Technologies

Blue Origin’s Next Space Launch Is Saturday: Here’s How to Stream and What to Know

NS-32 marks the 32nd mission for Blue Origin and the 12th human flight for the New Shepard program.

Blue Origin has been on a roll in 2025 with multiple successful launches already, and its next one is coming up on Saturday. The NS-32 mission will take six people into suborbital space for a quick jaunt before returning to Earth. It’s the third such New Shepard mission in 2025 so far and the 32nd in total. The prior launch famously included an all-female crew featuring pop star Katy Perry, TV personality Gayle King and journalist Lauren Sanchez.

This mission is set to launch from Blue Origin’s Launch Site One location in West Texas at 9:30 a.m. ET on Saturday. Like the prior New Shepard missions, NS-32 will take its six crew members above the Kármán line — the internationally recognized boundary between Earth and space — to suborbital space for about 11 minutes before landing back on Earth.

During the mission, the crew will experience the weightlessness of space while also getting an excellent view of the Earth.

How to watch the NS-32 launch

The launch will be webcast on Blue Origin’s website with coverage starting 30 minutes before the launch, so 9 a.m. ET. If this launch coverage is the same as previous ones, the webcast will cover the launch itself, the entire flight and the landing. Prior launches also included interviews with the crew to get their initial thoughts on going to space, which we expect will be included with the NS-32 webcast.

Read more: SpaceX Loses Contact With Starship in Third Test Flight Failure in a Row

If you miss the launch, you can still watch it later. The company posts all of its previous NS missions on its YouTube channel, typically within the same day as the launch.

What rocket is NS-32 using?

NS-32 will use the New Shepard rocket, like every other NS mission. This rocket is known for being fully reusable, with a small capsule at the top with room for all six passengers. Blue Origin says the vehicle is fully autonomous. It will launch, fly and eventually land without pilots, which is why none of the NS missions feature a human pilot.

The rocket saw its first crewed launch in 2021 when Jeff Bezos famously took part in the flight.

Who is the NS-32 crew?

Typically, Blue Origin crews have featured people from all walks of life, including teachers, business people, and celebrities. The NS-32 crew is no different, although it lacks the celebrity flair of the prior NS-31 mission. The crew includes:

Paul Jeris

Jeris is a real estate developer and entrepreneur. He has visited 149 countries and is looking to add space to his list of places visited.

Jesse Williams

Williams is a Canadian entrepreneur and the CEO of Car History Group. He has climbed six of the seven highest peaks on Earth.

Aymette (Amy) Medina Jorge

Jorge is a high school and middle school teacher who focuses on STEM subjects. She was the 2023 AIAA and Challenger Center Trailblazing STEM Educator Award winner.

Dr. Gretchen Green

Green is a radiologist specializing in women’s imaging and has over 20 years of experience. Among her many accolades, she now serves on the US Space & Rocket Center Education Foundation Board.

Jaime Alemán

Alemán is a Panamanian attorney and businessman who served as ambassador to the US. He also serves on the Special Olympics International Board of Directors, Duke Law School’s Board of Visitors and Woodrow Wilson’s Latin America Board. Alemán will also be the first person to visit all 193 UN-recognized countries, the North and South Poles and space.

Mark Rocket

The aptly named Rocket (he legally changed his name) is an entrepreneur from New Zealand. He serves as CEO of Kea Aerospace and president of Aerospace New Zealand, furthering the country’s interests in aerospace.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Jan. 13, #477

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Jan. 13, No. 477.

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. Hope you know your college sports arenas! 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: Empire State sports.

Green group hint: Fighting with swords.

Blue group hint: Places to play hoops.

Purple group hint: William, but for short.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Teams that play in New York State

Green group: Fencing terms.

Blue group: College basketball venues.

Purple group: Bills.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is teams that play in New York State. The four answers are Bills, Islanders, Mets and Sabres.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is fencing terms. The four answers are en garde, epee, foil and piste.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is college basketball venues. The four answers are Hinkle, Palestra, Pauley and The Pit.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is Bills. The four answers are Cowher, Parcells, Russell and Self.

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

Technologies

T-Mobile’s New Unlimited Family Plan Pumps Up Perks, but It’s Not for Everybody

The limited-time Better Value plan has appealing features, but the fine print is important.

T-Mobile began the new year with a new phone plan designed for families and accounts with three or more lines. The Better Value plan is available Jan. 14 for what the company says is a limited time, though I confirmed with a representative that it currently has no end date.

Despite its name, the question is whether it actually offers a better value compared to the Essentials plan, which we rank highly in our Best Cellphone Plans, Best Unlimited Data Plans and Best T-Mobile Plans lists.

In fact, after reviewing the specifics, T-Mobile’s Experience More plan — the number two unlimited postpaid plan — presents a more interesting comparison.

Better Value plan pricing and features compared

For an account with three lines, the monthly cost of the Better Value plan is $140 (with AutoPay active), plus applicable taxes and fees. Experience More similarly costs $140 a month for three lines. The Essentials plan costs $90 a month for three lines, but lacks most of the add-ons that make the other two plans appealing.

Both the Experience More and Better Value plans offer unlimited data on T-Mobile’s 5G network, a five-year price guarantee and two-year device upgrades.

However, the Better Value plan includes 250GB of high-speed mobile hotspot data, compared to 60GB for the Experience More plan. After those amounts have been used up, data is available at an unlimited rate of 600 kbps. (T-Mobile’s highest tier plan by comparison, Experience Beyond, includes unlimited high-speed hotspot data.)

Better Value also includes more high-speed data when you’re in other countries, with 30GB available in Mexico and Canada, as well as in 215 countries and areas worldwide. That’s more than the Experience More plan, which offers 15GB in North America and 5GB elsewhere.

T-Satellite is also included in the Better Value plan, a feature that costs $10 extra for every other T-Mobile plan except for Experience Beyond.

One appeal of these plans, especially in the context of families, is the set of included streaming services. The Better Value plan and Experience More plan both include Netflix Standard with Ads and Hulu, and Apple TV can be added for $3 per month.

Important qualifications

Here’s where the fine print comes in, and it appears that T-Mobile is aiming to inspire and reward loyalty.

If you’re switching from a different carrier, the Better Value plan requires three or more lines and two eligible ports. Although it’s likely a family or small business would be transferring from another provider and not keeping its other lines, Better Value is an effort to build up group plans and incentivize switching away from other carriers.

If you’re already set up with T-Mobile, the Better Value plan requires that you have been a T-Mobile postpaid customer for at least five years. And if you have that much tenure, you should be aware that your current plan might have taxes and fees included, whereas the Better Value plan doesn’t.

The Better Value plan will be available in the T-Life app and on T-Mobile.com. When you enter a retail T-Mobile store, you’ll likely be directed to the app or website with the assistance of an employee.

See also: I got an in-depth look at T-Mobile’s emergency response programs.

Technologies

Pluto TV to Stream 49 ‘Survivor’ Seasons for Free

The 50th season of the competition series is set to air on CBS in February.

Pluto TV might help you plan your next reality TV binge. All 49 seasons of the competition series Survivor will stream on demand on the service later this month.

The Survivor catalog will arrive ahead of the landmark 50th season of Survivor, which airs on CBS on Feb. 25. You can currently watch the previous 49 seasons with a Paramount Plus subscription, which starts at $8 per month (or $9 after a price hike on Jan. 15). Pluto’s route is free, but it comes with ads.

There will be two ways to watch: Pluto’s dedicated 24/7 Survivor channel, which will stream episodes in chronological order, or you can stream episodes on demand.

The channel marathon and on-demand availability begin on Jan. 24 at 5:15 p.m. ET.

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

For more information on Pluto and other free, ad-supported streaming services, check out our roundup of the best options.