Upcoming shows
Real News

NOW ON AIR
Now On Air

Story Time

1:00 am 6:00 am



Maga First News

Upcoming Shows

Join The MAGA Network on Discord

0 0

Disabled man seeks $13.5M after convictions overturned

Four years after Richard Lapointe's murder conviction was overturned and he was released from prison, Connecticut officials continue to insist the mentally disabled man brutally killed his wife's grandmother in 1987 as they now fight his demand for $13.5 million in state compensation for the 26 years of freedom he lost.

The compensation battle is playing out before the state claims commissioner, with Lapointe's lawyers saying DNA testing exonerated him and state lawyers arguing it did not. It's not clear when Commissioner Christy Scott will rule, and any approval of a payout must be approved by the state legislature.

"The nightmare continues," said Paul Casteleiro, a New Jersey lawyer representing Lapointe. "The case and the facts border on the preposterous yet they maintain he is guilty. They accomplished what they wanted to do — destroy this guy's life."

Lapointe, now 73, is suffering from dementia and living under 24-hour care at a nursing center, said Casteleiro, who works for Centurion Ministries, which advocates for the wrongly convicted.

Lapointe was convicted in 1992 of killing his wife's 88-year-old grandmother, Bernice Martin, who was found stabbed, raped and strangled in her burning Manchester apartment in 1987. A judge sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of release.

His case became a cause celebre, receiving widespread publicity as advocates for the mentally disabled and other supporters rallied to prove his innocence. Writers Arthur Miller and William Styron were among those who protested the conviction.

Key evidence for the prosecution included Lapointe's confessions during a 9 1/2-hour interrogation by Manchester police. Defense lawyers said Lapointe suffers from Dandy-Walker syndrome, a congenital brain malformation that made him gullible and vulnerable to giving a false confession.

The state Supreme Court overturned Lapointe's convictions and ordered a new trial in 2015, saying he was deprived of a fair trial because prosecutors failed to disclose notes by a police officer that may have supported his alibi defense that he was home at the time the fire began in Martin's apartment. He was freed on bail in April 2015, and prosecutors later decided not to retry him.

Lapointe's lawyers have argued that DNA testing performed after the convictions were overturned excluded him from committing the crimes and proved his innocence.

In documents filed with the claims commissioner last month, Assistant Attorney General Matthew Beizer responded that witnesses for the state will testify "the DNA testing is inconclusive, does not establish the claimant's innocence and would still allow for the claimant to be convicted.

"It remains the state's belief that the claimant is responsible for the killing of Ms. Martin," Beizer wrote.

State law allows for compensation for wrongful imprisonment, if charges are dismissed on grounds of innocence or wrongdoing by officials that contributed to the conviction and imprisonment.

Prosecutor David Zagaja said that while the "touch DNA" tests did not show evidence of Lapointe's presence at the crime scene, that doesn't mean he wasn't there.

Zagaja said the tests turned up several different partial profiles, making it appear that the crime scene was contaminated by several people, likely first responders, forensic experts and other officials.

"The problem is everyone's hands had been on those items," he said. "The integrity of the evidence is gone. It's just not there. The state is not of the opinion that this is an innocent man."

Besides the confessions, Zagaja said other proof included Lapointe suggesting shortly after Martin's death that she was raped, before anyone knew she had been sexually assaulted.

Source: Fox News National

0 0

Zimbabwe sold up to $20 million to banks for trade on new forex platform: sources

FILE PHOTO: Zimbabweans queue outside a bank in Harare
FILE PHOTO: Zimbabweans queue outside a bank in Harare, Zimbabwe, February 26, 2019. REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo/File Photo

February 27, 2019

By MacDonald Dzirutwe

HARARE (Reuters) – Zimbabwe’s central bank has sold up to $20 million to banks for trading on a newly-launched forex interbank market, but the money could be exhausted by the end of next week due to high demand, banking sources said on Wednesday.

Zimbabweans had hoped the end of Robert Mugabe’s rule in 2017 after an army coup would change their economic fortunes, but have instead watched as a severe dollar crunch hobbles businesses and brings shortages of medicines, fuel and food.

Many anticipated walking into banks to buy U.S. dollars after the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) scrapped a discredited 1:1 dollar peg for surrogate bond notes and electronic dollars last week, merging them into a lower-value transitional currency called the RTGS dollar.

But banks were under orders to restrict transactions to companies and individuals with foreign payments to make that would stimulate economic growth, according to a central bank directive seen by Reuters.

That, and the fact the exchange rate has remained stuck at around 2.5 RTGS to the dollar since the currency started trading on Friday, brought criticism from bankers and economists that it was not the monetary reform needed.

The central bank sold what it called “seed” U.S. dollars to a handful of banks on Friday, but RBZ governor John Mangudya and Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube have refused to say the amount.

“They sold between $15 and $20 million to the banks,” said one executive whose bank bought dollars from the RBZ.

“But that will be exhausted by the end of next week, and that is when reality will kick in.”

“WE WILL RUN OUT SOON”

Another executive at one of Zimbabwe’s three biggest banks confirmed the amount and added: “The problem is that there is huge demand, but no one is selling, so we will run out pretty soon.”

Dealers at banks said the reason sellers were not coming forward was because they wanted a higher rate for dollars.

On the black market, $1 bought 3.6 RTGS, unchanged from Tuesday. But dealers said the central bank was giving indications to the market that it did not want the official rate to move beyond 2.5 for now.

“You then ask yourself whether this is really a free float,” a dealer at a Harare bank said.

The central bank says it removed the 1:1 dollar peg to benefit exporters who previously surrendered a portion of their dollars at the official rate.

Exporters, including miners who earn the most dollars for the economy, can now sell part of their U.S. dollars at the 2.5 rate. But they can only keep dollars in local foreign currency accounts for 30 days, after which they are required to sell on the interbank market.

This, the central bank hopes, will create a ready pool of dollars for importers and the government.

But some analysts are skeptical, saying exporters should be allowed to keep all their dollars and only sell when they need to, if Zimbabwe is to attract foreign investment.

“This is not much of a currency reform. They just merged the RTGS (electronic dollars) and bond notes and devalued the exchange rate, but everything remains the same,” said Tony Hawkins, professor of business studies at the University of Zimbabwe.

In another sign of the acute dollar shortages, long queues resurfaced at petrol stations this week where fuel is supplied by government purchases in the U.S. currency.

(Writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Alexandra Zavis and Andrew Cawthorne)

Source: OANN

0 0

Libyan official: Migrants used metal tools to threaten crew

A Libyan official says the migrants who commandeered an oil tanker that had rescued them in the Mediterranean Sea used metal tools to threaten the crew, forcing them to direct the ship toward Europe.

Maltese armed forces stormed the vessel Thursday and detained five men suspected of leading the hijacking operation, taking them away in handcuffs. In all, 100 migrants were on the ship, including woman and many minors.

Brig. Gen. Ayoub Gassim, the Libyan coast guard spokesman, said Friday the El Hiblu 1 cargo ship rescued the migrants in the middle of the night.

He said Wednesday morning, "when the sun rose and the migrants realized that they are returning to Libya, some of them rebelled, and used workshop metal tools in threatening the crew to change the route and head north."

Source: Fox News World

0 0

Giuliani slams leaks from Mueller team about Barr’s handling of obstruction of justice

President Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani said on Sunday that he’s upset with the media for reporting on leaks from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team that Attorney General William Barr failed to properly summarize the contents of the highly anticipated inquiry.

Giuliani, who told Fox News’ Howard Kurtz on “MediaBuzz” that he would like to see the Mueller report released in its entirety, slammed The New York Times’ sources for saying there were concerns raised by some members of Mueller’s team that the report was more damning of Trump than Barr has publicly indicated.

“That leak really indicates all you need to know about Mueller’s prosecutors,” Giuliani said on the Times’ unnamed sources. “Leaking like that…that’s been the biggest canard in this investigation.”

READ THE MUELLER REPORT FINDINGS

Giuliani’s comments come just days after The New York Times reported on the upset among some Mueller staffers over Barr’s handling of the report – particularly the attorney general’s four-page summary that noted there was no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, and Barr’s decision not to proceed with obstruction of justice charges against Trump. Mueller’s decision to skip prosecutorial judgment “leaves it to the attorney general to determine whether the conduct described in the report constitutes a crime,” Barr wrote.

The newspaper’s sources did not explain why some in Mueller’s team thought the findings were more damaging to Trump than Barr has revealed, but the report is expected to outline the president’s attempts to thwart the investigation.

“There is nothing wrong with the newspaper, there is something wrong with the prosecutor,” Giuliani said. “This tells me they don’t have anything, because if they were malicious enough to do that and they had a smoking gun, they wouldn’t say in general it’s very damaging.”

Barr has faced criticism since penning his letter that he unduly sanitized the full report in Trump's favor, including on the key question of whether the president obstructed justice. House Democrats on Wednesday approved subpoenas for

Mueller's entire report and any exhibits and other underlying evidence that the Justice Department might withhold.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

In a statement on Thursday, Barr defended the decision to release a brief summary letter two days after receiving the report on March 22. He has previously said he did not believe it would be in the public's interest to release the full document in piecemeal or gradual fashion, and that he did not intend for his letter summarizing Mueller's "principal conclusions" to be an "exhaustive recounting" of the special counsel's investigation.

Barr is now expected to release the entire report, with redactions, by mid-April.

"Given the extraordinary public interest in the matter, the Attorney General decided to release the report's bottom-line findings and his conclusions immediately — without attempting to summarize the report — with the understanding that the report itself would be released after the redaction process," the Justice Department statement said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Source: Fox News Politics

0 0

Schultz predicts Trump victory if Sanders is Dems’ nominee & Fingerpointing in battle over #MuellerReport #MagaFirstNews W/ @peterboykin

Schultz predicts Trump victory if Sanders is Dems' nominee & Fingerpointing in battle over #MuellerReport #MagaFirstNews W/ @peterboykin

https://www.spreaker.com/episode/17543674

MUELLER REPORT UNDER SCRUTINY: The Mueller report - and everyone involved in its handling, from Attorney General William Barr to Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his investigators - are under scrutiny as Democrats demand that Barr release the full, unredacted report ... 

On Thursday, the attorney general ... See More - who is expected to release entire Mueller report, with redactions, by mid-April - defended his handling of the 400-page document, saying it contains sensitive grand jury material. Meanwhile, amid reports that Mueller's findings were more damaging to President Trump than Barr indicated, Fox News has learned Republican lawmakers had concerns about Mueller's investigators before the probe ended. Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., alerted Barr to what they described as the "selective" use of emails in Mueller court filings -- as well as potential “improper political influence, misconduct, and mismanagement” in the FBI's original Russia probe.

EX-TRUMP FIXER MAKES LAST-MINUTE PLEA TO DEMS: With a little more than a month to go until he is slated to report to prison, former Trump fixer Michael Cohen is asking House Democrats to help keep him out of the big house ... In a letter sent to lawmakers Thursday, Cohen's legal team said he was still sorting through documents in his personal files that might be of interest to House Democrats investigating President Trump, including emails, voice recordings, images and other documents on a hard drive. The letter was sent to a who's-who of Trump opponents in the Democratic Party, including Reps. Adam Schiff of California, Jerry Nadler of New York, Maxine Waters of California and Elijah Cummings of Maryland.

HOWARD SCHULTZ: TRUMP WINS RE-ELECTION IF SANDERS IS HIS OPPONENT - Potential independent 2020 White House contender Howard Schultz predicted outright that President Trump will win re-election if Democrats nominate a self-described socialist like Bernie Sanders, during Fox News' "America's Election HQ" Town Hall Thursday night in Kansas City, Mo. ... At the town hall event, co-hosted by Fox News' Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, Schultz separately denied he would play a "spoiler" in the race -- and suggested instead that someone like Sanders could unwittingly play that role. He addressed a variety of topics, such as the immigration crisis at the U.S-Mexico border, allegations of inappropriate conduction leveled by seven women against Joe Biden, Trump's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal and more.

0 0

MLB notebook: Rays’ Snell set to return Wednesday

FILE PHOTO: MLB: Tampa Bay Rays at Toronto Blue Jays
FILE PHOTO: Apr 13, 2019; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Blake Snell (4) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

April 24, 2019

Tampa Bay Rays ace Blake Snell is slated to return from a fractured toe to start Wednesday against the Kansas City Royals.

The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner broke a toe on his right foot on April 14 after a decorative granite stand in his bathroom fell over as he was getting out of the shower.

Snell threw 18 pitches off a mound on Saturday and also threw a brief bullpen session on Monday.

“With the bullpen that I threw, felt very comfortable,” Snell told reporters. “Wednesday is a day that all of us believe in, and think I’ll be 100 percent.”

–Boston Red Sox right-hander Nathan Eovaldi had successful arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow.

The team said Dr. Christopher Ahmad at New York-Presbyterian Hospital performed the operation to remove loose bodies. Eovaldi, 29, is expected to make a full return to pitching within six weeks.

Eovaldi, who signed a four-year, $68 million contract in the offseason, has a 6.00 ERA with no decisions in four starts this season.

–Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Nick Burdi was placed on the 10-day injured list, one day after sustaining a horrific-looking arm injury during a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Burdi is listed by the Pirates as having right elbow and biceps pain. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that Burdi didn’t break any bones while throwing the pitch that left him lying on the mound in agony. Burdi reportedly was in the process of receiving a second opinion, but the initial prognosis could mean he won’t require surgery.

The 26-year-old fired a fastball to Arizona’s Jarrod Dyson in the eighth inning on Monday night and collapsed to the ground in major anguish, holding his right biceps. The intense pain left him crying on the mound as trainers attended to him.

–Infielder Hanley Ramirez cleared waivers and opted to become a free agent.

Ramirez was designated for assignment by the Cleveland Indians on Saturday and could have signed a minor league contract to remain with the organization, but the team said he chose free agency.

The 35-year-old veteran was trying to revive his career and made the Indians’ Opening Day roster as the designated hitter. He batted just .184 with 17 strikeouts in 16 games.

–Indians right-hander Carlos Carrasco exited his start against the Miami Marlins due to left knee discomfort.

Carrasco was covering first base in the fourth inning when he was injured following an awkward dive for a low throw from Carlos Santana.

The 32-year-old Carrasco scattered two hits and struck out four over four scoreless innings before leaving the game.

–Cincinnati Reds left fielder Matt Kemp went on the 10-day injured list when additional tests determined he had a broken left rib.

Kemp was injured Sunday when he collided with the wall in the third inning while trying to catch a two-run double by the San Diego Padres’ Wil Myers. He left the game the following inning. Kemp, 34, was initially diagnosed with a chest wall contusion, but the pain persisted.

Cincinnati recalled outfielder Phillip Ervin from Triple-A Louisville to fill the roster opening.

–Chicago Cubs shortstop Addison Russell is scheduled to join Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday as he works his way back from a 40-game suspension due to violations of Major League Baseball’s domestic-abuse policy.

USA Today reported that Russell will spend one week with Iowa. He is eligible to play in a major league game on May 3 when the Cubs host the St. Louis Cardinals.

Russell, 25, received a 40-game suspension after now ex-wife Melisa Reidy detailed allegations of physical, mental and emotional abuse on her blog last September. He served the first 12 games at the end of the 2018 regular season and is sitting out the first 28 games this season.

–Kansas City Royals right-hander Brad Keller dropped his appeal of a five-game suspension and began serving the penalty.

Keller will be eligible for reinstatement on Monday, when he is scheduled to make his next start against the visiting Tampa Bay Rays.

Keller was suspended after he drilled Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson with a pitch to his backside in the fourth inning of a game on April 17. Anderson homered off Keller two innings earlier and vividly flipped his bat into the air before beginning to run around the bases. The plunking of Anderson led to both benches clearing.

–Toronto Blue Jays prospect Bo Bichette sustained a broken left hand when he was hit by a pitch in a minor league game, according to multiple reports.

Playing for Triple-A Buffalo, Bichette was struck in the hand during Monday’s game against Syracuse and was forced to leave the contest. Preliminary tests revealed a fracture, but Bichette, a 21-year-old shortstop, will seek a second opinion, according to The Athletic.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

0 0

For Eagle Scout project, Utah teen building 150 beds for shelter dogs

A Utah teen with a can-do spirit is building 150 beds for shelter dogs of all sizes for his Eagle Scout project.

Chance Call said he'll donate them to the Davis County Animal Shelter on April 1.

“I’ve always had a soft spot for animals,” Call told Fox 13.  “I remember as a kid, I would always watch TV and see those ads, you can adopt a pet and make their life better.”

TAMMY BRUCE: WHAT INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY MEANS TO ME

“I’m like, what if I want to do that on a bigger scale and help the animals that can’t get adopted,” he added.

The teen has raised more than $3,000 in donations to purchase supplies to make the bed.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

He and his friends spent about 120 hours constructing the beds.

“I made these beds to help them be more comfortable and more relaxed.” Call said.  “It feels really nice.  I know there are a lot of animals that don’t get a house.”

Frank Miles is a reporter and editor covering geopolitics, military, crime, technology and sports for FoxNews.com. His email is Frank.Miles@foxnews.com.

Source: Fox News National

NOW ON AIR
Now On Air

Story Time

1:00 am 6:00 am



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.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

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

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!

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

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!

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

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
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

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!

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

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
Current track

Title

Artist