Geoff Brumfiel

SpaceX's Starship rocket took off again Tuesday for its sixth test flight. Crowds, including President-elect Donald Trump, gathered at the launch site in Texas to watch it fly part way around the world to the Indian Ocean. Starship – the largest rocket ever built – is the dream of Elon Musk, who hopes to make humans a multiplanetary species. But building the rocket is having a real impact on Earth. The launch site is located in the middle of one of Texas' largest wildlife sanctuaries and environmentalists say every launch is causing damage. Plus, how government regulation of launches may change in a second Trump administration. Want to hear more on the future of space exploration? Email us your ideas to [email protected] — we'd love to hear from you! Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

Russia launched an experimental ballistic missile at Ukraine. It appears to be intended for one thing: to send a nuclear warning to the West.

Researchers used fossilized poos, known scientifically as coprolites, to learn more about how dinosaurs came to rule the Earth.

Researchers have conducted what could be the largest study ever of dinosaur poop. The findings shed new light on how dinosaur's diets allowed them to dominate the planet.

Researchers have conducted what could be the largest study ever of dinosaur poop. The findings shed new light on how dinosaur's diets allowed them to dominate the planet. (This story first aired on Morning Edition on November 28, 2024.)

President-elect Donald Trump has chosen billionaire astronaut Jared Isaacman to be the next administrator of NASA.

Scott Detrow is a White House correspondent for NPR and co-hosts the NPR Politics Podcast.

MIDDLETOWN, Pennsylvania — Standing in front of one of Three Mile Island's iconic cooling towers, Bryan Hanson remembers the day in 2019 when he shut the nuclear plant down.

AI uses a lot of power. Some of the next generation data centers may use as much power as one million U.S. households. Technology companies like Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Meta hope nuclear power will offer a climate solution for this energy use. Nuclear power plants can deliver hundreds of megawatts of power without producing greenhouse gas emissions. But some long-time watchers of the nuclear industry are skeptical that it's the right investment for big tech companies to make. Read more of science correspondent Geoff Brumfiel's reporting here. Interested in more stories about the future of energy? Email us at [email protected]. We'd love to hear from you!Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

Big tech companies hope nuclear power can solve their energy problems. Will it? toggle caption