Captain Kirk just flew to space in a real-world rocket

Robot dogs can now carry sniper rifles on their backs, 'analog astronauts' will spend three weeks in a Mars-like desert habitat. Oct 14, 2021 # Good morning. Star Trek’s beloved William Shatner has gone to space and is safely home today after spending roughly 10 minutes on the jaunt. While this was no jump to warp speed aboard the fictional starship Enterprise, Shatner described the flight as "the most profound experience" he could ever imagine. Back on Earth and in contrast to the utopia-like events of space travel, robot dogs can now carry sniper rifles on their backs, which is nothing short of terrifying. Also, six "analog astronauts" are off to a Mars-like desert habitat where they'll spend the next three weeks. This is The Blueprint. Keep reading. SCIENCE [Star Trek's William Shatner Just Launched to Space Aboard a Blue Origin Rocket]( [William Shatner, the actor who played Captain Kirk, and Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket.]( From a sci-fi smash to a real-life space odyssey, William Shatner, the famed Canadian actor who played Captain Kirk in the Star Trek franchise, [has gone to the final frontier]( and this time, it's for real. - A childhood dream-come-true. In that tender moment, science fiction met reality. ​​Shatner and three other crew members launched into space aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard spacecraft at roughly 10:50 AM EDT on Wednesday after being personally escorted by Founder Jeff Bezos, who is actually [a longtime Star Trek fan](. A cosmic ride. The team began to experience zero gravity about two and a half minutes into the ride, and at the three minutes and 30 seconds mark, they officially entered space. The vessel reached 350,000 ft (106,680 m) before beginning its slow reverse in trajectory, for a return drop to the Earth's surface. The rocket landed without issue or injury, and Captain Kirk's first venture into space became a complete success. - This was the fourth flight to space and back for the New Shepard vehicle. And at the age of 90, William Shatner is now the oldest person to fly into space. Shaken, not disturbed. Shatner looked visibly shaken after the ride, his expression a mix of wonder and unease. “It was unbelievable … The covering of blue. This sheet, this blanket, this comforter that we have around. We think, 'Oh, that's blue sky,'” [he said]( full of emotion after returning to Earth. "Then suddenly you shoot through it all of the sudden, as though you're whipping a sheet off [of] you when you're asleep, and you're looking into blackness, into black ugliness." Space wealth. While this may feel like another instance of [space tourism]( for the ultra-wealthy to many, it’s bigger than that since, for most, it’s also a symbol of the power of human imagination. [Read More]( INNOVATION [Yes, Robot Dogs Can Now Carry Sniper Rifles on Their Backs]( [The SPUR robotic dog system.]( Decades of popular dystopian science fiction have warned that this might happen, and yet, here we are. A military robot maker, Ghost Robotics, strapped a sniper rifle to the back of a quadrupedal robot dog before exhibiting its deadly creation at the Association of the U.S. Army's main annual convention in Washington, D.C. this week. - Say cheese. The firm [posted an image on Twitter]( showing its quadrupedal unmanned ground vehicle (Q-UGV), with a 6.5-mm Creedmoor rifle from weapon company SWORD International. The robot, called the Special Purpose Unmanned Rifle (SPUR), has unsurprisingly sparked outrage on social media, with thousands decrying the nature of the war machine. Valid criticism. The robot is specifically designed to offer precision fire from unmanned platforms, but aside from that, little has been revealed about it. It could easily be coupled with AI capabilities already used on battlefields with war drones and other military equipment. And, while SPUR is also intended for warfare, it's tough to ignore the elephant in the room: So far, robot dogs have primarily been deployed to manage the public. Robot dogs side with cops. Quadrupedal robots have already been utilized for population control by law enforcement in countries such as Singapore, where a Boston Dynamics Spot robot was employed to implement social distancing in 2020. The New York Police Department has also tested Spot in law enforcement duties, but a public outcry forced the department to [cancel its $94,000 contract]( with the robotics firm. Where are we heading? In 2015, experts including Elon Musk, Noam Chomsky, and Stephen Hawking signed an open letter calling on the United Nations to place an outright ban on killer robots. The Stop Killer Robots Campaign has also gained traction in recent years after Google's [ex-employees joined]( upon learning of the tech company's links to Project Maven, which was aimed at enhancing U.S. military drone technology. Despite such oppositions, however, the world seems to be moving forward with this technology. [Read More]( SCIENCE ['Analog Astronauts' Will Spend Three Weeks in a Mars-Like Desert Habitat]( [Two of the AMADEE-20 analog astronauts.]( If you can’t send people to Mars yet, you bring the Red Planet to them. Space agencies are preparing for future Mars missions by carrying out space-like simulation missions here on Earth. - The latest one, [dubbed AMADEE-20]( saw the Israel Space Agency and the Austrian Space Forum (OeWF) send six "analog astronauts", five men and a woman, to a fake Mars habitat where they'll spend the rest of October as if they were on the Red Planet. Emulating isolation. The habitat is designed to mimic real-life "ground segments" that are currently being evaluated for future Mars missions. To replicate the real-world communication latency encountered by NASA's Deep Space Network linking the Earth and Mars, any conversation between the "analog astronauts" will be delayed by ten minutes. What's the goal? To help improve the design for future missions, the analog space explorers will be asked to look for weak spots in the "elaborate spacesuit prototype." They'll also carry out tests on procedures devised by the European Space Agency (ESA), including a method to keep devices free of space dust. A 3D printer will also be put to the test to examine viability for future space missions. Why is this important? This isn't the first mission to simulate space conditions on Earth, and it likely won't be the last as NASA and other space agencies gear up to go to the Moon and Mars in the coming decades. In August, for example, [NASA announced]( it was looking for volunteers to spend a year in a simulated Mars habitat at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, starting in the Fall of 2022. Such trips will yield essential clues about the effects of isolation in space, in addition to the logistics and machines needed for future missions. [Read More]( QUOTE OF THE DAY “ Logic is the beginning of wisdom, not the end. ” Captain Spock, ‘Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country’ (1991 Film). [Video]VIDEO OF THE DAY [The Engineering Behind Refueling a Fighter Jet in Mid-Air]( And the procedure could actually result in a potentially fatal collision. [The Engineering Behind Refueling a Fighter Jet in Mid-Air]( TODAY IN HISTORY In 1947, Chuck Yeager, a World War II fighter pilot, broke the sound barrier in a rocket-powered Bell XS-1 airplane over Muroc Dry Lake, California, becoming the first human to fly faster than the speed of sound. AND ANOTHER THING... - If you've never heard of John Michell, you're not alone. Surprisingly, this obscure rector [predicted the existence of black holes]( using Newton's classical mechanics back in 1783. - Wildfires in California have become ferociously destructive, but what does it take to put one out? [This interactive story]( largely based on videos will take you inside the battle to defeat the Dixie Wildfire, a blaze the size of Rhode Island. (New York Times $) - Turns out, one of the most widely used treatments for advanced prostate cancer [can be thwarted by gut microbiota](. (Inverse) - Due to a lack of data, we have an incomplete picture of our own planetary fate. Fortunately, we are now filling in the gaps. We’ve spotted a planet surviving its dying star – and [here’s what it tells us about the end of our Solar System](. (The Conversation) - Energy policy researchers suggest that automakers must be incentivized for making electric vehicles lighter. Why? [This would make them cleaner and safer](. (Nature) - Physicists have made [the most precise neutron lifespan measurement]( ever, and this could help reveal how the infant universe evolved into ours. - Fancy a trip to the Great Wall of China? You won’t need to book tickets. Google’s Arts & Culture team has launched [a new virtual tour]( that’ll let you experience it from the comfort of your home. (TechCrunch) Prepared by Derya Ozdemir and Brad Bergan Enjoy reading? 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