While concerns over Covid-19 have probably left many guest rooms empty this Thanksgiving, things were a little different next to the International Space Station. The four-seater SpaceX crew dragon is capable of carrying more than one occupant to a rotating outpost than the Russian Soyuz, leading to a slightly awkward sleeping arrangement: there are currently seven people at the station with only six crew cabins. To rectify the situation, Commander Michael Hopkins has decided to sleep inside the crew dragon, Technically offering itself the most comfortable personal space at the station. This sounds like a little bit of a key, but it’s not really without a precedent; When the shuttle docked with the ISS, the commander usually slept in the cockpit so they were ready to handle any potential emergency.
Speaking of F-World visits, the Hayabusa 2 spacecraft is almost home after six years in space. It won’t last long, the deep space probe is only in the neighborhood to release a sample of the material collected from the asteroid Ryugu. If all goes according to plan, the tiny capsule will lease the atmosphere and land in the deserts of South Australia on December 6, while the Hybusa 2A will chase a new asteroid in the 2030s turning black for an extended mission. .
Moving on to a story that almost certainly Did not Coming from space, a crew from the Utah Department of Wildlife Resources recently discovered a strange metal monolith hidden in the desert. While officials were careful not to reveal the exact coordinates of the budget, it did not take long for Internet suites to determine its location, thanks in part to radar data that allowed them to plot government helicopter flight paths. Close observations that popped up on social media revealed that the object looked hollow, held together with rivets and possibly made of aluminum. It’s almost certainly a guerrilla art piece, although there are theories that it could be a movie or TV prop (many productions are filmed nearby) or even some sort of military IR / radar target. Since the Sure budget soon disappeared, we will never know for sure.
Even if you’re not a fan of the Apple Moment, it’s hard not to be interested in the company’s new M1 chip. Hackers have been scrambling for more ARM laptops and desktop clap for many years, and with such big players coming into the game, it’s time to start watching less. Luxury Brands take this idea seriously. After the recent discovery that the ARM version of Ubuntu could run on the new M1 Mac with a simple virtualization level, it looks like we won’t have to wait any longer before people start moving away from the walls into the garden.
In the market for a three-phase servo controller? A reader working on a nice home-like robotics project recently wrote to tell us about an imported driver that goes for just $ 35. Technically it is designed to run stepper motors, but it can run servos (something improperly). Our news tells us that you will pay a minimum pay 2,000 for the same servo driver as Alan-Bradley, so the price difference certainly seems to hit performance.
Finally, some strict SWAT news like we recently learned that Universal Radio is shutting down. Nearly 40 years later, proprietors Fred and Barbara Mann Sturman have decided it’s time to start finishing things off. The physical store in Worthington, Ohio, will close Monday, but the site will remain on-site for a while to sell the remaining stock. Ter Sterman has generously supported many radio clubs and organizations over the years, and he will surely miss out. Still, he is a well-deserved retiree and the community wishes him well.
