Hello and welcome back to TechCrunch Space. It’s becoming a habit to open each TechCrunch Space newsletter with a bit of an update on Boeing’s Starliner mission, so bear with me. Per NASA officials, the spacecraft will now return its two-person crew to Earth no earlier than June 26, instead of the originally planned date […]
Gravitics prepares a testing gauntlet for a new generation of giant spacecraft
The space industry is all abuzz about how SpaceX’s Starship, Blue Origin’s New Glenn, and other heavy-lift rockets will change just about everything. One likely consequence is that spacecraft will get bigger — much bigger — as engineers work outside the constraints of low mass requirements. There’s one problem: the current testing regime for spacecraft […]
YouTube is testing another way to combat ad blockers
YouTube continues its efforts to circumvent ad blockers. Earlier this week, ad blocker SponsorBlock posted that the Google-owned video service is testing out server-side ad injection with a limited number of users. Essentially, this means that both the ad is injected into the video before it arrives on your device (in contrast to client-side ad […]
GM’s Cruise is testing robotaxis in Dallas again
GM’s Cruise is redeploying a small fleet of robotaxis in Dallas this week as part of the company’s previously stated goal to validate its self-driving systems and win back public trust. Dallas is the second city that Cruise is easing its way back into after pulling its entire U.S. fleet late last year, following an […]
India’s BluSmart is testing its ride-hailing service in Dubai
Indian ride-hailing startup BluSmart has started operating in Dubai, TechCrunch has exclusively learned and confirmed with its executive. The move to Dubai, which has been rumored for months, could help counter the likes of Careem, Uber and Hala in the United Arab Emirates’ most populous city. The Gurugram-based startup quietly enabled the new Dubai service […]