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NASA has postponed an International Space Station (ISS) spacewalk that was scheduled for Thursday. "The agency is monitoring a medical concern with a crew member that arose Wednesday afternoon aboard the orbital complex," the agency wrote. On Thursday, NASA added that ending Crew-11's mission early was on the table.The unnamed crew member is stable, according to NASA. Space News notes that Kimiya Yui of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) was heard on an open comms channel on Wednesday requesting a private medical conference with a flight surgeon. However, those requests are routine on the ISS, so we cant assume the events were related."The matter involved a single crew member who is stable," NASA wrote. "Safely conducting our missions is our highest priority, and we are actively evaluating all options, including the possibility of an earlier end to Crew-11's mission."NASA astronaut Zena Cardman in her pressurized spacesuit, checking its comms and power systems ahead of the (now postponed) spacewalkNASACrew-11 was scheduled to remain on board the ISS until at least the second half of February. Its replacement, Crew-12, isn't slated to blast off until February 15 at the earliest.NASA astronauts Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman had planned to exit the airlock on Thursday for the six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk. The short trips mission was to install a kit and cables in preparation for a new roll-out solar array that will arrive on a future mission.The agency said it will provide further updates within 24 hours.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/nasa-delays-spacewalk-due-to-a-medical-concern-with-a-crew-member-171900024.html?src=rss
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Star Trek is in a weird place right now. Less than three years ago we were living in a golden age with five shows on the air, all with different styles and intended audiences. But the universe rapidly contracted, with Picard ending while four other shows were cut short. Strange New Worlds still has another two seasons left, sure, but even that final season got truncated. As it stands, theres only one project with a firm future right now, and thats a brand-new show, Starfleet Academy, premiering January 15 on Paramount+.How this show is received could very well determine the future of Star Trek. Thats a lot to put on it, but theres something very appropriate given the subject matter. Starfleet Academy takes place in the 32nd century, 900 years after the adventures of James T. Kirk and company, and it takes place at the titular academy, meaning its principal cast is a collection of teens representing the next generation of Starfleet officers. That focus on a younger cadre has led to fans online derisively calling the series CW Trek without seeing a single episode. As Starfleet Academy is technically a Discovery spinoff, it picks up some of that series traits. The sleek, shiny sets are back, as well as a few plot threads originally set up in Discovery. The most notable is the collapse of the United Federation of Planets and the rebuilding of both the Federation and Starfleet. In fact, the series picks up on that as early as its second episode, with the Academy hosting a delegation from a once stalwart Federation planet thats now gone isolationist. Scenes from Star Trek: Starfleet AcademyJohn Medland/Paramount+While many complaints about the series have focused on how what fans wanted was an academy show set during the 24th century (the time of The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, et al.), this particular episode plot works precisely because of the distant future in which it is set. In a fully-functioning galactic democracy like the United Federation of Planets, theres no logical reason for the average 18-year-old college freshman to be involved in interplanetary diplomacy. But in the 32nd century, the Federation is a lot scrappier and the individuals involved might be asked to wear many hats. Its a lot like an early-stage tech startup.The setting also lets the show be a little more creative with its cast: where TNG featured the first Klingon in Starfleet (Worf), 900 years of progress have created a Starfleet where no one bats an eye when a Klingon cadet like Jay-Den Kraag (played by Karim Diané) shows up to study science. Theres also a holographic cadet, Sam, who is the first of her kind to attend the academy (and shes super excited to do so). A few new species are present as well: Darem Reymi (George Hawkins) is a Khionian and Genesis Lythe (Bella Shepard) is a Dar-Sha, both aliens making their debut in the Star Trek universe.The cast of Star Trek: Starfleet AcademyJohn Medland/Paramount+However, the show does still lean on some Trek stalwarts, and its these characters that have gotten the most chatter from fans. Mary Weisman as Sylvia Tilly was originally slated for the cast, and there was even a backdoor pilot-esque episode of Discovery to tie her in to the new show, but shes no longer a regular and is nowhere to be seen in the first two episodes. Instead, we have Jett Reno (played by the wonderful Tig Notaro) as supporting cast, and Admiral Vance (Oded Fehr) appearing in a few episodes. And old school fans have been abuzz by the inclusion of The Doctor, who first appeared on Voyager (and later Prodigy). As a hologram, hes practically immortal so his presence doesnt need any convoluted explanation, and after 800 years hes still the same gregarious blowhard (and its delightful).Theyre joined by new characters like Lara Thok, a part Klingon, part JemHadar security officer and a Lanthanite chancellor, Nahla Ake, played by Academy Award Winner Holly Hunter. And Hunter isnt even the only Oscar winner on the cast, with a major villain, Nus Braka, being portrayed by Paul Giamatti.Its a stellar cast, and the shows sets certainly rise up to meet the challenge. Like in the shows of old, a good portion of Starfleet Academy is clearly shot on location, though not in the familiar water reclamation plant that was used back during the TNG and DS9 era. This time its all being shot in Ontario, with the outdoor scenes in particular being filmed in Waterloo. Regardless of where its shot, it looks enough like sunny California to work. Scenes from Star Trek: Starfleet AcademyJohn Medland/Paramount+The indoor scenes, shot at Torontos Pinewood Studios, have a pleasant convention center quality to them, with lots of wide hallways and large windows in contrast to Discoverys cramped ship corridors. The hallways are full of students and teachers going to and fro, including some from species that would normally be off-limits to a show with a limited budget. But here robots and strange aliens roam freely in the background. The CGI cant have been cheap.And thats ultimately my biggest question about Starfleet Academy. Exactly how much is this costing Paramount? So much of it is being shot on real sets instead of green screens, established actors like Hunter and Giamatti couldnt have been cheap, and plentiful CG points to a robust special effects budget. Though Paramount doesnt release official numbers, estimates have put an average episode of Strange New Worlds at $10 million, so it figures that Starfleet Academy is probably more than that, with some online estimates as high as $20 million per episode. With 10 episodes scheduled, thats on par with a major motion picture budget but without the promise of blockbuster box office returns. No wonder Paramount has been doing so much cost-cutting, which includes axing every other Star Trek show.That said, Starfleet Academy is carrying a lot on its shoulders. Just as the success or failure of its class of Starfleet cadets will determine the future of Starfleet and the Federation, the success of the show may even affect whether this era of Star Trek continues. As a Star Trek fan, this can be nerve-wracking; no one wants the franchise to go dormant again. But Starfleet Academy has so far shown itself to be up to the challenge.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/star-trek-starfleet-academy-deftly-balances-teen-drama-with-intergalactic-intrigue-170253808.html?src=rss
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Bose recently announced the pending end of cloud support for its SoundTouch line of home speakers. This will, in effect, turn the smart speakers into dumb speakers as they will no longer have access to many features and any related software updates. Well, there's a spot of good news for SoundTouch owners. The company is turning to an open source model for the software, allowing third parties to keep the music playing. The company has already begun mailing out the API documentation to customers so "independent developers can create their own SoundTouch-compatible tools and features." This will take some time, so Bose is also extending the end-of-life (EoL) date for the SoundTouch speakers. They were set to stop receiving cloud updates in February, but that has been moved to May 6. It made a couple of other changes to make life a bit easier for SoundTouch owners. The speakers will still be able to use AirPlay and Spotify Connect after EoL, which was something that had been in doubt. The app will also continue to work in a stripped-down format. That app was originally set to stop working altogether, so all of those angry customer comments on Reddit must have done the job. The SoundTouch speakers were introduced in 2013 and were on the expensive side, starting at $600. Nobody likes spending hundreds of dollars on something only to have it become a useless brick several years later. Good on Bose for listening to their customers on this.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/speakers/bose-made-the-consumer-friendly-move-to-open-source-its-soundtouch-speakers-163459024.html?src=rss
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