Month: April 2021

Enlarge / ABL’s mobile launch system can be deployed at multiple locations. (credit: ABL Space Systems)

A California company that has yet to even attempt a rocket launch has nonetheless inked a major deal with Lockheed Martin for dozens of missions over the next decade.

Under terms of the block-buy agreement between ABL Space Systems and Lockheed, the aerospace giant will purchase "up to" 26 launches through 2026 and as many as 36 additional launches through 2029. If the terms are fulfilled, this would come to 62 launches over the next eight years for ABL Space. In an industry where even a single launch contract often produces a news release, a contract for five dozen launches is unprecedented for a private company.

Officials with ABL Space declined to offer specific financial terms of the agreement. However, ABL said the contract comes with a "significant" minimum commitment beginning in 2022, plus additional paid options in each future year.

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  The 8Bitdo Pro 2, launching on April 12 for $49.99. [credit: Sam Machkovech ]

What's the best all-around gamepad you can buy for most video games? You'd think in the year 2021, the answer would be simple. But between consoles, PCs, and smartphones, even the most comfortable, affordable, and solidly built gamepads come with a compatibility caveat.

In my 25 years of writing about video games, I have tested a lot of controllers, and my current comfort-and-performance favorite is the Xbox Wireless Gamepad (MSRP: $65, which can vary based on year and color). But it only officially works on Windows, MacOS, iOS, and Android. You can buy third-party adapters to sync it with platforms like PlayStation or Switch, but that's not necessarily ideal. There's also a whole console-specific controller market, ranging from entry-level pads to high-priced "pro" variants, but I generally don't review anything in the weeds of nichey compatibility.

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  Early on Monday, a Crew Dragon was docked at the "forward" port of the Harmony module. [credit: NASA TV ]

Early on Monday morning, four astronauts donned their flight suits and clambered into their Crew Dragon spacecraft, named Resilience.

But they were not coming home. Rather, NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, as well as Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi, were preparing to move the Crew Dragon spacecraft for the first time.

Over the course of 38 minutes, the spacecraft smoothly backed away from the International Space Station's Harmony module to a distance of 60 meters from the large laboratory. Under the power of its Draco thrusters, Resilience then reoriented itself to dock with another port on the Harmony module.