NASA modded space station’s laptops so everyone could use the same charger — standardizing ISS chargers eliminated useless weight and reduced failure points

NASA modded space station's laptops so everyone could use the same charger — standardizing ISS chargers eliminated useless weight and reduced failure points

The astronauts in the ISS aren’t still using old modded laptops like the one showcased in the NASA Stennis visitor center. The latest updates came in April this year, with over 100 HP Z Workstations packing a mix of Core Ultra 9 processors and RTX Pro Blackwell graphics sent into orbit.

HP talks about putting these PCs through two years of rigorous testing ahead of deployment. We don’t get much in the way of technical info from its release, but again, it was recognized that a single power standard was important. The computer maker supplies universal AC/DC power adapters with its latest crop of space laptops that are specially designed to function on both the ISS and Earth.

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Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason. ","collapsible":{"enabled":true,"maxHeight":250,"readMoreText":"Read more","readLessText":"Read less"}}), "https://slice.vanilla.futurecdn.net/13-4-25/js/authorBio.js"); } else { console.error('%c FTE ','background: #9306F9; color: #ffffff','no lazy slice hydration function available'); } Mark Tyson Social Links Navigation News Editor Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.

King_V Honestly, while USB-C is becoming the standard for laptop charging, there is absolutely NO reason that laptop manufacturers needed to all use different sizes (and sometimes shapes) for their charging ports. I mean, other than selling replacement chargers/profit motive. It goes without saying: Having a universal, standardized charging port isn't… rocket science . (thank you all, you've been a wonderful audience) Reply

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