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Space

SpaceX Aims To Begin Flight Tests Of New Mars Rocket In First Half Of 2019, Musk Says

By Marc Selinger

Monday, March 12th, 2018

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SpaceX Aims To Begin Flight Tests Of New Mars Rocket In First Half Of 2019, Musk Says

Falcon Heavy lifts off from Florida during its first flight Feb. 6, 2018. (Photo: SpaceX)

The Big Falcon Rocket (BFR), which SpaceX is developing to colonize Mars, is on a path to begin flight tests in the first half of 2019, according to company founder Elon Musk.Initial tests will probably be short up-and-down flights, Musk said March 11 at the South by Southwest Conference in Austin, Texas. Musk acknowledged that the test schedule could change.“I’m feeling pretty optimistic about the timeline, although … people have told me that my timelines historically have been optimistic,” Musk said. “So…

Congress

House Republicans’ Blueprint For Reconciliation 3.0 Includes $60 Billion For Defense

House Republicans on Wednesday unveiled a blueprint for a third reconciliation bill that includes $60 billion for defense, a figure slightly below the Trump administration’s request to cover Iran war […]

Congress

Senate Dems Block Consideration Of FY ‘27 NDAA Over Iran War Concerns

Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked a vote to advance consideration of the chamber’s $1.14 trillion fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization (NDAA). The procedural vote was 46-50, failing to reach […]

Congress

Concerns Raised At SASC Hearing On Unobligated Reconciliation Funds And Lack Of Updates On Iran War Cost

Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) raised concerns at a hearing on Tuesday about the majority of funds in the $153 billion first reconciliation bill being unobligated thus […]

Unmanned Systems

CBO Says Upfront Costs To Protect Military Installations From Drones Between $1 Million And $74 Million

The initial costs to acquire and deploy counter-small unmanned aircraft system (C-sUAS) defenses at individual Defense Department installations are estimated at between $1.2 million and $73.6 million depending on the […]