Technologies

ICYMI: Watch Katy Perry, Gayle King Successfully Land on Blue Origin Space Flight

Music icon Katy Perry and an all-woman crew launched on a Blue Origin New Shepard spacecraft on April 14, as Oprah Winfrey watched from the ground.

Pop star Katy Perry may need to update the lyrics to her hit song Firework to, «Baby, you’re an astronaut.» On Monday, Perry became one of the latest celebrities to visit space. Author and former journalist Lauren Sanchez was also part of Blue Origin’s successful NS-31 mission. Sanchez is the fiancee of Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and Blue Origin.

Aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe, bioastronautics research scientist Amanda Nguyễn, film producer Kerianne Flynn and CBS host Gayle King (Oprah Winfrey’s bestie) filled out the roster for the all-female crew. Winfrey attended the launch as an observer.

The crew rolled to the launchpad in Rivian electric trucks and took an elevator up to board the crew capsule. Bezos personally escorted them to the rocket. The flight lasted about 11 minutes. Perry sang What a Wonderful World during the flight, though choppy audio made it difficult to hear the crew at times during the livestream.

This was the first all-female spaceflight since Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova’s historic solo spaceflight in 1963. Tereshkova was the first woman in space.

Watch Katy Perry visit space

The New Shepard spacecraft launched from West Texas at about 8:30 a.m. CT on Monday. Relive the mission through Blue Origin’s livestream replay on YouTube.

Does New Shepard reach space?

There’s an ongoing debate about what represents space. For example, everyone agrees the International Space Station is in space but commercial rocket rides like what Blue Origin operates fall into a gray zone. One benchmark is the Karman line, an imagined line 62 miles above the Earth’s surface.

NASA recognizes that «there’s really no clear boundary between where Earth’s atmosphere ends and outer space begins,» but says most scientists recognize the Karman line as the transition point to space. So unless you want to get into a nitpicky argument, Perry and the rest of the crew made a brief visit to space during their mission.

The crew experienced weightlessness after the spacecraft passed the Karman line. The return trip involved a gentle parachute-assisted landing of the crew capsule.

This was the 11th human flight for the New Shepard program. Blue Origin had previously flown 52 people into space, including Star Trek’s William Shatner, Good Morning America host Michael Strahan and Bezos.

Technologies

Anti-Prime Deal: Get a PS5 Slim and One of My Favorite Games for $106 Off With This Walmart Discount

Astro Bot is easily one of the best showcases of the PS5 Slim’s features and performance. Score both the game and the console together for just $453 today at Walmart.

If you’ve been on the fence about jumping into the current generation of 4K console gaming (or have been waiting for a good time to add a Sony PlayStation 5 to your gaming arsenal), today is a good day to make your move. As part of its anti-Prime Day counteroffensive, Walmart has the PS5 Slim console with Astro Bot bundle (packing in one of my favorite games on the platform) for $453, a massive $106 discount.

The PS5 boasts impressive graphic horsepower, and the slim variant on offer packs that power into a smaller, more shelf-friendly package. This is also the version that retains its optical disc drive, so you’ll still be able to borrow physical games from friends or save money by picking up pre-owned copies of older favorites.

However, the features that most capture my attention are packed into the console’s included DualSense wireless controller. The controller features haptic triggers, an evolution of the familiar rumble feedback that adds variable resistance and feel to the left and right trigger buttons. It’s the sort of thing you have to feel to truly understand. Fortunately, the adorable Astro Bot — one of the showcases of everything the console and controller’s haptics can do — is included in the bundle.

Looking for more Prime Day deals? CNET’s text deals are an easy way to keep up with the latest sales. And hey, it’s free!

Astro Bot is the sequel to the pack-in Astro’s Playroom, building out the world of PlayStation’s cutesy robotic mascot with platforming stages that showcase the PS5’s motion controls, haptic feedback, touchpad and more. If the PS5 supports a feature, Astro Bot puts it through its paces. The gameplay is easy enough for novices or younger gamers to enjoy, while the visuals, clever mechanics and challenge modes kept me, a well-seasoned gamer, delighted for hours on end. Not just a glorified tech demo, this game is also a love letter to PlayStation’s storied 30-plus year history with cameo appearances by dozens of characters from beloved first- and third-party titles.

Why this deal matters

Walmart’s PS5 Slim and Astro Bot bundle offers a significant discount, saving you approximately $106 compared to purchasing the console and game separately at their regular prices. This substantial saving means you’ll have enough extra cash to grab two additional games from Sony’s extensive PlayStation catalog, immediately expanding your gaming library and your fun. Check out the best of Walmart’s anti-Prime Day deals for even more ways to save.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Thursday, July 10

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for July 10.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? 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.

Why was today’s Mini Crossword so tough? I had a lot of wrong answers that I had to go back and delete. Were you stumped too? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. 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: 5×5 crossword
Answer: MINI

5A clue: Breakfast sandwich option
Answer: BACON

6A clue: From way back when
Answer: OFOLD

7A clue: Like much toothpaste
Answer: MINTY

8A clue: First, second or third, but not fourth
Answer: BASE

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Party game with accusations from «villagers»
Answer: MAFIA

2D clue: Total legends
Answer: ICONS

3D clue: Actor Nick on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Answer: NOLTE

4D clue: The N.B.A.’s Pacers, familiarly
Answer: INDY

5D clue: Fail at stand-up
Answer: BOMB

Technologies

PlayStation Plus Subscribers Can Get Chromed Out in Cyberpunk 2077 Now

Subscribers — and their kids — can also play other games on PlayStation Plus, like the Bluey game, soon.

When CD Projekt Red launched Cyberpunk 2077 in 2020, the game was plagued by bugs and glitches. Since then, the company has provided free updates and patches to the game to make it a fun, engaging and award-winning experience. And some PlayStation Plus subscribers can now play this dystopian, sci-fi game.

PlayStation Plus is Sony’s version of Xbox Game Pass, and it offers subscribers a large and constantly expanding library of games. There are three PlayStation Plus tiers — Essential ($10 a month), Extra ($15 a month) and Premium ($18 a month) — and each gives subscribers access to games. However, only Extra and Premium tier subscribers can access the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog.

Here are all the games Extra and Premium subscribers can play soon. You can also check out the games all PS Plus subscribers can play in July, including Diablo 4. Note, Sony will add these games to the PS Plus Game Catalog on July 15 unless otherwise noted.

Cyberpunk 2077

Welcome to Night City, where corporations control everything, crime is around every corner, and almost everyone has cybernetic implants called chrome. You play as a local mercenary named V, and after a heist goes bad, you have to figure out a way to survive with everyone gunning for you. And if that wasn’t enough, Keanu Reeves is in this game as a terrorist named Johnny Silverhand, because, well, he has a silver cybernetic hand.

PS Plus Extra and Premium subscribers can play this game now.

Bluey: The Videogame

The game, based on the popular animated series, is coming to the PS Plus Game Catalog on Tuesday. You can play as Bandit, Chili, Bingo or Bluey as you explore areas from the show, like the Heeler house, the playground and the creek. You can also play games from the show, like Keepy Uppy and Chattermax Chase. And who knows, maybe you’ll see some gray nomads while you’re playing.

Abiotic Factor

Science meets violence in this 1990s-inspired sci-fi survival game. You and up to five other players can choose your areas of expertise, build your scientist and explore a massive, top-secret underground complex filled with artifacts and supernatural horrors that could tear you limb from limb. And remember, safety, security and secrecy are of the utmost importance… usually.

PS Plus Extra and Premium subscribers can play this game on July 22.

Other games coming to PS Plus soon

PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium subscribers can play all of the games listed above, as well as the ones listed here, soon.

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden
New World: Aeternum
Planet Zoo
Risk of Rain 2
Tropico 6
Twisted Metal 3*
Twisted Metal 4*

*Premium subscribers only.

For more on PlayStation Plus, here’s what to know about the service and a rundown of PS Plus Extra and Premium games added in June. You can also check out the latest and upcoming games on Xbox Game Pass and Apple Arcade.