Intuitive Machines puts US back on the Moon, and my stocks in the gutter.
GM and welcome to the first newsletter edition of unhinged engineering. Stay updated on news, info, trends, and insights from the fast paced world of engineering - sweetened and condensed for your busy schedule.
Here's a recap from the week:
(1/2) Intuitive Machines lunar lander hits a snag during moon landing
Intuitive Machines
The moon lander, Odysseus, is a big deal:
It’s the first commercial lunar lander to make a soft moon landing
It’s the first successful US lunar landing since Apollo about 50 years ago
However, some anomalies arose during it’s landing procedure:
An onboard laser used to measure distance from the moon’s surface malfunctioned because of a safety feature that wasn’t removed before launch (that intern was probably fired idk). Ironically, a NASA payload that did the exact same thing as the broken laser was on board to conduct science experiments upon landing. So, engineers figured out how to hack the system to transmit data from to the lander. It sounds made up but it’s reminiscent of the Apollo 13 mishap.
As if that wasn’t enough stress for the engineers, the lander was approaching the moon at 2 mph laterally (basically sideways) upon descent, causing the landing gear to get caught in the lunar regolith (fancy term for moon dust) breaking the landing gear.
Now, the kicker here is that Odysseus is currently leaning at about a 30 degree angle. Apparently in today’s economy that equates to a 34.6% plummet in stock price, and consequently in my portfolio.
Maybe fake meat is of more value to the human species than landing on the moon in today’s market.
(2/2) Robotics startup, Figure, raises $675m from Jeff Bezos, Microsoft, Nvidia, OpenAI
Figure AI
“I suggest a new strategy, R2. Let the Wookiee win.”
It seems we’re just one miraculous discovery of a Wookie race away from a Star Wars episode. I guess that and a few other things, like the invention of lightsabers. Although the Hacksmith is getting close.
Figure is a robotics startup that has garnered the attention from some of the biggest (and richest) names in tech. Here’s why, according to the master plan on their website:
They can eliminate the need for humans to do manual labor and the jobs humans might not want to do
Manual labor accounts for roughly 50% of the GDP (over $40t/yr) so the potential market is huge
The current labor shortage for skilled trades will continue to impact companies
A video of Figure’s current robot iteration, Figure 01, has been released showing the humanoid robot performing the task of lifting an object and placing it on a conveyor belt.
Perhaps the biggest reason for factory automation is the advantage of computer controlled equipment doing a job repetitively without mistakes. As robotics become more advanced, they will begin making designs in order to perform complicated tasks - there’s a chance they will just wind up making mistakes, as humans do. Who knows, maybe not. But I fully expect a couple of their models to look like C3P0 and R2D2. If not, then what is all this for??
Watch this guy’s goldfish buy stocks and beat the infamous subreddit WallStreetBets.
click image for link to video
In Other News…
Elon Musk sues OpenAI and Sam Altman over ‘betrayal’ of nonprofit AI mission. OpenAI started as a nonprofit, then became a for profit and received huge investments from Microsoft.
Apple scrapped plans for the decade long endeavor into its Apple Car. Engineers have been moved to other divisions within the company.
Dell has an ace up their sleeve - AI optimized servers.
Researchers develop 3D printing lattice material that’s 50% stronger than leading aerospace alloys.
Thanks for reading and be sure to forward this on to another unsuspecting victim if you enjoyed it.
Disclaimer: Nothing in here is financial advice or career advice. If you follow my advice you will probably lose all of your money.