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Russia has had 2 leaky space station ships in 2 months. Coincidence?

Russia disposed of a leaky supply ship that had been docked at the International Space Station over the weekend, allowing it to burn up over the Pacific Ocean, according to NASA . Managers of the Russian space agency Roscosmos decided to deorbit the Progress 82 cargo capsule with an engine burn Saturday night. They made the decision after undocking the ship the day prior to get a better look at its radiator, where they believed coolant was spraying out into space. No astronauts were aboard the discarded spacecraft, as it's not intended for passengers. NASA said the ship was loaded with trash . SEE ALSO: The space station sprung a leak. NASA and Russia just revealed why. Tweet may have been deleted (opens in a new tab) The disposal follows a depressurization alert onboard the spacecraft on Feb. 11 , making it the second Russian spacecraft to spring a leak at the space station over the past two months. A Soyuz capsule for carrying humans also suffered a similar coolant leak

Mercedes adding Luminar lidar to more vehicles in multibillion-dollar deal

Mercedes-Benz has agreed to a “multibillion-dollar” deal with Luminar to integrate lidar technology and software into the German automaker’s next-generation of vehicles set to go into production by the middle of the decade. The deal announced Wednesday during an event at the Mercedes-Benz Research and Development North America facility in Sunnyvale, California is an expansion of an existing partnership between the two companies. A growing number of automakers including Mercedes believe that lidar, or light detection and ranging radar, is a necessary sensor used alongside cameras and radar to support automated driving features. Under the newly expanded agreement, Luminar lidar and accompanying software will be integrated into a broad range of Mercedes’ next-generation production vehicles. The Luminar lidar will be in Mercedes vehicles equipped with its Drive Pilot system, which allows for hands-free, eyes off driving under certain conditions on highways. Luminar said it plans to bu

Ex-WeWork director raises millions for Den’s tiny home plans

If it wasn’t for WeWork’s failed IPO, Mike Romanowicz probably wouldn’t be building a proptech business right now. The entrepreneur left his position as director of product management and strategic partnerships at the famous co-working company in January. At the time, Romanowicz detailed that construction specs on small homes — that he had begun as a side hustle — were landing a couple thousand dollars in revenue per month. He doubled down on his idea by investing $10,000 of his own money — which he used to relaunch the business under the name Den. Den , which launched in July 2020, announced today that it has raised $3 million in venture capital in a round co-led by Gutter Capital and Crossbeam Venture Partners. It is far less capital than some of Den’s largest competitors have raised, including but not limited to Atmos, which has raised nearly $20 million in funding ; Homebound, which has raised around $148 million ; and Welcome, which has raised nearly $35 million. Yet, Den’s fo

Windows 11 desktop watermarks start appearing on unsupported systems

Microsoft may finally be introducing a dreaded feature it first teased last year. Since the January 2023 Windows update, some Windows 11 users have reported seeing a watermark on their desktops warning them about unmet system requirements. Read Entire Article from TechSpot https://ift.tt/YrwFMvs via

Strive gets backing from Y Combinator to show kids that coding is fun

Strive is an online learning platform that teaches kids to code, but it wants to do more than just that. Developed with an active learning model that lets students take the lead in classes, Strive wants to instill in them a lifelong love of STEM subjects. The Singapore-based startup announced today that it has raised a $1.3 million seed round led by Y Combinator (it is an alum of the accelerator program), with participation from Soma Capital, Goodwater Capital and individual investors like Crimson Education CEO Jamie Beaton, co-founder of WestBridge Capital and founding member of Sequoia India KP Balaraja, and Segment co-founder and ex-CTO Calvin French-Owen. Strive, which holds one-on-one classes for kids aged 8 to 16 years, plans to expand across Asia, targeting the 3.7 million students in international schools . Founded in 2020 by Tamir Shklaz and Pulkit Agarwal, Strive was built on the idea that the development of AI automation and tech means everything you learn might be outda

Max Q: Only a matter of time

Hello and welcome back to Max Q! In this issue: Intuitive Machines enters the public market Silicon Valley goes to war News from Transcelestial, Umbra and more Intuitive Machines’ public market debut marked by large shareholder redemptions but sharp stock highs Lunar technology company  Intuitive Machines received far less cash from its merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) than it forecasted, but despite this rocky start the stock price saw major highs last week. Although Intuitive Machines said the SPAC trust could furnish the company with as much as $301 million in dry powder, shareholders opted to redeem a staggering $279.8 million prior to the transaction closing. The redemptions could reflect a relative weariness amongst investors of SPACs, which saw a huge upswing in popularity in the past few years but have more recently fallen out of favor as post-SPAC companies struggle to stay afloat in the public market. But perhaps those shareholders are regre

U.K. quantum computing startup Quantum Motion raises $50.5M

U.K. quantum computing company Quantum Motion has raised £42 million ($50.5 million) in an equity round of funding led by Bosch Ventures (RBVC), with participation from Porsche, the U.K. government’s National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF), and a host of additional investors. Quantum computing, for the uninitiated, builds on principles borrowed from quantum mechanics, with a focus on quantum bits (qubits) rather than atoms, promising to advance what’s possible with computers by performing complex calculations in a fraction of the time. Use-cases may include accelerating new drug discoveries, or powering the vast amount of data processing required for AI applications. “Quantum computers will think in totally different ways to computers today,” Quantum Motion CEO James Palles-Dimmock explained to TechCrunch. “Problems that would take a supercomputer thousands of years to crack could be solved by a quantum computer in minutes. The earliest impact will be in areas related t