All about Microsoft's medium-lift rockets details, NASA's excitement for exploiting water on moon

The space company of billionaire Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen on Monday unveiled details of medium-lift rockets and a reusable space cargo plane it is developing, injecting more competition into the lucrative launch services market.

Paul Allen's space firm details plans for rockets, a cargo vehicle

The space company of billionaire Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen on Monday unveiled details of medium-lift rockets and a reusable space cargo plane it is developing, injecting more competition into the lucrative launch services market. With its rockets, Allen's Stratolaunch Systems Corp is trying to cash in on higher demand in the coming years for vessels that can put satellites into orbit. But his vehicles will have to compete domestically with other space entrepreneurs and industry stalwarts such as Elon Musk's SpaceX and United Launch Alliance - a partnership between Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

NASA chief excited about prospects for exploiting water on the moon

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine has a vision for renewed and "sustainable" human exploration of the moon, and he cites the existence of water on the lunar surface as a key to chances for success. "We know that there are hundreds of billions of tons of water ice on the surface of the moon," Bridenstine said in a Reuters TV interview in Washington on Tuesday, a day after NASA unveiled its analysis of data collected from lunar orbit by a spacecraft from India.

Sweden calls for nuclear reactors to be shielded from hot weather

Sweden's nuclear energy regulator SSM has asked plant operators to produce plans in the coming months to shield their reactors from the harmful hot weather, its director told Reuters on Monday. A number of Swedish reactors had to shut down or reduce output as the summer heatwave sent temperatures to record highs in July, with the seawater that is used to cool them becoming much warmer than normal, exceeding safety levels.

Russia says will not deploy arms in space first: Ifax

Russia does not plan to put weapons in space first and considers this to be an important signal that Washington should not ignore, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency on Monday. The United States last week voiced suspicion over Russia's pursuit of new space weapons, including a mobile laser system to destroy satellites in space, and the launch of a new inspector satellite which was acting in an "abnormal" way.

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