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Virgin Galactic reaches space in rocket-powered plane, eyes space tourism in 2019

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Virgin Galactic, the space tourism company founded by entrepreneur Richard Branson, has successfully made it to space for the first time with VSS Unity, their SpaceShipTwo-class rocket-powered plane, during the craft’s 4th test flight. This accomplishment makes Virgin the first US-based venture to carry humans to the edge of space since the Space Shuttle program ended in 2011, edging out others with similar goals such as SpaceX and Blue Origin. After taking off at 7:11 am this morning and detaching from WhiteKnightTwo, its custom airliner mothership, pilots Mark “Forger” Stucky and Rick “CJ” Sturckow reached a height 51.4 miles high in the craft to the edge of the stratosphere where they experienced weightlessness and the curvature of the Earth. This success brings the company one step closer to civilian tourist trips, something Branson hopes to achieve as early as 2019.

Unlike a traditional rocket which takes off from the ground, VSS Unity is flown to 43,000 feet underneath a specially designed airliner before being dropped and subsequently lighting up its rocket engines to power it vertically to an even higher altitude. After a 60-second engine burn speeds the craft to nearly three times the speed of sound, it continues its ascent, coasting until it reaches maximum altitude. A special “feather” system is then used for reentry, wherein the craft folds its wings and behaves like a traditional space capsule until the air thickens again, at which time the wings unfold again and behave like a space plane, gliding back to Earth and landing on a landing strip.

Becoming a passenger on one of VSS Unity’s future flights doesn’t come cheap, the price tag being $250,000 per 90-minute flight. However, given the 700 or so paid reservations, including several celebrities, it’s not the money that’s the challenge, it’s the technology. On October 31, 2014, Virgin suffered a crippling setback with the death of co-pilot Mike Alsubry and injury of pilot Peter Siebold when a predecessor craft crashed due to a combination of human error and an engineering flaw. The company received an abundance of criticism focused on whether the danger of space tourism made the rewards worthwhile, but after following recommendations set forth by the National Transportation Safety Board’s report on the incident along with further design and safety enhancements, they forged ahead to make today’s event a reality. Branson started Virgin Galactic in 2004.

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At 51.4 miles high, VSS Unity reached the technical definition of space, earning its pilots commercial astronaut wings by the US Federal Aviation Administration, although the usual international standard is the 62-mile “Karman line”. A typical NASA “sounding rocket”, a small rocket generally launched with equipment on board to take measurements and scientific experiments during an approximately 30-minute sub-orbital flight only, reaches anywhere from 30-80 miles above the Earth. That said, the lower altitude of VSS Unity also provides an opportunity for research, serving the dual-purpose of science and recreation. Four research payloads from NASA’s Flight Opportunities Program were on board its historic test flight as well as a test dummy, making the trip revenue-earning for the first time as well.

Virgin Galactic has more tests of VSS Unity planned before moving to Spaceport America in New Mexico where it will set up its tourism operation. Branson hopes to compete directly with Blue Origin, the rocket company founded by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos which also plans to ferry customers to space. Bezos’s venture will use a more traditional, reusable ground-based rocket, the New Shepard, that lands after returning from sub-orbit similar to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 first stages. Unlike Virgin, crewed flights and “pre-sales” have not yet been part of Blue Origin’s process, but plenty of information is available for potential customers on its website.

The parent company of Virgin Galactic (Virgin) has another space-based venture in its wings: Virgin Orbit. Using a system similar to NASA’s Pegasus rocket, a small rocket complete with payload will launch from a modified Boeing 747-400 airliner, the combo being called LauncherOne and Cosmic Girl, respectively. The company has its sights set on the small satellite industry, identifying a need that’s not currently being met by other launch providers, and its business model centers on proving low-cost access to space for existing companies, students, entrereneurs, and other types hoping to use space as part of their research or business endeavors.

Watch the below video clip for more on Virgin Galactic’s historic flight to space:

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Accidental computer geek, fascinated by most history and the multiplanetary future on its way. Quite keen on the democratization of space. | It's pronounced day-sha, but I answer to almost any variation thereof.

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Tesla Model 3 gets perfect 5-star Euro NCAP safety rating

Tesla prides itself on producing some of the safest vehicles on the road today.

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Credit: Tesla Singapore/X

Tesla prides itself on producing some of the safest vehicles on the road today. Based on recent findings from the Euro NCAP, the 2025 Model 3 sedan continues this tradition, with the vehicle earning a 5-star overall safety rating from the agency.

Standout Safety Features

As could be seen on the Euro NCAP’s official website, the 2025 Model 3 achieved an overall score of 90% for Adult Occupants, 93% for Child Occupants, 89% for Vulnerable Road Users, and 87% for Safety Assist. This rating, as per the Euro NCAP, applies to the Model 3 Rear Wheel Drive, Long Range Rear Wheel Drive, Long Range All Wheel Drive, and Performance All Wheel Drive.

The Euro NCAP highlighted a number of the Model 3’s safety features, such as its Active Hood, which automatically lifts during collisions to mitigate injury risks to vulnerable road users, and Automatic Emergency Braking System, which now detects motorcycles through an upgraded algorithm. The Euro NCAP also mentioned the Model 3’s feature that prevents initial door opening if someone is approaching the vehicle’s blind spot.

Standout Safety Features

In a post on its official Tesla Europe & Middle East account, Tesla noted that the company is also introducing new features that make the Model 3 even safer than it is today. These include functions like head-on collision avoidance and crossing traffic AEB, as well as Child Left Alone Detection, among other safety features.

“We also introduced new features to improve Safety Assist functionality even further – like head-on collision avoidance & crossing traffic AEB – to detect & respond to potential hazards faster, helping avoid accidents in the first place. 

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“Lastly, we released Child Left Alone Detection – if an unattended child is detected, the vehicle will turn on HVAC & alert caregivers via phone app & the vehicle itself (flashing lights/audible alert). Because we’re using novel in-cabin radar sensing, your Tesla is able to distinguish between adult vs child – reduced annoyance to adults, yet critical safety feature for kids,” Tesla wrote in its post on X.

Below is the Euro NCAP’s safety report on the 2025 Tesla Model 3 sedan.

Euroncap 2025 Tesla Model 3 Datasheet by Simon Alvarez on Scribd

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USDOT Secretary visits Tesla Giga Texas, hints at national autonomous vehicle standards

The Transportation Secretary also toured the factory’s production lines and spoke with CEO Elon Musk.

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Credit: Elon Musk/X

United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) Secretary Sean Duffy recently visited Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas complex, where he toured the factory’s production lines and spoke with CEO Elon Musk. In a video posted following his Giga Texas visit, Duffy noted that he believes there should be a national standard for autonomous vehicles in the United States.

Duffy’s Giga Texas Visit

As could be seen in videos of his Giga Texas visit, the Transportation Secretary seemed to appreciate the work Tesla has been doing to put the United States in the forefront of innovation. “Tesla is one of the many companies helping our country reach new heights. USDOT will be right there all the way to make sure Americans stay safe,” Duffy wrote in a post on X. 

He also praised Tesla for its autonomous vehicle program, highlighting that “We need American companies to keep innovating so we can outcompete the rest of the world.”

National Standard

While speaking with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the Transportation Secretary stated that other autonomous ride-hailing companies have been lobbying for a national standard for self-driving cars. Musk shared the sentiment, stating that “It’d be wonderful for the United States to have a national set of rules for autonomous driving as opposed to 50 independent sets of rules on a state-by-state rules basis.”

Duffy agreed with the CEO’s point, stating that, “You can’t have 50 different rules for 50 different states. You need one standard.” He also noted that the Transportation Department has asked autonomous vehicle companies to submit data. By doing so, the USDOT could develop a standard for the entire United States, allowing self-driving cars to operate in a manner that is natural and safe.

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Tesla posts Optimus’ most impressive video demonstration yet

The humanoid robot was able to complete all the tasks through a single neural network.

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Credit: Tesla Optimus/X

When Elon Musk spoke with CNBC’s David Faber in an interview at Giga Texas, he reiterated the idea that Optimus will be one of Tesla’s biggest products. Seemingly to highlight the CEO’s point, the official Tesla Optimus account on social media platform X shared what could very well be the most impressive demonstration of the humanoid robot’s capabilities to date.

Optimus’ Newest Demonstration

In its recent video demonstration, the Tesla Optimus team featured the humanoid robot performing a variety of tasks. These include household chores such as throwing the trash, using a broom and a vacuum cleaner, tearing a paper towel, stirring a pot of food, opening a cabinet, and closing a curtain, among others. The video also featured Optimus picking up a Model X fore link and placing it on a dolly.

What was most notable in the Tesla Optimus team’s demonstration was the fact that the humanoid robot was able to complete all the tasks through a single neural network. The robot’s actions were also learned directly from Optimus being fed data from first-person videos of humans performing similar tasks. This system should pave the way for Optimus to learn and refine new skills quickly and reliably.

Tesla VP for Optimus Shares Insight

In a follow-up post on X, Tesla Vice President of Optimus (Tesla Bot) Milan Kovac stated that one of the team’s goals is to have Optimus learn straight from internet videos of humans performing tasks, including footage captured in third person or by random cameras.

“We recently had a significant breakthrough along that journey, and can now transfer a big chunk of the learning directly from human videos to the bots (1st person views for now). This allows us to bootstrap new tasks much faster compared to teleoperated bot data alone (heavier operationally).

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“Many new skills are emerging through this process, are called for via natural language (voice/text), and are run by a single neural network on the bot (multi-tasking). Next: expand to 3rd person video transfer (aka random internet), and push reliability via self-play (RL) in the real-, and/or synthetic- (sim / world models) world,” Kovac wrote in his post on X.

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