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Elon Musk Reveals Twitter Rebrand And Changes Logo To “X”
After the controversial CEO spent a busy evening tweeting about the upcoming name change, today, the well-known bird logo has been axed.
Yes, you read that correctly, and no, this isn’t a late April Fool’s joke. The domain X.com now redirects to Twitter, following an announcement from owner Elon Musk last night amidst a flurry of Tweets.
The iconic Twitter bird logo, which has been used since 2010, has already been replaced by a temporary “X” logo, which Musk explained would probably be “refined” in the near future.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 23, 2023
Elon Musk has used the letter X repeatedly in his various projects and originally intended PayPal to be named “X.com”. At one point, the eccentric billionaire started a Twitter Spaces session called “No one talks until we summon Elon Musk,” where he sat silently for nearly an hour before unmuting himself and confirming he would change Twitter’s logo the following day, adding “we’re cutting the Twitter logo from the building with blowtorches”.
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Last night, Musk reportedly sent an email to Twitter employees announcing that the company would soon be known as X and that this was the last time he would email from a Twitter address, according to a Threads post from Zoe Schiffer, managing editor at news site Platformer. Schiffer added that she assumed Musk was talking about the new logo “since Twitter’s business was already renamed X Corp”.
There have been several controversial changes to the platform since its sale to the Tesla and SpaceX entrepreneur, but the rebranding to X.com is the clearest indication yet from Musk that the site is no longer the same social network it was before his takeover.
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UAE Prepares To Launch Two Satellites: Thuraya-2 And MBZ-SAT
HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum chaired the first meeting of the Supreme Space Council yesterday.
HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE, chaired the first meeting of the Supreme Space Council in Dubai on December 16, 2024. The session highlighted the UAE’s ambitious space plans and took stock of the sector’s economic progress.
The council emphasized the growing role of private companies in advancing space technologies, noting that their contributions are now equal to that of the public sector. Members also praised initiatives like the Space Economic Zones Programme, which are designed to fuel innovation and investment in the space industry.
خلال ترؤسنا الاجتماع الأول للمجلس الأعلى للفضاء، بحثنا الاستثمارات الوطنية والمشاريع المقبلة في قطاع الفضاء والذي يشهد تطوراً مستمراً… وجددنا التزامنا بدعم ومواصلة تنفيذ برامج طموحة لاستكشاف الفضاء الخارجي حيث وصل حجم الاستثمارات في هذا القطاع إلى 40 مليار درهم خلال السنوات… pic.twitter.com/etJ33OnuSu
— Hamdan bin Mohammed (@HamdanMohammed) December 16, 2024
Discussing the UAE’s space journey, HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum remarked, “The national space sector continues to grow and advance, and we take immense pride in the remarkable achievements we have accomplished over the years”.
Sheikh Hamdan also received updates on two upcoming satellite projects: Thuraya-2 and MBZ-SAT. Thuraya-2, developed by Space42, is slated for launch this December. Meanwhile, the MBZ-SAT, created by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), will soon follow. MBRSC, a major driver of the UAE National Space Programme, continues to lead the nation’s space-related developments.
Space42 took the opportunity to showcase its advancements, including ongoing collaborations between public and private entities. The company also outlined strategies to promote innovation, boost revenue streams, and create new opportunities for growth in the sector.
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The UAE’s current projects build on a growing legacy of space exploration. Back in 2020, the nation made headlines with its Mars mission, successfully sending a probe into the planet’s orbit in 2021. This mission, which is now in its second phase as of June 2024, has been collecting critical data to develop a comprehensive diurnal image of Mars.
The UAE also ventured into lunar exploration with an unmanned mission aimed at studying untouched regions of the Moon’s surface. While the probe ultimately crashed during its landing attempt after communication was lost seconds before touchdown, the effort represented a significant step in the country’s exploration ambitions.