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Category: transportation – Page 393

Cadillac is fully aware it needs to continue launching new vehicles that are not only relevant for the times but also offer something new. That something is — big surprise — electrification. At the moment, GM’s luxury brand does not sell an EV and its only hybrid model, the Cadillac CT6 Hybrid, is about to be discontinued. Eventually, the just-revealed 2021 Cadillac Escalade will likely offer a plug-in hybrid variant and, perhaps, an all-electric one as well. Thing is, Cadillac can’t wait that long for an Escalade EV, but it turns out an alternative is coming very soon.

GM President Mark Reuss announced last week at the automaker’s Capital Markets Day presentation the brand’s first-ever EV will debut this April. And yes, it will be a crossover, a fact that was announced a year ago at the Detroit Auto Show. Oddly, Cadillac did not preview this vehicle with a concept in the Motor City.

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NASA Wallops Flight Facility is scheduled to launch a rocket tonight that will be visible to the DMV as it climbs into the sunset sky.

The facility hopes to launch the 13th Northrop Grumman resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) at 5:39 p.m. near sunset. The Cygnus cargo ship (spacecraft) is the S.S. Robert H. Lawrence, named for the first ever African American selected as an astronaut.

The launch and mission will be carried live by NASA.

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Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Andy Levin have introduced a new bill that would build a national infrastructure for electric vehicles.

The EV Freedom Act would allocate the resources for the U.S. to build a nationwide network of electric vehicle chargers within five years, Reuters reports. That would alleviate a major hurdle to widespread electric car adoption, making it far easier for the population to transition away from gas power.

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MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Virgin Orbit says it is weeks away from the first orbital launch of its LauncherOne rocket as the company makes plans to move quickly into operations if that flight is successful.

The company said in a series of tweets Jan. 31 that is in final preparations for its test launch, with the LauncherOne rocket attached to its Boeing 747 aircraft for a final series of tests and dress rehearsals at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. That includes a captive carry flight, where the plane will take off with the rocket attached for the entire flight.

The company didn’t disclose when that launch would take place beyond that it was “really close” to being ready for the flight. Dan Hart, chief executive of Virgin Orbit, said that launch would take place in the “coming weeks” during a panel discussion at the SmallSat Symposium here Feb. 4.

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India’s largest commercial oil company, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., will partner with Lod-based energy start-up Phinergy to develop and produce innovative metal-air batteries, often regarded as the solution for long-distance electric-vehicle travel.

Indian Oil said it had bought a minority stake in Phinergy on Tuesday, which specializes in aluminum-air (Al-air) and zinc-air technologies. Unlike conventional lithium-ion batteries that carry oxygen within a heavy electrode, metal-air systems produce energy by combining aluminum, water and oxygen from the air.

The future incorporation of the long-pursued battery solution into electric vehicles, Phinergy said, will enable long-range driving, five-minute energy recharges and lowering the cost of electric vehicles.

Indian Oil and Phinergy plan to form a joint venture in India to collaborate on developing an Al-air battery system, including research and development, customization, manufacturing, assembly and the selling and service of energy systems. The companies also intend to establish a factory in India to manufacture the batteries for electric vehicles and additional stationary applications.

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