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🚀 1 hour space rocket delivery and Musk to license self-driving tech
Plus: Rolls-Royce tests its most powerful aviation energy
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has confirmed exploring one-hour deliveries worldwide through a rocket-based delivery system.
The company has partnered with Beijing-based Epoch Space to work in this direction. The announcement was made on the Chinese social media platform WeChat. For more on the details, check out today’s Must-Read.
🔥Today’s job of the day as featured on jobs.interestingengineering.com:
> Software Engineer II (Machine Configuration)
> Web and Automation Developer/Engineer
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MUST READ
🚀 Supersonic parcel: Alibaba plans 1-hour rocket delivery of goods globally
As per the social media post, Epoch Space will provide a cargo cabin on its Yuanxingzhe 1 with a capacity of over 4,200 cubic feet (120 meters cubed) for this service. This cargo cabin has a diameter of 13 feet (four meters) and a capacity not exceeding ten metric tonnes.
Interestingly, the Yuanxingzhe 1 (YXZ -1) has yet to complete its maiden flight, so the service is unlikely to start anytime soon. However, animations shared by the space startup show the liquid-fuelled rocket linked to a conveyor belt to load smaller parcels into the cargo cabin.
Like SpaceX’s rockets, the YXZ-1 is designed to be reusable and has been simulated landing on vessels at sea.
🛞 Tesla’s Elon Musk just opened Pandora’s box – FSD is up for grabs
Love it or hate it, Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) is making some serious waves in the auto world. Despite occasional critism, FSD, the autopilot feature, is a significant disruptor in automotive. And now, things just got a whole lot more interesting.
CEO Elon Musk just revealed on X (formerly known as Twitter) that he’s opening the door for other carmakers to license Tesla’s FSD technology. This could potentially be big business for the carmaker, which has been working and developing the tech for a long time now.
The reality is that driver-assist systems are everywhere these days. Ford, GM, Mercedes—they’re all in on it. But they’re mostly good for smooth highways. For more complicated terrain like city streets, brands like Waymo and Cruise seem to compete with Tesla’s FSD (supervised, of course). Let’s be honest, though: FSD is still a work in progress.
🛫 Rolls-Royce begins testing of its most powerful business aviation engine
Rolls-Royce, makers of powerful jet engines and brilliant cars, has announced the start of the flight test campaign for their most powerful business aviation engine.
The Pearl 10X will power the Dassault Falcon 10X, the French manufacturer’s newest flagship aircraft. The first flight of the engine was onboard the company’s dedicated test aircraft, a Boeing 747 Flying Test Bed (FTB).
The key is guaranteeing the efficiency and dependability of engines before their integration into customer service. The FTB, a Boeing 747-200 owned by Rolls-Royce located in Tucson, Arizona, can be fitted with a range of engines to give the engines real-life test runs in the air.
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HOT TOPICS OF THE DAY
SCIENCE
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VIDEO
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IE QUIZ: THE RESULTS
Hey there! Yesterday, we threw out a brain teaser on our socials: “Can you find the Voltage and Current for both circuits?
The answer is: Voltage 1:1V Current1:3000mAh / Voltage 2:4.5V Current 2:1000mAh
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Additional Reads
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🧠 AI Logs: Insights into the intricacies and developments within the realm of artificial intelligence.
🎬 IE Originals:Weekly round-up of our best science, tech & engineering videos.
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⚡Electrical: From AI to smart grids, our newsletter energizes you on emerging tech.
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