A few weeks ago we ran a story (article three) about a group of space shuttles that tried to return peacefully to Earth, only to find a Florida family’s roof rudely in the way. The 700 gram cylinder of Inconel was all that was left of a 2,360 kg battery pack that jettisoned from the ISS in 2021, the rest apparently becoming air pollution just as NASA had planned. But the part that survived was a “Golden BB” that managed to crash into the roof and do a huge amount of damage. At the time it happened, the Otero family was only asking NASA to cover the cost of repairs, but now they’re asking for a little more consideration. A lawsuit filed by their attorney is seeking $80,000 to cover the cost of repairs, as well as compensation for the “stress and impact” of the event. It also appears to be about setting a precedent, as the Outer Space Liability Convention, an agreement to which the United States is a party, would require the space agency to cover damages if debris caused damage to a site other. The Oteros think the SLC should apply to US properties as well, and while we can understand their point, we’d advise them not to hold their breath. We suppose something like this had to happen eventually, and somehow we’re not surprised to see “Florida Man” in the headlines.
There was a bit of buzz this week about the release of a study about the safety of autonomous vehicles compared to their human-piloted counterparts. The headlines of the articles covering this ranged wildly and ridiculously, from autonomous vehicles that were only able to drive in straight lines to AVs that were safer than full-stop human-driven cars. As always, one must read beyond the headlines to get an idea of ​​what is really going on, or perhaps even brave reading the primary literature. From our reading of the abstract, it appears that the story is more nuanced. According to an analysis of crashes involving 35,000 human-driven vehicles and 2,100 vehicles with some level of automation, AVs with SAE Level 4 automation suffered fewer crashes worldwide than those without any automation. Importantly, accidents involving Level 4 vehicles are more likely to occur when the vehicle is turning shortly before the accident, or during low visibility conditions such as dawn or dusk. The study also compares Level 4 automation with Level 2, which has driver assistance features like lane keeping and adaptive cruise control, and found that Level 2 actually beats Level 4 in clear driving conditions, but loses in rain and almost every other direction. situation.
There’s a strange story coming out of New York about a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) enforcement action that seems a little suspicious. It is a General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) repeater system used by the New York State GMRS Alliance. GMRS is a “ham radio lite” type of system – no testing required for a license, you just pay a fee – that uses the UHF band. Repeaters are allowed, but only under specific rules, and this seems to be where things have gone wrong for the club. The repeater system they used was a linked system that connected geographically distant repeaters that stretched from the far western part of the state near Buffalo to Utica. It’s the connection that seems to have raised the FCC’s concerns, and understandably so because it appears to run afoul of the GMRS rules in Section 95. But it’s the notification method that seems questionable here, as the repeater’s custodian contacted email. This is not typical behavior for the FCC, which generally sends enforcement notices by certified mail, or simply delivers the letter altogether and knocks on your door. People seem to think this is all fake news, and it may be, but then again, the email may have just been an unofficial announcement that precedes an official announcement. Either way, it’s bad news for GMRS fans in upstate New York who used this system to keep in touch along Interstate 90, a long, lonely road we know all too well.
Third time’s a charm? We will see when the sunspot region AR3723 (née AR3697 née AR3664) makes a historic third pass around the Sun and potentially puts Earth back into question. The region caused quite a stir on its first pass across the solar disk in May, with a series of X-class flares that produced stunning auroras across nearly all of North America. Passage number two saw the renamed region pass more or less quietly, although it did initiate an M-class flare on June 23 that caused radio blackouts across much of the North Atlantic basin. When AR3723 peeks out from behind the Sun’s eastern limb, it will be a much-reduced version of its former Carrington-level glory, and will likely have multiple designations thanks to fragmentation while it was hanging back. But there may still be a handful, and even if this particular region doesn’t have much juice left, it sure looks like the Sun has plenty of surprises for the balance of Solar Cycle 25.
Someone made a version of Conway’s Game of Life using only check boxes, which is pretty cool and you should check it out.
And finally, we’ve been doing an unexpected amount of DIY auto repairs these days, which means we spend a lot of time walking around for parts. Here’s something we didn’t expect to see offered by a national retailer, but would love to find a use for. If it ever comes back in stock, we might just get one.