Car and Driver reports that the Keystone State technically defines delivery robots as “pedestrians” under a newly implemented measure. The law, which went into effect earlier this year, stipulates that autonomous delivery robots can maneuver on sidewalks, pathways, and roadways in Pennsylvania. They can carry up to 550 pounds of cargo at speeds of up to 25 miles per hour on roadways but must cap their speed at 12 miles per hour in human — presumably — pedestrian areas.
Technology
Russian Cargo Craft In Orbit to Station
An uncrewed Russian Progress 77 carrying just over one ton of nitrogen, water and propellant to the International Space Station launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 11:45 p.m. EST (9:45 a.m. Monday, Feb. 15, Baikonur time).
NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for SPHEREx Astrophysics Mission
NASA has selected Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, California, to provide launch services for the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) mission.
CO2 could become the new jet fuel
A team at Oxford University in the United Kingdom has come up with an experimental process that might be able to turn carbon dioxide—a greenhouse gas emitted by all gas-burning engines—into jet fuel. If successful, the process, which uses an iron-based chemical reaction, could result in “net zero” emissions from airplanes.
NASA and SpaceX Complete Certification of First Human-Rated Commercial Space System
Years of design, development, and testing have culminated in NASA officially certifying the first commercial spacecraft system in history capable of transporting humans to and from the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
California’s Early Warning Quake Alerts to Be Standard on Android Phones
Earthquake alerts are being incorporated into Android, Google’s mobile operating system, the company has announced.
NASA, European Space Agency Formalize Artemis Gateway Partnership
NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) have finalized an agreement to collaborate on the Artemis Gateway to to engage international partners in sustainable lunar exploration and to demonstrate technologies necessary for a future human mission to Mars.