Orbital missions will unlock the next phase of Starship's development, providing better data on the performance of the spacecraft's heat shield and allowing for tests of in-orbit refueling, which will be essential for missions to Mars. Save this storyIt has been two weeks since SpaceX's last Starship test flight, and engineers have diagnosed issues with its heat shield, identified improvements, and developed a preliminary plan for the next time the ship heads into space. Bill Gerstenmaier, a SpaceX executive in charge of build and flight reliability, presented the findings Monday at the American Astronautical Society's Glenn Space Technology Symposium in Cleveland. The rocket lifted off on August 26 from SpaceX's launch pad in Starbase, Texas, just north of the US-Mexico border. It was the 10th full-scale test flight of SpaceX's Super Heavy booster and Starship upper stage, combining to form the world's largest rocket. There were a couple of overarching objectives on the August 26 test flight.

Larry Ellison briefly tops Elon Musk as world's richest person Elon Musk briefly lost his title as the world's richest person to Larry Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle and an ally of US President Donald Trump. Ellison's wealth surged to $393bn (£290bn) on Wednesday morning, surpassing Musk's $385bn (£284bn), according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The jump came after shares in Oracle, which make up a significant part of Ellison's fortune, soared more than 40%, boosted by the database software company's surprisingly rosy outlook for its cloud infrastructure business and artificial intelligence (AI) deals. But the firm's share price had shed some of those gains by the end of the day, putting Musk back on top. Before briefly losing it to Ellison, Musk had held the title of world's richest person for nearly one year.

Why Are Chatbots Parroting Russian Propaganda? Welcome back to, TIME's new twice-weekly newsletter about AI. Starting today, we'll be publishing these editions both as stories on Time.com and as emails. If you're reading this in your browser, why not subscribe to have the next one delivered straight to your inbox? What to Know: Why are chatbots parroting Russian disinformation? Over the last year, as chatbots have gained the ability to search the internet before providing an answer, the likelihood that they will share false information about specific topics in the news has gone up, according to new research by NewsGuard Technologies.

Campaigners say a vessel, part of a flotilla carrying aid to Gaza, has been struck in a suspected drone attack. It's the second such suspected attack in two days. Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg is amongst the activists travelling to Gaza with the flotilla to try and break Israel's naval blockade. BBC Verify has been analysing footage of the incident and has spoken to two weapons experts who say a device found on board after the attack appears to be a grenade. 'I witnessed war crimes' in Gaza, former worker at GHF aid site tells BBC A retired US soldier reveals why he quit working at Israel and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid hubs.

The actor, well known for his roles in the Die Hard franchise, was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia - a condition his family publicly disclosed in 2023. Emma Heming Willis spoke with CBS Mornings host Gayle King about her husband and her new book, which she hopes will help fellow caregivers. 'We love you, you will always be with us', says father of Minneapolis shooting victim Fletcher Merkel, 8, was one of two children killed in Wednesday's shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis. The Garnet wildfire in Fresno County has scorched nearly 14,000 acres (5,665 hectares) and remains uncontained. The BBC's Tom Bateman spoke with Patrick Scallen who lives near the Annunciation Church and ran towards the sound of gunfire.

Planetary scientists can now predict when the aurora will shine over our cosmic neighbor. An artist's impression of how the aurora might appear in the sky above the Perseverance rover. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Just like Earth, our cosmic neighbor Mars sometimes has auroras dance across its night sky. In March 2024, NASA's Perseverance Mars rover imaged visible-light auroras for the first time during a major solar flare and coronal mass ejection.

From'nepo kids' to PM resignation: How the Nepal protests unfolded Nepal has been shaken by deadly protests that have led to the resignation of the country's Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. The BBC's Charlotte Scarr is on the streets of Kathmandu, where she saw torched government buildings and military presence. The Himalayan nation has been experiencing its worst unrest in decades, after a campaign highlighting the lavish lifestyles of politicians' children and allegations of corruption took off on social media. Thirty people have been killed in the protests and more than 1,000 injured since the unrest began. The military parade was attended by world leaders including Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un and showcased China's new weapons.

Larry Ellison, the chair and chief technology officer of Oracle, is a supporter of Donald Trump and has regularly appeared at the White House. Larry Ellison, the chair and chief technology officer of Oracle, is a supporter of Donald Trump and has regularly appeared at the White House. Oracle co-founder's shares rose by 40% in early trading, valuing his fortune at $393bn, just ahead of Musk's $384bn US tech billionaire Larry Ellison is neck-and-neck with Elon Musk in the contest to be the world's richest person after briefly overtaking the Tesla chief executive on Wednesday Ellison's wealth surged after Oracle, the business software company in which he owns a stake of 41%, reported better than expected financial results. Oracle shares rose by more than 40% in early trading, at one point valuing the business software company at approximately $960bn (£707bn) and Ellison's stake at $393bn, just ahead of Musk's fortune of $384bn, according to Bloomberg's billionaires index. However, Ellison's lead was short-lived as the stock closed at $328, a rise of 36% valuing Ellison's shareholding at $378bn and putting Musk back ahead.

Melania Trump's AI Era Is Upon Us The ever elusive first lady has emerged with a brief to exert thought leadership over AI, for the children. Some insiders are excited; others won't touch the subject with a 10-foot pole. Even more so than the first time around, Melania Trump's tenure as first lady thus far has been more notable for her absence than her presence. But that's beginning to change. The ever elusive first lady, who has been highly sparing in her public appearances, emerged in recent weeks to highlight the newest addition to her slim policy portfolio: artificial intelligence, for the children.