The Download: Falcon 9’s future, and Big Tech’s climate goals
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 is one of the world’s safest, most productive rockets. But a rare engine malfunction on July 11 prompted the US Federal Aviation Administration to initiate an investigation and ground all Falcon 9 flights until further notice. The incident has exposed the risks of the US aerospace industry’s heavy reliance on the rocket.
The Falcon 9 has an unusually clean safety record. It’s been launched more than 300 times since its maiden voyage in 2010 and has rarely failed. But while its malfunction might seem surprising, anomalies are to be expected when it comes to rocket engines.
What exactly went wrong last week remains a mystery. Still, experts agree the event can’t be brushed off. Read the full story.
—Sarah Ward
Companies need to stop taking the easy way out on climate goals
Corporate climate claims can be confusing—and sometimes entirely unintuitive.
Tech giants Amazon and Google both recently released news about their efforts to clean up their climate impact. Both were a mixed bag, but one bit of news in particular stood out: Google’s emissions have gone up, and the company stopped claiming to be “net zero.”
Sounds bad, right? But in fact, one might argue that Google’s apparent backslide might actually represent progress for climate action. Read our story to learn why.
