ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN NEWS) – Social media wasn’t supposed to be like this. Endless noise, manipulated algorithms, harassment buried under engagement metrics, and creators fighting just to be seen: it’s a landscape that rewards chaos over connection. Byio, a new platform built by Black women, is trying something radically different: slowing things down, putting people first, and making digital space intentional again.

Byio stands for “By Invite Only,” and it means that literally. You can’t just sign up. You join through a personal invite and each user only gets two. This isn’t exclusivity for the sake of hype. It’s a form of cultural quality control. Growth isn’t measured in downloads; it’s measured in alignment. The people behind Byio are building a digital space where values aren’t an afterthought.

Led by founder and CEO R.M. Easterly, Byio was created out of frustration not just with broken moderation systems or paywalled reach, but with the deeper issue of who gets to shape online culture. Black creators and communities have been disproportionately impacted by platform policies that erase or ignore them. Byio doesn’t just give them a voice — it gives them the blueprint.

What sets Byio apart isn’t a flashy feature list, though it has those: livestreaming, built-in monetization, creator gifting, e-commerce tools all built into the platform from day one

. But the real innovation is philosophical. Moderation isn’t only reactive. AI prompts are used to encourage users to pause before posting content that might escalate conflict. It’s not censorship — it’s digital self-awareness baked into the UX.

The platform launched in a staggered rollout known as the “TG10s” — the first 10,000 users who will help shape the culture. Discord is the current front porch of that community, with conversations already driving feedback and ideas. Some early supporters are even buying physical Byio stickers — not as access passes, but as expressions of belief in the mission.

And people are watching closely. Critics and newcomers alike are asking the right questions: Can a platform grow and still stay grounded? Will the AI moderation tools respect nuance and cultural context? Will creator monetization be fair and accessible? So far, the answers aren’t in grand promises but in the quiet, deliberate pace of how Byio is rolling out.

Compared to giants like Instagram, TikTok, or X, where the incentive structure leans heavily toward viral content and ad revenue, Byio feels like a platform pulling in the opposite direction. Even newer alternatives like Mastodon or Bluesky may tout decentralization, but they haven’t solved moderation or cultural bias at scale. Byio’s approach — tight-knit, human-led, AI-supported, culturally conscious — isn’t just unusual. It’s practically rebellious.

Byio isn’t for everyone. It’s not trying to be. But for creators, communities, and everyday users who’ve felt erased, misrepresented, or simply exhausted by the internet as it stands. This platform may be the start of something that doesn’t just look different, but feels different.

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Kareen Kennedy is the Assistant Editor for Florida National News
kareen.kennedy@floridanationalnews.com

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. (FNN) – Florida National News has learned that NASA’s latest mission, TRACERS (Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites), has officially launched and will soon begin studying Earth’s magnetic field to better understand how it protects the planet from the harmful effects of space weather.

NASA Launches TRACERS to Study Earth’s Magnetic Shield

The TRACERS mission lifted off Wednesday at 11:13 a.m. PDT (2:13 p.m. EDT) aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The twin spacecraft will fly closely together—just 10 seconds apart—making over 3,000 measurements in a single year to provide a detailed picture of magnetic reconnection, a process that impacts space weather and Earth’s atmosphere.

“NASA is proud to launch TRACERS to demonstrate and expand American preeminence in space science research and technology,” said acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy. “This mission will yield breakthroughs that will advance our pursuit of the Moon, and subsequently, Mars.”

Mission controllers successfully made contact with the second spacecraft three hours after separation, and a four-week commissioning period will now begin before science operations commence.

TRACERS’ Role in Understanding Magnetic Reconnection

TRACERS will orbit the polar cusp, an open region in Earth’s magnetic field near the North Pole. This area is critical for studying how solar wind—a stream of charged particles from the Sun—interacts with Earth’s magnetic field. The mission will investigate magnetic reconnection, where magnetic field lines from the Sun and Earth snap and realign, releasing intense bursts of energy.

These interactions cause charged particles to cascade into Earth’s atmosphere, affecting satellites, communication systems, and power grids. TRACERS will give scientists unprecedented insight into how fast and intensely these processes occur.

“The successful launch of TRACERS is a tribute to many years of work by an excellent team,” said David Miles, TRACERS principal investigator at the University of Iowa. “We’re excited to explore the dynamic processes driving space weather.”

Small Satellites Hitch a Ride with TRACERS

Alongside TRACERS, NASA deployed three additional small satellite missions:

• Athena EPIC: A demonstration satellite showing how modular SmallSat designs can lower costs and speed up deployment while measuring Earth’s outgoing longwave radiation.

• PExT: A polylingual experimental terminal using software-defined radios to connect across commercial and government networks—similar to cell phone roaming, but in space.

• REAL: A CubeSat investigating how high-energy electrons are scattered from the Van Allen radiation belts into Earth’s atmosphere, helping to protect astronauts and spacecraft.

Each mission contributes valuable data and technology demonstrations for future space operations.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (FNN) – In a historic moment, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission successfully launched from Space Launch Complex-40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 1:17 p.m. EDT on Saturday. The mission, which is the first human spaceflight to launch from this complex, signifies NASA’s ninth commercial crew rotation mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

Propelled by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the Dragon spacecraft carried NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov into orbit. The spacecraft is set to autonomously dock at the ISS’s Harmony module at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, September 29, where Hague and Gorbunov will join Expedition 72 for a five-month mission aboard the orbiting laboratory.

“This mission required a lot of operational and planning flexibility. I congratulate the entire team on a successful launch today, and godspeed to Nick and Aleksandr as they make their way to the space station,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Our NASA wizards and our commercial and international partners have shown once again the success that comes from working together and adapting to changing circumstances without sacrificing the safe and professional operations of the International Space Station.”

Throughout the flight, SpaceX will oversee a series of automated spacecraft maneuvers from its mission control center in Hawthorne, California, while NASA’s Mission Control Center at the Johnson Space Center in Houston will monitor operations aboard the ISS.

#SpaceX #Crew9 #NASA #Falcon9 #HumanSpaceflight

NASA will provide live coverage of rendezvous, docking, and hatch opening, beginning at 3:30 p.m., Sept. 29, on NASA+ and the agency’s website. NASA also will broadcast the crew welcome ceremony once Hague and Gorbunov are aboard the orbital outpost. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.

The duo will join the space station’s Expedition 72 crew of NASA astronauts Michael Barratt, Matthew Dominick, Jeanette Epps, Don Pettit, Butch Wilmore, and Suni Williams, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexander Grebenkin, Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner. The number of crew aboard the space station will increase to 11 for a short time until Crew-8 members Barratt, Dominick, Epps, and Grebenkin depart the space station in early October.

The crewmates will conduct more than 200 scientific investigations, including blood clotting studies, moisture effects on plants grown in space, and vision changes in astronauts during their mission. Following their stay aboard the space station, Hague and Gorbunov will be joined by Williams and Wilmore to return to Earth in February 2025.

With this mission, NASA continues to maximize the use of the orbiting laboratory, where people have lived and worked continuously for more than 23 years, testing technologies, performing science, and developing the skills needed to operate future commercial destinations in low Earth orbit and explore farther from Earth. Research conducted at the space station benefits people on Earth and paves the way for future long-duration missions to the Moon under NASA’s Artemis campaign, and beyond.

More about Crew-9

Hague is the commander of Crew-9 and is making his second trip to the orbital outpost since his selection as an astronaut in 2013. He will serve as a mission specialist during Expedition 72/73 aboard the space station. Follow @AstroHague on X and Instagram.

Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov is flying on his first mission. He will serve as a flight engineer during Expeditions 72/73.