Gas stations in space? Apparently so.

Judy Nagel, Upward Mobility Signals Team

Fifteen thousand satellites have been sent to space since 1957, and only half are still working. Others are floating uselessly or have burned up. Orbit Fab is now building gas stations in space, providing hydrazine, the most common fuel for satellites.  Read more on satellites.

What powers Google data centers?

Judy Nagel, Upward Mobility Signals Team

Google has initiated a first-of-its-kind approach to powering its data centers –
geothermal energy! With the goal of accelerating a clean energy transition on a
planetary scale, Google has pioneered a horizontal drilling method. It uses new
techniques to harness the consistent heat from within the Earth’s crust and generate
electricity without burning fossil fuels or releasing carbon into the atmosphere. More on energy.

Drone Technology is Improving Dramatically

Judy Nagel, Envision Board and Upward Mobility Signals Team

When you think of a drone, how high do you imagine it going, and how long do you imagine it staying in the air? Did you realize that the new “pseudo-satellite” drones can soar to heights of more than 60,000 feet and stay up there for months? That’s the report from Alistair MacDonald in The Wall Street Journal, which labeled such drones the “innovation of the week” recently.

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