Russian space agency says it fixed a leak on its segment of space station, Ifax reports
NASA on Thursday indefinitely delayed a four-person crew's mission to the ISS over an escalating probe into air leaks aboard the orbiting laboratory's Russian segment.
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Western Telegraph
4 hours ago
- Western Telegraph
How to see the Perseid meteor shower during UK peak
The Perseid meteor shower is one of the brightest and fastest meteor showers of the year. The shower lights up the skies each summer and is known for its fast-moving meteors - often dubbed "shooting stars". Here is all you need to know about the meteor shower and how to view it in the UK. What is the Perseid meteor shower? The Perseids come from a comet called Swift–Tuttle, which orbits the Sun once every 133 years. The rocks collide with our own atmosphere at high speeds of between seven and 45 miles per second, causing the meteors to vaporise and leave behind a bright trail of light, also known as shooting stars. According to Royal Museums Greenwich, the average speed for a Perseid meteor is 36 miles per second. The air in front of the meteor is squashed and heated to thousands of degrees Celsius. The Perseid meteor shower will remain active and visible in the skies until August 24, it is expected to peak on August 12. It will bring up to 100 meteors to the night sky. How to catch a glimpse of the Perseids The Royal Museums Greenwich has provided its tips on viewing the meteor shower. One of the best annual meteor showers, the Perseids, will peak this month ☄️ Unfortunately this year, a nearly full Moon will wash out all but the brightest meteors. However, another favorite annual meteor shower, the Geminids, is poised for Moon-free viewing in December. — NASA Langley Research Center (@NASA_Langley) August 5, 2025 Its website says to ensure to check the weather forecast ahead of time, and if the forecast isn't favourable, find a different location to observe from or view the meteor shower on another day. However, visibility could be affected by bright moonlight from the recent Sturgeon Moon. Top tips on viewing the shower include: Make sure that you are in a dark sky area and have an unobstructed view towards the south Recommended Reading: Lie down on a blanket or sit in a lawn chair to ensure that you have a wide view of the sky Your naked eye is the best instrument to use to see meteors – don't use binoculars or a telescope as these have narrow fields of view Allow your eyes to adapt to the dark and don't look at any lights, or at your phone, to maintain your dark adaptation The Go Stargazing website also has some of the publicly accessible dark sky sites in the UK.
Reuters
4 hours ago
- Reuters
Putin appears ready to test new missile as he prepares for Trump talks, researchers say
WASHINGTON, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Russia appears to be preparing to test its new nuclear-armed, nuclear-powered cruise missile, according to two U.S. researchers and a Western security source, even as Russian President Vladimir Putin readies for talks on Ukraine with U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday. Jeffrey Lewis of the California-based Middlebury Institute of International Studies, and Decker Eveleth of the CNA research and analysis organization, based in Virginia, reached their assessments separately by studying imagery taken in recent weeks until Tuesday by Planet Labs, a commercial satellite firm. They agreed the photos showed extensive activity at the Pankovo test site on the Barents Sea archipelago of Novaya Zemlya, including increases in personnel and equipment and ships and aircraft associated with earlier tests of the 9M730 Burevestnik (Storm Petrel). "We can see all of the activity at the test site, which is both huge amounts of supplies coming in to support operations and movement at the place where they actually launch the missile," Lewis said. A Western security source, who asked not to be further identified, confirmed that Russia is preparing a Burevestnik test. Lewis said a test could occur this week, raising the possibility it could overshadow the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska. Asked for comment, the White House did not address the possibility of a Burevestnik test. The Pentagon, the CIA, and Russia's Defense Ministry declined to comment. Putin has said the weapon - dubbed the SSC-X-9 Skyfall by NATO - is "invincible" to current and future missile defenses, with an almost unlimited range and unpredictable flight path. Lewis, Eveleth, and two arms control experts said the missile's development has taken on more importance for Moscow since Trump announced in January the development of a U.S. Golden Dome missile defense shield. But many experts say it is unclear the missile can evade defenses, will not give Moscow capabilities it does not already have, and will spew radiation along its flight path. A test would have been scheduled long in advance of last week's announcement of the Trump-Putin meeting, the researchers and experts said. But Putin could have suspended preparations in view of U.S. spy satellites to signal his openness to ending his war in Ukraine as well as to restarting arms-control talks with the U.S., the experts said. New START, the last U.S.-Russia pact capping strategic nuclear deployments, expires on February 5. "Sometimes you can push up or push down the schedule for a political reason," said Tom Countryman, a former acting undersecretary of state for arms control. The Burevestnik has a poor test record, according to the Nuclear Threat Initiative advocacy group, with two partial successes among 13 known tests. Eveleth and Lewis said the Planet Labs imagery showed stacks of shipping containers, equipment, and personnel arriving since late July. Lewis said two aircraft equipped to gather test data had been parked at the archipelago's Rogachevo military airfield since mid-July. Images he provided to Reuters showed two large jets mounted with saucer-shaped radar domes. He noted the presence of at least five ships associated with previous tests. A ship-tracking website - - showed a sixth ship linked to earlier tests was due to arrive on Tuesday, he said. Reuters confirmed the website showed the vessel, a cargo ship named the Teriberka, bound for Novaya Zemlya, but could not independently confirm the researchers' other findings. Eveleth and Lewis said they began examining imagery of Pankovo starting from July, after Russia on August 6 published a notice to mariners to stay away from the area from August 9-12. Reuters found a series of notices on the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's Defense Internet NOTAM Service issued by Russia showing a possible launch window between August 9-22. The Norwegian military told Reuters in an email that the Barents Sea is a "prime location for Russian missile tests" and that it had indications from notices and maritime warnings of "preparations for test activities." But it said it would "not confirm any knowledge of what kind of munitions they are to test." In late July, Eveleth said, he noticed a shelter protecting the Burevestnik launcher from the weather was being slid back and forth, which he called "very clear evidence" of plans for a test. Lewis provided to Reuters images taken of the site on August 7 showing the protective launcher cover, stacks of shipping containers, a crane for moving them, and a helicopter. "It's full steam ahead," he said of the pace of test preparations.
The Independent
5 hours ago
- The Independent
NASA's nuclear gamble on the moon faces growing skepticism
Fast-tracking a NASA plan to build a nuclear reactor on the moon may sound dubious. Experts say that's because it is. 'The whole proposal is cock-eyed and runs against the sound management of a space program that is now being starved of money,' national security analyst, nuclear expert and author Joseph Cirincione told The Independent. Nuclear has been used in space since the 1960s. That's nothing new. The U.S. launched its first test reactor into orbit in 1965, and the former Soviet Union has sent up dozens more. NASA says that a new 100-kilowatt reactor could be used to power a future base at the lunar South Pole, and fuel prospective missions to Mars and beyond. Nuclear would help to fill gaps in solar energy that occur when that side of the moon is in darkness for two weeks. The majority of space experts have said that placing a reactor on the moon is possible, so, why is NASA's current plan 'cock-eyed?' The problem is the proposed timeline. Interim NASA Administrator Sean Duffy, who also serves as President Donald Trump's Secretary of Transportation, pushed to expedite the project, detailed in a memo this week. Duffy said the administration wanted to have a nuclear reactor ready to launch by 2030. Earlier this year, China and Russia announced a plan to build a nuclear reactor for a lunar base by 2035. 'The first country to do so could potentially declare a 'keep-out' zone which would significantly inhibit the United States from establishing a planned Artemis presence if not there first,' Duffy said. NASA first announced in 2021 that it would put a reactor on the moon 'within a decade.' In 2024, NASA then said that their target date for delivery a reactor to the Earth-based launchpad was the early 2030s. But, Cirincione says essentially no progress has been made. 'It was in the last Trump administration that NASA had put out a press release, they had a YouTube video, they had these announcements about how they're going to develop these small, modular nuclear reactors for use on the moon, and it was going to be ready by 2026,' said Cirincione, who is vice-chair of the Center for International Policy, a non-profit that advocates for a peaceful approach to foreign policy. 'Oh, really? So, where is it?' Ultimately, the expert believes a nuclear reactor on the moon could take up to 20 years to become a reality. NASA would need a working launch vehicle, a small and adaptable reactor, and the ability to land on the moon. Right now, the SpaceX Starship is the only vehicle option – but it has exploded during several of its test flights. NASA has been working with Boeing on a Space Launch System - the main competitor to Space X's Starship - but that program would be canceled under the Trump administration's proposed cuts which slash 24 percent from NASA's overall budget. Landing on the moon is no picnic, and attempts by Japanese space companies in 2023 and 2025 ended in crashes. There are also the scientific and technological advances needed for the nuclear reactors. The reactors must be able to withstand harsh conditions on the moon, including temperatures swings from 250 degrees Fahrenheit during the day to minus 400 degrees at night. 'Small modular nuclear reactors, it turns out, are always just around the corner – a corner you never get to turn,' Cirincione said. Many scientists and nuclear energy experts have shared in Cirincione's skepticism. Dr. Kathryn Huff, a former nuclear energy official at the U.S. Department of Energy, and professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, wrote in a Bluesky social media post that she's not 'bullish' on 'unrealistic timelines.' 'The 2030 target does not align well with recent budgetary trends…' she explained in a statement, shared by the university. 'Accelerating the FSP program could come at the expense of other critical priorities, including earth science, climate observation and space-based weather forecasting – all core elements of NASA's public-serving mission.' Dr. Alfredo Carpineti, an Italian astrophysicist, wrote in IFLScience this week that the proposal is 'unfeasible.' 'Even if we allow landing the nuclear reactor on December 31, 2030, the timing is really too short for something that must not have any faults if you want to operate it safely,' Carpineti wrote. Others were more optimistic about NASA's accelerated timeline. Sebastian Corbisiero, a senior program manager at Idaho National Laboratory who leads the Energy Department's space reactor program, told The Independent that a nuclear reactor on the moon is 'doable' by 2030. 'Nuclear reactor technology has been around for decades, so its well known,' he said. 'Some key differences with a space reactor is that it needs to fit on a rocket, so there are mass and volume requirements; and that the system needs to operate in vacuum – so components will need to be built to survive that environment.' Dr. Bhavya Lal, a former associate administrator for technology, policy, and strategy at NASA, and former aerospace executive Roger Myers, recently argued that it would be possible to have nuclear reactor on the moon by 2030, and it would take $3 billion to do so. 'It's possible, but it will require serious commitment,' Lal told The Independent. But even if plans are speeded up, Lal says there's no need to worry about the prospect of the moon blowing up. It's 'simply not grounded in science,' she said.
