theverge--2020-05-29--Twitter isn’t a government, but it’s the best one we’ve got

This week , Twitter found the courage to finally deal with its most toxic user : the president of the United States .
After giving one of Trump ’ s untrustworthy tweets a modest reality check , the president exploded in a tantrum .
He threatened to “ shut down ” social media companies , and then personally targeted a Twitter employee to intimidate and harass him .
Then , Trump quickly threatened Twitter with revenge by signing a scorched-earth executive order that would blow up the entire internet .
Trump ’ s Republican lackeys , including Sens .
Marco @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( R-TX ) , and Josh Hawley ( R-MO ) , scurried to stroke the president ’ s ego with deceitful interpretations of law and threats to sue Twitter .
Republicans who recently warned of a “ government takeover of the internet ” are now staging one in reverse — trying to turn the internet into the government .
So , is Twitter a public entity that doesn ’ t deserve the protections of the First Amendment ?
No , that ’ s silly — but there ’ s at least some irony @ @ @ @ @ @ @ internet companies .
Social media giants including Twitter , Facebook , and Reddit have long sold a vision of themselves as exalted public squares .
In this vision , they bring people together across the world and even lift them up from the poverty of being disconnected , ensuring them the right to free expression .
In 2017 , somewhere at the peak of Facebook ’ s self-regard , Mark Zuckerberg shared a vision of his social network as a kind of quasi-government that sits between social institutions and actual governments : Facebook @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a lot like the checks and balances of an actual government .
This year , the company announced the members of its new oversight board — something like a supreme Facebook court — who will independently make moderation decisions .
They can advise on Facebook ’ s policies and even overrule Facebook ’ s CEO .
The group includes several political aristocrats , including the former prime minister of Denmark .
Here ’ s what Zuckerberg said about the group : That sounds a lot like something a government would say !
Facebook @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a government has led it toward a stance on free speech that often frustrates its ability to manage its community .
Just this week , The Wall Street Journal reported that Facebook ignored internal analysis suggesting its algorithm was responsible for stoking divisiveness .
( Executives reportedly ignored it . )
As my colleague Casey Newton wrote in 2018 , it took a genocide in Myanmar for Facebook to realize that some speech is so hateful it can ’ t be kept up just because it ’ s newsworthy .
Outside of extreme @ @ @ @ @ @ @ neutral on policing speech .
In a public address on free speech last year , Zuckerberg said that Facebook doesn ’ t fact-check political ads because it ’ s not “ right for a private company to censor politicians or the news in democracy.
” As Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey took on Trump this week , Zuckerberg knocked his rival on Fox News .
“ We have a different policy than Twitter on this , ” Zuckerberg said , even though the company ’ s policies aren ’ t really that different .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t be the arbiter of truth of everything that people say online.
” Facebook is the biggest example with the most users , but again , it ’ s not a unique one .
When I rode along on Reddit ’ s internet campaign bus during the 2012 election , Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian carried a “ Declaration of Internet Freedom ” from town to town .
They actually wrote it on a giant scroll of paper , like revolutionary cosplayers : Unfortunately , Reddit ’ s era of enlightenment quickly crashed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have it both ways : to appear to its users like a government that would honor a nearly unlimited right to free speech while also inviting advertisers to have their brands live next to snuff , racism , and nude photos of celebrities .
As Reddit let Nazis run wild on its website to appear principled , it started to look like a failed state .
The company eventually learned that it can ’ t survive while pretending to be the government , so it adopted stronger anti-harassment and moderation rules , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ filled with troublemakers .
Then there ’ s Twitter .
Twitter once identified itself as “ the free speech wing of the free speech party , ” a pithy doctrine that clung to the company like a foul odor as it became overrun by bad actors .
Twitter and its colleagues in the industry have long operated along the principle that “ more speech is better , ” despite internally recognizing that in many cases this is a dangerous assumption with deadly consequences .
I ’ m sure that tech visionaries actually believe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ maximizing free speech , although it is convenient that this principle seems good for growth .
On the other hand , Twitter , Facebook , and other major social networks have definitely increased enforcement against bad content in recent years .
Organized harassment campaigns and the rise of state-sponsored misinformation have threatened the integrity of the networks .
Robust moderation is not just a right of expression ensured by the First Amendment , it is also the rational business choice .
So why have these companies been so afraid of publicly flexing their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ intimidation .
Tech companies have been besieged in recent years by a right-wing campaign against “ bias , ” led by President Trump and prominent Republicans .
Despite conservative bias lawsuits routinely failing in court , tech companies have lived in constant fear of the president ’ s erratic rage and the wrath of his supporters .
As soon as Twitter labeled Trump ’ s tweet this week , White House deputies incited harassment against an individual Twitter employee , who began receiving death threats .
Trump has made clear that defying him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump ’ s wave of reactionary furor , once mocked by his peers , has taken over the Republican party .
Fellow Republicans who once denounced him as a joke and a crook are now greasy wheels in his engine of spite and revenge .
He has avoided all accountability in office , which by extension seems to have convinced fellow Republicans that they can get away with forcing through extremely unpopular policies even in an election year .
Meanwhile , we are experiencing many emergencies at once .
More than 100,000 people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and it is likely many of these deaths could have been prevented by a competent federal response .
More than 40 million people have filed for unemployment in the country this year , threatening a new Great Depression .
Police officers continue to kill black people with impunity , provoking national mourning and civil unrest .
The country once again faces geopolitical threats from nations that intend to disrupt the fragile machinery of our democracy .
Compounding all of this trauma , we are burdened with a president who , by any conceivable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public .
The moderation decisions of Facebook and Twitter may seem like frivolous distractions on a normal day , but in the context of enabling Trump ’ s rule , they must be considered in the broader context of American life .
When the safeguards we thought we had to prevent the damage of someone like Donald Trump have failed , what else is there ?
Who else has enough power to help turn the tide against a government sliding into authoritarianism and corruption ?
What if one of those people is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ presidency has been defined by cruelty and chaos , but one thing has been consistent : the man loves to tweet .
He used Twitter during his first presidential campaign like a zero-day attack on traditional institutions .
You couldn ’ t go a day in 2016 without having the president ’ s increasingly outrageous tweets filtered through television news .
Twitter may have privately reckoned with its role in helping Trump get elected in the years after , but it publicly stuck with the position that the president ’ s tweets are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if the president violated Twitter ’ s policies .
The president was above the law on Twitter , until now .
Jack Dorsey has finally taken action against a president who wants to eliminate all checks on his power , both public and private .
As journalist Kevin Roose put it , like a forum warrior of old , Trump has sparked a high-stakes fight with the mods .
The mods are wising up .
Republicans have spent years spinning a false story of conservative persecution , and now they are trying to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his allies want to strip Twitter of its own right to free speech just for challenging the president on his lies and misbehavior .
They plan to do it by turning the internet ’ s democratic vision against itself : arguing falsely that social platforms are not spiritually public , but legally public .
Having failed to govern , Trump wants to saddle Twitter with the responsibility of governing .
Twitter isn ’ t the government , but it has power that the government doesn ’ t have .
It has the right @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It has the right not to distribute his calls to violence .
And it has the right to ban him completely .
Twitter has these rights the same as you and I do , because of the First Amendment , which prohibits the government from curbing what we say or forcing us to say what it wants .
In a way , Jack Dorsey has gotten exactly what he wanted .
He is the leader of the free speech wing of the free speech party .
For once , the answer to bad @ @ @ @ @ @ @ speaking loudly .

This week, Twitter found the courage to finally deal with its most toxic user: the president of the United States. After giving one of Trump’s untrustworthy tweets a modest reality check, the president exploded in a tantrum. He threatened to “shut down” social media companies, and then personally targeted a Twitter employee to intimidate and harass him. Then, Trump quickly threatened Twitter with revenge by signing a scorched-earth executive order that would blow up the entire internet. Trump’s Republican lackeys, including Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Josh Hawley (R-MO), scurried to stroke the president’s ego with deceitful interpretations of law and threats to sue Twitter.
Republicans who recently warned of a “government takeover of the internet” are now staging one in reverse — trying to turn the internet into the government.
So, is Twitter a public entity that doesn’t deserve the protections of the First Amendment? No, that’s silly — but there’s at least some irony in this idea coming back to haunt internet companies. Social media giants including Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit have long sold a vision of themselves as exalted public squares. In this vision, they bring people together across the world and even lift them up from the poverty of being disconnected, ensuring them the right to free expression.
In 2017, somewhere at the peak of Facebook’s self-regard, Mark Zuckerberg shared a vision of his social network as a kind of quasi-government that sits between social institutions and actual governments:
Our world is more connected than ever, and we face global problems that span national boundaries. As the largest global community, Facebook can explore examples of how community governance might work at scale.
Facebook went on to build institutions that look a lot like the checks and balances of an actual government. This year, the company announced the members of its new oversight board — something like a supreme Facebook court — who will independently make moderation decisions. They can advise on Facebook’s policies and even overrule Facebook’s CEO. The group includes several political aristocrats, including the former prime minister of Denmark. Here’s what Zuckerberg said about the group:
The board will be an advocate for our community — supporting people’s right to free expression, and making sure we fulfill our responsibility to keep people safe.
That sounds a lot like something a government would say!
Facebook’s adopted role as something like a government has led it toward a stance on free speech that often frustrates its ability to manage its community. Just this week, The Wall Street Journal reported that Facebook ignored internal analysis suggesting its algorithm was responsible for stoking divisiveness. (Executives reportedly ignored it.) As my colleague Casey Newton wrote in 2018, it took a genocide in Myanmar for Facebook to realize that some speech is so hateful it can’t be kept up just because it’s newsworthy.
Outside of extreme cases, Facebook still tries to appear neutral on policing speech. In a public address on free speech last year, Zuckerberg said that Facebook doesn’t fact-check political ads because it’s not “right for a private company to censor politicians or the news in democracy.” As Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey took on Trump this week, Zuckerberg knocked his rival on Fox News. “We have a different policy than Twitter on this,” Zuckerberg said, even though the company’s policies aren’t really that different. “I believe strongly that Facebook shouldn’t be the arbiter of truth of everything that people say online.”
Facebook is the biggest example with the most users, but again, it’s not a unique one. When I rode along on Reddit’s internet campaign bus during the 2012 election, Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian carried a “Declaration of Internet Freedom” from town to town. They actually wrote it on a giant scroll of paper, like revolutionary cosplayers:
Unfortunately, Reddit’s era of enlightenment quickly crashed and burned as the company tried to have it both ways: to appear to its users like a government that would honor a nearly unlimited right to free speech while also inviting advertisers to have their brands live next to snuff, racism, and nude photos of celebrities. As Reddit let Nazis run wild on its website to appear principled, it started to look like a failed state. The company eventually learned that it can’t survive while pretending to be the government, so it adopted stronger anti-harassment and moderation rules, and began progressively isolating and banning entire forums filled with troublemakers.
Then there’s Twitter. Twitter once identified itself as “the free speech wing of the free speech party,” a pithy doctrine that clung to the company like a foul odor as it became overrun by bad actors. Twitter and its colleagues in the industry have long operated along the principle that “more speech is better,” despite internally recognizing that in many cases this is a dangerous assumption with deadly consequences. I’m sure that tech visionaries actually believe they are doing the right thing by maximizing free speech, although it is convenient that this principle seems good for growth.
On the other hand, Twitter, Facebook, and other major social networks have definitely increased enforcement against bad content in recent years. Organized harassment campaigns and the rise of state-sponsored misinformation have threatened the integrity of the networks. Robust moderation is not just a right of expression ensured by the First Amendment, it is also the rational business choice. So why have these companies been so afraid of publicly flexing their right to moderate? One answer is intimidation.
Tech companies have been besieged in recent years by a right-wing campaign against “bias,” led by President Trump and prominent Republicans. Despite conservative bias lawsuits routinely failing in court, tech companies have lived in constant fear of the president’s erratic rage and the wrath of his supporters. As soon as Twitter labeled Trump’s tweet this week, White House deputies incited harassment against an individual Twitter employee, who began receiving death threats. Trump has made clear that defying him has a severe and immediate cost.
Trump’s wave of reactionary furor, once mocked by his peers, has taken over the Republican party. Fellow Republicans who once denounced him as a joke and a crook are now greasy wheels in his engine of spite and revenge. He has avoided all accountability in office, which by extension seems to have convinced fellow Republicans that they can get away with forcing through extremely unpopular policies even in an election year.
Meanwhile, we are experiencing many emergencies at once. More than 100,000 people have died to the novel coronavirus, and it is likely many of these deaths could have been prevented by a competent federal response. More than 40 million people have filed for unemployment in the country this year, threatening a new Great Depression. Police officers continue to kill black people with impunity, provoking national mourning and civil unrest. The country once again faces geopolitical threats from nations that intend to disrupt the fragile machinery of our democracy. Compounding all of this trauma, we are burdened with a president who, by any conceivable standard, is unfit to serve the public.
The moderation decisions of Facebook and Twitter may seem like frivolous distractions on a normal day, but in the context of enabling Trump’s rule, they must be considered in the broader context of American life. When the safeguards we thought we had to prevent the damage of someone like Donald Trump have failed, what else is there? Who else has enough power to help turn the tide against a government sliding into authoritarianism and corruption? What if one of those people is the CEO of Twitter?
Trump’s presidency has been defined by cruelty and chaos, but one thing has been consistent: the man loves to tweet. He used Twitter during his first presidential campaign like a zero-day attack on traditional institutions. You couldn’t go a day in 2016 without having the president’s increasingly outrageous tweets filtered through television news. Twitter may have privately reckoned with its role in helping Trump get elected in the years after, but it publicly stuck with the position that the president’s tweets are newsworthy and important to democracy — even if the president violated Twitter’s policies.
The president was above the law on Twitter, until now. Jack Dorsey has finally taken action against a president who wants to eliminate all checks on his power, both public and private. As journalist Kevin Roose put it, like a forum warrior of old, Trump has sparked a high-stakes fight with the mods. The mods are wising up.
Republicans have spent years spinning a false story of conservative persecution, and now they are trying to slay their imaginary monster. Trump and his allies want to strip Twitter of its own right to free speech just for challenging the president on his lies and misbehavior. They plan to do it by turning the internet’s democratic vision against itself: arguing falsely that social platforms are not spiritually public, but legally public. Having failed to govern, Trump wants to saddle Twitter with the responsibility of governing.
Twitter isn’t the government, but it has power that the government doesn’t have. It has the right to say the president is lying. It has the right not to distribute his calls to violence. And it has the right to ban him completely. Twitter has these rights the same as you and I do, because of the First Amendment, which prohibits the government from curbing what we say or forcing us to say what it wants. In a way, Jack Dorsey has gotten exactly what he wanted. He is the leader of the free speech wing of the free speech party.


theverge--2020-05-29--Go read this Forbes investigation alleging Kylie Jenner isn’t actually a billionaire

In 2010 , Bruno Mars famously sang that he wanted to be a billionaire “ so fucking bad , ” working to wind up on the cover of Forbes magazine .
Kylie Jenner , the youngest of the Kardashian-Jenner clan , clearly had similar ambitions .
A new investigation by Forbes has discovered that Kylie Jenner , who Forbes named a self-made billionaire in March 2019 , isn ’ t actually a billionaire .
Based on Forbes ’ reporting , Jenner likely never was .
Now , she ’ s closer to a $ 900 millionaire — still an impressive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1,000,000,000 she and her team led the world to believe .
How did Forbes , the same magazine that initially declared Jenner a self-made billionaire , discover that she wasn ’ t ?
A tale as old as time — public documents .
When makeup empire Coty bought 51 percent of Jenner ’ s company , Kylie Cosmetics , publicly available documents suggested that Jenner ’ s business wasn ’ t as profitable as reporters were led to believe .
Reporters Chase Peterson-Withorn and Madeline Berg discovered that Kylie Cosmetics generated $ 177 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deal closed in January 2020 — a number that was “ far lower than the published estimates at the time.
” Peterson-Withorn and Berg continued : More problematic , Coty said that sales were up 40 % from 2018 , meaning the business only generated about $ 125 million that year , nowhere near the $ 360 million the Jenners had led Forbes to believe .
Kylie ’ s skincare line , which launched in May 2019 , did $ 100 million in revenues in its first month and a half , Kylie @ @ @ @ @ @ @ filings show the line was actually “ on track ” to finish the year with just $ 25 million in sales .
Jenner ’ s company still pulled in revenue , and Kylie Cosmetics was still a staple product within the beauty world , but it just was perhaps not as popular as the Kardashian-Jenner team projected .
As Peterson-Withorn and Berg noted , “ the unusual lengths to which the Jenners have been willing to go—including inviting Forbes into their mansions and CPA ’ s offices , and even creating tax returns @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some of the ultra-rich are to look even richer.
” The article led to a response from Jenner , who tweeted “ all I see are a number of inaccurate statements and unproven assumptions lol .
“ I ’ ve never asked for any title or tried to lie my way there ever , ” Jenner tweeted .
“ Period.
” Jenner ’ s response tackles Peterson-Withorn and Berg ’ s reporting , but barely scratches the deeper analysis from the piece : the reason it seemed so vital for Jenner , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a billionaire .
She ’ s already a key member of arguably the most famous family in the world , runs a successful company , and is one of the most recognizable influencers working today .
The same question could be asked of Jenner ’ s brother-in-law , Kanye West , who campaigned for Forbes to recognize him as a billionaire .
West , who has countless Grammys and sold tens of millions of records , seemingly doesn ’ t need to add billionaire to that list , but it seemed crucial for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worth .
Peterson-Withorn and Berg ’ s investigation gets into why Jenner and her family felt like they needed to go the whole nine yards to have a 22-year-old land the cover of Forbes magazine as a self-made billionaire — a term that launched a million eye rolls around the world .
The story is less about Kylie lying , which is in and of itself a wild ride , but more about the obsessive wealth fixations and psyche of the already incredibly elite .

In 2010, Bruno Mars famously sang that he wanted to be a billionaire “so fucking bad,” working to wind up on the cover of Forbes magazine. Kylie Jenner, the youngest of the Kardashian-Jenner clan, clearly had similar ambitions.
A new investigation by Forbes has discovered that Kylie Jenner, who Forbes named a self-made billionaire in March 2019, isn’t actually a billionaire. Based on Forbes’ reporting, Jenner likely never was. Now, she’s closer to a $900 millionaire — still an impressive number, but not quite the $1,000,000,000 she and her team led the world to believe.
How did Forbes, the same magazine that initially declared Jenner a self-made billionaire, discover that she wasn’t? A tale as old as time — public documents. When makeup empire Coty bought 51 percent of Jenner’s company, Kylie Cosmetics, publicly available documents suggested that Jenner’s business wasn’t as profitable as reporters were led to believe. Reporters Chase Peterson-Withorn and Madeline Berg discovered that Kylie Cosmetics generated $177 million over a 12-month period before the deal closed in January 2020 — a number that was “far lower than the published estimates at the time.” Peterson-Withorn and Berg continued:
More problematic, Coty said that sales were up 40% from 2018, meaning the business only generated about $125 million that year, nowhere near the $360 million the Jenners had led Forbes to believe. Kylie’s skincare line, which launched in May 2019, did $100 million in revenues in its first month and a half, Kylie’s reps told us. The filings show the line was actually “on track” to finish the year with just $25 million in sales.
Jenner’s company still pulled in revenue, and Kylie Cosmetics was still a staple product within the beauty world, but it just was perhaps not as popular as the Kardashian-Jenner team projected. As Peterson-Withorn and Berg noted, “the unusual lengths to which the Jenners have been willing to go—including inviting Forbes into their mansions and CPA’s offices, and even creating tax returns that were likely forged—reveals just how desperate some of the ultra-rich are to look even richer.” The article led to a response from Jenner, who tweeted “all I see are a number of inaccurate statements and unproven assumptions lol.
“I’ve never asked for any title or tried to lie my way there ever,” Jenner tweeted. “Period.”
Jenner’s response tackles Peterson-Withorn and Berg’s reporting, but barely scratches the deeper analysis from the piece: the reason it seemed so vital for Jenner, and her team, to be seen as a billionaire.
She’s already a key member of arguably the most famous family in the world, runs a successful company, and is one of the most recognizable influencers working today. The same question could be asked of Jenner’s brother-in-law, Kanye West, who campaigned for Forbes to recognize him as a billionaire. West, who has countless Grammys and sold tens of millions of records, seemingly doesn’t need to add billionaire to that list, but it seemed crucial for him to be recognized for his net worth.


theverge--2020-05-30--Google delays the Android 11 Beta announcement as protests roil US cities

Google had been planning to unveil new features coming in Android 11 on June 3rd , but it has decided to delay the unveiling .
In a tweet on Friday evening , Android ’ s developer account said that “ We are excited to tell you more about Android 11 , but now is not the time to celebrate.
” Google says that it will “ be back with more on Android 11 , soon , ” but did not say when that might be .
Although Google doesn ’ t explicitly say why , the reason is very clear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cities are filled with protests , looting , and fires .
The response to the death of George Floyd in Minnesota has extended well beyond the conflict in Minneapolis .
The Bay area where Google and most of its employees are based has seen major conflicts in both San Jose and Oakland the evening when Google made the call its event .
It ’ s a brutal night here in the Bay area .
Protests against the use of excessive force by law enforcement have surfaced around the country , including in Minneapolis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and Columbus , following the death of George Floyd , an unarmed black man who was arrested on suspicion of forgery and pinned to the ground by police officers in Minneapolis , Minnesota .
He was later pronounced dead at a regional hospital .
The incident follows a series of deaths of unarmed black individuals this year , including 26-year-old Breonna Taylor , who was fatally shot by police in her Louisville , Kentucky , home in March , and Ahmaud Arbery , who was jogging in an Atlanta , Georgia , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ men in February .
The uprisings and the government ’ s response to them have become incredibly serious in the past few days .
Not only have feds flown an unarmed Predator drone over Minneapolis , the President ’ s tweet about looting led to Twitter putting it behind a warning about “ glorifying violence.
” That kicked off a chain of events ending with an executive order that , if it had a chance of surviving court challenges , would fundamentally change the nature of the entire internet .
On a practical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would be in the mood to get excited about new features in Android .
On a human level , delaying the launch was simply the right thing to do .

Protests against the use of excessive force by law enforcement have surfaced around the country, including in Minneapolis, Denver, Los Angeles, Louisville, and Columbus, following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was arrested on suspicion of forgery and pinned to the ground by police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was later pronounced dead at a regional hospital.
The incident follows a series of deaths of unarmed black individuals this year, including 26-year-old Breonna Taylor, who was fatally shot by police in her Louisville, Kentucky, home in March, and Ahmaud Arbery, who was jogging in an Atlanta, Georgia, neighborhood before being shot by two white men in February.


theverge--2020-05-30--Watch NASA astronauts fly SpaceX’s Crew Dragon using touchscreens

Nearly two hours after NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley became the first astronauts launched to space on a privately-owned rocket , they also became the first to pilot a spaceship using only touchscreen controls .
SpaceX ’ s Crew Dragon eschews the famous maze of manual controls and switches found on retired spacecraft like the Space Shuttle or the Apollo command modules .
Instead , Crew Dragon pilots have just three large touchscreen panels in front of them and a few spare buttons below .
So during the few times that they have to manually control the spacecraft @ @ @ @ @ @ @ game-style interface on those screens .
Behnken and Hurley got to take that interface for a brief test ride Saturday afternoon when SpaceX had them manually operate the Crew Dragon to make sure everything was working .
It ’ s wild seeing them nudge the spacecraft using the same display technology we use to tweet The company broadcast footage of the test during its live stream , and though it consisted of just a few taps , it was a stunning thing to see astronauts nudge their spacecraft around using the same display @ @ @ @ @ @ @ instagram , scroll through email , or swipe for Tinder dates .
It ’ s also remarkable that the user interface is so similar to the online flight simulator that SpaceX released just two weeks ago .
( To be fair , the simulator does say it features the “ controls of the actual interface used by NASA Astronauts to manually pilot the SpaceX Dragon 2 vehicle.
” ) The test seems to have gone well , though Behnken did note that the thermal camera view of the Earth below briefly cut out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ SpaceX acknowledged the flickers , and later told the astronauts that it was normal — the cameras had just turned on , and hadn ’ t reached “ thermal equilibrium ” yet . )
And as the announcers said on the stream , the flight test was the “ last major task ” for the astronauts today other than dinner .
Most of the Crew Dragon ’ s maneuvers are supposed to happen autonomously , so if all goes well during Behnken and Hurley ’ s mission , they won ’ t need @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And while it may not be as out outrageous as the spaceship controls we often see in sci-fi movies , watching them use the touchscreen interface to control SpaceX ’ s Crew Dragon certainly felt like a big step forward into the future .

Nearly two hours after NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley became the first astronauts launched to space on a privately-owned rocket, they also became the first to pilot a spaceship using only touchscreen controls.
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon eschews the famous maze of manual controls and switches found on retired spacecraft like the Space Shuttle or the Apollo command modules. Instead, Crew Dragon pilots have just three large touchscreen panels in front of them and a few spare buttons below. So during the few times that they have to manually control the spacecraft, they do so using a video game-style interface on those screens.
Behnken and Hurley got to take that interface for a brief test ride Saturday afternoon when SpaceX had them manually operate the Crew Dragon to make sure everything was working.
It’s wild seeing them nudge the spacecraft using the same display technology we use to tweet
The company broadcast footage of the test during its live stream, and though it consisted of just a few taps, it was a stunning thing to see astronauts nudge their spacecraft around using the same display technology we use to tweet, check instagram, scroll through email, or swipe for Tinder dates. It’s also remarkable that the user interface is so similar to the online flight simulator that SpaceX released just two weeks ago. (To be fair, the simulator does say it features the “controls of the actual interface used by NASA Astronauts to manually pilot the SpaceX Dragon 2 vehicle.”)
The test seems to have gone well, though Behnken did note that the thermal camera view of the Earth below briefly cut out as Hurley maneuvered the spacecraft. (SpaceX acknowledged the flickers, and later told the astronauts that it was normal — the cameras had just turned on, and hadn’t reached “thermal equilibrium” yet.) And as the announcers said on the stream, the flight test was the “last major task” for the astronauts today other than dinner.


theverge--2020-05-30--SpaceX successfully launches first crew to orbit, ushering in new era of spaceflight

After nearly two decades of effort , Elon Musk ’ s aerospace company , SpaceX , successfully launched its first two people into orbit , ushering in a new age of human spaceflight in the United States .
The flight marked the first time astronauts have launched into orbit from American soil in nearly a decade , and SpaceX is now the first company to send passengers to orbit on a privately made vehicle .
The two astronauts — veteran NASA fliers Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley — rode into space inside SpaceX ’ s new automated spacecraft called the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ take people to and from the International Space Station .
Strapped inside the sleek , gumdrop-shaped capsule , the duo lifted off on top of SpaceX ’ s Falcon 9 rocket from NASA ’ s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 3:22PM ET on Saturday .
The rocket dropped the Crew Dragon off in orbit about 12 minutes later .
Now , the pair will spend roughly the next day in orbit before attempting to dock with the International Space Station on Sunday morning .
This mission carried enormous weight for the United @ @ @ @ @ @ @ behalf of the entire launch team , thanks for flying with Falcon 9 today , ” Crew Dragon ’ s chief engineer said to the two astronauts after they reached orbit .
“ We hope you enjoyed the ride and wish you a great mission.
” SpaceX ’ s Falcon 9 rocket also successfully landed on one of the company ’ s drone ships following takeoff , making for a smooth launch throughout .
This launch is a critical moment for SpaceX , a company formed by Musk with the express purpose of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Mars .
It ’ s also the final major test for SpaceX as part of NASA ’ s Commercial Crew Program .
Through that initiative , NASA enlisted two companies , SpaceX and Boeing , to develop new spacecraft that could regularly ferry the agency ’ s astronauts to and from the space station .
After six years of development and testing on the Crew Dragon , SpaceX pulled ahead in the race to launch humans first .
Today ’ s mission is SpaceX ’ s last big test flight for that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Crew Dragon is ready to start regularly carrying NASA astronauts to the ISS in the years ahead .
Though this mission is considered a test , it still carried enormous weight for the United States .
The last time people launched to orbit from the US was during the final flight of NASA ’ s Space Shuttle on July 8th , 2011 .
Since then , Russia ’ s Soyuz rocket has been the only vehicle available to do crewed flights to the ISS , and just one seat on the Soyuz runs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Commercial Crew Program was created to end NASA ’ s reliance on Russia but also to jump-start a new way of doing business at NASA .
For all of spaceflight history , the government has been in charge of overseeing the design , production , and operation of spacecraft that take humans into orbit .
With Commercial Crew , NASA wanted the private sector to get involved .
When NASA first awarded SpaceX and Boeing their contracts in 2014 , NASA hoped that they would be flying their vehicles by 2017 .
Technical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ back , but eventually , SpaceX made it to today ’ s milestone .
“ They ’ re laying the foundation for a new era in human spaceflight.
” “ They ’ re laying the foundation for a new era in human spaceflight , ” NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said before launch .
“ It ’ s an era in human spaceflight where more space is going to be available to more people than ever before.
” It ’ s not a total victory yet .
Behnken and Hurley will spend the next @ @ @ @ @ @ @ get some sleep before tomorrow ’ s next big event : docking with the space station .
And they need their sleep , too .
SpaceX and NASA had originally hoped to launch on Wednesday , May 27th , prompting the astronauts to go through the entire pre-launch process .
But bad weather forced a delay to today .
“ Bob and Doug , who have now gone through this exercise twice , they need to get some rest , ” Bridenstine said after the launch .
“ But I can guarantee you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ good amount of time while they ’ re up there in orbit.
” The Crew Dragon is designed to automatically dock with the ISS without the need for any input from the crew , though the two astronauts will try their hand at manually flying the capsule with its touchscreen monitor controls when they approach the station .
After testing out that interface , the astronauts will relinquish control to the Crew Dragon , which will attempt to automatically approach the station and latch itself to an available docking port .
Docking is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Sunday .
The two astronauts also have to come home eventually — and test the Crew Dragon ’ s ability to return humans safely to Earth .
NASA hasn ’ t decided when the pair will head home ; it ’ ll be sometime between the next six and 16 weeks .
When that decision is made , Behnken and Hurley will climb back into their Crew Dragon capsule and begin the intense journey back through our planet ’ s atmosphere .
The Crew Dragon is equipped with a heat shield to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and the capsule has a suite of four parachutes designed to open and gently lower the vehicle into the Atlantic Ocean .
After splashdown , a SpaceX recovery boat will greet the crew and take them and their capsule back to shore .
At that point is when the mission will be deemed a success .
“ I am not going to celebrate until Bob and Doug are home safely , ” Bridenstine said .
If all goes well , the flight could serve as merely the beginning for SpaceX ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mission , but if all goes well , the flight could serve as merely the beginning of SpaceX ’ s journey into human spaceflight .
NASA plans to use data collected from this mission to certify the Crew Dragon to perform regular trips to and from the International Space Station with astronauts on board .
SpaceX and NASA are already targeting August 30th for the company ’ s next Crew Dragon flight , which will transport four astronauts : NASA ’ s Victor Glover , Mike Hopkins , and Shannon Walker , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
That means we could be soon entering a new era where private companies are the ones routinely taking people to low Earth orbit .
SpaceX ’ s ambitions don ’ t stop there .
The company is currently working on a new monster rocket called Starship , which may one day take humans to deep space destinations like the Moon and Mars .
There are plenty of hurdles between that bold vision and reality , but today ’ s success is a step in the right direction for a company aiming to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Everything in our trajectory is towards that particular moment to launch people on a spaceship , ” Hans Koenigsmann , vice president of build and flight reliability at SpaceX , said during a press conference .
“ And it ’ s a huge step .
”

After nearly two decades of effort, Elon Musk’s aerospace company, SpaceX, successfully launched its first two people into orbit, ushering in a new age of human spaceflight in the United States. The flight marked the first time astronauts have launched into orbit from American soil in nearly a decade, and SpaceX is now the first company to send passengers to orbit on a privately made vehicle.
The two astronauts — veteran NASA fliers Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley — rode into space inside SpaceX’s new automated spacecraft called the Crew Dragon, a capsule designed to take people to and from the International Space Station. Strapped inside the sleek, gumdrop-shaped capsule, the duo lifted off on top of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 3:22PM ET on Saturday. The rocket dropped the Crew Dragon off in orbit about 12 minutes later. Now, the pair will spend roughly the next day in orbit before attempting to dock with the International Space Station on Sunday morning.
This mission carried enormous weight for the United States
“Bob and Doug, on behalf of the entire launch team, thanks for flying with Falcon 9 today,” Crew Dragon’s chief engineer said to the two astronauts after they reached orbit. “We hope you enjoyed the ride and wish you a great mission.” SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket also successfully landed on one of the company’s drone ships following takeoff, making for a smooth launch throughout.
This launch is a critical moment for SpaceX, a company formed by Musk with the express purpose of sending humans into space and building settlements on Mars. It’s also the final major test for SpaceX as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Through that initiative, NASA enlisted two companies, SpaceX and Boeing, to develop new spacecraft that could regularly ferry the agency’s astronauts to and from the space station. After six years of development and testing on the Crew Dragon, SpaceX pulled ahead in the race to launch humans first. Today’s mission is SpaceX’s last big test flight for that program, meant to determine if the Crew Dragon is ready to start regularly carrying NASA astronauts to the ISS in the years ahead.
Though this mission is considered a test, it still carried enormous weight for the United States. The last time people launched to orbit from the US was during the final flight of NASA’s Space Shuttle on July 8th, 2011. Since then, Russia’s Soyuz rocket has been the only vehicle available to do crewed flights to the ISS, and just one seat on the Soyuz runs NASA about $80 million.
The Commercial Crew Program was created to end NASA’s reliance on Russia but also to jump-start a new way of doing business at NASA. For all of spaceflight history, the government has been in charge of overseeing the design, production, and operation of spacecraft that take humans into orbit. With Commercial Crew, NASA wanted the private sector to get involved. When NASA first awarded SpaceX and Boeing their contracts in 2014, NASA hoped that they would be flying their vehicles by 2017. Technical delays and testing failures set the program back, but eventually, SpaceX made it to today’s milestone.
“They’re laying the foundation for a new era in human spaceflight.”
“They’re laying the foundation for a new era in human spaceflight,” NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said before launch. “It’s an era in human spaceflight where more space is going to be available to more people than ever before.”
It’s not a total victory yet. Behnken and Hurley will spend the next 19 hours in orbit and try to get some sleep before tomorrow’s next big event: docking with the space station. And they need their sleep, too. SpaceX and NASA had originally hoped to launch on Wednesday, May 27th, prompting the astronauts to go through the entire pre-launch process. But bad weather forced a delay to today. “Bob and Doug, who have now gone through this exercise twice, they need to get some rest,” Bridenstine said after the launch. “But I can guarantee you there will be no rest for a good amount of time while they’re up there in orbit.”
The Crew Dragon is designed to automatically dock with the ISS without the need for any input from the crew, though the two astronauts will try their hand at manually flying the capsule with its touchscreen monitor controls when they approach the station. After testing out that interface, the astronauts will relinquish control to the Crew Dragon, which will attempt to automatically approach the station and latch itself to an available docking port. Docking is scheduled to take place around 10:29AM ET on Sunday.
The two astronauts also have to come home eventually — and test the Crew Dragon’s ability to return humans safely to Earth. NASA hasn’t decided when the pair will head home; it’ll be sometime between the next six and 16 weeks. When that decision is made, Behnken and Hurley will climb back into their Crew Dragon capsule and begin the intense journey back through our planet’s atmosphere. The Crew Dragon is equipped with a heat shield to protect the astronauts from the fiery descent, and the capsule has a suite of four parachutes designed to open and gently lower the vehicle into the Atlantic Ocean. After splashdown, a SpaceX recovery boat will greet the crew and take them and their capsule back to shore.
At that point is when the mission will be deemed a success. “I am not going to celebrate until Bob and Doug are home safely,” Bridenstine said.
If all goes well, the flight could serve as merely the beginning for SpaceX’s journey
A lot is riding on this mission, but if all goes well, the flight could serve as merely the beginning of SpaceX’s journey into human spaceflight. NASA plans to use data collected from this mission to certify the Crew Dragon to perform regular trips to and from the International Space Station with astronauts on board. SpaceX and NASA are already targeting August 30th for the company’s next Crew Dragon flight, which will transport four astronauts: NASA’s Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins, and Shannon Walker, as well as Japan’s Soichi Noguchi. That means we could be soon entering a new era where private companies are the ones routinely taking people to low Earth orbit.
SpaceX’s ambitions don’t stop there. The company is currently working on a new monster rocket called Starship, which may one day take humans to deep space destinations like the Moon and Mars. There are plenty of hurdles between that bold vision and reality, but today’s success is a step in the right direction for a company aiming to take people deeper into the cosmos.


theverge--2020-05-30--Meet the cute stuffed dinosaur that hitched a ride on SpaceX’s historic launch

Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley had some company on their historic flight to space today : a stuffed dinosaur tucked into one of the seats on SpaceX ’ s Crew Dragon .
Behnken and Hurley each have a son , and both boys are dinosaur enthusiasts .
Before the flight , the boys gathered all their dinosaur toys together , and Tremor , a sparkly apatosaurus was selected to accompany Behnken and Hurley to space .
“ That was a super cool thing for us to get a chance to do for both of our sons who I hope @ @ @ @ @ @ @ floating around with us on board , ” Behnken said during an tour of the capsule in orbit .
“ I ’ m sure they would rather be here , given the opportunity , but hopefully they ’ re proud of this as well.
” The toy was spotted during preparations for launch on Wednesday and Saturday , and geophysicist Mika McKinnon quickly identified it on Twitter as a TY Flippables Tremor Dinosaur .
On Saturday shortly after the astronauts entered orbit , SpaceX ’ s store featured a new item called a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for $ 25 .
Toys like this have flown with astronauts and cosmonauts for years .
When the toy starts floating , it indicates to the buckled-in passengers that they ’ ve reached zero-g and are experiencing weightlessness .
A plush Earth flew on the uncrewed test flight of Crew Dragon to the ISS back in March 2019 .
Just before launch , SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted a picture , calling the plush a “ super high tech zero-g indicator.
” Little Earth , or “ Earthy , ” was a huge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up staying aboard even after the Crew Dragon returned home .
Last year , Behnken said that he expected Earthy to welcome him and Hurley aboard .
“ Hopefully he can walk us through the emergency brief and he ’ s a full-fledged station crew member by the time that we get there , ” Behnken said in an interview last March .
Dinosaur toys have flown on the ISS before .
In 2013 , astronaut Karen Nyberg ( who happens to be married to Hurley ) sewed a toy dinosaur for her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The dinosaur , Behnken , and Hurley are expected to join Earthy on the ISS tomorrow , May 31st , after 19 hours in orbit .
Docking is scheduled for 10:29AM ET and will be live-streamed on NASA TV .
Update 5:15PM ET : This post has been updated to include information about the dinosaur posted to SpaceX ’ s website .
Update 7:00PM ET : This post has been updated with information about Tremor the dinosaur , from a tour of the capsule given by the astronauts .

Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley had some company on their historic flight to space today: a stuffed dinosaur tucked into one of the seats on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon.
Behnken and Hurley each have a son, and both boys are dinosaur enthusiasts. Before the flight, the boys gathered all their dinosaur toys together, and Tremor, a sparkly apatosaurus was selected to accompany Behnken and Hurley to space. “That was a super cool thing for us to get a chance to do for both of our sons who I hope are super excited to see their toys floating around with us on board,” Behnken said during an tour of the capsule in orbit. “I’m sure they would rather be here, given the opportunity, but hopefully they’re proud of this as well.”
The toy was spotted during preparations for launch on Wednesday and Saturday, and geophysicist Mika McKinnon quickly identified it on Twitter as a TY Flippables Tremor Dinosaur. On Saturday shortly after the astronauts entered orbit, SpaceX’s store featured a new item called a ‘Demo 2 Dinosaur Plush Toy’ for $25. [Ed. Note 5/31 8:05AM ET: The item appears to have been removed from the store.]
Toys like this have flown with astronauts and cosmonauts for years. When the toy starts floating, it indicates to the buckled-in passengers that they’ve reached zero-g and are experiencing weightlessness. A plush Earth flew on the uncrewed test flight of Crew Dragon to the ISS back in March 2019. Just before launch, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted a picture, calling the plush a “super high tech zero-g indicator.”
Little Earth, or “Earthy,” was a huge hit with the ISS crew and ended up staying aboard even after the Crew Dragon returned home. Last year, Behnken said that he expected Earthy to welcome him and Hurley aboard. “Hopefully he can walk us through the emergency brief and he’s a full-fledged station crew member by the time that we get there,” Behnken said in an interview last March.
Dinosaur toys have flown on the ISS before. In 2013, astronaut Karen Nyberg (who happens to be married to Hurley) sewed a toy dinosaur for her son Jack while on the ISS.
The dinosaur created by astronaut Karen Nyberg on the ISS. Photo: NASA
The dinosaur, Behnken, and Hurley are expected to join Earthy on the ISS tomorrow, May 31st, after 19 hours in orbit. Docking is scheduled for 10:29AM ET and will be live-streamed on NASA TV.
Update 5:15PM ET: This post has been updated to include information about the dinosaur posted to SpaceX’s website.


theverge--2020-05-30--Microsoft lays off journalists to replace them with AI

Microsoft is laying off dozens of journalists and editorial workers at its Microsoft News and MSN organizations .
The layoffs are part of a bigger push by Microsoft to rely on artificial intelligence to pick news and content that ’ s presented on MSN.com , inside Microsoft ’ s Edge browser , and in the company ’ s various Microsoft News apps .
Many of the affected workers are part of Microsoft ’ s SANE ( search , ads , News , Edge ) division , and are contracted as human editors to help pick stories .
“ Like all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a regular basis , ” says a Microsoft spokesperson in a statement .
“ This can result in increased investment in some places and , from time to time , re-deployment in others .
These decisions are not the result of the current pandemic.
” While Microsoft says the layoffs aren ’ t directly related to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic , media businesses across the world have been hit hard by advertising revenues plummeting across TV , newspapers , online , and more .
The layoffs are happening in the US and UK @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Friday , and says that around 50 jobs are affected in the US .
The Microsoft News job losses are also affecting international teams , and The Guardian reports that around 27 are being let go in the UK after Microsoft decided to stop employing humans to curate articles on its homepages .
Microsoft has been in the news business for more than 25 years , after launching MSN all the way back in 1995 .
At the launch of Microsoft News nearly two years ago , Microsoft revealed it had “ more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around the world.
” Microsoft has gradually been moving towards AI for its Microsoft News work in recent months , and has been encouraging publishers and journalists to make use of AI , too .
Microsoft has been using AI to scan for content and then process and filter it and even suggest photos for human editors to pair it with .
Microsoft had been using human editors to curate top stories from a variety of sources to display on Microsoft News , MSN , and Microsoft Edge .

Microsoft is laying off dozens of journalists and editorial workers at its Microsoft News and MSN organizations. The layoffs are part of a bigger push by Microsoft to rely on artificial intelligence to pick news and content that’s presented on MSN.com, inside Microsoft’s Edge browser, and in the company’s various Microsoft News apps. Many of the affected workers are part of Microsoft’s SANE (search, ads, News, Edge) division, and are contracted as human editors to help pick stories.
“Like all companies, we evaluate our business on a regular basis,” says a Microsoft spokesperson in a statement. “This can result in increased investment in some places and, from time to time, re-deployment in others. These decisions are not the result of the current pandemic.”
While Microsoft says the layoffs aren’t directly related to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, media businesses across the world have been hit hard by advertising revenues plummeting across TV, newspapers, online, and more.
The layoffs are happening in the US and UK
Business Insider first reported the layoffs on Friday, and says that around 50 jobs are affected in the US. The Microsoft News job losses are also affecting international teams, and The Guardian reports that around 27 are being let go in the UK after Microsoft decided to stop employing humans to curate articles on its homepages.
Microsoft has been in the news business for more than 25 years, after launching MSN all the way back in 1995. At the launch of Microsoft News nearly two years ago, Microsoft revealed it had “more than 800 editors working from 50 locations around the world.”


theverge--2020-05-30--The Air Force weather team that keeps canceling your rocket launches

With less than 20 minutes to go before SpaceX ’ s first crewed flight , weather conditions remained miserable , forcing meteorologists at the Air Force ’ s 45th Weather Squadron to deliver bad news to NASA and SpaceX .
“ It definitely hurts , especially when we have those hard requirements that when something hits , there ’ s nothing we can do about it , ” Capt .
Jason Fontenot , the space lift weather operations flight commander at the 45th Weather Squadron , said during a press call .
“ And we just kind of have to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ‘ Even though we ’ re not at the launch window yet , this is very unlikely that we will see this take off today.
’ ” Military personnel who work at the Squadron in Cape Canaveral , Florida are used to being the ones to call off the show .
Fontenot and his team at Patrick Air Force Base are responsible for monitoring the weather surrounding all of the launches out of the Cape , which is home to the busiest spaceport in the United States .
“ It definitely hurts , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” That can be tricky since the weather in Central Florida is unpredictable .
During the summer , humid , hot air rises , creating big puffy clouds and storms that are bad for flight .
Spaceflight engineers often make jokes ahead of launches , asking the 45th ’ s launch weather officer , Mike McAleenan , to keep the clouds at bay .
“ The only thing we need to do is figure out how to control the weather , ” Kathy Lueders , the program manager for NASA ’ s Commercial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ press conference on Monday , May 25th .
“ And I ’ m hoping that Mike ’ s gon na help us out with that when he starts talking.
” Later , McAleenan joked : “ First I want to point out that we ’ re in the weather sales business , not production .
So you ’ ll have to talk to somebody else about that part of it.
” A team of five from the 45th Weather Squadron monitors conditions around a launch , according to Fontenot .
The lead launch @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the launch customer — SpaceX , in this instance — and the 45th with up-to-date information .
One officer monitors the weather via radar around the Cape , while another coordinates with a weather reconnaissance aircraft .
“ We are in constant contact with that aircraft so they can go and be our eyes in the sky , flying around clouds and giving us heights , bases , thickness levels of clouds , ” said Fontenot .
The other two spots are reserved for the oversight team , who make sure that everyone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fontenot is part of the oversight group .
The 45th follows a strict set of guidelines that harken back to 1987 .
That year , an Atlas-Centaur rocket took off from Cape Canaveral , ascending into thick clouds and heavy rain .
The highly electrified environment within the clouds triggered a lightning strike that hit the vehicle and destroyed its guidance system .
“ It started veering off course , and we had to actually blow up the rocket , ” Fontenot said .
It wasn ’ t the first time that lightning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Engineers learned over the years that a launching rocket could actually trigger lightning during flight , even if no lightning was present in the area .
All it took was a highly charged environment .
Lightning famously struck NASA ’ s Saturn V rocket twice during its ascent on Apollo 12 — the second time humans landed on the Moon — though the mission was unharmed .
Engineers learned over the years that a launching rocket could actually trigger lightning After the Atlas-Centaur incident , NASA and the Air Force established a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ consisting of weather experts from all over the country .
They eventually came up with the rules for what conditions are acceptable for a rocket launch .
These include certain criteria for what types of clouds can and can not be in the area .
Of particular concern are cumulus clouds and anvil clouds , which are highly charged .
There is also a criterion known as the electric field mill rule that places a limit on the strength of the electric field in the atmosphere .
That rule was one of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attempt on Wednesday , along with some other constraints .
“ Unfortunately , we ’ re not going to launch today , ” one engineer told the crew .
“ It was a great effort by the team , and we understand , and we ’ ll meet you there , ” NASA astronaut Doug Hurley , one of the astronauts on the flight , said in response .
The 45th Weather Squadron is primarily on the lookout for conditions that would violate these lightning rules .
If one of the 10 lightning-related @ @ @ @ @ @ @ absolutely can not launch out of the Cape Canaveral area .
“ That is a hard and fast requirement for a go/no-go weather decision , ” said Fontenot .
The Squadron monitors other conditions , too — notably , how fast winds are blowing on the ground and above the launch site as well as activity from the Sun and the temperature .
All of these factors may hamper a launch , but the rules surrounding these conditions are specific to each launch provider .
Some rockets can handle different wind speeds depending @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how they are configured for flight .
These so-called user constraints are ultimately decided by the organizations launching the rockets .
The 45th will still provide guidance on these conditions , but the launch providers will make the call on whether upper-level winds , for instance , are suitable enough for their rockets to fly .
Usually , the launch provider listens to the Air Force , though .
“ I have never seen it before where we say we ’ re violated for something and they decide to go , ” Fontenot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in place for a reason .
And so when we say we are being violated for that specific constraint , they will typically not fly due to safety concerns.
” “ I ’ d rather not launch and evade any threat to the rocket or to the crews.
” For the upcoming SpaceX launch , the weather surrounding the launch site isn ’ t the only concern .
SpaceX ’ s Crew Dragon capsule has an emergency escape system that can remove the spacecraft from the rocket during flight if something goes wrong @ @ @ @ @ @ @ land in a large swath of the Atlantic Ocean after liftoff .
SpaceX and NASA are monitoring conditions in up to 50 potential landing areas from Florida to Ireland so that the astronauts don ’ t accidentally get caught up in choppy seas .
The 45th Weather Squadron is providing some guidance on the weather in those abort zones , though NASA and SpaceX are monitoring those forecasts more closely .
Overall , weather remains a very restrictive factor in launching SpaceX ’ s first crew to space .
But Fontenot argued it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ given the potential for something to go wrong — even if making the call to scrub on Wednesday was painful .
“ I ’ d rather not launch and evade any threat to the rocket or to the crews and scrub for another day where we have a better opportunity , ” Fontenot said .
“ So yes it was kind of disappointing , but I ’ d rather launch during better weather , and hopefully we ’ ll give it a chance on Saturday .
”

With less than 20 minutes to go before SpaceX’s first crewed flight, weather conditions remained miserable, forcing meteorologists at the Air Force’s 45th Weather Squadron to deliver bad news to NASA and SpaceX.
“It definitely hurts, especially when we have those hard requirements that when something hits, there’s nothing we can do about it,” Capt. Jason Fontenot, the space lift weather operations flight commander at the 45th Weather Squadron, said during a press call. “And we just kind of have to pass on the information, saying, ‘Even though we’re not at the launch window yet, this is very unlikely that we will see this take off today.’”
Military personnel who work at the Squadron in Cape Canaveral, Florida are used to being the ones to call off the show. Fontenot and his team at Patrick Air Force Base are responsible for monitoring the weather surrounding all of the launches out of the Cape, which is home to the busiest spaceport in the United States.
“It definitely hurts, especially when we have those hard requirements.”
That can be tricky since the weather in Central Florida is unpredictable. During the summer, humid, hot air rises, creating big puffy clouds and storms that are bad for flight. Spaceflight engineers often make jokes ahead of launches, asking the 45th’s launch weather officer, Mike McAleenan, to keep the clouds at bay. “The only thing we need to do is figure out how to control the weather,” Kathy Lueders, the program manager for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, said during a pre-launch press conference on Monday, May 25th. “And I’m hoping that Mike’s gonna help us out with that when he starts talking.”
Later, McAleenan joked: “First I want to point out that we’re in the weather sales business, not production. So you’ll have to talk to somebody else about that part of it.”
A team of five from the 45th Weather Squadron monitors conditions around a launch, according to Fontenot. The lead launch weather officer, McAleenan, coordinates between the launch customer — SpaceX, in this instance — and the 45th with up-to-date information. One officer monitors the weather via radar around the Cape, while another coordinates with a weather reconnaissance aircraft. “We are in constant contact with that aircraft so they can go and be our eyes in the sky, flying around clouds and giving us heights, bases, thickness levels of clouds,” said Fontenot. The other two spots are reserved for the oversight team, who make sure that everyone is on top of their checklists. Fontenot is part of the oversight group.
Members of the 45th Weather Squadron monitoring weather ahead of a launch in 2016. Photo by Sean Kimmons / US Air Force
The 45th follows a strict set of guidelines that harken back to 1987. That year, an Atlas-Centaur rocket took off from Cape Canaveral, ascending into thick clouds and heavy rain. The highly electrified environment within the clouds triggered a lightning strike that hit the vehicle and destroyed its guidance system. “It started veering off course, and we had to actually blow up the rocket,” Fontenot said.
It wasn’t the first time that lightning had been an issue for a launch. Engineers learned over the years that a launching rocket could actually trigger lightning during flight, even if no lightning was present in the area. All it took was a highly charged environment. Lightning famously struck NASA’s Saturn V rocket twice during its ascent on Apollo 12 — the second time humans landed on the Moon — though the mission was unharmed.
Engineers learned over the years that a launching rocket could actually trigger lightning
After the Atlas-Centaur incident, NASA and the Air Force established a committee called the Lightning Advisory Panel, consisting of weather experts from all over the country. They eventually came up with the rules for what conditions are acceptable for a rocket launch. These include certain criteria for what types of clouds can and cannot be in the area. Of particular concern are cumulus clouds and anvil clouds, which are highly charged. There is also a criterion known as the electric field mill rule that places a limit on the strength of the electric field in the atmosphere.
That rule was one of the biggest showstoppers for SpaceX’s launch attempt on Wednesday, along with some other constraints. “Unfortunately, we’re not going to launch today,” one engineer told the crew. “It was a great effort by the team, and we understand, and we’ll meet you there,” NASA astronaut Doug Hurley, one of the astronauts on the flight, said in response.
The 45th Weather Squadron is primarily on the lookout for conditions that would violate these lightning rules. If one of the 10 lightning-related rules is violated, a launch provider absolutely cannot launch out of the Cape Canaveral area. “That is a hard and fast requirement for a go/no-go weather decision,” said Fontenot.
The Squadron monitors other conditions, too — notably, how fast winds are blowing on the ground and above the launch site as well as activity from the Sun and the temperature. All of these factors may hamper a launch, but the rules surrounding these conditions are specific to each launch provider. Some rockets can handle different wind speeds depending on how they’re built and how they are configured for flight.
These so-called user constraints are ultimately decided by the organizations launching the rockets. The 45th will still provide guidance on these conditions, but the launch providers will make the call on whether upper-level winds, for instance, are suitable enough for their rockets to fly. Usually, the launch provider listens to the Air Force, though. “I have never seen it before where we say we’re violated for something and they decide to go,” Fontenot said. “Typically those criteria are in place for a reason. And so when we say we are being violated for that specific constraint, they will typically not fly due to safety concerns.”
“I’d rather not launch and evade any threat to the rocket or to the crews.”
For the upcoming SpaceX launch, the weather surrounding the launch site isn’t the only concern. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule has an emergency escape system that can remove the spacecraft from the rocket during flight if something goes wrong. That means the Crew Dragon could land in a large swath of the Atlantic Ocean after liftoff. SpaceX and NASA are monitoring conditions in up to 50 potential landing areas from Florida to Ireland so that the astronauts don’t accidentally get caught up in choppy seas. The 45th Weather Squadron is providing some guidance on the weather in those abort zones, though NASA and SpaceX are monitoring those forecasts more closely.
Overall, weather remains a very restrictive factor in launching SpaceX’s first crew to space. But Fontenot argued it’s important to be cautious, given the potential for something to go wrong — even if making the call to scrub on Wednesday was painful.


theverge--2020-05-30--How to watch the SpaceX Crew Dragon mission

On Saturday , May 30th , SpaceX ’ s Crew Dragon is set to become the first private spacecraft to carry humans into orbit .
The launch , scheduled for 3:22PM ET , will also mark the first time in nearly a decade that NASA astronauts have launched into orbit from Cape Canaveral , Florida .
For NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley , this will be their second attempt at this historic launch .
The first launch attempt , on Wednesday , May 27th , was scrubbed due to poor weather conditions less than 17 minutes before launch @ @ @ @ @ @ @ today .
If today ’ s launch is delayed for any reason , the next launch attempt will be on Sunday , May 31st , at 3PM ET .
NASA plans to cover today ’ s event live , starting at around 11AM ET .
If all goes well , they ’ ll cover everything from launch preparations to the Crew Dragon ’ s docking at the ISS at 10:20AM ET on Sunday , May 31st .
You can also follow along with The Verge on our live blog .
SpaceX ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the company ’ s launch site on Saturday , May 30th , at NASA ’ s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral , Florida .
Scheduled launch time : New York : 3:22PM / San Francisco : 12:22PM / London : 8:22PM / Berlin : 9:22PM / Moscow : 10:22PM / New Delhi : 12:52AM ( May 31st ) / Beijing : 3:22AM ( May 31st ) / Tokyo : 4:22AM ( May 31st ) / Melbourne : 5:22AM ( May 31st ) Live stream : NASA is live-streaming the event on YouTube @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
SpaceX will also be live-streaming the event on its YouTube channel .
Live blog : You can follow along with The Verge ’ s SpaceX Crew Dragon launch live blog here , hosted by Loren Grush , Sean O ’ Kane , and Elizabeth Lopatto .

On Saturday, May 30th, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon is set to become the first private spacecraft to carry humans into orbit. The launch, scheduled for 3:22PM ET, will also mark the first time in nearly a decade that NASA astronauts have launched into orbit from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
For NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, this will be their second attempt at this historic launch. The first launch attempt, on Wednesday, May 27th, was scrubbed due to poor weather conditions less than 17 minutes before launch. They’ll get another chance today. If today’s launch is delayed for any reason, the next launch attempt will be on Sunday, May 31st, at 3PM ET.
NASA plans to cover today’s event live, starting at around 11AM ET. If all goes well, they’ll cover everything from launch preparations to the Crew Dragon’s docking at the ISS at 10:29AM ET on Sunday, May 31st. You can also follow along with The Verge on our live blog.
What time is SpaceX’s Crew Dragon launch?
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will take off from the company’s launch site on Saturday, May 30th, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Scheduled launch time: New York: 3:22PM / San Francisco: 12:22PM / London: 8:22PM / Berlin: 9:22PM / Moscow: 10:22PM / New Delhi: 12:52AM (May 31st) / Beijing: 3:22AM (May 31st) / Tokyo: 4:22AM (May 31st) / Melbourne: 5:22AM (May 31st)
How to watch SpaceX’s Crew Dragon launch live:
Live stream: NASA is live-streaming the event on YouTube and on its website for desktop viewing. SpaceX will also be live-streaming the event on its YouTube channel.
Live blog: You can follow along with The Verge’s SpaceX Crew Dragon launch live blog here, hosted by Loren Grush, Sean O’Kane, and Elizabeth Lopatto.
Verge Science on YouTube / The home base for our explorations into the future of science. Subscribe!


theverge--2020-05-30--The Verge’s favorite hobbies to do while stuck at home

If you ’ re anything like us , over the past couple of months you ’ ve probably finished every “ must watch ” TV series on Netflix , cleaned your apartment from top to bottom , and completed every video game in your backlog .
We get it : social distancing can get pretty boring .
So if you ’ re finding yourself with a lot of time to kill , why not spend it on learning something completely new ?
With some basic supplies and online resources , it ’ s possible to learn a lot of cool @ @ @ @ @ @ @ knitting , calligraphy , or even taking care of a bicycle .
We ’ re a tech site ( obviously ) so we ’ re not claiming to be experts in all of the hobbies we ’ re recommending below .
But what we are good at is locating a lot of very specific and nerdy information online , so where possible we ’ ve tried to include links to the online resources that we ’ ve found to be the most helpful .
If there are any hobbies you ’ ve recently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ think are super interesting , then let us know down in the comments .
I ’ ve been a bike commuter for years , but until recently I ’ ve never put too much thought into what I actually rode .
I inherited a bike from an old family friend , and only thought about maintenance when its tires got punctured or its chain literally stopped turning .
Unsurprisingly , that ’ s not the best way to take care of your bike .
So while I ’ ve been stuck at home @ @ @ @ @ @ @ learning how to do basic bike maintenance like fixing tire punctures , cleaning and lubricating my chain , indexing my gears , and ( soon ) even replacing my bike ’ s chain entirely .
Depending on the tools you have available at home , there could be a bit of an upfront cost , but if you stick with it then you could end up saving money in the long run by not having to pay a professional mechanic to do basic work .
Not to mention the time you ’ ll @ @ @ @ @ @ @ own puncture the next time you get one while out on a ride .
If you want to get started , I ’ ve found Park Tool ’ s YouTube channel to be incredibly helpful .
Their videos are well-produced and pretty exhaustive , but be warned that the videos inevitably encourage you to buy and use a lot of Park Tool ’ s own equipment .
If you do a bit more research , you should get a good idea of which items you can do without .
— Jon Porter , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ knit from my stepmom ’ s mom more than 20 years ago .
I still have a beautiful afghan on my bed that she knitted .
( Hi , Suzie ! )
During times of stress , I find knitting soothing .
I don ’ t do anything difficult .
No lacework , no intarsia , just a little bit of cabling when I ’ m feeling fancy .
The idea is that I should be able to just bang out row after row while watching something else ; I am most likely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for instance .
So that leaves me with the basics : garter stitch , stockinette , ribbing , moss stitch .
The things you can do on autopilot .
Which is probably why I ’ m knitting so much — it ’ s nice to fidget while my brain is focused on somewhere else .
Zoom meetings tire me ; it ’ s difficult to figure out when to speak without interrupting someone else , and unless there ’ s a clear structure or an obvious reason to speak , I mostly keep @ @ @ @ @ @ @ friend ’ s birthday party , her sister asked if I was on the call .
I was knitting in silence .
I unmuted to say hello , re-muted , then went back to knitting . )
Lately , I have been knitting a surprise for a friend ’ s one-year-old son .
It would be cheaper — and definitely easier — for me to purchase a machine-made version of what I ’ m making .
I am essentially paying extra money to create something that won ’ t be as “ perfect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ buying is relaxation .
To get started knitting — it is not difficult — you can check out this tutorial from Purl Soho , which will show you how to cast on .
Then , you can start knitting .
If you want , you can learn the other major stitch , the purl for which the shop is named , and just go to town .
Purl Soho also has excellent free patterns if you ’ re looking for a project .
If you want to cast a wider net , Ravelry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ feel , is an enormous archive of knitting projects .
There are also forums if you need help .
You will need materials .
You can , if you like , order these online .
You could also see if there ’ s a local crafts store or yarn store that you can support .
Good yarn is expensive ; for your first project , it ’ s probably best to use the cheap stuff .
— Liz Lopatto , deputy editor I had a friend — hi , Caitlin !
— teach @ @ @ @ @ @ @ d stop playing Dead Cells while I was watching TV .
( Yes , it was that strangely specific . )
I love it because it ’ s so forgiving — if you screw up , you can unravel the yarn and start over .
My biggest early challenge was actually buying needles .
I had no idea just how many there are for different kinds of projects , and I didn ’ t want to waste lots of space and money on a new hobby or get stuck knitting flat rectangles for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ best strategy for me has been working up a difficulty curve .
Start with simple scarves , which use two classic single-pointed needles .
( You can buy cheap bamboo multi-packs to have a few sizes on hand . )
After that , get some double-pointed needles for knitting small round things like fingerless mitts and gloves .
I bought a cool swappable circular needle set for larger projects under quarantine , but there ’ s no reason to jump on a huge kit right away .
Ravelry is incredibly helpful here .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ s clearinghouse where you can search by needle size and yarn weight to find projects you can actually make .
It also keeps a good updated list of local yarn stores that are still shipping during the pandemic .
If you order slightly more expensive yarn , just make sure to ask the shop to wind it for you — it ’ s often sold in skeins that you can ’ t knit from directly , and if you ’ re like me and forget this step , a bad DIY effort can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Adi Robertson , senior reporter I ’ m not a talented singer by any stretch , but I ’ m also a bit of a diva and have no qualms about inflicting my warbling baritone on anyone unfortunate enough to be within range .
In early March , when it looked like this lockdown was going to last for a while , I made the prescient decision to drop a couple bills on a Samson Expedition Express portable PA system with microphone .
Since then , it ’ s been karaoke night in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to my neighbors ’ chagrin , I ’ m sure .
After consulting with a friend who ’ s a wedding DJ , I settled on the Samson Expedition as my jam machine of choice .
It has great sound , Bluetooth pairing , and comes in a variety of sizes , depending on how hard you want to rock .
I also realized that all of the “ official ” portable karaoke machines on Amazon were ( a ) ugly as hell and ( b ) rather pointless .
YouTube is replete @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is really no reason to buy into some “ walled garden ” karaoke experience — especially when many of them require a monthly subscription for the good stuff .
It ’ s a pretty flexible setup : you can either run the YouTube audio through the speaker or just use the TV ’ s own audio ( if it ’ s loud enough ) and leave the PA system for vocals only .
Paired with a cheap disco light , you can almost pretend you ’ re in a smoky K-town karaoke room @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some cold soju in front of you , while your friends wail to “ Kiss From a Rose.
” One day I ’ m sure we ’ ll all be back there for real .
But in the meantime , a soft couch , some home-baked bread , and “ Let It Go ” as sung by a four-year-old in an Elsa dress will have to suffice .
— Andrew J. Hawkins , senior reporter Terrariums ( and other stuff in jars ) A few weeks ago I started going for walks , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ jars .
Pebbles , twigs , bits of moss , creek water , you name it .
I don ’ t really know why — I think it had something to do with being stuck at home and wanting to sneak a little bit of the outside world back in with me .
Whatever the cause , I basically backed my way into making a terrarium .
A moss terrarium is dead simple to make and maintain .
There are plenty of how-to articles to get you started , but all you really @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bit of moss , a substrate for the moss to grow on , and a spray bottle for moisture .
You can always get fancier by adding charcoal for filtration or by leveling up to more finicky plants .
But start simply , and in 30 minutes you ’ ll have a mossy little greenhouse adorning your desk .
In theory , the goal is to create a sealed , self-sufficient ecosystem that needs no attention .
For me , though , the fun is in the attention : fussing with the aesthetics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it a spritz and watching the cycle of humidity that follows ; auditioning new varieties of moss that I find between sidewalk cracks .
It ’ s a therapeutic mix of arts , crafts , and observation .
My life is at a standstill right now , so it ’ s comforting to watch small changes unfold in a controlled environment .
Meanwhile , the things-in-containers situation on my desk has gotten steadily weirder .
Right now , I ’ m regrowing a scallion bulb in a shot glass , watching a piece @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and testing how long it takes for bits of driftwood to become waterlogged and sink .
For science .
Or something .
— William Poor , science producer I have objectively abysmal handwriting , as I ’ ve been told by any number of teachers throughout my years of schooling .
But when it became apparent that my time indoors was going to last a while , I decided that I would try to change that by learning calligraphy .
The reason was simple : I wanted a hobby that would let @ @ @ @ @ @ @ importantly , after spending all my work and recreation time staring at one screen or another , I really wanted something that would get me away from the differently sized glowing rectangles .
Calligraphy turned out to be the perfect solution .
As I ’ ve learned over the past few weeks , calligraphy is very much an easy-to-start , hard-to-master sort of thing .
If you ’ re looking to dive in , Reddit ’ s Calligraphy subreddit is a great place to start , or you can just do a YouTube @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and resources out there .
Getting started only really requires a stack of paper and a pen ( I ’ ve been using Pilot Parallel pens , which are easy to use and don ’ t require learning how the whole “ dip pen into a jar of ink ” system works ) .
There ’ s definitely a learning curve — you ’ re effectively learning a whole new way of writing , so the angle and direction that you hold your pen in become much more important .
But it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ work , while repetitive ( especially when drilling basic pen strokes or learning the letters for the first time ) , has a soothing nature , and the mix of structure ( in the letter forms ) and creativity ( in choosing layout , colors , and personal flourishes ) really helps me unwind at the end of the day .
And all it takes is a pen , some paper , and some time .
— Chaim Gartenberg , news editor

If you’re anything like us, over the past couple of months you’ve probably finished every “must watch” TV series on Netflix, cleaned your apartment from top to bottom, and completed every video game in your backlog. We get it: social distancing can get pretty boring.
So if you’re finding yourself with a lot of time to kill, why not spend it on learning something completely new? With some basic supplies and online resources, it’s possible to learn a lot of cool and sometimes downright useful skills, like knitting, calligraphy, or even taking care of a bicycle.
We’re a tech site (obviously) so we’re not claiming to be experts in all of the hobbies we’re recommending below. But what we are good at is locating a lot of very specific and nerdy information online, so where possible we’ve tried to include links to the online resources that we’ve found to be the most helpful. If there are any hobbies you’ve recently picked up, or which you just think are super interesting, then let us know down in the comments.
Bicycles are relatively simple machines, but there’s a lot to learn if you want to carry out your own maintenance and repairs. Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Bicycle Maintenance
I’ve been a bike commuter for years, but until recently I’ve never put too much thought into what I actually rode. I inherited a bike from an old family friend, and only thought about maintenance when its tires got punctured or its chain literally stopped turning.
Unsurprisingly, that’s not the best way to take care of your bike. So while I’ve been stuck at home, I’ve decided to start learning how to do basic bike maintenance like fixing tire punctures, cleaning and lubricating my chain, indexing my gears, and (soon) even replacing my bike’s chain entirely.
Depending on the tools you have available at home, there could be a bit of an upfront cost, but if you stick with it then you could end up saving money in the long run by not having to pay a professional mechanic to do basic work. Not to mention the time you’ll save by being able to repair your own puncture the next time you get one while out on a ride.
If you want to get started, I’ve found Park Tool’s YouTube channel to be incredibly helpful. Their videos are well-produced and pretty exhaustive, but be warned that the videos inevitably encourage you to buy and use a lot of Park Tool’s own equipment. If you do a bit more research, you should get a good idea of which items you can do without. — Jon Porter, international news writer
Knitting
I learned how to knit from my stepmom’s mom more than 20 years ago. I still have a beautiful afghan on my bed that she knitted. (Hi, Suzie!) During times of stress, I find knitting soothing.
I don’t do anything difficult. No lacework, no intarsia, just a little bit of cabling when I’m feeling fancy. The idea is that I should be able to just bang out row after row while watching something else; I am most likely to knit during a Zoom meeting, for instance. So that leaves me with the basics: garter stitch, stockinette, ribbing, moss stitch. The things you can do on autopilot.
Which is probably why I’m knitting so much — it’s nice to fidget while my brain is focused on somewhere else. Zoom meetings tire me; it’s difficult to figure out when to speak without interrupting someone else, and unless there’s a clear structure or an obvious reason to speak, I mostly keep my mouth shut. (During a friend’s birthday party, her sister asked if I was on the call. I was knitting in silence. I unmuted to say hello, re-muted, then went back to knitting.)
Lately, I have been knitting a surprise for a friend’s one-year-old son. It would be cheaper — and definitely easier — for me to purchase a machine-made version of what I’m making. I am essentially paying extra money to create something that won’t be as “perfect,” but what I am really buying is relaxation.
To get started knitting — it is not difficult — you can check out this tutorial from Purl Soho, which will show you how to cast on. Then, you can start knitting. If you want, you can learn the other major stitch, the purl for which the shop is named, and just go to town. Purl Soho also has excellent free patterns if you’re looking for a project. If you want to cast a wider net, Ravelry, which has a comforting Old Internet feel, is an enormous archive of knitting projects. There are also forums if you need help.
You will need materials. You can, if you like, order these online. You could also see if there’s a local crafts store or yarn store that you can support. Good yarn is expensive; for your first project, it’s probably best to use the cheap stuff. — Liz Lopatto, deputy editor
We’re not saying you’ll be knitting 2017’s top gif anytime soon, but it’s okay to dream big. Image: Anna Hrachovec
I had a friend — hi, Caitlin! — teach me knitting last year so I’d stop playing Dead Cells while I was watching TV. (Yes, it was that strangely specific.) I love it because it’s so forgiving — if you screw up, you can unravel the yarn and start over. My biggest early challenge was actually buying needles. I had no idea just how many there are for different kinds of projects, and I didn’t want to waste lots of space and money on a new hobby or get stuck knitting flat rectangles for the rest of my life.
The best strategy for me has been working up a difficulty curve. Start with simple scarves, which use two classic single-pointed needles. (You can buy cheap bamboo multi-packs to have a few sizes on hand.) After that, get some double-pointed needles for knitting small round things like fingerless mitts and gloves. I bought a cool swappable circular needle set for larger projects under quarantine, but there’s no reason to jump on a huge kit right away.
Ravelry is incredibly helpful here. It’s basically a knitter’s clearinghouse where you can search by needle size and yarn weight to find projects you can actually make. It also keeps a good updated list of local yarn stores that are still shipping during the pandemic. If you order slightly more expensive yarn, just make sure to ask the shop to wind it for you — it’s often sold in skeins that you can’t knit from directly, and if you’re like me and forget this step, a bad DIY effort can become a nightmarish yarn tangle. — Adi Robertson, senior reporter
An inexpensive karaoke speaker goes a long way in lockdown. Image: Samson
Karaoke
I’m not a talented singer by any stretch, but I’m also a bit of a diva and have no qualms about inflicting my warbling baritone on anyone unfortunate enough to be within range. In early March, when it looked like this lockdown was going to last for a while, I made the prescient decision to drop a couple bills on a Samson Expedition Express portable PA system with microphone. Since then, it’s been karaoke night in my living room every week — much to my neighbors’ chagrin, I’m sure.
After consulting with a friend who’s a wedding DJ, I settled on the Samson Expedition as my jam machine of choice. It has great sound, Bluetooth pairing, and comes in a variety of sizes, depending on how hard you want to rock. I also realized that all of the “official” portable karaoke machines on Amazon were (a) ugly as hell and (b) rather pointless. YouTube is replete with bootleg karaoke tracks, and there is really no reason to buy into some “walled garden” karaoke experience — especially when many of them require a monthly subscription for the good stuff.
It’s a pretty flexible setup: you can either run the YouTube audio through the speaker or just use the TV’s own audio (if it’s loud enough) and leave the PA system for vocals only. Paired with a cheap disco light, you can almost pretend you’re in a smoky K-town karaoke room with a plate of pickled daikon and some cold soju in front of you, while your friends wail to “Kiss From a Rose.” One day I’m sure we’ll all be back there for real. But in the meantime, a soft couch, some home-baked bread, and “Let It Go” as sung by a four-year-old in an Elsa dress will have to suffice. — Andrew J. Hawkins, senior reporter
The idea is simple. You take a thing, and you put it in a jar. Photo by William Poor / The Verge
Terrariums (and other stuff in jars)
A few weeks ago I started going for walks, collecting things, and putting them in jars. Pebbles, twigs, bits of moss, creek water, you name it. I don’t really know why — I think it had something to do with being stuck at home and wanting to sneak a little bit of the outside world back in with me. Whatever the cause, I basically backed my way into making a terrarium.
A moss terrarium is dead simple to make and maintain. There are plenty of how-to articles to get you started, but all you really need is a glass jar, a bit of moss, a substrate for the moss to grow on, and a spray bottle for moisture. You can always get fancier by adding charcoal for filtration or by leveling up to more finicky plants. But start simply, and in 30 minutes you’ll have a mossy little greenhouse adorning your desk.
In theory, the goal is to create a sealed, self-sufficient ecosystem that needs no attention. For me, though, the fun is in the attention: fussing with the aesthetics of the rocks and sticks; giving it a spritz and watching the cycle of humidity that follows; auditioning new varieties of moss that I find between sidewalk cracks. It’s a therapeutic mix of arts, crafts, and observation. My life is at a standstill right now, so it’s comforting to watch small changes unfold in a controlled environment.
Meanwhile, the things-in-containers situation on my desk has gotten steadily weirder. Right now, I’m regrowing a scallion bulb in a shot glass, watching a piece of seaweed decompose in a jam jar, and testing how long it takes for bits of driftwood to become waterlogged and sink. For science. Or something. — William Poor, science producer
You’ll have to provide your own pithy quotes. Photo by Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge
Calligraphy
I have objectively abysmal handwriting, as I’ve been told by any number of teachers throughout my years of schooling. But when it became apparent that my time indoors was going to last a while, I decided that I would try to change that by learning calligraphy.
The reason was simple: I wanted a hobby that would let me make something, and even more importantly, after spending all my work and recreation time staring at one screen or another, I really wanted something that would get me away from the differently sized glowing rectangles. Calligraphy turned out to be the perfect solution.
As I’ve learned over the past few weeks, calligraphy is very much an easy-to-start, hard-to-master sort of thing. If you’re looking to dive in, Reddit’s Calligraphy subreddit is a great place to start, or you can just do a YouTube search — there are tons of guides and resources out there.
Getting started only really requires a stack of paper and a pen (I’ve been using Pilot Parallel pens, which are easy to use and don’t require learning how the whole “dip pen into a jar of ink” system works). There’s definitely a learning curve — you’re effectively learning a whole new way of writing, so the angle and direction that you hold your pen in become much more important.


theverge--2020-05-30--SpaceX Crew Dragon launch live blog

SpaceX Crew Dragon launch live blog

SpaceX is about to make history as it attempts to launch its first passengers to space for NASA .
Veteran @ @ @ @ @ Doug Hurley are set to launch on SpaceX ’ s new capsule , the Crew @ @ @ @ @ the pair to the International Space Station .
It ’ s a big moment for @ @ @ @ @ ’ ll mark the first time a private company has ever sent people into orbit @ @ @ @ @ taking place from Florida , it ’ ll be the first time in nearly a @ @ @ @ @ to orbit from American soil since the end of the Space Shuttle Program in 2011 @ @ @ @ @ of the launch kicks off at 11AM ET , with takeoff scheduled for 3:22PM ET @ @ @ @ @ lot of action leading up liftoff , so join us as we break it all @ @ @ @ @ into our SpaceX launch live blog here !

SpaceX is about to make history as it attempts to launch its first passengers to space for NASA. Veteran NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are set to launch on SpaceX’s new capsule, the Crew Dragon, which will take the pair to the International Space Station.
It’s a big moment for the company, as it’ll mark the first time a private company has ever sent people into orbit. And with this launch taking place from Florida, it’ll be the first time in nearly a decade that people have launched to orbit from American soil since the end of the Space Shuttle Program in 2011.
NASA’s coverage of the launch kicks off at 11AM ET, with takeoff scheduled for 3:22PM ET. There’s a lot of action leading up liftoff, so join us as we break it all down for you.
Tune into our SpaceX launch live blog here!
Live-stream SpaceX’s launch in the background