Technologies

How to Watch SpaceX’s Next Starship Test Flight on Tuesday

This is Starship’s third test flight this year and the ninth flight overall since SpaceX first launched the craft in 2023.

SpaceX is gearing up for another integrated test flight Tuesday for its Starship launch vehicle, which is a fully reusable craft that has been designed with the intention of one day carrying humans and cargo through space. The May 27 test flight is Starship’s ninth launch, although certain parts of the craft have exploded and been rebuilt since its first launch in April 2023. This test flight will be Starship’s third launch in 2025.

Recent Starship launches have ended in disaster twice, as the upper ship part of the launch vehicle exploded within Earth’s atmosphere during the seventh and eighth test flights. The reusable booster rocket was successfully caught by SpaceX during these launches.

SpaceX revealed in a written mission statement that the company is not planning on catching the booster during Tuesday’s ninth test flight.

The booster will be carrying instruments to measure data that could help SpaceX potentially improve performance and reliability on future iterations of the launch vehicle and it will splash down in the Gulf of Mexico after it’s discarded by the rest of the Starship craft.

How to watch Starship’s next integrated flight test

The Starship launch vehicle will be launching from the Starbase spaceport near Brownsville, Texas, on May 27 at 7:30 p.m. ET.

A public livestream will become available 30 minutes before the launch window at 7 p.m. ET. SpaceX will be streaming through multiple channels at once — you’ll be able to tune in through the company’s official Flight 9 mission webpage and the @SpaceX account on SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Space.com also will be livestreaming the test flight from its homepage and YouTube channel.

Here’s when you’ll be able to tune into Starship’s ninth test flight in your time zone:

ET: May 27 at 7 p.m.
CT: May 27 at 6 p.m.
MT: May 27 at 5 p.m.
PT: May 27 at 4 p.m.

After the test flight, Musk is scheduled to provide an update on the company’s next steps. This will be the first time the beleaguered billionaire has publicly spoken on behalf of the company during a Starship launch window since the vehicle’s third flight in March 2024.

Musk is facing mounting pressure to return to his business obligations after a stint as one of President Donald Trump’s senior advisors for the Department of Government Efficiency, which has made contested claims of saving billions of dollars throughout the federal government but has raised privacy concerns among many US citizens.

In a recent call with Tesla investors, Musk promised to step back from DOGE to focus on his businesses. Tesla buying trends have reversed as prospective buyers came to associate the vehicles with Musk’s politics.

Trump’s most recent budgetary proposal puts certain NASA projects on the cutting block — including ones that involve using Starship for lunar exploration.

Technologies

Verum Messenger Turns Five and Launches Offline Messaging on iPhone

Verum Messenger has marked its fifth anniversary with the release of a new feature that enables users to exchange messages without an internet connection.

The update, now available on iPhone, allows devices to communicate directly through a decentralized peer-to-peer architecture, bypassing servers, mobile networks and Wi-Fi. According to the company, messages are transmitted securely without relying on traditional internet infrastructure.

Unlike most offline communication tools that depend on Bluetooth, Verum’s approach uses encrypted device-to-device technology designed to operate independently of centralized systems.

Founded five years ago, Verum Messenger is positioned as a privacy-first platform. The app does not require a phone number or email address for registration and generates encryption keys locally on the user’s device. The company states that user data and message content are not stored on centralized servers.

Over time, Verum has expanded beyond messaging to include features such as encrypted calls, screenshot and screen-recording protection, self-destructing messages, anonymous email, a built-in VPN, eSIM connectivity and on-device AI tools.

The offline messaging update reflects a broader push toward more resilient communication tools, particularly as concerns over network reliability, censorship and digital surveillance continue to grow.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Monday, Feb. 2

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Feb. 2

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? There are some tough clues today. Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Rock band with albums like «High Voltage» and «Flick of the Switch»
Answer: ACDC

5A clue: Stuck doing the same old, same old
Answer: INARUT

7A clue: Burning up
Answer: ONFIRE

8A clue: -tion, for one
Answer: SUFFIX

9A clue: Jared of 2025’s «Tron: Ares»
Answer: LETO

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Declare void, as a marriage
Answer: ANNUL

2D clue: ___ macchiato (espresso drink)
Answer: CAFFE

3D clue: Begin to veer off the road, say
Answer: DRIFT

4D clue: Odd little trinket
Answer: CURIO

5D clue: What Apple smartphones run on
Answer: IOS

6D clue: ___-Mex cuisine
Answer: TEX

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Feb. 2, #497

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Feb. 2, No. 497.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one. It helps to know a lot about two distinct locations and their sports teams. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Lone Star State.

Green group hint: Think of the Arch.

Blue group hint: You put cereal in this.

Purple group hint: Not four or six.