Communication satellites orbit 22,000 miles above the earth to provide wide area coverage as the earth rotates. That’s a long way up, and once solid propellants are depleted, orienting the spacecraft becomes impossible and the satellite is retired. Northrop Grumman has demonstrated a new robotic service satellite that attaches to communication satellites to provide orientation and extend their service life. The result could be lower broadband costs for millions of users.Moore’s Law has been around for half a century, in the end of transistor density and computer chips has been predicted for decades. Real physical limits do exist, but a new project from the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency promises to give CMOS technology new life in high-performance computing applications. The key is cryogenics, with new forms of MOSFET operating at liquid nitrogen temperatures. The agency is opening the research to commercial participation.Autonomous driving technology continues to advance, with Intel’s Mobileye inking a deal to create a large fleet of autonomous delivery vehicles with Silicon Valley-based Udelv. The project promises to create a large fleet of self driving delivery vehicles optimized for last mile service, in response to the dramatic increase in online shopping brought about by Covid 19. The project plans on 35,000 vehicles in use by 2028.Access all episodes of This Week in Engineering on Engineering TV along with all of our other series.