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Kendall delivers LCID 2024 keynote, urges ‘go faster’ > United States Space Force > Article Display

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Space Force

Kendall delivers LCID 2024 keynote, urges ‘go faster’ > United States Space Force > Article Display

DAYTON, Ohio (AFNS) -- “The strategic environment we're in today is the toughest that I've ever seen,” expressed Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall during his keynote address to the Life Cycle Industry Days crowd, July 30, in Dayton. During his introduction, it was noted that Kendall has worked in government for 50 years. This helped make his opening statement about the current military environment even more powerful. Overarching topics of Kendall’s address included: Engineering management and defense acquisition Space security, with progress made and challenges ahead...

Will implants that meld minds with machines enhance human abilities?

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Science

Will implants that meld minds with machines enhance human abilities?

A cyborg bested me. When I played the online game WebGrid, using my finger on a laptop trackpad to click on squares appearing unpredictably on a grid, my speed was 42 squares per minute. When self-described cyborg Noland Arbaugh played it, he used a chip embedded in his brain to send telepathic signals to his computer. His speed? 49. Arbaugh was paralysed from the neck down in 2016. In January, he became the first person to be surgically implanted with a chip made by Neuralink, a company founded by Elon Musk. Since then, Arbaugh has been operating his phone and computer with his thoughts, surfing the web and playing Civilization and chess. But Neuralink isn’t the only outfit melding human minds with machines using brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). Thanks to a series o...

Perseids Meteor Shower on the Way – NASA Blogs

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NASA

Perseids Meteor Shower on the Way – NASA Blogs

The Perseids are back! Well… sort of. Usually bringing one of the most vivid annual meteor showers visible in Earth’s night sky, commonly delivering 50-100 “shooting stars” per hour at its height, the Perseids will peak Aug. 12 and 13. There’s just one problem: the full Moon. A shower of Perseid meteors lights up the sky in 2009 in this NASA time-lapse image. (NASA/JPL) “Sadly, this year’s Perseids peak will see the worst possible circumstances for spotters,” said NASA astronomer Bill Cooke, who leads the Meteoroid Environment Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “Most of us in North America would normally see 50 or 60 meteors per hour,” he said, “but this year, during the normal peak, the full Moon will reduce that to 10-20 per hour at best.” The Moon i...

Space delta 6 guardians embrace community mindset > United States Space Force > Article Display

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Space Force

Space delta 6 guardians embrace community mindset > United States Space Force > Article Display

PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. (AFNS) -- With units stretching from Colorado to California, from Greenland to Guam, Guardians, Airmen and civilians assigned to Space Delta 6 — Space Access and Cyberspace Operations — are engaging with their fellow citizens both inside and outside the military perimeter.23rd Space Operations SquadronThe 23rd SOPS, located at New Boston Space Force Station, N.H., continuously coordinates with the local community, especially when it comes to working with local law enforcement authorities to solidify partnerships and exercise emergency response efforts around the military station.Looking outside the base, members engage with the community frequently.Master Sgt. Kyle Duley, 23rd SOPS superintendent, saw an opportunity wh...

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Astronomy

Super-black wood can improve telescopes, optical devices and consumer goods

Thanks to an accidental discovery, researchers at the University of British Columbia have created a new super-black material that absorbs almost all light, opening potential applications in fine jewelry, solar cells and precision optical devices. Professor Philip Evans and PhD student Kenny Cheng were experimenting with high-energy plasma to make wood more water-repellent. However, when they applied the technique to the cut ends of wood cells, the surfaces turned extremely black. Measurements by Texas A&M University's department of physics and astronomy confirmed that the material reflected less than one per cent of visible light, absorbing almost all the light that struck it. Instead of discarding this accidental finding, the team decided to shift their focus to designing super-black ...