stations

Inside the SpaceX Dragon capsule (panorama)

Get a feel for what it's like inside the Dragon capsule by panning around the panorama image below.

SpaceX CRS-2, loaded with more than 1,200 pounds of supplies, including science equipment and spare parts en route to the International Space Station, lifted off this morning aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 40 in Florida.

Just after the carrier rocket delivered the Dragon capsule into its target orbit, however, a problem arose. As the Solar Array was set to be deployed, which is necessary to provide enough energy to reach the ISS, a problem was … Read more

SpaceX scrambles to fix glitches with cargo ship

A SpaceX cargo ship loaded with more than a ton of spare parts, science equipment and crew supplies bound for the International Space Station thundered into orbit Friday, but trouble with the capsule's thrusters forced flight controllers to delay solar array deployment and replan an already complex rendezvous.

"It appears that although it achieved Earth orbit, Dragon is experiencing some kind of problem right now," John Insprucker, SpaceX's Falcon 9 product manager, said during a company webcast. "We'll have to learn about the nature of what happened. According to procedure, we expect a press … Read more

SpaceX supply ship prepped for Friday launch to station

SpaceX engineers readied a Falcon 9 rocket for a launch tomorrow on the company's second operational space station resupply mission, a commercial flight to deliver more than 2,300 pounds of science gear, station equipment, spare parts, and crew supplies to the international lab complex.

If all goes well, the unmanned Dragon cargo ship will return to Earth on March 25 loaded with some 3,000 pounds of no-longer-needed hardware, broken components, and experiment samples bound for laboratory analysis.

"Quite a bit of work has been done to get to this point, by the SpaceX team, by the … Read more

PS4 is 'gigantic leap for the industry,' EA exec says

Sony's PlayStation 4 is a major step forward for the games industry, according to an Electronic Arts executive.

Speaking yesterday at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media, and Telecom Conference, EA Chief Technical Officer Rajat Taneja said that the PlayStation 4 has "8 to 10 times the power" of current-generation consoles, making it a "gigantic leap for the industry."

Polygon, a PlayStation news site, attended the event and reported on Taneja's comments.

Sony unveiled its PlayStation 4 last week. The company said the console will offer a gaming experience superior to current-generation devices, thanks to … Read more

Console Wars 2013: Sony PS4 and its competitors

Sony PlayStation 4 The current hot topic in console gaming, the just-announced PlayStation 4, is still largely an enigma. We don't know how much the PS4 will cost, when it's being released (beyond "holiday 2013"), or even what it looks like.

For now, it's still the next-gen hardware to beat, and what little we do know sounds impressive, with an entirely new system architecture based on an X86 AMD CPU/GPU that should make the PS4 easier to develop for and more flexible (and, frankly, more PC-like).

But 2013 will take the traditional three-way console … Read more

How the Copyright Alert System works

It's legal to share CNET Update:

If you use a peer-to-peer network like BitTorrent, then pay attention to today's Update video. I offer a quick explanation of what Internet service providers will be doing to discourage customers from sharing copyright-protected music, movies and television shows.

Also in Tuesday's tech roundup:

- Apps and websites are now letting users sign in with a Google+ account, as well as share activity with circles.

- Get ready to be annoyed by hundreds of new Internet domain extensions, like .cadillac, .vegas and .app.

- The Guardian reports that all games on … Read more

How Microsoft can avoid the pitfalls of Sony's PS4 announcement

Editor's note: It's official. Microsoft has announced the future of Xbox (and the next console) will be revealed at an event in Redmond, Washington on May 21.

Press events are a tricky beast. No one ever said they were easy to pull off. But with Sony casting the first stone in the next-generation console gaming war, Microsoft can learn a lot from what worked and what didn't.

When the lights went up, Sony execs were shaking hands and congratulating each other. But the packed house at the Hammerstein Ballroom wasn't exactly participating in the same adulation. … Read more

Most anticipated games of 2013

Gamers have a lot to be excited about this year. The Sony PlayStation 4 just became official, and the announcement for the next-generation Microsoft Xbox can't be far behind.

But consoles alone aren't that interesting. What 2013 really needs are some great games.

A few weeks back, CNET's Senior Associate Games Editor Jeff Bakalar presented 25 of the most anticipated games of the year. To up the ante, I asked him to pick his favorite five from the list and rank them by degrees of anticipation.

So here you go. In this week's Top 5 I'… Read more

Watch: How to make a peanut butter sandwich in space

Everything is more interesting in space. Even the lowly peanut butter sandwich becomes fascinating when the person making it is an astronaut and the "kitchen" is the International Space Station.

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield takes you on a culinary tour of the cosmos in this simple and entertaining video.… Read more