>>23457575

TYB

Simplified travel claims submissions now available on VA mobile app

August 11, 2025 11:45 am

WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs today announced that eligible Veterans can now submit and track “mileage-only” travel claims directly from a smartphone or mobile device via the VA Health and Benefits mobile app.

The app, which has more than three million downloads, automatically identifies when a Veteran’s appointment may be eligible for mileage reimbursement and displays a prompt on the home screen.

Submissions require just a few taps to confirm details.

The new feature will potentially reduce the number of paper claim submissions, which can take longer for VA to process.

Veterans who meet certain criteria, such as having a service-connected disability rating of 30% or higher, are eligible for health care travel reimbursement if they traveled in their own vehicle from their home address to their VA medical appointment.

“VA is evolving to meet the needs of today’s Veterans, and this new feature is proof of that,” said VA Secretary Doug Collins.

“We look forward to rolling out many more improvements in the future as we continue to make the department work better for the Veterans, families, caregivers and survivors we serve.”

For more information about how to use the mobile app and its new features, or to download the app visit the Mobile VA Health and Benefits page.

https://news.va.gov/press-room/simplified-travel-claims-submissions-available-on-va-mobile-app/

https://mobile.va.gov/app/va-health-and-benefits

Governor Tony Evers declares state of emergency after severe flooding

Aug 11, 2025 Updated 7 mins ago

MADISON, Wis. (WKBT) – Gov. Tony Evers declared a state of emergency Monday as Wisconsin communities continue recovering from flash flooding and storm damage caused by severe weekend storms.

Evers made the announcement while touring storm damage in Wauwatosa, emphasizing the state's commitment to providing resources for affected communities.

"The flooding seen across Wisconsin over the weekend is unprecedented, and as a state, we are committed to making sure communities have access to every available resource to help local folks and families in need and secure critical infrastructure," Evers said.

The governor praised emergency responders working around the clock to restore services to impacted areas.

"We are incredibly grateful to the dedicated law enforcement, emergency response teams, and utility workers who have been working around the clock to uphold and restore critical services to impacted area residents in the wake of these events and stand ready to ensure this important work continues," he said.

Wisconsin Emergency Management, a division of the Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs, has been working with counties to assess damage and determine resources needed to speed recovery efforts.

https://www.news8000.com/news/governor-tony-evers-declares-state-of-emergency-after-severe-flooding/article_bc103008-90a6-4376-8168-f0c052f14c0c.html

https://evers.wi.gov/pages/home.aspx

‘Prepare now’: How Juneau is preparing for major Mendenhall Valley flooding

Aug. 11, 2025 at 5:26 PM PDT

JUNEAU, Alaska (KTUU) - As of late Sunday, Suicide Basin above Mendenhall Lake has reached full capacity and is expected to release, causing major flooding later this week.

Juneau officials are preparing residents for the expected flooding and evacuation scenarios. Should it happen, it would be the third year in a row the Mendenhall Valley has seen high water and devastation following a glacial lake outburst flood.

The historic numbers have led Gov. Mike Dunleavy to preemptively issue a State Disaster Declaration, allowing resources to be mobilized ahead of time.

Juneau has implemented several mitigation measures and increased public messaging systems, especially after the historic flooding levels seen over the past two years.

Juneau officials established a flood hotline staffed by trained volunteers, which became operational Monday starting at 1:30 p.m. The number is (907)-500-0890.

Hesco flood barriers have also been placed along parts of the Mendenhall River. Deputy City Manager Robert Barr said the barriers were positioned in “high impact areas.”

Barr added that Phase 1A of the project had been completed, which extended the barriers to Diamond Park.

However, Phase 1B, which Juneau officials believe is almost entirely on private property, could not be completed.

Barr said the city was unable to “get unanimous agreement from all those private property owners,” but hopes to continue reviewing the project next year.

Officials advise Juneau residents to remain updated on flooding information by signing up for emergency alerts, as well as to stay away from riverbanks and barriers should conditions worsen.

Those who are in evacuation advisory zones will be notified with an evacuation tag on their door.

“Our number one priority for this response is the protection of life and safety,” Ryan O’Shaughnessy of City & Borough of Juneau Emergency Programs said.

Officials are also closely coordinating with Juneau schools, which are slated to start school this week.

In case of a flood warning during the night, O’Shaughnessy said the city has planned for that too.

“We’ve advised the school districts to not start school that day if it occurs,” he said.

Stay with Alaska’s Weather Source for the latest alerts and flooding information.

https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2025/08/12/prepare-now-how-juneau-is-preparing-major-mendenhall-valley-flooding/

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

August 12, 2025

Perseids from Perseus

Where are all of these meteors coming from? In terms of direction on the sky, the pointed answer is the constellation of Perseus. That is why the meteor shower that peaks tonight is known as the Perseids – the meteors all appear to come from a radiant toward Perseus. In terms of parent body, though, the sand-sized debris that makes up the Perseids meteors come from Comet Swift-Tuttle. The comet follows a well-defined orbit around our Sun, and the part of the orbit that approaches Earth is superposed in front of Perseus. Therefore, when Earth crosses this orbit, the radiant point of falling debris appears in Perseus. Featured here, a composite image taken over six nights and containing over 100 meteors from 2024 August Perseids meteor shower shows many bright meteors that streaked over the Bieszczady Mountains in Poland. This year's Perseids, usually one of the best meteor showers of the year, will compete with a bright moon that will rise, for many locations, soon after sunset.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

Asteroid the size of 3 T. rex dinosaurs to pass Earth Sunday - NASA

AUGUST 12, 2025 13:15

An asteroid the size of three Tyrannosaurus Rex dinosaurs is set to pass by the Earth on Sunday, according to NASA's asteroid tracker.

The asteroid in question has been designated as 2025 PM and was discovered this year, as revealed by the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

Fortunately, this asteroid is not expected to present a danger to the Earth, so we won't end up going the way of the dinosaurs.

Clever girl: How big is the asteroid set to fly past the Earth?

Asteroid 2025 PM is estimated by NASA to be around 50 meters wide.

To put that in perspective, let's compare it to something literally no one has ever seen in real life but everyone has heard of: a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

You know it, you love it, and you may be terrified of it. The T. rex, the king of the dinosaurs, has earned its name and reputation in pop culture with its menacing and awe-inspiring depictions in everything from Jurassic Park to The Land Before Time.

In Jurassic Park, the animatronic T. rex known as Rexy is around six meters high and 12 meters long. Already, that's very imposing, but as most people expect, Jurassic Park isn't exactly the epitome of scientific accuracy.

After all, the T. rex likely looked considerably different in real life than it did in the movie - it may have had feathers at some stage in its life, and one study even suggested it had lips.

But more importantly, the T. rex was likely much bigger than the movies suggested.

According to a 2024 scientific study published in the peer-reviewed academic journal Ecology and Evolution, the T. rex may actually have been 15 meters long.

So, back to asteroids, 2025 PM may be as wide as just over three T. rex standing tail to snout in a row.

Now the idea of three T. rex flying through the sky is terrifying enough. But what's also terrifying is the weight.

That 2024 study estimated that a T. rex could weigh almost 15,000 kilograms. That's comparable to two adult elephants. Now multiply that by three, and you're looking at 45,000 kilograms of muscle, teeth, and terror.

But how much does asteroid 2025 PM way? Odds are it weighs more, at least in terms of its overall mass. However, it's hard to tell, as scientists aren't sure of its composition.

Many asteroids are rubble piles, which are loose collections of dust and rock that cling together to form the appearance of a giant rock flying through space. Because of that, they aren't very dense.

When NASA scientists sent a probe to the massive asteroid Bennu, the probe ended up nearly sinking into it, with scientists saying the asteroid had the density of a ball pit.

In other words, we don't know the mass of asteroid 2025. But even rubble piles all together have mass, and an impact wouldn't be pretty.

Life finds a way (in the face of asteroids): What would happen if asteroid 2025 PM hit the Earth?

At a diameter of 50 meters, asteroid 2025 PM would certainly cause damage. The last asteroid impact to cause major damage to the Earth was in 2013, when an asteroid impacted over Chelyabinsk, Russia.

The resulting airburst - when an asteroid explodes after impacting the atmosphere - resulted in a large and powerful shockwave that was felt regionally.

Over 7,000 buildings in multiple cities were damaged, and over 1,000 people were injured, mostly by broken glass.

This was all from an asteroid just around 20 meters in diameter. At 50 meters, we could be looking at a lot more damage.

That is, of course, only if it hits a populated area - most of the Earth is ocean, after all. But if this asteroid were larger, say around 140 meters, the devastation it could cause would be catastrophic.

Still, even that wouldn't be able to wipe out all life as we know it. Humanity is resilient, and an asteroid that large is still too small.

But even the mighty T. rex couldn't withstand an asteroid impact. Still though, the one that took them out was much, much larger.

According to scientists, the asteroid that struck the Earth in what is now the Chicxulub crater in Mexico was thought to be 10 to 15 kilometers wide.

Right now, even if asteroid 2025 PM does hit the Earth, it wouldn't wipe us out. To quote Jeff Goldblum from Jurassic Park, "Life finds a way."

https://www.jpost.com/science/space/article-863995

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroid-watch/next-five-approaches/

NASA Wallops Flight Facility Rocket to Carry University Student Experiments

August 8, 2025

A sounding rocket carrying experiments developed by eight student teams is scheduled to launch from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on Tuesday, Aug. 12, for the RockSat-X mission.

The Terrier-Improved Malemute rocket is expected to reach an altitude of about 100 miles (162 kilometers) before descending by parachute into the Atlantic Ocean to be recovered.

The launch window for the mission is 6 a.m.-9 a.m. EDT, Aug. 12, with backup days of Aug.13, 14, and 15. The Wallops Visitor Center’s launch viewing area will open at 5 a.m. for the public to watch the launch.

A livestream of the mission will begin 15 minutes before launch on the Wallops YouTube channel. Launch updates are also available via the Wallops Facebook and X social pages.

The launch may be visible in the Chesapeake Bay region.

The experiments were developed by university and community college teams as a part of NASA’s RockSat programs.

“The RockSat program provides NASA-unique technical training and authentic, hands-on experiences, that prepare and equip students to enter the United States’ aerospace industry,” said Victoria Stoffel, Wallops STEM team lead.

RockSat-X 2025 flight projects:

• University of Alabama Huntsville is flying a spacecraft to demonstrate attitude control systems, a deployable heat shield that generates electricity, solar panels, and a communications relay unit.

This test will examine the potential of producing electrical energy by harnessing the heating experienced on reentry of the vehicle, as well as performing biological experiments.

The spacecraft is called ICARUS – Induced Charging from Atmospheric Re-Entry by a University spacecraft.

• College of the Canyons will test LiDAR scanning in space to detect structural anomalies in spacecraft and evaluate self-stabilizing gyroscope technology in a deployed capsule.

• University of Delaware’s experiment will use a Langmuir probe to measure how plasma responds to different electrical conditions, analyzing current-voltage graphs to determine plasma temperature and density.

• University of Hawaii Community Colleges’ experiment will launch a small sublimation rocket using camphor as propellant to measure its specific impulse (efficiency), along with an electronic payload.

This research is part of Project Imua, a STEM-centered collaboration effort between Honolulu Community College & Windward Community College.

• Northwest Nazarene University’s experiment will deploy a payload featuring an ejector and robotic arm designed to track and capture objects in space.

• University of Puerto Rico’s experiment will use advanced sensors to create a detailed environmental profile of the low-latitude atmosphere from ground level to 160 km, measuring various habitability parameters.

• University of Virginia will test a low-cost, deployable hypersonic flight system while validating the performance of avionics software and data systems for future flight testing.

They plan to use this miniature spacecraft technology to acquire reentry data that could improve future full-scale hypersonic aircraft designs. The students call their foot-long craft “HEDGE,” for Hypersonic ReEntry Deployable Glider Experiment.

• Virginia Tech’s experiment, MiRV, will test radio communications and evaluate a re-entry vehicle design using a small CubeSat-sized capsule that records temperature, pressure, and movement data.

NASA’s Sounding Rocket Program is conducted at the agency’s Wallops Flight Facility, which is managed by Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

NASA’s Science Mission Directorate- Heliophysics Division manages the sounding rocket program for the agency.

https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/wallops/2025/08/08/nasa-wallops-flight-facility-rocket-to-carry-university-student-experiments/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR3UogbzBfU

>>23457789

Redmond's rocket maestros power the next moon-bound adventure

Updated: 7:58 PM PDT August 11, 2025

REDMOND, Wash. — NASA officials visited Redmond Monday to celebrate the local engineers and technicians playing a pivotal role in America’s next lunar mission.

The agency is recognizing the accomplishments of teams involved in Artemis II, the upcoming crewed flight that will send astronauts near the moon for the first time in more than 50 years.

The Artemis program began with a dramatic milestone on November 16, 2022, when NASA launched Artemis I.

The uncrewed Orion spacecraft traveled beyond the moon, covering 1.4 million miles during its 25-day journey.

The mission’s success paved the way for Artemis II, which is scheduled to launch by April 2026.

“It’s going to be really special getting to fly the first humans around the moon since the early 70s,” said NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg.

While Hoburg isn’t one of the four astronauts selected for Artemis II, he expressed his excitement about the mission’s significance for both science and education.

“There’s so much more to see on the moon, there’s a lot of scientific discovery to do. We want to set up moon bases and do all the things.

It’s also about inspiring our youth and inspiring the aerospace workforce, because this is just a big, bold set of missions we’re embarking on with Artemis,” said Hoburg.

Unlike later missions, the Artemis II crew will not land on the lunar surface. Instead, their 10-day voyage will circle near the moon, designed primarily to test NASA’s deep space exploration capabilities and pave the way for future landings.

A key contributor to these efforts is L3Harris, operating out of its Redmond facility. Deputy Orion Program Manager Kathryn Luczek highlighted the region’s long aerospace legacy.

“We have 50 years of history in Redmond building rocket engines right here in Washington,” said Luczek

The local team is responsible for producing 32 rocket engines for Artemis missions, with safety and reliability as top priorities.

“It’s really important to us that we make engines that are going to work well and work right every time so the astronauts come back safely,” said Luczek. Looking ahead, NASA’s ambitions soar even higher.

If Artemis II is successful, Artemis III could return astronauts to the lunar surface as soon as 2027—potentially establishing pathways for permanent lunar research bases and setting the stage for future missions to Mars.

https://www.king5.com/article/tech/science/aerospace/nasa-redmond-workers-powering-step-toward-moon/281-27aec5b0-67f3-4e53-9232-f19a56a93d2f

NASA Invites Media to View Artemis II Orion Stage Adapter at Marshall

Aug 11, 2025

Media are invited to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, at 2 p.m. CDT Thursday, Aug. 14 to view the final piece of space flight hardware for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for the Artemis II mission before it is delivered to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

All other elements of the SLS rocket for Artemis II are stacked on mobile launcher 1 in the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy.

Artemis II, NASA’s first mission with crew aboard the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft, is currently scheduled for a 10-day trip around the Moon no later than April 2026.

The Orion stage adapter, built by NASA Marshall, connects the SLS rocket’s interim cryogenic propulsion stage to NASA’s Orion spacecraft.

The small ring structure is the topmost portion of the SLS rocket. The adapter will also carry small payloads, called CubeSats, to deep space.

Media will have the opportunity to capture images and video and speak to subject matter experts.

Along with viewing the adapter for Artemis II, media will be able to see the Orion stage adapter for the Artemis III mission, the first lunar landing at the Moon’s South Pole.

This event is open to U.S. media, who must confirm their attendance by 12 p.m. CDT Wednesday, Aug. 13, with Jonathan Deal in Marshall’s Office of Communications at jonathan.e.deal@nasa.gov.

Media must also report by 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug.14 to the Redstone Arsenal Joint Visitor Control Center Gate 9 parking lot, located at the Interstate 565 interchange at Research Park Boulevard, to be escorted to the event.

Through Artemis, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.

https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-invites-media-to-view-artemis-ii-orion-stage-adapter-at-marshall/

https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/space-launch-system/

NASA Continues Search for Moon-Focused Sustainability Solutions

Aug 11, 2025

NASA is accepting U.S. submissions for the second phase of the agency’s LunaRecycle Challenge, a Moon-focused recycling competition.

The challenge aims to develop solutions for recycling common trash materials – like fabrics, plastics, foam, and metals – that could accumulate from activities such as system operations, industrial activities, and building habitats in deep space.

Phase 2 of the LunaRecycle Challenge is divided into two levels: a milestone round and the final round. Submissions for the milestone round are open until January 2026, with finalists from that round announced in February.

Up to 20 finalists from the milestone round will compete in the challenge’s in-person prototype demonstrations and final judging, slated for the following August. Cash prizes totaling $2 million are available for successful solutions in both rounds.

“NASA is eager to see how reimagining these materials can be helpful to potential future planetary surface missions,” said Jennifer Edmunson, acting program manager for Centennial Challenges at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

“I’m confident focusing on the most critical trash items – and integration of the prototype and digital twin competition tracks – will yield remarkable solutions that could enable a sustainable human presence off-Earth and transform the future of space exploration.”

Estimates indicate a crew of four astronauts could generate more than 2,100 kilograms (4,600 pounds) of single-use waste – including food packaging, plastic films, foam packaging, clothing, and more – within 365 days. Successful solutions in LunaRecycle’s Phase 2 should manage realistic trash volumes while minimizing resource inputs and crew time and operating safely with minimal hazards.

Phase 2 is only open to U.S. individuals and teams. Participants can submit solutions regardless of whether they competed in the earlier Phase 1 competition.

All Phase 2 participants are expected to build a physical prototype. In addition, participants can submit a digital twin of their prototype for additional awards in the milestone and final rounds.

The LunaRecycle Challenge is a NASA Centennial Challenge, part of the Prizes, Challenges and Crowdsourcing Program within NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate.

LunaRecycle Phase 1 received record-breaking interest from the global innovator community.

The challenge received more than 1,200 registrations – more than any competition in the 20-year history of Centennial Challenges – and a panel of 50 judges evaluated nearly 200 submissions.

Seventeen teams were selected as Phase 1 winners, representing five countries and nine U.S. states. Winners were announced via livestream on NASA Marshall’s YouTube channel.

https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-continues-search-for-moon-focused-sustainability-solutions/

https://www.nasa.gov/prizes-challenges-and-crowdsourcing/centennial-challenges/lunarecycle/

Space Station Cell Studies

Aug 11, 2025

Science in Space August 2025

Cells are the basic building blocks of all living things, from single-celled bacteria to plants and animals containing vast numbers of them.

Cells have adapted for a wide variety of settings and functions. Nerve cells in humans and animals, for example, have long, thin extensions that rapidly transmit signals, while rigid, blocky cells support the structure of plants.

Cell biology is the study of cell structure, function, and behavior. For humans, scientists in this field explore the mechanisms of diseases from bone loss to cancer and work on developing treatments.

Cell-based experiments on The International Space Station help identify how spaceflight affects people and other living systems, with applications for future space exploration and life on Earth.

Recent experiments have revealed that individual animal cells react to the effects of gravity, but how they do so is largely unknown.

Cell Gravisensing, an investigation from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), examines the molecular mechanism behind the ability of cells to sense gravity.

Results could support development of drugs to treat muscle atrophy and osteoporosis in space and on Earth.

Cardiovascular cells

In microgravity, some astronauts experience changes in their cardiovascular system, including reduced blood volume and diminished cardiac output.

An earlier investigation, STaARS Bioscience-3, examined the mechanisms behind these changes at the cellular and genetic level.

The research revealed that, after only three days of spaceflight, there were changes in the expression of more than 11,000 genes in blood vessel cells that could alter their functions.

The results laid the groundwork for additional research into cell response to spaceflight that could help protect the health of crew members on future missions and people with cardiovascular diseases on Earth.

Neural cells

STaARS BioScience-4 examined microgravity’s effects on neural stem cells that give rise to central nervous system cells.

Researchers found changes in production and consumption of energy and increased breakdown of cellular components in these cells, responses that likely enhance adaptation to microgravity.

The finding also highlights the importance of providing astronauts with sufficient energy for cognitive and physiological function on future missions.

Fish cells

Goldfish scales have many of the same proteins, minerals, and cell types as the bones of mammals.

The JAXA Fish Scales investigation analyzed goldfish scales exposed to three times Earth’s gravity, simulated microgravity, and microgravity on orbit.

Researchers determined that goldfish scales can be used as a model to help them understand how human bones respond to spaceflight.

Mouse cells

Research with model organisms like rodents has relevance to humans in space and makes significant contributions to understanding human aging, disease, and the effects of microgravity on biological and physical processes.

JAXA’s Stem Cells studied how spaceflight affected the DNA and chromosomes of embryonic mouse stem cells, and their ability to develop into adult mice after return to Earth.

Researchers analyzed unaltered cells and cells given a mutation to increase responsiveness to radiation.

They found no chromosomal differences between the unaltered space-flown cells and ground controls, but the mutated cells had more DNA abnormalities.

The work could enhance the understanding of radiation effects on human cancer and improve risk assessment for long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars.

Another study used tissue samples from RR-1, which are available through NASA’s GeneLab open data repository. Analysis showed that the heart can adapt to the stress of spaceflight in just 30 days.

The researchers observed genetic changes suggesting that this adaptation may facilitate survival in space and could have applications in treating heart disease in space and on Earth.

https://www.nasa.gov/missions/station/iss-research/space-station-cell-studies/

https://www.nasa.gov/missions/roman-space-telescope/nasa-roman-core-survey-will-trace-cosmic-expansion-over-time/

NASA Roman Core Survey Will Trace Cosmic Expansion Over Time

Aug 12, 2025

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will be a discovery machine, thanks to its wide field of view and resulting torrent of data.

Scheduled to launch no later than May 2027, with the team working toward launch as early as fall 2026, its near-infrared Wide Field Instrument will capture an area 200 times larger than the Hubble Space Telescope’s infrared camera, and with the same image sharpness and sensitivity. Roman will devote about 75% of its science observing time over its five-year primary mission to conducting three core community surveys that were defined collaboratively by the scientific community.

One of those surveys will scour the skies for things that pop, flash, and otherwise change, like exploding stars and colliding neutron stars.

Called the High-Latitude Time-Domain Survey, this program will peer outside of the plane of our Milky Way galaxy (i.e., high galactic latitudes) to study objects that change over time.

The survey’s main goal is to detect tens of thousands of a particular type of exploding star known as type Ia supernovae. These supernovae can be used to study how the universe has expanded over time.

“Roman is designed to find tens of thousands of type Ia supernovae out to greater distances than ever before,” said Masao Sako of the University of Pennsylvania, who served as co-chair of the committee that defined the High-Latitude Time-Domain Survey.

“Using them, we can measure the expansion history of the universe, which depends on the amount of dark matter and dark energy. Ultimately, we hope to understand more about the nature of dark energy.”

Probing Dark Energy

Type Ia supernovae are useful as cosmological probes because astronomers know their intrinsic luminosity, or how bright they inherently are, at their peak.

By comparing this with their observed brightness, scientists can determine how far away they are. Roman will also be able to measure how quickly they appear to be moving away from us.

By tracking how fast they’re receding at different distances, scientists will trace cosmic expansion over time.

Only Roman will be able to find the faintest and most distant supernovae that illuminate early cosmic epochs.

It will complement ground-based telescopes like the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile, which are limited by absorption from Earth’s atmosphere, among other effects.

Rubin’s greatest strength will be in finding supernovae that happened within the past 5 billion years.

Roman will expand that collection to much earlier times in the universe’s history, about 3 billion years after the big bang, or as much as 11 billion years in the past.

This would more than double the measured timeline of the universe’s expansion history. Recently, the Dark Energy Survey found hints that dark energy may be weakening over time, rather than being a constant force of expansion.

Roman’s investigations will be critical for testing this possibility.

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>>23457930

Seeking Exotic Phenomena

To detect transient objects, whose brightness changes over time, Roman must revisit the same fields at regular intervals.

The High-Latitude Time-Domain Survey will devote a total of 180 days of observing time to these observations spread over a five-year period.

Most will occur over a span of two years in the middle of the mission, revisiting the same fields once every five days, with an additional 15 days of observations early in the mission to establish a baseline.

“To find things that change, we use a technique called image subtraction,” Sako said.

“You take an image, and you subtract out an image of the same piece of sky that was taken much earlier — as early as possible in the mission.

So you remove everything that’s static, and you’re left with things that are new.”

The survey will also include an extended component that will revisit some of the observing fields approximately every 120 days to look for objects that change over long timescales.

This will help to detect the most distant transients that existed as long ago as one billion years after the big bang. Those objects vary more slowly due to time dilation caused by the universe’s expansion.

“You really benefit from taking observations over the entire five-year duration of the mission,” said Brad Cenko of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, the other co-chair of the survey committee.

“It allows you to capture these very rare, very distant events that are really hard to get at any other way but that tell us a lot about the conditions in the early universe.”

This extended component will collect data on some of the most energetic and longest-lasting transients, such as tidal disruption events — when a supermassive black hole shreds a star — or predicted but as-yet unseen events known as pair-instability supernovae, where a massive star explodes without leaving behind a neutron star or black hole.

Survey Details

The High-Latitude Time-Domain Survey will be split into two imaging “tiers” — a wide tier that covers more area and a deep tier that will focus on a smaller area for a longer time to detect fainter objects.

The wide tier, totaling a bit more than 18 square degrees, will target objects within the past 7 billion years, or half the universe’s history. The deep tier, covering an area of 6.5 square degrees, will reach fainter objects that existed as much as 10 billion years ago.

The observations will take place in two areas, one in the northern sky and one in the southern sky. There will also be a spectroscopic component to this survey, which will be limited to the southern sky.

“We have a partnership with the ground-based Subaru Observatory, which will do spectroscopic follow-up of the northern sky, while Roman will do spectroscopy in the southern sky. With spectroscopy, we can confidently tell what type of supernovae we’re seeing,” said Cenko.

Together with Roman’s other two core community surveys, the High-Latitude Wide-Area Survey and the Galactic Bulge Time-Domain Survey, the High-Latitude Time-Domain Survey will help map the universe with a clarity and to a depth never achieved before.

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Former NASA astronomer issues plea to space agency to act now on 'hostile alien threat' aimed at Earth

12:01 12 Aug 2025 GMT+1

A former NASA astronomer demands the space agency takes immediate action against a potential 'hostile alien threat' heading for Earth.

Astronomers have discovered a comet, named 3I/ATLAS, is zooming towards our solar system at an extraordinary speed of 140,000 mph.

Initially estimated to be roughly seven miles across by researchers at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, new data suggests the object measures at most 3.5 miles (5.6 km) wide and could be as small as 1,000 feet (320 metres).

Fears have only worsened with the suggestion by Harvard physicist Avi Loeb that the fast-moving visitor might not be natural at all.

In a Medium blog post, Loeb raised the possibility that 3I/ATLAS could be some form of alien threat that might reach Earth 'by Christmas.'

Why do some think 3I/ATLAS is 'hostile'?

Working with researchers Adam Hibberd and Adam Crowl, Loeb published a controversial paper arguing that 3I/ATLAS shows signs of intelligent control.

As evidence, the scientists point to the object's unusual trajectory and non-gravitational acceleration, along with the absence of visible cometary outgassing.

Meanwhile, a study from Harvard University in July 2025 warned of the consequences of 3I/ATLAS hitting Earth, which could be 'potentially dire for humanity.'

Now, former NASA astronomer Marian Rudnyk has issued a plea to the space agency to treat 3I/ATLAS as an emergency situation.

"I am writing this letter because I am deeply concerned that unique opportunities to observe this possibly rare event are being squandered," Rudnyk posted on X.

While acknowledging that 'both professional and amateur observatories worldwide' are tracking the object, 'NASA also has spaceborne assets that should be used.'

He went on to say that NASA currently has 'operational spacecraft' around Mars, Jupiter and the Sun, but these resources could be redirected to study 3I/ATLAS.

"My recommendation is that because of the rarity & specialness of Comet 3I/ATLAS's visit, this should be ALL hands on deck," Rudnyk advised.

The former astronomer outlined specific actions NASA should take.

"Spacecraft with camera systems must be mobilized to do imaging of ATLAS," Rudnyk suggested, before adding: "Those that don't have cameras, should perform fields & particles, & other scientific investigations."

Rudnyk stressed the urgency of the situation, emphasising that the comet is a 'ONE TIME event' with 'NO second chance because it won't be returning'.

Comments on Rudnyk's post have shown strong support for his recommendations, with one user responding 'absolutely yes' to his call for action.

Another ambitiously suggested: "It would be cool to park a camera on the comet and see where it goes.".

https://www.uniladtech.com/science/space/former-nasa-astronomer-plea-hostile-alien-threat-674473-20250812

https://x.com/MarianRudnyk/status/1953660631263199731

https://avi-loeb.medium.com/

>>23457968

Steven Greer to Newsmax: Interstellar Object 'Likely Just a Space Rock'

Monday, 11 August 2025 10:28 PM EDT

A mysterious interstellar object speeding through the solar system — brighter than a comet, traveling on Earth's orbital plane, and accelerating — has triggered fresh debate over whether it's a natural phenomenon or something far more unusual.

But Dr. Steven Greer, founder of the Disclosure Project, told Newsmax on Monday the truth is likely far less sensational. The Disclosure Project is a nonprofit research organization dedicated to government disclosure of alleged alien sightings.

"It's less likely to be a manufactured alien object than a stray asteroid," Greer told "Finnerty." "We need better eyes on it before we start the hype."

First spotted in Chile, the "Atlas comet" is now officially the fastest interstellar object ever recorded. Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb has speculated its unusual traits make it worth investigating as a possible alien probe.

Greer said the data doesn't convince him. "A comet is a very different thing than a large asteroid-type rock," he said. "We need more intelligence on it before making those claims."

Greer pointed to aerospace pioneer Wernher von Braun, who in 1974 warned of psychological operations that could create panic over asteroids as a prelude to a staged alien event.

"I tend to be skeptical about the kind of fear and hype around this sort of thing," Greer said. "Before hoaxing an alien event, they'd create asteroid threats to stir global panic."

Although Greer doubts it's an alien craft, he hasn't ruled out that it might be "extraterrestrial detritus" — space debris from a long-lost civilization.

"It's possible it's been out there for millions of years," he said. "There's obviously been life in the universe long before humans."

Greer also noted the U.S. has retrieved and reverse-engineered more than 1,000 extraterrestrial vehicles in the past 80 years — a fact he claimed is documented in intelligence archives.

The object will make a slingshot pass around the Sun on Oct. 29, after which scientists expect to get better imaging.

"If they do the correct imaging, they should be able to get more data on it," Greer said, adding that the next 90 days could tell us whether this is simply a high-speed wanderer or something truly extraordinary.

https://www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/steven-greer-intersellar-object-comet/2025/08/11/id/1222102/

https://www.youtube.com/@DrStevenGreer55

CREAM: avoiding collisions in space through automation

12/08/2025

Earth orbit is becoming increasingly crowded.

With over 11 000 active satellites and many thousands more expected in the coming years as well as over 1.2 million pieces of space debris greater than 1 cm, the risk of in-orbit collisions has turned into a daily operational concern.

ESA is investing in automation technologies that can help satellite operators respond more effectively to collision risks.

At the heart of this effort is the Collision Risk Estimation and Automated Mitigation (CREAM) project.

A key element of ESA’s Space Safety Programme, it aims to reduce the workload of operators, the number of false alerts and the response time of collision avoidance measures, while improving mission safety.

Started in 2020, the project has now entered a critical phase of ground systems test operations and in-orbit demonstrations.

The collision avoidance vision

Assessing the risk of a collision and, if necessary, designing collision avoidance manoeuvres are two labour-intensive tasks. Communication (or the lack thereof) between satellite operators is often ad hoc, not always easy and can at times cause complications.

To ease the required manual effort, the vision for the CREAM system takes over a great number of related activities: evaluate potential conjunctions, generate manoeuvre plans and support with the decision-making process, coordination with other operators, as well as monitoring by potential future regulators.

A component of the system is being designed to allow a diverse ecosystem of stakeholders to get into contact with each other.

By connecting satellite operators, space situational awareness service providers, regulators and observers, CREAM can ease the decision-making process throughout, especially if two active satellites are involved rather than debris.

CREAM may also facilitate negotiation between operators, minimising human intervention. In cases of disagreement with a proposed solution, CREAM could refer the issue to a mediation service, ensuring flexibility, transparency and fairness.

From ground-based to orbit

At this time, the prototype CREAM system components, developed by GMV and Guardtime, are being integrated into a common platform under the lead of GMV.

The system, at this time still ground-based, can already provide alerts and generates actionable avoidance manoeuvres for the ground segment to implement and can support coordination between parties.

The project will now enter an expanded pilot usage phase as additional technologies are added for the decision-making process, while in-orbit demonstrations are being prepared in parallel.

These include ‘piggyback missions’ where the system will be onboard as a digital payload as well as a dedicated CREAM in-orbit demonstration mission.

Supporting space sustainability standards

CREAM can not only support space sustainability by helping avoid collisions and debris generation. Integrating a CREAM component onboard spacecraft can also ease, as a technology component, a transition in the regulatory landscape of space traffic management.

The problem with establishing any kind of ‘rules of the road’ depends not only on the need to find consensus on such rules, but also on the availability of the technologies to make them a reality – a kind of chicken-and-egg problem.

CREAM can support future space traffic management frameworks by offering a standardised toolset allowing operators to comply with best practices and rules and regulators to monitor compliance.

It is designed to be highly adaptable, allowing non-technical users to define evolving standards within the system. This flexibility ensures long-term relevance as best practice, international norms and technologies will mature.

https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Space_Debris/CREAM_avoiding_collisions_in_space_through_automation

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/see-electric-aircraft-rockets-and-everyones-favorite-star-wars-droid-at-the-national-air-and-space-museums-newly-reopened-galleries-180987143/

See Electric Aircraft, Rockets and Everyone’s Favorite ‘Star Wars’ Droid at the National Air and Space Museum’s Newly Reopened Galleries

August 11, 2025 3:15 p.m.

The newly reopened halls at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum present some of the grandest artifacts in aeronautics and space travel.

Among those artifacts is the orange Bell X-1 aircraft that pilot Chuck Yeager used to break the sound barrier in 1947.

Another is the modest and charred Mercury Friendship 7 capsule just big enough to carry John Glenn as the first American to orbit Earth in 1962.

And Charles Lindbergh’s famed Spirit of St. Louis, the plane he flew on the first solo trans-Atlantic flight to Europe serves as a centerpiece alongside Amelia Earhart’s bright-red Lockheed 5B Vega that she flew across the Atlantic and then across the United States, becoming the first woman to do either.

Five galleries opened on July 28 as the latest phase in a huge museum renovation project that began in 2018 and will be complete in time for the 50th anniversary of the building—and the country’s 250th birthday—on July 1, 2026.

And though the old favorites such as the Sputnik satellite replica and the Apollo Lunar Module LM-2 still shine, other artifacts new to the building are now also on display. Here’s a look at eight of them.

Sopwith F.1 Camel

Due to its sheer success rate in World War I (and enthusiasm for it from the “Peanuts” character Snoopy a half-century later), the Sopwith Camel was the best-known fighter plane in the war where military aviation came of age.

The British-made, single-seat biplane, introduced in 1917, shot down 1,294 enemy aircraft—more than any other Allied aircraft of the war.

Originally shown in the museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, it has now made its debut on the National Mall in the exhibition “World War I: The Birth of Military Aviation.”

It’s the only surviving Sopwith Camel that was produced by the Sopwith Aviation Company, says museum director Christopher Browne, who calls it “exquisite and very rare.” And nearby, a few Snoopy artifacts tell the plane’s pop-culture story as well.

R2-D2 model

This model of the lovable little robot from the Star Wars franchise, displayed in the “Futures in Space” gallery, was built by Adam Savage, of TV’s “MythBusters.”

“But before he had that media career, he was a props guy and he worked on the R2-D2 prop for Lucasfilm during the prequel movies,” says curator Matthew Shindell.

“While he was doing that, he took a bunch of measurements of R2-D2, had his own reference material and decided to build his own R2-D2.”

It joins a growing number of artifacts from the entertainment world at the museum, such as Spock’s ear tips and a model of the starship Enterprise from “Star Trek.”

When it comes to placing humans’ relationship with space, Shindell says, “nothing articulates that more, at least in the minds of the public, than science fiction. It also has inspired a lot of people to think about going into careers in aerospace.”

Mock-up of Blue Origin’s reusable spaceship First Step

The rise of private space travel this century is well represented in the new “Futures in Space” exhibition, crowned by a full-size mock-up of the reusable spaceship Blue Origin capsule that has so far carried 70 people, including company founder Jeff Bezos and “Star Trek” actor William Shatner, on short rides above the Kármán line since 2021.

“This is a loan,” says Shindell. “But Blue Origin has already promised us the actual flown RSS First Step.”

Because it was built for reuse, the original artifact will be sent to the museum when its practical use is over, he says.

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>>23458064

3D-printed Rutherford engine

Built by Rocket Lab for its Electron rocket, a vehicle that primarily launches small satellites, the Rutherford engine had its major components created through 3D printing.

“For the engines that are being built today, a lot of the companies are taking advantage of 3D printing as a way of lowering costs,” says Shindell.

“And that Rutherford engine from Rocket Lab is one example of an engine that uses 3D printing to produce multiple components, to build a lighter, cheaper engine that’s just as reliable as a traditional engine.”

It was donated to the Smithsonian during the construction phase in 2022, and it had never been on display before debuting this summer in the “Futures in Space” exhibition.

Pipistrel Velis Electro aircraft

On display in the “Aerospace and Our Changing Environment” exhibition, the Pipistrel Velis Electro, the first FAA-certified electric aircraft, is a light sport plane developed in Slovenia in 2020 to produce zero carbon emissions.

The aircraft is generally used now in training operations where frequent takeoffs and landings are required. Powered by its liquid-cooled electric motor, and with a 35-foot wingspan, the Pipistrel Velis Electro doesn’t need warm-up time before takeoff.

Virgin Galactic’s RocketMotorTwo

Combining solid and liquid propellant rocket engine technology, this motor by Virgin Galactic, used in the VSS Unity space plane, is one of the largest hybrid propulsion systems ever flown.

The RocketMotorTwo can produce 60,000 pounds of thrust and accelerate a craft up to almost three times the speed of sound.

Previously on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, it made its way to the National Mall as part of the new “Futures in Space” exhibition.

Davis gun

Designed by naval Commander Cleland Davis before World War I, the Davis gun was made to overcome the considerable recoil of artillery mounted in then-delicate aircraft.

To do so, it had a barrel at both ends—one to shoot and the other to fire in the opposite direction to counter the backward thrust. It was loaded in the craft’s center and used primarily to fire on surfaced submarines.

Displayed for the first time in the National Mall building, the gun is part of the “World War I: The Birth of Military Aviation” exhibition.

“We’re particularly excited about the opening of this exhibition because it is the first military gallery to reopen as part of our renovation,” Browne says. “We know a lot of our visitors will be eager to explore this new space.”

Goddard 1935 A-Series rocket

In the Washington, D.C. building for the first time is the 15-foot-long, sleek red-and-silver liquid-fuel rocket that American physicist Robert H. Goddard attempted to launch in September 1935 in Roswell, New Mexico, to show it off for Charles Lindbergh and funder Harry Guggenheim.

A glitch prevented flight of this model, so Lindbergh suggested Goddard donate it to the Smithsonian, and he did just two months later in November 1935, and it was the first liquid-fuel rocket in the Institution’s collection.

Today, the rocket is displayed at the museum’s “Barron Hilton Pioneers of Flight” exhibition.

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10 bizarre 'dark voids' appear in the skies over uninhabited island near Antarctica — Earth from space

August 12, 2025

This striking satellite photo shows 10 swirling "dark voids" that appeared above an uninhabited volcanic island in the Indian Ocean.

The black spots are the result of atmospheric cloud vortices, but are oddly pronounced and significantly contorted compared to most other examples of this phenomenon.

The spinning voids are trailing off Heard Island — an uninhabited Australian territory in the southern Indian Ocean, around 900 miles (1,500 kilometers) north of Antarctica.

The cloud-obscured landmass has a surface area of around 142 square miles (368 square kilometers).

On average, the dark spots are around 8 miles (13 km) wide, decreasing slightly in size the further they have traveled, according to NASA's Earth Observatory.

They are initially moving away from the island in a northeasterly direction (left to right).

The spinning holes are the result of a phenomenon known as von Kármán vortices, which occur when a prevailing wind encounters a landmass, disturbing the airflow and creating "a double row of vortices which alternate their direction of rotation," according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

They are named for Theodore von Kármán, a Hungarian-American physicist, who was the first to describe this natural phenomenon.

In this case, the vortices are being created by Mawson Peak, a 9,000-foot-tall (2,700 meters) active volcano sat at the heart of Heard Island.

Normally, von Kármán vortices create long trails of swirling clouds that get caught up in the disrupted air flows.

The cloud streams are normally perfectly straight, such as a series of parallel vortex streams that emerged side-by-side off the Atlantic coast of Africa in 2015 (see above).

But in this case, the vortex stream appears to bend almost 90 degrees midway through the stream.

This change in direction was most likely caused by a sporadic burst of the intense westerly winds that frequently blow across the area around Heard Island at speeds over 50 mph (80km/h), known as the "Furious Fifties," according to the Earth Observatory.

In most examples of von Kármán vortices, the resulting cloud trails can be quite wispy, tracing out the subtle variations in the invisible air currents, such as examples observed over Mexico's Guadalupe Island in 2012 and above Svalbard's Bear Island in 2023.

However, in this photo, the wispy trails are replaced by a string of concentrated holes, or gaps, within the clouds. This is probably due to exceptionally thick cloud coverage, which can be disrupted only at the heart of each spinning section within the vortex stream.

Mawson Peak is smaller than most of the peaks that regularly produce von Kármán vortices, making it slightly rarer for the cloud swirls to emerge there. However, Heard Island has produced more traditional vortex streams in the past, such as one showing in November 2015.

https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/weather/10-bizarre-dark-voids-appear-in-the-skies-over-uninhabited-island-near-antarctica-earth-from-space

Solar Storm Takes Out Satellite, Bad Hurricane Forecast | S0 News

Aug.12.2025

TODAY'S LINKS:

Lunar Trailblazer: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/lunar-trailblazer/

Another Cosmology Problem: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2508.07480

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmqM8gk8cps

https://www.space.com/astronomy/scientists-may-have-found-a-powerful-new-space-object-it-doesnt-fit-comfortably-into-any-known-category

https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.13014

Scientists may have found a powerful new space object: 'It doesn't fit comfortably into any known category'

August 12, 2025

A bewilderingly powerful mystery object found in a nearby galaxy and only visible so far in millimeter radio wavelengths could be a brand new astrophysical object unlike anything astronomers have seen before.

The object has been named 'Punctum,' derived from the Latin pūnctum meaning "point" or"dot," by a team of astronomers led by Elena Shablovinskaia of the Instituto de Estudios Astrofisicos at the Universidad Diego Portales in Chile.

Shablovinskaia discovered it using ALMA, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array. "Outside of the realm of supermassive black holes, Punctum is genuinely powerful,” Shablovinskaia told Space.com.

Astronomers don't know what it is yet — only that it is compact, has a surprisingly structured magnetic field, and, at its heart, is an object radiating intense amounts of energy.

"When you put it into context, Punctum is astonishingly bright — 10,000 to 100,000 times more luminous than typical magnetars, around 100 times brighter than microquasars, and 10 to 100 times brighter than nearly every known supernova, with only the Crab Nebula surpassing it among star-related sources in our galaxy," Shablovinskaia said.

Punctum is located in the active galaxy NGC 4945, which is a fairly close neighbor of our Milky Way galaxy, located 11 million light-years away. That's just beyond the confines of the Local Group.

Yet, despite this proximity, it cannot be seen in optical or X-ray light but rather only millimeter radio wavelengths.

This has only deepened the mystery, although the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has yet to take a look at the object in near- and mid-infrared wavelengths.

What could Punctum be?

Its brightness remained the same over several observations performed in 2023, meaning it is not a flare or some other kind of transitory phenomenon.

Millimeter-wave radiation typically comes from cold objects such as young protoplanetary disks and interstellar molecular clouds.

However, very energetic phenomena such as quasars and pulsars can also produce radio waves through synchrotron radiation, wherein charged particles moving at close to the speed of light spiral around magnetic field lines and radiate radio waves.

What we do know about Punctum is that based on how strongly polarized its millimeter light is, it must possess a highly structured magnetic field. And so, Shablovinskaia believes what we are seeing from Punctum is synchrotron radiation.

Objects with strong polarization tend to be compact objects, because larger objects have messy magnetic fields that wash out any polarization.

Perhaps that synchrotron radiation is being powered by a magnetar, the team believes, which is a highly magnetic pulsar.

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>>23458147

However, while a magnetar's ordered magnetic field fits the bill, magnetars (and regular pulsars for that matter) are much fainter at millimeter wavelengths than Punctum is.

Supernova remnants such as the Crab Nebula, which is the messy innards blasted into space of a star that exploded in 1054AD, are bright at millimeter wavelengths.

The trouble is that supernova remnants are quite large — the Crab Nebula itself is about 11 light-years across — whereas Punctum is clearly a much smaller, compact object.

"At the moment, Punctum truly stands apart — it doesn't fit comfortably into any known category," said Shablovinskaia.

"And honestly, nothing like this has appeared in any previous millimeter surveys, largely because, until recently, we didn't have anything as sensitive and high-resolution as ALMA."

There is the caveat that Punctum could just be an outlier: an extreme version of an otherwise familiar object, such as a magnetar in an unusual environment, or a supernova remnant interacting with dense material.

For now, though, these are just guesses lacking supporting evidence. It is quite possible that Punctum is indeed the first of a new kind of astrophysical object that we haven't seen before simply because only ALMA can detect them.

In the case of Punctum, it is 100 times fainter than NGC 4945's active nucleus that is being energized by a supermassive black hole feeding on infalling matter.

Punctum probably wouldn't have been noticed at all in the ALMA data if it wasn't for its exceptionally strong polarization.

Further observations with ALMA will certainly help shed more light on what kind of object Punctum is. The observations that discovered Punctum were actually focused on NGC 4945's bright active core; it was just happenstance that Punctum was noticed in the field of view.

Future ALMA observations targeting Punctum instead would be able to go to much lower noise levels without worrying about the galaxy's bright core being over-exposed, and it could also be observed across different frequencies.

The greatest help could potentially come from the JWST. If it can see an infrared counterpart, then its greater resolution could help identify what Punctum is.

"JWST's sharp resolution and broad spectral range might help reveal whether Punctum's emission is purely synchrotron or involves dust or emission lines," said Shablovinskaia.

For now, it's all ifs and buts, and all we can say for sure is that astronomers have a genuine mystery on their hands that has so far left them feeling flummoxed.

"In any case," concluded Shablovinskaia, "Punctum is showing us that there is still a lot to discover in the millimeter sky.”

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Watch Europe's powerful Ariane 6 rocket launch for the 3rd time ever tonight

August 12, 2025

Europe's Ariane 6 heavy-lift rocket will launch for the third time ever tonight (Aug. 12), and you can watch the action live.

The powerful Ariane 6 is scheduled to lift off from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana today at 8:37 p.m. EDT (9:37 p.m. local time in Kourou; 0037 GMT on Aug. 12).

You can watch it live via Arianespace, the French company that operates the Ariane 6 on behalf of the European Space Agency. Space.com will carry the feed as well, if Arianespace makes it available.

Ariane 6, the successor to the recently retired Ariane 5, debuted with a test flight in July 2024. It flew again this past March, successfully sending a French spy satellite to Earth orbit on the rocket's first-ever commercial mission.

If all goes to plan, flight number three will occur tonight. The payload this time is Metop-SGA1, an 8,900-pound (4,040-kilogram) weather satellite that will be operated by the international group EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites).

Ariane 6 will deploy Metop-SGA1 into a polar orbit about 500 miles (800 kilometers) above Earth 64 minutes after liftoff tonight.

After a checkout period, the satellite will start using its six onboard instruments to gather a variety of weather and climate data. It will continue to do so across its operational life expected to last 7.5 years.

"The satellite will take global observation of weather and climate from a polar orbit to a new level, providing high-resolution observations of temperature, precipitation, clouds, winds, sea ice, aerosols, pollution, soil moisture, volcanic dust and a multitude of other parameters," Arianespace representatives wrote in a mission description.

Metop-SGA1, which was built by Airbus Defence and Space, is the first of six planned satellites in the Metop Second Generation constellation.

Tonight's liftoff will be the 355th to date for Arianespace, which also currently operates a smaller rocket called the Vega C. Metop-SGA1 will be the 15th spacecraft the company has launched for EUMETSAT and the 21st meteorological satellite it has lofted overall, according to the Arianespace mission description.

https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/europe-ariane-6-rocket-third-launch-metop-sga1

https://www.arianespace.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSBELXbg6TM

Watch Vulcan Centaur rocket launch experimental military satellite today

August 12, 2025

United Launch Alliance (ULA) will launch its most powerful Vulcan rocket yet today (Aug. 12), and you can watch the liftoff live.

ULA will launch an experimental navigation satellite on behalf of the U.S. military during a one-hour launch window that opens at 7:59 p.m. ET (2359 GMT) on Tuesday (Aug. 12).

The mission will see the company's powerful new Vulcan Centaur rocket take off from Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Weather forecasts predict around a 75% chance of favorable conditions at launch time.

Vulcan will launch with four side-mounted solid rocket boosters in order to generate enough thrust to launch its payload directly into geosynchronous orbit on one of ULA's longest flights ever, a seven-hour journey that will span over 22,000 miles (35,000 kilometers), according to ULA.

The payload launching on today's mission is the U.S. military's first experimental navigation satellite to be launched in 48 years. It is what's known as a position, navigation and timing (PNT) satellite, providing data similar to that of the well-known GPS system.

This satellite will be testing many experimental new technologies that are designed to make it resilient to jamming and spoofing, according to Andrew Builta with L3Harris Technologies, the prime contractor for the PNT payload integrated onto a satellite bus built by Northrop Grumman.

The satellite, identified publicly only as Navigation Technology Satellite-3 (NTS-3), features a phased array antenna that allows it to "focus powerful beams to ground forces and combat jamming environments," Builta said in a media roundtable on Aug. 11.

GPS jamming has become an increasingly worrisome problem for both the U.S. military and commercial satellite operators, which is why this spacecraft will be conducting experiments to test how effective these new technologies are at circumventing jamming attacks.

In addition, the satellite features a software architecture that allows it to be reprogrammed while in orbit. "This is a truly game-changing capability," Builta added. The 202-foot (61-meter) Vulcan Centaur has made two successful flights thus far.

The rocket's first flight in January 2024 saw Vulcan launch Astrobotic's Peregrine lunar lander toward the moon — only for the lander to suffer an anomaly and fall back to Earth through no fault of the rocket.

The second Vulcan Centaur launch took place in October 2024 when the rocket launched a mass simulator meant to prepare it for lofting Sierra Space's Dream Chaser space plane.

That flight was supposed to launch the actual Dream Chaser, but the vehicle wasn't ready in time. That second flight also saw an anomaly. About 39 seconds into flight, a burst of flame and material was seen emanating from the rocket.

The anomaly was later attributed to a manufacturing defect on a nozzle on one of the rocket's solid side boosters.

Despite the anomaly during the second flight, the U.S. Space Force certified Vulcan Centaur for national security launches such as today's mission. That brings the number of launch providers certified to launch military and spy satellites to two, the other being SpaceX.

Vulcan Centaur has already been tapped to launch over two dozen national security missions on behalf of the U.S. Space Force, according to ULA. The rocket can launch from both Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Space Force stations.

https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/watch-vulcan-centaur-rocket-launch-experimental-military-satellite-on-aug-12

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rftsSmvefY

>>23458191

Meteorite that punched a hole through Georgia roof may be older than Earth itself

August 11, 2025

A meteorite that survived atmospheric entry and smashed through the roof of a Georgia home earlier this year may have formed before Earth itself, according to a scientist from the University of Georgia who analyzed fragments of the wandering solar system object.

Residents of several southeastern U.S. states were dazzled on Jul. 26 when they witnessed a rare daytime fireball — bright enough to be registered by an orbiting satellite — blazing Earthward.

The ancient asteroid shard at the heart of the event weathered the intense friction of atmospheric entry to punch a hole through the roof of a house in the city of McDonough, Georgia, shattering the floor a mere 14 feet (4 meters) from an unsuspecting resident.

How old is the McDonough Meteorite?

23-grams-worth of the fragmented meteorite — the name given to meteoroids that reach the ground intact — were later transported to the University of Georgia (UGA), where scientists set to work unravelling the secrets of its origins.

"This particular meteor that entered the atmosphere has a long history before it made it to the ground of McDonough, ​​and in order to totally understand that, we actually have to examine what the rock is and determine what group of asteroids it belongs to," said UGA researcher Scott Harris.

The newly named McDonough Meteorite is thought to be a Low Metal (L) ordinary Chondrite — one of the most ancient forms of rock known to exist in the solar system — that likely formed some 4.56 billion years ago, potentially making it slightly older than Earth.

"It belongs to a group of asteroids in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter that we now think we can tie to a breakup of a much larger asteroid about 470 million years ago," said Harris.

That destructive event could have shunted the McDonough asteroid into an Earth-crossing orbit that would eventually see it partially redecorate one Henry County home.

Harris aims to publish a paper detailing the composition of the meteorite along with information about its atmospheric entry later this year.

Shards of the McDonough Meteorite are also due to be displayed at the Tellus Science Museum in Cartersville, Georgia.

https://www.space.com/stargazing/meteorite-that-punched-a-hole-through-georgia-roof-may-be-older-than-earth-itself

https://news.uga.edu/uga-names-new-meteorite/

https://www.airandspaceforces.com/spain-heart-and-soul-air-force-air-combat-command/

Spain Takes Over ‘Heart and Soul of Our Air Force’ at Air Combat Command

Aug. 11, 2025

JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va.—Air Combat Command, which oversees most of the Air Force’s combat aircraft fleet, has a new boss in Gen. Adrian L. Spain, who succeeded Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach in a ceremony here Aug. 11.

The change at one of the service’s core institutional commands comes at a significant time for the Air Force, which is adapting its strategies, doctrine, deployment models, and aircraft to confront China’s growing might and a resurgent Russian military.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin, who presided over the ceremony, recited a familiar refrain of his nearly two-year tenure: that the Air Force is facing a threat unseen since the Cold War.

“We have continuously looked at the aggression and the coercive activities of the People’s Republic of China—that arc has not changed,” Allvin said.

“After February [2022], when Russia invaded Ukraine, people started talking about how maybe air superiority was obsolete, it didn’t matter anymore, the battlefield had changed—not recognizing that it was the inability or the unwillingness to appropriately apply airpower that was as much the cause of that as anything.”

Air Combat Command will be a key command responsible for ensuring U.S. tactical airpower is appropriately applied on the modern battlefield. “I truly believe that ACC is the heart and soul of our Air Force,” Spain said in an address.

“We have a lot to focus on, but our primary focus must be on readiness—readiness of our aircraft, readiness of our aircrew, readiness to dominate the electromagnetic spectrum, readiness of all our Airmen and their families. …

I’m not interested in arbitrary timelines or functional efficiency at the expense of warfighting effectiveness. We’ll get a little bit better today, so we are a little more ready tomorrow.”

Air Combat Command—comprised of more than 100,000 Airmen, 1,000 aircraft, and two dozen wings—has been tasked as the primary command for improving the readiness of the Air Force.

It will do so by deploying future capabilities and more frequent training—a mission for which Allvin said Spain, a career F-22 and F-15 pilot who has spent around half his career in ACC, is well suited.

“The future is interactive. We don’t want [2027] to be the year. We want ’27 to be another year when the adversaries say, ‘Eh, we’re not quite ready yet,’” Allvin said, referring to the year when Chinese leader Xi Jinping wants his armed forces to have the capability to take Taiwan.

“We do know this: our potential adversaries have not changed their minds,” Allvin said. “They have not changed the development of capability. So we need to double down on our readiness today and into tomorrow. Enter Adrian Spain.”

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>>23458290

Air Combat Command is at the forefront of important Air Force doctrinal shifts, such as agile combat employment.

Though ACE is a service-wide initiative to be able to operate in a more dispersed manner—primarily in the Pacific—Air Combat Command’s fighters are permanently based in the United States and deploy overseas.

“We can’t just be a one-trick pony,” Wilsbach said “We’ve got to be able to be agile and move to where the requirements of the globe matter.”

Spain, who most recently served as the Air Force’s deputy chief of staff for operations—known as the A3—at the Pentagon, helped shape the development of the Air Force’s future force management and training policies.

He has spent much of the last few months on Capitol Hill after the February firing of former Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Slife, helping fill in to brief lawmakers on the state of the service’s readiness and modernization initiatives.

“Every ACC commander … has had a mandate to focus on readiness,” Spain said. “What’s going to be different this time? Well, I don’t know. But what I do know is that in this moment, it’s not someone else’s challenge … Will we solve our readiness challenges?

I intend to, but we need each other, because help is not coming—at least not yet.”

ACC has been charged with leading increased training across the Air Force by running major exercises like Red Flag and Bamboo Eagle, which are feeding into ever-larger exercise series across the entire Air Force like the massive Department-Level Exercise taking place this summer across the Pacific.

The command will also soon begin fielding Collaborative Combat Aircraft drones and the future sixth-generation F-47 fighter. The Air Force has also recently altered or tightened many appearance standards and uniform regulations, which ACC tightly enforced under Wilsbach.

“The work the Chief and the Secretary [of the Air Force Troy Meink] are doing to focus on our foundational readiness is substantial, and it’s the right thing.

But it’s going to take a while to manifest,” Spain said. “What we do between now and then will be decisive. We must be prepared and adapt now to maximize the opportunity for increased resources in the future.”

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Schriever Wargame 2025 to explore future space strategy, strengthen international partnerships

Aug. 11, 2025

The U.S. Space Force is hosting the Schriever Wargame Capstone 2025 Aug. 10-21 at the LeMay Center’s Wargame Institute at Maxwell Air Force Base.

The event will bring together more than 350 participants from the United States Department of Defense, industry and partner nations to explore strategic challenges in a future conflict scenario.

Military exercises and wargames help prepare forces for conflict, but they also support numerous other functions.

Exercises focus on the current environment testing people, systems, policies, interoperability and capabilities in live and simulated environments to ensure forces are prepared for current threats and crisis.

Wargames, on the other hand, look further ahead, challenging decision-makers to plan for future threats, technologies and coalition responses before they materialize.

SW 25 is a tabletop wargame set a decade in the future, where players will respond to a notional conflict scenario, test the limits of strategies and policies and consider how advanced technologies could strengthen coalition operations.

“The wargame allows the air and space forces from the U.S and nine international partners to see the impacts of their decisions in a fast-paced scenario and ask, ‘Do our policies and proposed capabilities hold up in a fight?

What would we need to change if scenario X or Y happens?’” said Col. Shannon DaSilva, Space Delta 10 commander. “It also lets them explore what technologies they would like to have if those scenarios occurred.

The wargame helps inform the future force design and acquisitions process to ensure the U.S. and its allies remain the most formidable combat force the world has ever seen.”

Space Delta 10, the Space Force’s wargaming and doctrine-development unit, will lead SW 25’s execution. The delta is co-located with its parent unit Space Training and Readiness Command at Patrick Space Force Base, Florida.

Delta 10 builds combat-credibility and enhances warfighter lethality through staging scenario-based wargames, evaluating operational concepts, developing doctrine and managing the service’s lessons learned program.

“SW 25 allows participants to ask, ‘What future capabilities, policies and interoperability do we wish we had?’ not just, ‘What can we do with what we’ve got?’.

This effort directly informs the Chief of Space Operation’s Competitive Endurance strategy and actions the Partner to Win line of effort,” DaSilva said.

This year’s iteration includes five advanced notional technology concepts to prompt discussion on future investment and integration.

Guardians will be joined by space professionals from sister services, commercial industry and nine partner nations under the Combined Space Operations initiative.

This international effort focuses on advancing shared concepts, increasing mutual security and interoperability in space, and using SW 25 as a risk-managed setting to test cooperative frameworks and policy options towards common objectives.

“Wargames like Schriever help like-minded nations work together to stay ahead of potential threats,” DaSilva said.

“They give senior leaders a clearer picture of how a space conflict could unfold and what it would take to deter it. The goal isn’t just to win on the table — it’s to make smarter decisions today that prevent real-word conflict tomorrow.”

Planning for the first SW began in 1998, with the inaugural event held in 2001. Lessons learned through the years have laid the foundation for many of today’s policies and will continue to guide planning for tomorrow’s international space operations.

“As the years of this wargame carry on, our partners now come to Schriever with more space knowledge and more targeted questions. But the value remains the same: they get to see the impacts of their decisions in real time through adjudication,” DaSilva said.

https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/4271812/schriever-wargame-2025-to-explore-future-space-strategy-strengthen-internationa/

https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/LeMay/AFWI/

Chinese scientists deploy robotic antelope in Tibet

12 Aug, 2025 14:11

Chinese researchers have used a robotic dog in disguise to take a closer look at the life of the rare Tibetan antelope, Xinhua has reported.

The machine undertook a successful trial run in late July in the Hoh Xil National Nature Reserve, located at an altitude of more than 4,600 meters in China’s Tibet, the agency said on Tuesday.

The newcomer – which was designed to resemble the skeletal structure of the Tibetan antelope and was covered with artificial fur based on samples taken from the animals – was quickly accepted into the herd.

The robot was only able to film the antelope grazing during the three-day experiment, although scientists hope it will eventually capture more dramatic footage, including of animals giving birth.

"The ultimate goal is to ensure the safe migration of Tibetan antelopes, with minimal human interference,” Lian Xinming, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, told Xinhua.

The decision to use the machine was made because Tibetan antelope are hard to study due to living in cold and oxygen-poor conditions where humans cannot remain for long.

The animals are also very sensitive, with a close encounter with people carrying the risk of stress and even miscarriage in pregnant females.

At the same time, they serve as one of the important ecological indicators in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the scientists explained.

According to the report, the researchers got the idea of creating a robotic Tibetan antelope after watching a group of robots performing a dance at the televised Spring Festival Gala in February.

The producers of the quadruped bot used in the experiment said that their hardware is especially “designed to perform in hazardous, complex environments, including extremely harsh terrains.”

The machine covered around 2km across arduous terrain during the trial, overcoming various obstacles, Xinhua said.

Tibetan antelope were an endangered species as they had been hunted by poachers for their extremely soft, light, and warm underfur.

However, conservation efforts by the Chinese authorities have seen their number grow from some 70,000 in the 1990s to nearly 300,000, according to government data.

https://www.rt.com/news/622802-china-robot-antelope-tibet/

https://twitter.com/ChinaScience/status/1954827628965240944

Terrorist attack thwarted in Moscow Region – FSB

12 Aug, 2025 10:45

A dual citizen of Russia and Ukraine has been detained for allegedly plotting a terrorist attack on a senior Russian Ministry of Defense serviceman in the Moscow Region, the country’s security services have reported.

In a press release on Tuesday, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had identified an agent of the Ukrainian special services operating under the pseudonym “Raven,” who was recruited while in a third country.

Acting on instructions received via Telegram, the suspect allegedly assembled a homemade explosive device and concealed it inside a car purchased with funds from Ukraine.

According to the FSB, the vehicle was loaded with more than 60kg of explosives and was to be parked at a location designated by the suspect’s Ukrainian handlers. It would then be detonated when the targeted military official passed nearby.

The 36-year-old suspect was apprehended while traveling to the scene of the planned attack via the M-4 highway which runs from Moscow to the Black Sea coast.

During interrogation, he confessed to cooperating with Ukrainian intelligence, stating he had been promised the chance to return to Ukraine and avoid mobilization into the Ukrainian armed forces in exchange for carrying out the plot.

The FSB has released footage showing the suspect’s arrest, his confession, and the inspection of the car, which appeared to contain bomb components hidden in the trunk and under the front panels.

A criminal case has been opened under articles covering high treason, the illegal manufacture and storage of explosives, and related offenses.

The suspect has been placed in pre-trial detention and could face life imprisonment if convicted.

Russian security services have regularly reported foiling similar plots allegedly organized by Kiev.

Last week, two teenagers in Novosibirsk were detained for attempting to poison a Russian military officer on remote orders from Ukraine and another man was arrested on suspicion of plotting to assassinate the head of a Russian defense industry enterprise.

https://www.rt.com/russia/622793-fsb-thwart-car-bombing/

Jellyfish force French nuclear plant shutdown

12 Aug, 2025 02:59

A “massive” swarm of jellyfish has triggered the shutdown of a nuclear power plant in northern France, the operator of the facility said on Monday.

The bloom of marine creatures clogged cooling systems filters at the plant at Gravelines, according to energy group EDF.

The “massive and unpredictable presence of jellyfish” prompted four of the facility’s power units to automatically shut off. The entire plant was put offline, as two other units were already inoperable due to maintenance.

The incident, which occurred late on Sunday, had “no impact on the safety of the facilities, the safety of personnel, or the environment,” EDF said, adding that the gelatinous creatures made it only to “the non-nuclear part of the facilities.”

“The plant teams are mobilized and are currently carrying out the necessary diagnostics and interventions to be able to restart the production units safely,” the energy group added.

The nuclear site draws cooling water from a channel linking it to the North Sea, which is home to several jellyfish species. The plant operator did not elaborate on the type of jellyfish involved in the incident.

There are multiple cases of jellyfish getting sucked into cooling systems or clogging up intake pipes of nuclear and conventional energy facilities worldwide.

The Gravelines power plant is one of the largest nuclear sites in France, a country which gets 70% of its electricity from nuclear installations.

Six of the facility's units have a peak production of 900 megawatts each, making the station alone capable of powering an estimated 5 million homes.

https://www.rt.com/news/622778-french-nuclear-plant-jellyfish/

Egypt reclaims ancient treasures from UK and Germany

12 Aug, 2025 10:17

Egypt has recovered 13 ancient artifacts from the UK and Germany as part of efforts to return illegally exported cultural heritage, the country’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said on Sunday.

The operation was carried out in coordination with the Egyptian Foreign Ministry and with the assistance of all three countries.

The London Metropolitan Police confirmed the recovered artifacts had been smuggled from Egypt through an international antiquities trafficking network.

Items returned from Germany followed a notification from authorities in the port of Hamburg to the Egyptian Embassy in Berlin, confirming the artifacts had been transported illegally from the North African country.

The artifacts have been placed in the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir for conservation and restoration work before going on display.

According to officials, the items recovered from Germany include a skull and a hand from an unidentified mummy, as well as an ankh-shaped amulet, the ancient Egyptian symbol for life.

The collection from the UK features a green faience vessel, a New Kingdom limestone funerary stela, a small red baboon-shaped amulet, and a small blue faience funerary jar – both dating to the 18th Dynasty (1550-1292 BC).

A bronze crown decorated with a feather, cobra, and ram from a statue of the god Osiris dating to between the 22nd and 26th Dynasties (945-525 BC), a beaded funerary mask from the 26th Dynasty (664-525 BC), and several funerary amulets made of faience and black stone were also returned.

The recovery of this group reflects the commitment of the Egyptian state, with all its institutions, to protect its unique civilizational heritage,” Sherif Fathi, minister of tourism and antiquities, said.

He emphasized “the depth of cooperation and joint coordination in the field of protecting cultural heritage and combating illegal trafficking in cultural property.”

The repatriation comes amid broader calls across Africa for the return of cultural treasures.

Speaking in Moscow in July, Mozambican Foreign Minister Maria Manuela Lucas said all artifacts removed from the continent should be repatriated.

In June, the Netherlands returned 119 looted objects, including royal regalia and historic plaques, to Nigeria.

https://www.rt.com/africa/622790-egypt-reclaims-artifacts-from-uk-germany/

Ukraine Claims Drone Attack on Russian Helium Facility

August 12, 2025 at 9:00 AM PDT

Ukraine claimed a drone strike on a helium plant close to Orenburg, Russia that produces a key component for missiles as well as the space and aviation industries, a Ukrainian official who asked not to be identified told us.

It wasn’t possible to verify the claim; facility owner Gazprom didn’t immediately reply to a request for a comment.

Russian and Ukrainian military forces have been trading air strikes ahead of a hastily arranged meeting between US President Donald Trump and his counterpart Vladimir Putin scheduled for Friday.

Trump downplayed expectations for the Alaska sitdown as he seeks to end the war in Ukraine, casting it as a “feel-out meeting” and saying he’d confer later with leaders from Ukraine and Europe.

The next step would be for Putin and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy to meet directly.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2025-08-12/ukraine-claims-drone-attack-on-russian-helium-facility

Second deep strike in days hits Shahed-type drone storage site in Russia, SBU says

August 12, 2025 6:52 pm

Ukrainian drones hit a storage facility in Russia's Republic of Tatarstan home to Shahed-type attack drones and foreign components used in their assembly, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said on Aug. 12.

The strike warehouses in the village of Kyzyl-Yul, roughly 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) from Ukraine, igniting a fire at the site. The attack follows a similar strike on Aug. 9 and underscores Kyiv's efforts to disrupt Russia's drone production capabilities.

The Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Tatarstan is home to a facility producing Shahed-type long-range attack drones and other reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

"The repeated attack on this military-industrial complex facility aims to reduce the enemy's capabilities for 'Shahed terror' against Ukraine," SBU said in a statement.

The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the SBU's claims.

Tatarstan, located in central European Russia's Volga-Ural region, is far from the front lines. Its capital, Kazan, lies about 800 kilometers (497 miles) east of Moscow.

According to Russia's Defense Ministry, nine Ukrainian drones were shot down over Tatarstan during the attack on the morning of Aug. 9.

Shahed-type drones, known in Russia as Geran-2, are long-range "kamikaze" strike UAVs modified from the original Iranian-model, that have become a central part of Moscow's arsenal due to their range, payload capacity, and relatively low cost.

Capable of flying up to 2,500 kilometers (1,554 miles) at speeds of 180 kilometers per hour (112 miles per hour), they have been used extensively since late 2022 for long-range attacks, often painted black to blend in during night operations.

https://kyivindependent.com/second-strike-in-days-hits-shahed-storage-site-in-russias-tatarstan/

>>23458456

its lovely this time of year

Ukrainian Drone Strike Halts Operations at Saratov Oil Refinery

Aug. 12, 2025, 11:07 am

A Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Saratov refinery, operated by Russia’s largest oil producer Rosneft, halted oil intake from Sunday according to Bloomberg, citing a person familiar with the matter.

The Saratov refinery was hit by Ukrainian drones overnight on Sunday, Aug. 10, sparking fires and a huge plume of smoke. Concerned locals recorded the images and shared them on social media.

Saratov Regional Governor Roman Busargin wrote on Telegram that drones had hit “one of the industrial enterprises” but did not confirm that the refinery had been damaged.

It is the latest in a series of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil refineries and other facilities linked to oil production, as Ukraine seeks to hit Russia where it hurts by reducing its ability to export oil and finance its war machine.

Last week, the Ryazan plant, which processes 13.7 million metric tons of crude annually and is also operated by Rosneft, halved its refining capacity following a Ukrainian drone attack on Aug. 2, according to a Reuters report.

In recent days, Ukrainian drones have also reportedly struck refineries in Krasnodar and the Komi Republic.

https://www.kyivpost.com/post/57973