Month: July 2017

Interstellar Technologies

The United States has by far the most rich and diverse commercial aerospace industry in the world, but that doesn't mean companies in other countries aren't giving it a go as well. One of those companies is Interstellar Technologies, which began as a group of hobbyists in 1997 and became a corporation in 2003.

After more than a decade of engine and booster development, Interstellar is poised to make its first launch attempt—and the first launch of a private rocket from Japan—this weekend. As early as Saturday, the company will attempt to launch a sounding rocket named Momo from the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. The launch window opens from 10:20 to 12:30 local time.

Enlarge (credit: jennifer)

Aviation security officials will begin enhanced screening measures of passengers' electronics at US airports, the Transportation Security Administration announced Wednesday.

Travelers must remove electronics larger than a mobile phone from their carry-on bags and "place them in a bin with nothing on top or below, similar to how laptops have been screened for years. This simple step helps TSA officers obtain a clearer X-ray image," the TSA announced amid growing fears that electronic devices can pose as homemade bombs.

"Whether you’re flying to, from, or within the United States, TSA is committed to raising the baseline for aviation security by strengthening the overall security of our commercial aviation network to keep flying as a safe option for everyone," TSA Acting Administrator Huban A. Gowadia said. "It is critical for TSA to constantly enhance and adjust security screening procedures to stay ahead of evolving threats and keep passengers safe. By separating personal electronic items such as laptops, tablets, e-readers and handheld game consoles for screening, TSA officers can more closely focus on resolving alarms and stopping terror threats."

Enlarge / US Rep. Michael Doyle (D-Penn.). (credit: Getty Images | Bloomberg)

US Rep. Michael Doyle (D-Penn.) yesterday accused Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai of pursuing an agenda that harms both consumers and small businesses.

"Chairman Pai, in the time that you have been head of this agency, we have seen an agenda that is anti-consumer, anti-small business, anti-competition, anti-innovation, and anti-opportunity," Doyle said during an FCC oversight hearing held by the House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.

Doyle pointed to several of Pai’s decisions, including ending a net neutrality investigation into what Doyle called "anti-competitive zero-rating practices" by AT&T and Verizon Wireless. Doyle criticized Pai moves that made it more difficult for poor people to get broadband subsidies and made it easier for large TV broadcasters to merge. The latter decision would "enable an unprecedented merger between Sinclair and Tribune that would give the combined entity a foothold in nearly 80 percent of American households," Doyle said. (The exact figure is 72 percent of US households with TVs.)

Enlarge (credit: USB-IF)

If you've invested heavily in USB Type-C cables, the USB Promoter Group has some good news for you. The next version of USB, USB 3.2, will double the speed of existing Type-C cables. Cables currently qualified for USB 3.1 generation 1's 5 Gbps will be able to operate at 10 Gbps; those qualified for generation 2's 10 Gbps will be able to run at 20 Gbps.

The only small inconvenience is that to use these new speeds you'll need brand new devices at each end of the cable. But if you've managed to find some Type-C cables that actually properly comply with the specification—something rather harder than it should be—then you can rest assured that they'll continue to work with the new spec, without holding back the performance of your devices.

As for how the cables are able to double in performance, the explanation is simple enough. One of the most compelling features of USB Type-C is that it can be used for more than just USB signalling; other protocols such as Thunderbolt 3 and DisplayPort can use the same ports and the same cabling. To support this flexibility, the ports and cables have four pairs of wires used for high-speed data transmission. While some protocols, such as Thunderbolt 3, use all four of these pairs simultaneously, USB 3.1 only uses two of them—one pair for transmitting data, the other pair for receiving it—with the other two going unused.