178893936
submission
Zitchas writes:
After stopping the launch on Sunday due to a problem with ground systems, and then not being allowed to start on Monday due to storms; Starship flight 10 successfully launched and landed as planned in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday. The flight included a whole range of test items, including different tile configurations and new internal systems. There were some concerning moments, but the ship made it through. A fair amount of fire, but it successfully landed right next to the buoy cam.
173834613
submission
Zitchas writes:
The practice of having games require a connection to a publisher's server — whether it is to check for a license or to access plug-ins and DLC — is an increasingly common thing in computer software; and many people are concerned that at some point in the future the publisher will shut down their server, and effectively render the person who paid for the game left with something that no longer functions. This has already happened to some games and software
Concerned citizens in Canada are taking the issue to their Parliament in order to push for a law that will mandate that when the server-side support for software is discontinued, companies must leave it in a functional state and remove mandatory connections to servers & services that no longer exist.
Perhaps even more importantly, the petition also asks government to pass a law prohibiting EULA's from forcing users to agree to waiving their right to this.
Unfortunately, the petition is only open to citizens of Canada, so the rest of us are out of luck. Considering the potential benefits to the rest of the world if they enact legislation that does this, though, it might be worth suggesting to any of your Canadian friends to go sign the petition...
134339249
submission
Zitchas writes:
Tuesday evening SpaceX launched a testbed system which flew 150m into the air, hovered, and made a controlled landing. This testbed is noteworthy for being made out of stainless steel, as well as for being powered by a single off-center raptor engine. It demonstrates that the propulsion system can successfully compensate for the off-balanced propulsion via vectored thrust, as well as handle the stresses involved with landing and take-off.
17972438
submission
Zitchas writes:
Following the news of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket with a Dragon module on-board, and its arrival on orbit, we now have the news that is has successfully re-entered the atmosphere and splashed down in the Pacific. As their website proudly claims, this is the first time a private corporation has recovered a spacecraft they orbited, joining the ranks of a few space nations and the EU space agency.
A great step forward for space travel. Hopefully everything continues to go well for them.
