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Elon Musk teases final look of SpaceX's Starship test vehicle
It's no secret that SpaceX has been constructing its Starship test vehicle -- it's easy for curious onlookers to snap photos. But what will it look like when it's finished? You don't have to wonder. Elon Musk has posted concept artwork showing what the completed vehicle will look like. It's surprisingly pretty for a prototype, if borrowing more than a few cues from 1950s sci-fi with its gleaming stainless steel body.
The best portable vaporizer
By Mark Smirniotis This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here. Over the last three years, we've considered 46 vaporizers and tested 19, interviewed expert reviewers, and dug through enthusiast forums, and we recommend the AirVape X as best portable vaporizer for most people. It's easier to use than any of the competition, whether loading it, adjusting temperatures, or cleaning it. Its smooth vapor provided tasty flavors that had us reaching for it again and again.
WikiLeaks latest CIA dump focuses on malware for Windows
As WikiLeaks continues to extend the mileage from its "Vault 7 cache" of CIA information, its latest release focuses on tools it says the agency uses for hacking Windows computers. While its release didn't include any source code, manuals described a "Grasshopper" tool used to create custom malware setups depending on the target intended. As CSO Magazine explains, it used some elements from the Carberp financial malware that leaked onto the internet in 2013. The CIA's Advanced Engineering Division and Remote Development Branch allegedly modified that malware, while the Grasshopper setup allows them to customize its ability to persist on the victim's computer, reinstall itself and evade antivirus scans.
SpaceX rocket malfunctions and explodes during 'complex' test
No one ever said rebooting spaceflight was going to be easy. The SpaceX team might know that better than anyone, especially on a night like this: one of the company's experimental F9R rockets malfunctioned in a test flight over McGregor, Texas and automatically aborted by self-destructing. Thankfully, the system kicked in before the rocket could veer off course, so there were no injuries (or near-injuries, as SpaceX was quick to point out) and no damage was inflicted. At time of writing there's no word on just what sort of anomaly prompted the F9R to terminate its flight, but SpaceX plans to dig into the flight data to figure out just what went south.
Rocket recycling: watch SpaceX's Falcon 9 fly back to Earth
Back in mid-July, one of SpaceX's two-stage Falcon 9 rockets blasted off from Cape Canaveral to deposit a series of 6 Orbcomm satellites in low earth orbit. In case you're not terribly familiar with how these things work, it's the rocket's first stage (and its 9 Merlin 1C engines) that does most of the heavy lifting, and SpaceX hopes that these expensive boosters can be recovered and reused. We caught a glimpse of that particular Falcon 9's first stage splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean thanks to a camera mounted on the rocket itself, but SpaceX posted a video today that gives us a look at the events from a different angle -- specifically, from a chase plane coming along for the ride. Sadly, the plane lost sight of the first stage just as it tipped over and fell into the water, but the rest of rocket's journey was well documented. Hitting the water compromised the booster's hull, though the data collected gave SpaceX confidence that it'll ultimately be able to land one of these things safely on dry land.
SpaceX shows off new nav gear with latest Grasshopper rocket launch-and-landing (video)
We've been watching as the SpaceX Grasshopper's leap has grown higher and higher with each successive launch (and landing!), and the rocket's flights never fail to impress. The reusable spacecraft's latest test is no exception: this time, the 'hopper sailed past its previous 840 feet record, stopping at 1,066 feet. According to the company, the launch had a "more precise" landing thanks to new sensors that measure distance between the ground and the vessel. It shows. The touch-down is both noticeably smoother than previous efforts and drama free compared to Russia's explosive incident in Kazakhstan. The private spaceflight company's latest video is after the break -- do yourself a favor and watch it in HD.
SpaceX inks lease with Spaceport America, will push reusable rocket higher
Sir Richard Branson and his Virgin Galactic crew will soon have a new neighbor at Spaceport America, as SpaceX has just signed a three-year lease to the facility. Central to the agreement, SpaceX will move its Grasshopper reusable rocket test program from McGregor, Texas to the southern New Mexico desert, where it aims to push Grasshopper higher than before. According to SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell, the move was due to New Mexico's favorable regulatory situation, along with the physical landscape of the Spaceport America site. As fun as that sounds, though, we'd like to imagine that the opportunity to rub shoulders with other celebs in the commercial space industry clinched the decision.[Photo credit: Spaceport America / Flickr]
SpaceX's Grasshopper VTOL rocket triples its previous best with 840-foot hop (video)
If it were in Aesop's fable, SpaceX's Grasshopper would probably be the ant instead, as the reusable rocket's team haven't stopped working since the 10-story craft launched back in September. It just tripled its previous altitude mark of 263 feet by soaring to 840 feet, hovering a tick, then gently landing on the exact spot it took off, all while making it look easy. Head after the jump for a video of the whole affair, which was captured rather dramatically by the company's hexacopter.
Watch SpaceX's Grasshopper rocket hover, from its own point of view (video)
Ever wonder what it would be like to hover 131 feet above the ground through rocket power? You could come close with a jetpack, or you could watch a new SpaceX video that shows the Grasshopper reusable rocket's own perspective. The new angle on a December test flight emphasizes just how quick and precise the hover routine has become: it takes little time for the Grasshopper to stop at its intended altitude, and the rocket doesn't bob or sway to any significant degree. We'd most like to see the rocket reach its full two-mile potential, but we'll gladly be distracted by the recent footage found after the break.
SpaceX Grasshopper reusable rocket improves leap to 131 feet (video)
Not to mix Aesop's Fables or anything, but when it comes to the world of commercial space race, sometimes slow and steady is the thing. A couple months back, we watched SpaceX's reusable vertical takeoff, vertical landing rocket, the Grasshopper, nudge its way off the ground. And while this current test isn't exactly the "few hundred feet to two miles" that we were promised, it's quite literally a step in the right direction, at 131 feet, plus some quality hover time. All in all, the test, conducted December 17th in McGregor, Texas, took around 29 seconds to unfold. Relive it in the video after the break.
SpaceX's 'Grasshopper' vertical takeoff / vertical landing rocket takes its first small leap (video)
This test-firing may not match the flame of earlier demonstrations, but SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted out a brief eight-second video of another setup it's testing, the "Grasshopper" reusable vertical takeoff, vertical landing rocket. While the first hop would've been shamed in any interstellar dunk contest, future tests will range in height from a few hundred feet to two miles. The goal is to eventually create a reusable first stage for its Falcon 9 rocket, able to land safely instead of crashing into the sea and being damaged beyond repair. Hit the more coverage links for a few more details on the project as well as pictures of it at the Texas test site, or check after the break to see the video.
High-profile voice actors for Shadows of the Damned in Japan
Grasshopper Manufacture's Shadows of the Damned is set to infuse Japan with its Hot Boner this September. To help ensure that Japanese fans of grindhouse gore gravitate towards the product, it's enlisted some real-world celebrities to accompany the already extensive list of gaming celebrities attached to the title. Tadanobu Asano, best known for his role as Kakihara in Ichi the Killer, will be lending his pipes to Shadows' profanity-proficient protagonist Garcia. Chiaki Kuriyama of Kill Bill: Vol 1 and Battle Royale fame will voice Garcia's kidnapped girlfriend, Paula, and Miyazaki veteran Tatsuya Gashûin will give voice to Johnson, Garcia's phallic freudian friend/weapon. Man, you'd think this was a Guitar Hero post on account of all this star power.
Shadows of the Damned director Guarini leaves Grasshopper, forms Ovosonico
Though the marquee names associated with Shadows of the Damned were Suda 51, Shinji Mikami, and Akira Yamaoka, it was Massimo Guarini who actually directed the stylish shooter for Grasshopper Manufacture. He'll have a chance to amend that crediting oversight with his new studio, the just revealed Ovosonico Productions. Grasshopper confirmed to us that Guarini has left Suda 51's camp-heavy dev house. GameSpot noticed the site and dug through its source code, which revealed the slogan "Games, Music, Films with an attitude" -- not exactly a surprise given Guarini's multi-disciplined media production past. The main site also characterizes the company's work as "The sound of bold ideas," ambiguously hinting at its future. It's not exactly a huge surprise that Guarini left, given the depressingly low initial sales numbers of the excellent Shadows of the Damned, but it is a surprise he's starting his own studio -- Guarini's worked for a variety of studios across the industry, originally getting his start at Ubisoft. It's currently unclear where Ovosonico is based, but we've followed up for more info.
No More Heroes: Heroes' Paradise slicin' fools on PS3 this fall
No More Heroes: Heroes' Paradise was oddly placed (misplaced?) on a PlayStation 3 2011 "exclusives" list, and given a tentative release window by the US PlayStation blog: "fall 2011." Last we heard, the up-rezzed third-person brawler was heading to PlayStation 3s at some point in 2011, but now we know the game won't arrive until the back half of the year. "But why," you ask, "is a port of a 2007 Wii title taking so very long to bring to the PlayStation 3?" Besides making the graphics look much, much nicer, and adding Move support, a handful of No More Heroes 2 content will make its way into the PS3 re-release. We're also hoping that developer AQ Interactive is secretly working on more wacky TV shows for Travis Touchdown to flip through, but we're not holding our breath.
Grasshopper's PS3 game may make Marvelous 'bankrupt'
Grasshopper Manufacture has been quietly working on a PS3 game whilst working on their No More Heroes games on Wii. The mysterious PS3 game will be published by Marvelous Entertainment, but the ambitious nature of the project may compromise the small company's financial stability. "If we do that [game] we might go bankrupt," Yasuhiro Wada, president of Marvelous Entertainment, joked to Siliconera. "We are making it, but if we make everything then it's a little too risky."Suda51's studio is known for creating hyper-violent and stylized games that tackle controversial and difficult subjects. In addition to No More Heroes, the studio has made killer7 (pictured) and Flower, Sun and Rain.
Grasshopper-inspired Jollbot rolls, collapses, jumps, won't mutate and attack Chicago
You know how the saying goes: "You've seen one grasshopper robot, you've seen 'em all." Well, actually, the one pictured above, called the Jollbot, is something kind of off the beaten path, even for grasshopper bots. The creation of PhD student Rhodri Armour at the University of Bath (yeah, the resort town with the natural hot springs), this robot is pretty multi-talented. Designed to be adept at handling multiple types of terrain, the Jollbot can jump up to a half meter in the air to avoid obstacles, but its spherical "cage" shape also allows it to roll in any direction. The robot uses electrical motors and stores energy in its skeleton. Just before a jump, the Jollbot collapses in on itself, then releases its energy in the jump. Armour theorizes that future versions of the machine could be solar powered. To see the robot in all of its glory, you'll probably want to check out the video after the break.[Via TFOT]
TGS 2008: No More Heroes 2 debut trailer
"I will be back" is all beam katana-wielding Travis Touchdown can utter in this debut trailer for No More Heroes 2, before he presumably jumps into battle against a woman with six metallic arms beckoning him to fight. Other than its existence and a possible second title (the trailer calls it both NMH2 and NMH:Desperate Struggle), we've got nada on the game or its platform (should it decide to venture away from the Wii). Check out the (currently unembeddable) trailer here.
EA publishing new action horror 'franchise' from Suda51, Shinji Mikami
EA has just announced a publishing agreement with eccentric No More Heroes developer, Grasshopper Manufacture. The deal concerns an "all-new action horror game" produced by Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami and directed by the master of self-referential weirdness, Goichi "Suda51" Suda. The mysterious title, which also boasts the involvement of Q Entertainment, is slated for release on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC and Wii. Goichi Suda has nothing but good things to say about EA Partners in the press release, praising the group for sharing Grasshopper's "commitment to quality and innovation," all the while respecting its "independence as a studio, which is very empowering." EA Games' Frank Gibeau is equally polite, saying, "It is an honor for EA to sign Grasshopper Manufacture and help bring their new franchise to gamers worldwide. Franchise, you say? Of course, neither of them say anything about the actual game. Way to leave us hanging, guys!
Grasshoppper "robot" sets new high-jump record
While it doesn't exactly boast all that many robot-like characteristics, this grasshopper-inspired bot from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology is apparently enough of one to lay claim to the robot high-jump record, which it was able to capture handily by jumping 27 times its own height. That was done with the aid of a motor originally designed to power the vibration unit of a pager which, in this case, winds up two metal springs that eventually release and spring the 5-centimeter tall bot into the air. What's more, while it doesn't have any means of directing itself or even landing on its feet just yet, the researchers behind the bot eventually hope to add some solar panels, sensors, and a microprocessor to it, which they say could one day allow swarms of 'em to explore disaster areas, or even hop their way around the surface of other planets. Head on past the break for a video of it doing its thing.
Flower, Sun, and Rain rumored for Europe
We're convinced that Rising Star is the best thing to happen to Europe since the Euro usurped the dollar (grumble). After the rumor that the company is localizing Lux Pain in the continent, Suda51's upcoming DS port Flower, Sun, and Rain also showed up on Amazon UK's website. If you haven't taken notice of this game, it's like Groundhog Day, only with less Bill Murray and more bomb on a plane.These Amazon UK listings better have some weight behind them, or the hearts of niche gamers in Europe will be broken. Won't someone think of the children? Gallery: Flower, Sun, and Rain [Via Siliconera]
