Huge venus fly trap

Welcome to Edition 3.41 of the Rocket Report! As always there is plenty of news in the world of launch, and this week we have several stories about heavy lift vehicles. Perhaps most interesting, SpaceX has received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to press ahead with construction of a large tower for its Starship Launch System. As always, we welcome reader submissions , and if you don't want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar. Blue Origin completes final step before crew mission . On Wednesday morning, in West Texas, Blue Origin flew its New Shepard-15 mission on a suborbital flight to test its vehicle for passengers. Two people even climbed into the vehicle before the launch to test the ingress procedures, but they exited … [Read more...] about Rocket Report: SpaceX to build huge launch tower, Branson sells Virgin stock

Officials in the area around the 42,000 acre Bridger Fire in the Piñon Canyon Maneuver and Comanche National Grasslands said the fire is hard to fight because of the many canyons in the region. The blaze has moved to private ranch land and eight ranch homes are threatened, said Steve Segin, spokesman for the Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center. Ranch owners scrambled to move their cattle and horses to safety. Lon Robertson, who is the owner of the Kim Outpost general store in Kim, and is paramedic director of the Kim Volunteer Fire Department, said fire managers marshaling resources to fight the fire are reluctant to put ground crews into the canyons. He said a sudden flare-up would move faster than the firefighters and could trap them. “We sure don’t want to put anybody at risk,” said Robertson. He also said fire managers plan an aerial survey to pinpoint where the worst areas of fire. “It is hard to fight the fire if you can’t see where it is,” he said. He said … [Read more...] about Piñon Canyon fire rages on Army, private lands

More than 200 crack British troops have parachuted into Ukraine in a show of strength as tensions rise between the ­embattled country and Russia. The drop is the biggest mass UK exercise in more than 20 years. Units including the 16th Air Assault Brigade joined forces with more than 200 Ukrainian paratroopers for this week’s jump just 100 miles from Moscow-controlled Crimea. It comes after Vladimir Putin stepped up military operations against Russia’s neighbour. * What is your view on this story? Have your say in the comments below The Mirror was the only British newspaper allowed to witness the para-drop, named Joint Endeavour. Elite Pathfinder soldiers had earlier parachuted in to scope a landing zone for the main assault force. Troops laden with up to 80lb of combat kit were dropped from C-130 warplanes flying at 600ft after leaving RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire. Soon after landing, Sgt John Jenkins, 33, of 7 Para RHA, told us: “We’re carrying a huge … [Read more...] about Brit paratroopers drop into Ukraine in show of strength as Russia tensions rise

Photo: Retailer This happens to be a big weekend for sales. Shopbop’s Style Event is ramping down, but Backcoutry’s Renew and Refresh sale is gearing up. There are also sales happening at Overstock and the Outnet, and if you want even deeper discounts, there are sales-on-sales at Nordstrom Rack and Anthropologie. It’s a lot to sort through, so we dug deep and pulled out the best of the sales bins (and, as always, if you want more sales coverage, sign up for our email newsletter ). Patagonia Woolyester Fleece Pullover, Navy From $97 $139 now 30% off From $97 Backcountry’s Renew and Refresh sale starts today, with discounts up to 30 percent off on in-season styles — including this wool-polyester blend fleece from Patagonia. From $97 at Backcountry Buy Darn Tough Hiker Micro Crew Cushion Sock - Women’s, Teal $18 $23 now 22% off $18 Darn Tough is so confident in the quality of its … [Read more...] about 17 Things on Sale You’ll Actually Want to Buy: From Patagonia to Soludos

Gary Barlow has spent lockdown writing songs for one of Taiwan’s biggest pop stars. The Take That singer, 50, teamed up with lyricist Sir Tim Rice to pen three songs for Jeff Chang, 54. Jeff has been a huge star since the 90s and has sold 25 million records. He had been due to perform at the Royal Albert Hall last April but the gig was cancelled when Covid struck. He said: “The whole world knows the economic power of China. “But I think there are more parts that we can share with the world – Chinese culture, and also Chinese pop music. “There are so many people interested in Chinese and they want to know more... so I think it’s a great time to open the gate.” He also described music veteran, Sir Tim, as a “childhood idol”. Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita writer Sir Tim, 76, said he thought the songs were “really rather good”. He added to the Keep Calm and Kerry On podcast: “I’ve written a couple of songs with Gary Barlow for a Tawainese megastar called Jeff … [Read more...] about Take That’s Gary Barlow spent lockdown writing songs for a Tawainese megastar