Darrell Etherington

Editor at Large, TechCrunch

Writer covering space, science and health tech. Formerly covering automotive and mobility tech, and previously an employee of Apple and also of Shopify.

Darrell Etherington

China’s National Space Administration recorded a first today as it launched one of its Long March 11 rockets from a launch pad on board a ship in the Yellow Sea.…

China launches a rocket to space from a ship at sea for the first time

Apple’s splashy new product announcements at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose also ushered in new rules of the road for its ecosystem partners that force hard turns…

Apple’s new ecosystem world order and the privacy economy

Air travel accounts for a significant chunk of greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants, and the amount of air travel has risen steadily over the past few decades, with emissions…

KLM Airlines wants to help build a more efficient jet with in-wing seating

Space is hard on humans — it’s just not what we’re used to, because it’s very unlike this Earth most of us generally occupy for most of our lives. That’s…

NASA research crew embarks on mock mission to Mars moon

NASA is celebrating a key step towards its mission to get people back to the Moon: The first large core rocket stage that will power the new Space Launch System…

NASA’s Space Launch System passes key milestone for Moon mission

SpaceX’s Dragon cargo capsule has made its way back from the International Space Station, completing the private launcher’s seventeenth resupply mission for the orbital research facility. Commercial Resupply Services mission…

SpaceX Dragon capsule returns from Space Station resupply mission

Apple has a new feature it’s introducing for the Mac in macOS 10.15 Catalina that is admittedly amazing for anyone like me who happens to have both an iPad and…

Apple’s new Sidecar feature is great for users, but third-parties take a hit

Apple shared plenty of news today at its WWDC 2019 annual developer conference, but a few of the announcements early on are potentially its biggest in terms of what they…

Apple is now the privacy-as-a-service company

Terrace House is a tough show to explain. Like The Real World and other reality TV, the show puts a group of largely young and attractive strangers together in a…

Original Content podcast: We drop by Netflix’s ‘Terrace House’

SpaceX has successfully launched its Iridium-5 mission, which carries 10 satellites to add to Iridium’s NEXT global communications constellation. This is the fifth set of 10, out of a total…

SpaceX successfully launches Iridium-5 Falcon 9 mission

SteelSeries has two new Arctis Pro gaming headsets out, and they pack a lot of tech and versatility into a comfortable, visually attractive package. The SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless and…

The SteelSeries Arctis Pro lineup is a new high-water mark in comfort and quality

SpaceX is launching its next mission for client Iridium this morning, with an instantaneous launch window for the mission opening at 7:13 AM PDT (10:13 AM EDT). The Iridium-5 mission…

Watch SpaceX launch Iridium-5 aboard a re-used Falcon 9 rocket live

SF Motors has revealed its first two models, electric vehicles aiming for 2018 production and 2019 street dates. The electric vehicle technology company with a headquarters in Silicon Valley, as…

SF Motors reveals first two EVs, aims to ship its first SUV by next year

While Uber makes use of Nvidia hardware in its own self-driving automotive technology, it does not employ Nvidia’s Drive autonomous computing platform, which includes the GPU maker’s own real-time sensor…

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang clarifies Uber is not using its Drive platform

Volkswagen debuted a concept pickup truck at the New York Auto Show this week, and the Atlas-based design features a short bed design, based on VW’s MQB platform. It’s basically…

Volkswagen’s Atlas Tanoak concept is a short-bed pickup truck dream

Einride’s T-pod all-electric, self-driving transport vehicle will use the Nvidia Drive AI platform to provide its autonomous smarts, the Swedish technology company revealed today. Einride also announced that the very…

Einride’s autonomous trucks will be Nvidia-powered, and deliveries start this fall

It’s been hinted at, but Daimler and BMW are officially bringing together their mobility services business groups into one combined company, with a 50 percent stake owned by each automaker.…

BMW and Daimler agree to merge mobility service businesses

Oscar Health, the startup run by Josh Kushner (yes, brother of Jared), has raised $165 million at a reported valuation of $3.2 billion, CNBC’s Christina Farr reports. The funding comes…

Oscar Health raises $165 million at reported $3B valuation

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang faced a number of questions regarding Uber’s recent self-driving test vehicle accident, in which an SUV equipped with Uber’s autonomous technology struck and killed 49-year old…

Nvidia’s Jensen Huang cautions patience in judging Uber AV engineers

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang revealed a forthcoming generation of the company’s self-driving Drive PX supercomputers for use in vehicles – the successor to the current Drive Pegasus, which will be…

Nvidia previews next-generation Drive Orin self-driving computer

Nvidia has taken the AutoSIM virtual environment for testing autonomous cars it originally showed off at CES, combined it with its Drive Pegasus AI in-car computer and created a virtual…

Nvidia debuts new Drive Constellation simulated self-driving test system

Udacity is hosting its annual Intersect conference this week, and the online learning platform is introducing some new programs and features for students at the event. Those include two new…

Udacity introduces real robots and virtual worlds to help students build skills

Udacity is intruding three dedicated new nanodegrees (its own accelerated learning program) in the field of artificial intelligence, which will become part of its new School of AI. AI has…

Udacity debuts a dedicated School of AI with three new nanodegrees

LA-based space startup Relativity has raised $35 million in Series B funding, in a new round led by Playground Global, and including existing investors Social Capital, Y Combinator Continuity and…

3D-printed rocket maker Relativity raises $35M to simplify satellite launches

Uber has been barred from testing its self-driving cars on public roads in Arizona following the accident last week involving one of its testing vehicles that killed a pedestrian crossing…

Uber blocked from testing self-driving cars on Arizona roads

Geely’s Lynk & Co is one of the more interesting young automotive brands, with an approach to sales and marketing that more closely resembles modern gadget and lifestyle brand go-to-market…

Lynk & Co reveals the 02 crossover SUV and details European rollout plans

Self-driving technology company Aurora has made some key moves on its leadership team and overall company growth: It’s bringing on SpaceX’s now former head of software engineering, Jinnah Hosein, to…

Aurora hires SpaceX’s Jinnah Hosein, opens SF and Pittsburgh offices

FedEx is the latest major logistics company to lock in an order for Tesla’s forthcoming Semi electric Class 8 trailer trucks. The shipping provider has ordered 20 of the vehicles,…

FedEx reserves 20 Tesla Semi all-electric big rig trucks

Elon Musk’s The Boring Company is indeed living up to its namesake and boring tunnels, but its primary source of revenue still seems to be selling stuff branded with its…

Elon Musk’s next Boring Co. merch will be big Lego bricks made from tunnel rock

Elon Musk apparently wasn’t aware that his company SpaceX had a Facebook page. The SpaceX and Tesla CEO has responded to a comment on Twitter calling for him to take…

Elon Musk deletes own, SpaceX and Tesla Facebook pages after #deletefacebook