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The Goop founder wore the original, in red, to the 1996 MTV VMAs.

Watch Live: SpaceX To Launch Google AI Chips Into Orbit In Push For Space-Based Data Centers

Specialized chips Google designed to run artificial intelligence workloads will be catapulted into low Earth orbit on Thursday afternoon atop a Falcon 9 rocket from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base, with hopes of making data centers in space a reality amid growing backlash on the ground that has sent many terrestrial projects into a tailspin.

Up next, Falcon 9 will launch 130 payloads to orbit from California aboard the Transporter-18 mission. Liftoff is targeted for 11:22 a.m. PT → https://t.co/ITRKTeX0fu pic.twitter.com/A8dZsF7H4b

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 1, 2026

The Falcon 9 launch, scheduled for 2:18 pm Eastern time as part of the Transporter-18 mission, will carry a solar-powered satellite prototype equipped with Google's tensor processing units. This is the first orbital test for Project Suncatcher, Alphabet's effort to deploy data center satellites in low Earth orbit, where power is abundant and regulation is nonexistent.

In a pre-launch announcement, Alphabet said Project Suncatcher is a means of "exploring whether space could one day host scalable machine learning infrastructure."

"In low Earth orbit, satellites can access near-constant sunlight, generating up to eight times more solar power than on Earth. Eventually, it could be possible to link together multiple constellations of satellites, allowing them to manage larger AI workloads while in orbit," the tech giant said.

Alphabet has already tested its TPUs running AI workloads in a specialty lab at the University of California, Davis, but the real test of how its chips will perform in space is nearing and could mark the acceleration of a space-economy boom. The inflection point of the space economy has been the emergence of SpaceX and its rocket development, as well as its blockbuster IPO this summer. 

Much of the space economy hinges on economics, as the commercialization of SpaceX's Starship appears to be getting closer and will drive launch costs even lower.

But as we previously highlighted, Deutsche Bank's research over the summer points to one major hurdle: orbital data centers still can't compete economically today with facilities on Earth, but that may eventually change at the end of the decade:

To set a baseline, DB's Edison Yu assumes upfront capex for 1 GW of AI compute on the ground is $38bn and requires $900mm in annual opex (power, maintenance, labor, etc…), translating into $42.5bn over 5 years (based on Epoch AI analysis). Of this amount, compute represents $21bn which carries over to orbital data centers at a 10% mark-up to account for overprovisioning in case of GPU failures. It is likely that GPU failures will not be addressed directly by maintenance but simply each satellite will just operate at lower power in the event of a failure. Therefore, the non compute costs for terrestrial are $21.5bn and ODC essentially has to break below this level post overprovisioning or $19.5bn to be at parity. Looking forward, DB assumes the cost of terrestrial increases going forward. To illustrate, NVIDIA's CEO Jensen Huang recently commented at GTC Taipei 2026 that a new 1 GW "AI factory" could approach $100bn in cost with roughly half being compute-related.

Using current SpaceX launch vehicles and satellite designs, DB estimates the near term cost of deploying a 1 GW space data center constellation would be 6x higher than terrestrial (ex-compute). This gap can narrow to 1.0-1.5x later by end of the decade and then eventually be cheaper in the early-mid 2030s. This reduction is primarily driven by Starship (rapid reusability) and aggressive optimization/scaling of the AI-series satellites (we also refresh the DB Orbital Data Center Model which goes deeper into the economic viability of launching AI infrastructure into orbit)

Even if orbital data centers become economically viable and cost-competitive with ground facilities, engineering challenges remain, such as managing temperature extremes and shielding chips from radiation. 

Watch Rocket Launch Live:

Tyler Durden Thu, 10/01/2026 - 14:03

There's good reason why this juicy legal drama is getting the spot usually reserved for The Pitt.

Can the New York Jets bounce back in Week 4 against the Chicago Bears? NY Post Jets beat writer Brian Costello, Ryan Sampson, and Frankie Vittorini break down everything you need to know ahead of Sunday’s crucial matchup at Soldier Field and if the Jets can pull off the upset.

New York Attorney General Letitia James is launching a “review” of the so-called “Cornell 7" gang rape case, her office says.

The exes split in May and finalized their divorce in July.

The exes split in May and finalized their divorce in July.

Earle recently said she's never read a book, save for “Like, maybe Dr. Seuss.”

The Pope will be watching.

The president told Time magazine the White House "was just a disgraceful dump" when he started his second term.

Debt Crisis Back? European Bond Markets Crash, CDS Explode Amid France Budget Panic Contagion

It's starting to smell awful sovereigny crisisy in Europe all over again.

In a vivid deja vu to the peak European debt crisis days of 2010 (and 2011... and 2012... and 2015), credit spreads, credit default swaps and the risk premium in euro-area government bonds exploded on Thursday to levels not seen in over a decade, following a rout sparked by concerns around France’s fiscal and political situation which in addition to local social chaos, is starting to spill over into other markets.

The spread between Italy and Germany’s two-year yields almost doubled to 55 basis points on Thursday, the biggest daily jump since 2020 on a closing basis.

The equivalent gap for France rose as much as 22 basis points, the most since 2012.

Meanwhile, the spread between 10Y French OATs and 10Y Bunds has soared to 1.41%, the highest going back to the 2012 European Sovereign debt crisis.

A measure of French bond risk reached another milestone this week as investors positioned for political upheaval next year and an ongoing deterioration in the country’s public finances. The widely watched spread between France and Germany’s 10-year yields jumped 14 basis points ... 

... to 141 basis points, already the widest since 2012.

Amid the bond rout, French CDS has more than doubled in the past month on mounting fiscal viability fears. 

French credit got monkeyhammered ahead of today's French budget presentation, which plans to consolidate to a deficit of 5% for next year versus 5.4% expected this. This is how Goldman economist Alex Stott explained it: 

“Today is only the formal presentation of the budget. I am not expecting to learn much new relative to the interview Lecornu gave two weeks ago. The more important information will likely be RN's counter-proposal due next Tuesday, which will give us a sense of the concessions they will ask for in the bill, as well as their plans for the economy if they win the elections. Regarding the budget process, I am expecting it to be very drawn out, potentially lasting until mid-December or early next year. What could accelerate the timeline is if more acute market stress forces political parties to a quicker compromise”

Alex has also modeled France's medium term debt-GDP path here, which Goldman sees rising to 125% at start of next decade.

In a nutshell, the issue with France is that:

1. Average interest rate is set to rise to 3% from 2%
2. The primary balance required to stabilise debt is +1% on Goldman's market forecasts; like many countries but one that France has rarely achieved (95th percentile over past 35 years)
3. If you take market rates its even worse; would need to run a 2% primary surplus, something that has never been achieved
4. We have elections and policy uncertainty.

As for why the OAT-Bund spread is moving now, some more from Stott:

“past few sessions of spreads widening have not come on the back of any fundamental news. Our current-quarter growth tracking has been pretty stable at 0.1% over the last month, the deficit and budget news were in line with expectations, and polls have been relatively stable too. But clearly have a difficult market backdrop with moves in energy/rates and election uncertainty. Plus would also note discussion around Melenchon’s rise in 1st round polls to second. Though our simulation give him little change of winning in second round (exhibit 7 here: https://tinyurl.com/msm344p9) his proposal to cancel French debt held at Banque de France is the kind of deep tail which can lead to bigger market moves even if his winning probability only shifts slightly”

French Primary Balance, and Balance Required to Stabilise Debt to GDP

Today's violent moves came as German bonds rallied sharply as investors rushed for the region’s "safest" asset (which is ironic for a country whose entire manufacturing sector has been gutted by China), while dumping everything else. Curiously, Treasury yields also surged during the European session, as locals dumped US paper alongside the periphery, although the selloff ended the moment Europe closed.

The nervousness suggests the selloff in French markets caused by the nation’s struggle to get a grip on runaway public finances is starting to sap risk appetite more broadly, as we first laid out two months ago in "France's €107 Billion Deficit Shock: The Next Euro Debt Crisis?"

“France has been slowly but steadily breaking,” said Mike Riddell, lead manager of Fidelity International’s Strategic Bond Fund. “But today feels like the first day that broader financial markets have noticed.”

He's right: 

• ITALY-GERMANY TWO-YEAR BOND YIELD SPREAD WIDENS MOST SINCE 2020
• GERMANY-FRANCE 10Y YIELD SPREAD CLOSES 14BPS WIDER AT 141BPS

There were also signs that markets are starting to price the toll from higher yields - which tighten financial conditions - on the economy. Traders slashed wagers on the extent of further interest-rate hikes from the European Central Bank, and swaps are no longer fully pricing three more quarter-point increases. As recently as Tuesday, they were betting on at least four more. 

“The price action is very unusual,” said Rohan Khanna, head of European rates strategy at Barclays. “We are reducing ECB rate hike expectations, yet the EGB complex, with the exception of Germany and the Netherlands, is selling off. It is reminiscent of periods when bond market fragmentation was a major concern, such as during the European sovereign debt crisis.”

In other words, it is reminiscent of when Europe was on the verge - or already in - a debt crisis. 

As Bloomberg notes, investors and strategists also said the moves suggested hedge funds have been forced to capitulate on positions as the market moved against them and losses piled up.

“One of the favorite hedge fund carry trades was to own short dated France versus swaps,” added Fidelity’s Riddell. “Some of these positions must have been reduced the past few weeks, but it feels like a capitulation.”

Tyler Durden Thu, 10/01/2026 - 13:44

"Bro, everyone knows," Jane Doe wrote, adding that what had happened was "RUINING my life temporarily" and destroying her reputation.

It was a Little Freak meet-up.

Kate Upton has seen enough.

It’s a dead heat!

The “Heated Rivalry” producers are giving back. Jacob Tierney and Brendan Brady announced the launch of a real-life foundation named after Connor Storrie’s character Ilya Rozanov’s late mother. The Irina Foundation will champion LGBTQ and underserved communities through participation in sports and the arts. Kate Spade New York and the men’s grooming brand Harry’s have...

The “Heated Rivalry” producers are giving back. Jacob Tierney and Brendan Brady announced the launch of a real-life foundation named after Connor Storrie’s character Ilya Rozanov’s late mother. The Irina Foundation will champion LGBTQ and underserved communities through participation in sports and the arts. Kate Spade New York and the men’s grooming brand Harry’s have...

An SNL alum is shaking things up this season on Scrubs!

We've got some good news!

She’s a knockout — and she’ll knock you out.