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01 / 05
SpaceX Celebrates Progress on the Third Flight of Starship

Ars Technica | Space

SpaceX Celebrates Progress on the Third Flight of Starship

“The successful launch builds on two Starship test flights last year that achieved some, but not all, of their objectives and appears to put the privately funded rocket program on course to begin launching satellites, allowing SpaceX to ramp up the already-blistering pace of Starlink deployments.

‘Starship reached orbital velocity!’ wrote Elon Musk, SpaceX’s founder and CEO, on his social media platform X. ‘Congratulations SpaceX team!!’

SpaceX scored several other milestones with Thursday’s test flight, including a test of Starship’s payload bay door, which would open and shut on future flights to release satellites into orbit. A preliminary report from SpaceX also indicated Starship transferred super-cold liquid oxygen propellant between two tanks inside the rocket, a precursor test ahead of more ambitious in-orbit refueling tests planned in the coming years.”

From Ars Technica.

Waypoint | Manufacturing

Waymo Scales Its Fleet Through US Manufacturing

“Scaling Waymo One and meeting the increasing demand of our riders requires a growing fleet of vehicles integrated with our generalizable Waymo Driver. To support our growing U.S. ridership, we’re investing in our American manufacturing operation with a new autonomous vehicle factory in Metro Phoenix with our partners at Magna…

With the need to build multiple platforms simultaneously and at higher volumes, the plant will introduce an automated assembly line and other efficiencies over time. When the facility is operating at full capacity, it will be capable of building tens of thousands of fully autonomous Waymo vehicles per year.”

From Waypoint.

Financial Times | Motor Vehicles

Zoox to Scale up Robotaxi Production for Us Expansion

“Amazon’s self-driving start-up Zoox will scale up production next year, as it accelerates plans for a commercial rollout of its fleet of robotaxis in the US.

The company, which manufactures and operates a bespoke pod-shaped vehicle without a steering wheel, will open a new site in California’s Bay Area to expand its footprint beyond a current small production facility in Fremont, Zoox co-founder Jesse Levinson told the Financial Times.

Zoox will use the facility to increase its fleet significantly having so far deployed about two dozen bespoke test vehicles across six US cities. It plans to launch public rides in Las Vegas this year followed by San Francisco.”

From Financial Times.

Techpoint Africa | Air Transport

Ghana Turns to Zipline Following Disruptions to Supply Chains

“In response to ongoing disruptions in United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded supply chains, the Government of Ghana has partnered with autonomous drone logistics company Zipline to maintain the flow of essential medical supplies across the country…

According to a statement seen by Techpoint Africa, the partnership allows for an uninterrupted supply of medical essentials, including malaria test kits and treatments, medications for pain, cough, and parasitic infections, as well as nutrition supplements.”

From Techpoint Africa.

BMC Health Services Research | Health Systems

Drone Deliveries Drastically Reduce Maternal Deaths in Ghana

The drone delivery company Zipline is transforming healthcare in Ghana by ensuring fast and reliable access to medical supplies. According to a recent study, healthcare facilities in Ghana’s Ashanti Region that gained access to Zipline’s drone delivery service saw maternal deaths fall by 56.4 percent.

From BMC Health Services Research.