SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft successfully departed the International Space Station at 4:07am ET and began its gentle descent into the atmosphere soon after. It’s the home straight for the historic private spaceflight company as it concludes its first ever supply mission to the heavens. It’s due to splash down in the Pacific Ocean, a few hundred miles off the coast of southern California at 11:44am ET. If you’d like to watch the craft being retrieved from its watery berth then head on past the break, with coverage set to begin from 10:15am ET.

Continue reading PSA: SpaceX’s Dragon due to splash down at 11:44am ET (video)

PSA: SpaceX’s Dragon due to splash down at 11:44am ET (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 May 2012 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SpaceX’s Dragon docked with the International Space Station on Friday, but if you think the involved crew is spending the US long weekend experimenting with how well grills prepare burgers in low gravity (hint: not very), you’re in for a bit of an awakening. The private space capsule’s hatch flew open just before 6AM ET on Saturday, and while that’s a historic first docking for a private spacecraft, it’s just the start of a long process. At the same time as we’ll be catching fireworks on Monday, the ISS team will bring onboard the 1,014 pounds of cargo and science experiments that Dragon hauled as proof it could fulfill a 12-mission, $1.6 billion cargo delivery contract. Don’t think the spacefarers won’t get any time off for Memorial Day weekend — they’ll get Saturday and Sunday for reflection — but the 25 hours’ worth of cargo shuffling on Monday will spill over into Tuesday, just as we’re all stumbling back into our offices on Earth.

[Image credit: NASA TV]

SpaceX Dragon team opens the hatch, to spend Memorial Day with more cargo hauling than barbecues originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 May 2012 14:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SpaceX’s Dragon is rapidly approaching its historic meeting with the International Space Station. It’s due to begin its first docking procedure at 7:30am ET, and NASA is streaming footage from both the ground crew, the ISS and the private craft itself. Once within a safe range, the station will extend its robotic arm and draw the Dragon in to dock — with the hatch being opened tomorrow. We’ve embedded the video after the break so you can watch along at home, popcorn in hand.

[Image credit: SpaceX]

Continue reading PSA: Watch the SpaceX Dragon’s first attempt at docking right now! (video)

PSA: Watch the SpaceX Dragon’s first attempt at docking right now! (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 May 2012 06:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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1. Watching the Launch

“So, what were the ISS astronauts doing during @SpaceX’s historic #Dragon launch this week? The same thing we were!” – @NASA

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It’s been two days since private spaceflight company SpaceX launched its Dragon capsule on its mission to dock with the International Space Station — and though the mission isn’t complete, the company has already tweeted plenty of dramatic photos of its flight.

SpaceX and NASA have tweeted a series of photos taken by the unmanned Dragon, which could become on Friday the first ever privately built spacecraft to dock at the habitable artificial satellite.

The mission is part of an effort to test Dragon’s reliability to transfer supplies to the station. By 2015, SpaceX aims to have a certified commercial spacecraft to send passengers to Earth’s low orbit.

Over the past few days, the Dragon has successfully completed a series of tests to determine if it’s ready to berth at the station. As of now, it’s on track to attach to the facility on Friday morning — a process that SpaceX says will take “extreme precision.”

SpaceX tweeted on Thursday that the most difficult part of mission is on the horizon.

Astronauts already on board the International Space Station will activate the space station’s robotic arm that will reach out and attach the capsule. The following day, they will open Dragon’s hatch and unload the supplies that the Dragon is carrying.

Are you following along with SpaceX’s tweets? Let us know in the comments.

Image courtesy of SpaceX

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Even if you squint real hard, you won’t find Andie, Max or that rogue robot Jinx stowed away in that inner sanctum above. In fact, there are no humans on board Dragon whatsoever, given that this mission — the first successful private / federal partnership with NASA — is strictly cargo-only and a test flight to boot. After suffering several launch delays, Elon Musk’s pet project finally achieved lift off this past Tuesday, giving space heads reason to exhale, all the while proving to the world that a new era in interstellar exploration has just begun. En route now to dock with the ISS and deliver its payload, SpaceX’s capsule, the interior of which measures 14.4ft (4.4m) by 12ft (3.7m) and is filled with dehydrated astronaut food, clothes, supplies and student science experiments, will spend about one week tethered to that international outpost before crashing into the Pacific on its return trip home. Hit up the source below to gawk at additional shots of this spacecraft’s maiden voyage.

Visualized: SpaceX’s Dragon is a desolate vision in beige and white originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 May 2012 14:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After being scrubbed a few days ago, it appears we are just minutes from viewing the launch of SpaceX’s Dragon capsule on a Falcon 9 rocket. The plan is to become the first private company to successfully deliver cargo to the space station, as a step towards manned missions and eventually, Mars. Launch time is officially set for 3:44AM ET, and you can view it live via NASA’s UStream embedded after the break or on SpaceX’s feed at the source link. Assuming all goes well it will be a few more days until we actually see the capsule dock with the ISS, and we’ll keep you updated every step of the way.

Update: This time the launch took place on schedule, and the Dragon capsule is on its way to space. NASA has a press conference planned for after the launch coverage ends at 5:15AM.

Continue reading SpaceX Dragon is ready for launch (update: launched!), view the live stream now

SpaceX Dragon is ready for launch (update: launched!), view the live stream now originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 May 2012 03:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re crossing our fingers and toes so hard we can barely type and walk, since it looks like the oft-delayed Dragon launch will take place tomorrow. SpaceX founder Elon Musk confirmed that the company had passed final launch review with NASA and that everything was set for the Falcon 9 to lift off at 4:15AM ET on May 19th. The lift-off will be broadcast live from the official website and is on course to be the first private spaceflight to dock and deliver essential supplies to the International Space Station. For our part? We wish the craft (and the ground crew) all the best and hope it’s a perfect flight — we wanna stay in a space hotel sooner rather than later.

Update (05/19): At around 5:06AM ET, Elon Musk tweeted that the launch had been aborted due to high combustion chamber pressure around Engine 5. It won’t be leaving for another couple of days.

Continue reading Space X’s Dragon launch… is go! (update: aborted)

Space X’s Dragon launch… is go! (update: aborted) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 May 2012 10:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Back at this year’s eventful CES, Nuance announced it was launching a platform to bring voice recognition services to connected TVs, among other devices. Now, just a few months later, the communications outfit’s taking credit for the voice features packed inside Sammy’s 2012 Smart TVs. Essentially, this means those speaking commands used to control the Smart Hub, applications like Skype and even web surfing are all powered by Nuance’s Dragon technology. The move itself isn’t a surprising one, given Nuance’s credibility within the industry. So, now you know who’s making it all happen the next time you’re telling that ES8000 what to do.

Continue reading Nuance takes credit for voice features inside Samsung’s 2012 Smart TV lineup

Nuance takes credit for voice features inside Samsung’s 2012 Smart TV lineup originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 May 2012 06:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Back at this year’s eventful CES, Nuance announced it was launching a platform to bring voice recognition services to connected TVs, among other devices. Now, just a few months later, the communications outfit’s taking credit for the voice features packed inside Sammy’s 2012 Smart TVs. Essentially, this means those speaking commands used to control the Smart Hub, applications like Skype and even web surfing are all powered by Nuance’s Dragon technology. The move itself isn’t a surprising one, given Nuance’s credibility within the industry. So, now you know who’s making it all happen the next time you’re telling that ES8000 what to do.

Continue reading Nuance takes credit for voice features inside Samsung’s 2012 Smart TV lineup

Nuance takes credit for voice features inside Samsung’s 2012 Smart TV lineup originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 May 2012 06:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just a week after NASA signed off on its launch, SpaceX has had to postpone the flight of the Dragon. It’s yet another delay to NASA’s efforts to supply the International Space Station using private spacecraft and reduce the US’s dependence on Soyuz rockets. Taking to Twitter, founder Elon Musk said that the company needed to do more testing on the docking code for the capsule, while spokesperson Kirstin Brost Grantham told Space.com that the company needed more time to test and review the hardware. Pending NASA’s approval, it’ll begin its journey heavenward on the head of a Falcon 9 between May 3rd and May 7th. Given that the original mission was scheduled for November last year, they’ll probably need to check the use-by dates on those space rations.

Update: Elon Musk has confirmed, via Twitter, that Falcon 9 and Dragon will lift off on May 7th and rendezvous with the ISS. So long as “the company” doesn’t detour them to some mysterious rock first.

SpaceX redefines ‘fashionably late’ as Dragon trip to the ISS is delayed again originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 11:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A month ago to the day, SpaceX informed us all that it was aiming to launch its Dragon spacecraft skyward on April 30th, and rendezvous with the ISS a few days later. Now NASA’s finally finished its flight readiness review and has given Elon Musk’s capsule the green light to hit that launch window. The capsule will hitch a ride on one of the firm’s Falcon 9 rockets and will launch from Cape Canaveral just after noon ET — from there it’ll perform a flyby of the station to check its sensors and flight systems before its inaugural docking with the ISS. Wanna watch the magic happen? Live video of the launch starts at 11AM on NASA TV, and night owls can watch the docking itself occur May 3rd at 2AM.

NASA deems SpaceX Dragon worthy of the ISS, locks in April 30th launch date originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Apr 2012 21:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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“Obsolescence Obsolete” — that’s RED’s tagline for the just-announced Dragon sensor upgrade, which is set to bring 6K resolution to EPIC and Scarlet cameras beginning later this year. The sensor module was on display at the company’s NAB booth today, under a backlit case that could only have been designed to make photographing the new chip a near-impossible task. We did manage to snag a few frames of the device, which appears as a mere silhouette to the naked eye. Sensors aren’t designed for us to look at, however — they’re supposed to do the looking — so we won’t get any more hung up on the presentation. Existing RED camera owners can look forward to an incredibly impressive 15+ stops of native dynamic range and up to 120 frames-per-second at resolutions up to 5K. And as we discovered earlier today, the upgrade will roll out to EPIC owners sometime in 2012 for $6,000 while Scarlet users will need to hang tight for a release date, and a price tag. That’s all we’ve got as far as details go, so click on through the gallery below for a flashlight-enhanced peek at the Dragon.

Continue reading RED Dragon 6K sensor upgrade eyes-on (video)

RED Dragon 6K sensor upgrade eyes-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Apr 2012 14:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading HTC launches trio of Dragons in China, Ice Cream Sandwich on all

HTC launches trio of Dragons in China, Ice Cream Sandwich on all originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Apr 2012 03:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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