Latest news with #Earth

Robinhood co-founder's big bet on solar energy

Yahoo

2 hours ago

Business
Yahoo

Robinhood co-founder's big bet on solar energy

Most investors would know Baiju Bhatt as the co-founder of Robinhood. He still sits on the company's board. But now, he has a new venture called Aetherflux. The startup aims to transmit solar energy through satellites. Bhatt he explains how it works to Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Market Catalysts here. Robinhood's co-founder, Biju Bhat, stepped down from his executive role at the Fintech giant last year to pursue a new endeavor, a space-based solar energy company called Etherflux. Our very own Brian Sozzy got a chance to sit down with him to discuss the company's mission as well as his role on Robinhood's board. Take a listen. The mission is to deliver energy to planet Earth. So, what does that mean? So we're taking this idea of space solar power, which an old NASA idea, Department of Energy from the '70s, of collecting solar power in space, beaming it down to the ground as an alternative energy source. Wild idea. Very wild. So if you pull off what you're trying to pull off, and I hope this doesn't sound really simple and borderline dumb, would we need solar panels anymore on people's roofs? Is that what you're trying to get rid of? I mean, I think it's a technology that kind of both is very complementary to that, and also is in many ways like a direct competitor to that. So when I think about, I think solar panels on roof, like those are useful in some capacity to people. Um, but I think the idea of having these really large solar farms on the ground that take up a tremendous amount of land that have adverse effects on the ecosystem underneath where the solar farms are, right? We can actually take that infrastructure and put it in space. This is kind of what our idea is. And instead project down a beam of power that uses way less real estate on the ground. So maybe this is a good time to just kind of broadly explain what the idea is. Yeah, far, yeah, please. Far out intended, far away. Far out actually. So you have solar panels in space, you have the sunlight from the sun that hits them in space. And the cool thing is, is that if you put it in the right orbit in space, you can have your satellite either continuously illuminated or illuminated a really large percentage of the time. And you get a constant amount of sunlight energy. So that sunlight energy is then converted to electricity on the satellite. And it's either stores the electricity in batteries or directly transmits that electrical power to the thing that transmits the power down to the ground, which is an infrared laser. So you have I'll put it in there far away. You're still on the Robinhood board. Now we, the past few years, I I've marveled at what Robinhood has done. Um, culturally, the company seems different. The top and bottom line results are different. They actually won our comeback of the year award last year. Um, has visions of potentially being a future JP Morgan, acquisitions. Like, what was a turning point inside of Robinhood that can help explain why the stock now near at a record high? Like, did something happen? I think we've been pretty focused on the mission from the beginning, right? And I think that's kind of been the sort of North Star, kind of coming back to the the parallel to Etherflux, right? The mission of democratizing finance for all. I think it's one of the things that motivates the company and motivates a lot of the decisions that we make there. And it's just been like really hard work and execution year and year out. I think, from my perspective, having, you know, co-founded the company with Vlad, I kind of see like all the little steps along the way and kind of the hard work it take took to get to every one of the different steps. And, yeah, I'm I'm proud of the execution. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

MDA SPACE REOPENS OPERATIONS AT DAVID FLORIDA LABORATORY

Cision Canada

3 hours ago

Business
Cision Canada

MDA SPACE REOPENS OPERATIONS AT DAVID FLORIDA LABORATORY

Ensures critical sovereign satellite and space systems integration and testing capabilities remain available to all industry in Canada BRAMPTON, ON, June 27, 2025 /CNW/ - MDA Space Ltd. (TSX: MDA), a trusted mission partner to the rapidly expanding global space industry, today announced it has taken over operation of the David Florida Laboratory (DFL) in Ottawa, ensuring this world-class testing facility remains open to industry and under sovereign Canadian control. The facility houses essential infrastructure that enables the assembly, integration and testing of entire spacecraft and satellite systems and subsystems to ensure their ability to operate in the harsh conditions of space. No other facility of its kind is commercially available in Canada. Owned and operated by the Canadian Government since the 1970s, DFL has been a strategic national asset and integral part of Canada's national and industrial end-to-end space capability for decades, supporting the development of space technology and critical missions for both the government and private sector. The facility has played a pivotal role in establishing Canada's world-leading national and industrial space capabilities including critical components of the James Webb Space Telescope, all Canadarm space robotics, the RADARSAT family of Earth observation satellites, and multiple generations of essential communications satellites that support every aspect of the daily lives of Canadians. MDA's stewardship of the facility underscores its commitment to advancing the nation's space ambitions while ensuring Canadian companies have the resources they need to succeed in a growing and commercializing global space industry. "The David Florida Laboratory is an irreplaceable national asset and the operational transfer to industry at a time of rapid commercialization of the global and domestic space industry is a natural evolution," said Mike Greenley, CEO of MDA Space. "We are honoured to take on this responsibility to ensure DFL remains open to all industry for the long term, preserving Canada's sovereign space capabilities and helping to foster innovation and growth across the Canadian space sector." The David Florida Laboratory will continue to support a range of assembly, integration and test (AI&T) requirements including Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC), thermal vacuum, antenna and vibration test services. MDA Space is committed to providing fair and equitable access to all industry partners to test and validate their advanced technologies on a competitive fee-for-services basis. Details of integration and testing services offered at DFL are available on the MDA Space LaunchPad porta l or by contacting [email protected]. ABOUT MDA SPACE Building the space between proven and possible, MDA Space (TSX: MDA) is a trusted mission partner to the global space industry. A robotics, satellite systems and geointelligence pioneer with a 55-year+ story of world firsts and more than 450 missions, MDA Space is a global leader in communications satellites, Earth and space observation, and space exploration and infrastructure. The MDA Space team of more than 3,400 space experts in Canada, the US and the UK has the knowledge and know-how to turn an audacious customer vision into an achievable mission – bringing to bear a one-of-a-kind mix of experience, engineering excellence and wide-eyed wonder that's been in our DNA since day one. For those who dream big and push boundaries on the ground and in the stars to change the world for the better, we'll take you there. For more information, visit

Hurricane Forecasters Lose Crucial Satellite Data, with Serious Implications

Scientific American

3 hours ago

Climate
Scientific American

Hurricane Forecasters Lose Crucial Satellite Data, with Serious Implications

On television broadcasts and forecast maps, hurricanes appear as two-dimensional swirling vortices, belying their extremely complex three-dimensional structure. Being able to peer past the tops of clouds to see what's happening inside a storm is critical for forecasting—particularly for catching one that is about to rapidly intensify into something more dangerous. But a key source of data that provide an x-ray-like view of that structure will shut down by June 30, just before hurricane season tends to kick into high gear. 'It's certainly one of the more important data sources that we have because it provides a unique dataset,' says James Franklin, former chief of the National Hurricane Center's (NHC's) Hurricane Specialist Unit. 'It's the only way really to see through clouds and get a sense of the organizational structure of the core of a developing cyclone.' Having that information can alert forecasters to rapid intensification or other major changes hours before they become apparent in other data—providing crucial time to warn people in harm's way. This view into storm structure comes from sensors onboard Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites. Those data will no longer be taken up, processed and sent out to the National Hurricane Center or other non-Department of Defense users. The exact reasons for the shutoff are unclear but appear to be related to security concerns. On supporting science journalism If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today. 'The timing [of the shutdown] could not be worse as far as hurricane season is concerned,' and it comes along with other recent cuts and limitations to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, says Kim Wood, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Arizona. What do microwave data tell us about hurricanes? Satellites orbiting the Earth gather data in multiple wavelengths of light: visible, infrared, microwave, and so on. Each provides different kinds of information. Most people typically see images of hurricanes in the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum, but the storms also emit microwaves. 'Everything is emitting microwaves,' Wood says. 'We're currently emitting microwaves sitting here. And it's because our temperatures are above absolute zero.' Microwaves are useful in monitoring hurricanes, Wood says, 'because the waves are so long they get through the tops of the clouds.' This lets forecasters see a storm's inner workings—particularly changes to its eye and eye wall (the circle of clouds that surround the eye and make up the strongest part of the storm). Such changes can indicate if a hurricane is strengthening or weakening. This is a particularly useful tool for monitoring storms at night, when visible satellite imagery is unavailable. Though infrared data are available at night, microwave data have 16 times their resolution, Wood says. Being able to watch a storm overnight can help avoid what Franklin calls a 'sunrise surprise'—when forecasters get the first visible imagery at daylight and find that the storm has become much stronger or better organized than they had expected. Microwave imagery is particularly useful for catching rapid intensification—defined as when a storm's winds jump by at least 35 miles per hour in 24 hours. Forecasters using microwave data can catch the process and warn people faster than they could otherwise. This was the case with Hurricane Otis in 2023, which was the first known Category 5 Pacific hurricane ever to make landfall and caused significant devastation. Microwave 'satellite imagery clued us in to the potential for this system to be really strong,' Wood says. Microwave data are also extremely useful in locating the center of weaker storms. These storms tend to lack a central eye and eye wall, and clouds higher in the atmosphere can obscure where those located lower down are circulating in visible imagery. Knowing where the center of the storm lies is important information to feed into hurricane models that forecast where the storm will go. Feeding microwave data into models can improve the accuracy with which they determine the position of the center of a storm by about 60 miles, Franklin says—noting that an incorrect position is 'going to cascade or leak into your track forecast.' This means that meteorologists who lack microwave imagery may not be able to forecast where a storm will make landfall as accurately as those who have it. Where do microwave data come from, and why were they cut? Because the microwaves emitted from Earth's surface and atmosphere are very weak, they can only be detected by satellites in very low-Earth orbit, Wood says. (The geostationary satellites that provide visible imagery orbit farther out. To have a sensor big enough to detect microwaves from their position, they would need to be the size of the Death Star, Wood says.) But because those microwave-detecting satellites orbit so close to Earth, they see less of it at any given time than geostationary satellites do—so more of them are needed to adequately monitor the planet. And there are longer time gaps between when a microwave-detecting satellite 'revisits' the same spot. That means microwave data are already limited. There are currently six satellites providing that information for U.S. weather forecasting purposes, and they are only useful for hurricanes if they serendipitously pass overhead at the right time. But now three of them are about to be turned off. 'That's a big drop in the availability of this tool,' Franklin says. The data that are about to be lost come from what are called Special Sensor Microwave Imager Sounder (SSMIS) sensors onboard three DMSP satellites. The exact reason for the shutoff is unclear, though some reports have cited security concerns. It does not appear that the concerns are with sharing the data themselves or with funding the collection and dissemination of that information. In an e-mail to Scientific American, a spokesperson for the U.S. Space Force wrote that 'DMSP satellites and instruments are still functional' and that DOD users will continue to receive the data. They referred further questions about the decision to the U.S. Navy, which had not replied to requests for comment by press time. In an e-mail to Scientific American, Maria Torres, a spokesperson for the NHC, wrote that "the DMSP is a single dataset in a robust suite of hurricane forecasting and modeling tools in the NWS portfolio.' She cited other satellites, ocean buoys and the Hurricane Hunter flights, among other tools. 'NOAA's data sources are fully capable of providing a complete suite of cutting-edge data and models that ensure the gold-standard weather forecasting the American people deserve,' Torres wrote. There are other satellites that could theoretically provide microwave data—including a recently launched DOD satellite—but there has been no discussion of making those data broadly accessible, Wood says. And because forecasting models and other systems are geared toward the existing data, it is not simple to use a new data source as a substitute. 'It's one thing for a satellite to exist,' Woods say. 'It's another thing for us to be able to access it.' What we can expect this hurricane season The loss of these data is most concerning when it comes to storms that are relatively far out in the ocean (beyond the range of Hurricane Hunter aircraft) and to storms in the Pacific Ocean, where fewer such missions are flown. There are typically more monitoring flights for storms that are a threat to the U.S., particularly as they get close to land. But two thirds of all hurricane advisories are issued based solely on satellite data, Franklin says. The loss of these data alone would be extremely concerning for forecast accuracy this hurricane season—but it comes on top of the broader cuts that have already been made to the National Weather Service and NOAA. For example, there may be fewer launches of the weather balloons that help illuminate how the larger atmospheric environment will steer a storm. And it is unclear if Hurricane Hunter flights might be affected. 'Losing this data is worse than it might have been a year ago,' Wood says. 'It's pretty much guaranteed that there will be some forecast this year where significant intensification, most likely of a tropical storm [to a hurricane], is missed by six to 12 hours because these data weren't available,' Franklin says. If it is a Pacific Coast storm, this could be devastating for communities in the way. And even if it is out at sea, it is a big concern for mariners. 'Ships go down in hurricanes,' Franklin says. All in all, 'there are a lot of things that are working against forecasting' this year, he says.

Geek Tyrant

6 hours ago

Entertainment
Geek Tyrant

SUPERMAN Post-Credits Scenes Reportedly Revealed and They Don't Set Up Any Future DCU Films — GeekTyrant

James Gunn's Superman just had its first official screening, and naturally, details are leaking online. With select press, influencers, and a few lucky DC fans in attendance, it was only a matter of time before post-credits details surfaced, and now they have. According to scooper @MyTimeToShineH, Superman includes two post-credits scenes, and true to Gunn's word, they're not focused on laying down the DCU's future roadmap. Instead, they feel more like small moments meant to add flavor rather than fuel speculation. 'Superman has two post credits scenes, one is Superman with Krypto on the moon looking at the Earth. 'The second is Superman and Mister Terrific looking at a giant crack in a massive building because the ground split in half during the finale and Supes says it's crooked and Terrific gets all annoyed and walks away and kicks a rock. It's a funny scene.' So yeah… no cameos, no cosmic threat teased, no ominous new villain lurking in the shadows. The first post credits scene with Superman and Krypto has actually been featured on a poster and a TV spot. The Mister Terrific bit sounds more like something to make audiences laugh. For some fans, that might be refreshing. But for others, especially those expecting Marvel-style teases, it could feel like a letdown. That's by design, though. Gunn has made it clear he's not trying to turn every movie into a springboard for the next. Instead, he's aiming for stories that can stand on their own while naturally overlapping through shared characters. Take Guy Gardner, for example. We'll meet him in Superman, then see more of his story in Peacemaker before he pops up again in Lanterns , alongside Hal Jordan and John Stewart. It's a slower, more character-focused way to build a universe. Gunn isn't chasing interconnected chaos. He's crafting a world with breathing room. While Superman's post-credits scenes might not be headline-worthy teases, they will offer heart, a bit of humor, and no rush to get somewhere else.

Pictures of the week: From a mosque in Oman to a mangrove in Indonesia

The National