PACE

China is pushing ahead rapidly in robotics, and Hong Kong is struggling to keep pace with the mainland's accelerating robot industry. A new report highlights the widening gap between the mainland's state-backed automation drive and Hong Kong's slower adoption of robotic technology in industry and services, prompting debate about whether the city risks falling behind in a key technology sector.

The large robotic arm on the International Space Station, known as Canadarm2, has reportedly stopped working, according to an Ars Technica report. The arm is critical for capturing cargo spacecraft, moving equipment and supporting spacewalks, so a failure would be a significant operational problem for the station's crews and their partners at NASA and the Canadian Space Agency.

DW News examines whether India's rapidly growing space startups can transform the country into a leading global space power. India has opened its space sector to private companies, with startups developing rockets, satellites and launch services alongside the state-run space programme. The report looks at the ambitions, funding and challenges facing this new private space industry.

Google has announced Project Suncatcher, a research initiative to put machine learning infrastructure into space, using solar-powered satellites to run AI compute in orbit. The company published early findings on its blog, describing how constellations of small satellites could capture near-continuous solar energy and address terrestrial power and cooling limits for data centers. The plan is at an exploratory stage, with prototype launches proposed in the coming years.

SpaceX's Starship megarocket is set to launch to orbit for the first time ever today, September 28, with live coverage available. The flight marks a major milestone for the company's next-generation launch system, and space watchers around the world are following the attempt closely.

SpaceX launched the 14th flight of its Starship rocket from Starbase, Texas, with the live stream covering liftoff and the Super Heavy booster's splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. The launch drew well over a million engagements as space enthusiasts followed updates on the vehicle's ascent, stage separation and recovery performance in SpaceX's ongoing test campaign toward reusable deep-space flight.

The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation has published a new analysis titled 'The Costs of False Security', arguing that national missile defense systems, including the proposed Golden Dome, offer an illusory sense of protection. The piece also raises concerns about the prospect of placing nuclear weapons in space, warning such moves could fuel a dangerous arms race rather than improve security.

Rising mortgage rates are being blamed for a slowdown in the San Francisco Bay Area real estate market, with local reporting examining how higher borrowing costs are affecting home prices, buyer demand and sales activity across the region. Prospective homeowners are reassessing purchases as monthly payments climb, and sellers face a cooler market than the frenzied pace of recent years.

The National Retail Federation reports that US retail sales increased at a moderate pace in August. The trade group's assessment points to steady but unspectacular consumer spending, a key signal for the health of the American economy heading into the fall shopping season.

SpaceX launched its Starship rocket on the program's 14th test flight, with live coverage showing the vehicle heading for orbit from the company's Texas launch site. The flight is part of SpaceX's ongoing campaign to prove out the massive rocket intended for missions to the Moon and Mars. Viewers worldwide followed the launch online, and spaceflight watchers are discussing the vehicle's performance and what it means for upcoming test milestones.

SpaceX launched its Starship rocket on Flight 14, and a full 15-minute breakdown of the mission is drawing large audiences. Coverage walks through every stage of the test flight, from liftoff through the rocket's performance. Viewers are following closely as each Starship flight is treated as a key step toward future deep-space missions, including SpaceX's long-term plans for Mars.

SpaceX's Starship lifted off on its 14th orbital test flight, broadcast live with mission control commentary. The launch drew hundreds of thousands of viewers following along in real time, tracking the rocket's ascent and performance as SpaceX continues developing the vehicle for future orbital missions.

New rankings list the 10 US states with the most electric vehicle chargers, published as electric car sales continue to climb nationwide. The figures highlight where charging infrastructure is most developed, with California widely expected to lead, and come amid growing public interest in whether charging networks can keep pace with rising EV adoption across the country.

A slow-moving storm continues to churn off the coast while crews work to restore electricity to affected communities. Power is starting to come back on for many residents, though the storm's sluggish pace is prolonging the threat of coastal impacts. Readers are following updates on outage recovery and whether the system will come ashore.

SpaceX's Starship mission ended with the vehicle breaking apart in flames, according to reports from Al Jazeera. The test flight, part of Elon Musk's development programme for the giant rocket designed for missions to the Moon and Mars, came to a destructive conclusion. Such failures are common in Starship's iterative testing approach, which treats each launch as a chance to gather data.

SpaceX's Starship, the largest rocket ever built, lifted off from Boca Chica, Texas, on its first integrated orbital test flight, but the mission ended early when the vehicle broke apart before completing its planned flight profile. The company framed the launch as a valuable test that gathered data for future attempts.Observers note that the booster failed to separate as planned and that the loss of the vehicle was within the range of expected outcomes for a first flight.

NASA has announced a new plan for Boeing's troubled Starliner spacecraft and named the commander for a future mission. The spacecraft has faced repeated technical setbacks, and the update signals how the agency intends to move the program forward. Details of the plan and the mission commander's identity were the focus of the announcement.

Africa’s space programmes are entering a practical phase, with ambitions once confined to policy documents now being turned into concrete projects across the continent. Reporting highlights growing investment in satellites, national space agencies and regional cooperation. The development is being read as a sign that African states increasingly view space capability as essential to development, security and communications.

A city government has begun looking for partners to occupy and operate retail space in a planned parking garage. The announcement, reported by the Williamson County Sun, indicates the garage project will include commercial units alongside parking, with the city inviting businesses or developers to express interest in the future spaces. Further details on location, timeline, and terms were not provided in the report.

The United States is pushing to bring semiconductor manufacturing back home, but Electronic Design reports the effort still lacks a critical piece: board designers. While fabs and chip production get investment and attention, the workforce that designs the printed circuit boards connecting chips into working systems has not grown at the same pace, leaving a gap in the reshoring plan.

SpaceX is reportedly planning to launch three Starship test flights within roughly five weeks, a dramatic acceleration of its launch cadence from Starbase, Texas. The schedule would mark the fastest turnaround yet for the programme, which has so far flown flights weeks or months apart. Space commentators are debating whether the company can realistically achieve the rapid sequence, pointing to booster reuse, pad readiness and regulatory approvals as the key hurdles.

New figures on global electricity generation show coal remained the world's largest source in 2024, producing about 34% of electricity, while wind and solar together reached 15%, up sharply from just 4% a decade earlier. The data, presented as charts drawn directly onto a world map, is drawing attention to both the slow pace of the coal decline and the rapid growth of renewables.

A poem titled 'Pipes translucent to Calgary heights (and hemmed, astrained lawyers)' has been shared with poetry and writing communities, tagged with themes of disability and the Anthropocene. The piece appears to weave imagery of Calgary's skyline and pipes with references to overworked lawyers, drawing modest attention from readers online.

Technologia Incognita, a hackerspace in Amsterdam, is hosting a 'TechInc 3D Sunday' gathering on 1 November 2026. The event is listed on foss.events, a calendar for free and open-source software meetups, and has been announced within the FOSS community. Details about the programme have been shared via the event listing for those interested in attending.

Israel-based private investment firm Phoenix has committed close to $1 billion in additional funding to the country's chip sector over a ten-week period, according to Calcalist. The scale and speed of the investments underscore continued confidence in Israel's semiconductor industry, a key part of its high-tech economy, despite regional tensions and broader market uncertainty.

A viewpoint published by Chief Healthcare Executive argues that artificial intelligence is already transforming medical practice, and that medical education needs to change accordingly. The piece calls on educators to rethink how future doctors are trained so they can work alongside AI tools. It adds to a growing debate among healthcare leaders about whether curricula are keeping pace with rapid technological change in clinical settings.