Fast 8 is a go! The news was revealed at the CinemaCon presentation that new Fast 8 film will be release April 14, 2017. It was a no brainer because the highly popular Furious 7 took in more than $1.1 billion globally so far. I’m not sure how the series will continue without its other […]
Life can be tough for a small satellite operator – it may be relatively cheap and easy to build small sats (or CubeSats, as they’re sometimes called), but arranging transportation for those satellites to get to orbit is still a big challenge. That’s why SpaceRyde is pursuing a novel way of launching light payloads, that could help small sat companies skip the line, and save some cash in the process. SpaceRyde’s co-founders, wife and husband team Saharnaz Safari and Sohrab Haghighat, saw the opportunity to address this growing customer base by making launches easier by reducing the impact of one of the biggest complicating factors of getting stuff into space: Earth’s atmosphere. In an interview, Safari explained that SpaceRyde’s technology works by making it possible to use a relatively tiny rocket rather than a huge one by attaching it to a stratospheric balloon and launching from much closer to orbit. Because of the size of the rocket and the lift limitations of the balloons, SpaceRyde ends up carrying much smaller payloads than say, SpaceX or Rocket Lab, but on the upside, clients don’t have to share rides like they do with the big rocket providers. “Just getting a ride to orbit for these small satellite, even if they have the money, or they want to pay as much as they’re getting charged right now, on big rockets, is a big problem,” Safari said. “Because they have to wait until a mission with their parameters, to the orbit they want, the inclination they want, all that becomes available and then if there’s space, they can, you know, hitch a ride. So it’s more or less like a bus system.” No one loves waiting for the bus, least of all the emerging crop of space startups hoping to build sustainable businesses. Many of these young companies, like fellow Canadian startup Wyvern, are looking to launch and operate small sats as the backbone of their go-to-market plan. Trouble is, they’re at the whim of whatever primary client current launch providers are serving, with launch condition requirements for the largest, most expensive satellites on board dictating when, where and if launches will happen for the tag-along smaller customers. SpaceRyde’s stratospheric balloon-based rocket launch platform concept. “What we’re building is, instead of this bus system, where it’s a set schedule, and it can get delayed,” Safari explained. “We want to give them the taxi or Uber service to space, where they buy an entire rocket and we provide the payload capacity that smaller satellite companies typically use in one launch, and so they can basically buy the entire rocket, and they can put a bunch of their satellites, depending on how big their satellites are, and then they just tell us where they want us to drop it for them.” SpaceRyde is early in its own journey, having been founded less than a year ago. But Haghighat, the company’s CEO in addition to being Safari’s husband and co-founder, has a PhD in Aerospace, Aeronatical and Astronautical Engineering from the University of Toronto and was an early employee of success story Cruise Automation. Safari brings business and sales expertise, as well as a Master’s degree in Bioanalytical Chemistry from the University of Waterloo . But more important than either of their credentials, they’ve already demonstrated a sub-scale prototype of their system in action. Earlier this year, SpaceRyde launched a stratospheric balloon carrying a scaled down version of their launch platform and rocket in Northern Ontario, Canada. The test wasn’t a complete success – a modification to the off-the-shelf rocket engine they used didn’t work exactly as expected – but it did demonstrate that their in-flight launch platform orientation tech worked as intended, and Safari says the malfunction that did occur is relatively easy to fix. Next up for SpaceRyde is to work towards a full-scale demonstration of their platform, which Safari says should happen sometime next year. The company is hiring to grow its small team and accelerate its pace of development, and Safari says they’re excited specifically about the potential SpaceRyde has to bring back domestic launch capabilities to Canada – the country hasn’t had a rocket launch in 21 years. For the private space economy, the startup can’t commercialize its product fast enough: Safari says they’ll be able to offer their launches at “around half” of what their customers would be charged currently (thanks to using mostly off-the-self rocket parts and balloons), but again she stressed that it’s actually not cost, but availability that is the biggest challenge for most. ... Read More
Walmart -owned Sam’s Club is expanding into same-day alcohol delivery, the retailer announced this morning. The delivery service is being powered by Sam’s Club partner Instacart and is currently live in 215 stores across 12 U.S. states, with plans to reach other cities and markets in the months ahead. At launch, the list of states supporting alcohol delivery includes Florida, California, Missouri, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Ohio, Wyoming, Connecticut, Texas, Kentucky, and Minnesota. Not all clubs in those states will offer the service — only select markets. Where available, Sam’s Club members will be able to order both from the in-house “Member’s Mark” brand — like Member’s Mark Sangria, Member’s Mark Prosecco and Member’s Mark Moscato D’Asti, for example — as well as from other popular brands, like Kendall Jackson Chardonnay, Modelo Especial, and Tito’s Handmade Vodka, among others. The deliveries can arrive as fast as one hour. The move pits Sam’s Club as a rival to other same-day alcohol delivery services, including Target’s Shipt, which delivers alcohol in a number of cities from various retailers (including Target), Amazon’s Prime Now, Drizly, Postmates, plus other Instacart partner retailers which vary by market and regional chains. Sam’s Club parent Walmart also delivers alcohol in select markets through Walmart Grocery. To order alcohol, Sam’s Club members will need to order through the Instacart app or website. They’ll also obviously need to be 21 years of age and will need to present their government ID at the time of delivery. “Sam’s Club is focused on offering quality products, unexpected finds and better customer experiences,” said Racquel Harris, Vice President, Adult Beverage, in a statement. “Now you can select the perfect bottle of wine to complement your dinner or stock up on your favorite beer or spirits for the big game with the convenience of delivery.” “Instacart is proud to collaborate with Sam’s Club to provide wine, beer, and spirits delivery for their valued members. By extending our marketplace categories, we’re making it even easier for customers to shop from Sam’s Club for all their needs – from groceries and household essentials to alcohol,” said Andrew Nodes, Vice President of Retail at Instacart. “We’re proud to have grown our relationship with Sam’s Club to include its clubs across the U.S., helping members across the country get the groceries they need in as fast as an hour.” ... Read More
The third flight of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy is set for this evening, and this launch is perhaps the most important one yet for the powerful rocket. The Falcon Heavy will be flying a mission for the Air Force known as STP-2 that’s ultimately meant to certify the vehicle as capable of launching future national security missions. If all goes well, the launch could help solidify the Falcon Heavy as a dependable rocket for the Department of Defense and potentially position SpaceX as a go-to launch provider for the military for most of the next decade. To evaluate the prowess of the rocket, the Air Force has tasked the Falcon Heavy with launching 24 satellites into space at once. The various spacecraft — hailing from NASA, the Air Force, the... Continue reading… ... Read More
Samsung is expanding the range of its SmartThings line of connected smart home gadgets today with the new $89.99 SmartThings Cam, $17.99 SmartThings Wifi Smart Plug, and $9.99 SmartThings Smart Bulb. The new products work within the SmartThings ecosystem and are available starting today. All three products fill some gaps in the SmartThings lineup with entry-level devices that are ideal for smart home beginners. They also are aggressively priced, either matching or undercutting the main players in their respective areas. The Cam and Smart Plug can be used with or without a SmartThings hub, while the Smart Bulb uses Zigbee 3.0 and relies on the hub for connectivity. All three devices work with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Samsung’s... Continue reading… ... Read More
Community asked to wait in the name of "preserving work-life balance"... Read More
Sensor Tower data shows more than 400,000 installs, $300,000 in revenue across the US and UK, but launch is flagging behind Niantic's best... Read More
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