Science & Technology

MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/. Specialists of the Russian Mission Control Center have adjusted the International Space Station’s orbit, raising it to the medium altitude of 408.5 km, a spokesman for the Central Research Institute of Machine-Building (TsNIImash) said on Tuesday.

"The orbit adjustment was performed as scheduled. As a result of the maneuver the medium altitude of the space station’s orbit was raised to 408.5 km," the spokesman said.

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — China’s Huawei is set to take the wraps off a new folding-screen phone, joining the latest trend for bendable devices as it challenges the global smartphone market’s dominant players, Apple and Samsung.

The company on Sunday plans to unveil the device, which can be used on superfast next-generation mobile networks that are due to come online in the coming years.

Huawei will reveal the phone on the eve of MWC Barcelona, a four-day showcase of mobile devices, as the company battles U.S. allegations it is a cybersecurity risk.

23 Feb 2019; AFP: Virgin Galactic's spacecraft reached an altitude of more than 55 miles (88.5 kilometers) on Friday, carrying for the first time a passenger in addition to its two pilots.

SpaceShipTwo, built by British billionaire Richard Branson to carry tourists into space, launched from California's Mojave desert and flew to an altitude of 55.87 miles (89.9 kms), the company said.

SYDNEY, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Australian researchers said they have found a new way to recycle glass into everyday products, pointing to major cost and waste reductions for the environment.

The method extracts liquid silicate from waste glass and it can be used to make thousands of products ranging from concrete sealers and fertilizers to detergents and toothpaste, the University of Queensland said in a statement about its researchers' work late on Friday.

22 Feb 2019; AFP: An unmanned rocket took off from Cape Canaveral in Florida on Thursday night carrying Israel's Beresheet spacecraft, aiming to make history twice: as the first private-sector landing on the Moon, and the first from the Jewish state.

The 585-kilogram (1,290-pound) Beresheet, which means "Genesis" in Hebrew, lifted off at 8:45 pm (0145 GMT Friday) atop a Falcon 9 rocket from the private US-based SpaceX company of entrepreneur Elon Musk.

22 Feb 2019; DW: Employees at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) rejoiced on Friday as the Hayabusa2 explorer signaled that it landed on a distant asteroid.

The unmanned spacecraft touched down briefly on the asteroid and then indicated that it was blasting back to its orbiting position.

SYDNEY, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- You might think it would be too big to miss - but it took scientists 38 years to rediscover the world's biggest bee, hiding out in the remote forests of Indonesia.

With a wingspan of six centimetres, Wallace's giant bee is the largest in the world, but since it was last spotted in 1981 scientists had believed it may have gone extinct.

BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- China said Thursday it will grasp the development opportunities brought by a new round of scientific and technological advances and strengthen technological exchanges and cooperation with all parties, including in 5G.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang made the comments at a news briefing when asked about some countries' remarks that Chinese enterprises should be excluded from the construction of their 5G networks due to the "security risks" of Chinese products and devices.

TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese spacecraft began its approach Thursday toward a distant asteroid on a mission to collect material that could provide clues to the origin of the solar system and life on Earth.

Hayabusa2′s descent was delayed for about five hours for a safety check, but the unmanned craft is still due to touch down as scheduled on Friday morning, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said.

BANGALORE /India/, February 21. /TASS/. The Russian Helicopters company (part of the Rostec State Corporation) plans to begin the delivery of the Mil Mi-171A2 helicopters to India in late 2019, the company’s CEO Andrei Bogisnky told TASS on the sidelines of the Aero India Show 2019.

"We expect that India will validate the certificate for the helicopter’s civilian version in the first half of the year so that we can start the delivery process in the fourth quarter," he said.