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Most of SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites are already on track
The first batch of 60 Starlink internet satellites has been orbiting Earth for about a week, and now SpaceX has released a status update on the mission. According to a spokesperson, "all 60 satellites have deployed their solar arrays successfully, generated positive power and communicated with our ground stations." The statement didn't directly mention concerns by astronomers about their brightness and visibility, but Elon Musk already has, and they aren't expected to reach their full altitude for three to four weeks. According to SpaceX, "observability of the Starlink satellites is dramatically reduced as they raise orbit to greater distance and orient themselves with the phased array antennas toward Earth and their solar arrays behind the body of the satellite." Parabolic Arc notes that during a speech at MIT this week, SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell mentioned four of the units had unspecified problems, while today's update said "most" are using their Hall thrusters to reach operational altitude and have already made contact with their broadband antennas, but all of them have maneuvering capability to avoid each other and other objects.
NASA picks first commercial landing partners for return to the Moon
NASA has edged one step closer to fulfilling its dreams of returning to the Moon. The agency has chosen its first three commercial Moon landing service providers, each of which will carry NASA-supplied science and technology missions as part of the Artemis Moon program. The first, OrbitBeyond, will deliver up to four payloads to the Moon's Mare Imbrium by September 2020 thanks in part to a $97 million contract. Astrobotic is receiving $79.5 million to send as many as 14 payloads to the Lacus Mortis crater by July 2021, while Intuitive Machines will get $77 million in return for flying up to five payloads to the Oceanus Procellarum "dark spot" in a similar time frame.
MIT’s sensor-packed glove helps AI identify objects by touch
Researchers have spent years trying to teach robots how to grip different objects without crushing or dropping them. They could be one step closer, thanks to this low-cost, sensor-packed glove. In a paper published in Nature, a team of MIT scientists share how they used the glove to help AI recognize objects through touch alone. That information could help robots better manipulate objects, and it may aid in prosthetics design.
Lego is releasing an Apollo 11 Lunar Lander set for its 50th anniversary
The 50th anniversary of the human race's first trip to the moon is fast approaching, and Lego is marking the milestone with a NASA Apollo 11 lunar lander set. It'll be available June 1st for $100.
STEM kits that don't look like STEM kits
Contrary to what you might think and hear, apps and screens aren't the best tools for kids to learn STEM concepts, even coding. Why? Innovation, pattern recognition, exploration, experimentation and creation underlie STEM principles. Kids need to manipulate tangible things. It's how they learn. While there are some great apps that supplement STEM learning, the best STEM activities for kids are blended ones -- the ones that require hands-on exploration, screens optional. Those that do require screens, like ones with coding apps, should augment the experience, not be the sole focus. Many of these toys and kits are designed for classroom use but are perfectly adaptable and suitable for home use, too, as my two kids, ages five and seven, will shout from the rooftops (supervised, don't worry). Check out these awesome blended learning STEM kits and toys. They'll have your little inventors ready to apply for their first patent in no time. READ ON: STEM kits that will get your kid's hands dirty
Our favorite coding kits for kids
There's plenty of reason to get your kid into coding. The next question is how. We've scoured the internet (and a few brick-and-mortar stores) for some of the best toys and kits to take your children from curious toddler to preteen inventor. READ ON: The best coding kits for kids
SpaceX's internet satellites could be a problem for astronomers
As helpful as SpaceX's Starlink satellites may be, they could be a pain for astronomers. The Harvard-Smithsonian Center's Jonathan McDowell and others have observed that the internet satellites are bright enough to cause a "problem" for astronomy, and the eventual constellation of roughly 12,000 satellites could complicate humanity's view of the night sky. It would triple the number of satellites in orbit, CNET noted, forcing telescope operators to account for the objects.
Microsoft AI creates realistic speech with little training
Text-to-speech conversion is becoming increasingly clever, but there's a problem: it can still take plenty of training time and resources to produce natural-sounding output. Microsoft and Chinese researchers might have a more effective way. They've crafted a text-to-speech AI that can generate realistic speech using just 200 voice samples (about 20 minutes' worth) and matching transcriptions.
Hitting the Books: An army of temps put a man on the moon
Welcome to Hitting the Books. With less than one in five Americans reading just for fun these days, we've done the hard work for you by scouring the internet for the most interesting, thought-provoking books on science and technology we can find and delivering an easily digestible nugget of their stories.
NASA orders the first piece of its lunar outpost
NASA has awarded space technology company Maxar a $375 million contract to develop the first Lunar Gateway segment that's flying to space. Maxar, which (according to Ars Technica) now has bragging rights for being the initiative's first commercial partner, will work on the lunar orbiting outpost's power and propulsion element. That component will provide the station's power, maneuvering capabilities, altitude control, communications systems and initial docking capabilities.
The Morning After: NVIDIA's 'super' Computex teaser
Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. Computex is just around the corner, so companies like NVIDIA are already touting some powerful incoming PC upgrades. As of today, SpaceX has delivered its first large batch of Starlink internet satellites, and Amazon is reportedly working on a high-tech mood ring.
SpaceX just launched a Falcon 9 loaded with Starlink internet satellites
After a pair of scrubbed launch attempts last week, SpaceX's first rocket loaded with 60 Starlink satellites has successfully taken off from Cape Canaveral. One hour and two minutes after the 10:30 PM ET launch the satellites are scheduled to begin deployment, heading toward their operational altitude of 550km above the Earth. The 227kg units will use Hall thrusters and energy pulled in from a single solar array to form a network that provides internet access around the globe. The rocket's first stage has already landed safely on a waiting drone ship -- this was its third flight -- and having a reusable booster will be key to launching all the satellites required. Plans SpaceX filed with the FCC said it intends to have 12,000 of the Starlink units in orbit by the mid-2020s, providing internet connections capable of up to 1Gbps even in rural areas.
An engineer allegedly falsified inspection reports for SpaceX rockets
Federal investigators believe a quality assurance engineer responsible for inspecting parts for SpaceX had been falsifying reports. The engineer works for New York-based PMI Industries and is accused of forging signatures on at least 38 inspection reports for parts intended for use in SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets. Authorities also found at least 76 parts that were rejected or not inspected but shipped to SpaceX anyway.
SpaceX sues over 'wrongly awarded' Air Force rocket contracts
To say that SpaceX was unhappy with losing out on the US Air Force's rocket development contracts would be an understatement. The company has sued the US government under claims that the Air Force "wrongly awarded" contracts to Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman and United Launch Alliance. The military branch handed out offers to the competition despite their "unproven rockets" and "unstated metrics," while allegedly ignoring SpaceX's own real-world record. The company had completed numerous missions with its Falcon rockets, according to the lawsuit, but was deemed "highest risk" because of its largely untested Starship.
NASA wants you to get your boarding pass to Mars
You probably won't visit Mars for a long time, if ever. You might have a way to go in spirit, though. NASA has introduced a "Send Your Name" campaign that will put your name on the Mars 2020 rover, leaving a long-term record of your name on the Red Planet. It won't be easy to read -- JPL is using an electron beam to etch over a million names on a dime-sized chip -- but you will get a "boarding pass" to prove that your name is Mars-bound.
MIT's 'RoboRaise' helps you lift things by studying your muscles
It's all well and good having a virtual assistant like Alexa or Siri in your lounge, but they make for a pretty useless robotic companion when it comes to shifting a sofa or getting a heavy box from a cupboard. MIT CSAIL has a solution in its sights though, and has developed a robot that can help lift things by studying a human's biceps.
'Observation' is a gripping space puzzler with an AI hero
Many video games are set in space. Most cast you as a human super-soldier or plucky science-type trying to untangle a truly terrible situation. Not Observation. The latest game from No Code, the Scottish studio behind Stories Untold, makes you play as a piece of artificial intelligence instead. It's a fascinating choice that changes how you move around the spaceship, solve basic puzzles and interact with the game's protagonist, a medical officer called Emma Fisher. If you've ever wondered what it would be like to live inside a computer, or hack your way through a modern spacecraft, this is the game for you.
NASA's Astrobee cube robot completes first hardware tests in space
NASA just inched closer to having robots take care of spacecraft. The agency recently completed its first hardware checkouts for Bumble (above), one of three Astrobee robots that will research automated caretaking aboard the International Space Station. The bot won't float on its own until later in the spring, but it should be good to go -- including for automated recharging at its docking station, Kibo.
China’s rover finds mysterious minerals on the far side of the moon
Early this year, China's Chang'e-4 lunar lander made history when it became the first spacecraft to touch down on the far side of the moon. Now, according to a study published in Nature, the lander's rover, Yutu-2, may have detected the first signs of lunar mantle material. If the minerals it found prove to be part of the moon's mantle, the discovery could help scientists better understand how both the moon and the Earth formed.
On May 20th, the kilogram will no longer be defined by a lump in France
On May 20th, World Metrology Day, the scientific community will officially change the definition of the kilogram. For 130 years, the kilo has been defined by a physical cylinder of platinum-iridium alloy, known as Le Grand K and stored in a vault outside of Paris. But every time scientists handled it, the cylinder lost atoms -- an estimated 50 micrograms over its lifetime. So, beginning Monday, the kilogram will officially be measured by a physical constant known as the Planck constant.