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Showing posts with the label Space

Starships Till Date

Starhopper The Starhopper was one of the initial prototype space flight vehicles made by space x for flight and engine testings. It consisted of one raptor engine enshielded within an aluminum body casing. The Starhopper took three maiden flights and was finally retired after its final 150 meters hop on 27 August 2019. First Flight: - 5 April 2019: First hop of ~1 meter (3 feet) of 5 seconds Second Flight: - 25 July 2019: Second hop of 20 meters (66 feet) of 22 seconds Third Flight: - 27 August 2019: Third and final flight of 150 meters (490 feet) of 1 minute   SN1 A prototype known as Mk3 was renamed SN1 (Serial Number 1). It was destroyed on 26 February 2020 during a pressure test when the tank ruptured near its thrust puck.   SN2 After facing difficulties with the thrust puck, Space X focused on it and made SN2 as a scaled-down test tank to focus testing on the structural integrity of the thrust puck. SN2 successfully passed the pressure and cryogenic tests ...

Tardigrades (Water Bears, Moss Piglets)

Tardigrades: Tardigrades belong to the phylum Tardigrada of kingdom Animalia. Lazzaro Spallanzani in 1777 named them Tardigradum which means "slow walker".  Tardigrades are eight legged microscopic animals. They’re commonly known as water bears or moss piglets. We have discovered 1000+ species of tardigrades till now.   The name "water-bear" comes from the way of their gait, as they look like a bear walking; Mosses and lichens are their preferred habitat hence their nickname, moss piglet.   Tardigrades are naturally found on mountaintops, in the deep sea, in tropical rain forests and even the frigid Antarctic. Most species are found to be living in freshwater or semiaquatic terrestrial environments. They’re considered aquatic because they need water around their bodies for gaseous exchanges as well as to prevent themselves from drying out (desiccation).   Tardigrades are covered in a tough cuticle, similar to the exoskeletons of grasshoppers, praying mant...