Featuring the latest in daily science news, Verge Science is all you need to keep track of what’s going on in health, the environment, and your whole world. Through our articles, we keep a close eye on the overlap between science and technology news — so you’re more informed.
“What we’re showing here is kind of a draft version of the version one of the SpaceX AI satellite,” said Elon Musk at the reveal on Monday. “It’s actually much simpler than a Starlink satellite.” The release of renders and specs for the space-based AI1 data center is very much timed to lend credence to the SpaceX IPO, which is set to begin trading on Friday.
While the Verge Motorcycles spinoff Donut Lab has spent the last few months claiming to have solved solid-state batteries, science YouTuber Ziroth says he’s determined that the battery the company is testing is actually a lithium-ion battery cell.
Among the evidence, as run down by Electrek, is the expansion pattern shown during VTT’s third-party testing, Donut Lab’s “production vehicle” claims that didn’t add up, and a questionable history for CT Coatings, the battery tech’s apparent supplier.
NASA’ trailer for its Artemis III mission is sick as hell. How could anyone not be hyped for this crew?
Jeff Bezos’ Leo service had an FCC deadline of July 30th to launch half of its planned 3,232-satellite constellation. To date it’s only launched 331. The waiver comes with conditions meant to incentivize Amazon to move quickly, which would be a lot easier if Bezos’ semi-reusable New Glenn rocket hadn’t exploded and destroyed its only launchpad.
Per a regulatory filing, Google will pay SpaceX $920 million per month from October 2026 through June 2029, as reported by TechCrunch.
In a statement to TechCrunch, Google says that it’s a “short-term” agreement to help meet “surging customer demand for our agent platform, Gemini Enterprise, which has been even higher than we expected.”
Anthropic’s deal with SpaceX was announced in May.
There are over 330 Leo satellites already in orbit, but the 36 planned for the next Arianespace mission is still smaller than the 48 satellites Amazon was planning to launch on a Blue Origin rocket that exploded during testing last week. This batch of satellites will launch from a spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on June 17th.
The GLP-1 tech boom is coming.
Peloton has acquired Skōp, a Pilates-focused startup that builds real-time form-tracking technology. That suggests there might be new Peloton hardware on the horizon, as the company tries to recover from its post-covid slump. In a statement, Peloton CEO Peter Stern said:
“Form is everything in Pilates, so we are taking a purposeful approach to ensure we develop the most effective, safest, and fun experiences possible—ones people will keep doing for life.”
The S&P just found the backbone that Nasdaq discarded on the street alongside the rest of New York City’s trash. While others are bending the rules to accommodate SpaceX and other gargantuan IPOs, the S&P is standing firm. “No changes will be made” to accommodate these mega offerings.
[S&P Dow Jones]
First off, it announced today that it plans to acquire Nutrisense — a CGM startup that targets nondiabetics. Stelo, its over-the-counter CGM, is also getting an FDA-cleared redesign that includes “pattern recognition, proactive AI coaching, and personalized weekly and daily summaries.” Hopefully, these moves help ease the data fatigue I experienced in my yearlong experiment with CGMs as a nondiabetic.
Elon destroyed Twitter, but somehow still won as he prepares to take SpaceX public in what could be the biggest IPO ever.
NASA hasn’t heard from MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) since December 6th. A review board concluded that the spacecraft was in an unrecoverable state after emerging from the far side of Mars because it was rotating at an “unusually high rate,” which drained the batteries, cutting off power to MAVEN’s communications systems.
Grimes County, Texas, awarded the company a property tax exemption for its planned $55 billion Terafab semiconductor plant. Local residents seem to feel the same way about the project as many do about data centers, and this tax break won’t help. As local landowner Rhonda Nesloney put it in court:
“Elon was on the news bragging he’s about to be a trillionaire . . . and you want to consider giving him a tax abatement.”
CNBC reports details from a new filing ahead of SpaceX’s IPO on June 12th and notes a mention that xAI, which merged with SpaceX earlier this year, bought $269 million worth of Tesla megapack batteries in April.
At the $135 per share price tag, SpaceX would be valued at $1.77 trillion, which assumes the EchoStar spectrum and Cursor transactions close. The valuation would make SpaceX the seventh-biggest company in the U.S. by market cap, and put it above Tesla, which is valued at about $1.6 trillion.
The Trump administration might not want trans kids to exist, but they’re living their lives anyway.
The BodyFit, available starting today, is a more affordable alternative to Withings’s $600 “longevity station” BodyScan 2 or the original BodyScan, which got a tariff price hike to $499.95 last year. Withings claims the BodyFit can deliver a “DEXA-level” “full-spectrum, 6-zone body composition scan in just 10 seconds.”
If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.
That’s Dave Limp, Blue Origin CEO, commenting on New Glenn’s return to service after last week’s spectacular explosion that seriously damaged LC-36 — the rocket’s only launchpad. If the timeline holds it would be on the optimistic side of estimates and good news for NASA and Amazon who need the partially reusable, heavy-lift launch vehicle operational to meet their respective targets of returning to the Moon and competing with Starlink.
The biggest public offering ever is financial nihilism’s final form.
Copilot Health, first announced in March, is now open to Microsoft 365 subscribers. Microsoft says they can use it to find doctors and get insights on data from connected medical records, wearables, and other apps like Apple Health, similar to health AI models from OpenAI and Anthropic.
[Microsoft Copilot Blog]
Biohackers say drugs can help you be your best self. It’s hard to spot when they’re not telling the whole truth.
Blue Origin has warned that “debris from our recent hotfire anomaly may wash ashore in the coming days/weeks,” and says that people shouldn’t touch or approach it “for your safety.” If you do encounter any wreckage, you can report the location here:
Call: 1-321-222-4355
Email: MissionRecovery@blueorigin.com
Recently grounded after issues with its third mission, the New Glenn rocket intended to launch the NG-4 mission has suffered an “anomaly,” exploding at Cape Canaveral during a hotfire test just after 9PM ET.
Blue Origin said, “All personnel have been accounted for. We will provide updates as we learn more.”
Well, I was too busy putting the finishing touches on my feature about the Enhanced Games to notice that the company is now offering a $10 million prize for sprinters who can break Usain Bolt’s 100m record of 9.58 seconds at the Enhanced Games 2027. Oh boy. Here we go.
On the ground at the invite-only ‘Steroid Olympics’ in Vegas, where the athletes are the experiment.
AI data center projects are continuing to pop up across the US, with frequent opposition from locals concerned about their impact. Here are a few recent articles about the projects:
The environmental activist and former legal clerk who’s life was made into a movie in 2000 is also logging local complaints about data center projects in their communities. Brockovich writes:
“The RACE to build AI infrastructures is unfolding town by town across America. In some places, data centers are welcomed. In others, they are delayed, contested or abandoned altogether. This MAP captures the real-world footprint of that race — revealing patterns of growth, conflict and uncertainty.
[Brockovich Data Center Reporting]
Spicy chatbot startup Joi AI says it’s hiring 10 “masturbation consultants” to test new “daily audio-guided sessions” with an AI-generated voice. If you fancy trying your hand, you’ve until the end of the week.
