DTN 067: SpaceX Tapped to Deorbit International Space Station
Plus: First AI law in the US, radioactive rhinos, Colorado's bat virus facility, satellite Armageddon, and more.
The Big Picture
NASA will pay SpaceX nearly $1B to deorbit the International Space Station
“NASA has awarded an $843 million contract to SpaceX to develop a "US Deorbit Vehicle." This spacecraft will dock to the International Space Station in 2029 and then ensure the large facility makes a controlled reentry through Earth's atmosphere before splashing into the ocean in 2030. ‘Selecting a US Deorbit Vehicle for the International Space Station will help NASA and its international partners ensure a safe and responsible transition in low Earth orbit at the end of station operations,’ said Ken Bowersox, NASA's associate administrator for Space Operations, in a statement. ‘This decision also supports NASA’s plans for future commercial destinations and allows for the continued use of space near Earth.’” (Ars Technica)
Deep Tech News
- Colorado has a first-in-the-nation law for AI - but what will it do?
- AI discovers new rare-earth-free magnet at 200 times the speed of man
- Supercomputer-on-a-chip goes live: single PCIe card packs more than 6k cores
- NASA is flying planes low over the US to make maps of air pollution sources
- Researchers discover method to help perovskite solar cells self-heal
- China is plowing $11B into a solar, wind and coal energy project
- The race to prevent satellite Armageddon
JPEG of the Week
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams aboard, approaches the International Space Station for docking.
Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, Calypso, encountered technical challenges that have extended the mission of NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on its first crewed flight to the International Space Station (ISS). While engineers work diligently to resolve issues with the propulsion system and thrusters, NASA officials assure that the astronauts remain safe on the well-provisioned ISS. Their return has been put on hold to allow engineers more time to troubleshoot hardware problems that emerged on the spacecraft after launch. (via Scientific American)
Peer Review
- Princeton engineers create new oyster-inspired cement 17x more crack-resistant
- MagNEO Project: Replace Rare Earth Elements for Permanent Magnets W 3D Printing
- Moving objects precisely with sound
- Researchers develop technology to mass produce quantum dot lasers for optical communications
- Researchers develop AI technology to predict yield strength of metals
- Researchers develop novel atom-thin material heat test
- Supercomputing in the age of AI to accelerate protein structure prediction
- Gold nanoparticles kill cancer—but not as thought
- Researchers find magnetic excitations can be held together by repulsive interactions
- Engineered biocatalyst for making 'drop-in' biofuels
- ‘Epigenome editor’ silences gene that causes deadly brain disorders
- Researchers create an optical lens that senses gas
Funding x M&A
- Volkswagen invests up to $5B in Rivian
- SpaceX Tender Offer Said to Value Company at Record $210B
- Molecular diagnostics company BillionToOne raised a $130M Series D
- Material science startup Maxterial raised an $8M Series A
- Carbon removal startup Net Zero Company raised a $5.5M seed round
- VoltR, a French lithium batteries startup, raised $4.4M in funding
- AI chipmaker Etched raised a $120M Series A
- AI-focused manufacturing startup Bright Machines raised a $106M Series C
- Protein-generating AI startup EvolutionaryScale raised a $142M seed round
- Formic, a Robots-as-a-Service for US manufacturers, raised a $27.4M Series A
- Formation Bio, a startup applying AI to drug development, raised a $372M Series D
- Arrow, a healthcare tech startup, raised a $110M Series A
- Samsara Eco, a startup replacing plastic packaging with green alternatives, raised $65M in funding
- UroMems, a startup developing implantable mechatronics technology, raised a $47M Series C
- Battery startup Sila raised a $375M Series G
- Vertus Energy, a waste-to-X industrial biotech startup, raised an $8.75M seed round
- Fellowship to support venture capital experts in life science and deep tech
- DOE provides $63.5M for ‘transformative’ energy solutions, including new storage technology
- New $80M Israel-Korea fund established for DeepTech investments
Miscellanea
The Weird World of Insuring Celebrity Body Parts / Test firing of a 3D-printed rocket engine designed through Computational Model / Boeing rejects claims NASA crew ‘stranded’ by spacecraft / Bots compose 42% of overall web traffic; nearly two-thirds are malicious / A Novel way to curb poaching, injecting radioisotopes into 20 live rhinoceros / Finding GPT-4’s mistakes with GPT-4 / How jellyfish survive pressures that would crush you into oblivion / Life Experiences May Shape the Activity of the Brain’s Cellular Powerhouses / Physicists determined the paper most likely to give you a paper cut / 'Immortal stars' could feast on dark matter in the Milky Way’s heart / Family Files Claim against NASA after Space Junk Crashes into Florida Home / Smile! Living skin helps robot make a happy face / Whales Are Dying but Not from Offshore Wind / Artificial reefs could protect coastlines and marine life/ How AI video games can help reveal the mysteries of the human mind / Colorado bat facility that will support virus studies sparks outbreak fears
