Articles by Alan Boyle

Freelance journalist Alan Boyle is an award-winning science writer and veteran space reporter. Formerly of NBCNews.com, he is the author of "The Case for Pluto: How a Little Planet Made a Big Difference." Follow him via CosmicLog.com, on Twitter @b0yle, and on Facebook and Google+.

Echodyne gets $29M from NEA, Bill Gates and others to boost radar suited for drones and cars

How Jeff Bezos’ passion for space is inspiring the next generation of entrepreneurs and explorers
Jeff Bezos lays out his vision for city on the moon, complete with robots
Video: Watch Amazon’s Jeff Bezos talk with kids about Apollo’s space legacy – and share life lessons

Latest from Alan Boyle

Watch NASA astronauts take on a quick but crucial spacewalk at the space station

by Alan Boyle on May 22, 2017May 22, 2017 at 11:31 pm1 Comment

NASA astronauts Peggy Whitson and Jack Fischer are due to head out from the International Space Station on Tuesday for a 2.5-hour-long quickie spacewalk aimed at fixing a serious computer… Read More

Microsoft’s next-generation HoloLens glasses may make you look like Clark Kent

by Alan Boyle on May 22, 2017May 22, 2017 at 3:56 pm1 Comment

Today, Microsoft’s HoloLens augmented-reality headset has a geeky RoboCop vibe, but someday it could become more like a pair of eyeglasses suitable for Superman’s mild-mannered alter ego. At least that’s the impression you’re likely… Read More

Astronomers use the music of the spheres to track TRAPPIST-1’s seventh planet

by Alan Boyle on May 22, 2017May 22, 2017 at 1:52 pm1 Comment

An international research team led by a University of Washington astronomer has worked out the intricate dance of seven planets circling an ultracool dwarf star known as TRAPPIST-1, nailing down… Read More

News Brief

Amazon works on drone traffic control software at French development center

Echodyne gets $29M from NEA, Bill Gates and others to boost radar suited for drones and cars

by Alan Boyle on May 22, 2017May 22, 2017 at 7:22 amComment

Microsoft co-founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen are among the investors putting another $29 million into Echodyne, the Intellectual Ventures spin-out that’s developing low-cost, miniaturized radar systems for drones and self-driving… Read More

How Jeff Bezos’ passion for space is inspiring the next generation of entrepreneurs and explorers

by Chelsey Ballarte & Alan Boyle on May 21, 2017May 21, 2017 at 5:37 pmComment

When Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos visited the Museum of Flight this weekend to answer questions from students, the kids did not hold back. “That’s one of the great things about… Read More

Video

Jeff Bezos lays out his vision for city on the moon, complete with robots

by Alan Boyle on May 20, 2017May 23, 2017 at 7:38 am 320 Comments

SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk may have his heart set on building a city on Mars, but Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos’ space vision looks closer to home. He’s gazing at the… Read More

Video

Video: Watch Amazon’s Jeff Bezos talk with kids about Apollo’s space legacy – and share life lessons

by Alan Boyle on May 20, 2017May 20, 2017 at 5:48 pmComment

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos came to Seattle’s Museum of Flight today to talk with students about the decades-old rocket engines he rescued from the sea – but he stayed to share some… Read More

News Brief

Astronomers catch mysteriously dimming ‘alien megastructure’ star in the act

Video

GeekWire at the Movies: ‘Alien: Covenant’ delivers the gory goods, and some answers

by Alan Boyle on May 19, 2017May 19, 2017 at 3:39 pm1 Comment

Spoiler Alert: This item avoids discussing major plot twists in “Alien: Covenant,” but wait until after you see the movie to read it if you want to stay totally in… Read More

Photos

Apollo moon rocket engines finally fill a place of honor at Museum of Flight

by Alan Boyle on May 18, 2017May 18, 2017 at 6:37 pm1 Comment

Almost 50 years after they were fired up, rocket engines that sent NASA’s Apollo crews on the first leg of their trips to the moon have reached their final destination at… Read More

Photos

Video: Want to fly like a CEO? Rent Deer Jet’s 787 Dreamliner for $70,000 an hour

by Alan Boyle on May 18, 2017May 19, 2017 at 8:51 pmComment

Now anybody can fly like a VIP: All you have to do to take Deer Jet’s super-elegant 787 Dreamliner for a ride is fork over $70,000 an hour. Just don’t… Read More

News Brief

Spaceflight buys Rocket Lab Electron launch for a small satellite sampler

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau rocks Microsoft CEO Summit: Why snooping on VIPs is getting harder

by Alan Boyle on May 17, 2017May 17, 2017 at 5:09 pm 4 Comments

So far, this year’s Microsoft CEO Summit has been all about Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s talk today, but there’s been precious little information available about who else is attending –… Read More

Alaska Airlines plans flights from Everett’s Paine Field to dodge Sea-Tac traffic jam

by Alan Boyle on May 17, 2017May 17, 2017 at 11:27 am 3 Comments

Bugged by I-5 traffic to Sea-Tac? Alaska Airlines is promising a work-around: The Seattle-based airline says it will start running regularly scheduled passenger flights out of Everett’s Paine Field starting next… Read More

Video

Boeing makes first 737 MAX delivery to Malindo Air after concern over engines

by Alan Boyle on May 16, 2017May 16, 2017 at 10:38 pmComment

Boeing today marked the first delivery of a new-generation 737 MAX jet with an official handover to Malaysia-based Malindo Air at the Seattle Delivery Center. The delivery came after Boeing sent about… Read More

Video

‘Genius’ TV show highlights links between Einstein’s love affairs and love of physics

by Alan Boyle on May 16, 2017May 16, 2017 at 2:00 pm 2 Comments

National Geographic Channel’s “Genius” TV series on Albert Einstein spends almost as much time on the famous physicist’s love life as it does on his theory of relativity – and his most… Read More

Video

Hewlett Packard Enterprise unveils a monster computer that’s made for Mars

by Alan Boyle on May 16, 2017May 15, 2017 at 11:57 pm 4 Comments

What does a prototype computer with 160 terabytes of memory have to do with missions to Mars? The way Kirk Bresniker sees it, a giant leap in computing is required… Read More

Video

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket sends Inmarsat telecom satellite to high-flying orbit

by Alan Boyle on May 15, 2017May 15, 2017 at 4:58 pm1 Comment

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket today launched the Inmarsat-5 F4 telecommunications satellite to a geostationary transfer orbit ranging beyond 22,000 miles in height – so high that there was no chance to bring… Read More

Video

Eat your broccoli: 5 tips for Mars explorers from National Geographic’s Seattle show

by Alan Boyle on May 15, 2017May 15, 2017 at 2:38 pm1 Comment

If you want to maximize your chances of weathering Mars’ harsh radiation environment, get in the habit of eating broccoli. That’s a bit of far-out diet advice from Ray Arvidson,… Read More

Video

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin says BE-4 rocket test goes awry, but tests will resume soon

by Alan Boyle on May 14, 2017May 20, 2017 at 12:17 pm1 Comment

In a rare update, the Blue Origin space venture founded by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos reported that it lost a set of powerpack test hardware for its BE-4 rocket engine… Read More

Video

NASA decides against putting crew on first SLS rocket launch, now delayed to 2019

by Alan Boyle on May 12, 2017May 12, 2017 at 2:53 pmComment

NASA has broken the news to the White House and the world that speeding up the first crewed flight of its exploration launch system wouldn’t be worth the added cost… Read More

News Brief

Water leak forces NASA to scale down 200th spacewalk, but Job 1 gets done

Warning: Elon Musk posts dizzying views of his first tunnel boring tests in L.A.

by Alan Boyle on May 12, 2017May 12, 2017 at 10:05 am1 Comment

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, demonstrated once again that he’s serious about boring tunnels beneath Los Angeles. But not boringly serious. In a series of Twitter and Instagram posts,… Read More

Video

Trump signs cybersecurity executive order, mandating a move to cloud computing

by Alan Boyle on May 11, 2017May 13, 2017 at 1:52 pm 3 Comments

President Donald Trump today signed a long-awaited executive order aimed at beefing up cybersecurity at federal government agencies – with a shift of computer capabilities to the cloud as a key… Read More

News Brief

Drone sets a long-distance delivery record

Video

Study lays out privacy concerns that kids and parents have about toys that listen

by Alan Boyle on May 10, 2017May 10, 2017 at 4:26 pm1 Comment

The kids who play with internet-connected toys such as Hello Barbie and CogniToys Dino may not fully realize their voices are being recorded – but when they find out, University of… Read More

Video

Elon Musk’s Tesla starts taking orders for solar glass roof tiles; delivery due this year

by Alan Boyle on May 10, 2017May 10, 2017 at 12:57 pmComment

Tesla has started taking orders for traditional-looking glass roof tiles that soak up solar power to generate electricity. Installations are to start next month, beginning with California and gradually rolling… Read More

News Brief

SpaceX tweets Falcon Heavy rocket test

Tunnel cave-in sparks emergency alert at Hanford; no radiation leaks detected

by Alan Boyle on May 9, 2017May 9, 2017 at 4:11 pmComment

The Hanford Nuclear Reservation says a 20-foot section of a tunnel system where it stores contaminated material and equipment collapsed today, sparking an emergency alert and restrictions on workers’ movements. No injuries… Read More

Articles by Alan Boyle

Top Stories from Alan Boyle

Echodyne gets $29M from NEA, Bill Gates and others to boost radar suited for drones and cars

Latest from Alan Boyle

Watch NASA astronauts take on a quick but crucial spacewalk at the space station

Microsoft’s next-generation HoloLens glasses may make you look like Clark Kent

Astronomers use the music of the spheres to track TRAPPIST-1’s seventh planet

Amazon works on drone traffic control software at French development center

Echodyne gets $29M from NEA, Bill Gates and others to boost radar suited for drones and cars

How Jeff Bezos’ passion for space is inspiring the next generation of entrepreneurs and explorers

Jeff Bezos lays out his vision for city on the moon, complete with robots

Video: Watch Amazon’s Jeff Bezos talk with kids about Apollo’s space legacy – and share life lessons

Astronomers catch mysteriously dimming ‘alien megastructure’ star in the act

GeekWire at the Movies: ‘Alien: Covenant’ delivers the gory goods, and some answers

Apollo moon rocket engines finally fill a place of honor at Museum of Flight

Video: Want to fly like a CEO? Rent Deer Jet’s 787 Dreamliner for $70,000 an hour

Spaceflight buys Rocket Lab Electron launch for a small satellite sampler

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau rocks Microsoft CEO Summit: Why snooping on VIPs is getting harder

Alaska Airlines plans flights from Everett’s Paine Field to dodge Sea-Tac traffic jam

Boeing makes first 737 MAX delivery to Malindo Air after concern over engines

‘Genius’ TV show highlights links between Einstein’s love affairs and love of physics

Hewlett Packard Enterprise unveils a monster computer that’s made for Mars

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket sends Inmarsat telecom satellite to high-flying orbit

Eat your broccoli: 5 tips for Mars explorers from National Geographic’s Seattle show

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin says BE-4 rocket test goes awry, but tests will resume soon

NASA decides against putting crew on first SLS rocket launch, now delayed to 2019

Water leak forces NASA to scale down 200th spacewalk, but Job 1 gets done

Warning: Elon Musk posts dizzying views of his first tunnel boring tests in L.A.

Drone sets a long-distance delivery record

Study lays out privacy concerns that kids and parents have about toys that listen

Elon Musk’s Tesla starts taking orders for solar glass roof tiles; delivery due this year

SpaceX tweets Falcon Heavy rocket test

Tunnel cave-in sparks emergency alert at Hanford; no radiation leaks detected

Display Week 2017

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