Vaccinated People Can Spread Virus Moon’S Surface, Where They’D Explore for About a Week, Hook Back up with Orion in Lunar Orbit and Return to Earth
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ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, AUGUST 1, 2021 SCIENCE 11 Space Russia blames software Bezos loses ‘appeal’ of NASA lunar plans NEW YORK, July 31, (AP): The federal government Friday rejected an appeal by billionaire Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin to get in on NASA’s plans to return astronauts to the moon by using rival Elon Musk’s SpaceX. NASA in April awarded the $2.9 billion contract for a lunar lander to the more established SpaceX, which also offered a cheaper price than the bids from Blue Origin and Dynetics Inc, a subsidiary of Leidos. The two losing companies appealed the contract to the Government Accountability Offi ce on the grounds that there should have been multiple contracts and that the proposals weren’t evaluated correctly, but the agency rejected their request. The decision will allow “NASA and SpaceX to establish a timeline for the fi rst crewed landing on the moon in more than 50 years,” NASA said in a statement Friday, calling a moon landing a priority of the Biden administration. Friday’s ruling found that even though NASA originally said it was go- ing to give multiple contracts, it didn’t have enough money and that awarding only one contract was legal. Plus, it found NASA’s evaluation of all three bids “was reasonable, and consistent with applicable procurement law regu- lation and the announcement terms,” according to a statement by GAO law- yer Kenneth Patton. SpaceX’s bid had the highest rating while the other bids “were signifi cantly Bezos higher in price” with the space agency deciding it couldn’t afford to give out multiple contracts as originally planned, the GAO announcement said. Blue Origin, which has been trying to get Congress to re- In this June 9, 2021 file photo, a nurse gives a shot of the Pfizer vaccine for COVID-19 to a pregnant woman in Montevideo, Uruguay. Two obstetricians’ groups are quire a second lander contract, still hopes NASA will change now recommending COVID-19 shots for all pregnant women, citing concerns over rising cases and low vaccination rates. The American College of Obstetricians and its mind and provide “simultaneous competition,” said com- Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine said vaccinations in tens of thousands of pregnant women have shown the shots are safe and effective. (AP) pany spokesperson Linda Mills. “We stand fi rm in our belief that there were fundamental issues with NASA’s decision, but the GAO wasn’t able to ad- dress them due to their limited jurisdiction,” Mills said in a Coronavirus statement. “We continue to advocate for two immediate pro- viders as we believe it is the right solution.” Contract The lunar lander is part of the agency’s beyond-Earth explo- Obstetricians recommend COVID vaccine during pregnancy ration plans, refocused on the moon by the Trump administra- tion. The Artemis program involves a new huge rocket that would launch four astronauts aboard an Orion space capsule to the moon’s orbit. The lander would take two astronauts to the Vaccinated people can spread virus moon’s surface, where they’d explore for about a week, hook back up with Orion in lunar orbit and return to Earth. NEW YORK, July 31, (AP): In an- tors and other health workers. Researchers ran tests on a portion of The SpaceX lander, called Starship, “includes a spacious other dispiriting setback for the na- The delta variant, fi rst detected in them and found roughly the same level cabin” and can be expanded to a fully reusable launch sys- tion’s efforts to stamp out the coro- India, causes infections that are more of virus in those who were fully vac- tem for travel to the moon, Mars and other places, NASA said navirus, scientists who studied a big contagious than the common cold, fl u, cinated and those who were not. when it awarded the contract. COVID-19 outbreak in Massachusetts smallpox and the Ebola virus, and it is Three-quarters of the infections A test fl ight of the capsule, without astronauts aboard, is concluded that vaccinated people who as infectious as chickenpox, according were in fully vaccinated individuals. scheduled for this year, with a test fl ight by astronauts to the got so-called breakthrough infections to the documents, which mentioned the Among those fully vaccinated, about moon — but without a landing — planned for 2023, according carried about the same amount of the Provincetown cases. 80% experienced symptoms with the to NASA. coronavirus as those who did not get The documents were obtained by most common being cough, headache, ❑ ❑ ❑ the shots. The Washington Post. As they note, sore throat, muscle aches and fever. Health offi cials on Friday released COVID-19 vaccines are still highly ef- Dagenais said he started to feel A Russian space offi cial on Friday blamed a software prob- details of that research, which was key fective against the delta variant at pre- ill the evening he returned home and lem on a newly docked science lab for briefl y knocking the in this week’s decision by the Centers venting serious illness and death. initially chalked it up to long nights International Space Station out of position. In this Jan 12, 2019 file photo, the for Disease Control and Prevention The Provincetown outbreak and the of partying in packed Provincetown The space station lost control of its orientation for 47 min- SpaceX prototype Starship hopper to recommend that vaccinated people documents highlight the enormous nightclubs. utes on Thursday, when Russia’s Nauka science lab acciden- stands at the Boca Chica Beach site in return to wearing masks indoors in challenge the CDC faces in encourag- But as the days wore on and the fe- tally fi red its thrusters a few hours after docking, pushing the Texas. Jeff Bezos has lost his appeal parts of the US where the delta vari- ing vaccination while acknowledging ver, chills, muscle aches and fatigue orbiting complex from its normal confi guration. The station’s of NASA’s contract with Elon Musk’s ant is fueling infection surges. The that breakthrough cases can occur and set in, he knew it was something more. position is key for getting power from solar panels and for SpaceX to build its new moon lander. The Government Accountability Office, authors said the fi ndings suggest that can be contagious but are uncommon. In the report, the measure research- communications with space support teams back on Earth. The the CDC’s mask guidance should be The documents appear to be talking ers used to assess how much virus an space station’s communications with ground controllers also July 30, ruled that NASA’s award of the $2.9 billion contract to just SpaceX was expanded to include the entire country, points for CDC staff to use with the pub- infected person is carrying does not in- blipped out twice for a few minutes on Thursday. even outside of hot spots. lic. One point advised: “Acknowledge dicate whether they are actually trans- Vladimir Solovyov legal and proper. (AP) , fl ight director of the space station’s The fi ndings have the potential to the war has changed,” an apparent ref- mitting the virus to other people, said Russian segment, blamed the incident on a “short-term soft- upend past thinking about how the dis- erence to deepening concern that many Dr. Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at ware failure.” In a statement released Friday by the Russian ease is spread. Previously, vaccinated space agency Roscosmos, Solovyov said because of the fail- millions of vaccinated people could be a the University of Saskatchewan. people who got infected were thought ure, a direct command to turn on the lab’s engines was mistak- source of wide-ranging spread. CDC offi cials say more data is com- enly implemented. to have low levels of virus and to be An agency spokeswoman declined ing. They are tracking breakthrough He added the incident was “quickly countered by the pro- unlikely to pass it to others. But the to comment on the documents. cases as part of much larger studies new data shows that is not the case that involve following tens of thou- pulsion system” of another Russian component at the station Guidelines and “at the moment, the station is in its normal orientation” with the delta variant. sands of vaccinated and unvaccinated and all its systems “are operating normally.” The outbreak in Provincetown - a The White House on Friday defend- people across the country over time. seaside tourist spot on Cape Cod in the ed its approach to rising virus cases Roscosmos director Dmitry Rogozin later Friday suggested Also: that “human factor” may have been at play. county with Massachusetts’ highest and shifting public health guidelines, “There was such euphoria (after Nauka successfully docked vaccination rate - has so far included repeatedly deferred to the CDC while NEW YORK: Two leading obstetri- with the space station), people relaxed to some extent,” Ro- more than 900 cases. About three- stressing the need for vaccinations. cians’ groups on Friday recommend- gozin said in a radio interview. “Perhaps one of the operators Turner Reitner quarters of them were people who “The most important takeaway is ed COVID-19 shots for all pregnant didn’t take into account that the control system of the block were fully vaccinated. actually pretty simple. We need more women, citing concerns over rising will continue to adjust itself in space. And it determined a Travis Dagenais, who was among people to get vaccinated,” White cases and low vaccination rates. moment three hours after (the docking) and turned on the en- the many vaccinated people infected, House spokeswoman Karine Jean- The American College of Obstetri- gines.” Discovery said “throwing caution to the wind” Pierre said.