AI News

Australian Aviation

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Qantas to cut 850 Australian corporate jobs as Accenture takes on outsourced functions amid AI push

Qantas plans to eliminate about 850 corporate roles in Australia over the coming years and outsource some functions to Accenture, with much of the work moving offshore, including to India. The airline says technology and AI are reshaping how it operates; unions say the change conflicts with earlier assurances that Australian jobs would not be offshored.

Universe Today

Caltech’s ASTRA robot autonomously assembles an orbital truss, while vibration-and-AI research aims to help robots clear buried

Caltech’s ASTRA robot has assembled a truss section in orbit without human assistance, advancing work on building large space structures robotically. Separately, mechanical engineering assistant professor Erik Komendera developed a vibration- and AI-based method for estimating how deeply rocks are buried, potentially helping future robotic missions clear terrain autonomously.

Bloomberg

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SpaceX proposes $24B gas-fired power plant and supercomputing facility at Starbase

SpaceX plans to construct, own and operate a gas-fired power plant and supercomputing facility in Starbase, Texas, according to a public hearing notice. The proposed project, valued at roughly $24 billion, would bring energy generation and large-scale computing infrastructure together at the company’s South Texas base.

Universe Today

Researchers develop CORTEX to guide autonomous docking with inactive satellites in low Earth orbit

Thousands of inactive or non-communicating satellites orbit Earth in low Earth orbit, creating a challenge for operators that rely on spacecraft to signal their presence. Researchers are developing CORTEX, a system designed to guide a repair satellite to autonomously dock with these “zombie” spacecraft.

Ars Technica

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SpaceX is now fundamentally an “infrastructure company,” senior official says

Flying Magazine

Amazon Prime Air MK30 delivery drone joins Museum of Flight exhibit

A prototype Amazon Prime Air MK30 delivery drone has joined a Museum of Flight exhibit, highlighting a decade of evolution in autonomous delivery technology. The announcement places the aircraft’s development in a public museum setting, though the available report provides no details on its operational history or exhibit duration.

Bloomberg

Pentagon taps Machina Labs to mass-produce low-cost attack drones in modular factories

The Pentagon has tasked robotics startup Machina Labs with developing a way to mass-produce inexpensive attack drones in quickly assembled modular factories. The effort reflects a push to scale autonomous systems for modern warfare through manufacturing that can be deployed and assembled rapidly.

Bloomberg

High activity

SpaceX and Tesla shares fall as midterm results raise investor concerns over regulation and data center growth

SpaceX and Tesla shares extended losses after Democratic victories in the U.S. midterm elections heightened investor concerns about potential congressional probes, tighter regulation and slower data center expansion. Reports put Thursday’s declines at about 9% for SpaceX and 11% for Tesla, with their combined market value down more than $420 billion.