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The next Artemis 1 launch attempt might take place as soon as next week, seeing as NASA has met all the objectives it set out to do to consider its rocket’s fuel test a success. NASA had to test adding super-cooled fuel to the Space Launch System’s tanks to confirm the repairs it made after it scrubbed the mission’s second launch attempt in late August. The ground team at Kennedy Space Center spotted a persistent hydrogen leak affecting one of the fuel lines on the SLS at the time and tried to fix it the day of three times. In the end, the team was unsuccessful and decided to postpone the mission.

The team determined a few days later that the leak was triggered when the SLS rocket’s core booster tank went through a brief overpressurization. To prevent the same incident from happening, the team adjusted procedures for filling the rocket’s tank with propellants, and it involves transitioning temperatures and pressures more slowly to prevent rapid changes that could cause leakage. The team’s engineers also replaced the rocket’s liquid hydrogen seals after discovering a small indentation in one of them that may have contributed to the leak. 

While the engineers encountered another hydrogen leak during the fuel test, their troubleshooting efforts worked this time around and got the leak to “within allowable rates.” That allowed them to conduct the pre-pressurization test, which brought up the liquid hydrogen tank’s pressure level to match what it would experience just before an actual launch. 

Artemis 1 launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said the test went “really well” and that the team was able to accomplish all the objectives it set out to do. NASA will now evaluate data from the test before deciding if it can schedule another launch for the mission on its target date of September 27th.

 

Twitter has disclosed an “incident” affecting the accounts of an unspecified number of users who opted to reset their passwords. According to the company, a “bug” introduced sometime in the last year prevented Twitter users from being logged out of their accounts on all of their devices after initiating a password reset.

“if you proactively changed your password on one device, but still had an open session on another device, that session may not have been closed,” Twitter explains in a brief blog post. “Web sessions were not affected and were closed appropriately.”

Twitter says it is “proactively” logging some users out as a result of the bug. The company attributed the issue to “a change to the systems that power password resets” that occurred at some point in 2021. A Twitter spokesperson declined to elaborate on when this change was made or exactly how many users are affected. “I can share that for most people, this wouldn’t have led to any harm or account compromise,” the spokesperson said. 

While Twitter states that “most people” wouldn’t have had their accounts compromised as a result, the news could be worrying for those who have used shared devices, or dealt with a lost or stolen device in the last year.

Notably, Twitter’s disclosure of the incident comes as the company is reeling from allegations from its former head of security who had filed a whistleblower complaint accusing the company of “grossly negligent” security practices. Twitter has so far declined to address the claims in detail, citing its ongoing litigation with Elon Musk. Musk is using the whistleblower allegations in his legal case to get out of his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter.

 

Destiny 2 developer Bungie has been on a legal spree recently: It sued one user over cheating and threats against its employees, as well as a YouTuber who issued nearly 100 false DMCA claims against other creators. But after suing the cheat developer AimJunkies last year, Bungie is now facing a countersuit. AimJunkies claims the developer illegally hacked an associate’s computer, reports TorrentFreak (via Kotaku). Additionally, they allege Bungie also violated the DMCA by breaking through that machine’s security.  

Bungie’s current Limited Software License Agreement (LSLA) gives the company’s BattleEye software permission to scan computers for anti-cheat tools, but that wasn’t true back in 2019, when the alleged hack began. According to AimJunkie’s counter-suit, Bungie accessed a computer owned by its associate James May several times throughout 2019 and 2021. It goes on to allege that Bungie used information from those hacks to gather information about other potential suspects. 

Phoenix Digital, the company behind AimJunkies, didn’t stop there. It also claims the Bungie violated its Terms of Service by buying AimJunkies’ software and reverse-engineering its source code. If this all sounds a bit ironic, that’s because Bungie accused the company of similar tactics in its original suit. James May and Phoenix Digital are demanding damages, as well as an end to any future hacks and DMCA breaches. We’ve asked Bungie for comment, and will update if we hear back.

 

More evidence is mounting that virtual reality might relieve pain during surgery. MIT Newsreports that Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center researchers in Boston have published a study indicating that patients wearing VR headsets required less anesthetic during hand surgery. While the average conventional patient needed 750.6 milligrams per hour of the sedative propofol, people looking at relaxing VR content (such as meditation, nature scenes and videos) only required 125.3 milligrams. They also recovered earlier, leaving the post-anesthesia unit after 63 minutes on average versus 75 minutes.

The scientists claim VR distracted the patients from pain that would otherwise command their full attention. However, the researchers also admitted that the headset wearers may have gone into the operating room expecting VR to help, potentially skewing the results.

Beth Israel Deaconess’ team is planning trials that could rule out this placebo effect, though. One follow-up trial will also gauge the effect of VR on patients receiving hip and knee surgery. Past experiments, such as at St. Jospeph’s Hospital in France, have indicated that the technology can help assuage patients.

The allure for healthcare providers is clear. Patients might suffer less and return home sooner. Hospitals, meanwhile, could make the most of their anesthetic supplies, free recovery beds and reduce wait times. What a provider spends on VR headsets could pay for itself if it allows for more patients and higher-quality treatment.

 

After more than a decade of trying to make flying cars a reality, Kitty Hawk is shutting down. “We’re still working on the details of what’s next,” the Larry Page-backed startup posted to LinkedIn on Wednesday afternoon. Before today’s announcement, the last time we heard from Kitty Hawk was in the spring of 2021 when it came out the company had parted ways with engineer Damon Vander Lind following “months” of infighting with Page and CEO Sebastian Thrun. Almost exactly a year earlier, the company canceled its original Flyer project and laid off most of the 70-person team that had worked on the aircraft.

It’s unclear why Kitty Hawk decided to call it quits, but comments Thrun made after the company ended development on Flyer may provide a clue. “No matter how hard we looked, we could not find a path to a viable business,” the chief executive said at the time. After Vander Lind’s departure the following year, it appeared Kitty Hawk was ready to double down on its Heavyside vertical take-off and landing aircraft. It acquired 3D Robotics and brought on the company’s co-founder, former Wired editor Chris Anderson, as chief operating officer.

Despite the demise of Kitty Hawk, this probably isn’t the last we’ll hear of Larry Page’s flying car ambitions. According to CNBC, Wednesday’s shutdown won’t affect Wisk Aero, the company that was borne out of a 2019 partnership between Kitty Hawk and Boeing.

“Kitty Hawk’s decision to cease operations does not change Boeing’s commitment to Wisk. We are proud to be a founding member of Wisk Aero and are excited to see the work they are doing to drive innovation and sustainability through the future of electric air travel,” Boeing told the outlet. “We do not expect Kitty Hawk’s announcement to affect Wisk’s operations or other activities in any way.”

 

Chinese EV maker XPeng is no stranger to boundary-pushing car tech. In 2020, it unveiled the P7 sedan, which featured 200 more miles of EV range than the Tesla Model 3. Today, it’s targeting charging speed with its G9 SUV. The new flagship model can charge at up to 480 kW, allowing it to go from a 10 percent charge to 80 percent in 15 minutes (or 124 miles in 5 minutes). In the US, we’re limited to 350 kW fast chargers at best (and even then, you’ll need a fairly new or premium EV to support that speed). 

Of course, to see that fast charging rate, you’ll need to use one of the company’s chargers in China. XPeng plans to bring the G9 to European markets though, so perhaps 480 kW chargers will follow. 

Beyond its charging tech, the G9 also appears to have just about everything you’d want in a premium mid-size electric SUV. Its design and leather-filled interior evokes luxury car brands, while its dual-motor 4WD models can reach up to a whopping 551 hp. Powered by two NVIDIA Orin chips, the G9 also offers advanced driver assistance with 31 sensors and dual-LiDAR sensors, as well as automatic driving and parking assistance. 

 

Iran has blocked access to Instagram and WhatsApp as its government attempts to subdue protests that began last week following the death of a woman at the hands of local authorities. As of Wednesday, demonstrations across the country had been ongoing for four consecutive days. The protests began over the weekend after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in the custody of Iran’s morality police on September 16th. She was arrested for allegedly violating the country’s strict dress code for women.

According to internet watchdog NetBlocks (via Reuters), the Iranian government has gradually restricted web access across much of the country in recent days. The blackout began in Tehran and other parts of Iran when protests first broke out on Friday. On the evening of September 19th, the government extended restrictions to parts of the western Kurdistan province. As of Wednesday, accessing WhatsApp and Instagram through any of the country’s major internet providers was impossible. According to NetBlocks, the current restrictions are the most severe since 2019, when Iran shut down all internet access in response to fuel protests.

Meta did not immediately respond to Engadget’s request for comment. NetBlocks suggests the disruptions are likely to significantly limit the ability of the Iranian people to communicate freely. In theory, Iran’s government may believe that restricting internet access will reduce the likelihood of protestors organizing and allow it to better control the narrative of Amini’s death. 

 

Florida is calling on the US’ highest court to settle the dispute over social media speech regulation. The Washington Postnotes the state’s attorney general has petitioned the Supreme Court to determine whether or not states are violating First Amendment free speech rights by requiring that social media platforms host speech they would otherwise block, and whether they can require explanations when platforms remove posts.

In making its case, Florida argued that the court needed to address contradictory rulings. While a 5th Circuit of Appeals court upheld a Texas law allowing users to sue social networks for alleged censorship, an 11th Circuit of Appeals court ruled that Florida was violating the First Amendment with key parts of a law preventing internet firms from banning politicians.

The backers of the Florida and Texas laws have argued that the measures are necessary to combat alleged censorship of conservative views on platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Legislators have contended that social networks are common carriers, like phone providers, and thus are required to carry all speech that isn’t otherwise illegal. The companies, meanwhile, believe laws like these are unconstitutional and would force them to host hate speech, hostile governments’ propaganda and spam. They say the constitutional amendment is meant to protect against government censorship, and that private outlets have the right to decide what they host.

It’s not clear how the Supreme Court will rule. While conservative judges dominate the legislative body, the court granted an emergency request that put the Texas law on hold before it was upheld in the 5th Circuit last week. The higher court hasn’t yet issued a definitive ruling on the matter, and a decision in favor of Florida could also help more liberal-leaning states with their own proposed bills requiring greater transparency for hate speech and threats.

 

Meta has begun cutting staff and reorganizing teams in an effort to cut costs, according to a new report in The Wall Street Journal. The company apparently doesn’t want to frame the changes as layoffs, but is reportedly “quietly nudging out a significant number of staffers” as it prepares for more significant cuts.

It’s not clear how many Meta employees have been affected so far. According to the report. Meta has been allowing staffers to apply for new jobs within the company, but workers only have a 30-day window to do so. The result, according to The Journal, is that “workers with good reputations and strong performance reviews are being pushed out on a regular basis.”

Meta has been signaling for some time that it will reduce staff and cut projects as it deals with shrinking revenue amid what Mark Zuckerberg has described as an “economic downturn.” The CEO warned during the company’s most recent earnings call that Meta would slow hiring and would need to “get more done with fewer resources.”

Zuckerberg has recently told employees the company is facing “serious times” and managers have been asked to identify “low performers” to cut. The company has also axed some projects from its Reality Labs division, which has lost $10 billion in 2021. Dozens of Meta contractors employed by an outside firm were also recently told their jobs had been eliminated.

 

Volvo’s EV range to date has been limited to smaller vehicles like the C40 Recharge, but it’s now ready to tackle the high end. The company has announced that it will reveal the “flagship” EX90 electric SUV on November 9th. While the brand is unsurprisingly shy on details, it claims the new model will offer the best standard safety features of any Volvo to date.

The trick is an improved “understanding” of both the driver and the environment. The EX90 will supposedly include a cutting-edge sensor array that includes cameras, radar and LiDAR on the outside. In the cabin, more cameras and capacitive steering wheel sensors will detect inattentiveness and take gradually more drastic actions to protect you, including stopping the car at the side of the road and calling for help.

Some of these safety concepts aren’t new. Systems like GM’s Super Cruise check that your eyes are on the road, while Tesla cars will disable Autopilot and come to a stop if you don’t put your hands on the wheel. Volvo is clearly hoping it offers the best safeguards of the bunch, though, and LiDAR might provide an advantage over rivals like Tesla (which doesn’t use LiDAR) and Lucid (still a relatively small brand).

It’s safe to say the EX90 will represent a change of tack. Instead of competing with the Tesla Model Y and other ‘entry’ luxury SUVs or crossovers, Volvo is more likely to aim squarely at the high end. This vehicle could serve as a halo product that draws EV buyers to the brand, even if they ultimately buy something more affordable.