The sale of the failed satellite company OneWeb to Bharti Global Ltd of India and the UK government has been approved by a US bankruptcy court. The two parties’ joint bid of $1bn (£800m) secures them the firm’s assets. It means OneWeb will soon be able to resume building a space network capable of delivering

Nasa’s Perseverance Mars rover has been attached to the top of the rocket that will send it toward the Red Planet. The nosecone containing the rover and other spacecraft elements have been fixed to an Atlas V rocket at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The robot rover will search for signs of past

Some of the dirty air associated with vehicles seems to be creeping up again as the UK eases itself out of lockdown. The latest data acquired by the EU’s Sentinel-5P spacecraft, which was built in the UK, suggests levels of nitrogen dioxide are rising in the big cities. Comparing locked-down May with June, when restrictions

The World Meteorological Organisation says there’s a growing chance that global temperatures will rise by more than 1.5C over the next five years, compared to pre-industrial levels. It assesses a 20% chance the threshold will be broken in one year before 2024 and a 70% chance it will be broken in one or more months

Karma Automotive has raised a $100 million lifeline from outside investors, as reported by Bloomberg, with the struggling electric vehicle maker’s fortunes likely buoyed by the current market optimism on other EV companies including Tesla. Karma is the reincarnated version of Fisker Automotive, which previously faced bankruptcy before being acquired by Wanxiang Group in 2014.

The government’s new Joint Biosecurity Centre is to take a more prominent role in co-ordinating the response to Covid-19, the BBC understands. The JBC will be asked to develop novel ways to quickly identify and contain potential outbreaks. The government’s scientific advisory group, Sage, will meet less often and its sub-groups will report to departments.

Tesla’s 2014 acquisition of SolarCity turned the electric vehicle manufacturer into the undisputed largest player in residential solar, but that lead has steadily eroded as its major competitor, Sunrun, surged ahead with more aggressive plans. Now with the $3.2 billion acquisition of the residential solar installation company Vivint Solar, Sunrun looks to solidify its place

US and European scientists are about to get a unique view of polar ice as their respective space agencies line up two satellites in the sky. Authorisation was given on Tuesday for Europe’s Cryosat-2 spacecraft to raise its orbit by just under one kilometre. This will hugely increase the number of coincident observations it can

Replenysh has been kicking since 2016, but up til now, the Orange County, California startup hasn’t done much press. That changes today, as the company announces that it has raised a $2 million seed round with the fairly lofty goal of transforming recycling in the U.S. A press release outlining Replenysh’s plans offers up plenty

Hundreds of thousands of homeowners will receive vouchers of up to £5,000 for energy-saving home improvements, the chancellor will announce. Rishi Sunak is due to set out a £2bn grant scheme in England for projects such as insulation as part of a wider £3bn plan to cut carbon emissions. The Treasury said the grants could

Authorities in China have stepped up precautions after a city in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region confirmed one case of bubonic plague. According to state reports, the Bayannur patient – a herdsman – is in quarantine and in a stable condition. Officials said they were also investigating a second suspected case, according to China’s Global

The American launch company that flies its rockets out of New Zealand has lost its latest mission. Rocket Lab said its Electron vehicle failed late in its ascent from Mahia Peninsula on North Island. All satellite payloads are assumed to have been destroyed. These included imaging spacecraft from Canon Electronics of Japan and Planet Labs

The prime minister has been accused of inventing an allegation that wildlife rules are holding back house-building. In his recent speech on job creation, Boris Johnson said: “Newt-counting delays are a massive drag on the prosperity of this country.” But environmental groups say the allegation is a political trick with no basis in fact. And

The UK is spending $500m (£400m) on a stake in failed satellite firm OneWeb as part of a plan to replace use of the EU’s Galileo sat-nav system. OneWeb went bankrupt in March while trying to build a spacecraft network to deliver broadband. The UK is part of a consortium with India’s Bharti Global which

A sewage-based coronavirus test could be an “easy win” that would pick up infection spikes up to 10 days earlier than with existing medical-based tests. Scientists led by UK’s Centre for Ecology and Hydrology are working on a standardised test to “count” the amount of coronavirus in a wastewater sample. “The earlier you find [a

The launch of Nasa’s Mars rover Perseverance has been pushed back again to 30 July at the earliest. In an update, the US space agency said a technical issue needed to be investigated, prompting the delay. The robot rover will search for signs of past life on the Red Planet and also carries a drone-like

Fires in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest rose by almost 20% in June – a 13-year high for the month, according to government data. With such an increase at the start of the dry season, there are concerns that this year’s fires could surpass 2019’s disastrous blazes. Activists say the coronavirus pandemic is exacerbating the problem. They

Astronomers have found a previously unseen type of object circling a distant star. It could be the core of a gas world like Jupiter, offering an unprecedented glimpse inside one of these giant planets. Giant planets like Jupiter and Saturn have a solid planetary core beneath a thick envelope of hydrogen and helium gas. But

In his speech on the planned economic recovery, the prime minister said hydrogen technology is an area where the UK leads the world. He hopes it’ll create clean jobs in the future. But is the hydrogen revolution hope or hype? The digger with the long-toothed bucket bites into a pile of stones, tilts up and

A council leader hopes the Welsh Government will back plans for a dragon-shaped island that could harness tidal energy within the next few weeks. Rob Stewart said he wants to make tidal energy in Swansea a reality. The call comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce plans for investment to rebuild the