Recommended Posts

Given a lowball total sea level thrust, and the higher efficiency (Isp) of methane in a FFSC engine, on the single core we're talking a much higher mass to orbit than Saturn V - which used RP-1 as fuel (rocket grade kerosene, lower Isp).

The tri-core would have a total thrust 3x that, a minimum of ~23 million lbf, plus a beast of a Raptor 2nd stage (can't say how beast-y yet), and a Raptor powered spacecraft.

That all adds up to an absolute monster of a rocket, one that'll need an advanced enough pad not to crush it on liftoff.

The US Air Force is paying SpaceX $4,252,654 to study integrating military payloads into Falcon 9 v1.1.

https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=c96ab2b2207c202c03bcf92a6226fdbb&tab=core&_cview=1

Contract Award Date:

March 10, 2014

Contract Award Number:

FA8811-14-C-0003

Contract Award Dollar Amount:

$4,252,654 (includes 1 option)

Contractor Awarded Name:

Space Exploration Technologies Corporation

Contractor Awarded DUNS:

120406462

Contractor Awarded Address:

1 Rocket Road Hawthorne, California 90250 United States

Synopsis:

Added: Jul 03, 2013 5:44 pm

THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION. THIS NOTICE IS FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY.

The United States Air Force (USAF), Launch Systems Directorate (LR) at the Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) located in El Segundo, CA intends to issue a sole source contract award to Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX); Cage Code: 3BVL8 located in Hawthorne, CA for early integration studies of SpaceX's launch vehicle Falcon 9 v1.1 and USAF space vehicles projected to launch in 2015. The statutory authority of this action is contracting by Other than Full and Open Competition, 10 USC ? 2304©(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1(a)(2). The early integration studies are unique to each potential launch service provider and its own launch vehicle configuration. SpaceX, as the sole owner and manufacturer of the Falcon 9 v1.1, possesses "unique capabilities" for this requirement (studies) because the study is on SpaceX's own unique launch vehicle. SpaceX possesses its own specific knowledge and resources of the launch vehicle it manufactures. With the unique capabilities, the study of the Falcon 9 v1.1 can only be satisfied by SpaceX.

>

  • 2 weeks later...

The F9R Dev-1 in NM has no upper stage and only 3 instead of 9 engines. Flight abort will need all of those and the trunk to be a valid test of a real launch configuration.

Vandenberg is also is close to LA and the shipping company used for Dragon recoveries at sea.

I do not know if they could fly back to landing area in New Mexico when launched from Vandenberg, but they planned F9R high altitude test and for that maybe need all 9 engines.

Also I think for in-flight abort test SpaceX will use dummy second stage, like Ares I-X second stage :-)

Only 3 engines with the F9R Dev-1. 9 engnes with no upper stage or payload would result in excessive acceleration loads.

More likely the flight abort test will use a full upper stage and propellant load to exactly match real launch conditions.

Financially for SpaceX is better to complete F9R landing testing ASAP, to start reusability of first stage. Current delays with Falcon 9 v1.1 launches probably good for company.

 

The question is how soon after successful F9R Dev-1 landing they could get permission to land near KSC and/or Vandenberg (this is why I mention possibility to land in New Mexico).

 

It would be pity to discard first stage (and maybe second stage) just for in-flight abort test of Dragon.

I do not remember any history of in-flight abort test for any spacecraft with real full size rockets... From the ground - yes. But in-flight (?)...

Did anyone spent real rocket(s) for any spacecraft in-flight abort test ?  Except "Little Joe" solid-fueled boosters testing, but those were not full size real flight rockets...

IIRC the first attempted full scale launch abort system test was Mercury Redstone 1, and it was the most screwed up. The "4 Inch Flight" looked like a comedy routine.

The rocket lifted off, rose 4 inches (10 cm), the engine shut down, then the Redstone rocket settled back on to the pad intact. Somehow.

Then the launch abort system tower separated from the Mercury capsule, fired and flew off by itself.

Then the drogue parachute deployed. Next the main parachute deployed. Both while still on the ground.

The mission control staff went nuts trying to figure out what to do. They decided on nothing because no one had a clue what else the silly thing had up its sleeve.

They left it on the pad until the next day to let the batteries die and the liquid oxygen evaporate. Then they safed it.

A manned DragonRider flight on Falcon Heavy is unconfirmed from the SpaceX end and may not be until the Falcon Heavy maiden flight (later in 2014 or early 2015.)

This could also be a simple error, being a reference to when NASA-crewed DragonRider flights commence on Falcon 9 (SpaceX crews will fly sooner.)

The proposed Brownsvill, Texas spaceport's Fish & Wildlife Biological and Conference Opinion is in. Looking good for the pending Environmental Impact Statement.

http://www.valleymorningstar.com/news/local_news/article_43691bf6-c127-11e3-a22e-001a4bcf6878.html

SpaceX clears hurdle

Feds say project ?not likely to jeopardize? wildlife

SpaceX has taken a major step forward in its proposal to develop the world?s first private and commercial vertical launch site and control center in Cameron County, the Valley Morning Star has found.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has issued its final Biological and Conference Opinion on the proposal, finding that the project at Boca Chica ?is not likely to jeopardize? the continued existence of the ocelot, sea turtles, jaguarundi and aplomado falcon, nor ?adversely modify? critical habitat for the piping plover, a bird that migrates to the Boca Chica beach area in winter.

The federal opinion also contains specific recommendations and conditions to avoid and minimize impact to species in the area.

Furthermore, the federal agency says in the opinion that the Federal Aviation Administration determined the proposed project ?may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect,? the West Indian manatee, an aquatic mammal protected by federal law.

?We concur and understand that in order to protect these species, FAA will ensure precautions and education outreach efforts will be enforced,? the opinion states.

Elon Musk?s Space Exploration Technologies did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Thursday afternoon.

The pivotal development comes in advance of FAA?s issuance of the final environmental impact statement on the SpaceX proposal and its ultimate decision, called a ?Record of Decision.?

?This is a critical step,? Cameron County Administrator Pete Sepulveda Jr. said of the developments. ?This is great news. It is a critical part of the project. It will ensure that the project gets final clearance from the FAA.?

Nick Serafy, chairman of the Cameron County Space Port Development Corp., established to facilitate the development of the aerospace industry in Cameron County starting with SpaceX?s project, said this bodes well for the project.

?I am delighted that we are moving in a positive direction and getting closer to a final report from the Federal Aviation Administration,? he said.

FAA spokesman Hank Price on Thursday told the Valley Morning Star that the FAA hopes to issue the final environmental impact study on SpaceX?s proposal in May.

?Following issuance of the final EIS, the FAA will have 30 days to work with the consulting agencies to discuss any potential mitigation issues, alternatives, other issues contained in the final EIS, and issue a Record of Decision,? Price said.

The project site is off State Highway 4, about a quarter-mile from Boca Chica Beach and about three miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. It is located about 6.5 miles south of Port Isabel and 18 miles east of Brownsville along the Gulf of Mexico coastline.

With nearly 50 launches on its manifest representing about $5 billion in contracts, the California-based SpaceX plans to invest $73,650,000 in the Boca Chica project, public records show.

The proposal calls for a commercial orbital complex at the Boca Chica site for the launch of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy orbital rockets and other smaller reusable suborbital vehicles. All Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches would carry commercial payloads, including satellites or experimental payloads, for delivery to the International Space Station. Besides standard payloads, the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy also could carry a capsule, such as the SpaceX Dragon capsule.

SpaceX?s investments in Cameron County, which started in 2012, continued into 2014 with the purchase of more tracts of land, bringing the total number of lots it now owns to 90, the Star found.

The total land area that SpaceX now owns through Dogleg Park LLC is roughly 37 acres, public records show. This is in addition to 56.5 acres that SpaceX has under lease. The California-based firm also has developed a subdivision called ?Mars Crossing.?

Hmmmm.....planning an Angara "upgrade"?

http://theaviationist.com/2014/04/17/russian-tug-off-us

RUSSIAN TUG OFF FLORIDA: SUPPORTING NUCLEAR ATTACK SUBS OR OBSERVING SPACEX LAUNCH?

The Russian tug ?Nikolay Chiker? is an ocean tag that has often deployed alongside Russian Navy?s high value assets. According to Information Dissemination, the ship accompanied Russia?s spy ship Viktor Leonovto Cuba last month, before moving off Florida, where it was parked on Mar. 15, ahead of the launch of Dragon spacecraft (Space Shuttle Orbiter replacement) on SpaceX?s Falcon 9 rocket scheduled of Mar. 16 from the SLC-40Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

However, the SpaceX launch was delayed and, since then, the ship has moved back and forth along U.S. East coast: it headed southbound, has made a port visit to Curacao, then it has operated in the Caribbean Sea and eventually returned more or less where it was on Mar. 15 and it is right now: off Cape Canaveral.

The fact that the tug moved off Cape Kennedyin the days of the scheduled launch of SpaceX and returned there in anticipation of the new launch window suggests that the ?Nilolay Chiker? is somehow interested in observing the Falcon 9 rocket and the Dragon spacecraft on the company?s third commercial resupply mission and fourth visit to the space station.

However, there?s someone who suggested that the ocean tug is actually supporting Russian nuclear attack submarines monitoring U.S. Navy East coast bases.

Hard to say.

For sure the Russian tug is not there by accident. During the Cold War, Russian and Americans have monitored each others special special operations, military exercises,invasions, maiden flights etc. This is not changed with the collapse of the USSR. On the contrary, close encounters (as the one in the Black Sea) and reciprocal snooping are probably going to increase.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • GitHub removes manual model selection from Copilot free and student plans by Karthik Mudaliar GitHub is removing the ability to manually select an AI model from its Copilot Free and Student plans, making its automatic routing system the default and only way to choose a model. This means users on these tiers will no longer be able to deliberately select a particular OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, or Microsoft model for a task. In its announcement, GitHub said Copilot Auto will dynamically choose what it considers the best model for each request. Free and Student accounts will retain access to models from multiple families, although the available selection will continue to depend on the restrictions attached to each plan. GitHub did not identify a fixed pool of models that Auto will always use, and its documentation warns that model availability can change over time. GitHub describes Auto as more than a random fallback system. On supported surfaces, its task-optimization technology evaluates the complexity of a request alongside real-time information about model health and availability. Straightforward prompts can be routed to faster and less expensive models, while more demanding coding tasks may be sent to higher-cost reasoning models. The company says this approach should reduce rate limiting, latency, and failed requests. Auto generally selects one model along natural prompt-caching boundaries rather than repeatedly switching models during a session, as GitHub found that mid-session changes increased costs without producing sufficient improvements in output quality. Users can still check which model generated a response. In Copilot Chat, the information appears when hovering over an answer, while Copilot CLI and the Copilot cloud agent display the selected model alongside their output. Auto is available in Copilot Chat, Copilot CLI, and the cloud agent, with the exact implementation and release status varying between supported development environments. The latest restriction follows several months of adjustments to Copilot’s individual plans. GitHub temporarily halted new Pro, Pro+, and Student subscriptions in April as it sought to manage demand and service reliability. It later introduced token-based billing and began gradually reopening individual-plan registrations on June 17. Alongside the picker change, GitHub is retiring the “Preview” label from Microsoft-developed models. It argues that the label is no longer necessary because Auto handles model routing and models are continuously updated behind the scenes.
    • Look up 'inflation' kid. Ask an AI for the numbers between both games.
    • Google reportedly set to lose two key Gemini and DeepMind researchers to Anthropic by Karthik Mudaliar Google is reportedly preparing to lose two more prominent artificial intelligence researchers, with Gemini contributors Jonas Adler and Alexander Pritzel planning to join rival AI developer Anthropic. According to a report from Bloomberg, both researchers are viewed internally as important contributors to Google’s flagship Gemini model family. Adler worked on Google’s AI coding efforts, while Pritzel was involved in the process used to train AI systems. Neither company has publicly confirmed the moves. The report also does not say when the researchers will formally leave Google or what positions they will hold at Anthropic. Training a large AI model requires decisions covering its architecture, data preparation, distributed computing infrastructure, and post-training methods that shape how the finished system behaves. Researchers with experience operating at the scale of Gemini are consequently difficult to replace quickly. Both Adler and Pritzel have previously contributed to Google DeepMind’s scientific research as well. They are listed among the authors of the company’s work on expanding AlphaFold protein-structure predictions across entire proteomes, alongside AlphaFold researchers including John Jumper. The reported departures arrive shortly after another important change within Google’s Gemini organization. Gemini co-lead Noam Shazeer is leaving Google for OpenAI, after returning to the search company in 2024 through its deal with Character.AI. Shazeer is particularly well known as one of the authors of the Transformer paper, whose architecture became the foundation for most modern large language models. Anthropic, meanwhile, has been recruiting recognizable figures from other leading laboratories. OpenAI co-founder and former Tesla AI director Andrej Karpathy joined Anthropic’s pre-training team in May. His move, followed by the reported recruitment of several Google researchers, suggests Anthropic is strengthening the research teams responsible for the core capabilities of future Claude models rather than concentrating solely on product and enterprise sales. The competition is complicated by the companies’ extensive commercial relationships. Anthropic competes directly with Google’s Gemini models, but it also relies on Google as an infrastructure partner. In April, Anthropic announced an expanded agreement with Google and Broadcom covering multiple gigawatts of next-generation Tensor Processing Unit capacity. TPUs are Google-designed accelerators used to train and run large AI models. via Bloomberg
    • This article makes my head hurt. Lots of confusing words
    • Google adds built-in computer control to Gemini 3.5 flash by Karthik Mudaliar Google has added Computer Use as a built-in tool in Gemini 3.5 Flash, giving developers a single model that can reason about a task and operate graphical interfaces across browsers, mobile devices, and desktop environments. The feature is available through the Gemini API and Google’s Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, although it remains a preview feature for now. Computer Use enables an AI agent to examine screenshots and return actions such as mouse clicks, scrolling, and keyboard input. A developer’s application must execute those actions, capture the resulting screen, and send it back to Gemini, creating a continuous loop until the task is completed. Google says the integration can be used for activities including repetitive form filling, application testing, research across multiple websites, and longer enterprise workflows. Gemini 3.5 Flash can work with browser, mobile, and desktop environments, whereas Google’s earlier standalone Computer Use model was primarily positioned around browser interaction. The main change is consolidation. Computer control was previously offered through the separate Gemini 2.5 Computer Use preview model. As Neowin reported when that model was introduced, it was designed to interpret a visual interface and generate actions without requiring a website-specific API. Google later brought Computer Use to preview versions of Gemini 3 Pro and Gemini 3 Flash in January 2026. The latest release now incorporates the tool into the stable Gemini 3.5 Flash model rather than requiring developers to select a specialized model solely for interface automation. Gemini 3.5 Flash itself was announced in May as Google’s latest fast model for coding and multi-step agent workflows. It supports a one-million-token input context window and up to 65,000 output tokens, along with adjustable thinking levels that let developers trade additional reasoning for lower latency and cost. Google also added that Gemini 3.5 Flash received targeted adversarial training for computer-use scenarios. The company is also offering safeguards that can require user confirmation before sensitive or irreversible actions and automatically stop a workflow when suspected prompt injection is detected. Its developer documentation describes configurable protections for areas such as financial transactions and changes to sensitive records. Google isn't the first to bring Computer Use to its platform. Anthropic has made computer control available through Claude, while OpenAI has continued improving computer-use performance in its recent models. Microsoft has also applied the concept to business workflows, including a Computer Use capability for the Researcher agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Dedicated
      Scoobystu earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • First Post
      Tom Schmidt earned a badge
      First Post
    • One Month Later
      D0nn13 earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Rookie
      +ChiefOfNeo went up a rank
      Rookie
    • One Year In
      Tom Schmidt earned a badge
      One Year In
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      463
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      177
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      124
    4. 4
      Michael Scrip
      79
    5. 5
      Xenon
      76
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!