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Category: government – Page 129

SES taps SpaceX for two additional Falcon 9 launches

Fleet operator SES on Aug. 20 said it selected SpaceX to launch four recently ordered O3b mPower broadband satellites.

SES’s four-satellite expansion order, announced Aug. 7, further increased its launch needs.

SES has now grouped the satellites into trios for the first three Falcon 9 launches, scheduled for the third quarter of 2021, the first quarter of 2022, and the second half of 2022. The last two satellites are projected to launch in the second half of 2024. Each mission will take place from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The O3b mPower constellation is designed as a multi-terabit global network capable of aiming gigabits of Ka-band capacity at customers in aviation, government, energy and other sectors. The constellation builds off of SES’s current O3b fleet of 20 satellites built by Thales Alenia Space.

WASHINGTON — Fleet operator SES on Aug. 20 said it selected SpaceX to launch four recently ordered O3b mPower broadband satellites.

The agreement means SpaceX will launch all 11 of SES’s O3b mPower satellites to medium Earth orbit across four Falcon 9 launches. Boeing is building all 11 mPower satellites.

Continue reading “SES taps SpaceX for two additional Falcon 9 launches” | >

Surviving bacteria in space

Research has shown that bacteria are surprisingly resistant organisms, both on Earth and in space, especially when they form ‘biofilms’. The relative isolation of astronaut crews poses a particular challenge to the field of biohazard management and this will only increase for future missions to the Moon and Mars. This article, based on a presentation at the Asgardia Space Science & Investment Congress (ASIC) in Darmstadt, Germany, in October, explains some of the issues and describes the state of play in this research.

The potential of ionising radiation to manage biofilm contamination.

These drugs carry risks and may not help, but many dementia patients get them anyway

Nearly three-quarters of older adults with dementia have filled prescriptions for medicines that act on their brain and nervous system, but aren’t designed for dementia, a new study shows.

That’s despite the special risks that such drugs carry for older adults—and the lack of evidence that they actually ease the dementia-related behavior problems that often prompt a doctor’s prescription in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders. In fact, some of the drugs have been linked to worse cognitive symptoms in old adults.

The study looks at several classes of psychoactive drugs, including ones that the federal government has actively encouraged nursing homes to limit using in residents with dementia. The new study suggests a need to reduce prescribing to people living at home with dementia, too.

Exclusive: China-backed hackers ‘targeted COVID-19 vaccine firm Moderna’

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Chinese government-linked hackers targeted biotech company Moderna Inc, a U.S.-based coronavirus vaccine research developer, this year in a bid to steal data, according to a U.S. security official tracking Chinese hacking.

China on Friday rejected the accusation that hackers linked to it had targeted Moderna.

Last week, the U.S. Justice Department made public an indictment of two Chinese nationals accused of spying on the United States, including three unnamed U.S.-based targets involved in medical research to fight the novel coronavirus.

Moderna Signs COVID-19 Vaccine Supply Deal with U.S. for $1.525 Billion

As one of the leaders in developing a COVID-19 vaccine, Moderna signed a contract worth up to $1.525 billion with the U.S. government to supply 100 million doses of mRNA-1273, the company’s experimental COVID-19 vaccine.

The agreement also includes incentive payments for hitting a production schedule. Moderna had a previous award of up to $955 million from BARDA for the development of the vaccine to licensure, which brings the U.S. government’s commitment for early access to the vaccine up to $2.48 billion. The U.S. government, as part of Operation Warp Speed, also can acquire another 400 million doses.

As part of this deal, the U.S. government says Americans will receive the vaccine at no cost. It is possible that healthcare professionals will charge for the cost of administering it.

SpaceX, ULA win huge defense contracts totaling more than $650 million

The Space Force’s announcement last week that United Launch Alliance and SpaceX will launch expensive spy satellites and other military payloads brings a long and often fierce battle for government funds to an end — at least for now.

Why it matters: This type of government money — particularly in light of the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic — is key for space companies that often work on thin margins.

The state of play: ULA was awarded the bulk of the funds — $337 million — for two missions due to launch in 2022, with SpaceX winning $316 million for one mission launching that year.

SpaceX is building the road to the moon and Mars in Texas

It would be fun to die in Mars.

Imagine living in Texas a few decades from now and suddenly being possessed with the desire to visit the moon. Traditionally, the only way such a dream could become reality would be for you to go through the arduous process of becoming a NASA astronaut and then hoping that Congress would fund a back-to-the-moon program.

If SpaceX’s Elon Musk has his way, a new road will be devised to go to the moon — and Mars and beyond. The scrappy, entrepreneurial space launch company is planning to build an offshore spaceport to launch its Starship spacecraft. The rocket ship would not only fly to far distant destinations in space, but to similar offshore spaceports around the world. Travel to Europe and Asia would be cut from many hours to tens of minutes.

If he has his way, you will be able to travel down to the now-thriving port community of Boca Chica, possibly on a Hyperloop, the mass transit-system inspired by Elon Musk, and book passage on a SpaceX Starship for a vacation on the moon. You might look forward to hiking across the lunar landscape in a spacesuit, like Neil Armstrong so long ago and visiting the Tranquility Base monument and see where he and Buzz Aldrin first trod the moon’s surface.

4 Palliative Canadians approved for end of life psilocybin therapy through section 56(1) ; First legal medical exemptions for psilocybin in Canada since 1970’s

Four Canadians battling incurable cancer have been approved by the Minister of Health, Patty Hajdu, to use psilocybin therapy in the treatment of their end-of-life distress. These 4 patients mark the first publicly-known individuals to receive a legal exemption from the Canadian Drugs and Substances Act to access psychedelic therapy, and the first known patients to legally use psilocybin since the compound became illegal in Canada in 1974. The decision comes after over 100 days of waiting for a response.

“ I would like to personally thank the Hon. Minister Hajdu and the team at the Office of Controlled Substances for the approval of my section 56 exemption. This is the positive result that is possible when good people show genuine compassion. I’m so grateful that I can move forward with the next step of healing” says Thomas Hartle, one the section 56 applicants battling cancer, from Saskatoon Saskatchewan.

Laurie Brooks, another applicant from British Columbia facing end-of-life distress states: “I want to thank the Health Minister and Health Canada for approving my request for psilocybin use. The acknowledgement of the pain and anxiety that I have been suffering with means a lot to me, and I am feeling quite emotional today as a result. I hope this is just the beginning and that soon all Canadians will be able to access psilocybin, for therapeutic use, to help with the pain they are experiencing, without having to petition the government for months to gain permission. Thanks also to TheraPsil for helping the four of us in this fight. To Thomas Hartel and the other two patients – I think of you often and wish you only good things, especially good health!”

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