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Tech NewsGadgetsWatchmakers of the Future, Don Your Cyberloupes
While a “cyberloupe” sounds like a tube Elon Musk would run ugly trucks through, it’s actually a jewelers loupe from the future made by watch company IWC. Loupes, which are basically eye-mounted microscopes used by watchmakers to place fiddly bits of metal into watch cases, haven’t been upgraded much in the past few hundred years. … Continued
By John Biggs -
ScienceSpace & SpaceflightHow to Watch the Launch of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 Mission to the ISS
Early Friday morning, NASA will attempt to launch a CrewDragon to the International Space Station. The occasion will mark just the third time that astronauts will fly aboard the newly developed SpaceX capsule. You can watch the action live right here. A Falcon 9 rocket fitted with the CrewDragon is scheduled to launch at 5:49 … Continued
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Tech NewsTransportationVietnam Lifts Ban on Boeing 737 Max Aircraft
The government of Vietnam has lifted a ban on Boeing 737 Max aircraft, according to Reuters, citing Vietnamese state media. The ban on the planes was put in place following two crashes that killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019. The Civil Aviation Authority Of Vietnam originally grounded all Boeing 737 Max planes along with … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsBoeing 737 Max Aircraft That Killed 346 People Given Green Light to Fly Again by FAA
The Boeing 737 Max aircraft has been approved to fly again by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, according to a press release by Boeing and a statement from the FAA. The 737 Max was the model of plane that crashed in 2018, killing 189 in Indonesia, and again in 2019, killing 157 in Ethiopia. The … Continued
By Matt Novak -
ScienceSpace & SpaceflightIs NASA Finally Done Paying Russia for Trips to Space?
NASA just handed over $90 million to the Russian space agency for launching astronaut Kate Rubins to the International Space Station. Assuming its commercial partners are able to deliver, this could mark the last time NASA purchases a seat on a Soyuz spacecraft. It was 3-2-1 blastoff at 1:45 a.m. EDT today, when a Soyuz-2.1a … Continued
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Tech NewsFAA Chief: Look, I’ll Fly the Freakin’ Thing Myself
In a bid to reassure the public that Boeing has fixed the problems with its disastrous 737 Max line of passenger jets, Federal Aviation Administration chief Steve Dickson will personally get behind the controls for a test flight next week, according to Bloomberg. Every 737 Max jet in operation was grounded last year after two … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsTransportation‘Disturbing Revelations’ About Boeing 737 Max Crashes Made Public in New Report
Two plane crashes in 2018 and 2019 involving the new Boeing 737 Max aircraft weren’t a result of one single issue, but instead were caused by the failures of Boeing staff, Boeing management, and the Federal Aviation Administration, according to a new 245-page report released Wednesday by the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. In … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsBoeing 747s Still Use Floppy Disks to Get Critical Software Updates
It’s been approximately 12 million years since most of us last used a floppy disk, but apparently, the antiquated tech still plays a critical role in delivering software updates to Boeing’s 747-400 planes. The discovery comes courtesy of cybersecurity firm Pen Test Partners and was initially spotted by The Register. As part of this year’s … Continued
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Tech NewsTransportationBoeing Just Gave Us a New Reason to Be Terrified of Flying
Even if you weren’t afraid of stepping onto an airplane before, the global coronavirus pandemic has given us a slew of new reasons to be stressed out by air travel. Even if you’re not turned off by the idea of being cooped up in a germ-filled metal tube in the sky for hours on end, … Continued
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ScienceSpace & SpaceflightInvestigation of Botched Starliner Test Exposes Boeing’s Weakness as a NASA Partner
An independent NASA-Boeing review team has completed its investigation into serious issues that arose during a test of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft late last year. Boeing has now been given no less than 80 recommendations to put into practice, in what is an alarming display of the problems at the aerospace company. The 80 recommendations include … Continued
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ScienceSpace & SpaceflightBoeing Says It Will Redo Critical Unmanned CST-100 Starliner Test It Borked Last Year
Boeing is calling a mulligan on the failure of its CST-100 Starliner spacecraft to reach proper orbit in an unmanned test for NASA last year and will conduct another before it tries to use it to launch astronauts, the Washington Post reported Monday. Alongside competitor SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, the long-delayed Starliner is part of NASA’s … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsBoeing Finds New Software Problem With Scandal-Plagued 737 Max Plane
Engineers at Boeing have discovered a new software issue with the 737 Max plane, which has been grounded worldwide for almost a year over technical issues. The new problem, first reported by Bloomberg News, involves the trim system, which regulates whether the nose of the aircraft is pointed up or down. A light for the … Continued
By Matt Novak
