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German startup Isar Aerospace successfully launched its Spectrum rocket into low-Earth orbit on its second attempt, flying from a Norwegian spaceport in the Arctic Circle. Founded in 2018 by three university students, the company has raised roughly $1 billion and grown to nearly 500 employees over eight years to reach this milestone.
Longshot Space is developing what it calls the world's largest gun, a cannon that uses successive bursts of compressed gas rather than traditional rocket fuel to hurl satellites into orbit. The barrel, eventually planned to stretch for miles, is designed to gradually accelerate payloads to the speeds needed to reach space. Company representatives say the ruggedized satellites they envision could survive the launch shock, though they acknowledge the method isn't suited for delicate equipment or people.
German startup Isar Aerospace launched its Spectrum rocket from the Andoya spaceport in Arctic Norway, marking the first orbital launch from Western European soil. The mission, carrying five small satellites and a technology experiment, served as both a vehicle qualification test and the company's first payload flight, following a failed attempt 18 months earlier.
Ahead of Apple's September event, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman shared new details on the upcoming iPhone Ultra foldable in a Tom's Guide interview, confirming MagSafe support, a 5.5-inch cover display paired with a 7.8-inch inner screen, and Apple's latest Pro chip and modem. He also described a durable liquid metal hinge designed to minimize the crease, plus iOS 27 multitasking features including drag-and-drop between apps.
Amazon launched a new Alexa for Shopping feature called 'Update Me When,' which sends personalized notifications when events like a new product line, book release, or concert announcement could prompt a purchase. Users manually set up these alerts for now, choosing what brands, artists, or products they want tracked.
John Ternus sent his first internal memo after officially becoming Apple's CEO, thanking outgoing chief Tim Ternus... rather Tim Cook for his guidance and years of leadership, and welcoming him into his new role as executive chairman. Ternus told staff a 'huge launch' is coming next week and hinted at further undisclosed products in development.
Sonos hosted an Open House event on September, unveiling its next wave of hardware after CEO Thomas Conrad hinted in July that the company had spent two decades building what he called an operating environment for AI in the home. The event, not livestreamed, was covered by Engadget staff on-site through a live text blog, with speculation swirling around potential new speakers, headphones, or app fixes.
Aptera has entered a $44 million agreement with Launch Technologies to handle production of its solar-powered electric vehicle. As part of the arrangement, Launch is becoming an early investor in Aptera and receiving stock warrants, giving it a financial stake in the company's success while providing Aptera access to volume discounts and mass-production capacity.
A new launch-coordination product lets companies invite team members, customers, investors and partners to write and schedule their own posts about a product launch, using only an email address to join—no account creation required. Participants draft posts inside a preview of the real platform, retain full control of their wording and accounts, and can optionally connect their social accounts through the platform's native sign-in rather than sharing credentials. The service is free for all steps up to scheduling, with unlimited self-scheduled posts, and charges only when a coordinated multi-person launch is actually scheduled to publish.
Apple broke a decade-long pattern this week by quietly releasing updated Mac mini and Mac Studio models in late August, even though they won't ship until September 22. This timing suggests Apple needed to clear these updates off its plate before the September 9 'Surprise and shine' event, which is rumored to feature five to nine or more new products.
China's space agency announced it has scrubbed the planned 2025 launch of its Chang'e 7 lunar south pole mission from the Wenchang Space Launch Site, citing that conditions for launch had not been met. The mission, comprising an orbiter, lander, rover and hopper probe atop a Long March 5 rocket, was likely delayed due to Typhoon Narra churning near Hainan island, though officials gave no official cause.