All eyes are on United Launch Alliance and Pittsburgh-based startup Astrobotic this week, with the two companies gearing up for inaugural missions with huge stakes.
The launch features two firsts: the first flight of ULA’s Vulcan Centaur rocket, and the first time Astrobotic is attempting to put hardware on the moon.
If Astrobotic is successful, it would be the first time a private company has put a spacecraft on the moon.
Countdown Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm focused on hard tech industrial startups, will shut down by the end of March and return uninvested capital, firm founder and solo general partner Jai Malik said in an annual letter.
In addition to the ULA/Astrobotic launch mentioned above, this past week also saw the launch of the first six Starlink satellites equipped for direct-to-cell connectivity.
In a devastating series of updates earlier today, the Pittsburgh-based startup said a “failure within the propulsion system” is causing a critical loss of propellant.
The propulsion system is a critical component of a spacecraft, but it’s especially important for this mission, which is taking an indirect path to the moon.
NASA, likely sensing the difficulty of a moon landing, has issues awards to multiple companies under the program.
Other awardees include Intuitive Machines, which is set to make its own lunar landing attempt next month, and Firefly Aerospace, which will conduct its first lunar mission later this year.
A deputy administrator from NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Joel Kearns, said in a statement after launch that “each success and setback are opportunities to learn and grow.
Given it’s a free alternative, it’s somewhat surprising that Copilot’s launch hasn’t seemingly impacted ChatGPT’s installs or revenue as of yet — but that could be explained by the lack of promotion.
Unlike some apps, Copilot’s installs are also somewhat evenly split across iOS and Android, with 59% on Google Play vs. 41% on the App Store.
According to Appfigures, ChatGPT’s downloads have also been slowing in December — but this started before Copilot’s release.
During the time that Copilot was amassing its 2.1 million installs, ChatGPT gained another 4.2 million downloads.
The firm told TechCrunch there’s nothing to indicate that Copilot itself is having any impact on ChatGPT’s installs or its revenue, the latter of which continues to rise, in fact.
Apple’s Vision Pro headset is set to finally launch in the U.S. on February 2, at a retail price of $3,499.
Apple originally announced Vision Pro last June at its annual developer event, and it’s been teasing out hands-on time to select media, influencers and developers in an extended hype and ecosystem preparation event ever since.
The big question remains, will Apple Vision Pro meaningfully move the needle on immersive computing – or will it be yet another splashy launch for a VR/AR/MR product that fails to change the status quo?
Based on the handful of first-hand accounts available, one thing seems clear about Apple Vision Pro: No one’s doubting its quality or capabilities.
Curiously, much of what Apple pitched with the Vision Pro launch focused on things you already do all the time on your other devices, including your iPhone, Mac and iPad.
Apple this morning confirmed that the Vision Pro will be available in the U.S. starting February 2.
Pre-orders for the $3,500 spatial computing device open Friday January 19 at 5AM PT.
“Apple Vision Pro is the most advanced consumer electronics device ever created.
How many bespoke Vision Pro apps will be available when the device launches in little under a month, however, remains to be seen.
Apple notes, “Players can access games on the App Store, including more than 250 titles on Apple Arcade.
The company’s next-generation rocket Vulcan Centaur successfully lifted off in the early hours of Monday, and its primary payload, a lunar lander from Astrobotic, is now on its way to the moon.
The heavy-lift rocket took off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Center at 2:18 AM EST Monday.
The Centaur executed two more burns to get Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander on the correct trajectory to the moon.
With those complete, the lander, called Peregrine, will now embark on a one-and-a-half month journey to the moon.
The launch and subsequent journey to the moon are a watershed moment for both United Launch Alliance and Astrobotic.
United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket has been rolled to the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station ahead of its early Monday morning launch, a mission that could end with the first fully private spacecraft landing on the moon.
Vulcan’s primary payload is Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander.
The two companies had been targeting a Christmas Eve launch, but ULA decided to postpone due to ground system issues.
“We are ready for launch, and for landing.”ULA and Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic are not the only firms with much riding on Monday’s launch.
That program, Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS), has collectively doled out hundreds of millions to spur private development of moon landers.
OpenAI plans to launch a store for GPTs, custom apps based on its text-generating AI models (e.g.
In an email viewed by TechCrunch, OpenAI said that developers building GPTs will have to review the company’s updated usage policies and GPT brand guidelines to ensure that their GPTs are compliant before they’re eligible for listing in the store — aptly called the GPT Store.
GPTs don’t require coding experience and can be as simple or complex as a developer wishes.
GPT Store launching next week – OpenAI pic.twitter.com/I6mkZKtgZG — Manish Singh (@refsrc) January 4, 2024Developers can simply type the capabilities they want their GPT to offer in plain language and OpenAI’s GPT-building tool, GPT Builder, will attempt to make an AI-powered chatbot to perform those.
Since shortly after DevDay, developers have been able to make and share GPTs with others via the ChatGPT website directly but not publicly list them.
A year after announcing its own lineup of Roku-branded TVs, the hardware company revealed today a new range of high-end televisions.
Roku also introduced Roku Smart Picture, an AI-powered feature that automatically adjusts picture and audio quality.
The Roku Pro Series TVs feature a thinner design than its Roku Select and Plus Series TVs, with a mount to rest flat against the wall.
Also arriving in the spring of 2024, Roku Smart Picture is a new feature coming to the Roku TV program that is designed to optimize the viewing experience.
The feature will roll out to all Roku TV models.
The Falcon Heavy lifted off on the clandestine mission at 8:07 PM Eastern from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
The U.S. Space Force’s X-37B space plane, a reusable vehicle that acts as a classified testbed for experiments in space, was the sole payload on the massive rocket.
Even the windows of the small space plane are blacked out.
One of the big mysteries of this particular mission is the Space Force’s choice to book a triple-boosted Falcon Heavy.
This is the fifth time SpaceX has launched a Falcon Heavy rocket this year, and the ninth overall since 2018.
