SpaceX wants to launch a rocket every two weeks from its new Florida site

By Trevor Mogg Published February 7, 2017

SpaceX’s launch pad rocket explosion in September 2016 was a serious blow to the company’s reputation, but it soon got its project back on track with a faster-than-expected return to flight last month.

Clearly brimming with confidence, and determined as ever to move toward its ultimate goal of deep space exploration using reusable technology, SpaceX is about to ramp up its launch schedule to a level not seen in its seven-year history of rocket launches.

Recommended Videos

Making full use of its new launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Elon Musk’s space company is keen to undertake missions as often as twice a month. Speaking to Reuters on Monday, SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell said the team hoped to launch “every two to three weeks” from three sites in California and Florida.

Up to now, SpaceX has been helping to ferry supplies to astronauts aboard the International Space Station, and also working with private firms to put a range of satellites into orbit.

Looking ahead, SpaceX has plans to take astronauts to and from the ISS using its Dragon crew capsule. A trial launch of the capsule without crew is slated for the end of 2017, and will include rigorous testing of spacesuits, parachutes, and other related equipment.

After that, SpaceX wants to confirm the capsule’s capabilities with a crewed test flight in May 2018. If the team is happy with it, astronauts could be on their way to the ISS inside inside the SpaceX capsule by the end of next year.

There are still, however, a few creases to iron out before the first unmanned test flight. Shotwell said engineers are working to increase the efficiency of the Falcon 9 rocket engines, and also plan to redesign its turbopumps to prevent potentially dangerous cracks from occurring during future missions.

As noted by Reuters, SpaceX has more than 70 missions worth more than $10 billion lined up for lift-off. It can’t afford another disaster like the one it suffered in September, and it will be keen to get its new, more frequent launch schedule up and running just as soon as it can.

Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

Topics

Emerging Tech

Anker just exposed a big problem with portable power stations

Appliance, Device, Electrical Device

When you're shopping for a portable power station, there's one number that's almost impossible to ignore: battery capacity. A 2 kWh battery should give you roughly 2 kWh of usable power, right? Unfortunately, things aren't quite that simple. Anker SOLIX has published new efficiency data for its S Series portable power stations, and it's putting the spotlight on something that doesn't get nearly as much attention as capacity: how much of the energy stored inside the battery actually makes it to your devices.

According to Anker, portable power stations are commonly advertised with efficiency figures measured under relatively heavy loads, where they can reach roughly 89% to 92% efficiency. But that's not necessarily how most people use one during an outage. Think about what you'd actually plug in. A Wi-Fi router might sip power continuously, a refrigerator switches its compressor on and off throughout the day, and a CPAP machine could run overnight. Together, those devices may draw just a fraction of what a large power station is capable of supplying. And that's where efficiency can start slipping.

Audio / Video

OpenAI’s first gadget sounds like a tiny expressive AI companion

The device will have a doughnut-shaped body, built-in cameras, and moving parts

OpenAI press image

For months, reports have suggested that OpenAI’s first hardware product would be a screen-free smart speaker designed to act more like an AI companion. We already knew it could understand its surroundings, be carried around the home, and proactively help users. A new Bloomberg report now gives us a clearer picture of what the device may actually look like.

As per the report, OpenAI’s first gadget will be shaped like a doughnut and measure about the same size as a hockey puck. You will be able to carry it between rooms or leave it nearby on whatever surface is convenient. The device is expected to be on the expensive side, as the company has pondered pricing it around $300 to $400. A release is currently planned for 2027.

Emerging Tech

Google Antigravity just built an AI translator that works without the internet

Electrical Device, Switch, Robot

Google has shown off a new AI project that could make language barriers a little less intimidating, and it doesn't need an internet connection to do it. The company has introduced the Gemma Translator, a compact prototype built in collaboration with Antigravity. Unlike most AI translation tools that rely on cloud processing, this device runs entirely offline using Gemma 4 E2B, Google's lightweight open model. Everything happens locally on the device, making it both portable and independent of an internet connection. The prototype is powered by a Raspberry Pi 5 and includes a microphone and speaker inside a custom 3D-printed enclosure, creating a self-contained translator you can carry almost anywhere.

AI translation, without the cloud