NASA spent October hoisting a 103-ton simulator section onto a test stand to prep for the next Moon mission

NASA spent the last two weeks hoisting a 103-ton component onto a simulator and installing it to help prepare for the next Moon missions. Crews fitted the interstage simulator component onto the Thad Cochran Test Stand at Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The connecting section mimics the same SLS (Space Launch System) part that will help protect the rocket’s upper stage, which will propel the Orion spacecraft on its planned Artemis launches.

The Thad Cochran Test Stand is where NASA sets up the SLS components and conducts thorough testing to ensure they’ll be safe and operating as intended on the versions that fly into space. The new section was installed onto the B-2 position of the testing center and is now fitted with all the necessary piping, tubing and electrical systems for future test runs.

Top-down view of the SLS interstage section installed at a test center.
NASA

The interstage section will protect electrical and propulsion systems and support the SLS’s EUS (Exploration Upper Stage) in the rocket’s latest design iteration, Block 1B. It will replace the current Block 1 version and offer a 40 percent bigger payload. The EUS will support 38 tons of cargo with a crew or 42 tons without a crew, compared to 27 tons of crew and cargo in the Block 1 iteration. (Progress!) Four RL10 engines, made by contractor L3Harris, will power the new EUS.

The interstage simulator section NASA spent mid-October installing weighs 103 tons and measures 31 feet in diameter and 33 feet tall. The section’s top portion will absorb the EUS hot fire thrust, transferring it back to the test stand so the test stand doesn’t collapse under the four engines’ more than 97,000 pounds of thrust.

NASA’s testing at Stennis Space Center will prepare the SLS for the Artemis IV mission, which will send four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft to the Lunar Gateway space station to install a new module. After that, they’ll descend to the Moon’s surface in the Starship HLS (Human Landing System) lunar lander.

You can catch some glimpses into NASA’s heavy lifting in the video below:

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/nasa-spent-october-hoisting-a-103-ton-simulator-section-onto-a-test-stand-to-prep-for-the-next-moon-mission-173008826.html?src=rss

Waymo raises $5.6 billion to fund Austin and Atlanta expansion

Waymo has raised another huge chunk of change from investors. The company announced on its blog that it secured an “oversubscribed investment round” of $5.6 billion in funding, the largest of which came from Google's parent company Alphabet.

The company is working with Uber to expand to Austin and Atlanta by the early part of next year. Waymo says it plans to use this latest infusion of capital for the expansions. This latest round brings Waymo’s total capital fundraising to $11.1 billion, with the $5.5 billion it picked up in two earlier rounds in 2020 and 2021.

Waymo currently operates in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix with a curbside transport service for Sky Harbor International Airport through its Waymo One driving system for businesses. The company announced it’s also started offering “fully autonomous freeway operations in Phoenix and San Francisco.”

The new funding will also help Waymo advance its Waymo One system, an adaptable autonomous driving system for different businesses. Waymo wrote on its blog it plans to “support a variety of business applications over time” through Waymo One.

Alphabet ponied up $5 billion for Waymo back in July as part of what Alphabet’s chief financial officer Ruth Porat called a “multi-year investment.” The driverless vehicle fleet logged a total of 25 million miles in July outpacing companies like Uber, which sold its self-driving unit four years ago before joining forces with Waymo.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/waymo-raises-56-billion-to-fund-austin-and-atlanta-expansion-172031686.html?src=rss

Waymo raises $5.6 billion to fund Austin and Atlanta expansion

Waymo has raised another huge chunk of change from investors. The company announced on its blog that it secured an “oversubscribed investment round” of $5.6 billion in funding, the largest of which came from Google's parent company Alphabet.

The company is working with Uber to expand to Austin and Atlanta by the early part of next year. Waymo says it plans to use this latest infusion of capital for the expansions. This latest round brings Waymo’s total capital fundraising to $11.1 billion, with the $5.5 billion it picked up in two earlier rounds in 2020 and 2021.

Waymo currently operates in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix with a curbside transport service for Sky Harbor International Airport through its Waymo One driving system for businesses. The company announced it’s also started offering “fully autonomous freeway operations in Phoenix and San Francisco.”

The new funding will also help Waymo advance its Waymo One system, an adaptable autonomous driving system for different businesses. Waymo wrote on its blog it plans to “support a variety of business applications over time” through Waymo One.

Alphabet ponied up $5 billion for Waymo back in July as part of what Alphabet’s chief financial officer Ruth Porat called a “multi-year investment.” The driverless vehicle fleet logged a total of 25 million miles in July outpacing companies like Uber, which sold its self-driving unit four years ago before joining forces with Waymo.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/waymo-raises-56-billion-to-fund-austin-and-atlanta-expansion-172031686.html?src=rss

The M2 MacBook Air is cheaper than ever at $700, plus the rest of this week’s best tech deals

Black Friday/Cyber Monday is more than a month away (Thanksgiving falls on November 28 this year — I looked it up so you don't have to). So while we wait for all of the best-of-the-year discounts the shopping event usually entails, there are still a few worthy sales out there on the tech we've reviewed and recommend. For example, the space gray M2 MacBook Air (our pick for the best budget Apple laptop) is down to $700 with an on-page coupon. For those ready to make (very tasty) ice cream at home, the Ninja Creami has a coupon code for $40 off. There are plenty of Anker batteries and accessories on sale too, plus we found discounts on a few choice video games to round out the savings. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today. 

Ninja Creami review
Photo by Sam Rutherford / Engadget
MacBook Air (M2, 2022)
Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
Photo of a Nintendo Switch running The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Photo by Nathan Ingraham / Engadget

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-m2-macbook-air-is-cheaper-than-ever-at-700-plus-the-rest-of-this-weeks-best-tech-deals-171031718.html?src=rss

The M2 MacBook Air is cheaper than ever at $700, plus the rest of this week’s best tech deals

Black Friday/Cyber Monday is more than a month away (Thanksgiving falls on November 28 this year — I looked it up so you don't have to). So while we wait for all of the best-of-the-year discounts the shopping event usually entails, there are still a few worthy sales out there on the tech we've reviewed and recommend. For example, the space gray M2 MacBook Air (our pick for the best budget Apple laptop) is down to $700 with an on-page coupon. For those ready to make (very tasty) ice cream at home, the Ninja Creami has a coupon code for $40 off. There are plenty of Anker batteries and accessories on sale too, plus we found discounts on a few choice video games to round out the savings. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today. 

Ninja Creami review
Photo by Sam Rutherford / Engadget
MacBook Air (M2, 2022)
Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
Photo of a Nintendo Switch running The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Photo by Nathan Ingraham / Engadget

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-m2-macbook-air-is-cheaper-than-ever-at-700-plus-the-rest-of-this-weeks-best-tech-deals-171031718.html?src=rss

iOS 18.2 will include daily Sudoku puzzles for Apple News+ subscribers

The long-anticipated iPhone iOS 18.1 officially launches next week, bringing with it Apple Intelligence, but we are already on to the next new thing. The company is busy preparing iOS 18.2, which has already entered its beta stage and should be widely released in December. This next operating system will include daily Sudoku puzzles for Apple News+ subscribers, as reported by MacRumors.

Users will be able to choose from three difficulty options each day, ranging from easy to challenging. There’s a scoreboard to track stats, which includes the total number of puzzles solved, speed metrics and more. This is the fourth puzzle game to be included with an Apple News+ subscription, joining Crossword, Crossword Mini, and Quartiles. The New York Times also offers a slew of games with a subscription, including Wordle, so this is becoming an actual trend.

Sudoku will also be available for Apple News+ subscribers with the forthcoming launch of iPadOS 18.2, and rumors indicate a similar release for macOS Sequoia 15.2. Apple News+ costs $13 per month on its own but is often available as a bundle, along with Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness+ and iCloud storage.

Of course, number-based mobile games aren’t the only feature shipping with iOS 18.2. Apple Intelligence is getting an expansion, including the custom emoji maker Genmoji and ChatGPT/Siri integration. There’s also a child safety feature that can blur nude content and report it to Apple.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/ios-182-will-include-daily-sudoku-puzzles-for-apple-news-subscribers-165115557.html?src=rss

iOS 18.2 will include daily Sudoku puzzles for Apple News+ subscribers

The long-anticipated iPhone iOS 18.1 officially launches next week, bringing with it Apple Intelligence, but we are already on to the next new thing. The company is busy preparing iOS 18.2, which has already entered its beta stage and should be widely released in December. This next operating system will include daily Sudoku puzzles for Apple News+ subscribers, as reported by MacRumors.

Users will be able to choose from three difficulty options each day, ranging from easy to challenging. There’s a scoreboard to track stats, which includes the total number of puzzles solved, speed metrics and more. This is the fourth puzzle game to be included with an Apple News+ subscription, joining Crossword, Crossword Mini, and Quartiles. The New York Times also offers a slew of games with a subscription, including Wordle, so this is becoming an actual trend.

Sudoku will also be available for Apple News+ subscribers with the forthcoming launch of iPadOS 18.2, and rumors indicate a similar release for macOS Sequoia 15.2. Apple News+ costs $13 per month on its own but is often available as a bundle, along with Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness+ and iCloud storage.

Of course, number-based mobile games aren’t the only feature shipping with iOS 18.2. Apple Intelligence is getting an expansion, including the custom emoji maker Genmoji and ChatGPT/Siri integration. There’s also a child safety feature that can blur nude content and report it to Apple.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/ios-182-will-include-daily-sudoku-puzzles-for-apple-news-subscribers-165115557.html?src=rss

The UK’s antitrust regulator will formally investigate Alphabet’s $2.3 billion Anthropic investment

The UK’s competition regulator is probing Alphabet’s investment in AI startup Anthropic. After opening public comments this summer, the Competition and Market Authority (CMA) said on Thursday it has “sufficient information” to begin an initial investigation into whether Alphabet’s reported $2.3 billion investment in the Claude AI chatbot maker harms competition in UK markets.

The CMA breaks its merger probes into two stages: a preliminary scan to determine whether there’s enough evidence to dig deeper and an optional second phase where the government gathers as much evidence as possible. After the second stage, it ultimately decides on a regulatory outcome.

The probe will formally kick off on Friday. By December 19, the CMA will choose whether to move to a phase 2 investigation.

Google told Engadget that Anthropic isn’t locked into its cloud services. “Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world,” a company spokesperson wrote in an email. “Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don't demand exclusive tech rights.” Engadget also reached out to the CMA for comment, and we’ll update this story if we hear back.

TechCrunch notes that Alphabet reportedly invested $300 million in Anthropic in early 2023. Later that year, it was said to back the AI startup with an additional $2 billion. Situations like this can be classified as a “quasi-merger,” where deep-pocketed tech companies essentially take control of emerging startups through strategic investments and hiring founders and technical workers.

Amazon has invested even more in Anthropic: a whopping $4 billion. After an initial public comment period, the CMA declined to investigate that investment last month. The CMA said Amazon avoided Alphabet’s fate at least in part because of its current rules: Anthropic’s UK turnover didn’t exceed £70 million, and the two parties didn’t combine to account for 25 percent or more of the region’s supply (in this case, AI LLMs and chatbots).

Although the CMA hasn’t specified, something in Alphabet’s $2.3 billion Anthropic investment constituted a deeper dive. Of course, Google’s Gemini competes with Claude, and both companies make large language models they provide to small businesses and enterprise customers.

Update, October 25, 2024, 11:10AM ET: This story has been updated to add a quote from a Google representative.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/the-uks-antitrust-regulator-will-formally-investigate-alphabets-23-billion-anthropic-investment-171043846.html?src=rss

Anker charging gear is up to 50 percent off right now

It's easier than ever to avoid finding yourself in a pickle because your phone (or another important device) has run out of juice. There are a ton of great on-the-go charging options now, and Anker is behind some of the best power banks and portable chargers. There's a sale on Anker gear at Amazon at the minute, with the prices of some devices dropping by as much as 50 percent. For instance, Anker's 633 10K magnetic power bank is half off at $40.

This MagSafe-enabled charger has a 10,000mAh capacity, meaning it should be able to fully charge a Phone 16 Pro‌ Max (which has a 4,685mAh battery) around twice over. The power bank has a built-in stand and you can position your phone horizontally on the MagSafe connector so you can watch videos or play games while it charges.

While the MagSafe option is convenient, you can hook up your iPhone to the 20W Power Delivery port via a USB-C cable. Anker says this will charge your phone three times faster than you can via MagSafe. This port means you can also charge non-MagSafe devices with the power bank.

If you're looking for a portable charger with a much larger capacity, the Anker Prime Power Bank could be an option. It's $50 off at $130.

The soda can-sized power bank has a 27,650mAh capacity and a trifecta of charging ports: two USB-C and one USB-A. As you might imagine, this allows you to charge three devices simultaneously. Anker says the power bank can deliver up to 250W of power. This is said to include the ability to deliver up to 50 percent charge to a 16-inch M2 MacBook Pro in 28 minutes.

There are also some Prime exclusive deals as part of the sale. If you're a member, you can secure a Prime Power Bank — fittingly enough — with a charging dock for $160 ($75 off). The base itself has dual USB-C charging ports and a USB-A one, and it can be used to top up the power bank's battery.

In addition, you can get $9 off a convenient 10,000mAh charger with a built-in USB-C cable, a separate USB-C port and a foldable AC plug. It's available in most colors outright for $36, but oddly, the discount on the black option is only for Prime members.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/anker-charging-gear-is-up-to-50-percent-off-right-now-150554508.html?src=rss

Anker charging gear is up to 50 percent off right now

It's easier than ever to avoid finding yourself in a pickle because your phone (or another important device) has run out of juice. There are a ton of great on-the-go charging options now, and Anker is behind some of the best power banks and portable chargers. There's a sale on Anker gear at Amazon at the minute, with the prices of some devices dropping by as much as 50 percent. For instance, Anker's 633 10K magnetic power bank is half off at $40.

This MagSafe-enabled charger has a 10,000mAh capacity, meaning it should be able to fully charge a Phone 16 Pro‌ Max (which has a 4,685mAh battery) around twice over. The power bank has a built-in stand and you can position your phone horizontally on the MagSafe connector so you can watch videos or play games while it charges.

While the MagSafe option is convenient, you can hook up your iPhone to the 20W Power Delivery port via a USB-C cable. Anker says this will charge your phone three times faster than you can via MagSafe. This port means you can also charge non-MagSafe devices with the power bank.

If you're looking for a portable charger with a much larger capacity, the Anker Prime Power Bank could be an option. It's $50 off at $130.

The soda can-sized power bank has a 27,650mAh capacity and a trifecta of charging ports: two USB-C and one USB-A. As you might imagine, this allows you to charge three devices simultaneously. Anker says the power bank can deliver up to 250W of power. This is said to include the ability to deliver up to 50 percent charge to a 16-inch M2 MacBook Pro in 28 minutes.

There are also some Prime exclusive deals as part of the sale. If you're a member, you can secure a Prime Power Bank — fittingly enough — with a charging dock for $160 ($75 off). The base itself has dual USB-C charging ports and a USB-A one, and it can be used to top up the power bank's battery.

In addition, you can get $9 off a convenient 10,000mAh charger with a built-in USB-C cable, a separate USB-C port and a foldable AC plug. It's available in most colors outright for $36, but oddly, the discount on the black option is only for Prime members.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/anker-charging-gear-is-up-to-50-percent-off-right-now-150554508.html?src=rss