Astronaut Dale Gardener’s untethered space walk to a stranded satellite took place during NASA’s STS-51-A mission, and it’s a fascinating story of human ingenuity and space exploration. Put simply, the mission involved deploying two communications satellites—Anik D2 and Syncom IV-1 (Leasat 1)—and then retrieve two others that had been stranded in low Earth orbit due to earlier deployment failures: Palapa B2 and Westar VI.
LTS Design unveils his 3D-printed multi dimension roller coaster, and so far, this is the most impressive one we’ve seen yet. It may look complex, and right fully so, as the process begins with designing the coaster, often in software like SOLIDWORKS, Fusion 360, or NoLimits 2 (a roller coaster simulator), before slicing the digital model into printable parts using programs like Cura.
This tank track-equipped Volkswagen Beetle, nicknamed ‘Battle Bug’, could be yours for $25,000 USD. It’s located in Nashville, Tennessee, and looks to be straight from SNK’s Metal Slug series of video games.
Photo credit: Sebastian Lee (bottom image) and Justin Yim (top)
UC Berkeley students have developed an innovative robot that can jump like a squirrel and is capable of landing on a narrow perch. Called Salto, short for Saltatorial Agile Locomotion on Terrain Obstacles, it features open grippers on its foot, while its flywheel and adjustments in leg tension help it land as well as balance on a branch.
Running modern games like Minecraft on Windows XP is possible, thanks to One Core API, but not recommended. Why? You’re essentially tricking modern applications and games into thinking they’re running on a supported OS by translating their system calls into something XP can handle, rather than have it run natively.
Bigscreen Beyond 2 takes virtual reality to the next level, and weighs just 107g. Featuring dual 1″ (2,560 × 2,560) screens with new pancake lenses that boost FOV to a 116-degree diagonal, a big improvement over the original’s 102-degrees.
Researchers from the University of Auckland have captured a video of a real-life Sharktopus, or more specifically, an orange-hued octopus riding on the back of a large shortfin mako shark as it swam. How these two unlikely companions crossed paths remains a mystery. The team observed them for about ten minutes before leaving them to their journey, so we don’t know how their story ended—whether it was a brief hitchhiking stint or something more.
The DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro Adventure Combo includes not only the action camera, but also three additional batteries as well as a case for the, all for $369 shipped, originally $449. A built-in DJI Microphone Connection lets you get audio from a DJI Mic 2/Mic Mini transmitter directly without needing a receiver. Product page.
What do you get when you combine a clamshell form factor with a foldable smartphone? The just announced Huawei Pura X of course. Available now in Moon Shadow Gray, Magic Night Black, Zero White, Stylish Red, and Stylish Green colors (the latter two are exclusive to the Collector’s Edition with a tri-color leather back).
