As of 07:15 (UTC+7), 7 November 2026
Tech news for November 7, 2026: Elon Musk said on X that Starlink satellites packed with high-speed lasers could outcompete undersea cables. Firefly Aerospace signed a deal worth more than $1.3 billion to supply engines for AST SpaceMobile’s new Blacklift rocket. OpenAI published BioBasicsBench, a 100-task test of AI on everyday wet-lab work. Crusoe said Google has acquired its southeast Wyoming data center site, and Samsung put Galaxy Buds On and Galaxy SmartTag3 on sale in the US.
Elon Musk says Starlink lasers at over 10 Tb/s could outcompete undersea cables
What happened
On 6 November 2026 Elon Musk posted on X that “~100 lasers per satellite, each operating above 10 Tb/s, with over 100k satellites should be able to outcompete undersea cables.” The post is Musk’s own statement of targets for inter-satellite laser links; SpaceX has not published a V4 specification sheet that matches those figures, so they remain company claims rather than deployed performance.
Why it matters
Most long-haul internet still rides undersea fibre. A working mesh of high-rate space lasers would give travellers and remote networks another path when cables are cut or congested, but the figures Musk posted are targets, not a service you can buy today.
Source: Elon Musk on X, 6 Nov
Firefly Aerospace signs $1.3B+ engine deal as AST SpaceMobile builds Blacklift rocket
What happened
Firefly Aerospace said on 6 November 2026 that it had signed an agreement with AST SpaceMobile worth more than $1.3 billion to deliver 36 rocket engines, provide a license to the engines’ intellectual property, and offer engineering support over three years for AST SpaceMobile’s new heavy-lift rocket. Firefly will deliver 27 Miranda engines and nine vacuum-variant Vira engines for AST’s first three rockets. AST SpaceMobile will pay in cash and Class A common stock. Firefly says the deal is non-competitive by design and that it keeps full ownership of its engine IP. It also says Miranda has completed more than 175 hot-fire tests lasting more than 4,200 seconds.
According to Payload Space, AST SpaceMobile announced the same day that it is building Blacklift, a 20-ton rocket for its BlueBird direct-to-phone constellation. Payload quotes founder and CEO Abel Avellan calling Blacklift “the springboard to significantly expand our total addressable market.”
Why it matters
AST wants phones to get broadband from its satellites without a special dish. Building its own launcher would give it more control over when those satellites fly, which matters for anyone counting on space-based mobile coverage in places with weak terrestrial networks.
Source: Firefly Aerospace IR, 6 Nov; Payload Space, 6 Nov
OpenAI launches BioBasicsBench to test AI on 100 everyday wet-lab tasks
What happened
OpenAI published BioBasicsBench on 6 November 2026. The benchmark has 100 tasks across five areas of routine wet-lab work: protein methods, imaging and cytometry, quantification and assays, nucleic acid methods, and molecular cloning. OpenAI says the tasks test whether agents can interpret raw experimental data, identify errors, and recognize when the evidence cannot support a conclusion.
At the “xhigh” reasoning setting, OpenAI reports that GPT‑6 Astra earned an average of 66.7% of the available credit, compared with 43.8% for GPT‑5.6 Sol. The company says the results show progress on routine lab analysis, with room to improve on images, controls and experimental context.
Why it matters
Lab AI that misreads a gel or skips a bad control can send researchers down the wrong path. A public scoreboard for those everyday skills makes it easier to see which models are actually useful at the bench, not only on polished paper figures.
Source: OpenAI, 6 Nov
Crusoe says Google has acquired its southeast Wyoming data center site
What happened
Crusoe announced on 6 November 2026 that Google has acquired its data center site in southeast Wyoming. Crusoe says the deal completes its pre-development work on the project. It also says it initiated the Wyoming campus with Tallgrass Energy through joint development of power and data center infrastructure, including a hybrid power strategy.
Why it matters
AI companies are racing for land, power and permits. When a developer hands a prepared site to a hyperscaler, it shows how scarce shovel-ready capacity has become — and why data-center politics keep showing up in local elections.
Source: Crusoe newsroom, 6 Nov
Samsung puts Galaxy Buds On and Galaxy SmartTag3 on sale in the US
What happened
Samsung’s US Newsroom said on 6 November 2026 that Galaxy Buds On and Galaxy SmartTag3 are available to buy starting that day. Galaxy Buds On use a clip-on design. Samsung prices them at $229.99 in Black and says they offer up to 9.5 hours of music playback on a single charge and up to 38 hours of total usage with the charging case.
Galaxy SmartTag3, Samsung says, offers long-range finding, cross-OS support and fast location updates through the Galaxy Find Network. A one-pack is $29.99 and a four-pack is $99.99.
Why it matters
Clip-on buds and a thinner tracker are practical for travel days: lighter ears on long walks, and a tag you can put on a bag or keys when you are changing cities. Cross-OS finding matters if your travel group mixes Android and iPhone.
Source: Samsung Newsroom US, 6 Nov
Frequently asked questions
What did Elon Musk say about Starlink lasers?
In a 6 November 2026 X post, Musk wrote that about 100 lasers per satellite, each operating above 10 Tb/s, across more than 100,000 satellites should be able to outcompete undersea cables. Those are his stated targets, not a published V4 data sheet.
What is AST SpaceMobile’s Blacklift?
According to Payload Space, AST SpaceMobile announced Blacklift on 6 November as a 20-ton rocket for its BlueBird constellation. The same day, Firefly Aerospace said it signed a deal worth more than $1.3 billion to supply Miranda and Vira engines, a manufacturing license and three years of engineering support.
What is OpenAI BioBasicsBench?
BioBasicsBench is OpenAI’s 100-task benchmark of routine wet-lab analysis. At the xhigh setting, OpenAI reports GPT-6 Astra at 66.7% mean reward versus 43.8% for GPT-5.6 Sol.
What did Crusoe announce about Wyoming?
Crusoe said on 6 November 2026 that Google has acquired its southeast Wyoming data center site, completing Crusoe’s pre-development work there with Tallgrass Energy.
Sources checked on 7 November 2026 (UTC+7). Each story links to its official source or names the outlet that reported it.
TravelyData summarises public announcements and reports for general information. Details can change. Check the linked sources before you act.
