Hasta La Gadget!

Welcome to Thursday evening folks. Today Microsoft’s former Windows head Steven Sinofsky discussed his recent and surprising departure from the company, but didn’t go into too many specifics when it came down to why he actually left. The Kindle Fire HD 8.9 started shipping ahead of schedule today, while new reports are suggesting that Apple may delay the new iMac into 2013. NASA was the victim of a major security breach recently, and today it said that it will make sure all of its laptops are equipped with full disk encryption by the end of the year as a result.

HP’s PC chief took some time out of his day to talk some smack about Microsoft Surface, while Google started sending out emails that said some Nexus 4 orders have been placed on backorder for three weeks. We learned today that 4G LTE networks are surprisingly easy to bring down, and Dell’s earnings for Q3 are showing a pretty big decline year-over-year. Usage of Microsoft’s SkyDrive has doubled in six months (and there are new features on the way), while a new survey is telling us that consumer demand for Windows 8 is a little on the low side.

We learned that the Steve Jobs biopic will be comprised of a collection of pre-keynote footage, and SpaceX founder Elon Musk talked about the future of space exploration. Steve Ballmer had some harsh words for the likes of Android and Apple today, while we learned that thieves made off with a shipment of 3,600 iPad minis. The HTC Deluxe was leaked today, leading us believe that it’s the international version of the HTC DROID DNA, and a new augmented reality game called Google Ingress was officially revealed.

Microsoft will be holding Windows Store app labs in 30 different cities to help Windows 8 developers make apps for the new OS, Xbox Live celebrated its 10th birthday. Spotify confirmed that its web app beta is rolling out to select number of users today, and Bethesda shared a bunch of new screenshots from its upcoming Dragonborn DLC. Finally tonight, Don Reisinger asks why the music industry seems to dislike fairness, while we go hands-on with the new Samsung Galaxy Camera – it’s a cool little device, so you’re not going to want to miss that one! That does it for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up, enjoy the rest of your night everyone!

SlashGear Evening Wrap-Up: November 15, 2012 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Today is a pretty big day for the folks at SpaceX and NASA, as the Dragon capsule has detached from the International Space Station and will soon begin plummet toward the surface of Earth. Engineers on the ground remotely controlled the station’s robotic arm as it removed the Dragon capsule from the ISS earlier today, pointing it in the right director for its return trip. To get back to Earth, Dragon will use a set a pre-programmed commands to perform a series a burns, with the final one happening in just about an hour (2:28 PM Eastern) to slow the capsule down and prepare it for re-entry.

Then, at about 3:20 PM Eastern this afternoon, Dragon will splash down in the Pacific ocean, 250 miles off the coast of Baja California. The capsule carried 882 pounds of supplies with it to the space station, but it will be returning with even more. When Dragon reaches Earth, it will be packed with 1,673 pounds of stuff, which includes “163 pounds of crew supplies, 866 pounds of scientific research, and 518 pounds of vehicle hardware and other hardware.”

Those 866 pounds of scientific research include things like urine and blood samples taken aboard the International Space Station, and they’ll need be returned to NASA within 48 hours of Dragon’s splashdown for testing. The hardware that’s being returned to NASA include defective parts from the Space Station, which will need to be examined by scientists here on the ground. Make no mistake, Dragon has a lot of important stuff on board, so here’s hoping that everything goes as planned this afternoon.

The SpaceX Dragon capsule has been attached to the International Space Station since October 10. There were a couple hiccups with the launch, but Dragon made it to ISS intact – though those hiccups did have some unintended consequences for a satellite carried into space on the back of the Falcon 9 rocket. Be sure to check out our story timeline below for more on the SpaceX Dragon!

[via NASA]

SpaceX Dragon capsule leaves ISS, returning to Earth today is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Earlier this month, SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket into space with the main mission of delivering its Dragon cargo capsule to the ISS for NASA. During the mission, the Falcon 9 rocket also carried an experimental communications satellite constructed by a US company called Orbcomm. The Falcon 9 was supposed to drop that satellite off in an orbit with an altitude of 466 miles above the surface of the earth.

However, SpaceX and Orbcomm ran into a significant problem when one of the nine Merlin engines powering the Falcon 9 rocket shut down early following launch on October 7. The single rocket engine shutting down early meant that the satellite failed to reach the orbital altitude required. Orbcomm has now announced that the satellite has fallen out of orbit and burned up in the atmosphere during reentry.

Orbcomm did have a $10 million insurance policy in place that would “largely offset” the loss of the satellite and the cost of the launch. Interestingly, the Falcon 9 rocket had enough fuel to relight like the engine that shut down early, but the remaining liquid oxygen gave only 95% chance that the rocket would complete its second burn.

Since NASA’s ISS payload was the primary payload on the mission NASA requirements stipulated that if there wasn’t at least a 99% chance that the rocket had enough fuel to complete the second burn, the engine could not be restarted. Orbcomm said that it believes if its satellite had been the primary payload on the mission the prototype would’ve reached the orbit required.

“Orbcomm understood from the beginning that the orbit-raising maneuver was tentative,” SpaceX spokeswoman Katherine Nelson wrote. “They accepted that there was a high risk of their satellite remaining at the Dragon insertion orbit. SpaceX would not have agreed to fly their satellite otherwise, since this was not part of the core mission and there was a known, material risk of no altitude raise.”

[via Reuters]

Orbcomm satellite falls out of orbit after problematic orbital insertion is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Earlier this morning, the SpaceX Dragon capsule was making its way toward the International Space Station to deliver all sorts of goods. The capsule was successfully grabbed by the Space Station’s 58-foot-long robotic arm about two hours ago to yank it out of its orbit and pull it towards the ISS. The capsule is now fully and completely docked with the International Space Station.

The successful docking happened at 9:03 AM Eastern time, and it marks the first time a private American spacecraft has been sent to the ISS. Station commander Sunita Williams says, “Looks like we’ve tamed the Dragon. We’re happy she’s onboard with us. Thanks to everyone at SpaceX and NASA for bringing her to us…and the ice cream.”

The SpaceX Dragon capsule carried almost 1,000 pounds of supplies as it made the journey to the ISS some 250 miles above the Pacific Ocean. Along for the ride was chocolate-vanilla swirl ice cream and materials to make Silly Putty, which will certainly be a fun experiment for the astronauts as they find out what space-made Silly Putty will act like compared to down on Earth.

The capsule is expected to spend at least three weeks at the International Space Station, and will be filled with around 2,000 pounds of cargo for the return trip, which will include experiment results and other station gear. The capsule is expected to splashdown in the Pacific Ocean near southern California on October 28.

SpaceX Dragon fully docked with ISS is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The SpaceX Dragon capsule has been successfully grabbed by the International Space Station, marking the first time a private American space flight has run a supply mission to the orbiting platform. The crew of the ISS snatched Dragon out of orbit ahead of schedule, using the space station’s robotic arm to guide the capsule in after its careful approach.

The entire process took place with both ISS and Dragon roughly 252 miles above the western coast of the United States, with the 58 foot long robotic arm attaching to a special plate on the capsule itself. That then allows it to be pulled into place on the space station’s dock.

Inside, there’s roughly 882 pounds of cargo, predominantly new supplies for the astronauts and new scientific experiments. However, there also proved to be some space for fripperies; there’s ice cream and Silly Putty in there too.

“Thanks everyone at NASA and SpaceX for bringing her to us… and the ice cream” astronaut Suni Williams said in the moments after the successful grab. Williams will be responsible for bringing Dragon into its berth.

Monday’s launch didn’t go entirely to plan, despite Dragon reaching the ISS successfully. A “tiny explosion” of one of the nine engines on the Falcon rocket forced the remaining rockets to compensate; unfortunately it also meant that a satellite intended to be released, the Orbcomm OG2, did not get deployed.

The CRS-1 mission will be the first of several resupply flights SpaceX is contracted to perform for NASA over the next twelve months. You can rewatch the docking process at SpaceX’s site.

Dragon captured: SpaceX’s first ISS supply mission is a success is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.