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When it comes to games or flight sims based around the ‘Forgotten War’ of Korea, none really leap to mind,… Continue reading Hugely popular IL-2 Sturmovik devs announce new combat flight sim for next year based on Korean War
The post Hugely popular IL-2 Sturmovik devs announce new combat flight sim for next year based on Korean War appeared first on ReadWrite.

When it comes to games or flight sims based around the ‘Forgotten War’ of Korea, none really leap to mind, so news that 1CGS is working on a follow-up to the iconic IL-2 series of flight sims and basing it on the Korean War is exciting on a number of levels.

It really does seem like flight simming is being born again. DCS World has never been as popular, MSFS has reached 15 million players, more and more companies are getting in on the act of creating actual flight controller hardware to play with, and now we are getting a new combat flight sim from some of the best in the business. What a time for simmers to be alive.

Despite nobody really ‘popularising’ the Korean War it has led the world now, even some 75 years on to the situation with North and South Korea so it is of huge historical importance.

The devs have released the first of a planned series of dev blogs and in it explain some of the aircraft we can expect to see including jets from the first and second generation of the technology as well as piston-engined aircraft such as the F-51D Mustang.

The team will recreate the air forces of the USA, North Korea, USSR, and China to accurately represent the war that could quite easily have turned into WWIII.

Where things sound like they are going to get very interesting though is that in the main game mode, you won’t just be a pilot, you can actually take on the role of a commander of an entire unit, managing personnel and planning combat missions.

An entirely new game engine is being developed to run the sim, rather than just tweaking the old one to bring it up to modern standards.

All we have is a 2025 date right now but we are going to be following the progress of Korea closely in the coming months.

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A Steam Deck handheld console can now be had for less than a Nintendo Switch as Valve’s Steam Summer Sale… Continue reading Steam Summer Sale drops Steam Deck price below a Nintendo Switch
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A Steam Deck handheld console can now be had for less than a Nintendo Switch as Valve’s Steam Summer Sale kicks off on Thursday. The 15% off discount drops the Steam Deck’s LCD, 64 GB format down to $296.45, or $100 less than its launch MSRP, in a teaser promotion two days before the Summer Sale begins in full.

Valve had dropped the price about $50 in the years since its February 2022 launch. The only downside is this is the budget model that has since been superseded by one with a slightly larger OLED screen (which launched in November 2023), a longer-lasting battery, and storage options ranging from 512 GB to 1 TB. The 256 GB, LCD-screen Steam Deck is also standing still at its original price of $399.

However, the Deck’s storage can be expanded with MicroSD cards, and for the kind of games that are best on Steam Deck, 64 GB should be plenty enough to get started.

The Steam Deck discount lasts the entirety of the annual Steam Summer Sale, which runs from June 27 to July 11. A trailer published over the weekend gives a hint at what kinds of titles will be placed on sale, but we won’t know for sure where the real values are until it gets underway.

What else is on sale in the Steam Summer Sale?

Steam did promise a “Summer Sale Deep Discounts” category, which should offer the kind of 80% to 90% off price cuts that load another dozen games on your pile of shame.

A freeze frame of the montage of game covers shown during this announcement revealed oldies-but-goodies like Lego Star Wars, The Saboteur, Dirt Rally 2.0, and Doom (2016), as well as long-standing hits with high value, like Terraria, Football Manager 2024, Hades, and Dead Cells.

New releases Palworld and Manor Lords should also be tabbed for a price cut. If the past is any guide, there will also be a slew of you’re-stupid-not-to-buy-it deals about games you may not even play, but the fact they’re being offered at a single-digit price tag is too good to resist.

You’ll just have to tune in at the Steam marketplace beginning June 27 to see everything else that’s on offer.

Featured image via store.steampowered.com

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Moza Racing has rightly been lauded in recent times for bringing high-quality sim racing gear to the masses at a… Continue reading Moza R3 Racing bundle review – Meet your new favorite wallet-friendly race sim controller
The post Moza R3 Racing bundle review – Meet your new favorite wallet-friendly race sim controller appeared first on ReadWrite.

Moza Racing has rightly been lauded in recent times for bringing high-quality sim racing gear to the masses at a price point that laughs in the face of some of the more pretentious opposition and has also just announced a move into the flight sim market.

With a range of great gear already available for the PC, the recently-announced R3 race bundle remains PC compatible but is the company’s first punt into the console market with full Xbox compatibility built in.

If you want to use it to race on your PC, that’s fine too, and it turns out to be a very reasonably priced option to jump into that if you are new to the sim racing game, or want to simply upgrade that tired old belt-driven wheel you have had sat under your desk for the best part of a decade.

So let’s jump in and see what Moza Racing has pulled off here, whether it has worked, and if we remain as excited as we did when we first heard about it.

What’s in the R3 box?

The great thing here is that you get everything you need to race within one sizeable box. Wheel, wheelbase, pedals, and, thankfully, a desk clamp.

The clamp is important because chances are this is your starter wheel which is why you are going in at the low end of the price spectrum for this sort of thing, so again, chances are you don’t necessarily have a sim pit (yet!) or a wheel stand to attach all your new toys to.

I’ve seen desk clamps before, even on joysticks that have an awful lot of movement in them which is annoying but the lump of shaped steel you get here is solid as a rock. Indeed, the only thing you need to worry about is what’s actually on your desk. I have (had!) a plant precariously balanced atop my speakers, which in turn were on a 3D-printed speaker stand. Halfway through a lap of Assetto Corsa the plant vibrated its way off the speaker and made a right old mess!

Anyway, the point stands the clamp is ace and easily attaches to the wheelbase with four screws and the included tools.

If you have used any kind of serious Direct Drive wheel before you will be amazed at just what Moza has managed to pack into the small size of the R3. The shell has a molded X on it as a nod to its Xbox uses but you can comfortably hold it in one hand.

This is partly down to clever design but also the fact that the R3 is the ‘weakest’ of the range when it comes to the force the wheel applies while driving. Even for a non electrical engineer like me, that’s too basic an explanation so let’s dig in further.

Science lesson 101

The force of the wheels is measured in Nm (Newton-Meter) – An Nm is the unit for torque when a force is applied one meter away from a pivot point at a right angle to the radial direction. Apologies, forget you ever read that.

Basically, we can simplify it by just saying it’s what effect you feel back through the wheel. Here’s a quick look at the Nm measurements for some of Moza’s other bases

R3: 3.9Nm
R5: 5.5Nm
R9: 9Nm
R12: 12Nm
R21: 21Nm

So as we can see the R3 here has the lowest Nm rating of the lot, but trust me, when you are fighting to get your car around a corner it won’t feel like it, and spinning out the wheel will powerfully try to wrench itself from your grasp. So if that’s the case wouldn’t a wheel with 21NM rip your arm off?

Not quite, an increase in Nm actually allows you to feel more granular details in the road as oh, science, science, science. All you really want to know at this stage is the wheel feels great in your hand and the force feedback it exudes is amazing.

Lesson over. I think that’s all correct.

Putting it all together

As mentioned you get the pedals here as well and these plug into the back of the wheelbase. Moza hasn’t scrimped with the connections here, there are ports on the base for a handbrake, electronic dashboard, and a gear shifter should you choose to add to your toolkit by upgrading in the future.

The pedals and pedal base are all steel and a hefty old unit. It comes with a throttle and a brake and you can choose to add a clutch as an optional extra. We did add one and it’s a simple as unbolting the brake, moving it into the middle of the base, and then attaching the clutch pedal and connecting it with the wire into the port on the break. It took about three minutes.

The pedals use Hall Effect Sensors to work out where they are at any time and this is fine for the throttle which you will no doubt be jamming to the floor but granular control for the brake is missing here. Again, you can spend a small amount of money on a Precision Brake upgrade which is basically a monster spring that ramps up the resistance on the brake massively, making it much more realistic.

The best thing about both these upgrades is that they are affordable, yet you don’t need them if you are just looking to mess about with this sort of thing for the first time.

This brings us to the wheel itself. The R3 wheelbase is interchangeable with Moza’s other wheels, including some F1 butterfly versions and the like, and the one you get here is an Xbox-modded version of Moza’s E3 wheel and the rim here weighs in at 280mm which feels a tad small in some respects but, realistically, I am being picky.

The buttons are consoled up. Instead of the Start button, we have an Xbox Start button and the usual Xbox controller buttons such as Home and the like. All the buttons have a nice click to them. I wasn’t a massive fan of the D-Pad which felt a little spongey, but if I am only using it for maybe a quick glance left or right or navigating menus, it isn’t a big deal really.

The wheel features Moza’s Quick Release tech which means it can be detached from the base for easy storage by simply pulling on the metal shroud. It’s really nice to see that the same mechanism from the really expensive setup is also included here.

Software

The R3 bundle is controlled on PC by Moza’s Pit House software which allows tweaking and fine-tuning of pretty much everything and I would recommend you spend at least a little time adjusting the curves to get something that feels natural for you.

There is also an iOS and Android app that connects to the wheel via Bluetooth and allows most of the same changes and this is of course what you will need to do if you are using it for your Xbox beyond what an individual game may let you tweak.

Xbox Compatibility

This brings me nicely to how Xbox compatibility works because it may not be how you expect it too. The security chip that makes it recognizable by an Xbox is actually in the wheel itself, not the base, which means that you can technically attach the wheel to any base that it fits and make that Xbox compatible. Nice. There are a few caveats, you need a wheelbase that has a connection for pedals as you can’t plug any pedals directly into your console, but it does open up a further upgrade path down the line.

As the wheel is only available as part of the R3 bundle however you can’t just buy one to attach to say an existing R12 you may be using on your PC. Maybe it will become separately available further down the line.

R3 bundle conclusion

So is it worth it? If you are upgrading from a) a controller or b) something like a Logitech entry-level wheel, this will blow you away. The fact it is only 3.9Nm matters not, the detail you will feel will put a smile on your face the second you start using it.

And using it is near silent too, apart from the clicky gear-shift paddles. Anybody who has been in the next room to somebody playing with any of the Logitech G wheels will be fully aware of the absolute racket they make. The Direct Drive here is as good as silent and that is no exaggeration.

So, if you want to play a race game such as Forza on your Xbox with a wheel, this is a no-brainer. It’s slightly more difficult for PC because there are so many great options, many from Moza itself, but as an entry-level into the Direct Drive ecosystem, especially if you don’t have money to burn, you can’t go wrong.

The R3 is a great first wheel and in many cases a fantastic second wheel. If there is remotely anything casual about your sim racing you should look at picking this up. If you walk past a mirror and think you could take on Verstappen at his own game, then you might only be happy spending a little more money, but it is, for most people unnecessary.

Basically, if you are looking to get into racing with a wheel and want to try it out before dropping thousands, it’s tough to not recommend the R3 bundle.

How much does the R3 cost?

The R3 Racing Wheel and Pedals for Xbox & PC bundle is available now from Moza Racing and online stores priced at £399

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Uber’s freight hauling business expands its partnership with self-driving vehicle company Aurora as driverless hauls will begin on a new… Continue reading Uber expands driverless truck deal with Aurora, with new Texas route and program
The post Uber expands driverless truck deal with Aurora, with new Texas route and program appeared first on ReadWrite.

Uber’s freight hauling business expands its partnership with self-driving vehicle company Aurora as driverless hauls will begin on a new Texas route at the end of 2024.

Uber Freight will be one of Aurora’s first customers on its Dallas-to-Houston route later this year.

The duo are in it for the long run too as they also launch Premier Autonomy, a new subscription-based program that gives carriers an “early and streamlined” way to access the Aurora Driver.

This will be a different approach to the usual method of a company owning and operating its own fleet of trucks, with customers of the membership being able to access “over 1 billion driverless miles through 2030.”

The Aurora president Ossa Fisher said in a press release that this will give “hundreds of carriers” the autonomous truck capacity “that they wouldn’t otherwise have.

“Working with carriers of all sizes is one of the many ways we will transform the industry and see thousands of driverless trucks on the road.”

The pairing has already completed a successful pilot as they have hauled millions of pounds of cargo since 2020. In the press release, Aurora says the testing allowed for critical learnings about how to effectively move goods autonomously to be unlocked.

Uber and Aurora’s subscription-based format is an industry first

“Uber Freight and Aurora see a tremendous opportunity to democratize autonomous trucks for carriers of all sizes, enabling them to drive more revenue, scale their fleets, and strengthen their bottom lines,” says Lior Ron, the founder and chief executive officer of Uber Freight.

“Autonomous trucks will make moving goods more efficient, and this industry-first program will help facilitate and accelerate the adoption of autonomous trucks with our carriers. We’re proud to work alongside the amazing team at Aurora to bring this technology into the hands of carriers and ultimately usher in a new era of logistics.”

Featured Image: Via Aurora Press Release

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If you’ve been paying attention to the crypto market, where meme coins are currently underperforming, WienerAI stands out, having surpassed… Continue reading Yellow Trades Predicts This AI Crypto Coin Can Explode In 2024
The post Yellow Trades Predicts This AI Crypto Coin Can Explode In 2024 appeared first on ReadWrite.

If you’ve been paying attention to the crypto market, where meme coins are currently underperforming, WienerAI stands out, having surpassed $6 million in presales.

The project suggested that its ICO, which has been going on for a while, will end soon. Despite running for about two months, the ICO remains very popular.

In fact, with over 14,000 followers on X eagerly waiting for the launch announcement, WienerAI seems more popular than ever.

Some smart traders and investors believe WienerAI (WAI) could increase in value after it lists on exchanges.

Features boosting WienerAI presale hype

WienerAI transcends its origins as a meme coin by uniquely blending humor, technology, utility, and community. It distinguishes itself within the Doge meme coin lineage by packaging these elements together.

The project narrates the story of an architect in a futuristic world, passionately developing an advanced AI. In an unexpected twist, a mixture of sausage inadvertently finds its way into the vat intended for the AI, leading to the creation of an AI that is not only exceptionally powerful but also delightfully quirky.

Through this imaginative narrative, WienerAI envisions a future where AI is not merely a tool but a friendly companion. By portraying AI as an endearing and loyal puppy, this innovative initiative aims to foster a world where AI embodies companionship.

To fulfill this vision, WienerAI introduces a free-to-use AI-based trading bot designed to empower both novice and experienced traders alike. Featuring predictive technology, the bot meticulously scans the market for potential opportunities, delivers real-time insights, and offers informed trading suggestions.

Additionally, the platform facilitates seamless swaps, enabling users to identify significant profit opportunities with ease. Operating on the Ethereum network, known for its accessibility, WienerAI will utilize WAI as its native token within the trading bot ecosystem.

WienerAI has now raised $6.3 million

WienerAI aims to establish itself as a top altcoin after its launch, with its current presale showing strong promise by raising over $6.3 million. This success is increasing investor confidence and suggests even greater growth as the presale continues.

Currently priced at just $0.000722, WienerAI’s multi-stage ICO offers investors an excellent opportunity to get involved early before its highly anticipated IEO debut. Alternatively, potential investors can visit our guide on how to buy WienerAI tokens here.

We’ve just raised $6M 🌭🚀

Thank you to our incredible community! Get ready for more exciting adventures with this little Wiener 💥🐾 pic.twitter.com/O6AdG6xrhE

— WienerAI (@WienerDogAI) June 18, 2024

A key attraction of WienerAI is its staking rewards. Investors have staked 62% of all $WAI tokens purchased, totaling about 5.7 billion tokens. This high level of participation stems from an impressive 180% annual percentage yield (APY), promising significant returns for stakers and highlighting the project’s dedication to rewarding its community.

Since the $WAI token presale is ongoing, investors still have the chance to buy in. This is an optimal time to enter the market with the token’s price currently at a fraction of a cent.

WienerAI is positioned for long-term growth and has sustained substantial interest since its market debut, drawing attention from crypto enthusiasts bullish on its future potential.

A major factor driving excitement about WienerAI is its unique blend of two trending crypto niches: memes and AI. Over recent months, meme coins, especially those inspired by doge, have made waves, often outperforming major tokens.

Expert predicts big gains from WienerAI

Amidst the meme coin frenzy in the crypto world, WienerAI has emerged as a promising candidate for investors seeking the next potential value surge. WienerAI’s future potential by checking out our $WAI price predictions.

Beyond its meme appeal, WienerAI offers utility through its trading bot, effective community engagement strategies, and staking mechanism, enhancing the investment experience.

Renowned crypto analysts such as Jacob Bury, Michael Wrubel, and TodayTrader have highlighted these attributes as pivotal to WienerAI’s future prospects.

In a recent YouTube analysis, Jacob Bury identified WienerAI as a compelling investment opportunity for those looking to diversify into a crypto asset offering both entertainment and practical use. He anticipates the token’s value to rise significantly with the expansion of its trading bot utility.

With increasing demand daily, WienerAI has become one of the hottest presale cryptocurrencies in 2024. Its doge-inspired narrative is captivating, its tokenomics are inclusive, and its AI-driven functionality is substantial.

These elements have placed the token on the radar of both large crypto investors and casual traders alike. Secure your spot in the $WAI token presale by visiting wienerdog.ai.

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Tesla Cybertruck’s have been recalled for the fourth time, as an issue with the trim pieces and the front windshield… Continue reading Tesla Cybertruck’s face another recall as safety concerns arise over faulty wiper and trim
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Tesla Cybertruck’s have been recalled for the fourth time, as an issue with the trim pieces and the front windshield wipers has been noted.

The recall was announced in documents posted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, with thousands of the electric vehicles needing to be fixed.

The first issue is due to an “excessive electrical current” which “can cause the front windshield wiper motor controller to fail.” This can cause reduced visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.

The documents detail how Tesla will replace the wiper motor free of charge for all affected, with 11,688 vehicles being recalled.

That’s not all though, as an ‘improperly adhered trunk bed trim’ has been found to loosen or detach. “A loose applique can detach from the vehicle, creating a road hazard for following motorists and increasing the risk of a crash.”

Again, Tesla will remedy the issue free of charge by applying an adhesion promote and pressure sensitive tape. Or they will replace the missing applique if necessary. 11,383 Cybertrucks will have to be fixed for this issue.

All of those who are affected will receive letters by mid-August.

Tesla Cybertruck has been recalled four times since roll out

It was only two months ago, in April, when the vehicle was last recalled as the accelerator pedal pad was found to potentially dislodge which would cause the pedal to become trapped by the interior rim. If left unfixed, the vehicle could accelerate unintentionally.

Just a few months prior, in January, the first recall took place due to an incorrect font size being displayed on the instrument panel for the Brake, Park, and Antilock brake System (ABS) warning lights.

This impacted numerous car types, including the Model S, Model X, Model 3, Model Y, and some of the 2024 Cybertruck vehicles.

It was only in late November 2023 that the first customers were able to get their hands on the vehicle. And despite curiosity from others, it’s still only available in North America.

Featured Image: Via Wikimedia Commons

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There are some pretty great builds that can be created with the new weapons introduced in the Shadow of the… Continue reading How to get Dragon-Hunter’s Great Katana in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
The post How to get Dragon-Hunter’s Great Katana in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree appeared first on ReadWrite.

There are some pretty great builds that can be created with the new weapons introduced in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC but one sticks out as a top selection due to its bleed buildup.

We’re talking about the Dragon-Hunter’s Great Katana here, and it is not only a great sword, in our opinion, it’s probably one of the cooler looking weapons in the DLC.

It is buried deep in the Land of Shadow though, so we’ll be detailing exactly where to find the Dragon-Hunter’s Great Katana in Shadow of the Erdtree below, allow you to wield this beast of a weapon.

Where to find Dragon-Hunter’s Great Katana in Shadow of the Erdtree

To get your hands on the Dragon-Hunter’s Great Katana, you will have to progress until you reach the Dragon’s Pit and beat a boss there.

If you haven’t made it this far, it is a little off the beaten track, so we’re not surprised.

To get to the Dragon’s Pit, you’ll have to head over Ellac Greatbridge, taking an immediate right close to the Castle Front Site of Grace.

Follow the road around and when you have the opportunity to, head more downward rather than up, all the way down to the cave entrance.

If you’re having issues, here is the direct route you need to take:

One prerequisite to progressing here though is that you defeat the Ancient Dragon-Man who invades you near the entrance. This is an important step, and cannot be missed.

Once you’re at the Pit, you’ll have to make it all the way down to the bottom, so look for any paths that lead downward.

After making it to the ‘bottom’ you’ll be met with what is seemingly a dead end since there are no more paths to progress, simply a large chasm to jump down.

Jump down into that chasm. Yes, you heard that right, in true FromSoft fashion, this is somewhat of an illusory drop and you will survive it if you take the leap of faith.

You’ll be met with a boss – the ‘real’ version of the Ancient Dragon-Man. Defeat him and you’ll be rewarded with the Dragon-Hunter’s Great Katana.

Other Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree pages you might like:

How to get the Backhand Blade
Shadow of the Erdtree Boss List
Who is the Shadow of the Erdtree Final Boss?
Best Interactive Map for Shadow of the Erdtree
How to get Scadutree Fragments
Shadow of the Erdtree leveling system explained
How to access Shadow of the Erdtree DLC
How to find the Blade of Mercy Talisman
How to get Golden Braid Talisman
All Shadow of the Erdtree Remembrance bosses

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AI will soon be in your inbox as Gmail begins to roll out the new Gemini side panel feature which… Continue reading Roll out of Gmail’s Gemini AI sidebar begins, but not everyone can access it
The post Roll out of Gmail’s Gemini AI sidebar begins, but not everyone can access it appeared first on ReadWrite.

AI will soon be in your inbox as Gmail begins to roll out the new Gemini side panel feature which aims to speed up email drafting and organization.

The search giant announced the upcoming change in a Google Workspace Updates blog post, saying “We’re excited to introduce the general availability of Gemini in the Gmail side panel.”

This news comes at the same time as the announcement of the other products to be given the feature, including Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, and Google Drive.

The use of Gemini in Gmail will provide suggested responses to emails, help with drafting messages, and allow users to summarize and ask questions to find specific information from the inbox or Google Drive files.

The technology will have proactive prompts, but freeform questions can be asked by users too. This could include asking Gemini to search ‘How much did the company spend on the last marketing event?’ or ‘When is the next team meeting?’

Gmail’s Gemini AI tool reserved for paying customers only

While the feature sounds useful for anyone with a cluttered inbox, the roll out will only be available to people with Google One AI Premium, or the Business, Enterprise, or Education add-on from Gemini.

The eligible accounts will be able to access the chatbot at the side panel of Workspace apps, but they must turn on smart features and the personalization setting for this to be visible.

An ‘Ask Gemini’ button will be visible at the top right-hand corner of the web version of the email site. While the mobile version can be accessed by tapping on the ‘summarize this email’ chip in an email thread.

Users who have the ‘rapid release’ setting turned on will be amongst the first to see the feature as this started to be rolled out on Monday (June 24). A gradual rollout will then take place for those on the default setting and this will begin on July 8.

Featured Image: Via Google Workspace Updates

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The Japanese Transport Ministry is said to be looking at supporting the practical implementation of flying cars by subsidizing some… Continue reading Flying cars one step closer: Japan to subsidize construction of first-ever vertiports
The post Flying cars one step closer: Japan to subsidize construction of first-ever vertiports appeared first on ReadWrite.

The Japanese Transport Ministry is said to be looking at supporting the practical implementation of flying cars by subsidizing some of the construction costs of the country’s first-ever vertiports.

According to The Japan Times, the ministry will cover up to 50% of construction expenses, with a cap of ¥50 million per site which is roughly equivalent to $313,500.

Flying cars include electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles which could help with being urban taxi services and reaching remote islands and mountainous regions.

After the completion and operational testing of these facilities, the ministry could be planning to develop the guidelines for the construction of future vertiports as early as the fiscal year beginning April 2026.

Vertiports are the takeoff and landing sites that will be built by local governments and private companies.

Through the ministry-run initiative, four sites could be selected through an open application process with submissions open until July 12.

The facilities will include areas for takeoff and landing, taxiways, parking zones, hangars, charging stations, and passenger waiting lounges. Again, the construction of these areas could begin very soon as they’re expected to be completed by the end of fiscal year 2024.

Then, post-construction, the ministry is planning to gather data on the operation and utilization of each vertiport which will help them to understand necessary improvements and any construction challenges.

This data will be used to improve the development of the guidelines which will outline optimal layouts and sizing standards.

Flying cars could be in Japan within the next few years

The local governments are also said to be working on roadmaps for the practical use of flying cars, including potential routes and operations that need to be developed.

In October 2023, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry announced SkyDrive for the Next Generation Air Mobility Field.

Skydrive is a Japanese eVTOL vehicle maker and they received a grant of $82 million from the government in an initiative that supports startup companies working on advanced technologies.

Its flying cars will be manufactured at a Suzuki plant starting this year.

Featured Image: Via Ideogram

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A family from Florida has filed a lawsuit against NASA as they say their home was damaged by a piece… Continue reading Florida family sues NASA as they say their home was hit by space junk
The post Florida family sues NASA as they say their home was hit by space junk appeared first on ReadWrite.

A family from Florida has filed a lawsuit against NASA as they say their home was damaged by a piece of debris that fell from the International Space Station in March of this year.

The claim is to recover for damages resulting from the incident which was said to have taken place on March 8, 2024.

The law firm Cranfill Sumner has published a press release which states the junk “hit the family home of Alejandro Otero, while his son Daniel was present and left a sizable hole from the roof through the sub-flooring.”

NASA has confirmed the space debris to be from its flight support equipment used to mount the batteries on the cargo pallet.

In March 2021, NASA ground controllers used the International Space Station’s robotic arm to release a cargo pallet containing aging nickel hydride batteries following the delivery and installation of new lithium-ion batteries.

In a blog post by NASA, they say the “total mass of the hardware released from [the] space station was about 5,800 pounds.

“The hardware was expected to fully burn up during entry through Earth’s atmosphere on March 8, 2024. However, a piece of hardware survived re-entry and impacted a home in Naples, Florida.”

A detailed investigation of the jettison and re-entry analysis is being worked on as the agency looks to understand how the debris survived.

“Could have been serious injury or a fatality,” says attorney about NASA object

“Space debris is a real and serious issue because of the increase in space traffic in recent years,” said Cranfill Sumner partner Mica Nguyen Worthy who submitted the claim.

“My clients are seeking adequate compensation to account for the stress and impact that this event had on their lives. They are grateful that no one sustained physical injuries from this incident, but a ‘near miss’ situation such as this could have been catastrophic. If the debris had hit a few feet in another direction, there could have been serious injury or a fatality.”

Featured Image: Via NASA Blog Post

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