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By USH
Several days ago, a massive blackout swept across large parts of Spain, Portugal, and parts of southern France. Millions were left without power as the interconnected European energy grid experienced a rare and abrupt failure. While authorities quickly pointed to a "rare atmospheric phenomenon" as the cause, not everyone is convinced.
Here are some explanations of authorities as well as controversial theories:
According to REN, Portugal’s national electricity grid operator, the blackout was triggered by a fault originating in Spain’s power infrastructure. The disruption, they claim, was linked to "induced atmospheric variation", a term referring to extreme temperature differences that led to anomalous oscillations in high-voltage transmission lines. These oscillations reportedly caused synchronization failures between regional grid systems, ultimately sparking a chain reaction of failures across the European network.
What makes the situation even more intriguing is that just days before the blackout, Spain hit a historic energy milestone. On April 16, for the first time, the country’s electricity demand was met entirely by renewable energy sources - solar, wind, and hydro, during a weekday. It raises questions whether the outage was caused by a technical failure of this new renewable energy system.
While this achievement is noteworthy, it also exposes the fragility of a grid increasingly reliant on variable energy sources, especially solar, which can fluctuate dramatically with weather and atmospheric conditions.
Despite official explanations, some experts and observers remain skeptical. There were no solar flares or geomagnetic storms in the days leading up to the blackout, and solar activity had been relatively calm. Critics argue that while atmospheric disturbances may have played a role, they are not sufficient to explain such a widespread, synchronized failure.
Despite the fact that the blackout this time was probably not caused by solar flares or geomagnetic storms it has been proven that Earth’s magnetic shield is rapidly weakening, leaving us increasingly vulnerable to powerful solar storms. The magnetic north pole is accelerating toward Siberia, and the South Atlantic Anomaly continues to expand, ominous signs that a looming plasma event could bring consequences far beyond just technological disruption.
This has led to speculation that the blackout could have been intentional, possibly even a test run for handling future crises or threats to infrastructure.
Among the more controversial theories is the suggestion that this event might have involved the use of a graphite bomb, a non-lethal weapon designed to disable power grids. These devices disperse ultra-fine carbon filaments into high-voltage power lines, causing short circuits by creating conductive paths between lines. Such an attack would appear as a grid malfunction but could be devastating in scale.
Another controversial theory is that the outage has been caused by weather manipulation systems such as HAARP or the Ice Cube Neutrino observatory, constructed at the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica.
Could this have been a covert drill or a demonstration of vulnerability? Some point to global forums, such as the World Government Summit, where figures like Klaus Schwab have warned about Black Swan: An unpredictable event that is beyond what is normally expected of a situation and has potentially severe consequences.
Whether the blackout was triggered by a rare natural event, a technical failure, or something more deliberate, it seems only a matter of time before we face a true Black Swan event. View the full article
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By European Space Agency
The European Space Agency's XMM-Newton is playing a crucial role in investigating the longest and most energetic bursts of X-rays seen from a newly awakened black hole. Watching this strange behaviour unfold in real time offers a unique opportunity to learn more about these powerful events and the mysterious behaviour of massive black holes.
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By Space Force
The DoD is offering a path back to service for military personnel who voluntarily separated or left to avoid the COVID-19 vaccination mandate.
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By NASA
NASA Technicians do final checks on NASA’s Spirit rover in this image from March 28, 2003. The rover – and its twin, Opportunity – studied the history of climate and water at sites on Mars where conditions may once have been favorable to life. Each rover is about the size of a golf cart and seven times heavier (about 405 pounds or 185 kilograms) than the Sojourner rover launched on the Mars Pathfinder to Mars mission in 1996.
Spirit and Opportunity were sent to opposite sides of Mars to locations that were suspected of having been affected by liquid water in the past. Spirit was launched first, on June 10, 2003. Spirit landed on the Martian surface on Jan. 3, 2004, about 8 miles (13.4 kilometers) from the planned target and inside the Gusev crater. The site became known as Columbia Memorial Station to honor the seven astronauts killed when the space shuttle Columbia broke apart Feb. 1, 2003, as it returned to Earth. The plaque commemorating the STS-107 Space Shuttle Columbia crew can be seen in the image above.
Spirit operated for 6 years, 2 months, and 19 days, more than 25 times its original intended lifetime, traveling 4.8 miles (7.73 kilometers) across the Martian plains.
Image credit: NASA
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By NASA
A chevron nozzle is installed on NASA’s Learjet for a mid-March 2001 flight test at Lorain Country Airport to verify that in an emergency, the aircraft could be flown using only the experimental engine. Credit: NASA/Marvin Smith
Shortly after dawn on March 27, 2001, NASA pilot Bill Rieke took off from an airfield just outside of Phoenix in NASA’s blue-and-white Learjet 25 and flew low over a series of microphones for the first flight test of a groundbreaking NASA technology.
On one of the plane’s engines was an experimental jagged-edged nozzle that researchers at Glenn Research Center in Cleveland had discovered made aircraft significantly quieter. These initial flight tests were an important step toward using these “chevron nozzles” on modern aircraft, lowering noise levels for communities.
NASA Glenn has been exploring ways of reducing engine noise since the first jet airliners appeared in the 1950s. New turbofan engines in the 1960s were quieter, but the expansion of the overall airline industry meant that noise was still an issue. With the introduction of noise-limiting mandates in the 1970s, NASA and engine manufacturers embarked on a decades-long search for technologies to lower noise levels.
NASA researchers discovered that the military’s use of rectangular notches, or tabs, along an engine nozzle’s exit – to help disguise a jet fighter’s infrared signature – could also reduce engine noise by helping mix the hot air from the engine core and the cooler air blowing through the engine fan. In the 1990s, Glenn researcher Dennis Huff and his colleagues discovered that a serrated, or sawtooth, shape, referred to as a chevron, offered more promise.
Dennis Huff explains chevron nozzles, seen on a table, to U.S. Senator George Voinovich and other visitors inside the Aero-Acoustic Propulsion Laboratory facility in 2006. Huff was head of NASA Glenn Research Center’s Acoustics Branch at this point.Credit: NASA/Marvin Smith NASA contracted with General Electric and Pratt & Whitney to develop an array of tab and chevron designs to be analyzed in Glenn’s unique Aero-Acoustic Propulsion Laboratory (AAPL). Extensive testing in the spring of 1997 showed the possibilities for reducing noise with these types of nozzles.
Engine manufacturers were impressed with the findings but wary of any technology that might impact performance. So, in 1998, NASA funded engine tests of the 14 most promising designs. The tests revealed the chevron nozzle had a negligible 0.25% reduction of thrust. It was a major development for jet noise research.
In September 2000, Glenn’s Flight Operations Branch was contacted about the logistics of flight-testing chevron nozzles on the center’s Learjet 25 to verify the ground tests and improve computer modeling. Nothing further came of the request, however, until early the next year when Huff informed Rieke, chief of Flight Operations, that the researchers would like to conduct flight tests in late March—with just eight weeks to prepare.
Glenn’s Acoustics Branch worked with colleagues at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, and the Arizona-based engine manufacturer Honeywell on the effort. They planned to conduct testing at Estrella Sailport just outside of Phoenix from March 26 to 28, 2001.
Bill Rieke and Ellen Tom with the chevron nozzle installed on the Learjet. NASA Glenn Research Center’s small Flight Operations team was heavily involved with icing research and solar cell calibration flights during this period, so arrangements were made for Tom, a Federal Aviation Administration pilot, to assist with the chevron flights. Credit: Courtesy of Bill Rieke With the required safety and design reviews, the eight-week target date would be difficult to meet for any test flight, but this one was particularly challenging as it involved modifications to the engine nacelle. While the special nozzle engineers created for the flights would allow them to switch between a six- and a 12-chevron design during testing, it also got hot quickly. This necessitated the installation of new sensors, rewiring of fire alarm cables, and the presence of an onboard test engineer to monitor the temperatures. The short turnaround also required expedited efforts to obtain flight plan approvals, verify the plane’s airworthiness, and perform normal maintenance activities.
Despite the challenges, Rieke and a small team delivered the Learjet to Estrella on March 25, as planned. The next day was spent coordinating with the large Langley and Honeywell team and acquiring baseline noise data. The pilots idled the unmodified engine as the Learjet flew over three perpendicular rows of microphones at an altitude of 500 feet and speed of 230 miles per hour.
View from below as NASA Glenn Research Center’s Learjet 25 passes overhead at the Estrella airfield with the experimental chevron nozzle visible on the left wing.Credit: Courtesy of Bill Rieke The flight patterns were repeated over the next two days while alternately using the two variations of the chevron nozzle. The researchers anecdotally reported that there was no perceptible noise reduction as the aircraft approached, but significant reductions once it passed. Recordings supported these observations and showed that sideline noise was reduced, as well.
The flights of the Learjet, which was powered by a variation of GE’s J-85 turbojet, were complemented by Honeywell’s turbofan-powered Falcon 20 aircraft. These flights ultimately confirmed the noise reduction found in earlier AAPL tests.
Overall, the flight tests were so successful that just over a year later the FAA began certifying GE’s CF34–8, the first commercial aircraft engine to incorporate chevron technology. The engine was first flown on a Bombardier CRJ900 in 2003. Continued studies by both NASA and industry led to the improved designs and the incorporation of chevrons into larger engines, such as GE’s GEnx.
According to Huff, the chevron’s three-decibel noise decrease was analogous to the difference between running two lawnmowers and one. Their comparatively easy integration into engine design and minimal effect on thrust made the chevron a breakthrough in noise-reduction technology. In 2002, NASA presented an innovation award to the Glenn, Langley, and Honeywell team that carried out the flights. Today, airliners such as the 737 MAX and 787 Dreamliner use chevron nozzles to lower noise levels for communities near airports.
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