Another Step Toward Space Based Solar Power

 From Space.com: "Space-based solar power may be one step closer to reality, thanks to this key test (video)." From the lede:

    A first-of-its-kind lab demonstration shows how solar power transmission from space could work.  

    The demonstration, carried out by U.K.-based startup Space Solar, tested a special beaming device that can wirelessly transmit power 360 degrees around. That would be important for a potential future space-based power station, as its position toward the sun and Earth would change over the course of each day due to our planet's rotation.

    The demonstrator is a key component of the CASSIOPeiA space-based solar power plant concept that is being developed by Space Solar. The company envisions that CASSIOPeiA could be in space within a decade, providing gigawatts of clean energy much more efficiently than solar plants on Earth. 

Cool as this is, I would note that Tesla was demonstrating broadcast power 100 years ago. 

Astronomers Consider Whether They Were Wrong About Cosmic Expansion

From The_Byte: "Top Astronomers Gather To Confront Possibility They Were Very Wrong About The Universe."

    A number of researchers have found evidence that the universe may be expanding more quickly in some areas compared to others, raising the tantalizing possibility that megastructures could be influencing the universe's growth in significant ways.

    Sarkar and his colleagues, for instance, are suggesting that the universe is "lopsided" after studying over a million quasars, which are the active nuclei of galaxies where gas and dust are being gobbled up by a supermassive black hole.

    The team found that one hemisphere actually hosted slightly more of these quasars, suggesting one area of the night sky was more massive than the other, undermining our conception of dark energy, a hypothetical form of energy used to explain why the universe is expanding at an accelerated rate.

    "It would mean that two-thirds of the universe has just disappeared," Sarkar told The Guardian.

    Other researchers have suggested that the cosmological constant, which has been used for decades as a way to denote the rate of the universe's expansion, actually varies across space, which would contradict the standard model of physics.

 And in related news, from Futurism, "New Paper Claims Dark Matter Doesn't Exist at All." An excerpt:

    A controversial new paper suggests the universe is twice as old as current models suggest and that dark matter — the mysterious stuff believed by an overwhelming majority of physicists to make up much of the universe — doesn't actually exist.

    It's generally believed that dark matter doesn't interact with light or the electromagnetic field in any way, but can exert gravitational force. It's a conundrum that's plagued astrophysicists for decades — it can't be directly observed, yet is believed to make up 26 percent of the universe.

    University of Ottawa physics professor Rajendra Gupta, the sole author of a new paper published in the Astrophysical Journal, made headlines last year after suggesting the universe was 26.7 billion years old, twice as old as its generally accepted age.

    In his latest paper, Gupta builds on his theory, challenging the need for dark matter.

    "The study's findings confirm that our previous work about the age of the universe being 26.7 billion years has allowed us to discover that the Universe does not require dark matter to exist," said Gupta in a statement.

    Needless to say, it's a controversial theory that directly flies in the face of stuff that's more or less universally agreed upon by experts.

    Prevailing theories suggest the accelerating expansion of the universe is tied to a positive cosmological constant. This constant has often been used to explain the existence of dark energy, the dominant component of the universe, making up an estimated 68 percent of its total energy.

    While dark matter makes up most of the mass of galaxies and determines how they're organized, dark energy drives the accelerated expansion of the universe.

    But that's not how Gupta sees it. To back up his revised model, the professor borrowed from previous research of Swiss physicist Fritz Zwicky, who suggested in the late 1920s that red light emanating from distant celestial objects may be the result of energy being lost, a theory that became known as the "tired light" hypothesis.

    By combining this theory with a new "covarying coupling constant," which, unlike the prevailing cosmological constant, suggests that the forces of nature decline over time, Gupta argues that dark matter doesn't have to be part of the equation at all.

    "In standard cosmology, dark energy causes the accelerated expansion of the universe," Gupta explained. "However, it is due to the weakening forces of nature as it expands, not dark energy."

SpaceX Plans Permanent Moon Base

 Next Big Future reports on SpaceX's plans to establish a permanent lunar base, including a link to a YouTube video they had done (see below). But the web/blog post has some diagrams of the proposal.

VIDEO: "SpaceX revealed plans for a permanently manned moonbase"

Next Big Future (24 min.)

NASA Confirms That Dragonfly Mission To Titan Is A Go

From Ars Technical: "NASA officially greenlights $3.35 billion mission to Saturn’s moon Titan." From the lede:

    NASA has formally approved the robotic Dragonfly mission for full development, committing to a revolutionary project to explore Saturn's largest moon with a quadcopter drone.

    Agency officials announced the outcome of Dragonfly's confirmation review last week. This review is a checkpoint in the lifetime of most NASA projects and marks the moment when the agency formally commits to the final design, construction, and launch of a space mission. The outcome of each mission's confirmation review typically establishes a budgetary and schedule commitment.

If all goes well, the craft will launch in July 2028. The article adds:

    Dragonfly will explore Titan for around three years, flying tens of kilometers about once per month to measure the prebiotic chemistry of Titan's surface, study its soupy atmosphere, and search for biosignatures that could be indications of life. The mission will visit more than 30 locations within Titan's equatorial region, according to a presentation by Elizabeth Turtle, Dragonfly's principal investigator at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

    "The Dragonfly mission is an incredible opportunity to explore an ocean world in a way that we have never done before,” Turtle said in a statement. “The team is dedicated and enthusiastic about accomplishing this unprecedented investigation of the complex carbon chemistry that exists on the surface of Titan and the innovative technology bringing this first-of-its-kind space mission to life."

The article notes that the cost of the mission is significantly higher than other missions to the gas giants and outer solar system. But to put this in perspective, the additional $60 billion that Congress decided to flush down the toilet by providing even more aid to Ukraine could has paid for 17 such NASA missions. 

    Of course, that wasn't the total price of our current wars: Congress' total "aid" bill was $95 billion including $17.18 billion for Israel to buy even more weapons for Israel's Reconquista, $9.2bn for humanitarian purposes in Gaza and the West bank (hey, even terrorists need super yachts), $60.84 billion for the Ukraine war (including $23 billion to replace U.S. weapons stocks already turned over to Ukraine), and $8.12 billion of defense aid and spending in the Asia Pacific region, including Taiwan. So, for the total cost of this latest spending spree, we could have funded 28 Dragonfly Missions--or repaired the vast majority of bridges in the U.S.--or many other, worthier things. Hell, it would have been better to have paid down our National Debt or never to have spent the money in the first place so we didn't incur additional National Debt. 

    But funding exploration or domestic infrastructure is a sign of a healthy, growing country; while spending the national treasure on useless wars is a sign of civilizational decay.

NASA To Test New Solar Sail Design

 From Popular Science (h/t Instapundit): "NASA will unfurl a 860-square-foot solar sail from within a microwave-sized cube." The experiment was launched into orbit a couple days ago. 

    The real story here is not the solar sail, but the solar sail boom that holds the sail and provides rigidity: "Engineers have already demonstrated the principles [of solar sails] before, but NASA’s new project will specifically showcase a promising boom design constructed of flexible composite polymer materials reinforced with carbon fiber." 

    Although delivered in a toaster-sized package, ACS3 will take less than 30 minutes to unfurl into an 860-square-foot sheet of ultrathin plastic anchored by its four accompanying 23-foot-long booms. These poles, once deployed, function as sailboat booms, and will keep the sheet taut enough to capture solar energy.

    But what makes the ACS3 booms so special is how they are stored. Any solar sail’s boom system will need to remain stiff enough through harsh temperature fluctuations, as well as durable enough to last through lengthy mission durations. Scaled-up solar sails, however, will be pretty massive—NASA is currently planning future designs as large as 5,400-square-feet, or roughly the size of a basketball court. These sails will need extremely long boom systems that won’t necessarily fit in a rocket’s cargo hold.

    To solve for this, NASA rolled up its new composite material booms into a package roughly the size of an envelope. When ready, engineers will utilize an extraction system similar to a tape spool to uncoil the booms meant to minimize potential jamming. Once in place, they’ll anchor the microscopically thin solar sail as onboard cameras record the entire process.

There's more about the mission, so be sure to read the whole thing. 

RIP: Zylog Ceasing Production Of The Z80 Microprocessor

 Ars Technica reports that "After 48 years, Zilog is killing the classic standalone Z80 microprocessor chip." This chip drove much of the early microcomputer (home computer) and home game console market. However, the article notes that "Zilog will continue to manufacture the eZ80 microcontroller family, which was introduced in 2001 as a faster version of the Z80 series and comes in different physical package configurations (pin layouts)."

    As for the history of the Z80, the article relates:

    The 8-bit Z80 microprocessor was designed in 1974 by Federico Faggin as a binary-compatible, improved version of the Intel 8080 with a higher clock speed, a built-in DRAM refresh controller, and an extended instruction set. It was extensively used in desktop computers of the late 1970s and early 1980s, arcade video game machines, and embedded systems, and it became a cornerstone of several gaming consoles, like the Sega Master System.

    During the mid-late 1970s, the Z80 became a popular CPU for S-100 bus machines, which were early personal computers with a 100-pin modular bus system that allowed swapping cards to build systems based on parts from various manufacturers. Digital Research targeted the Z80 as a key platform for its CP/M operating system, and the association between Z80 and CP/M stuck, powering dozens of small business computers until the mid-1980s, when IBM PC clones running Microsoft's MS-DOS became the new industry standard.

    Interestingly, Microsoft's first hardware product, the Z80 SoftCard for the Apple II in 1980, added the famous Zilog CPU to the classic personal computer and allowed users to run CP/M on that machine. In 1982, Bill Gates claimed that SoftCard installations represented the largest single user base of CP/M machines.

Zilog will stop taking orders for the Z80 products after June 14, 2024.

Fertility Rates Continue To Decline In U.S.

The Daily Mail reports that "US fertility rates slump by 2% in a year to lowest on record, with 1.62 births per woman in 2023: Experts say focus on careers and access to contraception is behind the trend." The replacement rate is 2.1. The U.S. last saw a 2.1 rate in 2007. 

    Although there was a noticeable drop in the number of births during the pandemic, there was a slight bump following the pandemic, likely resulting from couples that had put off having children during the pandemic deciding to go ahead with having those children. But that bump seems to be over. The article relates:

    'The 2023 numbers seem to indicate that bump is over and we're back to the trends we were in before,' said Nicholas Mark, a University of Wisconsin researcher who studies how social policy and other factors influence health and fertility.

    Birth rates have long been falling for teenagers and younger women, but rising for women in their 30s and 40s - a reflection of women pursuing education and careers before trying to start families, experts said. 

    Mark called that development surprising and said 'there's some evidence that not just postponement is going on.' 

    CDC data shows in 2007 the total U.S. fertility rate was 2.12 births per woman, the 2023 rate of 1.62 shows a steady decline.  

    'People are making rather reasoned decisions about whether or not to have a child at all,' Karen Benjamin Guzzo, director of the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, told The Wall Street Journal. 

    'More often than not, I think what they're deciding is 'Yes, I'd like to have children, but not yet.' 

    An analysis published in the prestigious Lancet journal, estimated the average birth rate in America is predicted to fall to 1.53 by 2050 and by 2100 reach 1.45. 

    The concern is that this figure is way below the replacement level of 2.1 children — the number each woman would need to have, on average, to replace both parents, and maintain the economic climate. 

    Some women are choosing to have children later in life and instead focus on their careers during their younger years.

    As fertility is linked to age, this can lead to some women never having children or fewer than they might originally have planned.

    Experts have previously warned that some are prioritizing careers over families, which they say has put the country on an irreversible path to economic decline.

    Many millennials also say they do not want to have children.

    Rising cost-of-living pressures, especially the price of childcare, is another factor that puts a dampener on couples having children or deciding to have multiple.

    America's first over-the-counter birth control pill became available in March.

 I would note that the U.S. still has higher birth rates than many of its competitors. Likely because the U.S. is, overall, more religious. 

Bombs & Bants Episode 126

 An irreverent discussion of top news stories including more cash for Ukraine, spoiled brats at Columbia, who is the bigger jackass--Biden or AOC--and a lot more. Also, here is a link to the article that I mentioned that explains why the money allotted for Ukraine is too little, too late, and won't get them the munitions they need because we can't produce them fast enough: "What $61 Billion for Ukraine Won’t Do" by Ted Snider at The American Conservative. Besides challenging the absurd contention that Russia will invade Europe if we don't stop him in Ukraine, Snider notes what the money for Ukraine will NOT do: "There are five things the aid package will not do for Ukraine. It will not provide enough money. It will not provide the badly needed weapons, nor deliver them on time. It will not provide the even more badly needed troops. And it will not provide victory." Be sure to read the whole thing.

VIDEO: "Episode 126" (51 min.)

Voyager 1 Sending Readable Data Again

Back in November the Voyager 1 spacecraft stopped sending readable data. Engineers knew the the craft was receiving commands and otherwise working as usual, but was just sending corrupted data.  The fault was traced to a single microchip storing part of the craft's memory including software to code messages being sent back to work. A software patch was designed that would shift the functions to other parts of the craft's control system. 

    The patch was transmitted on April 18, 2024. Because Voyager 1 is approximately 15 billion miles distant, it takes 22.5 hours for a radio signal to traverse the distance. But on April 20, NASA received confirmation that the patch had worked. Over the next few weeks, additional patches will be sent to the craft allowing it to resume sending scientific data back to Earth. 

Sources:

• "Voyager-1 sends readable data again from deep space"--BBC.
• "Voyager-1 back on line after software patch works"--Behind the Black.

Another Biden Foreign Policy/Military Disaster

You might remember last summer that Niger suffered a military led coup. The U.S. had a large airbase in Niger that it used for the GWOT and probably other things. Russia apparently offered encouragement to the junta, because when faced with the threat of military intervention from leaders in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the junta's rulers asked for assistance from Russia's Wagner Group which has provided "assistance" to other countries in the region in kicking out the French.   

• More: "Unconfirmed Reports of Wagner Group Personnel Aiding Coup in Niger"--Red State.
• More: "War Looms Over West Africa As Niger Coup Deadline Arrives"--Newsweek.
• More: "U.S. turns up pressure in critical ally Niger as region faces threat from Russia-loyal Wagner Group"--Los Angeles Times.

    The Biden Administration apparently believed that the American airbase was going to serve as leverage over the junta leaders, but it didn't turn out that way. Rather, as described in an April 18, 2024 article, "Nightmare in Niger — Exclusive: Biden Administration Leaves Hundreds of U.S. Troops ‘Hostage’ in Niger" from Breitbart, Niger insisted on kicking the U.S. forces out of the country, but Biden would not let the airmen and troops leave:

    More than 1,000 U.S. troops are effectively being held “hostage” in Niger with medical supplies running low — stuck between the military junta-controlled government’s demands for them to leave and the Biden administration’s refusal to let them go home after the end of their deployments, according to a report prepared by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and obtained exclusively by Breitbart News.

    In addition, the report accuses Biden administration officials of trying to cover up the situation to lawmakers, as well as to troops deployed there and their families anxiously awaiting their return.

    “Our troops are currently sitting on a powder keg caused by political indecision at the top of the Department of State and Department of Defense. With a military junta in charge — who detests our presence and considers us unserious and predatory — the situation seems to be setting the groundwork for catastrophic diplomatic collapse like we saw during the 2012 Benghazi attack. Additionally, these troops are already running short on necessary, life-saving supplies, such as blood and medications,” the report by Gaetz’s office said.

    “They are, in effect, hostages of an indecisive Commander-in-Chief,” the report said.

    The report is based on interviews by Gaetz’s office with troops currently stationed in Niger, who reached out to Gaetz’s office after they did not receive assistance from the Departments of Defense and State.

    The service members are currently deployed to Airbase 101 (AB101) in the capital of Niger, Niamey, as part of the 768th Expeditionary Airbase Squadron (768 EABS), which is comprised of active duty and reserve forces, Air National Guard airmen, Army Special Forces and contract support. There are about 450 personnel at Air Base 101. Until the takeover by the junta, the base was a major hub for U.S. intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) against terrorist groups Al-Qaeda, the Islamic State in West Africa, Boko Haram, and Ansaru. It was also a hub for U.S. military advisers supporting Niger’s forces.

    The U.S. troop presence became threatened after the military junta, known as the Conseil National pour la Sauvegarde de la Patrie (CNSP), or the National Council for the Safeguard of the Fatherland, declared it had taken over the country on July 26, 2023. Just a few months before, Secretary of State Antony Blinken had praised Niger as “a model of resilience, a model of democracy, a model of cooperation.”

    The junta declared in March 2024 a cancellation of the military accords with the U.S., after a series of meetings with Assistant Secretary of State Molly Phee and U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) Commander Marine Gen. Michael Langley, according to the report.

So the result? Reminiscent of Afghanistan:

• "ANOTHER MAJOR BIDEN DISASTER: Niger’s Russian-Backed Military Junta Agrees to Release 1,000 US Soldiers After Biden Announces Plans to Abandon the $100 Million US Airbase in the Country"--Gateway Pundit.
• "U.S. hands over $110m base to Niger junta to release 1,000 U.S. Army hostages, watches helplessly as base goes to Russia"--American Thinker.