AeroVironment announces joint venture for high-altitude, solar-powered drone, SpaceX shows videos of Falcon Heavy standing upright on launch pad and Snapchat may force users to watch three seconds of ads before skipping.

AeroVironment Announces Joint Venture for High-Altitude, Solar-Powered Drone

AeroVironment announced the formation of a joint venture with Japan’s SoftBank Corp. to develop solar-powered, high-altitude, long-endurance, unmanned aircraft as a telecommunications platform, according to a press release. The joint venture, named HAPSMobile, is 95 percent funded and owned by Japan-based telecommunications operator SoftBank Corp. and 5 percent funded and owned by AeroVironment.

SpaceX Shows Videos of Falcon Heavy Standing Upright on Launch Pad

SpaceX has released photos and video showing off the vertical, fully assembled Falcon Heavy on the pad it’s going to take off from later this week, The Verge reports. On Dec. 28, SpaceX did what is known as a “fit check” of the rocket, to see if the Falcon Heavy can travel to its launch pad and stand upright.

Snapchat May Force Users to Watch 3 Seconds of Ads before Skipping

Snapchat is weighing whether it will force people to sit through three seconds of advertisements before offering a skip option, Ad Age reports. Advertisers and media partners familiar with the company’s thinking say serious consideration is being given to such a plan because its young users often skip commercial interruptions within less than a second.