Soon Tourists Can Visit Space in a Capsule Lifted by a Giant Balloon

A new entry in the space tourism sector will allow customers to admire the Earth’s curvature from the comfort of a luxury cabin carried to the upper atmosphere by a massive balloon.

On April 12, Space Perspective unveiled renderings of their lush cabins, which it wants to launch from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center in late 2024. Astoundingly, over 600 tickets have been sold so far, each costing $125,000.

The atmosphere contrasts with its competitors’ white capsules with 1.5 meters (5ft) high windows, dark, purple tones, deep seats, and subtle lighting. The “Space Lounge” within the company’s Neptune capsule features WiFi connectivity and a beverages bar. It is debatable whether or not this fancy capsule lifted by a balloon truly qualifies as spaceflight.

https://www.intelligentliving.co/soon-tourists-can-visit-space-in-capsule-lifted-by-giant-balloon/

This Fish-Free Smoked Salmon is Made from Spirulina

While many people enjoy the taste of smoked salmon, not everyone agrees with the netting of wild fish or the farming of captive fish. However, there’s good news for those people: a novel algae-based smoked salmon replacement is in the works. A collaboration between Israeli startup SimpliiGood and IFF-Dupont is currently developing the product. The substitute, which resembles actual smoked salmon, is made out of “100% pure, fresh, minimally processed spirulina.”

Spirulina is a common cyanobacterium also called blue-green algae. It’s already widely used as a food ingredient and health supplement due to its high nutritional content and claims of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and brain-protective effects. According to SimpliiGood, the salmon substitute is 40% complete protein.

https://www.intelligentliving.co/fish-free-smoked-salmon-made-from-spirulina/

UK’s First Full-Sized Driverless Passenger Bus Trials Have Begun

On April 25th, tech company Fusion Processing announced that on-road testing for an autonomous public transportation project would begin this week, with a new 14-mile pilot service ferrying passengers across a long-span suspension bridge in Scotland set to launch later this year.

For the CAVForth initiative, which has been in the works since 2020, Fusion Processing has teamed with Transport Scotland, Stagecoach, Alexander Dennis Ltd, Bristol Robotics Laboratory, and Edinburgh Napier University.

The buses are equipped with Fusion Processing’s CAVstar automated drive system, which combines LiDAR, radar, and optical cameras with AI control technologies for Level 4 autonomy in complex traffic scenarios such as highways, junctions, major and minor roads, roundabouts, bus lanes, and traffic lights.

https://www.intelligentliving.co/uks-first-full-sized-driverless-passenger-bus-trials-have-begun/

NASA sends warning as 'strong' solar flare batters Earth – Europe hit with ‘blackouts’

Yesterday, the US space agency spotted the Sun in the process of emitting a strong flare from an active sunspot. NASA’s SDO has been observing the Sun for over a decade and looks at how solar activity is created and how space weather comes from that activity. The observatory recorded an extreme ultraviolet flash from an active sunspot which was emerging over the Sun's southeastern limb.

The NASA statement said: “Solar flares are powerful bursts of energy. Flares and solar eruptions can impact radio communications, electric power grids, and navigation signals, and pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts.

“This flare is classified as an X-class flare.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1605107/nasa-solar-flare-warning-europe-hit-blackouts-space-news