Blue Origin launches NASA Mars mission and nails booster landing
Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin successfully launched its New Glenn rocket on Thursday with NASA twin spacecraft destined for Mars aboard, and in a breakthrough nailed the landing of its booster.The launch was stalled for days over weather both on Earth and in space, but it was worth the wait: in the rocket’s second-ever flight, Blue Origin managed to recover the booster for reuse.Ecstatic cheers rang out at the launch site in Florida’s Cape Canaveral as the booster gracefully stuck its landing on a floating platform. Prior to Thursday, only Elon Musk’s SpaceX had managed to accomplish such a maneuver with an orbital-class rocket.Blue Origin’s accomplishment comes amid intensified rivalry between the two billionaire-owned private space companies, as the US space agency NASA recently opened up bids for its planned Moon mission.”Damn that was exciting!” said Jared Isaacman — a Musk ally who President Donald Trump recently nominated again to head NASA — on X, congratulating Blue Origin.A handful of figures at SpaceX also had praise for their rivals, including Musk himself: “Congratulations @JeffBezos and the @BlueOrigin team!” he said on X.The launch was repeatedly delayed, on Sunday over weather on Earth, and on Wednesday over weather in space.The second postponement was over “highly elevated solar activity” that NASA was worried could impact or damage its spacecraft.And multiple glitches meant delays yet again on Thursday — hold-ups Blue Origin did not explain. But at 3:55 pm (2055 GMT), New Glenn finally blasted off.The 322-foot (98-meter) rocket now has the task of sending NASA’s ESCAPADE twin spacecraft to Mars, in a bid to study the Red Planet’s climate history with the eventual hope of human exploration.Applause resounded once more as the spacecraft successfully deployed.Joseph Westlake, a NASA heliophysicist, explained during Thursday’s webcast how the twin spacecraft named “Blue” and “Gold” will first finding a “benign, safe parking orbit” to make “measurements about the space weather here on Earth.”Then, once the planets have reached the ideal alignment in the fall of 2026, the spacecraft will get a boost from Earth’s gravity and begin the journey to Mars, where they will arrive in 2027.This type of launch could allow for more frequent missions in the future, because they could proceed outside the window of direct alignment of Earth and Mars that happens approximately once every two years.- ‘Launch, land, repeat’ -New Glenn’s inaugural flight in January also was marked a success, as its payload achieved orbit and successfully performed tests.But its first-stage booster, which was meant to be reusable, was lost during descent.Thursday’s achievement signals that Blue Origin is on its way to reducing costs by reusing boosters rather than allowing them to plummet into the ocean.”Launch, land, repeat — it starts today,” said Eddie Seyffert, among Blue Origin’s webcast commentators.And it comes as US President Donald Trump’s second term in the White House has seen the administration pile pressure on NASA to accelerate its progress to send a crewed mission to the Moon amid a race with China.George Nield — a senior aerospace executive whose work promotes the commercial space industry, and who has flown with Blue Origin in the past — told AFP this launch was a big win for Blue Origin.Nield called it “a major confidence booster for Blue Origin, and it’s going to give the company credibility and the confidence to move forward with supporting the Artemis program, going to the Moon and on Mars and other things that are happening in low Earth orbit, like commercial space stations and many other projects.”
L’entreprise spatiale de Bezos parvient à récupérer le propulseur de sa grande fusée, une prouesse
Blue Origin, l’entreprise du fondateur d’Amazon Jeff Bezos, a réussi jeudi à récupérer le propulseur de sa puissante fusée New Glenn après son lancement, une avancée majeure pour la société américaine qui ambitionne de rivaliser avec SpaceX d’Elon Musk.”C’est un jour historique pour Blue Origin”, s’est émue sa vice-présidente Ariane Cornell lors d’une retransmission vidéo.Après le décollage de la fusée depuis Cap Canaveral en Floride, et la séparation en altitude des deux étages – le supérieur ayant poursuivi sa course et réussi à lancer une mission scientifique Escapade de la Nasa, le propulseur est parvenu à se poser sur une barge disposée par l’entreprise dans l’Atlantique.Un tel atterrissage, extrêmement complexe pour un engin de cette taille, s’est déroulé sous les vivats des employés. C’était la deuxième fois que l’entreprise tentait une telle manœuvre, jusqu’à présent uniquement maîtrisée par sa rivale SpaceX, qui recycle depuis des années les propulseurs de ses fusées Falcon grâce à ces atterrissages. “Bon sang, c’était formidable!”, s’est empressé de saluer sur X Jared Isaacman, un milliardaire proche de Elon Musk que Donald Trump souhaite voir prendre la tête de la Nasa, tandis que les félicitations pleuvaient, notamment du côté de SpaceX.”Félicitations à Jeff Bezos et à l’équipe de Blue Origin”, a ainsi réagi Elon Musk sur la même plateforme.”Jamais auparavant dans l’histoire un propulseur aussi puissant n’avait réussi son atterrissage dès le deuxième essai”, a ensuite vanté Dave Limp, directeur général de Blue Origin dans un communiqué. – Objectif Lune -Avec cette réussite, Jeff Bezos, qui veut rattraper son retard sur Elon Musk, devrait parvenir à accélérer la cadence de ses lancements et en réduire les coûts.Les deux multimilliardaires ont chacun fondé au début des années 2000 leur entreprise spatiale, mais Blue Origin a progressé plus lentement que SpaceX, qui domine aujourd’hui le secteur, en raison notamment d’une approche technique plus prudente.Si la société de Jeff Bezos emmenait déjà depuis plusieurs années des touristes pour quelques minutes dans l’espace avec sa fusée New Shepard, elle n’avait mené aucun vol orbital jusqu’au lancement inaugural de New Glenn en janvier.Ce deuxième vol jeudi intervenait par ailleurs dans un contexte de compétition accrue autour du programme lunaire Artémis.La Nasa, qui prévoit de renvoyer des Américains sur la Lune, a évoqué en octobre la possibilité de se passer de SpaceX en raison de retards. Un avantage potentiel pour Jeff Bezos, qui développe également un alunisseur pour l’agence spatiale.- “Crédibilité” – Ce lancement réussi avec brio “va considérablement renforcer la confiance en Blue Origin et donner à l’entreprise la crédibilité et l’assurance nécessaires pour aller de l’avant dans le cadre du programme Artemis, aller sur la Lune et sur Mars, et mener à bien d’autres projets en orbite basse”, estime auprès de l’AFP George Nield, président d’une entreprise promouvant les activités spatiales privées.Depuis le retour de Donald Trump à la Maison Blanche, l’administration américaine exerce une pression considérable sur la Nasa pour accélérer son programme lunaire, qui a souffert de nombreuses complications et retards ces dernières années.Sean Duffy, administrateur par intérim de la Nasa, est même allé jusqu’à évoquer récemment une “deuxième course à l’espace” opposant Washington et Pékin, qui ambitionne également de fouler le sol lunaire d’ici 2030, après celle à laquelle se sont livrés les Etats-Unis et l’Union soviétique pendant la Guerre froide.Via le programme Artémis, les Américains cherchent à établir une présence humaine durable sur la Lune et à préparer le terrain à de futures missions vers Mars. Les sondes lancées jeudi pour le compte de la Nasa devraient permettre d’approfondir les connaissances sur la planète rouge.Nommées Blue et Gold, ces dernières vont se positionner dans une orbite “de stationnement sécurisée” afin de rester près de la Terre et d’attendre le moment idéal pour partir vers Mars, qu’elles devraient rejoindre en 2027, a expliqué jeudi Joseph Westlake, un responsable de la Nasa.
Rise of the robots: the promise of physical AI
A pair of swivelling, human-like robotic arms, built for physical artificial intelligence research, mirror the motions of an operator in a VR headset twirling his hands like a magician.With enough practice, arms like these can complete everyday tasks alone, says Tokyo company Enactic, which is developing humanoid robots to wash dishes and do laundry in short-staffed Japanese care homes.Welcome to the future of AI as it starts to infiltrate the material world in the form of smart robots, self-driving cars and other autonomous machines.”The next wave of AI is physical AI,” Jensen Huang, head of US chip giant Nvidia, said last year.That’s “AI that understands the laws of physics, AI that can work among us” and understands “how to perceive the world”, Huang added.Tech firms are pouring massive sums into physical AI, and Morgan Stanley predicts the world could have more than a billion humanoid robots by 2050.The buzz is only heightened by videos showing advanced androids, often Chinese-made, dancing to Taylor Swift or pulling heavy objects with ease.Beyond the promise of sci-fi robot butlers, the race has sparked concern over job losses, privacy and how long these innovations will take to actually be useful.Hiro Yamamoto is the 24-year-old CEO of Enactic, whose OpenArm physical AI training devices are used by Nvidia and at top universities such as Stanford.He plans to begin deploying new robots, currently under development, from next summer to “live alongside people in environments that are very chaotic, and where conditions are always changing” like care homes.”So it has to be safe,” with a soft exterior that won’t injure anyone, Yamamoto said.- ‘Any human role’ -In the Chinese city of Guangzhou, a female figure with a glowing oval-shaped visor for a face, clad in white woven fabric like a fencing athlete, walked slowly across a stage last week to cheers and whispers.It was the latest humanoid robot to be unveiled by Chinese electric vehicle maker XPeng, which is also pushing into physical AI.Nimble machines made by US companies, such as Boston Dynamics’ dog-like robots, have grabbed headlines over the years.But government support and strong domestic supply chains are helping Chinese rivals, also including Unitree Robotics and EngineAI, race ahead.”I haven’t given much thought to how many robots we will sell annually in 10 years’ time, but I think it would be more than cars,” XPeng CEO He Xiaopeng told reporters.XPeng’s robots walk and even dance autonomously — but how well they handle objects, a more complicated feat, has not been widely demonstrated.Their dexterous fingers and flexible skin are unlikely to replace workers on China’s factory floors soon, He said.The cost of one robot hand, which needs to be replaced regularly for heavy-duty work, could pay a Chinese worker’s salary for years.But with enough data and training, AI humanoid robots could one day perform “almost any human role”, from nanny to home chef or gardener, XPeng co-president Brian Gu told AFP.- On-the-job training -Text-based AI tools like ChatGPT are trained on huge volumes of words, but physical AI models must also grapple with vision and the spatial relationship between objects.For now, remotely operating AI robots to teach them how to do something like picking up a cup “is by far the most reliable way to collect data”, Yamamoto said.Just 30 to 50 demonstrations of each task are needed to fine-tune “vision-language-action” AI models, he added.Enactic has approached several dozen care facilities in Japan to propose that its teleoperated robots take over menial tasks, so qualified care workers have more time to look after elderly residents.This on-the-job experience will train physical AI models so the robots can act autonomously in future, Yamamoto said.US-Norwegian startup 1X is taking a similar approach for its humanoid home helper NEO, which it will deliver to American homes from next year.NEO costs $20,000 to buy, but so far its performance is shaky, with one video in US media showing the robot struggling to close a dishwasher door, even when teleoperated.- Physical limits -In another embarrassing moment, a Russian humanoid robot, said to be the country’s first, staggered then fell flat on its face as it made its debut on stage earlier this week.There is currently a “big gap” between robots’ AI systems and their physical abilities, which lag behind, said Sara Adela Abad Guaman, assistant professor in robotics at University College London.”Nature has shown us that in order to adapt to the environment, you need to have the right body,” Abad told AFP, giving the example of a mountain goat that stumbles on ice.Nevertheless, big deals are being struck, even as booming investment in artificial intelligence feeds fears of a stock market bubble.Japan’s SoftBank recently called physical AI its “next frontier” as it said it was buying industrial robot maker ABB Robotics for $5.4 billion.Automation raises questions about the future of human labour, but Abad is not too worried.At the end of the day, “our sense of touch is incomparable,” she said.
Asian markets sink on concerns over tech rally, Fed rates
Asian markets sank Friday, tracking a selloff on Wall Street as worries over next month’s Federal Reserve interest rate decision and persistent speculation about a tech bubble dampened sentiment.With the US shutdown saga now out the way, focus returned to the central bank’s policy meeting next month, when officials will decide whether or not to lower borrowing costs again.For much of the year, equities have been boosted by optimism that rates would come down, despite persistent inflation, and the Fed has delivered at its past two gatherings.But comments from bank boss Jerome Powell last month that a December repeat was not “a foregone conclusion” sowed the seeds of doubt, while several other decision-makers have made similar noises.The latest came this week, with three regional presidents voicing concerns about moving while inflation remained stubbornly high.St. Louis head Alberto Musalem urged “caution”, adding that “there’s limited room for further easing without monetary policy becoming overly accommodative”.His Minneapolis counterpart Neel Kashkari, who called for a pause in October, pointed to “underlying resilience in economic activity, more than I had expected”.And Cleveland’s Beth Hammack told the Pittsburgh Economic Club: “On balance, I think we need to remain somewhat restrictive to continue putting pressure to bring inflation down toward our target.”She called current rates “barely restrictive, if at all” and that “we need to keep rates around these levels”. The comments come as investors await the release of economic data that had been held up by the record shutdown, with jobs and inflation the main focus, even though some are expected to be incomplete.”As we await this schedule, we’ve seen some recalibration of expectations around whether the Fed cuts by 25 basis points on 10 December,” wrote Pepperstone’s Chris Weston. He added that markets saw a 52 percent chance of a cut, down from 60 percent the day before.The dimmer outlook for rates compounded worries that the tech sector may be overpriced after an AI-fuelled surge this year that has sent markets to records.There is growing talk that the mind-boggling amounts of cash invested in artificial intelligence may take some time to be realised as profit.Chip titan “Nvidia’s earnings (are) the key bottom-up focal point next week — potentially prompting traders to de-risk, lock in performance and sit tight until the tape turns and risk appetite returns into year-end”, said Weston.All three main indexes on Wall Street ended well in the red, with the tech-rich Nasdaq down more than two percent, while the Dow and S&P 500 were each off 1.7 percent.And Asia followed the lead, having enjoyed a broadly positive week.Tokyo, Hong Kong, Sydney and Taipei all shed at least one percent and Seoul — which has hit multiple records of late — shed more than two percent.There were also losses in Shanghai, Singapore and Wellington.Oil rallied after the International Energy Agency flagged risks to Russian output caused by hefty sanctions imposed by Washington last month, including the country’s top two producers.The IEA said the decision could have “the most far-reaching impact yet on global oil markets”.Friday’s surge of more than two percent came days after the commodity tumbled following OPEC’s monthly crude market report, which forecast an oversupply in the third quarter.- Key figures at around 0230 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.7 percent at 50,434.54 (break)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.0 percent at 26,804.22Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 4,022.82Dollar/yen: UP at 154.55 yen from 154.53 yen on ThursdayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1632 from $1.1634 Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3142 from $1.3189Euro/pound: UP at 88.50 pence from 88.21 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 2.7 percent at $60.27 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 2.4 percent at $64.49 per barrel
Video podcasts become next streaming battleground
Big tech platforms, including TikTok and Netflix, are all looking to add video podcasts to their content, a rapidly growing format that attracts a young audience prized by advertisers and where YouTube dominates.Roman Wasenmüller, the head of podcasts at Spotify, said that the development “marks a new chapter for podcasting,” as he announced a partnership with Netflix in mid-October.Google-owned YouTube is now the leading destination for podcasts in the United States, with 33 percent market share according to Edison Research, and more than one billion consumers worldwide.YouTube even offers audio show producers the ability to generate video using artificial intelligence to better illustrate their show on the platform.Spotify is now moving in, and by the end of September, 390 million users of the Swedish streaming service had watched at least one video-version of a podcast.”Podcasting is correctly seen as a medium that is growing in usage considerably faster than a lot of legacy media, and that’s attractive to investors,” said Martin Spinelli, a podcasting professor at the University of Sussex.- Connect with Gen Z -The rise of the podcast is particularly pronounced among young people, noted Yoram Wurmser, an analyst at Emarketer.”Gen Z are heavy podcast listeners and viewers, so it’s good to connect with them” as much as possible, Wurmser said.Donald Trump’s podcast tour during his US presidential campaign helped increase his popularity among young adults.Democrat Zohran Mamdani, recently elected mayor of New York, also gave significant attention to podcasters.A latecomer to this space, Netflix has already announced the release, in early 2026, of a dozen programs licensed from Spotify.But according to Business Insider, Netflix aims to quickly offer more than 50 and eventually up to 200 in total that will include new productions made for Netflix.TikTok announced Monday a collaboration with American radio giant iHeartMedia, aimed at launching up to 25 programs hosted by influencers.”We’re combining our vast networks to deliver relevant content on a massive scale,” said Rich Bressler, iHeartMedia’s number two. “It’s a win for creators, fans, and brands alike.”TikTok will not broadcast entire episodes but excerpts, similar to what most successful podcasts already make available, some garnering several million views each time.The Chinese-owned social network doesn’t produce its own videos, any more than YouTube does, but Martin Spinelli expects streaming services to “amplify the content that they’ve already monetized” using podcasts.Even before launching its offensive, Netflix had already produced audio extras for several of its hit series, from “The Crown” to “Heartstopper.”Disney has also heavily invested in this niche and announced in early September the arrival of podcasts spun off from series like “Only Murders in the Building” and “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.”For existing podcasts, access to new audiences using video should increase revenues, said Emarketer’s Wurmser, whether through advertising, subscriptions or merchandise.Spinelli sees it as a victory for independent podcasts, which “will be able to expand their audience.””It’s much easier to find” a podcast based on its content “on YouTube than on Apple Podcasts,” said Spinelli, who himself hosts the program “For Your Ears Only,” “and I think it will be the same for Netflix and TikTok.”
La capitale ukrainienne ciblée par une vaste attaque, une dizaine de blessés
La capitale ukrainienne Kiev a subi une vaste attaque de missiles et drones russes tôt vendredi, qui a touché de nombreux districts et fait une dizaine de blessés, selon les autorités locales, de fortes explosions ayant été entendues par des journalistes de l’AFP.”Les Russes frappent des immeubles résidentiels. Il y a de nombreux immeubles élevés endommagés à travers Kiev, presque dans chaque district”, a déclaré le chef de l’administration militaire de la ville, Timour Tkatchenko.Le responsable a fait état “d’au moins 12 blessés”, dont une femme enceinte.Des journalistes de l’AFP ont entendu de fortes explosions dans le centre-ville, et observé que les systèmes de défense aérienne ont été activés contre des frappes de drones et des missiles.Le maire de Kiev, Vitali Klitschko, qui avait demandé aux habitants de rejoindre des abris, a indiqué que “les forces de défense aérienne opèrent à Kiev”, signalant “une attaque massive de l’ennemi sur la capitale”.Des incendies se sont déclenchés dans plusieurs quartiers après les frappes et les secours ont été mobilisés, a-t-il ajouté.”Des sections des réseaux de chauffage ont été endommagées. Dans le district de Desniansky, en raison d’une situation d’urgence sur la conduite principale de chauffage, certains bâtiments sont temporairement privés de chauffage”, a-t-il précisé.Oleksandr Markoushyn, maire d’Irpin, localité de la région de Kiev, a décrit une “nuit difficile” avec de “multiples (drones) shaheds et missiles volant au dessus de la commune”, sur Facebook.Poursuivant son offensive entamée en 2022, la Russie, dont les forces sont mieux équipées et plus nombreuses, continue d’avancer dans l’est de l’Ukraine et notamment dans la région de Donetsk où se concentre l’essentiel des combats récemment.En parallèle, Moscou multiplie depuis des semaines les bombardements sur les infrastructures civiles et énergétiques et le réseau ferroviaire ukrainiens, sur fond de baisse des températures à l’approche de l’hiver.Côté russe, les autorités ont rapporté tôt vendredi une attaque ukrainienne contre le port pétrolier de Novorossiisk sur la mer Noire.Une raffinerie de pétrole a été touchée par un incendie qui a été ensuite éteint et plusieurs immeubles résidentiels ont été endommagés par des fragments de drones, causant un blessé, selon les autorités. “A la suite d’une attaque massive sur Novorossiisk, des débris de drones ont endommagé l’un des navires civils dans le port”, blessant trois membres d’équipage, a ajouté le QG opérationnel de la région de Krasnodar.Des attaques de drones ukrainiennes provoquent régulièrement des dégâts dans les secteurs pétrolier et gazier et sur des conduites destinées au transport des hydrocarbures, conduisant à une hausse des prix du carburant.
Trump eyes $2,000 checks, 50-year mortgages as economic fears loom
Is it still the economy, stupid? US President Donald Trump has floated a string of sometimes outlandish policy ideas as he seeks to fight back on the cost-of-living issue that is causing jitters in his Republican Party.While bristling at suggestions that he is the latest US leader facing an economic problem, Trump has also suggested plans ranging from $2,000 dividends for Americans to half-century mortgages.- Affordability – The cost of living has been on the minds of Americans since Democrats scored big wins in off-year elections last week in New Jersey, New York and Virginia, fueled by voters angry over rising prices.Billionaire Trump insisted afterwards that “I don’t want to hear about the affordability,” lashing out at reporters — including an AFP journalist — when asked about the issue, instead opting to blame inflation on former president Joe Biden.Yet Trump’s MAGA movement has pushed him to react, and there are signs that Trump and the White House recognize the issue could damage Republicans in the 2026 US midterm elections.The White House this week highlighted what it said were Trump’s moves to lower prices on essentials like gas and eggs, and pointed to an announcement last week of a deal to lower the prices of some weight-loss drugs.Trump meanwhile is set to “ramp up” his domestic travels in the near future to push his economic message, a White House official told AFP.The 79-year-old tycoon has always made a big play of his economic prowess, and will recall the words of Democratic strategist James Carville, who famously explained what was behind Bill Clinton’s presidential win in 1992 with the phrase: “The economy, stupid!”- Dividends – One of Trump’s most eye-catching suggestions came on social media over the weekend as he proposed dividends of $2,000 for each American, funded by the sweeping tariffs he has imposed around the world.The scheme is reminiscent of the Trump-branded stimulus checks he sent out during the Covid pandemic, but economic figures suggest that it may be a while before any tariff dividend checks arrive in the mail.Trump said tariffs were bringing in “trillions of dollars,” but US Treasury Department data showed customs revenues — which includes tariffs — rose by $179 billion in the January to September period of this year.The US Supreme Court is meanwhile examining whether the levies are even legal.Trump’s spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt insisted that the White House was “committed” to the dividends and exploring legal options, but said there was “no timeline” for Trump’s scheme.- Mortgages – Trump’s most controversial suggestion — again posed on social media — has been to give homeowners the option of 50-year mortgages, instead of the normal maximum of 30 years.”It’s not even a big deal,” Trump told Fox News this week. “All it means is you pay less per month, you pay it over a longer period of time.” But the idea has again enraged some in the MAGA movement, as it would end up with homeowners paying more interest to banks in the long run.US media have reported that even key White House staff were furious with Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte for suggesting the 50-year mortgages without more consultations.- Healthcare – Trump has also suggested that the subsidies the government pays to health insurance companies under the so-called Obamacare program should instead go directly to Americans.Extending subsidies was a key issue in the record US government shutdown that ended on Wednesday, and they will also likely be a big focus in the midterms.In yet another proposal made on his Truth Social network, Trump said this direct payment would allow Americans to choose and purchase their own healthcare instead of the money going to “money sucking insurance companies.”Trump has however given very few details of how the plan would work.