Headline

US Spacecraft Begins Attempt To Land On Moon

Published

2 years ago

January 8, 2024

The first American spacecraft to attempt to land on the Moon in more than half a century took off early Monday – but this time, private industry is leading the charge.

A brand new rocket, United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur, lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 2:18 am (0718 GMT) for its maiden voyage, carrying Astrobotic’s Peregrine Lunar Lander.

“Successful #VulcanRocket staging, ignition,” ULA said on X, formerly Twitter, following the launch.

Eric Monda, ULA’s strategic planning director, described the launch as “spot on.”

“It was so cool. I ran outside to watch the launch,” he said on NASA’s live stream.

If all goes to plan, Peregrine will touch down on a mid-latitude region of the Moon called Sinus Viscositatis, or Bay of Stickiness, on February 23.

“Leading America back to the surface of the Moon for the first time since Apollo is a momentous honor,” Astrobotic’s CEO John Thornton said ahead of the launch.

Until now, a soft landing on Earth’s nearest celestial neighbor has only been accomplished by a handful of national space agencies: the Soviet Union was first, in 1966, followed by the United States, which is still the only country to put people on the Moon.

China has successfully landed three times over the past decade, while India was the most recent to achieve the feat on its second attempt, last year.

Now, the United States is turning to the commercial sector to stimulate a broader lunar economy and ship its own hardware at a fraction of the cost, under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.

– A challenging task –

NASA paid Astrobotic more than $100 million for the task, while another contracted company, Houston-based Intuitive Machines, is looking to launch in February and land near the south pole.

“We think that it’s going to allow… more cost effective and more rapidly accomplished trips to the lunar surface to prepare for Artemis,” said Joel Kearns, the US space agency’s deputy associate administrator for exploration.

Artemis is the NASA-led program to return astronauts to the Moon later this decade, in preparation for future missions to Mars.

Controlled touchdown on the Moon is a challenging undertaking, with roughly half of all attempts ending in failure. Absent an atmosphere that would allow the use of parachutes, a spacecraft must navigate through treacherous terrain using only its thrusters to slow descent.

Private missions by Israel and Japan, as well as a recent attempt by the Russian space agency, have all ended in failure — though the Japanese Space Agency is targeting mid-January for the touchdown of its SLIM lander launched last September.

Making matters more fraught is the fact that it is the first launch for ULA’s Vulcan, although the company claims a 100 percent success rate in more than 150 prior launches.

ULA’s new rocket is planned to have reusable first stage booster engines, which the company, a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing, expects will help save costs.

– Science instruments, human remains –

On board Peregrine is a suite of scientific instruments that will probe radiation and surface composition, helping to pave the way for the return of astronauts.

But it also contains more colorful cargo, including a shoebox-sized rover built by Carnegie Mellon University, a physical Bitcoin, and, somewhat controversially, cremated remains and DNA, including those of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, legendary sci-fi author and scientist Arthur C. Clarke and a dog.

The Navajo Nation, America’s largest Indigenous tribe, has said sending this cargo to the Moon desecrates something that is sacred to their culture. Though they were granted a last-ditch meeting with White House, NASA and other officials, their objections failed to remove the cargo.

The Vulcan rocket’s upper stage, which will circle the Sun after it deploys the lander, is meanwhile carrying more late cast members of Star Trek, as well as hair samples of presidents George Washington, Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy.

AFP

Headline

How Thief Stole Aeroplane At Airport 22 Years After Two Men Went Away With Boeing 727

Published

20 hours ago

July 19, 2025

Editor

To many, stealing an aeroplane right inside the airport with a watertight security system in place seems unbelievable, but a man in Canada stole a light aeroplane at an airport in the country, circled it around and later landed it before he was arrested by security officials.

This came 22 years after two men entered a Boeing 727 parked inside the airport in Luanda, the Angolan capital, and went away with the big aircraft.

According to reports, the aeroplane had not been found till today and the men had evaded arrest since then.

According to the Cable News Network (CNN), the stolen Cessna 172 aircraft caused a temporary shutdown of the airspace over Vancouver International Airport, one of the busiest in Canada, on Tuesday.

The man stole the aircraft, took off from Victoria International Airport, where it is used for flight training, and flew north about 40 miles to Vancouver.

He started circling, apparently due to his lack of expertise.

“We do have an aircraft that has been stolen and is in the vicinity of the airport,” a tower controller warned other pilots.

“Just in case anything starts heading towards you, you have the ability to move at your discretion.”

The man eventually landed the plane safely at Vancouver International Airport and was immediately surrounded by police.

The thief, who was not identified by authorities, was the only person inside and was arrested.

A similar incident also occurred at Luanda International Airport, Angola, when two individuals successfully stole a Boeing 727 without any security official knowing about the theft until a few hours later.

The Boeing 727, once operated by American Airlines, was retired and left at Luanda airport after plans to convert it were rejected. In 2003, two men—a pilot and a mechanic—illegally boarded the plane and took off with 14,000 gallons of fuel, enough to travel 1,500 miles. The plane and the men were never found.
(TRIBUNE)

Headline

10 Top-earning Dead Celebrities Of 2025

Published

21 hours ago

July 19, 2025

Editor

The top-earning dead celebrities have changed the perception of death. Despite not being alive for years, some for many decades, they are still earning millions of dollars. This shows that a celebrity can continue to earn even while in the grave.

Contents
1. Michael Jackson ($70m)
2. Elvis Presley ($49m)
3. Charles Schulz ($42m)
4. Arnold Palmer ($30)
5. Bob Marley ($24m)
6. Dr. Seuss ($24m)
7. John Lennon ($14m)
8. Marilyn Monroe ($13m)
9. Prince ($12m)
10. Nipsey Hussle ($11m)

The renowned figures discussed in this article are mainly musicians, cartoonists, authors, and a golfer.

Here are the top-earning dead celebrities of 2025, as listed by sociallykeeda:

1. Michael Jackson ($70m)

Michael Jackson leads among the top-earning dead celebrities. Michael remains one of the biggest stars. During his lifetime and even after, he is widely referred to as “the king of pop.” It is a known fact that he sold millions of albums and also earned and continues to earn from his work.

He died on 25 June 2009 due to a drug overdose. His earnings are estimated to be 70 million dollars.

2. Elvis Presley ($49m)

Elvis Presley is another music icon, known as the king of ‘Rock and Roll’. He was not just an amazing singer, but also a dancer and actor. Elvis is one of the greatest stars of the 20th century.

As such, the deceased musician still earns from his music and other projects. One of such is the Graceland and Elvis Presley Memphis entertainment complex. His earnings are estimated to be 49 million dollars. Elvis Presley died from a heart attack on 16 August 1977.

3. Charles Schulz ($42m)

Charles Schulz is another top-earning dead celebrity. He was a creator who came up with different cartoon characters. One of his famous characters is “Snoopy,” which was used for a peanut franchise that later inspired an animated movie, “Peanuts” in 2015.

Charles Schulz can never be forgotten for his contributions to cartoons. His earnings are calculated to be 42 million dollars. He died of cancer on 12 February 2000.

4. Arnold Palmer ($30)

Arnold was a golf player that died on 25 September 2016 due to heart disease. He still makes money from licensing and from a drink formula he created — a lemonade and iced tea named the Arizona beverage. An alcoholic version was made after Molson Coors partnered with Arnold. His earnings are currently 30 million dollars.

5. Bob Marley ($24m)

Bob Marley was a music icon who pioneered the Jamaican music style, “Reggae.” His uniqueness and style of music made him loved by many and also contributed to his global success.

Till today, Bob is still famous and earns from various licensing deals and companies. He died of cancer on 11 May 1981 at the age of 36. His earnings have accumulated to 24 million dollars.

6. Dr. Seuss ($24m)

Dr. Seuss was a cartoonist during his lifetime. He still makes millions despite being dead for over three decades. He was a children’s book writer of which many kids across the world have probably read.

Some of his books include The Grinch Stole Christmas, Red Fish, The Cat in a Hat, and so on. Millions of copies of his books have been sold since his demise on 24 September 1991. He died of cancer, and his earnings are currently 24 million dollars

7. John Lennon ($14m)

John Lennon was a singer, songwriter, and vocalist. He was a co-founder of one of the most respected and greatest music bands in history, “The Beatles.” Lennon earns from brands or by using his pictures on products. He died on 8 December 1980 by homicide. His earnings are estimated to be 14 million dollars.

8. Marilyn Monroe ($13m)

Marilyn Monroe was an actress and a movie star who died over six decades ago. Monroe still earns from her deals with companies such as Chanel, Montblanc, and her estate. Her managers ensure no one uses her pictures without permission. Marilyn was just 36 years old when she died of an overdose on 5 August 1962. Her earnings are about 13 million dollars.

9. Prince ($12m)

Prince was a musician who passed away a few years ago and still earns from his songs. Deals using his name or music are managed by his family. Prince died from an overdose on 21 April 2016. The last earnings from his works are 12 million dollars.

10. Nipsey Hussle ($11m)

After his demise on 31 March 2019, Nipsey became one of the celebrities who earned the most money. The sales of his albums have since been increasing. He died of homicide, and his last earnings were 11 million dollars.
(TRIBUNE)

Headline

Russian Strikes Kill Six In Ukraine

Published

2 days ago

July 18, 2025

Editor

Russian drone and bomb fire killed at least six people across Ukraine’s east and south, local authorities said Friday, as Russia resists US President Donald Trump’s call to halt its invasion.

Moscow has escalated long-range aerial attacks on Ukraine’s towns and cities as well as frontline assaults and shelling over the past weeks, defying Trump’s warning it could face massive new sanctions if no peace deal is struck.

The latest strikes killed at least three people in the Dnipropetrovsk region — an important industrial mining territory under increasing pressure from Russia’s attacks.

“Administrative buildings, a shop and private houses have been damaged,” Governor Sergiy Lysak said on Telegram after a morning drone attack caused a fire to break out in the region’s Kamyanske district, where two were killed.

A 52-year-old man was killed in another drone attack elsewhere in the region.

And in the Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions — all of which are partially occupied by Russian forces — attacks killed another three people.

Ukraine said Russia fired 35 long-range drones overnight — a relatively low number compared to the several hundred Moscow is capable of launching.

Moscow said it shot down 73 Ukrainian drones over its territory, including 10 it said were heading for the capital, Moscow.

AFP