FAA blames ‘damaged database file’ for major NOTAM outage

There wasn’t anything particularly sinister about the Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) outage that prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to ground US flights on Wednesday — it appears to have been a relatively simple glitch. As part of its early investigation, the FAA has determined that the outage was prompted by a “damaged database file.” The agency is still working to identify the exact causes and prevent repeat incidents, but says there’s still “no evidence” of a cyberattack.

The FAA grounded all domestic departures in the US on Wednesday morning after the NOTAM system failed the afternoon before. This was the first such failure in the country, and it prompted hundreds of delays that took hours to resolve. NOTAMs provide important information about potential problems along a flight’s path, such as runway closures and temporary airspace restrictions.

The initial findings may be reassuring for those concerned the outage may have stemmed from another critical infrastructure hack. However, it still leaves some unanswered questions about the fragility of NOTAM in the US. A single corrupted file was apparently all it took to disrupt flights nationwide for over half a day — whatever redundancy was in place clearly wasn’t enough.

Virgin Orbit clarifies the cause behind its ‘Start Me Up’ mission’s failure to reach orbit

Everything was going great until it wasn’t in the skies over Cornwall, UK on Monday. Virgin Orbit, the space launch division of Sir Richard Branson’s sprawling commercial empire, was in the midst of setting a major milestone for the country and the nation: to be the first orbital launch from European soil. The carrier aircraft, Cosmic Girl, had successfully taken off from Spaceport Cornwall, LauncherOne had cleanly separated from the modified 747 and properly ignited its first stage rocket, blasting it and its payload of satellites into space. But before they could be pushed into their proper orbit by the rocket’s second stage, something went wrong. On Thursday, Virgin Orbit leaders provided a preliminary explanation as to just what happened.

“At an altitude of approximately 180 km, the upper stage experienced an anomaly. This anomaly prematurely ended the first burn of the upper stage,” the company told Engadget via email. “This event ended the mission, with the rocket components and payload falling back to Earth within the approved safety corridor without ever achieving orbit.”

Virgin Orbit has also announced a “formal” investigation into the root causes of the anomaly which will be led by Jim Sponnick, who developed the Atlas and Delta launch systems, and Chad Foerster, Virgin Orbit’s Chief Engineer. Despite the setback, the company is already in contact with UK officials to reschedule the launch for as soon as late 2023.    

SBF thought it was a good idea to start a Substack

Sam Bankman-Fried is in a world of trouble. He’s facing up to 115 years in prison if he’s convicted of federal fraud and conspiracy charges. And yet the embattled founder of collapsed crypto exchange FTX — who has pleaded not guilty and is out on a $250 million bond while awaiting trial — figured it’d be a great idea to write about his perspective on the saga in a Substack newsletter.

In his first post, which is ostensibly about the collapse of FTX International, Bankman-Fried (aka SBF) claims that “I didn’t steal funds, and I certainly didn’t stash billions away.” SBF notes that FTX US (which serves customers in America) “remains fully solvent and should be able to return all customers’ funds.” He added that FTX International still has billions of dollars in assets and that he is “dedicating nearly all of my personal assets to customers.” SBF, who once had a net worth of approximately $26.5 billion, said at the end of November that he had $100,000 in his bank account, though he pledged to give almost all of his personal shares in Robinhood to customers.

The post covers much of the same ground that SBF has gone over in the myriad interviews he gave between FTX’s collapse in November and his arrest last month. He discusses the multiple crypto market crashes in 2022 and a tweet from Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao that sparked a run on FTX’s FTT token and prompted the implosion of his exchange. SBF also writes about how he was pressured to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for FTX. Meanwhile, he notes that many of the numbers he cites in the post are approximations, since he has been locked out of FTX’s systems by those overseeing its bankruptcy proceedings.

What’s more interesting is what SBF doesn’t address. He does not mention the fact that FTX co-founder Zixiao “Gary” Wang and former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison pleaded guilty to fraud charges and are cooperating with prosecutors.

SBF has continued to give interviews and tweet about the situation while he’s out on bail. That’s despite the complaint filed against him by the Securities and Exchange Commission citing his tweets and comments he made in an interview in early December. Perhaps this whole Substack thing will turn out to be a mistake too.

Intel’s new desktop processor reaches 6GHz without overclocking

Intel has just introduced a new desktop processor, the Core i9-13900KS, that can reach up to 6GHz without overclocking, making it the fastest desktop processor available. This is made possible by the processor’s Thermal Velocity Boost feature, which al…

Airbus tests pilot assist that can automatically divert flights

Autonomous transportation assistance isn’t limited to cars. Airbus has started testing a pilot assistance feature, DragonFly, that could save an aircraft in an emergency. The system can automatically divert a flight in an emergency. It can not only pick a flight path to the best airport (using factors like airspace rules and weather), but communicate with air traffic control and an airline’s operations center. If the pilots are incapacitated, the aircraft can still land safely.

Accordingly, DragonFly can automatically land on any runway using sensors and computer vision algorithms. Pilots can even get help taxiing around airports through technology that translates air traffic control’s clearance into usable guidance clues in a companion app. It can assist with speed control and alert pilots to obstacles. Crews can spend more time getting ready for the actual flight.

The testing has so far been limited to one A350-1000 demonstrator aircraft. It could be a while yet before DragonFly reaches production, and regulators (like the Federal Aviation Administration in the US) will need to approve its use.

All the same, this hints at where autonomous flight systems are going. Although completely self-flying airliners might not arrive for a long while, you could see aircraft that require little intervention even in the middle of a crisis. This could also help increase flights to airports with difficult landings (such New Zealand’s Wellington Airport) and minimize taxiing-related delays.

Astell & Kern’s latest mobile DAC brings 32-bit audio with fewer sacrifices

If you’re determined to listen to high-resolution audio on your phone using high-end earphones, you’ll want a DAC — and Astell & Kern thinks it has one of the better options. The company has introduced its third USB DAC, the AK HC3, and this one may finally nail enough features to satisfy most users. It promises very high-quality 32-bit, 384kHz audio like its HC2 predecessor, but you can finally use your headset’s microphone. You won’t have to choose between pristine sound and making phone calls.

The AK HC3 also uses ESS’ newer ES9219MQ dual DAC. A built-in LED even shows if you’re using a high-res audio format. The USB-C connection supports Macs, Windows PCs, Android phones and many tablets (including recent iPads), but there’s an included Lightning adapter in the box for your iPhone. Android users get a dedicated app to fine-tune the output.

Astell & Kern will sell the AK HC3 for $229, with pre-orders starting January 20th and a release estimated for February 13th. This isn’t the absolute highest-quality DAC (Fiio’s Q3 can manage 768kHz), but it’s better than many mobile options and is relatively easy to carry.

There are two similarly new headphone amps if you’re more interested in quality than size. The Acro CA1000T is a second-gen “carriable” model that uses ESS’ new high-end ES9039MPRO dual DAC and a triple amp system that lets you switch between dual vacuum tubes, normal amping and a hybrid that combines both technologies. It arrives alongside the HC3, although the $2,299 price will limit it to well-heeled audiophiles.

The AK PA10 portable, meanwhile, is Astell & Kern’s first device with a Class-A amp. The choice promises the “best” linear output and a warm, natural sound for 12 hours of battery-powered use. It also won’t be cheap when it arrives on February 13th for $599, but it may be worth considering if you want a balance between portability and raw technical prowess.

Lucid made more cars in 2022 than it ultimately expected

Lucid had such lofty goals for 2022. It originally planned to build 20,000 vehicles during the year. But, due to supply chain issues and a shortage of parts, it had to revise down the target to between 12,000 and 14,000 and then again to between 6,000 and 7,000 units. Ultimately, though, Lucid ended up beating that annual guidance.

The automaker says it built 7,180 vehicles in 2022 and it delivered 4,369 of them. During the October-December period, it produced 3,493 vehicles (an increase of 53 percent over the previous quarter) and delivered 1,932. The company started delivering the Lucid Air in Europe in December.

We’ll find out more about what this means for Lucid’s bottom line when the company reveals its Q4 financial results on February 22nd. In any case, beating the annual guidance, even after it significantly slashed the target, is a positive sign that the automaker is overcoming its production issues. Meanwhile, Lucid will soon start taking reservations for its Gravity electric SUV, with deliveries slated to start in the US and Canada in 2024.