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Archive for the ‘Elon Musk’ category: Page 226

Mar 14, 2019

To Compete With Google, OpenAI Seeks Investors–and Profits

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, robotics/AI

On Monday, OpenAI’s leaders said that a paltry $1 billion wouldn’t be enough to compete with the well-resourced AI labs at companies such as Google and Facebook after all. They announced the new investment vehicle, a company called OpenAI LP, as a way to raise extra money for the computing power and people needed to steer the destiny of AI. Musk left the board of OpenAI last February and is not formally involved in OpenAI LP.


OpenAI, the independent research lab cofounded by Elon Musk, created a for-profit arm to attract more funding to hire researchers and run computers.

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Mar 10, 2019

For HyperSciences, geothermal energy builds a path to space

Posted by in categories: business, Elon Musk, space travel, sustainability

These days, it seems anyone wanting to launch rockets will inevitably be compared to Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, especially if rocket launching isn’t the only business interest on the agenda. Musk has Tesla plus SpaceX, and Bezos has Amazon plus Blue Origin. Now, meet Mark Russell, a disciple of Bezos and rocket engineer who founded HyperSciences, a drilling company that uses aerospace technology to both quickly extract underground geothermal energy and put payloads into orbit at low cost.

The idea of leveraging Earth’s geothermal energy is not a new concept, but the expense and time required to reach the depth needed have been prohibitively expensive. That’s where HyperSciences comes in.

Russell and his team have developed a low-cost, multi-purpose projectile called the HyperDrone that can accelerate to velocities over five times the speed of sound and pulverize hard rock via their HyperDrill. This will enable tunneling speeds that are 5–10 times quicker than conventional methods, and more importantly, it opens up significant market viability in other industries that could benefit, namely when that acceleration is pointed skyward. NASA has already recognized this potential and is a current investor and major partner of HyperSciences.

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Mar 9, 2019

Physicist Brian Cox on how space travel can save the human race – and why there should be a Mars mission

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, space travel

Professor says a joint mission to Mars would be a ‘unifying force’. He believes commercial space flight by entrepreneurs like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson can help colonise other planets and ensure human race survives.

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Mar 3, 2019

Elon Musk says he would ride SpaceX’s new Dragon spaceship into orbit — and build a moon base with NASA

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, space travel

“We should have a base on the moon, like a permanently occupied human base on the moon, and then send people to Mars,” Musk said when asked what SpaceX will do after getting Crew Dragon operational. “That’s what we should do.”

He added: “Maybe there’s something beyond the space station, but we’ll see. We’ve got to focus on getting this right, for sure. That’s the priority. But then, after that, maybe something beyond low-Earth orbit.”


SpaceX rocketed its first spaceship for NASA astronauts into orbit on Saturday. Elon Musk, the company’s founder, said he’s willing to climb aboard.

Continue reading “Elon Musk says he would ride SpaceX’s new Dragon spaceship into orbit — and build a moon base with NASA” »

Mar 1, 2019

Elon Musk sent a $100K Tesla Roadster to space a year ago. It has now traveled farther than any other car in history

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, space travel, sustainability

Fans like Ben Pearson use NASA data to project the car’s location through space. For now, the convertible will continue its long drive around our inner solar system. And perhaps if humans make it to Mars like Musk hopes, we might even see the Roadster on our way there.

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Feb 27, 2019

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket booster survived a ‘spicy’ landing at sea after launching the first private moon mission

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, space travel

The Air Force had said there was about a 20% chance that the launch would be delayed because of bad weather. But the 23-story Falcon 9 rocket lifted off on time on Thursday.

After the booster’s landing, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted: “Highest reentry heating to date. Burning metal sparks from base heat shield visible in landing video.”

You can watch the mission and landing, narrated by SpaceX staff, here, though this clip shows the booster’s heat shield burning off.

Continue reading “SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket booster survived a ‘spicy’ landing at sea after launching the first private moon mission” »

Feb 27, 2019

Elon Musk on Moon Bases, Mars, and How Not to Be Vaporized

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, food, space travel

RD: Is that because the focus right now is so much on getting there? EM: Yeah yeah, you need to get there. That’s a big deal. I think Starship will also be good for creating a base on the moon. We’ll probably have a base on the moon before going to Mars.


The SpaceX CEO on food, fuel, and the risk of vaporization.

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Feb 25, 2019

Elon Musk: Mars Base Will Have “Outdoorsy, Fun Atmosphere”

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, engineering, environmental, food, space

In an interview newly published by Popular Mechanics, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk shared his thoughts on colonizing Mars — from how the first settlers will grow food to the friendly vibe he envisions at the first base on the Red Planet.

“For having an outdoorsy, fun atmosphere, you’d probably want to have some faceted glass dome, with a park, so you can walk around without a suit,” Musk told the magazine. “Eventually if you terraform the planet, then you can walk around without a suit. But for say, the next 100-plus years, you’ll have to have a giant pressurized glass dome.”

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Feb 23, 2019

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Is Greenlit for March 2 Unmanned Mission to the ISS

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, robotics/AI, space travel

NASA has given the green light for Elon Musk’s SpaceX to launch the first unmanned test of its seven-seat Crew Dragon capsule on March 2 after passing a full day of reviews, bringing the space agency one step closer to replacing the retired Space Shuttle program after years of delays and ending its dependency on contracted Russian Soyuz rockets.

The test flight was originally scheduled for January, but was later delayed to complete hardware testing and other reviews. Per Space.com, NASA and SpaceX officials have now completed an in-depth review of the Crew Dragon’s capabilities called a flight readiness review, with NASA Commercial Crew Program manager Kathy Leuders telling reporters they needed to verify the craft “can safely go rendezvous and dock with the space station, and undock safely, and not pose a hazard to the International Space Station.”

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Feb 23, 2019

Jeff Bezos just gave a private talk in New York. From utopian space colonies to dissing Elon Musk’s Martian dream, here are the most notable things he said

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, space travel

Bezos: “I don’t think we’ll live on planets…I think we’ll live in giant O’Neal-style space colonies.”


  • Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, gave a talk to a members-only event at the Yale Club in New York on Tuesday.
  • During the 30-minute lecture, Bezos said his private aerospace company, Blue Origin, would launch its first people into space aboard a New Shepard rocket in 2019.
  • Bezos also questioned the capabilities of a space tourism competitor, Virgin Galactic, and criticized the goal of Elon Musk and SpaceX to settle Mars with humans.
  • Ultimately, Bezos said he wants Blue Origin to enable a space-faring civilization where “a Mark Zuckerberg of space” and “1,000 Mozarts and 1,000 Einsteins” can flourish.
  • Bezos advised the crowd to hold a powerful, personal long-term vision, but to devote “the vast majority of your energy and attention” on shorter-term activities and those ranging up to 2- or 3-year timeframes.

Jeff Bezos may be the richest human on Earth, as the founder of Amazon, but his ultimate dreams reside within a relatively obscure company called Blue Origin.

In fact, as Bezos told the CEO of Business Insider’s parent company in April 2018, he liquidates $1 billion of stock a year to fund his private aerospace outfit.

Continue reading “Jeff Bezos just gave a private talk in New York. From utopian space colonies to dissing Elon Musk’s Martian dream, here are the most notable things he said” »