NASA's $500 million Neil Gehrels Swift space observatory was launched in 2004. But it's now "at risk of falling back through the atmosphere and burning up without intervention," reports Spaceflight Now.

Fortunately, a mission to prevent that "just passed a notable prelaunch testing milestone."
On Friday, NASA announced that the Link spacecraft, manufactured by Katalyst Space Technologies to intervene before Swift's fate is sealed, completed its slate of environmental testing at the agency's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland... "Swift will likely re-enter the atmosphere sometime later this year if we don't attempt to lift it to a higher altitude, [said John Van Eepoel, Swift's mission director at NASA Goddard, in a NASA press release]. "Katalyst has gotten to this point in just eight months, and we're glad they were able to use NASA's facilities to test Link and draw on our expertise to help tackle questions that popped up along the way...."
"Given how quickly Swift's orbit is decaying, we are in a race against the clock, but by leveraging commercial technologies that are already in development, we are meeting this challenge head-on," said Shawn Domagal-Goldman, acting director, Astrophysics Division, NASA Headquarters, at the time... Attempting an orbit boost is both more affordable than replacing Swift's capabilities with a new mission, and beneficial to the nation — expanding the use of satellite servicing to a new and broader class of spacecraft...."

Swift is in an orbit inclined 20.6 degrees from the equator, which is why Katalyst selected Northrop Grumman's Pegasus XL air-launched rocket in November to fly the mission. "The versatility offered by Pegasus' unique air-launch capability provides customers with a space launch solution that can be rapidly deployed anywhere on Earth to reach any orbit," said Kurt Eberly, Director of Space Launch for Northrop Grumman.



The mission is set to launch in June.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

banzainetsurfer has added a photo to the pool:

From the South shore of Lake Ashi, Mount Fuji and Heiwa-no-Torii shrine gate can be seen on clear days.

World Thru Lenz has added a photo to the pool:

• Dubois recovers from knockdown in opening seconds

• Wardley knocks him down again but stopped in 11th

Daniel Dubois completed his latest resurgence with brutal efficiency when he became the WBO world heavyweight champion after stopping Fabio Wardley early in the 11th round of a dramatic and blood-soaked contest. Howard Foster, whose pale blue shirt had turned crimson as if he worked in an abattoir rather than in a boxing ring as a referee, jumped between the courageous fighters to rescue Wardley 28 seconds into the penultimate round.

It was a merciful stoppage because the fallen champion, with his face a mask of blood pouring from his badly cut and broken nose, had been examined twice before by the ringside doctor. Both fighters emerged with enormous credit after an epic battle. Dubois was knocked down twice in the fight, and dropped for the first time 10 seconds after the opening bell, but he came back with commendable resolve. He also proved he was the superior technician as, working behind his thunderous jab, Dubois sank one brutal blow after another into the steadily sagging figure of Wardley. But the 31-year-old from Ipswich, who suffered the first loss of his career, simply refused to surrender or even go down at any point during this riveting battle.

Continue reading...

Florida wildlife commission investigating cause of incident that left passengers with burns and traumatic injuries

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A suspected boat explosion at a Miami sandbar sent at least 11 people to the hospital on Saturday with some suffering from burns and traumatic injuries, according to Juan Arias, the Miami Dade fire rescue battalion chief.

First responders received reports roughly around 12.45pm of a possible boat explosion on the water, Arias told WPEC 12.

Continue reading...

Weer voor Rotterdam 🌕 - 10-05-2026 01:15 CEST

In één oogopslag:
• 13.4°C · Licht bewolkt 🌕 | Min 10.8°C / Max 20.5°C

Verwachting voor vandaag:
• Min 10.8°C, Max 20.5°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1014.3 hPa ↘️ -2.4 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 14.0 km/u (3.9 m/s), richting: ↙ 54°

Uurlijkse voorspelling voor de komende 12 uur:

• 02:00: 12.8°C (Gedeeltelijk bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1016.7 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 12.2 km/u (3.4 m/s), richting: ↓ 10°
• 03:00: 12.2°C (Helder) 🌕, 🧭 1016.3 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 10.8 km/u (3.0 m/s), richting: ↓ 16°
• 04:00: 11.6°C (Helder) 🌕, 🧭 1015.7 hPa ↘️ -0.6 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 11.9 km/u (3.3 m/s), richting: ↓ 8°
• 05:00: 11.2°C (Helder) 🌕, 🧭 1015.7 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 13.7 km/u (3.8 m/s), richting: ↓ 16°
• 06:00: 10.9°C (Zonnig) ☀️, 🧭 1015.7 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 14.0 km/u (3.9 m/s), richting: ↓ 22°
• 07:00: 10.9°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1016.0 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 14.8 km/u (4.1 m/s), richting: ↓ 16°
• 08:00: 12.2°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1016.2 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 15.8 km/u (4.4 m/s), richting: ↙ 29°
• 09:00: 13.9°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1016.1 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 18.4 km/u (5.1 m/s), richting: ↙ 38°
• 10:00: 14.9°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1015.8 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 18.0 km/u (5.0 m/s), richting: ↙ 39°
• 11:00: 15.9°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1015.8 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 18.7 km/u (5.2 m/s), richting: ↙ 41°
• 12:00: 17.1°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1015.5 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 19.4 km/u (5.4 m/s), richting: ↙ 42°
• 13:00: 17.9°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1015.2 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 19.1 km/u (5.3 m/s), richting: ↙ 44°

Voorspelling voor de komende dagen:

• maandag 11 mei: Min 10.6°C, Max 18.5°C (Lichte motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 0.1 mm, 🧭 1009.5 hPa ↘️ -4.8 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 23.8 km/u (6.6 m/s), richting: ↙ 30°
• dinsdag 12 mei: Min 9.1°C, Max 12.6°C (Matige motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 0.9 mm, Kans op neerslag 17%, 🧭 1013.7 hPa ↗️ +4.2 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 22.0 km/u (6.1 m/s), richting: ↘ 332°
• woensdag 13 mei: Min 8.8°C, Max 13.1°C (Lichte motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 0.6 mm, Kans op neerslag 9%, 🧭 1003.8 hPa ↘️ -9.9 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 22.0 km/u (6.1 m/s), richting: → 281°
• donderdag 14 mei: Min 8.8°C, Max 13.9°C (Zware motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 3.6 mm, Kans op neerslag 50%, 🧭 1000.0 hPa ↘️ -3.8 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 22.5 km/u (6.2 m/s), richting: ↗ 247°
• vrijdag 15 mei: Min 7.7°C, Max 12.1°C (Lichte motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 1.6 mm, Kans op neerslag 46%, 🧭 1006.6 hPa ↗️ +6.6 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 12.0 km/u (3.3 m/s), richting: → 277°
• zaterdag 16 mei: Min 6.8°C, Max 13.8°C (Licht bewolkt) 🌤️, Kans op neerslag 34%, 🧭 1011.1 hPa ↗️ +4.5 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 13.1 km/u (3.6 m/s), richting: ↓ 341°

Details:
• 🌡️ Huidige temperatuur (om 01:15): 13.4°C (Licht bewolkt)
• 🤚 Gevoelstemperatuur: 9.9°C (-3.5°C)
• 💨 Windsnelheid: 12.2 km/u (3.4 m/s), richting: ↓ 15°
• 🌬️ Windstoten: 22.0 km/h (6.1 m/s)
• 💧 Luchtvochtigheid: 61%
• 🧭 Luchtdruk: 1016.7 hPa ↘️ -1.0 hPa/3h
• 👁️ Zichtbaarheid: 24.4 km
• ☀️ UV-index: 0.0
• 🌅 Zonsopgang: 05:57 · 🌇 Zonsondergang: 21:19

Luchtkwaliteit:
• AQI: 47 🟢 (Goed)
• PM2.5: 14.2 μg/m³
• PM10: 16.5 μg/m³

Gegevens geleverd door Open-Meteo

#Rotterdam #Meteo #MeteoBot #MeteoNetherlands #OpenMeteo #FediMeteo

More is not a travel agency. It's an invitation ? to explore with intention, connect with curiosity, and experience the world the way it was meant to be felt. The verbal and visual identity for More was built around a single truth: travel should transform, not just transport. Every touchpoint, from the name itself to the brand language and visual system, was designed to feel personal, insightful, and alive. The identity reflects the brand's philosophy of guided discovery ? journeys led by people who don't just know a place, but belong to it. The result is a brand that feels as expansive as the destinations it represents, and as intimate as the stories shared along the way.

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

processed by Technicolor