MAROKO133 Eksklusif ai: NASA Moves Giant Artemis II Rocket to Launchpad to Blast Astronaut

📌 MAROKO133 Update ai: NASA Moves Giant Artemis II Rocket to Launchpad to Blast As

NASA’s Moon rocket has made it to its launchpad.

On Saturday, the towering assembly — comprising the enormous Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and a new Orion spacecraft — rode atop a behemoth moving platform called a crawler-transporter, inching its way at around one mile per hour from its Vehicle Assembly Building on one side of the Kennedy Space Center to its launchpad over four miles away. The trek lasted until nightfall, a small test of patience for what is a lunar mission years in the making: Artemis II.

“This is the start of a very long journey,” said Jared Isaacman, NASA’s new administrator, told reporters at the scene of the rocket’s launchpad journey, as quoted by The New York Times.

When — or if — the rocket launches, the ten-day Artemis II mission will see a crew of four astronauts visit the Moon for the first time in more than half a century. Or at least its orbital real estate: the astronauts won’t land on the lunar surface yet — that part comes in the following mission, Artemis III — but will instead closely fly around the rocky body before returning to Earth, a stunning achievement in its own right. One of the mission’s key objectives will be to test the spacecraft’s life support system, paving the way for an actual touchdown.

Still, there’s quite a bit of elbow grease ahead before NASA is even willing to announce a hard launch date. Now that the rocket’s on the pad, engineers will conduct what’s known as a wet dress rehearsal, loading its propellant tanks with over 700,000 gallons of super-chilled liquid propellant and running through a mock launch countdown, stopping short of actually igniting the SLS’s RS-25 engines. Afterwards, all of the propellant will be drained from the rocket, and from there, NASA will assess how the spacecraft performed. (It’s worth mentioning here that the previous Artemis I mission, the uncrewed dry-run for Artemis II, was delayed by the discovery of a leaky propellant seal.)

The earliest launch window is between February 6 and February 11. If that window is missed, then the next one to open up will be in March.

The commander of the mission is NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, who will be joined by his colleagues Victor Glover and Christina Koch, as well as Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Glover will be the first Black man to fly by the Moon, Koch the first woman, and Hansen the first non-American, the NYT noted. Altogether, the quartet will be the first people to fly to the Moon since Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt in the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.

The good feelings over Artemis II will at least temporarily subside questions over the fate of Artemis III — the mission that’s slated to see astronauts actually step on the lunar surface — which is looking dicey as there’s significant doubt over whether the spacecraft chosen to make the lunar landing, SpaceX’s Starship, will be ready in time.

More on NASA: Entire Space Station Down to Skeleton Crew After NASA Evacuation

The post NASA Moves Giant Artemis II Rocket to Launchpad to Blast Astronauts to Moon appeared first on Futurism.

🔗 Sumber: futurism.com

📌 MAROKO133 Breaking ai: Asus bids goodbye to smartphones indefinitely, ending ROG

Asus has confirmed it is stepping away from the smartphone business, ending a long but increasingly fragile chapter in its consumer electronics portfolio. The company will not launch new phones in 2026 and has no fixed plans to return.

Chairman Jonney Shih disclosed the decision during Asus’ 2026 kickoff event in Taiwan.

He said the company would stop adding new smartphone models and redirect resources toward emerging AI-driven products.

Asus declined to comment earlier this month when reports first hinted at a pullback.

Shih’s remarks now remove any ambiguity. While he did not rule out phones forever, he framed the decision as an open-ended pause rather than a temporary reset.

A strategic retreat

Shih told attendees that Asus would shift focus toward artificial intelligence products, including robots and smart glasses. He emphasized long-term growth over maintaining an unprofitable category.

“Asus will no longer add new mobile phone models in the future,” Shih said, according to a report cited by Ars Technica. He added that the company would reassess only if market conditions changed.

That change appears unlikely. Smartphone demand has slowed worldwide. Buyers upgrade less often. Prices continue to rise. Competition keeps intensifying.

Asus once thrived by serving niche users. Over time, that strategy lost momentum. The company struggled to keep pace with larger rivals on software support, marketing scale, and pricing.

Zenfone and ROG fade

Asus maintained two distinct smartphone lines. Neither proved sustainable.

The Zenfone series targeted users who wanted smaller and more affordable phones. The devices delivered solid hardware but fell short on long-term software support. Update policies lagged far behind industry leaders.

The ROG Phone line aimed at mobile gamers. These phones packed top-tier chips, active cooling, gaming accessories, and legacy features like headphone jacks. They also carried premium prices.

The latest ROG Phone 9 Pro launched at $1,200. That price undercut its appeal. Many gamers preferred flagship iPhones or Samsung Galaxy devices instead.

Asus guaranteed only two operating system updates for the ROG Phone 9 Pro, alongside five years of security patches. Recent Zenfone models fared worse.

They received four years of security updates and the same two-version OS limit.

These policies made Asus phones harder to justify in a crowded market.

Asus follows a familiar pattern. Smartphone manufacturing has become unforgiving. Margins remain thin. Development costs keep rising.

Chinese manufacturers now dominate global Android sales. Brands like Vivo, Xiaomi, and Huawei release faster cycles and offer stronger regional support. Smaller players struggle to compete outside core markets.

Asus once benefited from a more experimental era. The late 2000s and early 2010s welcomed bold designs. Keyboard sliders, projector phones, and hybrid devices found buyers. That era has ended.

Smartphones now evolve incrementally. Annual upgrades deliver fewer visible gains. Consumers hold onto devices longer.

History offers little optimism for a comeback.

No Android brand has successfully returned after halting phone releases. LG provides a cautionary example. It scaled back launches, promised patience, then exited entirely.

Asus may follow a similar path. The company appears comfortable with that outcome. It plans to invest where growth still exists.

For phone buyers, the decision narrows an already shrinking field. For Asus, it reflects a business reality shaped by maturity, consolidation, and changing priorities.

🔗 Sumber: interestingengineering.com