Category Archives: Space Travel

Space X and Virgin Atlantic have been on everybodys radar for making commercial space flights viable. Now Florida-based space tourism firm Space Perspective wants you to have a different perspective, of earth. The company will be offering a trip to the edge of space onboard the Neptune Space Balloon.

It will function very much like the high-altitude weather balloons, only at a much larger scale. There will be an attached pressurised capsule below, able to accommodate up to eight passengers at once. It will launch from the NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA and head in an upwards trajectory towards the Milky Way Galaxy.

You will travel upwards of 100,000 feet above the ground before stopping at the very edge of outer space. Here, the balloon will anchor itself for two hours, allowing you to take in the entire view from all angles. This suborbital flight will allow you to experience and witness firsthand the true curvature of the planet. To sweeten the deal, amenities like an onboard bar will also be available.

Dont worry about attire or dress codes with this trip, Space Perspective offers a shirt-sleeves environment this means that you wont have the chance to put on a spacesuit.

As you descend, the balloon will make a sea landing, from which you will transfer onto a ship and taken back to shore. The entire experience begins at the break of dawn and will go on for roughly six hours. According to Space Perspective, the Neptune balloon could be starting commercial flights as early as 2021.

If youre a true flat earther, this is the best way to know for sure if the earth truly is flat.

All images: Courtesy Space Perspective

This story first appeared on Lifestyle Asia Kuala Lumpur.

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Travel to the stratosphere and back with Space Perspective in 2021 - Lifestyle Asia

The month of July is synonymous with a milestone in human spaceflight. On 16 July 1969, the Apollo-11 mission blasted off on a historic mission to the Moon. Four days later, astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the Moon. The rest is history.

Interest in astronomy and spaceflight has never peaked so much, with plenty of new Martian and space telescopes in the offing this year and 2021. And starting today, the European Southern Observatory (ESO), an astrophysical organization founded in 1962, will begin virtual guided tours to two of its most renowned observatories in northern Chile. From your home you can enjoy these on-site tours for free. Heres a look at some other virtual tours themed on astronomy and space.

ESOs Observatories

Starting this evening, at 6.30 pm IST, ESO will host weekly English virtual-guided tours to its Paranal and La Silla observatories. The Paranal Observatory is located in Chiles Atacama desert and sits at an altitude of 2,635 metres. La Silla meanwhile is one of the biggest observatories in the Southern Hemisphere. In these virtual tours, which will be free and open to everyone, visitors will be able to see iconic parts of the observatories, such as the Very Large Telescope in Paranal or the ESO 3.6-metre telescope in La Silla.

According to an official announcement, visitors will also be able to enjoy a guided tour of the night sky above these observatories. Since both Paranal and La Silla are located away from major sources of light and pollution, these locations have some of the darkest night skies anywhere on Earth. These tours will be approximately 30 minutes long and will be streamed on the ESOs official Facebook page and YouTube channel.

For more details, visit eso.org or facebook.com/ESO.Chile

Google Street View: The International Space Station

You can always use the Street View feature in Google Maps or Google Earth to virtually visit a favourite city or landmark around the world, but you can also see some magnificent views of the Earth from the International Space Station (ISS)s famous Cupola Observational Module.

The cupola is just one of the many modules of the ISS that can be seen through this feature, which lets you visit the space station virtually. This is more like a self-guided 360 degree tour where you can see everything from Kibo, the Japanese Experiment Module, to the Columbus Research Laboratory on the ISS. As you move around, you are guided by supporting photographs and detailed descriptions (knowledge cards) on how astronauts use different modules to live and conduct research on the ISS.

For more details, visit Google Maps or the Guided Tours section on earth.google.com

Nasa at home virtual tours

Nasas at home virtual tours and apps section has a bunch of things to explore. But our pick of the lot is the Exoplanet Travel Bureau virtual tour, which takes you to some of the farthest exoplanets and planets of other stars known to man. You can explore 360-degree visualizations of the surfaces of these planets. This tour works on desktop, mobile and is even optimized for Google Cardboard.

Imagine exploring the surface of exoplanet Kepler 186-f, which is the first validated Earth-size planet to orbit a distant star in the habitable zone (a range of distance from a star where liquid water is likely to be present on the planet's surface). You can even look at how TRAPPIST-1d looks. This is one of the seven Earth-size planets that closely orbit a faint star called TRAPPIST-1. These are all, of course, artist impressions but offer a brilliant understanding of how potentially habitable planets, other than the Earth, might look.

For more details, visit nasa.gov.

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ESO's virtual tour: Travel to outer space from the comfort of your home - Livemint

Jeff Bezos, still very rich.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos added $13 billion to his net worth on Monday. The financial development sets a record for the largest single-day increase by any one person since 2012, Bloomberg reported. This one-day increase is likely a result of Amazon's stock jumping over 7% on Monday after sliding last week.

Although the US economy has shrunk amid the coronavirus pandemic, Bezos remains one of the world's richest people. He is now worth $189.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Bezos is reportedly on track to become the first trillionaire by 2026.

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Amazon's earnings report in April revealed that the company's revenue jumped 26% to $75.5 billion in the first quarter, well ahead of Wall Street expectations, due to a surge in customer orders amid the pandemic.

In addition to being the CEO of Amazon, a company valued at over $1 trillion this year, Bezos owns the Washington Post newspaper and Blue Origin, a rocket and space travel company he founded in 2000. In February, Bezos reportedly spent $165 million on the Warner Estate, a historic Beverly Hills property, setting a record high for Los Angeles-area residential real estate transactions.

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Amazon's Jeff Bezos adds $13 billion to his net worth in a single day - CNET

This week: Learn about the work of Danish designer ivind Slaatto; celebrate 50 years of 1970s architecture; enter a contest to design a better face mask - with $1 Million in prize money; learn from black designers about bias in the fashion industry - and what to do about it; check out the reopened stores at ROW DTLA.

1)From Copenhagen & New York: In Conversation with ivind Slaatto

Danish designer ivind Slaattoworks hard to keep his designs simple - yet beautiful and poetic - often with inspiration from nature. Founder of Slaatto Design in Copenhagen, Slaatto begins each project with the premise "that at heart, people want to focus on their life without getting distracted by complicated products, services and unnecessary information." Learn about his design processes and lighting philosophies in a conversation followed by a Q& A, presented byBe Original Americasand Louis Poulsen Lighting.

When:Wednesday, July 22, 9 - 10 am

Where:Zoom connection provided with registration. You can register here.

Cost: Free. Click here for more information.

2)California in the '70s:The Mindset, the Materials, the Architects

In celebration of the 1970s turning 50, the Los Angeles Conservancy iscommemorating the era with special events throughout the year. During the 1970s,Los Angeles gave rise to a hotbed of architectural ingenuity, as seen in the creation of its architectural institutions (SCI-Arc, Cal Poly Pomona, UCLA)by a burgeoning crop of ambitious architects such as Frank Gehry, Charles, Moore, Csar Pelli, and others.Theypushed beyond Modernism to create something new, experimenting with untraditional materials and revolutionary techniques.

Learn more about them from a panel moderated by Alan Hess, architect and historian, with panelists including Emily Bills, coordinator of the Urban Studies Program at Woodbury University;Frederick Fisher,architect; and Daniel Paul, architectural historian.Following the panel,take a virtual tour ofWestin Bonaventure Hotelwith a Conservancy docent.This John Portman-designed structure evokes a 1970s vision of the future using circular shapes, massive forms, and the concept of space as experience.

When:Wednesday, July 22, 6 - 8 pm

Where:Los Angeles Conservancy Online. Connection information will be provided with registration.

Cost:$25 (Members $20). You can register here.

3)XPRIZE Face mask design competition

The XPRIZE Foundation is known for hosting lucrative competitions to solve some of the big challenges of our time. They have tackled space travel, the oceans and robotics.Now it is taking on face masks. XPRIZE has launched the Next-Gen Mask Challenge. One million dollars will go to three teams of 15 to 24 year olds who can design a mask that people want to wear. Competitors must make it fashion-forwardandsolve five of the many deterrents to mask-wearing,including these top answers to a survey of thousands of people around the world: They're too hot; It's hard tohave a conversation;They hurt your ears;They fog up glasses; and It's impossible toeat or drink while wearing a mask. Team registration runs through Oct 22, 2020, with final winners to be announced in Feb 2021. You can find all the details here.

When:Team registration is open now through Oct 22, 2020.

Where:You can register a team here.

Cost:No fee to enter.

4)Amplifying Melanated Voices: A Conversation with Black Designers

Inherent biasespermeate our culture, and the fashion industry isno exception. This conversation between FIDM faculty, alumni and student designers exploreshow the industry can make much-needed progress. Jonie Thomas,FIDM Assistant Chairperson of Fashion Design will lead the conversation withTJ Walker,Co-Founder of Cross Colours and the Black Design Collective;Octavius Terry,CEO & Co-Founder of GROOM / Celebrity Fashion Designer;Devert Hickman,Costume Designer,andIlleana Guzman,Current FIDM Fashion Design Student. Read more about the panelists here. Catch TJ Walker talking about Cross Colours on this DnA.

When:Thursday, July 23, 5 - 6 pm

Where:Presented by FIDM on Zoom. You can find the link here.

Cost:Free. You can register here.

5) A+Rand ROW DTLA reopens

Rose Apodaca, the fast-talking, walking style encyclopedia, and her partner Andy Griffith own the curated design store A+R. They were among pioneer retailers in ROW DTLA, the shopping and dining destination in converted, century old warehouses and manufacturing buildings. Like every store in town, theyhad to close up during the pandemic and are now gingerly reopening, with by appointment access, Monday thru Saturday, from 11am to 6pm. Their neighbors at ROW DTLA are opening too. ROW DTLA, which feels vaguely like a sunny,Soho-lite (albeit self-contained and you drive to get there), is always pleasant to walk around and window shop.CDC- and City of LA-recommended safety protocols are in effect throughout.

When: A+R,Monday thru Saturday, from 11am to 6pm

Where:777 S Alameda Street,LA 90021

Cost: Free to wander (though you'll need to pay for parking if you drive there)

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5 design things to do July 20 - 26 - KCRW

It is the 21st, which means were about to see the OnePlus Nord launch event. Its scheduled for 10 AM ET, marking the companys return to midrange phones and probably the arrival of some wireless earbuds.

OnePlus

Is it a little weird that this unveiling will come through an augmented reality app? Maybe, but by next year, this could just be how things are done, since were through with in-person events for a while.

Richard

Warner Bros.

Despite the best efforts of Warner Bros. and director Christopher Nolan to bring the movie to theaters this summer, coronavirus-related shutdowns have shattered those plans. The studio has delayed the spy/sci-fi blockbuster several times, and now its firmly back on the shelf Warner Bros. has postponed it indefinitely.Continue reading.

Nikon

Nikons newest Z series camera packs in full five-axis stabilization, the same Expeed 6 processor as the pricier Z6 and Z7, and a 24-megapixel CMOS sensor. The Z5 does have some video chops; it can record in 4K, but it will crop what the sensor picks up thats not a good thing. The Z5 arrives in August and costs $1,400 for the body only.Continue reading.

SpaceX

Now SpaceX can reliably launch and then land the first stage of its Falcon 9 rockets, what else can it do to make space travel cheaper? Apparently the answer is to catch the rocket fairing in ships equipped with huge nets. Recovering the pieces undamaged so they can fly again will save millions of dollars, and on Monday, SpaceX managed to catch both halves for the first time.Continue reading.

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The Morning After: Warner Bros. postponed the release of 'Tenet' indefinitely - Engadget

1. They were invented after an accident

Ibe wearing the classic G Shock "Square" (Casio)

Casio engineer Kikuo Ibe conceptualized the G Shock watch after he tragically dropped a pocket watch given to him by his father. With his family heirloom broken, Ibe was inspired to change the identity of the timepiece from a fragile piece of horological jewelry to a tough and reliable gadget accessible to anyone and everyone. In 1981, Project Team Tough was formed to make this idea a reality. After two years and over 200 prototypes, the team finally released the first G Shock watch model DW-5000C (DW standing for Digital Water resistant) in April 1983.

The many layers of G Shock toughness (Casio)

When Ibe set the standards for this new tough watch, he developed what is known as the "Triple 10" philosophy. The watch had to be water-resistant to 10 bar (100 meters), possess a 10-year battery life and, of course, withstand a 10 meter drop. Note that the 10-year battery life is from the time the battery is fitted in the factory. If a G Shock has been sitting on the PX shelf for a few years, your mileage may vary. Of course, the "Triple 10" philosophy is a minimum standard and many G Shocks surpass it.

That's right, the humble G Shock is a certified astronaut watch. Specifically, the DW-5600C, DW-5600E, DW-5900, DW-6600 and DW-6900 models are all flight-qualified for NASA space travel. The G Shock is joined by the Timex Ironman and the more famous Omega Speedmaster Professional and Speedmaster Skywalker X-33 on the prestigious list of NASA-approved watches.

Ok, you probably knew this one. After all, most people who wear the uniform also strap a G Shock to their wrist. Operators like Marcus Luttrell, Grady Powell and Jared Ogden have all been pictured sporting the tough G Shock. It's always nice to remember though, that even if you can't grow out a cool-guy beard, walk around with your hands in your pockets, or run around on secret squirrel missions like the tier one elite, the G Shock on your wrist was made in the same factory as the one that they're wearing.

In order to prove the toughness of G Shocks, Casio subjected a classic G Shock DW-5600E-1 "Square" to the most extreme test in the pursuit of the Guinness World Record title for the heaviest vehicle to drive over a watch. In order to break the record, the watch had to be running properly after being driven over by at least a 20-ton truck. On October 30, 2017, the "Square" was placed face-up and run over by three tires of a 24.97-ton truck. The watch sustained no significant damage and functioned normally, claiming the world record.

The gold G Shock still adheres to the "Triple 10" philosophy (Casio)

Since its invention nearly 40 years ago, the G Shock line has incorporated over 3,000 different models. Today, while you can still buy the classic G Shock "Square" for just over $40, there seems to be a G Shock for every buyer, occasion and budget. The G Shock Women and Baby-G lines offer the same toughness and durability expected from the G Shock name in a smaller, more restrained case size. Modern features like GPS, Bluetooth and heart rate monitoring are also available. Materials have similarly been updated in the 21st century with the Carbon Core Guard, G-Steel line and even 18-karat gold. Announced in 2019, the G-D5000-9JR was limited to 35 units and retailed for 7,000,000, or about $65,000, making it the most expensive G Shock ever.

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6 things you didn't know about G Shock watches - We Are The Mighty

The Fast & Furious franchise has captured the hearts and imaginations of audiences worldwide. Even if critics have slammed the films, viewers dont seem to care. Since 2001, fans have turned out in droves to watch their favorite characters drive fast cars, dispense wisecracks, and pull off impressive heists.

With the latest film delayed indefinitely, fans will have to wait a while for the next installment in the Fast & Furious franchise but, as one of the stars revealed in a recent interview, the wait could be well worth it.

Showrunners never could have predicted that the initial film, which starred Paul Walker and Vin Diesel, among others, would lead to a trilogy, and eventually, an entire media franchise that encompassed eight total films, a spinoff movie starring Dwayne Johnson, books, a television series, and video games.

The original trilogy focused on fast cars, attractive stars, and the world of illegal street racing. Over the years, the storylines have expanded slightly to include more of an emphasis on heists and sting operations. The cast has gone through some changes as well, most notably, the loss of Paul Walker in 2013. Still, the franchise has soldiered on, and even though it has been nearly 20 years since the release of The Fast and the Furious, people still enjoy the fast-paced action they offer.

2017 saw the release of the eighth film in the franchise, The Fate of the Furious. With Charlize Theron on board, the film brought the series to new heights of excitement and generally received positive reviews. However, the cast isnt ready to hang up the towel just yet, and there is a ninth as well as a 10th film planned for release. Many of the major cast members are still attached to the franchise.

The ninth movie, known as F9, was originally set to be released in May 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that has shuttered movie theaters, the movie has a new release date of April 2021. As for the 10th film in the franchise, which was tentatively scheduled for release in 2021, and now has no definite release date, very little is known. Though, one of the franchise mainstays, rapper and actor Ludacris, recently opened up to talk about what fans might expect to see next.

RELATED: The Fast and the Furious: Vin Diesels Net Worth and How He Became Famous

In a recent interview, Ludacris talked about the future of the Fast & Furious franchise, including the plan for the 10th installment. Ludacris stayed positive, stating the coronavirus delay is working to their advantage, giving the creative team even more time to plan great things for the movies.

In addition, after the reporter jokingly remarked the only possible thing left for showrunners to do to wow fans is to set one of the movies in space, Ludacris said she said something right regarding the franchises direction. He then clapped his hand over his mouth, as if he had revealed a huge secret.

Immediately after the possible leak, Ludacris backtracked by saying he didnt know what just happened however, it is clear that his initial response was one of excitement. Fans wont know for sure if he revealed a major plot point until 2021 until then, they can speculate and hope. Stay tuned to Showbiz Cheat Sheet for all the latest entertainment news!

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Did Ludacris Just Leak That 'Fast and Furious' Will Travel to Space? - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

In the foyer of the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, England, stands a ships painted figurehead. It towers well above head height and depicts an armoured knight with a silver chest plate, a raised visor and a thick handlebar moustache. The knights eyes have a faraway gaze in them and well they might. This wooden statue is the sole remnant of a square-rigged ship that once embarked on a three-and-a-half-year voyage to the furthest corners of the globe, reshaping marine science, unearthing all manner of underwater oddities and permanently changing our relationship with the planets oceans. The vessels name was HMS Challenger.

The journey was no simple A-to-B cruise. Between December 1872 and May 1876, the figurehead on the ships prow felt the salty spray of both the North and South Atlantic Oceans as well as vast swathes of the Pacific, even venturing below the Antarctic Circle. The circuitousness of its route paid off. At the voyages conclusion, one of those on board, the prominent naturalist John Murray, declared it the greatest advance in the knowledge of our planet since the celebrated discoveries of the 15th and 16th Centuries. It was some achievement for a ship that was only ever supposed to be a bit-part in a naval fleet.

Built in Englands now-defunct Woolwich Dockyard and first launched in February 1858, HMS Challenger was constructed as a wooden, steam-assisted Royal Navy corvette, or warship. It measured some 61m in length. Just weeks earlier, the completion nearby in London of Isambard Kingdom Brunels colossal SS Great Eastern an iron-hulled steamship more than 210m long had been reported across the globe. The arrival of the Challenger, by contrast, made a relatively tiny splash. This wouldnt always be the case.

The story of its now-fabled world expedition began 150 years ago, in 1870, when an Edinburgh University professor and marine zoologist named Charles Wyville Thompson persuaded the Royal Society of London to support a lengthy voyage of exploration across the worlds oceans. The idea was a novel one. This was a time when the high seas were considered little more than a hindrance to land-based trade and exploration. Life beneath the waves was largely a mystery. Even Charles Darwin, whose own trailblazing voyage on HMS Beagle had taken place around 40 years earlier, had referred to the oceans as a tedious waste, a desert of water.

Government approval for the voyage was sought and subsequently obtained. The Royal Navy lent the venture a strong, sturdy ship that had spent the first decade of its life on active duty: HMS Challenger. Preparations then began in earnest. Fifteen of the ships 17 guns were removed to make space for on-board laboratories and workrooms. Storage areas were created for the marine samples that would be collected on the trip. A crew was assembled, more than 200-strong and skippered by Captain George Nares, who in 1869 had been at the helm of the first vessel to pass through the newly opened Suez Canal. A team of six scientists, headed by Wyville Thompson himself, joined them.

You may also be interested in: Spain's mysterious underwater temple The shipwreck that created a country The newest piece of land on Earth?

By the end of 1872, the revamped Challenger was ready. The ship set sail from Sheerness on Englands south-east coast, on Saturday 7 December. It was leaving behind one of the wettest British winters on record, heading south towards Lisbon and the Canary Islands. Over the following 42 months, the ship would cover around 127,600km on a journey that included no less than 362 stops at intervals as nearly uniform as possible, according to Wyville Thompson to scoop samples from the seabed with weighted nets, study marine life, gauge ocean depths and measure water temperatures.

Thanks to the letters of a young stewards assistant, Joseph Matkin, who was just 19 when the Challenger set off, we have accounts of life on the ship. All the Scientific Chaps are on board, and have been busy during the week stowing their gear away, he wrote on embarkation. There are some thousands of small air tight Bottles, and little boxes packed in Iron Tanks for keeping specimens in, insects, butterflies, mosses, plants, etc. There is a photographic room on the main deck, also a dissecting room.

On-board sustenance, meanwhile, fell some way short of his expectations. I have never been so hungry, Matkin wrote, just weeks after leaving Sheerness. I will tell you what the routine for meals is now: at 6AM Breakfast of Cocoa & hard Biscuit at 11.30, dinner; one day it is salt pork & pea soup the next salt Beef & Plum duff, the next salt Pork again & the 4th Preserved potatoes & Australian Beef in tins if any one can get fat on that in 4 years they must eat more than their allowance.

The findings of the voyage, however, were nothing short of bountiful. The results were later presented in a report that stretched to 50 volumes and 29,500 pages, which gives some idea of the amount of information that was gathered en route. Today, looking through the online collection of its 4,772 physical specimens reveals an extraordinary cornucopia of marine life: sea snails from the Azores; squid from the waters around Japan; tiny filter-feeders dredged from more than 300 fathoms (550m) below the Hawaiian Islands; shark teeth, crabs, sea pigs and snake eels.

These artefacts are today held by museums across the UK, Ireland and the US among them the Natural History Museum in London and the Royal Albert Memorial & Art Gallery in Exeter, England with various items still on display.

Of just as much importance as the specimens, of course, were the thousands of scientific readings the ship was able to obtain by dangling its then state-of-the-art instruments and glass thermometers into the unexplored depths, using long lengths of hemp rope.

The measurements of the Challenger expedition set the stage for all branches of oceanography, explained Dr Jake Gebbie, associate scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, a renowned Massachusetts-based facility dedicated to ocean research. They captured a moment in time that would have otherwise been lost. The report is still used in high-impact research today.

The measurements of the Challenger expedition set the stage for all branches of oceanography

The effect of climate change on water temperatures is just one area in which the voyages findings have proved invaluable. We are currently working on digitising the entire suite of temperature measurements from the Challenger, Dr Gebbie continued, adding that the institute is also seeking to understand the physics that control the ocean on these century-long timescales. Without the Challenger data, he said, this line of research may not have been tractable.

Among its countless other notable discoveries, the expedition was also the first to record the astonishing scale of the Mariana Trench, the Pacific chasm that stretches far deeper than Mount Everest is tall. Indeed, the trenchs lowest point the 10,929m Challenger Deep, a dark abyss of algae-rich ooze and slow-moving flatfish still bears the name of the ship. At the other extreme of human exploration, meanwhile, the ill-fated Challenger space shuttle was also named after the vessel.

The ships journey included port stops everywhere from the Cape Verde Islands and Melbourne to Hong Kong and Yokohama. More often than not, however, its horizons were little more than a rolling, briny blue: a plumbless infinity to be registered and recorded. The voyage was almost inconceivably long, but by the time the Challenger finally arrived back in the UK, on a spring day in May 1876, it was carrying a cargo of scientific contributions that even today continues to shape our understanding of the seas.

But it was more than just a great leap for academia. In the long-term, it was also a voyage that celebrated the oceans and highlighted the rewards of patient sea travel. In his book Endless Novelties of Extraordinary Interest: The Voyage of HMS Challenger and the Birth of Modern Oceanography, author Doug MacDougall includes the writings of one of the ships sub-lieutenants, George Campbell. They give an example of just why, perhaps, the Challengers much-journeyed figurehead, now eternally marooned in Southampton, still stares ahead so intently:

On the night of the 14th the sea was most gloriously phosphorescent, to a degree unequalled in our experience. Astern of the ship glowed a broad band of blue, emerald-green light, myriads of yellow sparkswhich glittered and sparkled against the brilliant cloud below Ahead of the ship, where the old bluff bows of the Challenger went ploughing and churning through the sea, there was light enough to read the smallest print with ease. It was as if the Milky Way, as seen through a telescope, scattered in millions like glittering dust, had dropped down on the ocean, and we were sailing through it.

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HMS Challenger: The voyage that birthed oceanography - BBC News

For a number of reasons, space technology is beneficial for cryptocurrencies. These include added security to network nodes as well as more widespread use of the internet generally. Addressing this latter point is one of the potential strengths of satellite internet. Cryptocurrencies, obviously, can only work if people have access to the web.

But in 2016 the World Economic Forum stated that over 4 billion people around the world do not have ready access to the internet.

Infrastructure is of course a problem here. As of 2016, 15 percent of the global population didnt have electricity, let alone access to the internet. 31 percent didnt have 3G data coverage.

The WEF added that broadband internet is only completely affordable for residents in 29 countries, and said it was urging government to introduce policies that aim to improve infrastructure coverage and quality.

But setting aside the issue of affordability, infrastructure presents a big hurdle for many when it comes to internet access, as building telephone lines or data cables to isolated or mountainous regions can be big task.

This is where satellite internet becomes useful. With satellite internet, the internet is already there, so to speak. Its just that a means of communicating with the satellites and a subscription service is needed.

And this is where the cost element comes in. For home use, African satellite broadband provider Konnect offers unlimited satellite broadband for 72.85 per month.

But according to global satellite communications service providerGroundControl.com, it can be eye-wateringly expensive.

Using Africa as an example, a portable satellite internet terminal for the continent with unlimited data access costs $1,100 every single month.

READ: Bitcoin price crash: Cryptocurrency mirrors global stock market dip amid second wave fears

Using a fixed, non-portable solution is even costlier. A professional grade system, including a satellite dish, starts at $4,353 US dollars.

So for the vast majority of people, the cost of satellite internet access needs to be brought down significantly before it can be considered for general use.

This is why current space-faring developments are important, and why it is linked to cryptocurrency.

SpaceX, for example, with its well-known Starlink programme, is setting out to provide low- cost, high-speed satellite internet across the globe.

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It aims to do this with a constellation of tens of thousands of small satellites orbiting the Earth at all times.

The firm is making steady progress to this end, launching 60 satellites roughly every two weeks in recent months, and its CEO Elon Musk has said the service will be available as soon as this year albeit with a limited rollout to Canada and the northern US, initially.

There is no official figure regarding cost as of yet, however, though the average cost of a satellite internet plan in the US is said to be about $100 per month.

The other benefit to cryptocurrency will be security. Blockstream provides a 24/7 broadcast of the latest Bitcoin blockchain from space, which adds another layer of security to its peer-to-peer network.

This is because all points in the Bitcoin network the nodes need to connect to each other in order for all of them to know whats going on in the Bitcoin market, so to speak.

This is called a consensus, and its crucial to cryptocurrencys decentralised operation. But if there was an attack that isolated one node from the rest, it could create issues for a limited number of other nodes, Forbes reports.

Using satellite internet as a backup of sorts might help address this issue, it adds.

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Space travel is giving the future of cryptocurrency a boost for one surprising reason - Express.co.uk

Gary Martin is the Vice President for North American operations for the International Space University, but before that he was a senior advisor to the Luxembourg Space Agency and spent more than 30 years at NASA, advising on space science missions, advanced technology development, and human spaceflight.

He explains the significance of the recent SpaceX launch, what private space travel can do that governments cant, and why we need sci-fi to inspire our engineers.

In the past, national space agencies have built and launched the spaceships that carried astronauts into space. Recently, we saw a private company, SpaceX, launch American astronauts to the International Space Station on behalf of NASA for the first time ushering in a new era of private space travel.

SpaceXs Crew Dragon successfully docked with the International Space Station on 1 June 2020 NASA

Were starting a whole new chapter in humanitys quest to move off this planet, to actually start things weve seen in science fiction.

The SpaceX launch, although it was still bought by government funds, is a huge change. Its something Ive been waiting for all my career in that before, only governments had the kind of money, could take the liability, and actually had permission to go into space and explore this frontier.

Now weve got a commercial company that has shown it can take an astronaut up to space into low Earth orbit.

Read more about space exploration:

There are a couple of private space station companies out there [for example Axiom Space and Bigelow Aerospace] but until now you had no way to get there, because you would have had to get a government to sell you a seat and the governments have other priorities and seats are precious.

Now SpaceX could sell you a trip to your private space station. And if all these countries are going to the Moon, there are a number of companies that are interested in providing communications around the Moon, providing resources and fuel and water and power.

Theres all kinds of economic possibilities in the next couple of decades that are now empowered. This is very exciting; this is a milestone that we will look back on and say, This is when it started; this is when it really took off.

Gary Martin in 2004 when he held the role of Space Architect at NASA David Paul Morris/Getty Images

At the beginning of the Internet, you would never ever think of what a role it plays in our entire world right now. This is what I believe space is going to be like.

So how do you start that? Well, this is where governments absolutely do work. It was NASA putting so much money into SpaceX that allowed it to have the capability to take humans into space. Now, SpaceX can amortise [pay off] that investment to give anyone a ride, if they pay the price.

And thats the difference, the government would never have that capability, theyre not going to become an operational activity. But SpaceX is a private company that has motivations to do private things in space.

Read more about Moon bases:

In Luxembourg, we looked at where are the places you could make money in space. Well, its very expensive to take things from the Earth and use them in space. So, if you assume that governments are going to the Moon, you need to make everything you want for civilisation in space at some point.

At these Moon bases, youre going to want to not only be out there doing science, exploring or having tourism there, youre going to want to go have a beer at night, youre going to want to have a pizza, youre going to want a comfortable, safe room.

SpaceX expect that one day their Starship could carry passengers to the Moon SpaceX/Flickr

All of these materials and things and ideas have to be constructed by people in businesses. So the business opportunities at some point, maybe two decades or so from now, are actually limitless.

Once theres a foot hold of people on the Moon, then people will be going to Mars. Well learn how to live safely, well learn how to do things in space. Theres a lot to learn, and theres a lot of business opportunities in learning those things.

Every day I read a number of clippings to try to stay current and Ill tell you, theres a new launcher system proposed every week. There are launcher systems all over the world in many, many countries, mostly though, those are to put things in low Earth orbit.

The countries that can launch people are China, Russia, and the US. India is working towards that capability.

In the commercial role, only SpaceX has launched people into orbit, in addition theres only a few other US companies working to develop the capability: Blue Origin, Sierra Nevada, and Boeing. Its a handful but you wouldnt expect it to be a lot till theres a lot going on and then people will rush to the marketplace.

BlueOrigin, owned by Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, is also working to launch humans into space BlueOrigin

Think about it, if youre a country, lets say youre a Middle Eastern country with a lot of money, in a few years you could automatically go into the space age by just buying a private space station and buying tickets to get there from SpaceX.

Now youre in a country that went from no human spaceflight to your own space station. Because you can buy it.

If you look at Star Wars movies and you look at Star Trek, whatever these inventive writers envision for the future, it gives the real engineers something to aim for and some of it comes true.

Star Treks USS Enterprise might be a work of fiction, but it has inspired many to push us further into space Alamy

So, in a way, Elon [Musk, SpaceX CEO] is setting a vision, and engineers, like myself, all want to do exciting things. And so whether 100 people are going to be going to Mars anytime soon, that may or may not happen.

But theres a lot of engineers and a lot of people who want to dedicate their lives to doing something exciting, that is different and that has never been done before. And so he energises amazing people who have already shown the amazing things theyre able to do in space and hes gotten their creativity working.

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How will private space travel change the way we explore the Solar System? - BBC Focus Magazine