Conservationists raise alarm over Air Force plan to land SpaceX Starships on bird sanctuary atoll

Conservationists raise alarm over Air Force plan to land SpaceX Starships on bird sanctuary atoll

The U.S. military is considering Johnston Atoll, a remote Pacific island chain that serves as an important refuge for dozens of seabird species, for "two commercial rocket landing pads" to test giant cargo rocket landings, potentially by SpaceX.

Scientists Use Bird Feathers to Make Planes Safer

Birds have long been nature’s masters of flight. Their ability to glide, dive, and twist through the air with ease has fascinated both scientists and engineers. But there’s more to bird flight than strong wings and hollow bones. One secret lies in their covert feathers—layers of small feathers that cover the wing’s base and shift during tricky maneuvers like landing or flying through gusty air. For a long time, biologists knew that these covert …

SpaceX's Starship has astronomical cost plus legal and environmental firestorm

The International Space Station, that shining symbol of global cooperation in orbit, is living on borrowed time, with its operational lifespan now set to end in 2030. As NASA considers a controversial successor that may deposit astronomical amounts of taxpayer money in Elon Musk’s pocket, SpaceX’s Starship is a project now mired in legal battlesContinue reading "SpaceX’s Starship has astronomical cost plus legal and environmental firestorm" The …