Important Innovations

  SpaceX Starlink Source:  SpaceX Starlink 600 Internet Satellites and Counting SpaceX and founder/CEO Elon Musk are setting new records in building Starlink, the space-based global internet service.  SpaceX is manufacturing an unprecedented 120 internet satellites per month.  No satellite competitor has even come close.  600 Starlink satellites are now in low Earth orbit.  Musk recently told the FCC that he plans to build an interconnected network of 12,000 small satellites capable of beaming high speed internet to anyplace in the world. Big Investment Musk told the FCC that he has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Starlink thus far.  He is currently producing thousands of consumer user terminals per month and is building ground stations to directly connect consumers to the Starlink network.  Musk says his internet service will be "inexpensive" for consumers to purchase. Big Demand Last week, SpaceX informed the FCC that it is experiencing "extraordinary deman

US Dept of Transportation Pushes the Technology Forward Source:  Hyperloop TT LA to Vegas in 20 Minutes In the US and Dubai, hyperloop transportation is very close to reality.  This summer, the US Department of Transportation became the first government agency in the world to issue guidance and establish regulations for hyperloop technology.  In the US, Virgin Hyperloop and Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (TT) are working on hyperloop technologies and projects in population centers like Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Chicago. In the United Arab Emirates, the first commercial hyperloop operation developed by Hyperloop TT is expected to break ground later this year. What Does This Mean For You? It would mean getting to your destination at incredibly fast speeds.  For instance, LA to Las Vegas in 20 minutes. Chicago to Pittsburgh, with 5 stops in between, in 45 minutes. The hyperloop uses magnetic levitation and vacuum pumps to propel a pod, carrying passengers, through a tube at speeds

2 NASA Astronauts Fly Crew Dragon from ISS to Earth Source:  SpaceX Crew Dragon History Being Made Again NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are making history once again.  At this moment, they are flying SpaceX's Crew Dragon back to Earth, after spending two months aboard the International Space Station (ISS).  Crew Dragon undocked from the ISS Saturday at 4:35PT.  NASA TV is broadcasting the return live. Smooth Sailing The return to Earth has been smooth sailing thus far.  Splashdown is set for Sunday 11:48 AM PT in the Gulf of Mexico off Pensacola, FL.  The only variable is the weather with Hurricane Isaias menacing Florida.  If the weather gets stormy, the astronauts have enough food on board to stay in orbit for several more days. Harsh Conditions During Re-Entry The re-entry process is dramatic.  The spacecraft will be travelling at 17,500 mph as it approaches reentry and it will endure maximum temperatures of 3500 degrees F during re-entry.  A SpaceX recovery vessel