Slashdot

News for nerds, stuff that matters

Can Private Space Companies Replace the ISS Before 2030?

China's orbital outpost Tiangong was completed in 2022 and is hosting up to three astronauts at a time, reports CNN.

But meanwhile U.S. lawmakers are now signaling there's not time to develop and launch a replacement for the International Space Station — considered the signal most expensive object ever built — before its deorbiting in 2030. A recent Senate bill calls for the U.S. to continue funding it as late as 2032, but that bill still awaits approval from the U.S. Senate and the House.

But some private space companies are already building their alternatives:


Private companies that are in the early design and mockup phase of developing these space stations are still waiting on NASA for guidance — and money... [NASA's "Requests for Proposals"] were delayed, in part because it took all of 2025 to cinch a confirmation for Trump's on-again-off-again pick for NASA administrator, Jared Isaacman [confirmed in December]... Similarly, 2025 saw a 45-day government shutdown, the longest in history — adding another hiccup in the space agency's plans to begin formally soliciting proposals from the private sector. Companies now expect that NASA will issue its Request for Proposals in late March or early April, one CEO told CNN...

Several commercial outfits have recently announced big funding influxes aimed at speeding up the development and launch of new orbiting outposts. Houston-based Axiom Space announced a $350 million funding round last month. Its California-based competitor Vast then notched a $500 million raise in early March. Vast is determined to launch a bare-bones station to orbit as soon as possible, with or without federal input, according to the company. "Our approach is to actually not wait for (NASA) and get going and build a minimum viable product, single-module space station called Haven-1, which we're launching into orbit next year," Vast CEO Max Haot told CNN in a phone interview earlier this month. Similarly, Axiom Space is working toward a 2028 launch date for a module that it plans to initially attach to the ISS before breaking off to orbit on its own. A spokesperson told CNN that it the company is "committed" to winning the NASA contract money and may continue pursing such goals even without contract awards.

Still, there's lingering doubt that any of the companies pursuing space stations will be able to stay afloat without securing a coveted NASA contract or at least cinching significant business from the public sector.

The article includes "Another complicating fact: Russia, the United States' primary partner on the ISS, has not pledged to keep operating its half of the space station past 2028." NASA will eventually evaluate proposals for an ISS alternative from Vast, Axiom Space, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, Max Space and several competitors including Voyager Technologies, CNN notes, ultimately handing out an estimated $1.5 billion in contracts between 2026 and 2031.

And while those companies may wait decades before a return on their investment, the article includes this quotes from the cofounder/general partner of Balerion Space Ventures, which led the fundraising for Vast. " What's obvious to us is you're going to have multiple vehicles with myriad companies go into space. You're going to have vehicles leaving from celestial bodies, like the moon. And we need a habitat."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Intel, NVIDIA, AMD GPU Drivers Finally Play Nice With ReactOS

ReactOS aims to be compatible with programs and drivers developed for Windows Server 2003 and later versions of Microsoft Windows.

And Slashdot reader jeditobe reports that the project has now "announced significant progress in achieving compatibility with proprietary graphics drivers."




ReactOS now supports roughly 90% of GPU drivers for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, thanks to a series of fixes and the implementation of the KMDF (Kernel-Mode Driver Framework) and WDDM (Windows Display Driver Model) subsystems. Prior to these changes, many proprietary drivers either failed to launch or exhibited unstable behavior. In the latest nightly builds of the 0.4.16 branch, drivers from a variety of manufacturers — including Intel, NVIDIA, and AMD — are running reliably.

The project demonstrated ReactOS running on real hardware, including booting with installed drivers for graphics cards such as Intel GMA 945, NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS and GTX 750 Ti, and AMD Radeon HD 7530G. They also highlighted successful operation on mobile GPUs like the NVIDIA Quadro 1000M, with 2D/3D acceleration, audio, and network connectivity all functioning correctly. Further tests confirmed support on less common or older configurations, including a laptop with a Radeon Xpress 1100, as well as high-performance cards like the NVIDIA GTX Titan X.

A key contribution came from a patch merged into the main branch for the memory management subsystem, which improved driver stability and reduced crashes during graphics adapter initialization.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Rijnmond - Nieuws

Het laatste nieuws van vandaag over Rotterdam, Feyenoord, het verkeer en het weer in de regio Rijnmond

Gewonde bij steekpartij, verdachten vluchten met auto

Bij een steekpartij op het Granida Erf in Capelle aan den IJssel is zaterdagavond één persoon gewond geraakt. Het slachtoffer is naar het ziekenhuis vervoerd. Een woordvoerder meldt dat de politie op zoek is naar meerdere verdachten die zijn weggereden met een auto.

Ernstig ongeval tussen motor en auto op snelweg, slachtoffer met spoed naar ziekenhuis

Op de A16 heeft zaterdagavond een ernstig ongeval plaatsgevonden tussen een auto en een motor. Dit gebeurde iets voor knooppunt Ridderkerk-Noord. De motorrijder – een man – is met spoed naar het ziekenhuis gebracht, zo meldt een woordvoerder van de politie.

The Guardian

Latest news, sport, business, comment, analysis and reviews from the Guardian, the world's leading liberal voice

‘Vile’ Trump condemned for gloating over Robert Mueller death

Outrage mounts after president posted on Truth Social he was ‘glad’ former FBI director and special counsel had died

Donald Trump has been condemned as a “vile, disgusting man” and a “sick human being” after gloating over the death of Robert Mueller, a former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Mueller, a decorated Vietnam war veteran who led a politically explosive investigation into Trump, died on Friday aged 81, triggering a callous reaction from the US president.

Continue reading...

Everton turn up heat on Rosenior as Beto double and Ndiaye sink Chelsea

The Premier League may have treated Chelsea lightly for cheating over a seven year period but Everton left them battered and bruised, and Liam Rosenior in a whole world of trouble, with a resounding victory at a raucous Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Two goals from Beto and a brilliant finish from Iliman Ndiaye delivered Everton’s biggest win over Chelsea since 1987 and capped their new home’s finest occasion so far. Jordan Pickford also secured the 100th clean sheet of his Everton career with a stupendous save from Enzo Fernández, but in truth the threat from the visitors was minimal. A fourth consecutive defeat for Rosenior’s team, and second 3-0 reverse in succession, maintained their downward trajectory under the former Strasbourg coach. Everton look a stronger bet for European qualification than Chelsea on current form.

Continue reading...

Behance Featured Projects

The latest projects featured on the Behance

???? The Subtle Path of Resonance


Google Pass, redux

Dear Lazyweb,

Four years ago I asked whether "Google Pass" was a thing that I needed to give a shit about and consensus was, "no, nobody uses that." But I have heard anecdotally, recently, that this might no longer be true. Thoughts?

The goal here is, "reduce the amount of time it takes for someone standing in front of my nightclub to wave their QR code at the door staff." On iOS, Apple Wallet supports that goal very well.

Note: I don't use Android and know as little about its ecosystem as possible, so please use small words.

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

Wel.nl

Minder lezen, Meer weten.

Atlete Klaver beloont sterk WK indoor met brons op 400 meter

TORUN (ANP) - Atlete Lieke Klaver heeft haar optreden op de 400 meter bij de WK indoor in het Poolse Torun kunnen belonen met een bronzen medaille. In de finale over twee races zette de regerend Europees kampioene een tijd neer van 51,02 seconden en die bleek uiteindelijk goed voor een medaille.

Klaver nam met zichtbare tegenzin plaats in de hotseat na haar deel van de finale, waarin ze tweede werd achter de Poolse Natalia Bukowiecka, die 50,83 noteerde.

In de tweede finalerace was Lurdes Gloria Manuel uit Tsjechië de snelste met 50,76. De favoriete Noorse Henriette Jaeger verstapte zich en was langzamer dan Klaver, evenals de twee andere loopsters in die race.

De mondiale atletiekbond experimenteerde in Torun met een nieuwe opzet. Er waren twee finales met vier loopsters. Op die manier konden de twee binnenste banen, waarin het wringen is in de bochten, leeg blijven.


MetaFilter

The past 24 hours of MetaFilter

What does it feel like to be struck by lightning?

The odds of being struck by lightning in America in a given year are one in 1.2 million. How does the experience reorient a person's sense of chance, of fate? (The Atlantic gift link, archive)