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New fitness test presents challenges for Army Guard

The Army National Guard is looking for nearly 5,000 fitness instructors and buying roughly $40 million in workout equipment in the next seven months to help its soldiers meet new physical fitness standards being set by the military service.

But even as commanders begin delivering the new 10-pound medicine balls, pull-up bars and hexagon barbells, they also worry whether America's 330,000 citizen soldiers will have the time and the drive to master the new, more grueling Army fitness test.

"For those who are already doing well on their physical fitness test and they have the routine figured out, I think they're going to transition to this new test without any issues," said Army National Guard Lt. Col. Brian Dean, who is responsible for implementing the new test across the Guard. "People who are in those parts of their life where they're still kinda struggling to make the right time for fitness and do fitness in the right ways — this will feel significant."

Could the new physical demands drive soldiers out of the Guard? "It's a concern," Dean said.

Spread out in more than 2,800 armories around the country, members of the Army Guard are required to do weekend duty once a month and a two-week stint during the year. A number of units are also tapped by state governors for help during hurricanes, wildfires, border problems and other events. And, during the peak of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, Guard units were routinely called up for active-duty deployments to fill needs that couldn't be met by the overstretched active-duty troops in the battle zones.

Still, many Guard members see more limited duty, and are often focused on their full-time jobs and other commitments, which can be hundreds of miles from the nearest military base.

"Ninety percent of my soldiers are part-time," Maj. Gen. Timothy Orr, the adjutant general for the Iowa National Guard, told The Associated Press in an interview. "I think there's apprehension. There's always the question of how are we going to do this with the time that we have, and the equipment we have."

Orr, who has been in the Guard for 40 years, said that a key unanswered issue will be how soldiers with various permanent physical limitations will be treated, particularly those who have served for many years. Under the current fitness test, troops can arrange to substitute certain exercises for ones they can't do.

For example, someone with a knee injury who can't run two miles is able to substitute swimming or bicycling for part of the current fitness test. Orr said the Army is still working through the details, so it's not clear yet how they will handle the matter and whether there will be alternate tests.

"I think we have committed troops today, committed leaders, and folks will step up to the challenge," said Orr, who has about 8,600 Guard soldiers in his state. "There may be select individuals that will say, 'Hey, I've had enough and I want to leave.' But I think we're a professional Army and this is just another of the many challenges we've had, especially over the last 18 years."

The Army's current physical fitness test, which is being replaced by a new more strenuous one, consisted of two minutes of push-ups and sit-ups and a two-mile run. By Oct. 1, Army soldiers will begin taking the new test, which takes about an hour and includes a deadlift, more difficult push-ups, a sled-drag, an array of other exercises, and ends with the two-mile run.

Beginning Oct. 1, 2020, all soldiers will have to routinely pass the new test in order to qualify for their military jobs.

Dean said the Guard wants to give its soldiers a full year to learn and train for the new test. So, all the equipment and trainers must be in place in all the armories by October.

"What we don't want is to have people who never trained on weight-lifting equipment grabbing that stuff and injuring themselves," Dean said.

Orr said he would like to see physical therapists assigned to each state that can help Guard soldiers prevent injuries or help them heal if they get hurt.

Dean said the Army is providing funding for the equipment and Guard leaders are working out how much of it has to be delivered to each armory and state training center. Since units across the country are different sizes and compositions, it will take time to figure out how much equipment each community needs.

The biggest challenge, said Dean, is the timeline — particularly identifying the thousands of trainers needed to staff all of the armories and work with soldiers on the new fitness regime. It takes about two days to get someone certified, and he said that so far only about 500 of the needed 5,000 trainers are in place.

Getting the rest, he said, "is a challenge, but it's not insurmountable."

Source: Fox News National

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The Latest: Prosecutors expected to wrap up case vs. officer

The Latest on the homicide trial of a white Pennsylvania police officer in the shooting of an unarmed black 17-year-old (all times local):

10 a.m.

Prosecutors are expected to wrap up their case against a white former East Pittsburgh police officer charged in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager.

Michael Rosfeld's trial continues Thursday for a third day in a Pittsburgh courtroom.

Rosfeld fired three bullets into 17-year-old Antwon Rose II in June after pulling over an unlicensed taxicab suspected to have been used in a drive-by shooting minutes earlier. Rose was a front-seat passenger in the cab and was shot as he fled.

After prosecutors rest their case, the defense is expected to call an expert witness on the use of deadly force.

In his opening statement earlier this week, defense attorney Patrick Thomassey said the area where the shooting happened is a high-crime area. He told jurors Rosfeld was "a policeman who did his duty."

___

3 a.m.

Prosecutors will call more witnesses to the stand in the trial of a white former East Pittsburgh police officer charged in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager.

Michael Rosfeld's trial continues Thursday into its third day in a Pittsburgh courtroom.

The first two days of testimony included compelling statements from witnesses and neighbors, one of whom said he heard Rosfeld panicking, repeatedly saying "I don't know why I shot him. I don't know why I fired."

Rosfeld fired three bullets into 17-year-old Antwon Rose II after pulling over an unlicensed taxicab suspected to have been used in a drive-by shooting minutes earlier. Rose was a front-seat passenger in the cab and was shot as he fled.

The trial is expected to take a week or more.

Source: Fox News National

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Lyft’s stock slide casts long shadow on Uber’s IPO

FILE PHOTO: Uber and Lyft signs are seen on a car in Redondo Beach
FILE PHOTO: Uber and Lyft signs are seen on a car in Redondo Beach, California, U.S., March 25, 2019. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson - RC1F359D1320/File Photo

April 11, 2019

By Joshua Franklin and David Randall

(Reuters) – Uber Technologies Inc may face a cooler reception from investors than expected when it prices its initial public offering next month since smaller U.S. ride-hailing rival Lyft Inc’s aggressive stock launch and subsequent fall.

Lyft’s IPO priced at the top end of its upwardly revised range last month, assigning it a valuation of more than $24 billion in an offering that raised $2.34 billion. But the stock has languished since debuting on the Nasdaq on March 29, as concerns about the startup’s potential for profitability have become more prominent.

Lyft shares ended on Wednesday down 11 percent at $60.12, well below their $72 IPO price. Lyft was the first in a string of technology IPOs expected this year, including food delivery service Postmates and smart exercise bike Peleton.

Lyft’s poor stock performance bodes ill for these IPOs, especially for companies like Uber with no profits to show.

“There’s no discernable way these companies are valued. What you’re really buying into is the long-term ability of the company to capture lots of sales and hopefully get profitable at some point,” said Brian Hamilton, founder of data firm Sageworks.

“I’m sure that the Lyft debut is going to affect both Uber and Pinterest,” Hamilton added.

Uber filed for its IPO in December with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission during the same week as Lyft. But it let Lyft go first with its offering, partly because it was working on a new private fundraising round for its autonomous driving unit.

Uber is now paying the price of going second. It is planning to seek a valuation between $90 billion and $100 billion, short of the $120 billion investment bankers previously told the company it could be worth in an IPO, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

Image sharing app Pinterest Inc this week also set the terms for its IPO which would value the company at up to $11.3 billion, below its latest fundraising round which valued it at $12 billion in 2017. Prior to Lyft going public, Pinterest had been weighing a valuation at or near the last fundraising round, according to a source familiar with the matter. Pinterest declined to comment.

Uber is expected to make its detailed financial results public on Thursday. It lost $3.3 billion last year, excluding one-off gains, while Lyft lost $911 million for 2018. Pinterest also lost $62.97 million in 2018.

Uber declined to comment.

GETTING GREEDY

Investors and analysts said technology unicorn IPOs are losing their luster, not just because more investors are asking tough questions about their prospects, but because the startups overestimated pent-up demand for their offerings.

“Lyft wanted to be first… and it got to a point where they got so aggressive with their pricing and they got kind of greedy,” said Catherine McCarthy, an Allianz Global Investors research analyst.

The pressure to become profitable will ratchet up once these companies become public, said Jordan Stuart, a portfolio manager for Federated Kaufmann funds who often purchases companies’ stock in the IPO.

“The pace of change is happening so quickly that you have to show that you can become profitable quickly,” Stuart said.

“Some of these companies could go away tomorrow because it’s just an app on my phone and I can find another one in a second to get to work or have food delivered.”

(Reporting by Joshua Franklin and David Randall in New York; Additional reporting by Jennifer Ablan in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

Source: OANN

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Q-Poll: Va. Gov. Ralph Northam's Approval Takes Dive

Virginia Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam's approval ratings are under water in the wake of a blackface furor, but a plurality of voters want him to stay in office, a new poll showed.

The Quinnipiac University survey, released Wednesday found Northam's approval rating at 39 percent, with 44 percent disapproving. That compares with a June 2018 survey that showed him with a 49 percent approval rating and 25 percent disapproving.

Voters say 48 percent to 42 percent Northam should not resign, the survey found. The breakdown is 60 percent of GOP voters and 46 percent of white voters want Northam to step down, compared with a third of Democratic voters and 31 percent of black voters.

"The good news for Gov. Ralph Northam is that Virginia voters have mixed feelings about him – not terrible but hardly reassuring in the wake of the brouhaha over his alleged use of blackface when he was a medical student more than three decades ago," Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll said in a statement. 

Northam initially faced calls to resign after the publication of a photo from his medical yearbook showing a person in blackface next to a person dressed as a member of the KKK. Northam first apologized, indicating he was pictured in the photo, then denied it was a photo of him —and admitted he had worn blackface on a different occasion.

As for Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, who is facing accusation of rape and sexual assault by two women, voters are divided 36-36 percent on whether he should resign, but say 54-24 percent he should not be impeached. He gets a negative 11-36 percent favorability rating, the poll found.

The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.

Source: NewsMax Politics

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Missouri man with ‘body count’ tattoo charged in deadly shooting

A Missouri man facing multiple charges in connection to a deadly shooting last month allegedly claimed to have kept a mark to memorialize his murders that anyone could see --  a "body count" tattoo on his face.

The Jackson County Prosecutor's Office said in a news release that Jonathan S. Lowrey, 25, was charged Monday with second-degree murder, armed criminal action and tampering with a motor vehicle in connection with shooting death of Joseph Corum on March 28 in Kansas City.

A witness reported she was inside the home when she heard Corum yelling outside before hearing a "loud vehicle" and gunshot. She heard another gunshot before the vehicle drove away, officials said.

'NEW' DELPHI SUSPECT SKETCH WAS DRAWN DAYS AFTER MURDERS OF 2 INDIANA GIRLS, ARTIST SAYS

Another witness reported to police she saw Corum arguing with Lowrey in front of the home before the 25-year-old allegedly went to his vehicle, took out a long gun and shot the victim three times before leaving.

Surveillance video provided by another witness showed Lowrey sitting in a van outside the home, with a witness reporting he had a tattoo of 5 "tally marks" near his right eye which he stated was a "body count," according to court documents.

ATTORNEY: FAKE GERMAN HEIRESS HAD 'AMBITIOUS' BUSINESS PLANS

Lowrey was arrested by police on Thursday for questioning before he was charged with the Kansas City shooting. A detective noted in his report that Lowrey was observed to have 6 "tally marks" tattooed under his right eye.

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DNA taken from a shell casing recovered at the crime scene in Kansas City was matched to Lowrey, according to police.

Officials have not said if the 25-year-old is suspected in additional killings. Prosecutors have requested a cash bond of $250,000.

Source: Fox News National

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At Ethiopia plane crash site, a new pilgrimage of grief

In Ethiopia, an ancient land of pilgrimages, people are making their way to a grim new marker of grief.

Friends and families of the 157 people killed on Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 came forward one by one on Wednesday, giving quiet offerings to the dead.

Photographs. Heartfelt notes. Bouquets.

They were placed under a makeshift floral arch, bright green in striking contrast to the arid land. White roses were plucked from a bucket and placed in a slender frame that wavered in the wind.

Some relatives staggered with mourning.

One man was supported by others, crying out. They sought footing on the freshly churned and blackened ground.

Others stood in silence. Security forces in camouflage blue. Searchers in face masks. Diplomats in polished shoes.

"We owe it to the families to understand what happened," said British ambassador Alastair McPhail. Nine of his countrymen died.

The dead came from 35 countries. Around the world, loved ones began a numb, bewildering journey to the scene.

The crash site is outside Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa. It was rural people, some with their cattle, who saw the plane go down. When they hurried to the smoking ground, they found little there .

Local pilot Solomon Gizaw was among the first to see the crash site from above. He said it appeared as though the plane had slipped right into the earth.

Yellow tape now rings the scene. Some wait outside it, watching.

Others have the heartbreaking right to go inside. Some carry armfuls of flowers.

"We want to go there often and make offerings," Dawit Gebremichael, who lost his sister, said.

A few have slipped to the site in secret.

As the world reeled from the news of the crash on Sunday, Ethiopia's young new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed went to bear early witness.

He grieved for the dead, and perhaps the blow to his country's airline, Ethiopia's high-flying symbol of transformation.

The country is lined with footpaths to ancient churches and other places of reflection. Now it is the continent's aviation hub, jet trails tracing in the sky.

The public pilgrimage to the crash site began with Ethiopian Airlines' CEO. He stood alone in the gaping crater Sunday, holding a piece of wreckage, in an image that swiftly made its way around the world.

More now have come.

On Wednesday there was Indonesia's new ambassador to Ethiopia. He told reporters he had arrived just the day before. He said Indonesia lost one citizen.

Others lost many more.

Now investigators have arrived. It is a global undertaking, like the mourning.

Ethiopia already embraces many beliefs. As the world arrives, it has room for others.

China's ruling party remains officially atheist. And yet Chinese aviation experts took a quiet moment from their work for what looked like prayer.

They made a modest offering: Fruit. Bread rolls. Ethiopia's staple bread, injera. Incense.

The officials bowed in unison. And the work began again.

___

Follow Africa news at https://twitter.com/AP_Africa

Source: Fox News World

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Cops arrest 16 suspects in $35M pot bust in Atlanta

Atlanta police reportedly arrested 16 people as part of a large-scale marijuana bust that resulted from a five-month operation and netted 22 guns, six cars and $676,000 in cash.

ATLANTA MCDONALD'S EMPLOYEE WITH DOWN SYNDROME HONORED FOR 27 YEARS ON THE JOB

Police said they raided five large “grow houses” in Clayton, Gwinnett and Henry counties. Each house had between 340 and 1,500 pot plants inside that were tended to with sophisticated equipment used to manufacture high-grade marijuana, according to authorities.

(Gwinnett County Police Department)

SMOKING STRONG POT DAILY COULD RAISE PSYCHOSIS RISK, STUDY FINDS 

In all, 3,147 plants were seized in addition to THC candies, THC oil, cocaine and psychedelic mushrooms, officials said. THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the main psychoactive component in the cannabis plant.

The 16 suspects rounded up in the sting belong to two large drug trafficking organizations that operate across the southeast, authorities said. The suspects range in age from 26 to 54 and were “embedded” in the community.

“To those passing by, no one would have suspected that these five marijuana grow houses were harboring criminal activity,” Gwinnett County Police said in a statement.

(Gwinnett County Police)

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

Last month, officials in Forsyth County said they intercepted more than $1 million worth of marijuana and THC oil.

It is against the law in Georgia to grow recreational or medical marijuana. It’s also illegal to buy it, sell it or bring it into the state.

Source: Fox News National

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Joe Biden’s brain surgeon said his former patient is “totally in the clear” as speculation over the candidate’s health — with Biden possibly becoming the oldest president in U.S. history — is likely to become a campaign issue.

The former vice president, who had been perceived by many as the strongest potential contender for the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential nomination, formally announced his candidacy Thursday.

But Biden’s age – 76 – is expected to become a source of attacks from a younger generation of Democrats not because of obvious generational differences, but possibly for actual health concerns if Biden gets into office.

WHY THE MEDIA ARE CONVINCED JOE BIDEN WILL IMPLODE

Biden himself agreed last year that “it’s totally legitimate” for people to ask questions about his health if he decides to run for president, given his medical history — which has included brain surgery in 1988.

“I think they’re gonna judge me on my vitality,” Biden told “CBS This Morning.” “Can I still run up the steps of Air Force Two? Am I still in good shape? Am I – do I have all my faculties? Am I energetic? I think it’s totally legitimate people ask those questions.”

“I think they’re gonna judge me on my vitality. …  I think it’s totally legitimate [that] people ask those questions.”

— Joe Biden

But Dr. Neal Kassell, the neurosurgeon who operated on Biden for an aneurysm three decades ago, told the Washington Examiner that Biden appears to be “totally in the clear” — and even joked that the operation made Biden “better than how he was.”

“Joe Biden of all of the politicians in Washington is the only one that I’m certain has a brain, because I have seen it,” Kassell said. “That’s more than I can say about all the other candidates or the incumbents.”

“Joe Biden of all of the politicians in Washington is the only one that I’m certain has a brain, because I have seen it.”

— Dr. Neal Kassell

BIDEN’S CLAIM HE DIDN’T WANT OBAMA TO ENDORSE TRIGGERS MOCKERY

At the same time, however, Biden hasn’t been forthcoming about his health at least since 2008 when he released his medical records as a vice presidential candidate. The disclosure that time revealed some fairly minor issues such as an irregular heartbeat in addition to detailing previous operations, including removing a benign polyp during a colonoscopy in 1996, the outlet reported.

It remains unclear if Biden had more aneurysms. Some medical experts say that people who have had an aneurysm can have another one.

An aneurysm, or a weakening of an artery wall, can lead to a rupture and internal bleeding, potentially placing a patient’s life in jeopardy.

Biden won’t be the only Democrat grappling with old age. Sen. Bernie Sanders, another 2020 frontrunner, is currently 77 years old and agreed with Biden last year that their ages will be an issue in the race.

“It’s part of a discussion, but it has to be part of an overall view of what somebody is and what somebody has accomplished,” Sanders told Politico.

“Look, you’ve got people who are 50 years of age who are not well, right? You’ve got people who are 90 years of age who are going to work every day, doing excellent work. And obviously, age is a factor. But it depends on the overall health and wellbeing of the individual.”

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Sanders released his medical records in 2016, with a Senate physician saying in a letter that the senator was “in overall very good health.”

Source: Fox News Politics

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Cambodian authorities have ordered a one-hour reduction in the length of school days because of concerns that students and teachers may fall ill from a prolonged heat wave.

Education Minister Hang Chuon Naron said in an announcement seen Friday that the shortened hours will remain in effect until the rainy season starts, which usually occurs in May. The current heat wave, in which temperatures are regularly reaching as high as 41 Celsius (106 Fahrenheit), is one of the longest in memory.

Most schools in Cambodia lack air conditioning, prompting concern that temperatures inside classrooms could rise to unhealthy levels.

School authorities were instructed to watch for symptoms of heat stroke and urge pupils to drink more water.

The new hours cut 30 minutes off the beginning of the school day and 30 minutes off the end.

School authorities instituted a similar measure in 2016.

Source: Fox News World

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Explosions have rocked Britain’s largest steel plant, injuring two people and shaking nearby homes.

South Wales Police say the incident at the Tata Steel plant in Port Talbot was reported at about 3:35 a.m. Friday (22:35 EDT Thursday). The explosions touched off small fires, which are under control. Two workers suffered minor injuries and all staff members have been accounted for.

Police say early indications are that the explosions were caused by a train used to carry molten metal into the plant. Tata Steel says its personnel are working with emergency services at the scene.

Local lawmaker Stephen Kinnock says the incident raises concerns about safety.

He tweeted: “It could have been a lot worse … @TataSteelEurope must conduct a full review, to improve safety.”

Source: Fox News World

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The Wider Image: China's start-ups go small in age of 'shoebox' satellites
LinkSpace’s reusable rocket RLV-T5, also known as NewLine Baby, is carried to a vacant plot of land for a test launch in Longkou, Shandong province, China, April 19, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee

April 26, 2019

By Ryan Woo

LONGKOU, China (Reuters) – During initial tests of their 8.1-metre (27-foot) tall reusable rocket, Chinese engineers from LinkSpace, a start-up led by China’s youngest space entrepreneur, used a Kevlar tether to ensure its safe return. Just in case.

But when the Beijing-based company’s prototype, called NewLine Baby, successfully took off and landed last week for the second time in two months, no tether was needed.

The 1.5-tonne rocket hovered 40 meters above the ground before descending back to its concrete launch pad after 30 seconds, to the relief of 26-year-old chief executive Hu Zhenyu and his engineers – one of whom cartwheeled his way to the launch pad in delight.

LinkSpace, one of China’s 15-plus private rocket manufacturers, sees these short hops as the first steps towards a new business model: sending tiny, inexpensive satellites into orbit at affordable prices.

Demand for these so-called nanosatellites – which weigh less than 10 kilograms (22 pounds) and are in some cases as small as a shoebox – is expected to explode in the next few years. And China’s rocket entrepreneurs reckon there is no better place to develop inexpensive launch vehicles than their home country.

“For suborbital clients, their focus will be on scientific research and some commercial uses. After entering orbit, the near-term focus (of clients) will certainly be on satellites,” Hu said.

In the near term, China envisions massive constellations of commercial satellites that can offer services ranging from high-speed internet for aircraft to tracking coal shipments. Universities conducting experiments and companies looking to offer remote-sensing and communication services are among the potential domestic customers for nanosatellites.

A handful of U.S. small-rocket companies are also developing launchers ahead of the expected boom. One of the biggest, Rocket Lab, has already put 25 satellites in orbit.

No private company in China has done that yet. Since October, two – LandSpace and OneSpace – have tried but failed, illustrating the difficulties facing space start-ups everywhere.

The Chinese companies are approaching inexpensive launches in different ways. Some, like OneSpace, are designing cheap, disposable boosters. LinkSpace’s Hu aspires to build reusable rockets that return to Earth after delivering their payload, much like the Falcon 9 rockets of Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

“If you’re a small company and you can only build a very, very small rocket because that’s all you have money for, then your profit margins are going to be narrower,” said Macro Caceres, analyst at U.S. aerospace consultancy Teal Group.

“But if you can take that small rocket and make it reusable, and you can launch it once a week, four times a month, 50 times a year, then with more volume, your profit increases,” Caceres added.

Eventually LinkSpace hopes to charge no more than 30 million yuan ($4.48 million) per launch, Hu told Reuters.

That is a fraction of the $25 million to $30 million needed for a launch on a Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems Pegasus, a commonly used small rocket. The Pegasus is launched from a high-flying aircraft and is not reusable.

(Click https://reut.rs/2UVBjKs to see a picture package of China’s rocket start-ups. Click https://tmsnrt.rs/2GIy9Bc for an interactive look at the nascent industry.)

NEED FOR CASH

LinkSpace plans to conduct suborbital launch tests using a bigger recoverable rocket in the first half of 2020, reaching altitudes of at least 100 kilometers, then an orbital launch in 2021, Hu told Reuters.

The company is in its third round of fundraising and wants to raise up to 100 million yuan, Hu said. It had secured tens of millions of yuan in previous rounds.

After a surge in fresh funding in 2018, firms like LinkSpace are pushing out prototypes, planning more tests and even proposing operational launches this year.

Last year, equity investment in China’s space start-ups reached 3.57 billion yuan ($533 million), a report by Beijing-based investor FutureAerospace shows, with a burst of financing in late 2018.

That accounted for about 18 percent of global space start-up investments in 2018, a historic high, according to Reuters calculations based on a global estimate by Space Angels. The New York-based venture capital firm said global space start-up investments totaled $2.97 billion last year.

“Costs for rocket companies are relatively high, but as to how much funding they need, be it in the hundreds of millions, or tens of millions, or even just a few million yuan, depends on the company’s stage of development,” said Niu Min, founder of FutureAerospace.

FutureAerospace has invested tens of millions of yuan in LandSpace, based in Beijing.

Like space-launch startups elsewhere in the world, the immediate challenge for Chinese entrepreneurs is developing a safe and reliable rocket.

Proven talent to develop such hardware can be found in China’s state research institutes or the military; the government directly supports private firms by allowing them to launch from military-controlled facilities.

But it’s still a high-risk business, and one unsuccessful launch might kill a company.

“The biggest problem facing all commercial space companies, especially early-stage entrepreneurs, is failure” of an attempted flight, Liang Jianjun, chief executive of rocket company Space Trek, told Reuters. That can affect financing, research, manufacturing and the team’s morale, he added.

Space Trek is planning its first suborbital launch by the end of June and an orbital launch next year, said Liang, who founded the company in late 2017 with three other former military technical officers.

Despite LandSpace’s failed Zhuque-1 orbital launch in October, the Beijing-based firm secured 300 million yuan in additional funding for the development of its Zhuque-2 rocket a month later.

In December, the company started operating China’s first private rocket production facility in Zhejiang province, in anticipation of large-scale manufacturing of its Zhuque-2, which it expects to unveil next year.

STATE COMPETITION

China’s state defense contractors are also trying to get into the low-cost market.

In December, the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp (CASIC) successfully launched a low-orbit communication satellite, the first of 156 that CASIC aims to deploy by 2022 to provide more stable broadband connectivity to rural China and eventually developing countries.

The satellite, Hongyun-1, was launched on a rocket supplied by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC), the nation’s main space contractor.

In early April, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALVT), a subsidiary of CASC, completed engine tests for its Dragon, China’s first rocket meant solely for commercial use, clearing the path for a maiden flight before July.

The Dragon, much bigger than the rockets being developed by private firms, is designed to carry multiple commercial satellites.

At least 35 private Chinese companies are working to produce more satellites.

Spacety, a satellite maker based in southern Hunan province, plans to put 20 satellites in orbit this year, including its first for a foreign client, chief executive Yang Feng told Reuters.

The company has only launched 12 on state-produced rockets since the company started operating in early 2016.

“When it comes to rocket launches, what we care about would be cost, reliability and time,” Yang said.

(Reporting by Ryan Woo; Additional reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Gerry Doyle)

Source: OANN

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At least one person is reported dead and homes have been destroyed by a powerful cyclone that struck northern Mozambique and continues to dump rain on the region, with the United Nations warning of “massive flooding.”

Cyclone Kenneth arrived just six weeks after Cyclone Idai tore into central Mozambique, killing more than 600 people and displacing scores of thousands. The U.N. says this is the first time in known history that the southern African nation has been hit by two cyclones in one season.

Forecasters say the new cyclone made landfall Thursday night in a part of Mozambique that has not seen such a storm in at least 60 years.

Mozambique’s local emergency operations center says a woman in the city of Pemba was killed by a falling tree.

Source: Fox News World

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