Science News Roundup: SpaceX delays Starship test flight a day over hardware swap; Amazon's prototype Kuiper satellites operating successfully and more

Around 3,200 yellow-spotted Amazon river turtles, known locally as taricayas, were freed as part of a plan to repopulate the species, which is threatened by hunting. SpaceX delays Starship test flight a day over hardware swap SpaceX postponed its second attempt to launch the company's Starship rocket system into space by a day to Saturday, Chief Executive Elon Musk said, citing a piece of flight control hardware that needed replacing.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

'We're releasing life': Heat wave speeds turtle hatching in Peru

In the Peruvian Amazon, an extended heat wave and drought have shortened the incubation period for thousands of turtle hatchlings released into the river by biologists as part of a local environmental program. Around 3,200 yellow-spotted Amazon river turtles, known locally as taricayas, were freed as part of a plan to repopulate the species, which is threatened by hunting.

SpaceX delays Starship test flight a day over hardware swap

SpaceX postponed its second attempt to launch the company's Starship rocket system into space by a day to Saturday, Chief Executive Elon Musk said, citing a piece of flight control hardware that needed replacing. "We need to replace a grid fin actuator, so launch is postponed to Saturday," Musk wrote on messaging platform X.

White House proposes transportation, commerce agencies handle new space regulations

The Biden administration on Wednesday released a long-awaited proposal to split regulatory powers over emerging private-sector space activities between the U.S. transportation and commerce departments, according to a draft legislative proposal. The plan would expand the Federal Aviation Administration's oversight of rocket launch sites on Earth to include various crewed and uncrewed activities in space, from regulating private astronaut missions to licensing commercial space stations and trips to the moon.

The promise and risks of deep-sea mining

The International Seabed Authority is working to set regulations for deep-sea mining as companies engaged in the clean energy transition clamor for more minerals. That transition will be a central focus at the United Nations' COP28 climate summit in Dubai from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12. The seafloor, especially in parts of the Pacific Ocean, is covered by potato-shaped rocks known as polymetallic nodules that are filled with metals used to make lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles.

US FAA okays SpaceX license for second launch of Starship Super Heavy

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday granted Elon Musk's SpaceX a license to launch the company's second test flight of its next-generation Starship and heavy-lift rocket from Texas, the agency said. SpaceX said it was targeting Friday for a launch, saying a two-hour launch window opens at 7 a.m. Central Time (1300 GMT) and that local residents "may hear a loud noise" during the rocket's ascent toward space.

Russia says it plans to send cosmonauts to the Moon next decade - TASS

Russia plans to send cosmonauts to land on the Moon next decade for the first time in its history and intends to build a moon base from 2031, according to the Russian corporation responsible for manned space flights, state news agency TASS reported. A draft plan presented by Vladimir Solovyov of RKK Energia said that Russia was planning manned missions to the moon, including the first Russian human moon landing, along with a moon base, TASS said on Wednesday.

Amazon's prototype Kuiper satellites operating successfully

Amazon.com said on Thursday its two prototype satellites for its planned Kuiper internet network have been operating successfully in orbit, with the project on track to start launching operational satellites by mid-2024. The Kuiper internet network is set to compete against billionaire Elon Musk's Starlink, the world's largest satellite operator, to offer broadband internet service globally to consumers, companies and governments. Amazon said it had achieved a 100% success rate within the first 30 days of the launch of the prototype satellites from Florida aboard an United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket. Amazon said it used the prototype satellites for brief two-way video calls, streaming a high-definition movie on Prime Video and ordering items off Amazon's website. "We still have a lot of hard work ahead, and scaling for mass production won't be easy," said Rajeev Badyal, vice president of technology for Project Kuiper. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has required Amazon to deploy half of its more than 3,000-planned satellite constellation by 2026. On the heels of the successful prototype tests, Amazon expects to start building production-ready satellites next month for a launch in the second quarter of 2024, Badyal told Reuters. Badyal declined to say how many satellites Amazon would launch per rocket.

Bone bite marks reveal dinosaur predator-prey dynamics

On the perilous Jurassic Period landscape of western North America, it was good to be big. Your life may have depended upon it. Paleontologists have conducted a study scrutinizing bite marks left by meat-eating dinosaurs on the bones of sauropods - the familiar plant-eating dinosaurs with long necks, long tails and four pillar-like legs that were the largest land animals around - about 150 million years ago. The examination offered insight into predator-prey dynamics during the dinosaur age.

Scientists discern internal structure of mysterious dwarf planet Eris

Dwarf planet Eris, similar in size to its better-known cosmic cousin Pluto, has remained an enigma since being discovered in 2005 lurking in the solar system's far reaches. While Pluto was explored by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft during a 2015 flyby, Eris - about 40% further from the sun - has never been visited. But scientists are gaining a fuller understanding of Eris and its differences with Pluto thanks to research that discerns details about this frigid remote world's internal structure and composition based on its orbital relationship with its moon Dysnomia.