Free Republic

Recently, SpaceX has completed short, 150 meter (just under 500 feet) test flights of two earlier Starship prototypes, SN5 and SN6 – and SN8, which is currently set to be done construction “in about a week” according to Musk will have “flaps & nosecone” and ultimately is intended for a much higher altitude test launch. The prototypes that SpaceX has flown and landed for its so-called ‘short-hop’ tests over the past few weeks have been full-sized, but with a simulated weight installed on the top in place of the actual domed nosecone that will perch atop the final production Starship...

The asteroid is called 52768 (1998 OR2), and it was first spotted in 1998. On April 29, it will pass within 3,908,791 miles of Earth, moving at 19,461 miles per hour. That's still 16 times farther than the distance between Earth and the moon. The flyby is expected to occur on Wednesday, April 29, at 5:56 a.m. ET, according to NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies. The center tracks Near-Earth Objects, or NEOs, that could collide with Earth. Arecibo Observatory is a National Science Foundation facility managed by the University of Central Florida. A team of experts has been monitoring...

US-Japan missile defense test called successful Wed Mar 8, 8:21 PM ET WASHINGTON (AFP) - An interceptor missile was fired over the Pacific in a successful test of a new nosecone developed as part of a US-Japan missile defense program, the US Missile Defense Agency said. ADVERTISEMENT The modified SM-3 missile was launched by an Aegis cruiser off Hawaii and successfully deployed the new Japanese-designed nose cone at 2048 GMT, the agency said. "This flight test mission is an important milestone in the project and is an example of the close coordination between the US and Japan in ballistic missile...