Author: FlyMarshall Newsroom

NASA astronaut Jessica Meir inspects optical fibers while installing hardware updates to the agency’s Cold Atom Lab, or CAL, aboard the International Space Station on May 8, 2026. About the size of a minifridge and operated from Earth, CAL chills atoms to temperatures below minus 459 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 273.15 degrees Celsius), so close to absolute zero that they form a large quantum object called a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) — a fifth state of matter distinct from solids, liquids, gases, and plasma. In a BEC, scientists can observe the quantum properties of atoms at a scale visible to the naked…

The TWZ Newsletter Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy. A plan to attack the UFC America 250 event at the White House on June 14 with explosive drones was thwarted by the FBI, according to federal records. Exactly how capable those involved were of actually pulling it off remains unclear. However, the alleged plot amplifies concerns that TWZ has been documenting for years about threats posed by drones to critical facilities in the homeland and how they continue to change the national security picture at home and abroad. The long-standing potential…

France’s Renault Group will produce military drones with defense technology firm Thales, the companies said on Tuesday, marking a further push by the automaker into defense manufacturing.Renault will build Thales’ Toutatis remotely operated loitering munitions at one of its factories, with production of 1,000 units a month starting as early as next year, and targeting mainly overseas markets.The agreement, announced at the Eurosatory defense fair outside Paris, is the second partnership in defense between the two groups, which are also working together on a military vehicle. The companies said the deal would significantly ramp up France’s industrial capacity in a…

Rena Pacheco-Theard co-built Boutiq with first-hand knowledge of the host role. Before their years of building revenue management, her team operated properties: they learned through hard-earned experience why STR solutions work or fail when you are the one responsible for occupancy. As a Skift IDEA Awards judge, she brings that lens to every entry: not whether an idea reads well, but whether it overcomes an obstacle that operators actually face. Skift: What is one initiative or approach you’re most proud of that has positively impacted your business or the guest experience your partners can offer? Rena: At Boutiq, we stay…

Researchers using two of humanity’s most powerful observatories — NASA’s James Webb and Hubble Space Telescopes — have definitively shown that Terzan 5 is not a globular star cluster as it was once classified, offering new insight into how galaxies like our own form and evolve over time. A globular star cluster typically has only one ancient star population. New data not only confirms the existence of two distinct populations of stars in Terzan 5, but also provides evidence for two more recent rounds of star formation. Although located within the crowded bulge of our Milky Way, our galaxy’s central,…

Marriott began rolling out a conversational AI search tool on Tuesday, letting travelers use plain-English questions on its site and app to help them pick from more than 10,000 hotels. The world’s largest hotel company is pivoting away from the search boxes and filters that online search has used for decades. Launching “in beta”: Access starts with a subset of members and new signups in English, with a full global rollout planned for later this year. Marriott counts nearly 283 million Bonvoy members.Why it matters: M source

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station have switched on NASA’s newly upgraded Cold Atom Lab, a one-of-a-kind facility designed to improve how scientists explore the fundamental workings of matter and develop new quantum technologies. By leveraging the unique environment of microgravity in space, the lab can accomplish cutting-edge science impossible to do anywhere else. Quantum science is the study of matter at the smallest scales, like atoms, electrons, and single particles of light. While it’s easy to imagine atoms as billiard balls bouncing off one another, they also exhibit wave-like behavior, can exist simultaneously in two places at once, and…

The TWZ Newsletter Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy. The Franco-German KNDS company has presented a new main battle tank, which it is offering to France as an interim replacement for its Leclerc fleet. The development comes as France recognizes that it will need a Leclerc successor before the next-generation Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) becomes available. This joint French and German program is complicated and already delayed, while Europe at large is increasingly alert to the need for capable tanks and other armored vehicles as the threat from Russia grows,…

Center stage at last week’s Berlin airshow was the “wingman” drone, Europe’s latest-generation defense weapon designed to accompany fighter jets.As the war in Ukraine in particular has underscored the growing importance of drones and electronic warfare, European and U.S. defense forces are rapidly developing their own AI-powered drones to complement their fighter jets and carry extra sensors, jammers and weapons.In Berlin, four companies — Airbus, Boeing, Helsing and General Atomics — were looking to tout their latest designs of the technology to Germany’s military and beyond.Wingman drones, known as collaborative combat aircraft (CCA), range in size from small interceptors to…

This sponsored content was created in collaboration with a Skift partner. In 2026, “premiumization” is the word of the day in travel and hospitality. Regardless of sector, airfare class, chain scale, or price point, companies are under pressure to present premium products, services, and experiences.  Conventional wisdom pigeonholes the premium economy as luxury-seekers and five-star products. That only tells part of the story. In practice, travelers make dozens of choices on any given trip, and they don’t fit a monolithic mold. One customer may choose a five-star hotel but fly basic economy. Another may upgrade for a first-class flight before…