SpaceRace 2, a documentary with heart

SpaceRace 2, a documentary with heart

It’s shaping up to be the most ambitious and farthest-ranging documentary on the emerging commercial spaceflight industry so far. SpaceRace 2 (working title) is a production of DLI Productions, based in Québec. The crew has been at it since 2008, when they shot...
Pop Mech: DRC Finals

Pop Mech: DRC Finals

DARPA program manager Gill Pratt announced details of the DARPA Robotics Challenge, or DRC, Finals today in a call with reporters. Eleven teams that competed in last December’s DRC Trials in Florida are getting $1.5 million in DARPA funding to continue to...
Pop Mech: Solar Roads

Pop Mech: Solar Roads

The top-grossing and most popular campaign in the history of the Indiegogo crowd funding website has more than doubled its $1 million goal—and there’s still a week to go before it closes. Solar Roadways is the focus of my Popular Mechanics story on road...
Coming soon: self-charging electric cars

Coming soon: self-charging electric cars

Autonomous, i.e., self-driving, vehicles, are approaching convergence with another automotive technology that is also rapidly maturing: electric vehicles. What’s the advantage of self-driving electric vehicles? Safer streets and cleaner cities. Jonathan Levine,...
Pop Mech: SpaceX unveils V2

Pop Mech: SpaceX unveils V2

Popular Mechanics has just posted my story on last night’s unveiling of the SpaceX Dragon Version 2. Seating for 7 in apparent luxury. Rocket powered landings anywhere on Earth. Gas-and-go reusability. This is a spaceship for the 21st century, said SpaceX CEO...