Astronauts have been conducting experiments on the International Space Station for as long as the station has been in orbit, but astronaut labor is expensive: crew time costs $130,000 per hour, and companies are capped at 25 hours per year.
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Today
Jeff Bezos’s Prometheus raises $12B to build an ‘artificial general engineer’ for the physical world; plus, Theker building a factory robot that doesn’t specialize in anything
The new round values the physical AI startup that aims to automate heavy engineering and drug design at $41 billion. Also, unlike humanoid robots designed around a fixed form — think Boston Dynamics — Theker's machines are built to be reconfigured. Learn more about your ad choice ... Show More
6m 54s
Jun 12
Endurance Energy raises $54M to harness a massive untapped energy source; Jedify raises $24M to help companies arm AI agents with context on their businessplus,
SpaceX alumni Andrew Redd is betting the ocean has vast amounts of untapped geothermal energy. Also, the funding round was led by Norwest, with participation from S Capital VC, Cerca Partners, and Oceans Ventures. Snowflake Ventures also participated as a strategic investor. Lear ... Show More
12m 11s
Jun 11
Datadog veterans launch AI coding startup Niteshift on a bet against Big AI lock-in; plus, Zest launches a restaurant discovery app
AI coding agent startup Niteshift has raised a $7 million seed round from a who's who of angels. It's betting companies will want power over, not lock-in, with model makers. Also, backed by Alexis Ohanian’s 776 and Kindred Ventures, Zest uses transaction data and AI to generate r ... Show More
10m 40s
Dec 2023
Space Policy Edition: Was the Space Shuttle a policy failure?
<p>Was the Space Shuttle a successful program? In many ways, yes: it endured for 30 years, launched hundreds of astronauts into space, and built the International Space Station. But, according to the goals of lower costs, rapid reusability, and reliability NASA stated at its conc ... Show More
59m 28s
Jun 2024
Audio long read: How NASA astronauts are training to walk on the Moon in 2026
In 2026, NASA aims to send humans back to the Moon's surface, as part of the Artemis III mission. In preparation, astronauts have been performing moonwalking simulations to ensure that they are able to make the most of their precious time on the lunar surface. In one dress rehear ... Show More
15m 4s