💡 Warp News #247
💉 World's first lung cancer vaccine. 🔋 Solar energy and battery storage to double in the US. 🦾 AI avatars protect journalists in Venezuela. 🚀 New company aims for groundbreaking asteroid mining.
Share this story!
Free newsletter with fact-based optimistic news about technology, science, and human progress. If you are not a subscriber, become one here.
👩🚀 A surprising tear
I was looking at my phone while the Swedish AI Commission was having a video meeting. During the meeting, a presentation malfunctioned, and of course, so did the audio. At the same time, 1400 kilometers up in space, Jared Isaacman began climbing out of the capsule in the first private spacewalk.
After we disconnected from the meeting, I saw Isaacman outside the capsule, and suddenly I started crying. Surprised, I sat there smiling, while tears were running down. Humanity is responsible for so much that's terrible, but even more for completely fantastic achievements.
When everyday life rushes by, it's easy to miss that you're experiencing history. Sometimes it's obvious, like with the moon landing (which I missed by a decade). Otherwise, history just flickers by.
For the first time ever, we have a company that can carry out complete space missions on its own. The rocket, the capsule, the spacesuit, the walk - everything without any involvement from NASA or other government actors. NASA has been crucial for SpaceX both in terms of early financing and support, but now they stand on their own feet.
SpaceX does what companies are often good at, they drive down costs and thus the price for services. The Falcon rockets landing and being reused is the first big step.
The next stage in development is Starship. A spacecraft that functions like an airplane. Not in how it flies, but that like an airplane after landing, it will refuel and quickly take off again. This will make access to space considerably cheaper. I wrote more about it in the spring in Starship will have a major impact, even in the short-term.
Mathias Sundin
Mathias Sundin
The Angry Optimist
💡 Premium Supporter content
Open and freely available to everyone, thanks to the support from our paying members, Premium Supporters.
💡 Musings of the Angry Optimist: Wuuut, is AI making artists more creative?!
Even someone without talent can be right sometimes. And shocking news about French farmers.
💡 Fact-based optimistic news of the week
👩🚀 First private spacewalk conducted by SpaceX
SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission performed the first ever commercial spacewalk. The crew reached an altitude of nearly 1400 km, higher than any other manned spaceflight since the Apollo program. The mission tested new SpaceX equipment and conducted 36 scientific experiments.
💉 World's first lung cancer vaccine being tested in clinical trials
Clinical trials of an mRNA vaccine against lung cancer have begun in seven countries. The vaccine is designed to treat non-small cell lung cancer, the most common form of the disease. Approximately 130 patients will participate in the study and receive the vaccine along with immunotherapy.
🚀 New company aims for groundbreaking asteroid mining
AstroForge has secured $40 million in funding for asteroid mining. The company plans two missions: Odin to pass by an asteroid and Vestri to land on one. AstroForge aims to be the first to commercially explore metal-rich asteroids.
🔋 Solar energy and battery storage set to double in the US this year
The US is expected to install twice as much solar energy and battery storage as last year. Growth for solar energy and battery storage is accelerating despite increased adoption. A total of 38 GW new solar energy capacity and 14.7 GW battery storage capacity is expected to be added during 2024.
🦾 AI avatars protect journalists in Venezuela
AI-created news anchors are used to protect journalists in Venezuela. The initiative involves approximately 20 Venezuelan news media and 100 journalists. The digital presenters report on government actions against opposition and media.
⛅ Solar energy cost reduction continues despite temporary obstacles
The cost of solar panels has decreased by about 12 percent per year for several decades. Despite short-term cost increases, the long-term trend points towards continued cost reduction. A potential 8-fold reduction in the total cost of solar energy.
✉️ Get a dose of fact-based, free, optimism once a week
Every week, we send out a free newsletter with fact-based, optimistic news about technology, science, and human progress.
If you're not a subscriber yet, you are welcome to become one!
If you like this newsletter, please forward it to a friend and ask them to subscribe. It's free and arrives once a week.
🎤 Talk on AI
Let me help your organization level up on AI.
Read more at mathiassundin.org.
By becoming a premium supporter, you help in the creation and sharing of fact-based optimistic news all over the world.