Technology
Exploration Company is raising $160 million to create Europe’s answer to SpaceX Dragon
Only two firms currently deliver cargo to and from the International Space Station, and each are based within the United States. Exploration Companywhich operates in Germany, France and Italy, wants to change that: it has just closed a big round of financing to proceed its mission to construct Europe’s first reusable space capsule.
The $160 million Series B round will fund further development of the Nyx spacecraft, which is able to find a way to carry 3,000 kilograms of cargo to Earth and back. The company, founded three years ago by aerospace engineers Hélène Huby, Sebastien Reichstat and Pierre Vine, goals to conduct Nyx’s maiden flight to and from the ISS in 2028.
“We are the first company in the world where, for the first time, it is funded primarily by private investors,” Huby said in a recent interview. This contrasts with SpaceX’s Dragon capsule, which it said was “primarily funded by NASA.”
With the brand new financing, led by Balderton Capital and Plural, the startup’s total funding now stands at over $208 million. Bessemer Venture Partners, NGP Capital and two European sovereign funds, French Tech Souveraineté and DeepTech & Climate Fonds, also participated within the Series B.
“We have managed to deliver on the promises we have made over the last three years,” Huby said. “We were able to hit our cash target every quarter… Investors could see that we were basically able to deliver on time, on cost and with quality.”
The startup has partnered with the European Space Agency (ESA), which has recognized the necessity to support indigenous space launch and transportation capabilities. Earlier this 12 months, Exploration Company was awarded a research contract value roughly €25 million ($27 million) to develop cargo return services. This contract will run until 2026, after which additional competitive contracts are expected to follow. ESA’s goal is to launch no less than one capsule to the ISS in 2028.
The structure of the contract, called the LEO Cargo Return Service Contract, is similar to the NASA Commercial Orbital Return Transportation Services program, which the agency launched in 2006. This program resulted in multi-billion-dollar transportation contracts with SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corporation (now Northrop Grumman).
It’s a promising start, but equally promising is the potential The Exploration Company sees on the industrial side. About 90% of the startup’s $770 million order book comes from private station developers Vast, Axiom Space and Starlab, according to the most recent reports.
The first Exploration Company demonstration vehicle was launched this summer on the maiden flight of Ariane 6, but it surely was not deployed due to an issue with the rocket’s upper stage. A second, smaller-scale demonstration mission, called Mission Could, is scheduled to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 next 12 months.
“I really respect what SpaceX has accomplished,” Huby said. “We try to get the most out of it, we are inspired by what they achieved. However, we also believe that the world needs more competition and we want to build an alternative step by step. We are very aware that we are late, that we are much smaller, etc., but we have to start.”
Technology
US medical device giant Artivion says hackers stole files during a cybersecurity incident
Artivion, a medical device company that produces implantable tissue for heart and vascular transplants, says its services have been “disrupted” resulting from a cybersecurity incident.
In 8-K filing In an interview with the SEC on Monday, Georgia-based Artivion, formerly CryoLife, said it became aware of a “cybersecurity incident” that involved the “compromise and encryption” of information on November 21. This suggests that the corporate was attacked by ransomware, but Artivion has not yet confirmed the character of the incident and didn’t immediately reply to TechCrunch’s questions. No major ransomware group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
Artivion said it took some systems offline in response to the cyberattack, which the corporate said caused “disruptions to certain ordering and shipping processes.”
Artivion, which reported third-quarter revenue of $95.8 million, said it didn’t expect the incident to have a material impact on the corporate’s funds.
Technology
It’s a Raspberry Pi 5 in a keyboard and it’s called Raspberry Pi 500
Manufacturer of single-board computers Raspberry Pi is updating its cute little computer keyboard device with higher specs. Named Raspberry Pi500This successor to the Raspberry Pi 400 is just as powerful as the present Raspberry Pi flagship, the Raspberry Pi 5. It is on the market for purchase now from Raspberry Pi resellers.
The Raspberry Pi 500 is the simplest method to start with the Raspberry Pi because it’s not as intimidating because the Raspberry Pi 5. When you take a look at the Raspberry Pi 500, you do not see any chipsets or PCBs (printed circuit boards). The Raspberry Pi is totally hidden in the familiar housing, the keyboard.
The idea with the Raspberry Pi 500 is you could connect a mouse and a display and you are able to go. If, for instance, you’ve got a relative who uses a very outdated computer with an outdated version of Windows, the Raspberry Pi 500 can easily replace the old PC tower for many computing tasks.
More importantly, this device brings us back to the roots of the Raspberry Pi. Raspberry Pi computers were originally intended for educational applications. Over time, technology enthusiasts and industrial customers began using single-board computers all over the place. (For example, when you’ve ever been to London Heathrow Airport, all of the departures and arrivals boards are there powered by Raspberry Pi.)
Raspberry Pi 500 draws inspiration from the roots of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, a non-profit organization. It’s the right first computer for college. In some ways, it’s a lot better than a Chromebook or iPad because it’s low cost and highly customizable, which inspires creative pondering.
The Raspberry Pi 500 comes with a 32GB SD card that comes pre-installed with Raspberry Pi OS, a Debian-based Linux distribution. It costs $90, which is a slight ($20) price increase over the Raspberry Pi 400.
Only UK and US keyboard variants will probably be available at launch. But versions with French, German, Italian, Japanese, Nordic and Spanish keyboard layouts will probably be available soon. And when you’re in search of a bundle that features all the things you would like, Raspberry Pi also offers a $120 desktop kit that features the Raspberry Pi 500, a mouse, a 27W USB-C power adapter, and a micro-HDMI to HDMI cable.
In other news, Raspberry Pi has announced one other recent thing: the Raspberry Pi monitor. It is a 15.6-inch 1080p monitor that’s priced at $100. Since there are quite a few 1080p portable monitors available on the market, this launch is not as noteworthy because the Pi 500. However, for die-hard Pi fans, there’s now also a Raspberry Pi-branded monitor option available.
Technology
Apple Vision Pro may add support for PlayStation VR controllers
According to Apple, Apple desires to make its Vision Pro mixed reality device more attractive for gamers and game developers latest report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
The Vision Pro was presented more as a productivity and media consumption device than a tool geared toward gamers, due partly to its reliance on visual and hand controls moderately than a separate controller.
However, Apple may need gamers if it desires to expand the Vision Pro’s audience, especially since Gurman reports that lower than half one million units have been sold to this point. As such, the corporate has reportedly been in talks with Sony about adding support for PlayStation VR2 handheld controllers, and has also talked to developers about whether they may support the controllers of their games.
Offering more precise control, Apple may also make other forms of software available in Vision Pro, reminiscent of Final Cut Pro or Adobe Photoshop.
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