Science News Roundup: Parachutisy makes world's first jump from solar-powered plane; Boeing's first Starliner crewed mission and more

Parachutist makes world's first jump from solar-powered plane A parachutist completed the world's first jump from a solar-powered aircraft on Tuesday after the plane soared to a height of 1,520 metres (nearly 5,000 ft) over western Switzerland, Swiss organisers said.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Parachutist makes world's first jump from solar-powered plane

A parachutist completed the world's first jump from a solar-powered aircraft on Tuesday after the plane soared to a height of 1,520 metres (nearly 5,000 ft) over western Switzerland, Swiss organisers said. The two-seater prototype plane made the test flight in good weather and to promote renewable energy. Parachutist Raphael Domjan reached a speed of 150 kilometres per hour during his jump, landing near the project base in Payerne.

Boeing's first Starliner crewed mission tentatively slated for 2021

Boeing Co said on Tuesday it aims to redo its unmanned Starliner crew capsule flight test to the International Space Station (ISS) in December or January, depending on when it completes software and test hardware production development. If the test mission is successful, Boeing and NASA will fly Starliner's first crewed mission in summer 2021, with a post-certification mission roughly scheduled for the following winter, the company added.

How low did it go? Scientists calculate Earth's Ice Age temperatures

Guided by ocean plankton fossils and climate models, scientists have calculated just how cold it got on Earth during the depths of the last Ice Age, when immense ice sheets covered large parts of North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. The average global temperature during the period known as the Last Glacial Maximum from roughly 23,000 to 19,000 years ago was about 46 degrees Fahrenheit (7.8 degrees Celsius), some 13 degrees Fahrenheit (7 Celsius) colder than 2019, the researchers said on Wednesday.