SpaceX uses ARGON ION PROPULSION to move Starlink satellites through space And the engineering is pretty wild Starlink satellites use argon Hall-effect thrusters electric engines that ionize argon gas and accelerate the charged particles at extremely high speed They allow Starlink satellites to: • Raise themselves into operational orbit • Maneuver around other spacecraft and debris • Maintain their position in space • Deorbit themselves at the end of their life SpaceX originally used krypton, but switched its next-generation Starlink satellites to argon The V2 Mini argon thruster produces: • 170 mN of thrust • 2.4X the thrust of the first-generation system • 1.5X the specific impulse And Starlink became the first spacecraft system to fly using argon propulsion in space A Falcon 9 gets Starlink into space Then these tiny electric engines keep thousands of satellites exactly where they need to be

$NVDA IS PUSHING GLASS SUBSTRATES TO EXTREME THICKNESSES According to Korean semiconductor publication KIPOST, NVIDIA is requesting glass substrates with a thickness of 2,000 µm (2 mm), potentially driving the adoption of new metallization technologies, including atomic layer deposition (ALD). As AI packages grow larger to accommodate more GPUs and HBM, substrate rigidity becomes increasingly important. Thicker glass improves mechanical stability and reduces warpage, but makes through-glass vias (TGVs) harder to manufacture. For perspective, a 2 mm substrate with 50 µm vias would have an aspect ratio of 40:1. Conventional sputtering struggles to deposit uniform conductive seed layers inside such deep, narrow holes. ALD's superior conformality could provide a solution. However, ALD isn't the only competing technology. In September, TRUMPF announced its HiPIMS technology for coating deep TGV structures, using highly ionized plasma to improve coverage. Meanwhile, MKS Atotech introduced a wet metallization process combining electroless copper seeding with advanced electroplating. Progress is also being made in drilling. Korean equipment manufacturer Philoptics demonstrated TGV processing on 2 mm-thick, 510 × 515 mm glass panels, claiming zero defective holes in its demonstration.

Now this is fascinating really the Cat’s Eye Nebula NGC 6543. Three thousand light-years distant in Draco, a star not unlike our own has completed its final, rather elegant undressing. Outer layers of gas cast off in measured pulses, forming these nested, luminous shells ionized and set aglow by the fierce remnant at its heart. One of the most intricate planetary nebulae known. A cosmic eye that records its own exquisite demise. Even the universe, it appears, understands the art of a memorable exit.