WASHINGTON: Blue Origin launched its first rocket in more than a year on Tuesday, reviving the US company’s fortunes with a successful return to space following an uncrewed crash in 2022.
Though mission NS-24 carried a payload of science experiments, not people, it paves the way for Jeff Bezos’ aerospace enterprise to resume taking wealthy thrill-seekers to the final frontier.
The New Shepard suborbital rocket blasted off from the pad at Launch Site One, near Van Horn, Texas, at 10:42 am (1642 GMT).
After separating from the booster, the gumdrop-shaped capsule attained a peak altitude of 66.5 miles (107 kilometers) above sea level, well above the internationally recognized boundary of space known as the Karman line, which is 62 miles high.
The booster then successfully landed vertically on the launchpad, against the majestic backdrop of the Sierra Diablo mountains, followed a few minutes later by the capsule floating to the desert floor on three giant parachutes.
All in all, the mission lasted 10 minutes and 13 seconds.
“Demand for New Shepard flights continues to grow and we’re looking forward to increasing our flight cadence in 2024,” said Phil Joyce, the company’s senior vice president.
The science experiments onboard included one to demonstrate the operation of hydrogen fuel cell technology in microgravity, and another showing how water and gas move in a weightless environment.
Future applications could include monitoring water quality for astronauts in space.
On September 12, 2022, a Blue Origin rocket became engulfed in flames shortly after launch. The capsule, fixed to the top of the rocket, successfully initiated an emergency separation sequence and floated safely to the ground.
The accident prompted a year-long probe by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which found it was caused by the failure of an engine nozzle that experienced higher-than-expected operating temperatures.
The regulator issued a set of corrective actions for Blue Origin to undertake before it could resume flying, including the redesign of certain engine parts.
In all, Blue Origin has carried out six crewed flights — some passengers were paying customers and others were guests — since July 2021, when Bezos himself took part in the first.
While Blue Origin has been grounded, rival Virgin Galactic — the company founded by British billionaire Richard Branson — has pressed on, with five commercial flights this year.
Hours after Blue Origin’s success, Virgin announced the flight window for its next mission would open on January 26.
“We’re excited to begin 2024 by bringing four new Virgin Galactic astronauts to space with our ‘Galactic 06’ mission,” said CEO Michael Colglazier in a statement.
The two companies compete in the emerging space tourism sector, operating in suborbital space.
While Blue Origin launches a small rocket vertically, Virgin Galactic uses a large carrier plane to gain altitude and then drop off a smaller, rocket-powered spaceplane that completes the journey to space.
In both cases, passengers enjoy a few minutes of weightlessness and can view the curvature of the Earth through large windows.
Virgin Galactic tickets were sold for between $200,000-$450,000; Blue Origin does not publicly disclose its ticket prices.
Blue Origin can boast of the fact that nearly all of its rocket platform is re-used, including the booster, capsule, engine, landing gear and parachutes.
Its engine meanwhile is fueled by liquid oxygen and hydrogen, meaning the only byproduct during flight is water vapor, with no carbon emissions.
Blue Origin is also developing a heavy rocket for commercial purposes called New Glenn, with the maiden flight planned for next year.
This rocket, which measures 98 meters (320 feet) high, is designed to carry payloads of as much as 45 metric tons into low Earth orbit.
Blue Origin returns to space after year-long hiatus
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Blue Origin returns to space after year-long hiatus
- Blue Origin can boast of the fact that nearly all of its rocket platform is re-used, including the booster, capsule, engine, landing gear and parachutes
Four confirmed dead in small plane crash at London regional airport
- Video footage had shown a 12-meter (39-feet) plane in flames with a plume of black smoke at Southend-on-Sea
LONDON: Four people were killed when a small plane crashed at a London regional airport at the weekend, UK police said on Monday.
The plane went down around 4:00 p.m. (1500 GMT) on Sunday, shortly after departing London Southend airport in southeast England for the Netherlands.
“Sadly, we can now confirm that all four people on board died,” Essex Police chief superintendent Morgan Cronin told reporters.
“We are working to officially confirm their identities. At this stage, we believe all four are foreign nationals,” he added.
Cronin said the force was interviewing dozens of witnesses, and detectives and forensic teams were working to “build an accurate picture of what happened.”
He added that the airport “will remain closed until further notice.”
Video footage had shown a 12-meter (39-feet) plane in flames with a plume of black smoke at Southend-on-Sea.
Police evacuated a nearby golf club and rugby club as a precaution.
According to the BBC, the plane was a Beechcraft B200.
Southend-on-Sea is about 65 kilometers (40 miles) east of the capital, and its airport is the sixth largest in the London area.
Japanese FM offers support for Palestine in talk with Salameh
- Iwaya reiterates Japan’s support for a two-state solution for Palestine and its commitment to assisting Palestinian state-building efforts
TOKYO: Japanese Foreign Minister IWAYA Takeshi met with Estephan Anton Salameh, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation of Palestine, at CEAPAD IV and expressed his hope that the conference would contribute to promoting CEAPAD’s objectives of expanding assistance to Palestine.
The Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the Conference on Cooperation among East Asian Countries for Palestinian Development (CEAPAD IV) was held in Kuala Lumpur and Foreign Minister Iwaya reiterated Japan’s support for a two-state solution for Palestine and its commitment to assisting Palestinian state-building efforts.
According to the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo, Minister Salameh expressed his appreciation for Japan’s continued support for Palestine, including through its initiatives such as CEAPAD. He also elaborated on the grave humanitarian situation in Gaza, stating that an immediate ceasefire is essential for advancing Palestinian development.
Iwaya expressed deep concern over the humanitarian situation in Gaza and stated that Japan has been calling for a ceasefire in Gaza as soon as possible.
Nigeria’s former leader Buhari to be buried on Tuesday, official says
LAGOS: Nigeria’s late former President Muhammadu Buhari, who died in a London clinic on Sunday aged 82, will be buried in his northern home state of Katsina on Tuesday, the state governor said.
Buhari, a former military ruler after a coup in the 1980s, returned to frontline politics to become the first Nigerian president to oust an incumbent through the ballot box in 2015. He was re-elected for a second term four years later.
Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima and government officials were in London on Monday to organize the repatriation of the former president’s remains.
Katsina state governor Dikko Umaru Radda said after consultation with Buhari’s family it was agreed the body would arrive in Nigeria on Tuesday for burial the same day in his home town of Daura.
Among those who paid tribute to Buhari was Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who posted on X platform that “his wisdom, warmth and unwavering commitment to India–Nigeria friendship stood out.”
Buhari earned a devoted following for his brand of anti-corruption conviction politics, especially in Nigeria’s largely Muslim north.
He referred to himself as a “converted democrat” and swapped his military uniform for kaftans and prayer caps.
Ibrahim Babangida, another former military ruler who toppled Buhari in a coup in 1985, said he knew Buhari as a deeply spiritual and humble man.
“We may not have agreed on everything — as brothers often don’t — but I never once doubted his sincerity or his patriotism,” Babangida said in a statement.
After leaving office in 2023, Buhari spent most of his time in Daura, away from the public eye.
His successor Bola Tinubu inherited a country grappling with double digit inflation, foreign exchange shortages, economic hardship, low oil production and insecurity that had spread to most parts of Nigeria.
Buhari’s supporters, however, viewed him as Nigeria’s conscience because he had a reputation for shunning the corruption and ostentatious lifestyles often associated with the country’s political elites.
To his critics, Buhari was “an absentee landlord — a leader who governed by delegation, who disappeared for long stretches (often to London for medical treatment), and whose aloofness felt like abandonment,” the local BusinessDay newspaper said.
111 monsoon-related deaths in Pakistan since late June: disaster agency
- Data from the national disaster agency between June 26 and July 14 showed that electrocution was the leading cause of fatalities, followed by flash floods
ISLAMABAD: Monsoon rains in Pakistan have been linked to more than 110 deaths including dozens of children since they arrived in late June, according to government figures released Monday.
Data from the national disaster agency between June 26 and July 14 showed that electrocution was the leading cause of fatalities, followed by flash floods.
In late June, at least 13 tourists were swept to their deaths while sheltering from flash floods on a raised river bank.
In its latest report, the disaster agency said 111 people including 53 children have been killed, with the highest number of deaths in the most populous province of Punjab.
Meanwhile, the national meteorological service has issued a warning for further heavy rainfall in the northern and eastern regions of the country, with the potential for urban flooding, landslides, and infrastructure damage due to strong winds.
Monsoon season brings South Asia 70 to 80 percent of its annual rainfall, arriving in early June in India and late June in Pakistan, and lasting through until September.
The annual rains are vital for agriculture and food security, and the livelihoods of millions of farmers.
But it brings with it flooding, landslides and causes buildings to collapse.
South Asia is getting hotter and in recent years has seen shifting weather patterns, but scientists are unclear on how exactly a warming planet is affecting the highly complex monsoon.
Pakistan is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change, and its 240 million residents are facing extreme weather events with increasing frequency.
In 2022, unprecedented monsoon floods submerged a third of Pakistan and killed 1,700 people, with some areas yet to recover from the damage.
In May, at least 32 people were killed in severe storms, including strong hailstorms.
Greek govt calls for EU farm scandal probe
- In May, investigators searched the Athens offices of OPEKEPE and seized documents and electronic equipment
- They indicated that “a significant number” of people had gained payment rights between 2019 and 2022
ATHENS: The Greek government on Monday called for a special parliamentary committee to probe a European Union farm subsidies scandal, reportedly involving tens of millions of euros, that has seen at least two ministers put under EU investigation.
Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said the ruling conservative party would request an investigation into the 27-year operation of the Greek authority for the payment of common agricultural policy aid (OPEKEPE).
“Our proposal concerns the period from the establishment of OPEKEPE in 1998 until today in order to investigate the dysfunctions, identify the problems, and ensure complete transparency,” Marinakis told reporters.
An investigation by EU prosecutors has shown widespread abuse of funds at OPEKEPE, which according to the government annually disburses 2.5 billion euros ($2.9 billion) to nearly 650,000 farmers. Reports said prosecutors suspect tens of millions of euros have been siphoned off.
The investigation period is mostly under the current government, which came to power in July 2019. But the government argues that the fraud has lasted decades.
In nearly 30 years, the Greek state has paid more than 2.7 billion euros in fines, Marinakis said.
Greece’s ruling New Democracy party has a large enough majority in parliament to create the committee on its own.
Last month, a minister who had formerly held the agriculture portfolio resigned, after the European Public Prosecutor’s Office sent a case to parliament on the alleged involvement of two former ministers in Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s government in the misappropriation of EU funds.
Three junior ministers and another senior government official also submitted their resignations.
In May, investigators searched the Athens offices of OPEKEPE and seized documents and electronic equipment. They indicated that “a significant number” of people had gained payment rights between 2019 and 2022, mainly by falsely claiming public land.
