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How Spaceport America Will Grow

1 month ago
18 years ago Slashdot covered the creation of Spaceport America. Today Space.com hails it as "the first purpose-built commercial spaceport in the world." But engineer/executive director Scott McLaughlin has plans to grow even more. Already home to an array of commercial space industry tenants, such as Virgin Galactic, SpinLaunch, Up Aerospace, and Prismatic, Spaceport America is a "rocket-friendly environment of 6,000 square miles of restricted airspace, low population density, a 12,000-foot by 200-foot runway, vertical launch complexes, and about 340 days of sunshine and low humidity," the organization boasts on its website... Space.com: What changes do you see that make Spaceport America even more viable today? McLaughlin: I think opening ourselves up to doing different kinds of work. We're more like a civilian test range now. We've got high-altitude UAVs [Unmanned Aerial Vehicles]. We're willing to do engine production. We believe we're about to sign a data center, one that's able to provide services to our customers who want low-latency, artificial intelligence, or high-powered computing. You'll be able to rent some virtual machines and do your own thing and have it be instantaneous at the spaceport. So I think being more broadminded about what we can do at the spaceport is helping generate customers and revenue... Our goal is to see Virgin Galactic fly in a year or so, hopefully flying twice a week, and that will have a big impact on the spaceport... [W]e're trying to be open-minded as we're partnered with White Sands Missile Range to use that airspace. We're even looking at things like an electromagnetic pulse facility. It's a customer that I can't identify yet... We are working on a "reentry" license too. We recently discussed this with specialists and we think we have a site relatively close to the spaceport that's flat and free of mesquite bushes and such, so we can do capsule return and other types of return. And of course we have the runway. So I'd think we'd be the only spaceport that does vertical and horizontal launch and reentry.... We're never going to have the throughput that the Cape in Florida has. But we'll be a good alternative especially if you're going to do a small to medium-sized launch, and you need to do it quickly, and perhaps do it more securely than you would if you were to fly over water. That's why the Department of Defense is showing interest in the inland spaceport.

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EditorDavid

Whoop Promises Free Upgrades - But Some Users Will Have to Pay to Extend Their Subscriptions

1 month ago
Whoop fitness trackers had promised free upgrades to anyone who'd been a member for at least six months — and then reneged. "After customers began complaining, the company responded with a Reddit post, according to a report from TechCrunch: Now, anyone with more than 12 months remaining on their subscription is eligible for a free upgrade to Whoop 5.0 (or a refund if they've already paid the fee). And customers with less than 12 months can extend their subscription to get the upgrade at no additional cost. Whoop acknowledged that they'd previously said anyone who'd been a member for six months would receive a free upgrade. Friday they described that blog article as "incorrect". ("This was never our policy and should never have been posted... We removed that blog article... We're sorry for any confusion this may have caused.") TechCrunch explains: While the company said it's making these changes because it "heard your feedback," it also suggested that its apparent stinginess was tied to its transition from a [2021] model focused on monthly or six-month subscription plans to one where it only offers 12- and 24-month subscriptions... There's been a mixed response to these changes on the Whoop subreddit, with one moderator describing it as a "win for the community." Other posters were more skeptical, with one writing, "You don't publish a policy by accident and keep it up for years. Removing it after backlash doesn't erase the fact [that] it is real." Other changes announced by Whoop: "If you purchased or renewed a WHOOP 4.0 membership in the last 30 days before May 8, your upgrade fee will be automatically waived at checkout..." "If you've already upgraded to WHOOP 5.0 on Peak and paid a one-time upgrade fee despite having more than 12 months remaining, we'll refund that fee." "Thank you for your feedback. We remain committed to delivering the best technology, experience, and value to our community."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

EditorDavid