Orion Dives Deep for the Sake of Safety

A test version of the Orion spacecraft is pulled back like a pendulum and released, taking a dive into the 20-foot-deep (6.1 meters) Hydro Impact Basin at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
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Trump considers Indiana Governor Mike Pence for VP: MSNBC

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is vetting Indiana Governor Mike Pence as a potential vice presidential running mate, and was to meet with him later on Friday, MSNBC reported, citing unnamed sources.

Reuters: Politics

Cygnus Cargo Craft Released From Space Station

Orbital ATK's Cygnus cargo craft is released from the International Space Station in this June 14, 2016, photograph by ESA astronaut Tim Peake. Once Cygnus reached a safe distance, ground controllers at NASA's Glenn Research Center initiated the sequence for an experiment design to better understand how fire spreads in a microgravity environment.
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Sunset From the International Space Station

Expedition 47 Flight Engineer Jeff Williams of NASA captured a series of photos for this composite image of the setting sun reflected by the ocean.
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Counting Down to Juno's Arrival at Jupiter

A model of the Juno spacecraft is seen at a news briefing on Thursday, June 30, 2016, at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The Juno mission will arrive at Jupiter July 4, 2016, to orbit the planet for 20 months and collect data on the planetary core, map the magnetic field, and measure the amount of water and ammonia in the atmosphere.
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NASA's X-57 Electric Research Plane

With 14 electric motors turning propellers and all of them integrated into a uniquely-designed wing, NASA will test new propulsion technology using an experimental airplane now designated the X-57 and nicknamed “Maxwell.” This concept image illustrates NASA's X-57 plane in flight.
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Expedition 47 Soyuz Landing

The Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 47 crew members Tim Kopra of NASA, Tim Peake of the European Space Agency, and Yuri Malenchenko of Roscosmos near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Saturday, June 18, 2016. Kopra, Peake, and Malenchenko are returning after six months onboard the International Space Station.
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Space Station View of the Full Moon

Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams of NASA took this photograph on June 21, 2016, from the International Space Station, writing, "A spectacular rise of the full moon just before sunset while flying over western China."
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Pervasive Ice Retreat in West Antarctica

Along the Bellingshausen Sea coast of West Antarctica, ice has been retreating inland being lost to the sea. Scientists knew this, but they lacked a full picture of the scale. Now a team of researchers has compiled a Landsat-based data set and found that such losses have been going on for at least the past four decades.
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Europe's robots to become 'electronic persons' under draft plan

MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) - Europe's growing army of robot workers could be classed as "electronic persons" and their owners liable to paying social security for them if the European Union adopts a draft plan to address the realities of a new industrial revolution.

Reuters: Science News

Obama: Trump's rhetoric is xenophobic, not populist

OTTAWA (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama is tired of hearing Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump described as a populist.

Reuters: Politics

Hubble Sees New Dark Spot on Neptune

New images obtained on May 16, 2016, by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope confirm the presence of a dark vortex in the atmosphere of Neptune. This full visible-light image shows that the dark feature resides near and below a patch of bright clouds in the planet's southern hemisphere.
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India launches 20 satellites at one go; most to serve U.S. customers

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India successfully launched 20 satellites in a single mission on Wednesday, with most of them set to serve international customers as the South Asian country pursues a bigger share of the $ 300 billion global space industry.

Reuters: Science News

U.S. lawmakers push for action on human rights in Bahrain

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Seven U.S. senators urged Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday to press Bahrain's government to do more to promote political and social reform, adding to recent concern in Washington over that country's human rights record.

Reuters: Politics

A Test Version of the Booster for NASA's New Rocket

A test version of the booster for NASA's new rocket, the Space Launch System, will fire up for the second of two qualification ground tests at 10:05 a.m. EDT (8:05 a.m. MDT) Tuesday, June 28 at prime contractor Orbital ATK's test facility in Promontory, Utah. NASA Television will air live coverage of the booster test June 28 beginning at 9:30 a.m.
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British astronaut Tim Peake would return to space station 'in a heartbeat'

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Britain's first official astronaut said on Tuesday he would join another trip to the International Space Station "in a heartbeat" and would love to explore the moon.

Reuters: Science News

Albanian town backs Clinton with bronze bust

SARANDE, Albania (Reuters) - Whatever the outcome of November's U.S. presidential election, the Albanian town of Sarande is backing Hillary Clinton by erecting a bronze bust to thank her for supporting Albanian causes.

Reuters: Politics

Human flights to Mars still at least 15 years off: ESA head

DARMSTADT, Germany (Reuters) - Dreaming of a trip to Mars? You'll have to wait at least 15 years for the technology to be developed, the head of the European Space Agency (ESA) said, putting doubt on claims that the journey could happen sooner.

Reuters: Science News

Juno on Jupiter's Doorstep

NASA's Juno spacecraft obtained this color view on June 21, 2016, at a distance of 6.8 million miles (10.9 million kilometers) from Jupiter. Juno will arrive at Jupiter on July 4. As Juno makes its initial approach, the giant planet's four largest moons -- Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto -- are visible.
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Attorney general to accept FBI findings in Clinton email probe

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch will accept the recommendations of career prosecutors and investigators on whether or not to bring charges against Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton over her email use, a Justice Department official said on Friday.

Reuters: Politics