At an event in Las Vegas yesterday, Tesla revealed a new utility-scale battery configuration that it claims can significantly lower construction costs for utilities, along with faster installation. Its new “Megablock” is pre-engineered; more assembly done in a factory allows for 23 percent faster installation, according to Tesla. That’s supposed to translate to up to […]
Dish parent company EchoStar is selling wireless spectrum licenses to SpaceX for around $17 billion, the companies announced on Monday. SpaceX says it will use the spectrum to create the “next generation” of Starlink’s cellular satellite service, which customers of the EchoStar-owned Boost Mobile will gain access to as part of the deal. According to EchoStar, […]
This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on all things at the intersection of environment and technology, follow Justine Calma. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers’ inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here. How it started Some stories that I’ve worked […]
President Donald Trump is moving US Space Command’s headquarters from Colorado to Alabama, he announced during a press conference on Tuesday. The change reverses former President Joe Biden’s 2023 decision to leave it in Colorado Springs, where its temporary headquarters have been established. During the press conference, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL), chair of the House […]
On Wednesday, the FDA approved the new round of COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna, and Novavax for use by seniors over the age of 65. But for anyone younger than that, the FDA approval only mentions people who have “at least one underlying condition that puts them at high risk for severe outcomes from COVID-19.” […]
FEMA has suspended at least 30 employees after they warned that spending limits, staffing cuts, and gaps in leadership hurt the agency’s ability to respond to disasters. The employees received emails notifying them that they’d been put on administrative leave on Tuesday night, according to The New York Times, which reviewed copies of the email. […]
Nuclear fusion is on the upswing, as more companies pile into the space to achieve what’s often described as the Holy Grail of clean energy, according to an updated map from the Clean Air Task Force (CATF). Nuclear fusion aims to replicate the way the Sun produces light and heat, generating a tremendous amount of […]
The Revolution Wind farm was already 80 percent complete before the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management sent it a letter Friday to “halt all ongoing activities” to address purported national security concerns and “interference” with other potential uses for the area. The move comes as data centers, domestic manufacturing, and electric vehicles are raising […]
A charter boat fisherman was among the first to discover the wreckage – a “mess,” he called it, deep off the coast of Massachusetts. From behind a veil of pea soup-thick fog emerged hundreds of white and green fiberglass and Styrofoam pieces, some as small as a fingernail, some as large as a truck hood. […]
This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on deep-sea mining and critical minerals, follow Justine Calma. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers’ inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here. How it started This is not how I thought things would go […]