Rocket Lab is on a roll this week. After successfully returning to launch following a failure in July, the company announced that it has received FAA clearance to launch small satellites from its Electron rockets in the US. So far, all its missions have flown from the Launch Complex 1 (LC-1) facility in New Zealand, but it can now officially operate from its LC-2 pad at Wallops Island, Virginia.

Rocket Lab unveiled the Wallops site late in 2018 and had the opening ceremony towards the end of last year. The company also built a third launch complex in New Zealand, all to serve its goal of eventually launching up to 130 Electron rockets per year. It hopes a lot of those will be for US government customers, so the FAA permit is a big step to “streamline the path to orbit and enable responsive space access from US soil,” the company wrote in a press release.

The Proterra-powered school buses, equipped with 220kWh batteries, have zero emissions while being quieter and more comfortable than current models. Using 60kW DC faster chargers, they can be charged in about three hours. In addition, they’re equipped with V2G (vehicle to grid) tech, so Dominion will be able to use them for backup during brown- or blackouts. The plan is to eventually replace all 13,000 diesel models in the state with electric ones by 2030, with 1,000 on the road by 2025.

School buses are good candidates for electrification, as most run two short routes and have long breaks for recharging. On top of that, they’re usually back at the garage at 5PM, just in time to protect the grid during peak usage hours. By comparison, diesel buses pollute both outside and inside the cabin and create as much carbon monoxide as five cars, according to Dominion. It estimates that replacing a single diesel bus with an electric one can save a school district $700 per month in gas an service costs.

It’s not fair to say that the program is pollution-free, however. Virginia is one of the most polluting states in the US when it comes to generating electricity, with about 61 percent coming from coal and natural gas in 2017. The state wants 15 percent of its power to come from renewable energy by 2025, but right now, wind and solar are barely in the mix.

The Federal Aviation Administration has granted Wing an expanded Air Carrier Certificate. It has permission to “allow multiple pilots to oversee multiple unmanned aircraft making commercial deliveries simultaneously to the general public.” UPS also received FAA certification for commercial deliveries this month, but it will stick to hospitals and medical campuses for now.

Folks in Christiansburg can order goods from Walgreens or Sugar Magnolia through the Wing app, and a drone will drop off their order to a pre-determined location in their yard or driveway. They can also opt in to have FedEx Express deliveries made by drone. The trial follows other Wing pilot projects in Australia and Finland.

The public tests fulfill a promise to start testing in 2019, and come right as Daimler is solidifying its strategy. It recently created an Autonomous Technology Group to handle the roadmap for self-driving trucks, starting with narrowly defined uses like this.

Don’t expect to see these machines regularly hauling cargo, however. While testing is underway, Daimler expects a lot of work over the next decade. The challenge now is to refine the technology and make it truly road-ready. These machines have to be intelligent enough to handle rough weather and complex environments without fail, and it could take years before they’re up to the job.

Now that the televisions have been rounded up and “TV Santa Claus,” as the neighbors so cleverly dubbed the prankster, has been deemed harmless, we have a few questions — ten, actually.

1. Let’s start broad. Why’d you do it?
2. Do you work alone? Police believe there are at least two of you.
3. Why the old clunkers? The cost of flat-screens has come down.
4. Is this a statement against cord cutting and streaming?
5. Can you tell us about your inspiration? As one homeowner said, “It was very Twilight Zone.”
6. How do you feel about the nickname you’ve been given: TV Santa Claus?
7. Were you involved in the similar shenanigans last year, when TVs appeared on doorsteps in Glen Allen, Virginia?
8. Is this a senior prank or a way to impress your new college friends?
9. Did you intend to bring a flicker of joy to news typically dominated by doom?
10. Will we see you again?

Okay, I know we said ten questions, but on behalf of a Twitter user, we have to ask: are those your eggs?

those are his eggs https://t.co/M1Q3mhUxKb

— zara tustra (@zarawesome) August 13, 2019

The approval came despite protests from residents and activist groups. They’re concerned that Arlington and Virginia are catering to a wealthy company at the expense of the community, potentially pushing out lower-income people. They’ve also highlighted complaints about Amazon’s pay and working conditions. Amazon and its proponents have argued that the Virginia location will create jobs, fuel tax revenue and spark investments in the region.

It’s a small victory at a time when Amazon is facing a significant backlash. The company abandoned the New York City portion of its headquarters after facing opposition from politicians for many of the same reasons seen in Virginia. The approval isn’t so much a victory for the company as a relief at a time when its expansion plans aren’t guaranteed to move forward.