The Hubble Telescope is finally back online!

A new bird-shaped air taxi can take off with a nearly vertical trajectory. Elon musk confirms there’ll be a few tweaks for Cybertruck before production. Dec 11, 2021 [View on browser]( Good morning! Rejoice, for the famed Hubble Telescope is back. Did you know it's been operational for 31 years at this point? Flat wide wings have been the dominant approach in powered-flight. But a company recently unveiled a 'near-vertical take-off landing' vehicle that dares to step outside the norm. Apart from that, Elon Musk confirmed that the long-awaited Cybertruck will see some tweaks to its design before hitting production. This is The Blueprint. Keep reading. SCIENCE [The Hubble Telescope Is Finally Back After a Long Struggle]( [The Hubble Telescope]( The Hubble space telescope is on course to complete 32 years of service [following yet another scare]( that had many believing it may never work again. The recovery of operations is a cause for celebration, though it is also the latest reminder that Hubble is composed of decades-old hardware. How long will it last, and what is NASA doing to extend the iconic telescope's lifespan? The latest technical issues began on October 23rd, when NASA reported that the telescope was sending back error codes indicating the loss of a specific synchronization message. That particular message provides timing information for Hubble's instruments, so that it can [respond to data requests]( and commands without error. Multiple losses of synchronization errors led to Hubble being placed in safe mode. NASA worked hard to restore operations throughout November, and, on Nov. 8th, the space agency announced that it regained partial control of the iconic telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). Shortly afterward, Hubble's most-used instrument, the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) and the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC-3) was also restored. Then, on Monday, Dec. 7th, the Hubble team announced that all four active instruments aboard the Hubble were online and that the telescope [was fully operational once again](. [Read More]( INNOVATION [A New Bird-Shaped Air Taxi Can Take Off With a Nearly Vertical Trajectory]( [the Bird-Shaped Air Taxi]( If this appears to you like a bird that has mistakenly grown a pair of propellers at first glance, you are right on spot. The flat wide wings [have become a standard in aviation]( and technological advancements have predominantly focused on getting more lift from these wings. However, the engineers at PHRACTYL have dumped this conventional wisdom for [a radically unique design]( that resembles a bird's wing. The team is geared up to manufacture working prototypes of this mean, green, and clean flying machine using electric propulsion. However, battery technology [still has a long way to go]( before it can power these flights in their current state. So the team went about tinkering with the aerodynamic design of the craft till they came up with a radically new one called the Macrobat. The Macrobat will use its bird legs like landing gear to tilt the passenger pod backward to create a suitable angle for its differently shaped wings. The propulsion system will then kick to make it airborne. The lift-off won't be straight up, like other air taxis routinely do, which is why the team has coined a new phrase, Near Vertical Take-Off and Landing (NVTOL). According to its website, the team claims that with a 330 pound (150 kg) payload, the Macrobat will have a 93-mile (150 km) with a top speed of 111 miles an hour (180 kph). [Read More]( TRANSPORTATION [Elon Musk Confirms There'll Be a Few Tweaks for Cybertruck Before Production]( [a Tweaked Cybertruck]( Something interesting happened this week. The Tesla Cybertruck was spotted on the test track with some design changes and CEO Elon Musk [confirmed the news with a tweet](. Say hello to side windows and a front windshield wiper. "There will be a few tweaks before production," he said. Customers will now be able to remove the side mirrors. Cybertruck has also now been equipped with a very large windshield wiper that looks like it could adequately clean such a large surface. This has been one of Musk's biggest design problems since the inception of the Cybertruck. The looming question. It's still uncertain when it will finally hit the market. Last month, we reported that Tesla now has [a backlog of over 1.2 million Cybertrucks]( worth over $80 billion, even as the production of the pickup truck appears nowhere in sight. We also brought you news of [a major upgrade in the truck](. Musk promised "insane technology" on the pickup but failed to specify what that technology would be. It seems the ambitious CEO likes to keep his eager followers guessing. [Read More]( THINGS WE LOVE - Here are the best seller space books of 2021 [that will broaden your horizons](. - Take home decoration to another level with these gadgets [that are ahead of our times](. MAIL & MUSINGS There are supposedly over 1.2 million pre-orders for the Tesla Cybertruck. But the full-scale production is not here yet. Will Tesla be able to deliver Cybertruck fast enough to satisfy its pre-orderers? Be sure you check back tomorrow for the results! [No, many of these preorders are resellers anyway.]( [Yes. We will get sick of seeing Cybertrucks everywhere.]( [No, legal hurdles will keep cramping their timeline.]( [Maybe, if there are no material shortages on the horizon for them.]( Yesterday’s Results Yesterday we asked you if federal laws should limit or ban cigarette sales in your home country? 49% of you are in favor of a total ban, which kind of makes sense. 28% think it's not a government's business governing this topic. 17% would be fine with odorless smokes (jk). And the final 6%, we feel you. Why not ban cigarettes completely? 49% No, that shouldn’t be up to the government. 28% Yes! I have a very sensitive nose. 17% Holy smokes! 6% QUOTE OF THE DAY “ Think deeply about things. Don’t just go along because that’s the way things are or that’s what your friends say. Consider the effects, consider the alternatives, but most importantly, just think. ” Aaron Swartz [Video]VIDEO OF THE DAY [Here's How NASA's Novel X-Ray Mission Will Uncover the Secrets of the Universe]( Are you ready for it? [Here's How NASA's Novel X-Ray Mission Will Uncover the Secrets of the Universe]( AND ANOTHER THING... - Injecting idle mice with young blood [apparently makes them more youthful](. - Russia’s internet censorship machine [is going after Tor](. (Wired $) - Metaverse is here: Facebook’s first VR app [is now open to all for free](. - Uber, Deliveroo, and other gig economy firms [face strict new rules in Europe](. (CNBC) - Elon Musk says he might quit his jobs [to become a full-time influencer](. - An ‘extremely bad’ vulnerability found in a widely used logging system has [set the internet on fire](. (The Verge) - General Motors [will soon source rare metals for EVs]( in North America. [Share to Win]SHARE TO WIN [All products]( Share The Blueprint! 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