Important Innovations

First European Spaceports for Space Tourists Source:  Cornwall, UK image UK in Cornwall and Scotland The UK has signed on to launch destinations for  tourist space vacations.  They're developing spaceports for tourists to take off and land from their vacations in space. The spaceports will be in Cornwall and in the Scottish Highlands. The UK is also working on the regulations.  For more details, go to Important Innovations Collection: UK Providing SpacePorts for Space Vacations : Britain Joins Space Tourism Race Source:  Virgin Galactic Readies for Blast-Off Britain will provide Europe's first spaceports...

NASA's Next Mission & New Destination Source:  NASA - Titan Saturn's Largest Moon - Titan NASA has announced that its next mission to a new destination is to Titan, which is Saturn's largest moon.  It is also the only moon in the solar system with an atmosphere.  NASA calls it the Dragonfly Mission.  The Dragonfly rotorcraft lander will be launched in 2025 and will land on Titan to explore its terrain and fly its atmosphere for any signs of life and for clues to the origin of life on Earth.  It's an exciting and bold mission.  For a great news blog on it, go to  Important Innovations Collection: NASA's Dragonfly Mission : Dragonfly Rotorcraft-Lander Goes to Saturn's Largest Moon - Titan Source:  NASA's Dragonfly Artist Rendering NASA Searchi...

Partnering to Develop Self-Driving Cars Source:  BMW Autonomous Concept Car Accelerating Delivery BMW and Daimler have teamed up to deliver autonomous, self driving cars.  They plan to deliver autonomous cars first to Germany's Autobahn in 2024.  The two automotive giants have signed a long term agreement and will combine 1200 experts from both companies to develop the vehicles.  Their goals are to speed up development and share the very high expense of developing self-driving vehicles. Source:  Mercedes Autonomous Concept Car Level 4 The two companies plan to sell cars equipped with Level 4 self-driving technology.  That means the vehicle can drive on highways and park without any intervention from a human who will sit behind the wheel. Robo Taxis Daimler and BMW are also engaged in discussions to develop robo taxis for urban areas.  A partnership trend is developing in the automotive industry because of the high money investment needed to develop electric and a

Electric Blue Clouds Spotted by NASA AIM Spacecraft Source:  NASA Noctilucent Clouds Noctilucent Clouds At Extremely High Altitudes The image just released by NASA is spectacular.  They show Noctilucent clouds, which are clouds that appear in the very high atmosphere during twilight in the hour after sunset.  The clouds continue to reflect light even though the sun is below the horizon for those of us on the ground, Climate Change NASA says this rare phenomena has been increasing in the past ten years.  They add the likely cause is Climate Change which has increased the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere.  The new image, obtained by several satellite passes, shows reflectivity measurements gathered by NASA's Aeronomy on Ice in the Mesophere (AIM) spacecraft mission, as light from the clouds bounce back into space. Light Show From Space The season for Noctilucent clouds lasts from late May until August.  NASA explains that as the earth's lower atmosphere warm

Canada to Launch Quantum Satellite in 2022 Source:  Canadian Space Agency Canada plans to launch in 2022 a new Quantum Satellite that is designed to provide greatly enhanced security to national and commercial communications networks.  The Canadian government believes the new satellite is necessary because in the age of quantum computing, it will be increasingly easy to break through security barriers like passwords, etc. In fact, they think that within the decade current security methods will be totally obsolete.  For a great news blog on this, go to Important Innovations Collection: Canada's Quantum Tech to Space : New Satellite Launch 2022 Source:  Canadian Space Agency Goal:  Protect Communications Networks Canada will launch a new satellite i...

Satellites in Space in Danger of Hacking New Research by The Royal Institute of International Affairs New research by Chatham House or The Royal Institute of International Affairs warns that satellites in space are in danger of cyberattack.  They're calling for an immediate investment by NATO and NATO member nations to harden and protect their satellites as the military is dependent on them for data and communications particularly in conflict conditions.  For a detailed news blog, go to Important Innovations Collection: Space Cybersecurity at Risk : Satellites are Vulnerable to Hacking Source:  European Space Agency New Report from The Royal Institute of International Affairs UK...

New 3D Printing Technology with Wood Ink - Alternative to Forrest Based Products Revolutionizing the Manufacture of Green Products A breakthrough 3D printing technology just unveiled in Sweden could revolutionize the manufacture of green products including furniture, packaging and clothing.  Engineers at Chalmers University of Technology have invented a 3D printing process that uses a wood based ink.  The process could serve as a sustainable and renewable alternative to forest based products. 3D Printed Substance that Mimics Wood The wood based ink is composed of a nanocellulose gel combined with hemicellulose, which binds the fibers in the gel and strengthens it.  The gel is used with a 3D printer that has a digitized form of the genetic code of wood.  The result is a substance that mimics the cellular architecture of wood.  It has the promise of saving trees, creating green furniture, packaging, paper products and enabling a more sustainable environment.  For a free Ki