. SpaceX is not only launching twice as often, it’s carrying more than 10 times the reported mass to orbit. Stoke Space, founded by Blue Origin engineers, has aerospace geeks in a frenzy, but it has yet to put a rocket on the pad. United Launch Alliance, SpaceX’s OG competitor, has a powerful new rocket—more on that in a bit—but once again, Musk is ahead. He’s working on a truly massive launcher, arguably the biggest ever constructed. Both stages are supposed to be fully reusable (which means, of course, immense cost savings), while neither stage of ULA’s Vulcan will be fully reusable. And that, according to a new report from SpaceNews Intelligence, could relegate the one-time monopolist “to niche roles in government or regional and backup contracts, assuming they survive at all.”
II. SATELLITES
At the end of May, at his factory in Starbase, Texas, Musk was in full Mars evangelist mode. “This is where we’re going to develop the technology necessary to take humanity,” he told his employees, “to another planet for the first time in the four-and-a-half-billion-year history of Earth.”
But as he sketched out his soaring vision of this place cranking out 1,000 enormous Starships per year, Musk repeated a more mundane truth. No, not the part about the Starship’s uneven test record. The one about funding. “Starlink internet is what’s being used to pay for humanity getting to Mars.”
Engineers from Ohio State University are developing a new way to power rocket engines, using liquid uranium for a faster, more efficient form of nuclear propulsion that could deliver round trips to Mars within a single year.
NASA and its private partners have their eyes set on the Moon and Mars, aiming to establish a regular human presence on distant celestial bodies. The future of space travel depends on building rocket engines that can propel vehicles farther into space and do it faster. Nuclear thermal propulsion is currently at the forefront of new engine technologies aiming to significantly reduce travel time while allowing for heavier payloads.
Traveling faster than before
Nuclear propulsion uses a nuclear reactor to heat a liquid propellant to extremely high temperatures, turning it into a gas that’s expelled through a nozzle and used to generate thrust. The newly developed engine concept, called the centrifugal nuclear thermal rocket (CNTR), uses liquid uranium to heat rocket propellant directly. In doing so, the engine promises more efficiency than traditional chemical rockets, as well as other nuclear propulsion engines, according to new research published in Acta Astronautica.
If it proves successful, CNTR could allow future vehicles to travel farther using less fuel. Traditional chemical engines produce about 450 seconds of thrust from a given amount of propellant, a measure known as specific impulse. Nuclear propulsion engines can reach around 900 seconds, with the CNTR possibly pushing that number even higher.
“You could have a safe one-way trip to Mars in six months, for example, as opposed to doing the same mission in a year,” Spencer Christian, a PhD student at Ohio State and leader of CNTR’s prototype construction, said in a statement. “Depending on how well it works, the prototype CNTR engine is pushing us towards the future.”
CNTR promises faster routes, but it could also use different types of propellant, like ammonia, methane, hydrazine, or propane, that can be found in asteroids or other objects in space.
The concept is still in its infancy, and a few engineering challenges remain before CNTR can fly missions to Mars. Engineers are working to ensure that startup, shutdown, and operation of the engine don’t cause instabilities, while also finding ways to minimize the loss of liquid uranium.
“We have a very good understanding of the physics of our design, but there are still technical challenges that we need to overcome,” Dean Wang, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Ohio State and senior member of the CNTR project, said in a statement. “We need to keep space nuclear propulsion as a consistent priority in the future, so that technology can have time to mature.”
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad militia fired rockets from the embattled Gaza Strip at Israel almost two years after the start of the Gaza War.
The attack was in “response to the crimes of the Zionist enemy against our people,” the military wing of the terrorist organization, which has fired rockets at Israel before, said in a statement.
The Israeli military reported on Sunday morning that two projectiles had been launched from the central section of the coastal strip towards Israeli territory.
They said one rocket was intercepted by air defence, while a second landed in an open area.
Shortly before, there had been rocket alarms in Israeli border towns as well as the city of Netivot.
Since the beginning of the Gaza War, Israel has been attacked with thousands of rockets from the Gaza Strip, but these attacks have now become significantly less frequent.
Both occurred during relatively anonymous launches of the company’s Starlink satellites but are nonetheless notable because they underscore the value of first-stage reuse, which SpaceX has pioneered over the past decade.
The first milestone occurred on Wednesday morning with the launch of the Starlink 10-56 mission from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The first stage that launched these satellites, Booster 1096, was making its second launch and successfully landed on the Just Read the Instructions drone ship. Strikingly, this was the 400th time SpaceX has executed a drone ship landing.
Then, less than 24 hours later, another Falcon 9 rocket launched the Starlink 10-11 mission from a nearby launch pad at Kennedy Space Center. This first stage, Booster 1067, subsequently returned and landed on another drone ship, A Shortfall of Gravitas.
This is a special booster, having made its debut in June 2021 and launching a wide variety of missions, including two Crew Dragon vehicles to the International Space Station and some Galileo satellites for the European Union. On Thursday, the rocket made its 30th flight, the first time a Falcon 9 booster has hit that level of experience.
A Decade in the Making
These milestones came about one decade after SpaceX began to have some success with first-stage reuse.
The company first made a controlled entry of the Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage in September 2013, during the first flight of version 1.1 of the vehicle. This proved the viability of the concept of supersonic retropropulsion, which was, until that time, just theoretical.
This involves igniting the rocket’s nine Merlin engines while the vehicle is traveling faster than the speed of sound through the upper atmosphere, with external temperatures exceeding 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Due to the blunt force of this reentry, the engines in the outer ring of the rocket wanted to get splayed out, the company’s chief of propulsion at the time, Tom Mueller, told me for the book Reentry. Success on the first try seemed improbable.
He recalled watching this launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California and observing reentry as a camera aboard SpaceX founder Elon Musk’s private jet tracked the rocket. The first stage made it all the way down, intact.
“I remember watching the live video and seeing the light of the engine on the ocean,” Mueller said. “And holy shit, it was there. The rocket came down, landed in the ocean, and blew up. That was unreal. It worked the first time. I was like, get the barge ready. Get the landing legs ready. This shit works.”
It would take a good deal more tinkering and experimentation, but by December 2015, SpaceX had landed its first rocket on a pad along the Florida coast. The first drone ship landing followed in April 2016. A little less than a year after this, SpaceX reflew a Falcon 9 stage for the first time.
Silencing the Doubters
Many people in the industry were skeptical about SpaceX’s approach to reuse. In the mid-2010s, both the European and Japanese space agencies were looking to develop their next generation of rockets. In both cases, Europe with the Ariane 6 and Japan with the H3, the space agencies opted for traditional, expendable rockets instead of pushing toward reuse.
As a result, both of these competitors for commercial satellite launches are now about a decade behind SpaceX in terms of launch technology. If the ambitious Starship rocket is successful, that gap could widen further.
Elon Musk and his SpaceX team can breathe a collective sigh of relief. After days of postponements, Starship was finally able to launch its tenth test could flight from the launch pad in Starbase, Texas.
SpaceX’s largest and most powerful rocket lifted off this Tuesday, August 26 at 7:30pm ET, reached an altitude of 192 kilometers, and embarked on a suborbital trajectory at more than 26,000 kilometers per hour towards the Indian Ocean, where the spacecraft splashed down an hour after liftoff.
Tuesday’s Starship liftoff generated anticipation far above other recent SpaceX test flights, with more than 1.8 million viewers watching the livestream on the company’s X account. Why so much interest? For one, the catastrophic failure on June 18 that resulted in the huge explosion and destruction of Starship vehicle 36, among other past mishaps. The program has also drawn protests by activists and citizens in Texas alarmed by the environmental impact of testing and maneuvering in and around Starbase. The Mexican government has also decried the amount of debris that has ended up in its territory.
Starship was designed as a fully reusable space transportation system. It consists of two parts: the Super Heavy, a booster powered by a set of 33 Raptor engines that provides the necessary thrust to leave Earth; and Starship, the spacecraft that would be responsible for carrying crew and cargo to outer space.
Starship’s tenth flight test not only flew halfway around the world, it was also responsible for deploying eight Starlink simulators, artifacts similar in size to the next generation of Starlink (V3) satellites. The simulators were successfully deployed when the Starship reached an altitude of 190 kilometers over the Atlantic Ocean within half an hour of liftoff. Tests were also performed on other elements of the vehicle, including the Super Heavy’s ability to perform a successful splashdown over the waters of the Gulf of Mexico within minutes of liftoff.
As the Starship prepared for re-entry at 26,660 kilometers per hour, the vehicle showed some damage to its outer shell. However, one hour and six minutes after liftoff, it was able to reach its destination in one piece, until it attempted to land in a vertical position over the ocean, which resulted in the anticipated destruction of vehicle 37. An explosive close to an exciting day for the SpaceX team, with a lot of data to analyze on the horizon.
This story originally appeared on WIRED en Español and has been translated from Spanish.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KTXL) – De’Aaron Fox talks about the way the Rockets defended his Kings in Sunday’s 112-104 loss to Houston, the lack of shot making in the second half, his rough shooting night, his team falling to yet another team with a losing record this season and reacts to the ugly injury sustained by Rockets big-man Alperen Sengun.
The Kings (36-27) will look to bounce-back on Tuesday night when they host the Milwaukee Bucks at 7:00 p.m.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KTXL) – Following Saturday’s practice in Sacramento, Kings head coach Mike Brown looks back at the ugly win over the Spurs, his postgame moment with San Antonio’s head coach Gregg Popovich, his commitment to continue to try to improve Sacramento’s shortcomings, getting his team to close out to the perimeter better and battling expectations after a first-round playoff exit last season.
Saturday’s game at Barclays Center offered another glimpse at what this Nets team can be when engrossed at both ends of the court — at least through three quarters. While Jacque Vaughn’s team won 106-104 in a game where they never trailed, they are still struggling to close out opponents. Their matchup against the Houston Rockets had no business being as close as it was late.
Cam Thomas, who received his first start since Dec. 27 in place of Cam Johnson, was the player who ignited the fuse for Brooklyn on offense. He started 5-for-6 from the field and finished with a game-high 37 points on 11-of-19 shooting. Twenty-two of those points came in the first half, his seventh half with at least 20 points this season.
The 22-year-old’s buckets came mostly at the expense of Dillon Brooks, who was tasked with guarding him in certain stretches. And Thomas’ teammates fed off his energy early.
The Nets started 7-of-7 from the field as a team and did not miss their first attempt until the 6:52 mark of the first quarter. At that point they led Houston 17-12 after racing out to an 11-2 lead. Brooklyn was up 35-15 after one quarter with 10 assists on 15 made field goals. The 15 points they allowed in the first quarter tied a season low. It was also the Nets’ second-largest lead after one quarter this season.
The Rockets were playing in the second game of a back-to-back set and appeared to be worn out for most of the night. It was a 20-point game at halftime and an 18-point game through three quarters. However, finishing games has been a significant struggle for the Nets in recent weeks. Saturday was no different. A Cam Whitmore 3-pointer cut Brooklyn’s lead to six with 5:14 left in the fourth quarter.
But the Nets avoided the embarrassment of letting another sizeable lead slip away. Following a timely steal by Dennis Smith Jr., Thomas made a crucial 3-pointer that stretched their lead back to eight points with 3:07 left. It was Brooklyn’s final made field goal of the night and gave it just enough breathing room to escape victorious.
Up four with 10 second left, Royce O’Neale threw the ball away on a routine in-bounds toss. The Rockets took advantage and drilled a corner 3 to make it a one-point game with seven seconds left. Thomas went 2-of-2 at the free throw line on Brooklyn’s ensuing possession. Then Fred VanVleet intentionally missed a free throw and Nic Claxton wound up fouling Alperen Sengun on the rebound. Luckily for the Nets, Sengun missed the first free throw. Two Sengun makes would have tied the game at 105 with 2.4 seconds left.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Nets (18-27), who led by as many as 28 points on Saturday. They split the season series with Houston 1-1.
Mikal Bridges finished with 19 points and five rebounds. Nic Claxton registered his 17th double-double of the season with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Dorian Finney-Smith enjoyed his best offensive game since Dec. 26, adding 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting (4-of-8 from deep) with seven rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes. However, the forward left the court late in the third quarter after blocking a shot and landing awkwardly. He did not return to the game.
Whitmore and Jalen Green scored 19 points each for Houston.
The Nets will return to action on Monday against the Utah Jazz at Barclays Center, which is expected to be Ben Simmons’ first game since Nov. 6.
Xtronaut 2.0 Fun and Educational STEM Game from Award-Winning Xtronaut Enterprises
Press Release –
updated: Mar 3, 2020
TUCSON, Ariz., March 3, 2020 (Newswire.com)
– Xtronaut Enterprises, co-founded by University of Arizona Professor Dante Lauretta, the Principal Investigator of the NASA OSIRIS-REx space mission, launches its new board game on Kickstarter — Xtronaut 2.0: The Game of Solar System Exploration — a game where players build and launch rockets to complete space missions throughout the solar system, based on scientifically accurate rocket science. Xtronaut 2.0 is now available on Kickstarter at a pledge level of $45 and is for 2-6 players ages 8+.
The award-winning team at Xtronaut Enterprises created Xtronaut 2.0. The original Xtronaut game, launched in 2015, received the designation of a Best Family Boardgame by Good Housekeeping and many other awards. Xtronaut’s second game, Constellations, won the Mensa Select Award and the Silver Prize at the International Serious Play Conference. Xtronaut 2.0 is bigger and better than the original, with more missions, spacecraft, action cards, and six-player gameplay. The game has incorporated feedback from many of its over 12,000 Xtronaut customers.
Xtronaut is honored by support from the Planetary Society and backers can choose to receive Xtronaut 2.0 together with a Planetary Society membership.
“Xtronaut 2.0 provides fun and educational gameplay using beautiful components. It incorporates the realistic challenges of developing and flying exciting space missions,” said Planetary Society Chief Scientist Dr. Bruce Betts.
Xtronaut is also pleased that it continues its longstanding support of Boys and Girls Clubs across the U.S., and now backers can donate copies of the game to clubhouses of their choice. Xtronaut will provide additional games to clubs at specific funding levels.
Professor Lauretta used his experience developing and leading OSIRIS-REx – scheduled to collect a sample from asteroid Bennu this August – to design Xtronaut 2.0. The game is based on fundamental science, rocket engineering, and technology. Xtronaut 2.0 includes a science handbook that connects players to real space and rocket science with fun and engaging gameplay. It is ideal for families, schools, homeschoolers, and informal learning environments, like the Boys and Girls Clubs.
Professor Dante Lauretta said, “Xtronaut 2.0 allows players to share in the thrill of launching a space mission of discovery, like OSIRIS-REx.”
The original Xtronaut was a multiple award winner:
· Good Housekeeping Best Toy Award 2016 – Family Board Game Category
· City Kids Magazine – Top 5 STEM Toy
· Top Solar System For Kids Science Toy – Fractus Learning
· 10+ Science Games for Your Homeschool – My Little Poppies
· Top 5 Games | Toy Fair 2016 – Twenty-Sided Store
· 15 Awesome Math Toys and Games – Math Insider
· 2016 Holiday Hot List – eBay
· Educational Gift Ideas for Christmas 2016 – First Tutors
· Amazon Launchpad – Program Awardee
About Xtronaut Enterprises:
Dante Lauretta and Michael Lyon founded Xtronaut to develop innovative educational content associated with space exploration. Dr. Lauretta has spent 16 years leading the OSIRIS-REx mission. Xtronaut also produces the award-winning games Constellations: The Game of Stargazing and the Night Sky and Downlink: The Game of Planetary Discovery.
About The Planetary Society:
The Planetary Society has inspired millions of people to explore other worlds and seek other life. With the mission to empower the world’s citizens to advance space science and exploration, its international membership makes the non-governmental Planetary Society the largest space interest group in the world, with Bill Nye serving as CEO.
