[NEWS] SpaceX Says Its 60 Starlink Satellites Are All Phoning Home (and Fading Out)

The spacecraft should continue to dim as they raise their orbits.

AS SEEN @ https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-satellites-phone-home-dimming.html

SpaceX's huge internet-satellite constellation appears to be getting off to a good start.

The first 60 Starlink satellites have notched a number of important milestones since their launch to low-Earth orbit last Thursday (May 23), company representatives said.

“At this point, all 60 satellites have deployed their solar arrays successfully, generated positive power and communicated with our ground stations," a SpaceX spokesperson said in an emailed update today (May 31). "Most are already using their onboard propulsion system to reach their operational altitude and have made initial contact using broadband phased-array antennas."

This Starlink batch is the vanguard of an internet-providing constellation that will eventually consist of thousands of satellites, if all goes according to plan. Indeed, the Federal Communications Commission has given SpaceX permission to launch nearly 12,000 Starlink craft.

The five dozen recently launched spacecraft deployed at an altitude of 273 miles (440 kilometers) and are headed toward an operational altitude of 342 miles (550 km). But they won't get up there for another few weeks, SpaceX representatives said.

The satellites' visibility in the sky — a source of consternation for some astronomers, both professional and amateur — will decrease considerably as they rise, SpaceX representatives said. The satellites' solar arrays will also move behind the craft as they point their antennas toward Earth, contributing to this fadeout, SpaceX representatives added.

Company founder and CEO Elon Musk has stressed that this first Starlink batch, while consisting of operational satellites, is something of a test run, and it wouldn't be surprising if some issues cropped up. Indeed, the company is prepared to bring some spacecraft down if need be.

"SpaceX continues to monitor the constellation for any satellites that may need to be safely deorbited," company representatives wrote in today's update. "All the satellites have maneuvering capability and are programmed to avoid each other and other objects in orbit by a wide margin."

SpaceX isn't the only company that aims to provide affordable internet to people around the world via a big constellation in low-Earth orbit. For example, OneWeb, Telesat and Amazon also have similar plans.

Elon Musk Gives Update About His Brain-Computing Interface

by Johnny Vatican

The visionary Elon Musk, more famous as the founder of Tesla and SpaceX but less known as the founder of Neuralink, seems to want our ordinary human brains to one day compete with artificial intelligence (AI) using what’s called a brain-machine interface (BMI).

Attaching implantable BMIs that will make human brains almost as smart as AI algorithms seems to be a long-term goal of Neuralink, a neurotechnology founded by Musk and others in 2017.

What we know is that Neuralink aims to make devices that treat serious brain diseases in the short-term. The eventual goal of Neuralink research, however, is human enhancement, which is sometimes called transhumanism, abbreviated as H+.

H+ is an international philosophical movement championing the transformation of the human condition by developing and making sophisticated technologies widely available to greatly enhance human intellect and physiology. Boosting human brainpower is a way to attain H+.

Musk explained the long-term goal of Neuralink is to achieve "symbiosis with artificial intelligence,” which Musk perceives as an existential threat to humanity if left unchecked.

Musk aims to link BMIs that can interface at broadband speed with other types of external software and gadgets. The result will be the next generation of humans, the transhuman.

Neuralink remains highly secretive about its work but public records show it has sought to open an animal testing facility in San Francisco. It’s presently doing research at the University of California Davis.

Musk this week hinted at what might be the development of a BMI that will hook human brains up to computers. He said new information about this eagerly anticipated development will be "coming soon."

Musk said a "direct cortical interface" such as a BMI could allow humans to reach higher levels of cognition and give humans a better shot at competing against AI.

Recent leaks revealed a still unpublished academic paper by five authors employed by or associated with Neuralink. Their study describes a "sewing machine" for the brain in the form of a needle-like device inserted into a rat's skull to implant a bendable polymer electrode in the brain that will read the brain's electrical signals.

Neuralink hasn’t commented on this device, which from its description is a form of BMI

as seen @https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/elon-musk-gives-update-about-his-brain-computing-interface/ar-BBWhlKP

Five Ways Elon Musk’s Brain-Computer Interface Could Transform the World

Date: 18/05/2017
Source: futurism.com


This technology would take the form of an injectable “neural lace” — composed of a mesh of electrodes — that would augment the human brain, adding another layer to the cortex and limbic system that is capable of communicating with a computer (essentially creating cyborgs). This, hypothetically, creates an upgradable, updatable interface that could be applied in countless ways. Some of these include:

CONTROLLING COMPUTERS WITH YOUR MIND

Brains and technology both operate using the same vectors: electricity and data. Musk’s Neural Lace would be a system that provides a way for them to communicate directly with each other. To borrow a simile from Phillip Alvelda, the Neural Engineering System Design (NESD) program manager (another nascent BCI), “Today’s best brain-computer interface systems are like two supercomputers trying to talk to each other using an old 300-baud modem […] Imagine what will become possible when we upgrade our tools.” Applications could stretch from the remote operation of technology to the completely hands free and voiceless operation of computers. Researchers in Korea have already used a BCI to control turtles.

UPDATING YOUR MIND OR COMMUNICATING WITH SOMEONE ELSE’S

Elon Musk’s idea could both initiate brain activity and monitor it. The technology does not necessarily have to be a one-way communication stream, it is capable of both sending messages and creating information in the brain. The high-bandwidth interface could allow you to wirelessly transmit information to the cloud, to computers, or even directly to the brains of other people with a similar interface in their head. There is also the possibility of downloading content to augment your consciousness: think Neo learning kung-fu in the Matrix. While initial tests to improve intelligence haven’t been too successful, if brains and computers speak the same language, then computers can impart information to the brain. The technology is currently being used to allow paralyzed people to communicate, but its uses could extend far beyond that.

BIONIC LIMBS THAT FEEL LIKE REAL LIMBS

As part of this two-way communication stream, robotic arms could communicate fleshy messages by being connected to existing nerve structures. Rather than making the brain learn how to use a new part of the nervous system, robotic limbs could be quickly and easily integrated into the system. This has the potential to revolutionize prosthetic limbs for the disabled, but may also encourage people to rid themselves of their biological arms in favour of mechanical super limbs. Who knows!

EMOTIONALLY AWARE TECHNOLOGY

As computers and brains would essentially be speaking the same language, emotions could be read as data using electrodes. This would shift technology’s perception of humans from basic recognition to complex understanding. Robot helpers would be able to adapt to your emotional state rather than just responding to commands. Photos and videos could also be implanted with emotional metadata, meaning that one could feel what it would be like to be in any given scenario, rather than just trying to imagine it.

NEXT GENERATION ADAPTABLE GAMING

One issue with the lifespan of games is repetition; people become accustomed, know what to expect, or are limited by the programmed narrative. A BCI could improve this situation by having games respond to what your brain is feeling, remaining one step ahead and endlessly diverse. This would be most applicable to the horror genre, in which enemies could come at you when and where you least expect it, providing constant shocks, jumps, and thrills. The Black Mirror episode Playtest is an hour long exploration of just how terrifying this could be. Since AI has been shown to be as creative as a human composer, this reality could be surprisingly close.

As seen @
https://futurism.com/five-ways-elon-musks-brain-computer-interface-could-transform-the-world/