The Falcon Heavy Is Set For Launch...But Will it Take Off?
The day space geeks and even casual science enthusiasts have been waiting for is almost here: SpaceX will finally launch its Falcon Heavy rocket into orbit on Tuesday.
But Phil Plait, author at “The Bad Astronomer”, told Cheddar that all the stars have to be aligned for Elon Musk’s company to give the go-ahead.
“There’s a lot going on, and a lot can go wrong,” he said. “The two side boosters are going to detach, they’ll land back on land at Cape Canaveral. The other booster will then push the payload up into orbit, and it will land on a floating drone ship in the Atlantic. Then the upper stage will boost the car and its passenger out into interplanetary space.”
“Elon Musk has been downplaying the odds of this thing working. And he said this will be spectacular, one way or another”
SpaceX’s CEO introduced the concept for the Falcon Heavy back in 2011, calling it the most powerful rocket in the world by a factor of two. But multiple delays pushed back the original 2013 launch target by five years. Now the rocket, comprised of three Falcon 9 vessels strapped together, may be ready for prime time.
The Falcon Heavy will carry Musk’s original red Tesla Roadster and “Starman,” a pressure suit sitting in as a driver, for its first mission.
Ultimately SpaceX hopes the Heavy will drastically cut the cost of space travel, making it possible to eventually send people to Mars, though Plait acknowledges that is far in the future.
The rocket costs about $95 million per flight, compared to $350 million for other missions.
Amazon is betting that ammonia could be the fuel of the future, participating in a Series A round for the Brooklyn-based company Amogy in December. Amogy aims to de-carbonize transportation with a clean energy system that uses ammonia as a renewable fuel. Amogy is partnering with Amazon on its first commercial product - an ammonia-powered cargo-shipping vessel. Amogy CEO Seonghoon Woo joins Cheddar Climate to discuss.
Cryptocurrency is expected to become a part of our daily lives — but what sort of environmental impact does it have? As the U.S. becomes the crypto mining capital of the world, climate advocates are worried about mining companies reopening old coal plants, using massive amounts of energy, wasteful hardware, and more. Congressional Democrats led by Senator Elizabeth Warren are demanding answers from mining firms about their electricity use and waste levels. John Belizaire, CEO of Soluna Computing, joins Cheddar Climate to discuss the congressional letters, how crypto mining can become a green industry, and more.
Driver assistance monitoring systems are meant to keep the driver's eyes on the road, but according to a report from AAA, different ways of monitoring provide significantly different results. The study found that direct camera-based systems that scanned the driver's eye movements were faster and more reliable than those indirect systems that looked at steering-wheel input. Megan McKernan, the manager of automotive services for the Automobile Club of Southern California, joined Cheddar to discuss the findings. "Triple-A is recommending that automakers include both direct and indirect systems just to really prevent consumers from trying to misuse these systems," she said, noting that neither system on its own is not foolproof.
Wave Neuroscience is a neurological health tech company that specializes in clinical and at-home personalized brain stimulation technology. Erik Won, president and chief medical officer and Fred Walke, CEO, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss their company's hopes for allowing patients to identify and treat unique brain disorders while empowering them to understand their unique neurological makeups — including for the high-stress positions of professional athletes. "We have a mobile device that provides a very light stimulation that gives them a therapy that gives them confidence so there's a just knowing that they're doing something for it," said Walke. "But it also helps them get back into a rhythm. It helps their brain synchronize around certain frequencies that that we target, and it helps them really understand that they've done everything they can to get to their highest level of success."
Democratic lawmakers are now calling on Bitcoin mining companies in the U.S. to assess how much electricity they use and how it could all potentially impact residents and the environment in the near future. Since its conception, crypto mining has been at the center of a debate. The question is: Is crypto mining playing a key role in renewable energy or could it totally derail U.S. climate goals? Host of The Wendy O show Wendy O, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Nutritional supplement beverage company Athletic Greens has achieved unicorn status. The company announced a new $115 million funding round, bringing its valuation to $1.2 billion. The company's flagship product AG1 combines 75 different vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients into one daily serving. Athletic Greens says it is poised to reach the millions of consumers who are currently driving the health and wellness market's exponential growth. Athletic Greens founder and CEO Chris Ashenden joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
A powerful winter storm hit the Northeast over the weekend leaving 100,000 New Yorkers in the dark as well as snowfall up to 30.9 inches in parts of Massachusetts. The nor'easter hit with blizzard conditions of wind speed and poor visibility.
