Travel

Boeing's almost cursed 737 MAX is slowly starting to return to service but it seems that the aircraft maker has another headache coming. Fortunately, there were no lives lost before Boeing learned about what could be another faulty component that could have just as deadly consequences if left unchecked. Dozens of Boeing 777 planes have been temporarily put out of service after a flight from Denver had one of its engines failed in a rather dramatic way just after takeoff.

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When it comes to batteries, you almost always have to make a compromise between power and size. That's more true with portable batteries where mobility plays a more critical role. There are times, however, when the reverse is true and charging power becomes the deciding factor. The latter is true for Maxoak's newest portable power station, the 2000Wh Bluetti AC200P, which uses the term "portable" very loosely, at least in comparison to other portable power stations. In exchange, however, you won't have to make that many compromises in what or how many you can juice up with it.

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It was really wishful thinking that 2021 would magically be better when it came to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the availability of vaccines definitely gives some hope, new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus threaten to throw us into a loop again. Never having really gotten a hold of the situation, the US is now facing the threat of these new variants coming from countries. In an effort to at least stem the tide, the CDC is now requiring that everyone entering the US via air transportation prove to be negative from COVID-19 or else be denied even getting on a plane.

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SpaceX has pretty much nailed every Falcon 9 landing in the past year or two. Landing a jumbo-sized spacecraft, however, was never going to be easy. CEO Elon Musk already set fans' and spectators' expectations low when he warned that mishaps would happen when it tries to land its Starship SN8 prototype. Mishap did happen, resulting in the giant rocket becoming scrap metal, but the crash was not enough to mar the success and significance of SpaceX's most recent leap for space travel and mankind.

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What was supposed to be the high point of Boeing's business became a nightmare, especially for those left behind by two fatal crashes nearly two years ago. The Boeing 737 Max was similarly dropped in the center of controversy that unsurprisingly included scandals going all the way up to the FAA. The company's entire fleet has been grounded around the world for nearly two years but, after a successful and thankfully uneventful test flight just last week, the 737 Max went back to the skies in what will be remembered as its first commercial flight since 2019.

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Flying taxis are one step closer to lifting off in the US with paying passengers, with Lilium inking a deal with Orlando, Florida to put its first "Vertiport" hub in the state. Lilium is one of a number of companies working on all-electric, vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) jet aircraft, figuring that relatively short-range hops between locations are the future of transportation.

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As Boom Supersonic continues efforts to build the world's fastest airliner, they've revealed a sort of proof-of-concept. The Boom Supersonic XB-1 is a "supersonic demonstrator" aircraft. It's also the first independently developed supersonic jet ever made. Boom CEO and founder Blake Scholl reminded us that the company remains steadfast in their aim of "making the world dramatically more accessible."

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Hovercrafts, personal rockets, and backpack jet engines have tickled the fancy of people, technologies, engineers, and aviators for decades, tapping into the human desire to fly without wings or even planes. They are, however, often painted as something more for personal enjoyment or travel, at least when such machines finally take off, no pun intended. Two companies in the UK, however, have joined forces to develop a system that will let paramedics fly to an emergency site when helicopters won't even do.

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New rules concerning who can enter the US during the COVID-19 pandemic have been rolled out, with the CDC tearing up its old policy and replacing it with one that focuses less on coronavirus screening. The updated process kicks in on September 14, 2020, and will end enhanced entry health screening for passengers arriving in the US from countries with known COVID-19 hotspots.

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A great deal of talk and work has been made towards reducing the carbon footprint of cars but, sometimes, the best way to accomplish that is to reduce the use of cars entirely. Of course, that's not really a viable solution these days but there are definitely times when having more than two wheels can be excessive. Whether it's for a last-mile deliver or taking short solo trips, an electric scooter could be a more economical solution, one that the Turboant X7 Pro is trying to provide.

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As some parts of the world begin to open back up to more extensive activities and travel, many people are left wondering where they can go, what the related travel rules are, which places are accepting visitors, and more. Here to help with that is an update to Google Search that adds relevant COVID-19 and lockdown-related information for travelers, including what percentage of hotels are available, how many flights are operating to the destination, and more.

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A startup aims to take space sightseers to the edge of Earth's atmosphere, with Space Perspective planning to launch balloon rides from Space Florida. The latest example of space tourism, the six hour balloon trips will include two hours at the very fringes of space, 100,000 feet above sea level.

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