Source: BBC
Security & Justice
Israel Army Says Hit Over 100 'Terror Targets' in Lebanon in Past Day
The Israeli military on Wednesday said it struck more than 100 "terror targets" in Lebanon over the past day and had "eliminated" two Hezbollah commanders at the weekend.
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
Israeli Strikes Kill Four Lebanese Soldiers in Two Days, Army Reports
Israeli Strikes Kill Four Lebanese Soldiers in Two Days, Army Reports
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
Opinion
Lebanon's Economy—Not Battlefield—May Have the Final Word
Time and again during this most recent war in Lebanon, we hear the phrase, “The battlefield has the final word”. It has become the sole and wholly unsatisfactory refrain of Hezbollah and the so-called 'Axis of Resistance'.
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
Flying Above the Bombs, a Lebanese Airline Becomes an Unlikely National Hero
It used to be like almost any other national carrier, fielding gripes about flight delays, ticket prices and bad food.
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
Sports
Alcaraz Beats Rublev to Open ATP Finals Account
Carlos Alcaraz opened his account at the ATP Finals on Wednesday with an entertaining 6-3, 7-6 (10/8) win over Andrey Rublev which boosted his hopes of reaching the semifinals.
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
Ecuador's Angulo, 22, Dies a Month After Car Crash
Ecuador international Marco Angulo has died at the age of 22 just over a month after being seriously injured in a car crash, his club has announced.
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
Saturday 7 August 2021 14:37:39
Biggest Ever Rocket Is Assembled Briefly in Texas
The American SpaceX company has stacked the biggest rocket ever constructed.
The vehicle's two segments - an upper-stage called Starship and a booster called Super Heavy - were connected together at the firm's Starbase R&D facility in Boca Chica, Texas.
Standing roughly 120m (400ft) in height, the SpaceX rocket dwarfs any previous launch system.
When it eventually lifts off, it will produce about twice the thrust of the vehicles that sent men to the Moon.
The main engines on Apollo's famous Saturn V rockets delivered some 35 meganewtons (nearly 8 million pounds of force) off the pad. The new SpaceX Super Heavy booster should achieve around 70 meganewtons.
A massive crane was needed to join the two segments together. They were held in position for an hour before then being separated again.
SpaceX still has weeks to months of testing ahead of it to prepare for the inaugural flight.
This will see the booster hurl the Starship into space for a once-around-the-Earth trip, which will end with a disposal "landing" in waters off the Hawaiian islands in the Pacific. The Super Heavy will be ditched in the Gulf of Mexico.
Ultimately, though, SpaceX wants both segments of future vehicles to make controlled touchdowns, on land or on sea platforms, so they can be re-used.
Company CEO, Elon Musk, says the Starship system, once fully developed, will be more than capable of taking humans to the Moon and Mars.
It could also ferry people quickly around the globe. Putting satellites in orbit is another obvious application.
The American space agency, Nasa, has already contracted SpaceX to produce a version of the Starship upper-stage that can land astronauts near the lunar south pole this decade.Friday's milestone follows months of breathtaking activity in Boca Chica.
Engineers have built a succession of prototypes at Starbase. These have helped the design team understand the best way to manufacture the huge stainless steel craft. And by launching some of the Starship iterations on high-altitude hops, SpaceX technicians have also gained invaluable flight experience.
The segments mated briefly on Friday are codenamed BN4 (the Super Heavy booster) and Ship 20 (the Starship upper-stage). The pair won't launch until they have a licence from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The government agency is currently conducting an environmental review that will invite at some point a 30-day public consultation. So, the maiden orbital outing is still some way off. But Mr Musk is very keen that it should happen well before the end of the year.
He described seeing the brief mating of the segments on Friday as a "dream come true".
The most powerful rocket currently in operation is the Falcon Heavy, also built by SpaceX. This produces 23 meganewtons of thrust at launch.
