Science & Technology — October 4, 2026

NASA's Roman telescope opens its planet-hunting eye. The Roman Space Telescope demonstrated stable pointing and gave its planet-imaging coronagraph a first look at the cosmos, a milestone timed with World Space Week.

Science Daily noted the instrument checkout coincided with the start of World Space Week, which this year falls on the 69th anniversary of Sputnik's launch. The outlet characterized the observatory's pointing performance as remarkable, a key requirement for the coronagraph, which is designed to image planets directly and had not previously observed the sky.

Science Daily · Read more →

Google tests AI data centers in space. Four AI processors will launch on a SpaceX rocket under Project Suncatcher, testing whether data-center components can survive orbit as backlash grows against ground-based facilities.

Scientific American · Read more →

Apple tightens Mac file access over AI risks. macOS will restrict Full Disk Access permissions, with Apple warning that increasingly capable AI agents make broad access to files, messages, and browsing history risky.

Ars Technica · Read more →

OpenAI safety employee resigns with public warning. David Robinson, who wrote safety reports for every major model release, quit and called for nuclear-grade AI regulation, challenging the voluntary White House pact signed days earlier.

The Verge reports Robinson published his warning in The Atlantic. His argument that oversight should match the stringency applied to nuclear technology stands in contrast to the self-governing approach the industry endorsed at the White House, a juxtaposition the outlet frames as a direct challenge to that agreement given how recently it was signed.

The Verge · Read more →