Mercedes-Benz Plans to Produce Battery Electric Cars, SUV, and Trucks by 2022.

All Mercedes-Benz vehicles to have electric versions by 2022

Mercedes-Benz plans to electrify its entire portfolio by 2022, with the company offering at least one electric alternative for every model. That's according to an announcement Monday from Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler. It plans on spending $13.6 billion into building EVs at six factories on three continents.

 From article, (Mercedes-Benz plans to electrify its entire portfolio by 2022, with the company offering at least one electric alternative for every model.

That's according to an announcement Monday from Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler. It plans on spending $13.6 billion into building EVs at six factories on three continents. One of those is Tuscaloosa, which will also have part in a global battery production network.

"We address every market segment," said Markus Schäfer, member of the divisional board of Mercedes-Benz cars, production and supply chain. "The battery is the key component of e-mobility. As batteries are the heart of our electric vehicles we put a great emphasis on building them in our own factories.

"With our global battery network we are in an excellent position: As we are close to our vehicle plants we can ensure the optimal supply of production. In case of a short-term high demand in another part of the world our battery factories are also well prepared for export," Schäfer said.

These plans mesh with Mercedes' previously stated policy of being adaptable and flexible with whatever the market demands. Last year, Mercedes announced the company's electric battery plant would break ground in Tuscaloosa sometime this year. The battery plant will be the company's fifth plant globally and set up electric vehicle production in Tuscaloosa.)

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70% of Income Tax for New York State Comes from NYC, Westchester, Long Island and people who commute into NYC from elsewhere. Which is why NYC, Westchester, and Long Island, should hold more Voting Sway in Albany. When it comes to Funding the MTA, Which affects all downstaters, the Congestion Pricing and Retail Value Pricing Plans in Gov. Cuomo's plan should be voted Yes on. Anything, less, would mean we are being disenfranchised.

Where is more income tax collected: downstate or upstate NY?

More than two-thirds of income tax collected by New York state comes from downstate residents, the state’s budget chief said. "The reality is that 70 percent of the income tax that the state collects happens to come from Westchester, Nassau, Suffolk and New York City," state Budget Director Robert Mujica said in a radio interview.

From article, (More than two-thirds of income tax collected by New York state comes from downstate residents, the state’s budget chief said.

"The reality is that 70 percent of the income tax that the state collects happens to come from Westchester, Nassau, Suffolk and New York City," state Budget Director Robert Mujica said in a radio interview.

Is Mujica right that 70 percent of the state’s income tax revenue comes from the New York City area?

The state collected more than $47.5 billion in income taxes in the last fiscal year, according to the state Division of Budget.

About $19.2 billion, or 40 percent, came from New York City residents alone. Those in Westchester, Nassau, and Suffolk counties paid $12.1 billion in state income taxes.

The total for those in New York City and the three counties came to $31.3 billion, or 66 percent of the state total.

Another $7.8 billion came from non-residents who commuted into New York state for work. Most of those filers worked in New York City, according to a spokesperson from the agency.

If you add the revenue from non-residents to that of New York City, Westchester, and Long Island filers, the share increases to 82 percent of the state total.

The New York City region’s high share of income tax revenue shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering its population.

Close to 12.3 million people live in New York City, Westchester and on Long Island. That counts for about 62 percent of the state’s total population.

Residents in upstate counties, meanwhile, paid close to $8.4 billion in income taxes, or about 18 percent of the state total.

Mujica said "70 percent of the income tax that the state collects happens to come from Westchester, Nassau, Suffolk and New York City."

The actual number is somewhere between 66 percent and 82 percent, according to data from the state Division of Budget. Upstate counties only provide about 18 percent of the state’s income tax revenue.

We rate his claim True.)

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Me, "NYS collected 47.5 Billion in Income About 19.2 Billion came from NYC. And, Westchester and Long Island contributed 12.1 Billion. Total? 31.3 Billion. 66% of NYS Income Tax. Another 7.8 Billion came from Out of State NYC Workers, pushing up Income Tax to 70%.
 Hey Albany? With all the money we send you, how about some love? When it comes to Funding the MTA thru Congestion Pricing and Retail Value Pricing, Vote Yes. Anything less would mean we are being disenfranchised."

Lagoons are considered bad by Ship captains because ships can become Trapped and Ripped apart by Sand bars, or Reefs. But, as for Generating Electrical Tidal power? A lot of people see them as a wonderful resource.

Swansea tidal lagoon 'will still happen'

The Swansea tidal lagoon will still happen despite delays, the man who conducted an independent review into tidal energy has predicted. Charles Hendry backed the £1.3bn project in his government-commissioned review published in January 2017. The UK Government is yet to give the go-ahead, but the Welsh Government has said it will offer "substantial investment".

From article, ("I think the easiest thing for a government would have been to say quite early on in the process of reviewing my conclusions, to say we've looked at it alongside our other priorities, and this really isn't the time to do it - they haven't done that," he added.

"We've had distractions such as a general election, ministerial changes. So inevitably, it has taken the government some time to reach its conclusions, but I still think the case is compelling."

Critics of the project argue it is too expensive, and will tie bill-payers into topping it up for almost a century, even though new technologies are likely to have emerged by then.

The developers want the government to guarantee the price paid for electricity from the lagoon over a 90 year period - a much longer contract than usual.

It would start at £123 per megawatt hour - higher than the £92.50 offered to the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant in Somerset - but reducing over time.

It averages out at £89.90 per megawatt hour over the length of the contract - but given that the lagoon is predicted to keep generating for up to 120 years it would be producing free power for the grid for the last 30 years.

Critics say other more established renewable schemes like wind and solar are already much cheaper and so the priority should be given to them.

Even if the finances are sorted, developers still need a marine licence to build it. 

 Much of the delays over the scheme's approval have been over whether it will provide "value for money".

But Mr Hendry said the £1.3bn cost would equate to "less than 50p a year" per household and it would "be some of the cheapest power" the UK would ever have, once the original capital investment has been paid off.

However, that is expected to take half of the lagoon's lifetime, which could be more than 120 years.

"I still think the case is compelling. And I think this is something that future generations will say 'thank you for doing it, Wales has led the world'.")

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Going back to 19th Century Technology, to Power the 21st.

Ideas From The Industrial Revolution Could Be Used To Harness Tidal Power

A new version of an old technology has been proposed to harvest electricity from the tides. So far we are yet to see a prototype, let alone a commercial-scale plant, but on paper, the design has many advantages.

From article, (A new version of an old technology has been proposed to harvest electricity from the tides. So far we are yet to see a prototype, let alone a commercial-scale plant, but on paper, the design has many advantages. Among these is the romantic appeal of a revival of the technology that launched the Industrial Revolution, now only preserved as historical landmarks across Europe. More pragmatically, it could be the key to allowing the UK to cut deep into its carbon dioxide emissions at an affordable price.

Independent marine engineer Rod Rainey has published a design in Proceedings of the Royal Society A for the use of lightweight steel tidal power barrages in the Severn Estuary. To non-engineers, steel and lightweight may not go together, but Rainey is comparing his proposal to structures largely made of concrete, like most tidal power alternatives.

Rainey's idea uses water wheels that turn as the tide drives water past them, like those popular for harnessing river flows during the 19th Century. Alternative tidal structures use turbines that turn fast enough to be a menace to fish, but Rainey's wheels would rotate so slowly that aquatic life should be unaffected.

The wheels are technically known as breast-shot water wheels, with a cylindrical core and attached blades sited over a curved base or “breast”. If placed across most of the estuary at Porlock, Somerset, Rainey calculates they could produce an average of 4 gigawatts of power, more than 10 percent of the UK's electricity demand, although some gaps would be required to let shipping through. He argues the price would be cheaper than nuclear power.)

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New York City has a Floating Barge Freight System? Who Knew?

New York Harbor May Get a New Freight Tunnel from NYC to New Jersey

Unknown to most New Yorkers, a floating barge freight train plies a route between Brooklyn at the 65th Street Rail Yard and Jersey City. The line, officially known as the New York New Jersey Rail, is only four miles long but it serves as a small but growing critical link for freight in the New York region, and cements the city's commitment to bringing industry back to the waterfront.

From article, (Unknown to most New Yorkers, a floating barge freight train plies a route between Brooklyn at the 65th Street Rail Yard and Jersey City. The line, officially known as the New York New Jersey Rail, is only four miles long but it serves as a small but growing critical link for freight in the New York region, and cements the city’s commitment to bringing industry back to the waterfront. 

We’re an anomaly. Out of the 500 railroads in the United States, the nearest one that looks like us in texture and feel is the Alaska railroad,” Donald B. Hutton, Managing Director of the New York and New Jersey Rail, told us on our visit to rail barge line last year. The Port Authority bought the floating rail line in 2008 and the NYC Economic Development Corporation rebuilt the rail yard itself, which reopened in 2012, but many different railroads and companies have operated this line in the past, including the Pennsylvania Railroad. The last iteration, the New York Cross Harbor Railroad, moved much of the country’s cocoa.

The current floats transport 14 train cars at once, an equivalent of 56 semi-trucks, on two tracks side by side, but new car floats are being built by the Port Authority that will have four tracks, accommodating 18 train cars (equivalent to 72 trucks) and providing faster unload and reload times. The expansion of the rail float operation would ultimately call for the installation of new transfer bridges, locomotives and tracks.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced today the the second phase of environmental review for the Cross Harbor Freight Movement Program (CHFP), a plan to improve the transportation of goods across New York Harbor by optimizing the regional freight network and reducing traffic congestion.

 A $23.7 million agreement to consultancy firm, Cross Harbor Partners will carry out an environmental impact statement (EIS) looking at two alternatives for the expansion of freight movement here in New York:  the construction of a cross harbor freight tunnel under New York Harbor and the expansion of the Port Authority’s existing railcar float operation. The study will look at environmental effects, cost and benefits, and possible mitigation measures.

“New York City is the only major city in the world not directly connected to its country’s national freight rail network – and that is something we must address,” said Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY). “For too long, New York City and the entire metropolitan region has had an over-reliance on trucks – clogging our roadways, making consumer goods more expensive and raising the cost of doing business, harming our environment, endangering our health, and creating real safety and national security vulnerabilities.”

According to Nadler, more than one billion tons of goods move through the greater New York region annually, mostly by truck. Vehicular congestion, however, adds an estimated $2.5 billion in total annual costs of delivering the products. Following the Tier II study, preliminary engineering for the recommended alternative would take place with additional funding. The review is expected to take up to three years.)

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New Pentagon Strategy for U.S. Nuclear Arsenal

Pentagon unveils new nuclear weapons strategy, ending Obama-era push to reduce U.S. arsenal

The Pentagon released a new nuclear arms policy on Friday that calls for the introduction of two new types of weapons, effectively ending Obama-era efforts to reduce the size and scope of the U.S. arsenal and minimize the role of nuclear weapons in defense planning.

 From article, (The Pentagon released a new nuclear arms policy Friday that calls for the introduction of two new types of weapons, effectively ending Obama-era efforts to reduce the size and scope of the U.S. arsenal and minimize the role of nuclear weapons in defense planning. 

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said in an introductory note to the new policy — the first update to the military’s nuclear strategy since 2010 — that the changes reflect a need to “look reality in the eye” and “see the world as it is, not as we wish it to be.”

 The previous administration’s policy hinged on what President Barack Obama called a moral obligation for the United States to lead by example in ridding the world of nuclear weapons. Officials in the Trump administration and the U.S. military argue that Obama’s approach proved overly idealistic, particularly as relations with Moscow soured. Russia, China and North Korea, they say, all advanced their nuclear weapons capabilities instead of following suit.

“Over the past decade, while the United States has led the world in these reductions, every one of our potential nuclear adversaries has been pursuing the exact opposite strategy,” Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette said at a Pentagon news conference, explaining why the United States is changing course. “These powers are increasing the numbers and types of nuclear weapons in their arsenal.”

The new nuclear weapons policy follows on Donald Trump’s promise before taking office to expand and strengthen U.S. nuclear capabilities. President Trump also vowed during his State of the Union address Tuesday to build a nuclear arsenal “so strong and powerful that it will deter any acts of aggression.” 

The policy unveiled Friday envisions the introduction of “low-yield nukes” on submarine-launched ballistic missiles. Despite being called “low yield,” such weapons could cause roughly as much damage as the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, depending on their size.

Russia possesses a wide variety of small nuclear weapons that the United States mostly lacks. The Pentagon worries Moscow could seize part or all of a U.S. ally state and then detonate one in a “limited nuclear attack” to prevent American troops from coming to the rescue. Washington would be forced to choose between launching a much larger-scale nuclear attack on Russia or responding with less substantial conventional arms. The Pentagon says it wants a proportionate weapon to match.

In a veiled reference to Russia, Rood said the new low-yield missiles would ensure that adversaries “do not come to the mistaken impression” they can use small battlefield nuclear weapons because “we don’t have credible response options.”

The new Pentagon policy also outlines longer-term plans to reintroduce a nuclear submarine-launched cruise missile called an SLCM (or “slick-em”), which the administration of President George H.W. Bush stopped deploying and the Obama administration ordered removed from the arsenal.

Officials say the SLCM would reassure Japan and South Korea in the face of threats from North Korea and put pressure on Russia to stop violating the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Unlike with the low-yield weapon, which the Pentagon plans to develop quickly, the SLCM’s reintroduction could be many years away.

The Pentagon confirmed its commitment to the modernization of the U.S. nuclear force that Obama approved in 2010 in exchange for Senate ratification of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or New START. 

The military will introduce new bombers, submarines and intercontinental ballistic missiles, as well as a new cruise missile for the bomber. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the plan will cost about $1.2 trillion over 30 years.)

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An experimental, 826 ton Wave Powered Buoy, will have a generating capacity of 1.25 MW. Placing 1000s of them in the Ocean, would create 1,000s of MW of power, on par with Nuclear Power Plants.

Vigor to build wave energy converter for Hawaii test | WorkBoat

Portland, Ore.-based Vigor will build the 125'x59′ wave energy converter OE Buoy for Ocean Energy Group, Cobh, Ireland, and its subsidiary, Ocean Energy USA. With a 31′ draft, OE Buoy will be deployed at the U.S. Navy's Hawaii Wave Energy Test Site (WETS) on the windward coast of the Hawaiian Island of Oahu in the fall.

From article, (The 826-ton OE Buoy has a potential rated capacity of up to 1.25 MW in electrical power production. Each deployed commercial device could reduce CO2 emissions by over 3,600 tons annually, which for a utility-scale wave farm of 100 MW could amount to over 180,000 tons of CO2 a year. It is estimated that a 100-MW wave farm could power up to 18,750 U.S. homes.

Portland, Ore.-based Vigor will build the 125’x59′ wave energy converter OE Buoy for Ocean Energy Group, Cobh, Ireland, and its subsidiary, Ocean Energy USA

With a 31′ draft, OE Buoy will be deployed at the U.S. Navy’s Hawaii Wave Energy Test Site (WETS) on the windward coast of the Hawaiian Island of Oahu in the fall. The contract value is $6.5 million out of a total project value of $12 million for this first of a kind grid scale project at WETS.

Ocean Energy is the trading name of New Wave Technologies Ltd., part of a specialized commercial group of companies that are developing wave energy technology. The developing technology has been extensively tested and is now at a stage where it is one of the most commercially viable technologies for harnessing the power of the oceans. The device, through careful development, has the advantages of a robust and practical design, one moving part and proven survivability having withstood over three years of live sea trials in Atlantic waves at the Irish Wave Energy Test site in Galway Bay. To date, no other wave energy system can claim success in this area to a similar or greater extent, the company said. 

The $12 million project is partly funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), under an agreement committing the U.S. and Irish governments to collaborating on marine hydrokinetic technologies.)

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Me, "An experimental, 826 ton Wave Powered Buoy, will have a generating capacity of 1.25 MW. Placing 1000s of them in the Ocean, would create 1,000s of MW, on par with Nuclear Power Plants. The Ocean is a huge place. What is now zones for Offshore Wind power could have zones for Offshore Wave power, too." 

Plans at Tesla are moving ahead to add Megachargers for Tesla-Semis at Fleet Orderers Facilities.

Tesla is in talks with electric truck customers to install 'Megacharger' stations, report says

When Tesla unveiled its all-electric truck, Tesla Semi, last year, it made several impressive claims about the vehicle's specs and capabilities - leaving us to believe that it relies on significant battery improvements. One of those impressive aspects is the 'Megacharger' technology, which Elon Musk claims could add "400 miles of range to a Tesla Semi in 30 minutes."

From article, (When Tesla unveiled its all-electric truck, Tesla Semi, last year, it made several impressive claims about the vehicle’s specs and capabilities – leaving us to believe that it relies on significant battery improvements.

One of those impressive aspects is the ‘Megacharger’ technology, which Elon Musk claims could add “400 miles of range to a Tesla Semi in 30 minutes.”

Now we learn that the automaker is working with some of its biggest Tesla Semi reservation holders to add Megacharging stations at their facilities.

UPS, PepsiCo, and Anheuser-Busch, who have 265 Tesla Semi trucks on order between them, told Reuters that they have been holding talks with Tesla about installing charging infrastructure at their facilities.

 The report is light on details, but it is reassuring that Tesla is indeed actively talking with Tesla Semi customers about deploying ‘Megacharger’ charging infrastructure.

It was one of the biggest question marks of the Tesla Semi presentation.

Tesla says that it can add 400 miles of range to the Tesla Semi in 30 minutes. We expect it could mean an insane charge rate as high as 1.6 MW. During the presentation, Musk referenced the fact that 30 minutes is about the time it would take unload and load a truck, which means that it wouldn’t lose any time if the chargers are installed at the destination.

Tesla has been talking about increasing the charge rate of the Supercharger for a long time now, but they have been stuck at 145 kW for their passenger car network.

It would be a giant leap forward in charge rate for them, but that’s not even the most interesting thing that Tesla announced about those stations.

Musk also said that they would offer a guaranteed rate of 7 cents per kWh at those Megacharger stations to optimize savings against the fuel costs of diesel trucks.

Considering those rates are hard to find in the US, it launched speculation that Tesla would add solar power and/or energy storage to the stations.)

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For those of you who are Private Company Space Fans, Jeff Bezos' personal fortune is now at $120 billion. The SLS has cost $18 billion so far to develop. Bezos has plenty of money to fund his rocket company Blue Origin for years to come and construct reusable rockets.

Jeff Bezos' fortune tops $120 billion as Amazon shares surge after hours

Jeff Bezos got a little bit richer Thursday after Amazon.com Inc. shares soared in after-hours trading, sending his personal fortune above $120 billion. After tumbling during the regular session (and losing Bezos almost $5 billion), Amazon shares jumped 6.2% in late trading after reporting fourth-quarter profit and revenue that far exceeded analysts' expectations.

 From article, (Jeff Bezos got a little bit richer Thursday after Amazon.com Inc. shares soared in after-hours trading, sending his personal fortune above $120 billion.

After tumbling during the regular session (and losing Bezos almost $5 billion), Amazon shares AMZN, +4.75%  jumped 6.2% in late trading after reporting fourth-quarter profit and revenue that far exceeded analysts’ expectations.

If the gain holds when trading begins Friday, the Amazon founder and CEO will have made about $6.5 billion overnight, pushing his total wealth to about $123 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

This year has already been good to Bezos, who made $17.4 billion in January alone.

Bezos is ranked as the world’s richest man, surpassing Microsoft Corp. MSFT, -2.23%   co-founder Bill Gates for the first time last summer. At the end of Thursday trading, Bezos had about a $21 billion lead on Gates, who is in second place.)

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Me, "For those of you who are Private Company space Fans, Jeff Bezos personal fortune is now at $120 billion. The SLS has cost $18 billion so far to develop and is an expendable rocket. Bezos  has plenty of money to fund his rocket company Blue Origin for years to come and construct reusable rockets. Things are looking up for the new space industry."

People waste billions of hours sitting in traffic. There are now a bunch of Companies building Air-Taxi Services to beat traffic and One just got an investment of $100 million dollars.

Joby Aviation wins a $100M investment boost to get its flying cars off the ground

California-based Joby Aviation says it has secured $100 million in Series B financing to take its all-electric passenger aircraft into pre-production and regulatory certification. Intel Capital led the investment round, which also includes Singapore-based EDBI, JetBlue Technology Ventures, Toyota AI Ventures, Allen & Company AME Cloud Ventures, Ron Conway, Capricorn Investment Group, 8VC, Sky Dayton and Paul Sciarra.

From article, (California-based Joby Aviation says it has secured $100 million in Series B financing to take its all-electric passenger aircraft into pre-production and regulatory certification.

 “People waste billions of hours sitting on roads worldwide each year. We envision a future where commuting by eVTOL is a safer, faster, and cost-competitive alternative to ground transportation,” Bevirt said in today’s news release. “We have spent the last 10 years developing the technologies that have made our full-scale technical demonstrator possible and are now ready to build a commercial version of the aircraft. We’re excited to have attracted the backing of leaders in auto manufacturing, data intelligence, and transportation sectors.”

Other air-taxi ventures include Airbus’ Vahana, Uber and its aviation partners, Terrafugia, VerdeGo Aero, Kitty Hawk, China’s EHang, Switzerland’s Passenger Drone, Germany’s Volocopter and Lilium, Slovakia’s AeroMobil and Japan’s Cartivator Project.

In the United States, the timetable for deploying such vehicles depends largely on the Federal Aviation Administration, which recently overhauled its certification process for small aircraft.

Founded by inventor JoeBen Bevirt, Joby is working to build a five-seat air taxi that will be 100 times quieter than conventional aircraft during takeoff and landing, and fly 150 miles on a charge. Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports that a prototype for the vehicle, nicknamed “Rachel,” is undergoing flight testing at Bevirt’s private airfield in Northern California.

Joby is one of a growing number of ventures that aim to produce fleets of air taxis for Uber-like rideshare services that get around traffic tie-ups on the ground. Like Rachel, most of the proposed vehicles – popularly known as flying cars – would be electric vertical-take-off-and-landing craft, or eVTOLs.)

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Success!! VTOL Self-piloted flying car makes first two flights.

Airbus' self-piloted 'flying car' just passed its first flight test

Aerospace giant Airbus has announced the first successful flight of its self-piloted "flying car." Two years on from the launch of the "Vahana" project, a full-scale electric vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) craft reportedly reached a height of 16 feet before landing safely at a site in Pendleton, Oregon.

 From article, (Aerospace giant Airbus has announced the first successful flight of its self-piloted "flying car."

Two years on from the launch of the "Vahana" project, a full-scale electric vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) craft reportedly reached a height of 16 feet before landing safely at a site in Pendleton, Oregon.

Airbus said the flight took place Wednesday and lasted 53 seconds. A second flight took place Thursday.

"In just under two years, Vahana took a concept sketch on a napkin and built a full-scale, self-piloted aircraft that has successfully completed its first flight," said Zach Lovering, Vahana's project executive, in a press release Friday.

The VTOL is being developed at "A³," the Silicon Valley outpost of Airbus. The explicit aim is to provide commuters with a self-piloted craft that is cost-comparable to using a car or a train.

The Vahana team had previously said it was aiming for speeds as much as four-times faster than road traffic, with a flight range of about 50 miles.

Airbus said the VTOL could in future also perform as a cargo delivery platform, ambulance, search and rescue device or taxi.)

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Google: Solar Power? We got that.

Google builds out its data center estate, with added solar power | ZDNet

Google is building a new €250m data center in Belgium, taking its total investment in the country to over €1bn. The advertising-to- cloud-computing giant opened its first European data center in Belgium back in 2009, and the new building will be its third on the same site.

 From article, (Google is building a new €250m data center in Belgium, taking its total investment in the country to over €1bn.

The advertising-to-cloud-computing giant opened its first European data center in Belgium back in 2009, and the new building will be its third on the same site. The new building in Saint-Ghislain is due to be completed and operational by mid-2019. Google uses its data centers to deliver a wide range of online services; such as Google Cloud, search, Gmail, Maps and others.

The site is also home to a new €3m solar plant, which will feature 10,665 photovoltaic panels and will generate 2.9 Gigawatt hour of energy every year, and covers four hectares of land in the data center. Google said this is the first solar facility it has built on a data center site.

Google said it expects to have reached its target of 100 percent renewable energy for its global operations in 2017, including data centers and offices.

Joe Kava, Google's VP of global data centers, said the company is buying enough wind and solar electricity to account for every unit of electricity it uses. He said this makes the company the largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy worldwide.)

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Next Round of U.S. Air Force Space Launch Contracts to be Announced later this Year.

SpaceX and ULA poised to face off in the next round of military launch competition - SpaceNews.com

The Air Force released a final request for proposals for Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle launch services. WASHINGTON - The U.S. Air Force announced plans to award space launch contracts later this year for five satellites that include some of the military's most sensitive big-ticket payloads.

 From article, (The U.S. Air Force announced plans to award space launch contracts later this year for five satellites that include some of the military’s most sensitive big-ticket payloads.

The competition comes less than two years since SpaceX became a legitimate competitor in a market that used to be entirely owned by United Launch Alliance, a partnership of Lockheed Martin and The Boeing Company.

If SpaceX is able to win at least one or two launches in this next round of contracts, it would further cement its standing as a market disruptor and set the stage for the company to win even more military work when the larger Falcon Heavy rocket gets certified to fly government payloads.

The Air Force on Wednesday released a final request for proposals for Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) launch services for two National Reconnaissance Office payloads, the fifth Space-Based Infrared System geosynchronous Earth orbit satellite, an Air Force Space Command mission dubbed AFSPC-44 and a secret surveillance mission code-named SilentBarker.

Proposals are due April 16 and contracts are expected to be awarded in late 2018.)

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Going Back to the Moon Could be Economically Affordable.

A successful SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch gives NASA new options

SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket will launch for the first time next week. It might be the company's most anticipated mission yet, and it could open up a new line of business - one that might interest NASA. The new rocket will be the most powerful in the world, which means it could launch heavier and more complex cargo to space.

From article, (The SLS has strong support from key members of Congress, so NASA will likely continue to develop it. But once the Falcon Heavy starts flying regularly, the cheap, powerful rocket may be hard for NASA to ignore. “This could make the whole Trump administration initiative to go back to the Moon economically affordable,” Charles Miller, president of space consulting firm NexGen Space LLC and a former member of the Trump administration’s NASA transition team, tells The Verge.

SpaceX is known for its budget pricing. One flight of the company’s Falcon 9 starts at just $62 million. That’s a fraction of the cost ULA’s comparable Atlas V rocket, flights of which start at $109 million. And the Falcon Heavy will be cheap, too, starting at around $90 million each flight. SpaceX has also worked to bring down rocket costs even more by designing them to be partially reusable. SpaceX has figured out how to land its first stage boosters back on Earth, in order to fly them again, saving on manufacturing. The Falcon Heavy will be no different. All three of the rocket’s cores will attempt to land on Earth after each flight; the outer cores will head to land while the center core will land on a SpaceX drone ship in the ocean.

NASA is expected to do big things, but with flat budgets for the next five years, according toSpace News. And the agency is going to need more than just a transport system. It’s going to need landers, habitats, and more to keep people alive on the Moon. There are even plans to build a new space station around the Moon called the Deep Space Gateway, where astronauts can live and train for missions. There’s no extra cash for these projects, and NASA needs to free up money somehow to make all this happen. The administration may want to do that by ending funding for the International Space Station, but using cheaper rockets could also do the trick.

 NASA already relies on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 to send cargo to the International Space Station, and soon the company will be sending astronauts there, too. NASA could use the Falcon Heavy in similar ways. Using the Falcon Heavy and Falcon 9 together, NASA could go back to the Moon for just $10 billion over a five- to seven-year period, according to a report from Miller of NexGen Space. (NASA’s yearly budget is $19 billion.) “Having affordable commercial heavy-lift is the only thing keeping NASA from going back to the Moon and on to Mars,” says Miller. “NASA has been trying this for over a decade, but it’s been unaffordable. If you can get a heavy lift launch vehicle for under $100 million it changes everything.”

Of course, the government decides whether NASA can use the Falcon Heavy. And there’s always the possibility that next week’s launch goes wrong. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has expressed concern that the vehicle won’t make it to orbit on its first launch. If that happens, SpaceX will need to fly the Falcon Heavy a few more times until it’s deemed ready for commercial flight.

But if it does fly well, SpaceX will send a powerful message to the spaceflight world — and NASA may like what it sees.)

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