The most ambitious mission that NASA has undertaken in decades is Artemis I. NASA confirmed this week that the Orion capsule that one day all astronauts to the moon and perhaps beyond was lifted and placed atop its massive SLS rocket in preparation for launch. The capsule was lifted into the air to attach to the top of the rocket … Continue reading
Russia’s capital city of Moscow will enter a 10-day lockdown starting next week as new cases of covid-19 and deaths from the disease reach new daily highs. The lockdown, which won’t start until Thursday, Oct. 28, comes as Russian hospitals struggle with a horrific surge of largely unvaccinated patients.
“Twenty minutes I was talking to this person,” Fallon joked about the awkward conclusion to the exchange.
The network launched its 24-hour Christmas programming more than a week before Halloween.
Tesla’s closely-guarded driving data has been decrypted for the first time, according to a Dutch government-run forensic lab. The Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) said it discovered a wealth of information about Tesla’s Autopilot, along with data around speed, accelerator pedal positions, steering wheel angle and more. The findings will allow the government to “request more targeted data” to help determine the cause of accidents, the investigators said.
The researchers already knew that Tesla vehicles encrypt and store accident related data, but not which data and how much. As such, they reverse-engineered the system and succeeded in “obtaining data from the models S, Y, X and 3,” which they described in a paper presented at an accident analysis conference.
These data contain a wealth of information for forensic investigators and traffic accident analysts and can help with a criminal investigation after a fatal traffic accident or an accident with injury.
With knowledge of how to decrypt the storage, the NFI carried out tests with a Tesla Model S so it could compare the logs with real-world data. It found that the vehicle logs were “very accurate,” with deviations less than 1 km/h (about 0.6 MPH).
The NSI also analyzed several accidents using the raw data it acquired. In one case, a Tesla on Autopilot collided with a car ahead that suddenly braked. Normally, if the Autopilot doesn’t brake in time, the driver is supposed to take over.
“In this case, the investigation showed that the driver did indeed intervene and also within the expected response time,” said researcher Aart Spek. “The fact that it turned out to be a collision was because the following distance [chosen by Autopilot] was too tight in the busy traffic situation. That makes it interesting, because who is responsible for the following distance: the car or the driver?”
It used to be possible to extract Autopilot data from Tesla EVs, but it’s now encrypted in recent models, the investigators said. Tesla encrypts data for good reason, they acknowledged, including protecting its own IP from other manufacturers and guarding a driver’s privacy. It also noted that the company does provide specific data to authorities and investigators if requested.
However, the team said that the extra data they extracted would allow for more detailed accident investigations, “especially into the role of driver assistance systems.” It added that it would be ideal to know if other manufacturers stored the same level of detail over long periods of time. “If we would know better which data car manufacturers all store, we can also make more targeted claims through the courts or the Public Prosecution Service,” said NFI investigator Frances Hoogendijk. “And ultimately that serves the interest of finding the truth after an accident.”
CNN’s S.E. Cupp suggested the Fox News personality could be to blame for the ex-president’s new business venture.
The poll worker said it was “extremely ironic” he received Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s bounty.
SpaceX has taken a major step towards sending the Starship to orbit. On Thursday night, the private space corporation has conducted the SN20 Starship prototype’s first static fire test as part of its preparation for the spacecraft’s launch. According to Space, the SN20 is currently outfitted with two Raptor engines: A standard “sea-level” Raptor and a vacuum version designed to operate in space. At 8:16PM Eastern time on Thursday, the company fired the latter. SpaceX then revealed on Twitter that it was the first ever firing of a Raptor vacuum engine integrated onto a Starship.
First firing of a Raptor vacuum engine integrated onto a Starship pic.twitter.com/uCNAt8Kwzo
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 22, 2021
Around an hour after that, the SN20 lit up yet again in a second static fire test that may have involved both Raptor engines. The SN20 will eventually have six Raptors — three standard and three vacuum — and will be the first prototype to attempt an orbital launch. A Starship launch system is comprised of the Starship spacecraft itself and a massive first-stage booster called the Super Heavy. Both are designed to be reusable and to carry large payloads for trips to low and higher Earth orbits. It can also eventually be used for longer trips to the Moon and to Mars.
SpaceX doesn’t have a date for the SN20 test flight yet, but the plan is to launch the vehicle with the Super Heavy known as Booster 4 from the company’s Boca Chica site. The booster will splash down in the Gulf of Mexico, while the SN20 will continue its journey towards orbit.
Twitter users “fixed” the Donald Trump sycophant’s post.
Trump’s new social media company shot up in value, but at least one investor says it’s not about the money.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
