Month: March 2018

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | Olena_T)

SpaceX yesterday received US approval to launch 4,425 low-Earth orbit satellites, a key milestone in its plan to offer broadband with high speeds and low latency around the world.

The Federal Communications Commission issued an order approving SpaceX's application with some conditions. SpaceX intends to start launching operational satellites as early as 2019, with the goal of reaching the full capacity of 4,425 satellites in 2024. The FCC approval just requires SpaceX to launch 50 percent of the satellites by March 2024, and all of them by March 2027.

"Grant of this application will enable SpaceX to bring high-speed, reliable, and affordable broadband service to consumers in the United States and around the world, including areas underserved or currently unserved by existing networks," the FCC order said.

Enlarge / If you live somewhere where they use calcium or magnesium salts to keep the snow off the roads, the power steering bolts on your Model S might corrode. (credit: Tesla)

While most of the automotive press was running around the New York auto show yesterday, Tesla issued a recall for 123,000 Model S electric vehicles. The recall addresses a problem with Model S sedans built before April 2016—specifically, with the bolts used in the power steering system. Tesla explained the issue in a letter to affected owners:

We have observed excessive corrosion in the power steering bolts, though only in very cold climates, particularly those that frequently use calcium or magnesium road salts, rather than sodium chloride (table salt). Nonetheless, Tesla plans to replace all early Model S power steering bolts in all climates worldwide to account for the possibility that the vehicle may later be used in a highly corrosive environment.

If the bolts fail, the driver is still able to steer the car, but increased force is required due to loss or reduction of power assist. This primarily makes the car harder to drive at low speeds and for parallel parking, but does not materially affect control at high speed, where only small steering wheel force is needed.

It is the biggest recall Tesla has had to issue, affecting around (or maybe a little more than) half of all Model S vehicles built to date. In 2015, the company had to recall 90,000 cars for a seat belt problem, and in 2016 another 53,000 vehicles had to have their parking brakes replaced.

It's yet more bad news for the company in a week where its share price fell by 14 percent and its debt rating was downgraded.

The GE Energy controls lab in Niskayuna used to be the home of some laser gear. They kept the sign (presumably to scare off visitors).

Lidar imaging has been around for almost as long as the technology it's based on, the laser. But unlike its more famous cousin, radar, it was mostly used for research purposes. The reason scientists know so much about the density of aerosols in the upper atmosphere is largely due to the practice of shooting powerful lasers into the atmosphere and examining the return signal. That sums up the key difference between lidar and radar: lidar operates with a shorter wavelength so it can, in principle, detect and (sometimes) image smaller objects, like aerosol particles.

This difference has now been given a spectacular demonstration, with researchers imaging the profile of an air rifle bullet in flight with a resolution of about one micrometer (an air rifle bullet is about 5mm long). While air rifles have a rather low muzzle velocity, the researchers could have imaged the bullet from a firearm with a very high muzzle velocity and still had a resolution of about 10 micrometers.

Two lasers that are not quite twins

Old-fashioned lidar systems (and even newer lidar ones) work on the tried-and-true principle of time of flight. Basically, you send out a pulse of light and record the time it takes to receive an echo. This is a pretty simple system, provided you don't want very good distance accuracy.

Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson / Jonathan Gitlin)

NEW YORK—The New York International Auto Show opened its doors to the public on Friday morning. In recent years, it has found its place as the most important of the American auto shows—Los Angeles and Detroit have been cannibalized by CES and preempted by foreign shows, all to the Big Apple's benefit. This year's event didn't disappoint, as we discovered during the press preview days held earlier this week. There will be plenty more NYIAS content from us in the next few days, but let's kick things off with our Best Of awards.

Outstanding in the Automotive Technology Field: Nissan VC-Turbo engine

Since this is a technology publication, I'll begin with our award for the coolest technology on display. I was tempted to give the honor to Waymo, which has just partnered with Jaguar to build tens of thousands of self-driving electric SUVs. Waymo is light years ahead of the competition for driverless technology, but these robo-taxis won't actually be deployed for another two years, so we'll save that one for a later date.

Another strong contender is Cadillac's all-new V8, which will appear in a V-Sport version of the CT6 luxury sedan. It's a 4.2L V8 putting out 550hp (410kW) and 627ft-lbs (850Nm), courtesy of twin turbochargers. These nestle on top of the engine, between the cylinders—a so-called "hot V," as found in current Formula 1 engines. The engine will be unique to Cadillac, although it's rumored a version with a more conventional turbocharger arrangement (with the intakes on the outside of the V) will appear in the mid-engined Corvette that's still not confirmed but which everyone knows is on its way.

Astronaut Chris Hadfield’s cover of Bowie’s “Space Oddity” is thought-provoking, visually fascinating, and absolutely worth watching—but it’s far more than just a great cover of a classic song. It’s an inherently human video because it demonstrates the fundamental truth that we are a species of storytellers—and that we remain so whether or not we’re on Earth.

Music is both one of the oldest human traditions and also one of the oldest astronaut traditions. We’ve been taking songs into orbit with us since the 1960s, first transmitted from the ground and then later via tape, CD, and electronic formats. What we sing in space is similar to what we sing on the ground—music fills in the gaps of a day, helps boredom, focuses the mind, diffuses anger, and does a million other things to soothe the homesick spacefarer.

Ground control to Lionel Hutz

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Hadfield’s cover ran into legal trouble almost immediately after its release because copyright doesn’t particularly care how popular or viral a song is. In spite of having explicit permission from David Bowie and his attorneys, Hadfield’s “Space Oddity” was pulled from YouTube after the initial agreement allowing its use online expired, leaving would-be viewers unable to watch it until a new one was inked.