SpaceX rocket explodes, Facebook satellite launch off; Hollywood's summer of 'epic bombs'; And more news
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A SpaceX rocket that was to launch Facebook's first satellite into orbit Saturday exploded on the launchpad. Unclear what went wrong during a routine test of the Falcon 9. But the "stunning failure" is the second fail for one of Elon Musk's babies, and may complicate NASA's plan to use the Falcon 9 for International Space Station missions as early as next year.
Hollywood's summer blockbusters included a hefty number of "epic bombs." Of 32 major releases, 17 lost a total of $915.6 million, Bloomberg reports. (Last summer there were 15 bombs, $546.3 million.) "This year’s results reveal flaws in the industry’s focus on costly remakes and sequels, casting doubt on a strategy they’ll be relying on for years," Bloomberg says.
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Tesla lost another case about selling direct to consumers. This timeit was Missouri, but the reason is the same: Dealers don't like it and have archaic laws on their side.
Walmart is cutting 7,000 desk jobs, "a sign that the retailer’s effort to make its cavernous stores more efficient is also changing the face of its workforce," The Wall Street Journal reports. These are bookkeeper-type positions mostly held by senior employees who are, coincidentally, among the highest paid and (perhaps not coincidentally) easily displaced by automation and/or centralization.
"It's September — this is insane!" That's a direct quote from one of my fellow editors about this USA Today story: "Walmart names its 25 hottest toys for holidays: Get in line now." I don't understand a single toy mentioned, but if you're buying for someone in the under-12 set this year it maybe couldn't hurt to get a little head start. After all, there are only 114 days until Christmas.
Unlocking Enterprise Agility: Nutanix Solutions Expert
8 年I don't think we insured this payload, did we?
Software Engineer ( poly discipline) : EE, NE, Physics
8 年If we gave up everytime a rocket exploded, we would have never made it safely to the moon ..
Creative Services Manager/MDI
8 年True. I'm sure some would prefer an ion drive, ramjet propulsion or a space elevator to the rather unsophisticated blending of materials and tech derived from Robert Goddard's work. But we work and live in a real world with stingy research budgets and short-sighted business heads who want their profits guaranteed. Dozens of space shots go up in flame, prototypes crackup and new ideas fail every year. It's a part of progress, which is trying to fathom and be prepared for everything you don't know. If you want to reach the stars then don't see a stumble as a sign of incompetence. You want antigravity propulsion or something more exotic? Then find the funding. Find the students who'll work on new composites instead building another app that plays at virtual reality. Until then, thank your stars their are visionaries willing to risk it and pick up the gauntlet for space that America cast aside after Apollo. Lighten up!
Multilingual Automotive Sales And Marketing Manager. (DGCA Licensed UAV/Drone Pilot) Hotels - Car Rental - Preowned Vehicles
8 年Facebook could have launched it in Indias Sriharikota with a much lesser price tag? #ISRO
Consulting
8 年The problem is that they are using 1930's propulsion ideas. Space travel needs to be based on the structures of the Universe, not Man's archaic obsession with fire. They should dig up Tesla-like research, then reexamine potentials for manipulating gravity.