Science & Technology
North Korea fires likely submarine-launched ballistic missile, South Korea military says

North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Saturday (May 7), South Korea’s military said, three days before the inauguration of South Korean president-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, who has vowed to take a hard line against the North.
South Korea’s military said that North Korea fired what is believed to be a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) into the sea off its east coast around 0507 GMT on Saturday from around Sinpo, where North Korea keeps submarines as well as equipment for test-firing SLBMs. Japan’s defence ministry also tweeted that the projectile could be a ballistic missile. Japanese public broadcaster NHK, citing government sources, said the projectile landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
On Wednesday (May 4), North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the sea off its east coast, South Korea and Japan said, after Pyongyang vowed to develop its nuclear forces “at the fastest possible speed”. The United States assessed that North Korea was preparing its Punggye-ri nuclear test site and could be ready to conduct a test there as early as this month.
Yoon takes office on Tuesday. U.S. President Joe Biden is to visit South Korea and meet with him on May 21.
Science & Technology
Microsoft introduces AI-powered cybersecurity assistant

Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) on Tuesday launched a tool to help cybersecurity professionals identify breaches, threat signals and better analyze data, using OpenAI’s latest GPT-4 generative artificial intelligence model.
The tool, named ‘Security Copilot’, is a simple prompt box that will help security analysts with tasks like summarizing incidents, analyzing vulnerabilities and sharing information with co-workers on a pinboard, Reuters reported.
The assistant will use Microsoft’s security-specific model, which the company described as “a growing set of security-specific skills” that is fed with more than 65 trillion signals every day.
The launch comes amid a flurry of announcements from Microsoft to integrate the AI into its most popular offerings.
The company has sought to outpace peers through multi-billion dollar investments in ChatGPT owner OpenAI, which recently released GPT-4 to perform a range of tasks from creating a real website through a hand-drawn mock up to helping individuals calculate their taxes.
Science & Technology
Asteroid that could wipe out a city is near, but don’t fear

An asteroid big enough to wipe out a city will zip harmlessly between Earth and the moon’s orbit this weekend, missing both celestial bodies.
Saturday’s close encounter will offer astronomers the chance to study a space rock from just over 100,000 miles (168,000 kilometers) away. That’s less than half the distance from here to the moon, making it visible through binoculars and small telescopes, AP reported.
While asteroid flybys are common, NASA said it’s rare for one so big to come so close — about once a decade. Scientists estimate its size somewhere between 130 feet and 300 feet (40 meters and 90 meters).
Discovered a month ago, the asteroid known as 2023 DZ2 will pass within 320,000 miles (515,000 kilometers) of the moon on Saturday and, several hours later, buzz the Indian Ocean at about 17,500 mph (28,000 kph).
“There is no chance of this ‘city killer’ striking Earth, but its close approach offers a great opportunity for observations,” the European Space Agency’s planetary defense chief Richard Moissl said in a statement.
Astronomers with the International Asteroid Warning Network see it as good practice for planetary defense if and when a dangerous asteroid heads our way, according to NASA.
The Virtual Telescope Project will provide a live webcast of the close approach.
The asteroid won’t be back our way again until 2026. Although there initially seemed to be a slight chance it might strike Earth then, scientists have since ruled that out.
Science & Technology
Launch of 3D-printed rocket ends in failure

A rocket made almost entirely of 3D-printed parts made its launch debut Wednesday night, lifting off amid fanfare but failing three minutes into flight — far short of orbit.
There was nothing aboard Relativity Space’s test flight except for the company’s first metal 3D print made six years ago, The Associated Press reported.
The startup wanted to put the souvenir into a 200-kilometer-high orbit for several days before having it plunge through the atmosphere and burn up along with the upper stage of the rocket.
As it turned out, the first stage did its job following liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and separated as planned. But the upper stage appeared to ignite and then shut down, sending it crashing into the Atlantic.
It was the third launch attempt from what once was a missile site. Relativity Space came within a half-second of blasting off earlier this month, with the rocket’s engines igniting before abruptly shutting down.
Although the upper stage malfunctioned and the mission did not reach orbit, “maiden launches are always exciting and today’s flight was no exception,” Relativity Space launch commentator Arwa Tizani Kelly said after Wednesday’s launch.
Most of the 33-meter rocket, including its engines, came out of the company’s huge 3D printers in Long Beach, California.
Relativity Space said 3D-printed metal parts made up 85% of the rocket, named Terran. Larger versions of the rocket will have even more and also be reusable for multiple flights.
Other space companies also also rely on 3D-printing, but the pieces make up only a small part of their rockets.
Founded in 2015 by a pair of young aerospace engineers, Relativity Space has attracted the attention of investors and venture capitalists.
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