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DETROIT (AP) — Another death has been linked to dangerous Takata air bag inflators by U.S. regulators, the 28th in the United States.

The driver was killed in 2018 in Alabama in a Honda vehicle, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said, but gave no further details. It says the death underscores the need for people to replace recalled air bag inflators.

Takata used ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion to inflate air bags in a crash. But the chemical can deteriorate over time due to high heat and humidity and explode with too much force. That can blow apart a metal canister and send shrapnel into the passenger compartment. More than 400 people in the U.S. have been hurt.

Worldwide at least 36 people have been killed by Takata inflators in Malaysia, Australia and the U.S.

Honda said in a statement that the Alabama death occurred in Etowah County and involved a 2004 Honda Civic. It involved a high speed crash which complicated efforts to definitively determine the cause of death. read more

NASA’s second mobile launcher needed for future missions in the Artemis program is already years late and millions over budget, and NASA’s Office of the Inspector General warns it could get even worse.

In an audit released last week, the OIG said the mobile launcher 2 (ML-2), which was originally awarded a $383 million contract in 2019 for delivery by 2023 but only began construction at Kennedy Space Center last August, could continue to see ballooning costs and delays so that once delivered it will cost taxpayers more than $2.7 billion and not be ready until 2029.

“Despite progress since our last report, NASA has struggled to develop a reliable cost and schedule estimate for the ML-2 project and incentivize significant improvement in contractor performance,” reads the OIG report. “Given the importance of ML-2 for future Artemis missions, it is critical that NASA effectively manage the project to control cost increases and avoid further schedule delays.”

The first Artemis launch took place in 2022 on the existing mobile launcher (ML-1), but ML-2 is needed to support a larger version of the Space Launch System rocket that will be used beginning with the Artemis IV mission. read more