The Peregrine spacecraft has experienced an ‘anomaly’ that could endanger its planned moon landing, as reported by the BBC. Astrobotic, the private company behind the project, says this anomaly prevents the spacecraft from pointing its solar panels at the sun. In other words, the vehicle can’t charge its battery. Without power, the planned lunar landing for February might have to be canceled. Astrobotic engineers are working the problem and will provide updates as they become available. The launch itself went off without a hitch early this morning, as the issue popped up during post-launch checks after communications had been established. The team behind the launch suggest the most likely cause of the anomaly is a problem with propulsion. Unfortunately, the engineers have a limited window of time to troubleshoot and fix the issue, as the spacecraft’s battery is currently “reaching operationally low levels.” There was a short comms breakdown, but it looks like that issue has been resolved. The company has also stated that the propulsion issue led to a "critical loss of propellant." Astrobotic has planned for a wide variety of fault scenarios and could get everything squared away before too long, but it's looking less likely by the minute. The company says it's still trying to stabilize the propellant loss, but is investigating "alternative mission profiles" and trying to save as much science and data as it can. Peregrine is supposed to be the first American lunar lander... Continue reading at 'Engadget'
[ Engadget | 2024-01-08 19:12:21 UTC ]
The novelist Margaret Atwood recently caused a stir when, during an interview with Variety, she said that the 9/11 hijackers “got the idea” to fly planes into buildings from watching “Star Wars.” Atwood, the author of “The Handmaid’s Tale” and other dystopian classics, did not have the facts... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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George R R Martin is funding a new annual scholarship at a science fiction and fantasy six-week course to “help the next great fantasist on the long journey ahead”. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-01-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The prolific and profoundly influential writer, who brought a literary and feminist touch to works of science fiction and fantasy for children and adults, died at her home in Portland, Ore., on January 22. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Given her incredible skill at narrative economy, Ursula K. Le Guin could probably do a much better job of summing up her own achievements as a writer than I could. Then again, Le Guin could do most things better than most writers. An undisputed master of science fiction and fantasy, she also... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2018-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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ReedPOP has unveiled a lineup of science fiction, mystery and thriller authors for BookCon 2018, which includes such authors as David Baldacci, Sandra Brown, Brad Meltzer, and Walter Mosley. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-01-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Trying to achieve change through something like science fiction seems like a pipe dream,' Adams says. 'But it also feels like the only thing that writers can hope to do.' Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2017-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Skybound Books, a co-publishing agreement between Atria and The Walking Dead creator's multi-platform entertainment company Skybound Entertainment, will focus on science fiction, fantasy, and horror. It will be overseen by Michael Braff, who is based in L.A. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Graphic novels have a significant presence this year at ALA 2017 and are in demand by librarians looking to offer their patrons a wide variety of stories encompassing race, gender and sexual identity and nonwestern cultures. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-06-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House has developed a range of Barbican-inspired Penguin Classics to coincide with a new Barbican exhibition, Into the Unknown: A Journey through Science Fiction. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-06-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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For 33 years, Galaxy Press has been promoting the work of science fiction and fantasy writers and illustrators through the annual L. Ron Hubbard Writers and Illustrators of the Future contests. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BookNet Canada has issued four studies looking at the demographics for book buyers of biographies/autobiographies, detective fiction, science fiction and cookbooks, each showing trends for the genre. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-05-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hello! I’m Mark Olsen, and welcome to another edition of your regular field guide to a world of Only Good Movies. The L.A. Times’ Festival of Books is April 22 and 23, and it is not only a great way to interface with publishers and booksellers but also features a wide variety of guests. The... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-04-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Michael M. Levy, a scholar of science fiction and longtime 'Publishers Weekly' reviewer, died of cancer on April 3. He was 66. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hodder and Stoughton has appointed Sam Bradbury, currently with Jo Fletcher Books, as editor with commissioning responsibilities in the area of science fiction, fantasy and horror, reporting to publisher Oliver Johnson. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-03-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Better times are ahead, says writer Ahmed Khaled Towfik, who recently appeared at Dubai’s festival: the Arab world is readier for science fiction, he says. By Dennis Abrams | @DennisAbrams2 ‘Looking Good for Science Fiction’ t The National, Hala Khalaf asserts that “Arab readers don’t like... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Boom is still the word where audiobooks are concerned, as a new season of releases arrives. Our listing of upcoming audio titles reflects the wide variety of new projects scheduled for the season. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A fuel-free engine is the stuff of science fiction for now, but scientists at NASA Eagleworks have published a peer-reviewed paper that suggests the ideas behind an EM Drive are worth testing further. Researchers at Eagleworks, a small NASA team task... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2016-11-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Science fiction and fantasy novelist China Miéville is to make a rare foray into non-fiction to pen a “labour of love” history of the Russian revolution for indie press Verso. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As writers learn that tech giant has processed their work without permission, the Authors Guild condemns ‘blatantly commercial use of expressive authorship’When the writer Rebecca Forster first heard how Google was using her work, it felt like she was trapped in a science fiction novel. “Is this... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-09-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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British writer Adrian Tchaikovsky has won the Arthur C Clarke award for science fiction for his novel Children of Time (Pan Macmillan). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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