While waiting for all the remaining parts for the Tycho Deep Space capsule it is a good time to attack all the other issues such as buoyancy, hatch, control panels, parachutes and more.

One subsystem is very dear to me: the seat. As an architect I am always very excited about this. The seat is what specifically distinguishes payload spaceflight from human spaceflight. It is the vital part that integrates a human being with the machine. Except in space station missions the seat is where you live, eat, enjoying the calls of nature, control your flight and hopefully enjoy the entire ride, the...

Nokia recently debuted its Lumia 800 smartphone. Photo: Mike Isaac/Wired.com

Happy Holidays! You’re fired.

That’s what many Nokia Siemens employees will hear while they prepare for winter vacation, as the Finnish-German mobile company announced plans to lay off 17,000 workers over the next two years, nearly one quarter of its workforce.

As the joint-venture of Nokia and Siemens, the mobile infrastructure-focused business has remained largely unprofitable since its inception in 2006, and has struggled to compete with mobile marketshare leader Ericsson AB. Nokia Siemens also faces stiff...