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Blue Origin sticks first New Glenn rocket landing and launches NASA spacecraft | TechCrunch

Blue Origin sticks first New Glenn rocket landing and launches NASA spacecraft | TechCrunch

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin has landed the booster of its New Glenn mega-rocket on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean on just its second attempt — making it the second company to perform such a feat, following Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

It’s an accomplishment that will help the new rocket system become an option to send larger payloads to space, the moon, and beyond.

Thursday’s launch wasn’t just about the landing attempt, though. Roughly 34 minutes after takeoff, the upper stage of New Glenn successfully deployed the rocket’s first commercial payload: twin spacecraft for NASA that will travel to Mars to study the red planet’s atmosphere.

The pair of achievements are remarkable for the second-ever launch of such a massive rocket system. And it could put Blue Origin in position to compete with SpaceX, which dominates the world’s launch market with its Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, and Starship rockets.

The accomplishment is noteworthy for the broader space industry, and one that SpaceX CEO Gwynne Shotwell acknowledged via a post on social media site X with a simple “Magnificent!” Musk even offered his own congratulations shortly after.

New Glenn’s first launch was in January, and Blue Origin experienced a number of delays in getting the second rocket to launch. The company had hoped to make a second attempt as early as the spring, but pushed it back multiple times. New Glenn finally made it to the launch pad on Sunday, but weather and solar storms delayed it further.

The rocket finally took off from Launch Complex 36 in Cape Canaveral, Florida on Thursday at around 3:55 p.m. ET. At about four minutes into the flight, the second stage separated and headed further into space, while the New Glenn booster began its journey back toward Earth. Roughly 10 minutes into the flight, the 189-foot-tall booster touched down on the platform.

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Blue Origin had attempted to bring the New Glenn booster back on the rocket’s first flight in January. But the booster exploded before it had a chance to land on the drone ship. Blue Origin worked with the Federal Aviation Administration to identify and make a number of fixes to the rocket, and the company was confident it could stick the landing on attempt number two.

The ability to land a booster like this is an important step in making the rocket system reusable, which lowers the cost for customers — a capability that SpaceX has mastered. Blue Origin will now have to demonstrate the ability to refurbish the rocket booster and launch it again.

These are crucial capabilities for commercial customers and government missions. Blue Origin has had its eyes on the moon for years, and is currently developing a lunar lander. So is SpaceX, with Starship. But the government has asked them to speed up these programs, and acting NASA administrator Sean Duffy recently criticized SpaceX for moving too slowly.

Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp recently said in response his company “will move heaven and Earth” to help NASA get back to the moon faster. But it can’t do that without successfully proving out all of New Glenn’s capabilities.

Thursday’s launch went a long way toward accomplishing that overarching goal.

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Volvo’s compact, quirky EX30 had a lot of problems when it was first released. Tariffs essentially erased its affordability, making it more expensive to own, and a battery recall made it dangerous to park indoors. But its discontinuation didn’t spell the end of Volvo’s efforts to sell more affordable electric models. In fact, the Swedish automaker is already at work on a new offering for the US market.

The news of an affordable Volvo EV for the US came during a media roundtable this week related to the US launch of the new EX60. Luis Rezende, president of Volvo Cars America, said that the decision to discontinue the EX30 was not solely about tariffs and profitability, noting that the company is preparing to introduce a new EV in 2027 that will occupy a similar role in the lineup — though not necessarily at exactly the same price point as the EX30.

“Very similar, I would say,” Rezende said about the mystery EV’s price comparison to the EX30. “It’s going to be an EV that will deliver a lot of good things in a bigger space, but it will be also fun to drive, I can promise you.”

Other than that, details were scarce. Volvo’s executives talked later about the desire to build a larger, family-oriented SUV at its factory in Charleston, South Carolina — though that vehicle will likely use a “multi-fuel” strategy rather than being exclusively electric from launch.

The EX60, which will start customer deliveries in the US this summer, is Volvo’s attempt at a reset in the US. The compact SUV, which is built on a different architecture than the EX30, will start at $59,795 for the entry-level P6 Plus version, and climbs up to $68,745 for the more powerful P10 AWD Ultra variant.

Volvo is the latest automaker to try, and stumble, in its efforts to build an affordable EV for the US market that is both desirable and profitable for the company. To date, few have pulled it off, as it requires a certain level of scale, vertical integration, and mastery of the supply chain that only companies in China seem to have really nailed down. Of course, Volvo is owned by China’s Geely, but the company’s desire to sell EVs in North America will necessitate a different approach to affordability.

Affordability was one of the EX30’s main selling points. When it was first announced in 2023, Volvo said the price would start at $34,950, positioning it as the smaller, less expensive EV that many people were clamoring for. But after the election of Donald Trump, Volvo was forced to delay the EX30’s arrival in the US until 2025, citing newly leveled tariffs against vehicles built in China. Eventually, the model that went on sale in the US started at $44,900, about $10,000 more than the original price.

Then, in February, further bad news as Volvo issued a recall for the EX30 because the vehicles’ batteries were at risk of overheating or catching on fire. The next month, Volvo pulled the plug on the vehicle in the US.

Correction May 18th: A previous version of this story stated that the EX60 is the only Volvo EV in the US. The EX90 is also available.

Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.
#Volvo #teases #affordable #replace #discontinued #EX30Cars,Electric Cars,News,Transportation,Volvo">Volvo teases a new affordable EV to replace discontinued EX30Volvo’s compact, quirky EX30 had a lot of problems when it was first released. Tariffs essentially erased its affordability, making it more expensive to own, and a battery recall made it dangerous to park indoors. But its discontinuation didn’t spell the end of Volvo’s efforts to sell more affordable electric models. In fact, the Swedish automaker is already at work on a new offering for the US market.The news of an affordable Volvo EV for the US came during a media roundtable this week related to the US launch of the new EX60. Luis Rezende, president of Volvo Cars America, said that the decision to discontinue the EX30 was not solely about tariffs and profitability, noting that the company is preparing to introduce a new EV in 2027 that will occupy a similar role in the lineup — though not necessarily at exactly the same price point as the EX30.“Very similar, I would say,” Rezende said about the mystery EV’s price comparison to the EX30. “It’s going to be an EV that will deliver a lot of good things in a bigger space, but it will be also fun to drive, I can promise you.”Other than that, details were scarce. Volvo’s executives talked later about the desire to build a larger, family-oriented SUV at its factory in Charleston, South Carolina — though that vehicle will likely use a “multi-fuel” strategy rather than being exclusively electric from launch.The EX60, which will start customer deliveries in the US this summer, is Volvo’s attempt at a reset in the US. The compact SUV, which is built on a different architecture than the EX30, will start at ,795 for the entry-level P6 Plus version, and climbs up to ,745 for the more powerful P10 AWD Ultra variant.Volvo is the latest automaker to try, and stumble, in its efforts to build an affordable EV for the US market that is both desirable and profitable for the company. To date, few have pulled it off, as it requires a certain level of scale, vertical integration, and mastery of the supply chain that only companies in China seem to have really nailed down. Of course, Volvo is owned by China’s Geely, but the company’s desire to sell EVs in North America will necessitate a different approach to affordability.Affordability was one of the EX30’s main selling points. When it was first announced in 2023, Volvo said the price would start at ,950, positioning it as the smaller, less expensive EV that many people were clamoring for. But after the election of Donald Trump, Volvo was forced to delay the EX30’s arrival in the US until 2025, citing newly leveled tariffs against vehicles built in China. Eventually, the model that went on sale in the US started at ,900, about ,000 more than the original price.Then, in February, further bad news as Volvo issued a recall for the EX30 because the vehicles’ batteries were at risk of overheating or catching on fire. The next month, Volvo pulled the plug on the vehicle in the US.Correction May 18th: A previous version of this story stated that the EX60 is the only Volvo EV in the US. The EX90 is also available. Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Andrew J. HawkinsCloseAndrew J. HawkinsPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Andrew J. HawkinsCarsCloseCarsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All CarsElectric CarsCloseElectric CarsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All Electric CarsNewsCloseNewsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All NewsTransportationCloseTransportationPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All TransportationVolvoCloseVolvoPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All Volvo#Volvo #teases #affordable #replace #discontinued #EX30Cars,Electric Cars,News,Transportation,Volvo

its discontinuation didn’t spell the end of Volvo’s efforts to sell more affordable electric models. In fact, the Swedish automaker is already at work on a new offering for the US market.

The news of an affordable Volvo EV for the US came during a media roundtable this week related to the US launch of the new EX60. Luis Rezende, president of Volvo Cars America, said that the decision to discontinue the EX30 was not solely about tariffs and profitability, noting that the company is preparing to introduce a new EV in 2027 that will occupy a similar role in the lineup — though not necessarily at exactly the same price point as the EX30.

“Very similar, I would say,” Rezende said about the mystery EV’s price comparison to the EX30. “It’s going to be an EV that will deliver a lot of good things in a bigger space, but it will be also fun to drive, I can promise you.”

Other than that, details were scarce. Volvo’s executives talked later about the desire to build a larger, family-oriented SUV at its factory in Charleston, South Carolina — though that vehicle will likely use a “multi-fuel” strategy rather than being exclusively electric from launch.

The EX60, which will start customer deliveries in the US this summer, is Volvo’s attempt at a reset in the US. The compact SUV, which is built on a different architecture than the EX30, will start at $59,795 for the entry-level P6 Plus version, and climbs up to $68,745 for the more powerful P10 AWD Ultra variant.

Volvo is the latest automaker to try, and stumble, in its efforts to build an affordable EV for the US market that is both desirable and profitable for the company. To date, few have pulled it off, as it requires a certain level of scale, vertical integration, and mastery of the supply chain that only companies in China seem to have really nailed down. Of course, Volvo is owned by China’s Geely, but the company’s desire to sell EVs in North America will necessitate a different approach to affordability.

Affordability was one of the EX30’s main selling points. When it was first announced in 2023, Volvo said the price would start at $34,950, positioning it as the smaller, less expensive EV that many people were clamoring for. But after the election of Donald Trump, Volvo was forced to delay the EX30’s arrival in the US until 2025, citing newly leveled tariffs against vehicles built in China. Eventually, the model that went on sale in the US started at $44,900, about $10,000 more than the original price.

Then, in February, further bad news as Volvo issued a recall for the EX30 because the vehicles’ batteries were at risk of overheating or catching on fire. The next month, Volvo pulled the plug on the vehicle in the US.

Correction May 18th: A previous version of this story stated that the EX60 is the only Volvo EV in the US. The EX90 is also available.

Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.

#Volvo #teases #affordable #replace #discontinued #EX30Cars,Electric Cars,News,Transportation,Volvo">Volvo teases a new affordable EV to replace discontinued EX30

Volvo’s compact, quirky EX30 had a lot of problems when it was first released. Tariffs essentially erased its affordability, making it more expensive to own, and a battery recall made it dangerous to park indoors. But its discontinuation didn’t spell the end of Volvo’s efforts to sell more affordable electric models. In fact, the Swedish automaker is already at work on a new offering for the US market.

The news of an affordable Volvo EV for the US came during a media roundtable this week related to the US launch of the new EX60. Luis Rezende, president of Volvo Cars America, said that the decision to discontinue the EX30 was not solely about tariffs and profitability, noting that the company is preparing to introduce a new EV in 2027 that will occupy a similar role in the lineup — though not necessarily at exactly the same price point as the EX30.

“Very similar, I would say,” Rezende said about the mystery EV’s price comparison to the EX30. “It’s going to be an EV that will deliver a lot of good things in a bigger space, but it will be also fun to drive, I can promise you.”

Other than that, details were scarce. Volvo’s executives talked later about the desire to build a larger, family-oriented SUV at its factory in Charleston, South Carolina — though that vehicle will likely use a “multi-fuel” strategy rather than being exclusively electric from launch.

The EX60, which will start customer deliveries in the US this summer, is Volvo’s attempt at a reset in the US. The compact SUV, which is built on a different architecture than the EX30, will start at $59,795 for the entry-level P6 Plus version, and climbs up to $68,745 for the more powerful P10 AWD Ultra variant.

Volvo is the latest automaker to try, and stumble, in its efforts to build an affordable EV for the US market that is both desirable and profitable for the company. To date, few have pulled it off, as it requires a certain level of scale, vertical integration, and mastery of the supply chain that only companies in China seem to have really nailed down. Of course, Volvo is owned by China’s Geely, but the company’s desire to sell EVs in North America will necessitate a different approach to affordability.

Affordability was one of the EX30’s main selling points. When it was first announced in 2023, Volvo said the price would start at $34,950, positioning it as the smaller, less expensive EV that many people were clamoring for. But after the election of Donald Trump, Volvo was forced to delay the EX30’s arrival in the US until 2025, citing newly leveled tariffs against vehicles built in China. Eventually, the model that went on sale in the US started at $44,900, about $10,000 more than the original price.

Then, in February, further bad news as Volvo issued a recall for the EX30 because the vehicles’ batteries were at risk of overheating or catching on fire. The next month, Volvo pulled the plug on the vehicle in the US.

Correction May 18th: A previous version of this story stated that the EX60 is the only Volvo EV in the US. The EX90 is also available.

Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.
#Volvo #teases #affordable #replace #discontinued #EX30Cars,Electric Cars,News,Transportation,Volvo
Anthropic announced Monday it has acquired Stainless, a startup founded by former Stripe engineer Alex Rattray whose software is widely used by rival AI labs, including OpenAI and Google.

Anthropic didn’t disclose terms of the deal. However, The Information reported last week that Anthropic was in talks to acquire Stainless, which is backed by Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, for more than $300 million.

The acquisition will take a key infrastructure supplier out of the hands of Anthropic’s competitors. The company told TechCrunch it will wind down all hosted Stainless products, including its SDK generator. An Anthropic spokesperson said Stainless customers will still own the SDKs they’ve generated to date, and have full rights to modify and extend them however they wish.

The New York-based startup, founded in 2022, rose to prominence in the emerging AI industry for automating the creation and maintenance of software development kits, or SDKs — the libraries developers use to interact with APIs.

Rattray developed software that could take API specifications and turn them into production-ready SDKs across multiple programming languages, including Python, TypeScript, Kotlin, Go, and Java. It became a popular tool because the platform automatically updates the SDKs as APIs change and eliminated the time-consuming process of manually maintaining them.

The technology is particularly valuable to companies like Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Replicate, Runway, and Cloudflare that are building AI agents that can connect to external software and complete tasks on behalf of users. Stainless’s SDK tools are an easy way to build and maintain those connections — but going forward, the tools will only be available to Anthropic, not its competitors.

According to Anthropic, Stainless software has powered the generation of every official Anthropic SDK since the earliest days of its API.

“I started Stainless because SDKs deserve as much care as the APIs they wrap,” Rattray said in a press release posted Monday. “Anthropic was one of the first teams to bet on this with us. We have been watching what developers have built on Claude over the last few years, which made bringing our teams together an easy decision. The team gets to keep doing the work we love, on the platform where it matters most.”

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

#Anthropic #acquired #dev #tools #startup #OpenAI #Google #Cloudflare #TechCrunchAnthropic,Stainless">Anthropic has acquired the dev tools startup used by OpenAI, Google, and Cloudflare | TechCrunch
Anthropic announced Monday it has acquired Stainless, a startup founded by former Stripe engineer Alex Rattray whose software is widely used by rival AI labs, including OpenAI and Google.

Anthropic didn’t disclose terms of the deal. However, The Information reported last week that Anthropic was in talks to acquire Stainless, which is backed by Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, for more than 0 million. 







The acquisition will take a key infrastructure supplier out of the hands of Anthropic’s competitors. The company told TechCrunch it will wind down all hosted Stainless products, including its SDK generator. An Anthropic spokesperson said Stainless customers will still own the SDKs they’ve generated to date, and have full rights to modify and extend them however they wish.

The New York-based startup, founded in 2022, rose to prominence in the emerging AI industry for automating the creation and maintenance of software development kits, or SDKs — the libraries developers use to interact with APIs.

Rattray developed software that could take API specifications and turn them into production-ready SDKs across multiple programming languages, including Python, TypeScript, Kotlin, Go, and Java. It became a popular tool because the platform automatically updates the SDKs as APIs change and eliminated the time-consuming process of manually maintaining them.

The technology is particularly valuable to companies like Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Replicate, Runway, and Cloudflare that are building AI agents that can connect to external software and complete tasks on behalf of users. Stainless’s SDK tools are an easy way to build and maintain those connections — but going forward, the tools will only be available to Anthropic, not its competitors.

According to Anthropic, Stainless software has powered the generation of every official Anthropic SDK since the earliest days of its API.


“I started Stainless because SDKs deserve as much care as the APIs they wrap,” Rattray said in a press release posted Monday. “Anthropic was one of the first teams to bet on this with us. We have been watching what developers have built on Claude over the last few years, which made bringing our teams together an easy decision. The team gets to keep doing the work we love, on the platform where it matters most.”
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.#Anthropic #acquired #dev #tools #startup #OpenAI #Google #Cloudflare #TechCrunchAnthropic,Stainless

reported last week that Anthropic was in talks to acquire Stainless, which is backed by Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, for more than $300 million.

The acquisition will take a key infrastructure supplier out of the hands of Anthropic’s competitors. The company told TechCrunch it will wind down all hosted Stainless products, including its SDK generator. An Anthropic spokesperson said Stainless customers will still own the SDKs they’ve generated to date, and have full rights to modify and extend them however they wish.

The New York-based startup, founded in 2022, rose to prominence in the emerging AI industry for automating the creation and maintenance of software development kits, or SDKs — the libraries developers use to interact with APIs.

Rattray developed software that could take API specifications and turn them into production-ready SDKs across multiple programming languages, including Python, TypeScript, Kotlin, Go, and Java. It became a popular tool because the platform automatically updates the SDKs as APIs change and eliminated the time-consuming process of manually maintaining them.

The technology is particularly valuable to companies like Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Replicate, Runway, and Cloudflare that are building AI agents that can connect to external software and complete tasks on behalf of users. Stainless’s SDK tools are an easy way to build and maintain those connections — but going forward, the tools will only be available to Anthropic, not its competitors.

According to Anthropic, Stainless software has powered the generation of every official Anthropic SDK since the earliest days of its API.

“I started Stainless because SDKs deserve as much care as the APIs they wrap,” Rattray said in a press release posted Monday. “Anthropic was one of the first teams to bet on this with us. We have been watching what developers have built on Claude over the last few years, which made bringing our teams together an easy decision. The team gets to keep doing the work we love, on the platform where it matters most.”

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

#Anthropic #acquired #dev #tools #startup #OpenAI #Google #Cloudflare #TechCrunchAnthropic,Stainless">Anthropic has acquired the dev tools startup used by OpenAI, Google, and Cloudflare | TechCrunch

Anthropic announced Monday it has acquired Stainless, a startup founded by former Stripe engineer Alex Rattray whose software is widely used by rival AI labs, including OpenAI and Google.

Anthropic didn’t disclose terms of the deal. However, The Information reported last week that Anthropic was in talks to acquire Stainless, which is backed by Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, for more than $300 million.

The acquisition will take a key infrastructure supplier out of the hands of Anthropic’s competitors. The company told TechCrunch it will wind down all hosted Stainless products, including its SDK generator. An Anthropic spokesperson said Stainless customers will still own the SDKs they’ve generated to date, and have full rights to modify and extend them however they wish.

The New York-based startup, founded in 2022, rose to prominence in the emerging AI industry for automating the creation and maintenance of software development kits, or SDKs — the libraries developers use to interact with APIs.

Rattray developed software that could take API specifications and turn them into production-ready SDKs across multiple programming languages, including Python, TypeScript, Kotlin, Go, and Java. It became a popular tool because the platform automatically updates the SDKs as APIs change and eliminated the time-consuming process of manually maintaining them.

The technology is particularly valuable to companies like Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Replicate, Runway, and Cloudflare that are building AI agents that can connect to external software and complete tasks on behalf of users. Stainless’s SDK tools are an easy way to build and maintain those connections — but going forward, the tools will only be available to Anthropic, not its competitors.

According to Anthropic, Stainless software has powered the generation of every official Anthropic SDK since the earliest days of its API.

“I started Stainless because SDKs deserve as much care as the APIs they wrap,” Rattray said in a press release posted Monday. “Anthropic was one of the first teams to bet on this with us. We have been watching what developers have built on Claude over the last few years, which made bringing our teams together an easy decision. The team gets to keep doing the work we love, on the platform where it matters most.”

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

#Anthropic #acquired #dev #tools #startup #OpenAI #Google #Cloudflare #TechCrunchAnthropic,Stainless

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