Jeff Bezos' former housekeeper is suing the Amazon founder for workplace discrimination that she says forced her to literally climb out out the window of his house to use the bathroom.

In the suit, filed this week in a Washington state court, the former housekeeper claimed that she and Bezos' other household staff were not provided with legally-mandated eating or restroom breaks, and that because there was no "readily accessible bathroom" for them to use, they had to clamber out a laundry room window to get to one.

In the complaint, lawyers for the ex-housekeeper, who is described as having worked for wealthy families for nearly 20 years, wrote that household staff were initially allowed to use a small bathroom in the security room of Bezos' main house, but "this soon stopped... because it was decided that housekeepers using the bathroom was a breach of security protocol."

The suit also alleges that housekeepers in the billionaire's employ "frequently developed Urinary Tract Infections" that they believed was related to not being able to use the bathroom when they needed to at work.

"There was no breakroom for the housekeepers," the complaint adds. "Even though Plaintiff worked 10, 12, and sometimes 14 hours a day, there was no designated area for her to sit down and rest."

The housekeeper — who, like almost all of her coworkers, is Latino — was allegedly not aware that she was entitled to breaks for lunch or rest, and was only able to have a lunch break when Bezos or his family were not on the premises, the lawsuit alleges.

The Washington Post owner has denied his former housekeeper's claims of discrimination through an attorney.

"We have investigated the claims, and they lack merit," Harry Korrell, a Bezos attorney, told Insider of the suit. "[The former employee] made over six figures annually and was the lead housekeeper."

He added that the former housekeeper "was responsible for her own break and meal times, and there were several bathrooms and breakrooms available to her and other staff."

"The evidence will show that [the former housekeeper] was terminated for performance reasons," he continued. "She initially demanded over $9M, and when the company refused, she decided to file this suit."

As the suit was just filed and may well end in a settlement, it'll likely be a long time, if ever, before we find out what really happened at Bezos' house — but if we do, it'll be a fascinating peek behind the curtain at the home life of one of the world's most powerful and wealthy men.

More on billionaires: Tesla Morale Low As Workers Still Don't Have Desks, Face Increased Attendance Surveillance

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Jeff Bezos' Housekeeper Says She Had to Climb Out the Window to Use the Bathroom

Latest Feud

Another day, another Elon Musk feud on Twitter — except now, he's the owner of the social network, and he's beefing with a sitting member of Congress.

The whole thing started innocently enough earlier this week, when firebrand Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY, and better known by her initials, "AOC") subtweeted the website's new owner.

"Lmao at a billionaire earnestly trying to sell people on the idea that 'free speech' is actually a $8/mo subscription plan," the New York Democratic Socialist tweeted in a post that, upon Futurism's perusal, appeared to load only half the time.

Sweat Equity

Not one to be shown up, Musk later posted a screenshot of an AOC-branded sweatshirt from the congressperson's website, with its $58 price tag circled and an emoji belying the billionaire's alleged affront at the price.

In response, Ocasio-Cortez said she was proud her sweatshirts were made by union labor, and that the proceeds from their sales were going to fund educational support for needy kids. She later dug in further, noting that her account was "conveniently" not working and joking that Musk couldn't buy his way "out of insecurity."

Yo @elonmusk while I have your attention, why should people pay $8 just for their app to get bricked when they say something you don’t like?

This is what my app has looked like ever since my tweet upset you yesterday. What’s good? Doesn’t seem very free speechy to me pic.twitter.com/e3hcZ7T9up

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 3, 2022

Bricked

To be clear, any suggestion that Musk personally had anything to do with any Twitter glitches on AOC's part would seem ludicrously petty. But then again, this is a guy who once hired a private detective to investigate a random critic.

Occam's razor, though, suggests that it was probably AOC's mega-viral tweet that broke the site's notoriously dodgy infrastructure. Of course, that's not a ringing endorsement of the site that Musk just acquired for the colossal sum of $44 billion.

More on Twitter: Twitter Working on Plan to Charge Users to Watch Videos

The post AOC Says Her Twitter Account Broke After She Made Fun of Elon Musk appeared first on Futurism.

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AOC Says Her Twitter Account Broke After She Made Fun of Elon Musk

Municipality in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Place in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Boca Chica is a municipality (municipio) of the Santo Domingo province in the Dominican Republic. Within the municipality there is one municipal district (distritos municipal): La Caleta.[5] As of the 2012 census it had 123,510 inhabitants, 70,184 living in the city itself and 53,326 in its rural districts (Secciones).[4]

Boca Chica has a popular beach with the same name, located about 30 kilometers east of Santo Domingo de Guzmn in the south-east region of the country.

Boca Chica was originally developed by Dominican businessman and politician Juan Bautista Vicini Burgos, who established sugar plantations there in the early 1900s. Vicini was very fond of the place but the golden era of Boca Chica came decades later in the 1950s, when dictator Rafael Lenidas Trujillo ordered the construction of a modern hotel named "Hotel Hamaca", which subsequently became an icon in the area. The hotel became more famous after Trujillo granted political asylum to the dictator Fulgencio Batista after the Cuban Revolution. During the 1950s and the 1960s, prominent families of the Dominican Republic built several summer properties along the beach only accessible by private transportation.

After the 1970s, the beach became increasingly more popular and public transportation helped to make Boca Chica a very crowded place; it was no longer a secluded beach for the elites as it had been during the '50s and '60s. The Hamaca hotel was closed after Hurricane David in 1979, and it remained closed and abandoned for more than twenty years which caused an economic decline in the area. It was reopened in the early 1990s, and the public beach remains popular among people of different classes. The Boca Chica Beach is famous for its sex tourism where women mostly from Europe visits to intimate with local black boys in exchange of Money.[6]

Boca Chica's proximity to the city of Santo Domingo, its clear blue waters and white sand have made it one of the busiest beaches in the Dominican Republic, especially on weekends and holidays, because it is 30km away from Santo Domingo. Boca Chica has two small islands Los Pinos, which were made with sand from the dredging of the Andrs port in the 1950s and La Matica and La Piedra, mangrove cays, submerged vascular plants and habitat for various species of birds. The beach has a natural breakwater, as well as a fresh water spring, coming from the Brujuelas underground river.

The short distance from the capital city (19 miles), the crystalline waters and the white sands turned Boca Chica into the most crowded beach of the Dominican Republic, especially on weekends and holidays. Boca Chica beach has immaculate fine sand. You can walk in the water and the depth will barely change, the water will be to your waist (or a little bit over) all the time. Boca Chica has two small islands, Los Pinos and La Matica, and two marinas.

There are several bars, restaurants, pizza stands, souvenirs stalls and loud music throughout most of the day; all this along the beach sand very close to the shore. In the evening, Boca Chica transforms itself into a town of party bars.[7]

Notes

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Boca Chica - Wikipedia

SN15 Starship at the SpaceX Starbase Space Facility

Boca Chica , Texas , USA - A SpaceX Starship spacecraft similar to this one will carry space tourist Dennis Tito to the moon Credit - Getty Images; roschetzky

Few people had heard of aerospace engineer and financial analyst Dennis Tito before 2001. That was the year Tito, then 60, became the first paying space tourist, cutting a $20 million check to Russia to fly aboard a Soyuz spacecraft and spend a week aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Since then, Tito has remained Earthbound, but has never quite shaken the adventuring bug. Now, he is planning to return to spacethis time traveling to the moon, a route nobody but the Apollo astronauts have ever flown.

As SpaceNews, CNN, and others report, Tito, now 82, and his wife Akiko, have both inked a deal to travel on a one-week journey aboard SpaceXs Starship spacecraft, along with up to 10 other paying passengers. They will be flying a path that will take them around the far side of the moon and slingshot them back home. The amount Tito and his wife are paying for their seats aboard the ship has not been disclosed.

The Starship is a 50 m (164 ft.) tall stainless steel spacecraft that launches atop SpaceXs 69 m (226 ft.) Super Heavy booster. While the the rocket has never flown before, SpaceX hopes to launch it on its first, uncrewed Earth-orbital mission as early as next month. Following that, the Starship-Super Heavy pair will make its first crewed flightalso Earth orbitalin 2024 or 2025. Titos circumlunar flight would come sometime after that.

Just this week, SpaceX rolled the Super Heavy booster out to the launch pad at its Boca Chica, Texas, launch base, and stacked the Starship spacecraft on top. It was the first time the two segments of the giant machine had been mated. Together they make a formidable sight, towering 120 m (394 ft.) highor a good seven stories taller than NASAs mega moon rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS). Starship is also significantly more powerful than the SLS. Starships 33, methane-fueled engines put out 7.2 million kg (16 million lb.) of thrust, nearly double that of NASAs 6-engine rocket, which produces 4 million kg (8.8 million lb.).

Story continues

Tito will make his journey aboard an identical machineindeed, it could be the exact same one, since both the Starship and Super Heavy are designed to be reusable. In some respects, he surprised himself by deciding to make the trip at all. Until recently, he said in a call with reporter, he had hadnt been planning to return to space, but, over time, watching the developments of SpaceX and just what they were doing fascinated me.

Last year, he began discussions with SpaceX, and told the company he would like to fly again, though not merely to the ISS. I would be interested in going to the moon,' he recalls saying. And then I looked over to Akiko, and we had a little eye contact, and she goes, Yeah, me too.

For the record, Tito says that after this mission, he really, truly will be retiring from the spaceflight game.

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The World's First Space Tourist Plans a Return TripThis Time to the Moon - Yahoo News

Elon Musk founded SpaceX in 2002 with little more than a handful of staff, an empty office in Los Angeles, and a mariachi band.

Today the rocket company employs more than 5,000 people, has received about $1.6 billion in funding, and is increasingly disrupting a storied (and expensive) space industry.

SpaceX has branched out from relatively small orbital rockets to heavyweight lifters that undercut the competition four-fold.

It's also developing the most expansive satellite internet network in history while pushing to build spaceships capable of sending 100 people to Mars at a time.

To get that work done, though, it's investing millions in remodeling and building new facilities all over America.

Here are the most important locations Musk and his army of SpaceX employees do their work to reach for the stars.

This story has been updated. It was originally published at 10 a.m. EDT on April 1, 2018.

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SpaceX: Where Elon Musk's Rocket Facilities Are Located, What They Do

[EDITORS NOTE: This story has been updated with a response from Cameron County.]

McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) SpaceX on Monday changed its plans again and announced that Boca Chica Beach could be closed for most of this work week for tests, according to a new memo obtained by Border Report.

Border Report on Monday morning had obtained a memo sent Sunday sent to Agency Partners and labeled FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY that said Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) will conduct testing 9/12/2022 through 9/16/22 and Hwy. 4 and Boca Chica Beach will be closed.

But a couple hours after Border Report made inquiries to Cameron County and SpaceX asking why such lengthy beach closures were needed, SpaceX issued another memo on Monday afternoon that said Space Exploration Technologies, Corp. (SpaceX) has revoked closure dateson 9/13 through 9/16 and Hwy 4 and Boca Chica Beach will be open.

Then on Monday afternoon, the company announced that it was closing the beach on Tuesday for tests and could possibly be closed on Wednesday and Thursday if more time is needed to finish the exercises.

The beach was closed on Monday for tests, just four days after a massive grassfire burned dozens of acres during a rocket test Thursday.

The fire raised the ire of environmentalists who say SpaceX is damaging the ecosystem and threatening local wildlife.

Its outrageous! The public is just losing their beach even though they have a right to it, Jim Chapman, an environmentalist with the grassroots group SaveRGV and vice president of the nonprofit Friends of the Wildlife Corridor, told Border Report on Monday.

SpaceX says jump and the county says how high?' Chapman said.

The Sunday memo obtained by Border Report was not posted on Cameron Countys website where closures of Boca Chica Beach are listed.

But Monday afternoon a letter signed by Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevio Jr., approving the closure of Boca Chica Beach for SpaceX non-flight testing activities from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m on Tuesday, and allowing Wednesday and Thursday as alternate dates to complete its testing activities was posted on the countys website.

After the posting, Juan Gonzalez, chief counsel for Cameron County, sent Border Report an email on Monday afternoon saying the closures requested and approved for September 13th14thand 15thexperienced a miscommunication between SpaceX and Cameron County that has now been corrected.

Border Report has reached out to SpaceX to ask why they needed so many testing days, and to explain the fire that ensued following the Sept. 8 rocket test on the remote area that borders Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico.

This story will be updated if a response is received.

On May 29, 2020, Border Report captured on video an explosion at the same SpaceX launch facility as it was conducting tests.

SpaceX wants to launch its Starship/Super Heavy spacecraft from South Texas and is conducting multiple tests with that goal despite pushback from local environmentalists and many residents who are angered every time the 20-mile stretch of rural highway and public beach are closed.

In June, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI)on the agencys environmental review of SpaceXs request to launch the largest spacecraft known to Earth from the rural South Texas border beach.

SpaceX tweeted Thursday that the private space company had completed a 6-engine static fire test at Starbase, which is the name the company has given for its commercial spaceport in South Texas.

Several posts on social media asked about a fire that was immediately seen after the test firings but the company did not reply or explain.

The grassfire lasted about five hours after the SpaceX test.

Chapman said the fire occurred on state-owned lands and Texas Parks & Wildlife allowed it to burn itself out rather than step onto sensitive wildlands to extinguish the blaze.

Chapmans group, Save RGV, along with the Sierra Club and the Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe, have sued the Texas General Land Office, Land Commissioner George P. Bush and Cameron County challenging the closure of a public state beach in Texas, which they say is a violation of Texas Open Beaches Act.

However, a judge in July ruled the groups have no right to sue these organizations.

Chapmans group is appealing and he said Monday he wishes they could do more, especially with so many recent beach closures.

An activist with SaveRGV told Border Report that SpaceX has caused over 600 hours of closures of Boca Chica Beach so far this year.

Theyre way, way, way over their limit for closures, Chapman said. We should do something.

Link:

EXCLUSIVE: SpaceX closing South Texas public beach for entire workweek ...

As housing prices continue to escalate, at least one Las Vegas-based company offers a product that wont break the bank.

Boxabl has created a building system thats easily scalable for mass production that makes the houses it manufactures extremely affordable provided buyers have a place to put them.

And if theyre good enough for the worlds wealthiest man, who wouldnt want to give them a shot?

Tesla Inc. Elon Musk paid $50,000 for one of three Boxabl prototypes. Musk had the 375-square-foot Casita delivered to the SpaceX testing grounds in Boca Chica, Texas.

The 20-foot by 20-foot home is similar to a studio apartment. The foldable homes are eight feet wide when they ship and can be unfolded at the buyers location in less than an hour.

Each Casita includes a full-size kitchen with all appliances, a bathroom with a toilet, shower and sink, a living room, a bedroom and a washer and dryer. Heating and air conditioning also are included.

Boxabl signed a deal with the U.S. Department of Defense for an initial order of $9.2 million and earlier this year announced a partnership with homebuilder D.R. Horton Inc. that includes an order for 100 units and investment in the company.

Boxabls mission is to lower the cost of homeownership for everyone, and its launched a crowdfunding campaign on StartEngine to help it achieve its goal of producing housing in much the same way most modern products are mass-produced on an assembly line.

See also: Top Startups to Invest in for October

Boxabl already has received interest for more Casitas than it can produce for the next several years. It has more than 100,000 reserved Casitas that could translate into $1 billion in revenue, according to the companys StartEngine page.

Its also seeking franchise partners to help it expand as housing prices continue to soar. Boxabl will provide its branding, quality control, intellectual property, custom equipment and raw materials to its partners who will start their factories around the world.

Story continues

Median U.S. home prices were up 6.7% to $406,074 in August compared to the same month last year, according to Seattle-based residential real estate brokerage Redfin Corp.

And as prices rise, consumer demand for smaller living spaces is soaring. The increasing popularity of backyard accessory dwelling units (ADUs) is being propelled by new laws in municipalities across the country that streamline the permitting process and allow them in more places.

The tiny homes market share is expected to increase by $3.57 billion from 2021 to 2026, and the markets growth momentum will accelerate at a compound annual growth rate of 4.45%, according to global market research firm Technavio.

Latest Insights

Rentberry, the startup that is expected to disrupt the rental market, has now raised over $11.4 million through its current funding round on StartEngine.

Photo: Courtesy of Boxable

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Box It Up This Company's Technology Is Aimed At Making Housing Affordable - Yahoo Finance

Tesla Inc. is plotting a potential lithium refinery on the gulf coast of Texas, a move that would bolster the companys battery-production efforts and further expand its footprint in the state.

The electric-car maker has told officials that its considering constructing a battery-grade lithium hydroxide refining facility in Nueces County, according to a newly public application for tax breaks filed with the Texas Comptrollers Office. Tesla pitched it as the first of its kind in North America.

If built, Tesla told the state that the facility would process the raw ore material into a state suitable for battery production. The resulting lithium hydroxide it creates would be packaged and shipped by truck and rail to various Tesla battery manufacturing sites supporting the necessary supply chain for large-scale and electric vehicle batteries.

Tesla also said the process it will use is innovative and designed to consume less hazardous reagents and create usable by-products compared to the conventional process.

Construction could begin as soon as the fourth quarter of 2022 but wouldnt reach commercial production until the fourth quarter of 2024. Tesla has told the state that the facility could be located anywhere with access to the Gulf Coast shipping channel, but that the company is evaluating a competing site in Louisiana.

Tesla didnt respond to a request for comment.

Chief executive officer Elon Musk has spent much of the last year agitating for rapid development of lithium mining in North America, comparing the opportunity to the fat margins typically made in the software industry.

Id like to once again urge entrepreneurs to enter the lithium refining business. The mining is relatively easy; the refining is much harder, Musk said on Teslas second-quarter earnings call in July. You cant lose, its a license to print money.

While merchant refiners profitability spiked earlier this year in part because of EV demand, margins declined considerably from a March peak as the companies were squeezed by rising raw-material prices.

Dozens of projects are underway to add similar plants in other nations, including developments in Germany and Australia, which began production at a first refinery earlier this year. Albemarle Corp., the worlds top lithium producer, is planning to build a new processing site in the southeastern US.

China currently dominates lithium refining and has more than half of global capacity to process raw materials harvested at mines or from salt-rich underground brines into the specialist chemicals used in EV batteries.

A lithium mining facility would be just the latest addition to Musks growing Texas empire. Beyond the new automotive factory in Austin that started production this year, Musk has built out a massive rocket prototyping and launch facility in Boca Chica. His tunneling outfit, The Boring Co., is also pursuing numerous projects across the state.

Tesla has previously applied for permits to make similar battery materials adjacent to its Austin factory, though the current status of the project is unclear.

Sean OKane and Shelly Hagan, Bloomberg

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Teslas next Texas move: A lithium refinery on the Gulf Coast? - The Dallas Morning News

The Verge uncovered the ways Starbasse is shaping one rural Texas community. Photo: Jim Watson / AFP (Getty Images)

Since 2019, Elon Musk has been launching his Space X rockets from a remote point near the border between Texas and Mexico. As with many of Musks endeavors, the launches have attracted many of his diehard followers to the state, but the companys expansion has also driven away locals.

Now, a new report from The Verge uncovers the fascinating reasons hardened Musk fans have for upending their lives and moving south. But, it also uncovers the environmental and human cost of the ever-expanding space company.

According to the report, theres a spot called Rocket Ranch in Boca Chica, close to Texas border with Mexico. There, fans of Musks rocket company can gather together to watch test flights from Space Xs nearby Starbase site. From this vantage point, they can see the company grow before their very eyes.

One enthusiast The Verge spoke with, called Anthony Gomez, visited the site for one launch and quickly wanted to make the move permanent. The site reports:

Anthonys brief visit to Rocket Ranch turned into an overnight stay, then a couple of days, then a full week. It was long enough to convince him that he wanted to make the situation permanent. I had fallen in love with the place, Anthony said. So I just kind of asked if there was a way that I could absorb myself into it somehow.

He was committed to packing up his life and moving to Boca Chica full time.

What do you want me to do? Photo: Jim Watson / AFP (Getty Images)

This fierce following of Musks space exploration adventure sets the company apart from other more traditional engineering firms. But its more than just some harmless space tourism at work here. The Verge reports:

Any perceived doubt or criticism of either SpaceX or Musk is met with extreme vitriol, and Ive actually become frightened seeing some of the replies to my tweets or even an article thats seen as too pessimistic.

Being a woman adds another layer to the whole thing. Oftentimes, its a lot of men yelling at me online, calling me a bitch. Ive mostly brushed it off as online behavior. But its enough to make me hesitate when I meet a SpaceX believer in real life.

Despite the worries surrounding an encounter with die-hard Space X fans, writer Loren Grush spent time at Rocket Ranch with Gomez and other enthusiasts. There, she uncovered the reasoning behind their unfaltering support for the company, and found out why they were prepared to upend their lives for it. She writes:

I was fully prepared for an otherworldly experience here at Rocket Ranch when I met Anthony Gomez, who was co-managing the property at that point.

The vibe was communal. Guests who were staying in the nearby airstreams would come in and out of the main building if they needed something from the kitchen. Some were in town, as I was, for Elon Musks latest Starship event; others were living full time at Rocket Ranch for the foreseeable future. People were buzzing in anticipation of Musks update.

Space X gradually ramped up the number of launches from Starbase. Photo: Jim Watson / AFP (Getty Images)

At the ranch, fans describe themselves as outcasts from other circles. In this little corner of Texas, the nerds and dorks and people that were made fun of have found a place where they can come together and share their excitement for Space X.

Grush speaks with accountants who have abandoned their nine to fives to monitor Space X, as well as a tech expert who now makes their living by livestreaming the Starbase facility. Its fascinating to hear about the types of people who have dedicated their lives to following the companys progress.

But as well as bringing Musks followers to the area, Space Xs expansion has had a deeper impact on the surrounding area.

An explosion in the number of launches planned from the site could be impacting protected environments. And, the locals that spent their whole life in the region are struggling to deal with the changes afoot.

Locals have been driven out of Boca Chica Village. Photo: Jim Watson / AFP (Getty Images)

Grush explains that the nearby Boca Chica Village felt like this dark cloud and something that shouldnt be discussed when talking to Space X fans. There, locals spoke of the nightmare of selling their properties to Musks company.

Residents said that the company seemed to get away with everything as it began testing rockets at Starbase. Locals would get little to no warning ahead of some launches, before the company finally began trying to buy people out.

Despite a unified front against the sale, residents soon began flowing out of the village to be replaced by workers. The Verge reports:

Boca Chica Village now looks very different than it once did. The mostly brown and beige brick homes have been given makeovers, painted white and black in the signature SpaceX style. Employees and executives have moved in. Even Elon Musk lives in one of the houses when hes at Starbase to oversee operations.

Starbase is having an impact on the people and wildlife around it. Photo: Jim Watson / AFP (Getty Images)

The whole piece shows the fascinating juxtaposition with people searching for meaning through Musks endeavors, and the individuals loosing their sense of place as Space X expands.

I highly recommend heading across to The Verge to read the piece in its entirety, you can do that right here.

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The Space X Starbase Is Shaping the Community Around it - Jalopnik

Parts of the Starship Heavy Lift Vehicle stand waiting at the SpaceX Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas. Expansion plans for the site have been frustrated by delayed approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). But that approval could come soon enough to allow a Starship test later this month. Image via Wikipedia.Delayed FAA report coming soon

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said yesterday (Tuesday, May 31, 2022) that after multiple month-long delays it will soon release a key document related to the fate of SpaceXs Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas. The FAA said it has now set a date for publication of the final Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) for the SpaceX Starship Super Heavy Launch Vehicle Program at Starbase. The final PEA should be available within two weeks. Its publication will be a major step forward in SpaceXs ability to launch Starship from the site, which is located near environmentally sensitive coastal wetlands.

The FAA said on Tuesday:

The FAA intended to release the Final PEA on May 31, 2022. The FAA now plans to release the Final PEA on June 13, 2022, to account for ongoing interagency consultations. A notice will be sent to individuals and organizations on the project distribution list when the Final PEA is available.

In early May, SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell said she expects Starship will make its maiden orbital flight some time this summer. It could be as soon as this month, though that now seems unrealistic given the timing of the FAAs release of the PEA.

Still, Shotwell is optimistic, as reported by Bloomberg on May 5, 2022:

SpaceXs massive new Starship rocket designed to land NASA astronauts on the moon and eventually take humans to Mars will conduct a test flight from Texas in June or July, President Gwynne Shotwell said Thursday.

SpaceX has been awaiting regulatory approvals for launches from its site at Boca Chica, Texas, including an environmental assessment by the Federal Aviation Administration that has been delayed multiple times since December. Last week, the agency said its working to complete that review by the end of this month.

Shotwell, speaking at an engineering conference, didnt elaborate on how SpaceX established the latest plan. The timing marks another slip in the schedule for a rocket that company leaders have been aiming to launch since 2019. As recently as February, SpaceX founder Elon Musk said Starship could be ready to launch in May.

At the same conference, Shotwell stated again SpaceXs goal of putting human beings on Mars within this decade. She reiterated the interplanetary plan during an interview on CNBC on May 6, 2022.

In March, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk expressed hope the company could fly the Starship Heavy Lift Vehicle into orbit as soon as this month. Musks declaration coincided with the FAA receiving a favorable environmental report on SpaceXs plans to expand the Starbase launch facility in Boca Chica, Texas.

The tweet, which Musk posted March 21, 2022, described the extreme power of the companys new generation of rocket motors and announced enough units were completed to send Starship on a test flight out of Earths atmosphere:

Musks announcement came three weeks after the U.S. Department of the Interiors Fish and Wildlife Service sent the document to the FAA for review. It conducted a detailed 141-page environmental review of SpaceXs plans to expand launches in Texas. News that the draft BCO (Biological and Conference Opinion) was in the FAAs hands came via an exclusive report from the broadcast network CNBC, which obtained it through a Freedom of Information Act request.

The report deals mainly with a group of endangered species living on the Starbase property and in the coastal wetlands surrounding it. The area is home to two species of endangered wildcats, the ocelot and the jaguarundi. The northern Aplomado falcon; a pair of shorebirds, the piping plover and the red knot; and four species of sea turtles, the Kemps ridley, loggerhead, hawksbill, green and leatherback, also live in the area.

The Kemps ridley is the worlds rarest and most endangered sea turtle. Yet, risk to the Kemps ridley and other endangered species in the area can be mitigated by simple actions if expansion plans are approved, the report said. According to the Fish and Games cover letter for the BCO:

In the accompanying BCO, the Service determined that the action, as proposed, is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the species listed above. The action area encompasses a relative small portion of the rangewide habitat of each of the species addressed in this opinion and small portion of each species population.

Actions to lessen impacts on the at-risk species includes SpaceX-funded conservation of similar habitat elsewhere, fewer lights and less noise, monitoring how the species react to the upcoming changes and making sure anomalies in the form of crashed spacecraft and the resulting debris removal disturb the local wildlife as little as possible.

The species with the most to lose as SpaceX reaches for the moon and Mars is the piping plover. From the BCO:

The proposed action will result in the direct loss of 446.27 acres of piping plover habitat and critical habitat from construction and operation and the corresponding conversion of wind tidal flats. The proposed action will also result in an impact to 903.67 acres of occupied piping plover habitat and critical habitat in Critical Habitat Units TX-1.

The red knot also stands to see a large portion of its local habitat impacted by the proposed expansion. However, the 446.27 acres of red knot habitat that will be affected should be offset by Fish and Games plan to designate more than 680,000 acres elsewhere as critical habitat for the bird. The BCO describes a similar offset to protect the piper plover, which will see just 0.4 percent of its total habitat affected by SpaceXs plans.

Perhaps most concerning is the reports prediction of the impact to the extremely endangered Kemps ridley sea turtle, which could see the death of up to eight adults annually and the loss of three nests, along with as many as 330 hatchlings and eggs.

Either the FAA or the Fish and Game Service could initiate a new environmental review of the Starbase site at Boca Chica if certain conditions arise, chief among them being the death of too many individual animals from the various species listed in the BCO.

A renewed environmental review could also be started if new negative effects on the at-risk animals are discovered, if new species are discovered to be affected by SpaceXs operations or if the scope of review is modified in the future.

Should the number of endangered animals killed or harmed known as the take becomes too large, the controlling agencies will bring things to a halt. From the BCO:

In instances where the amount or extent of incidental take is exceeded, any operations causing such take must cease pending reinitiation.

Finally, the BCO could be the final biological report needed for SpaceX to fully begin upgrades at Starbase. From the BCOs closing pages:

If the Service determines there have been no significant changes in the action as planned or in the information used during the conference, the Service will confirm the conference opinion as the biological opinion for the project and no further section 7 consultation will be necessary.

Bottom line: SpaceXs Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, has been waiting and waiting for an environmental assessment. The FAA says well have it in two weeks, around mid-June.

Award-winning reporter and editor Dave Adalian's love affair with the cosmos began during a long-ago summer school trip to the storied and venerable Lick Observatory atop California's Mount Hamilton, east of San Jose in the foggy Diablos Mountain Range and far above Monterey Bay at the edge of the endless blue Pacific Ocean. That field trip goes on today, as Dave still pursues his nocturnal adventures, perched in the darkness at his telescope's eyepiece or chasing wandering stars through the fields of night as a naked-eye observer.A lifelong resident of California's Tulare County - an agricultural paradise where the Great San Joaquin Valley meets the Sierra Nevada in endless miles of grass-covered foothills - Dave grew up in a wilderness larger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined, one choked with the greatest diversity of flora and fauna in the US, one which passes its nights beneath pitch black skies rising over the some of highest mountain peaks and greatest roadless areas on the North American continent.Dave studied English, American literature and mass communications at the College of the Sequoias and the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has worked as a reporter and editor for a number of news publications on- and offline during a career spanning nearly 30 years so far. His fondest literary hope is to share his passion for astronomy and all things cosmic with anyone who wants to join in the adventure and explore the universe's past, present and future.

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EarthSky | Fate of SpaceX Starbase in Boca Chica soon

If the proposed addition of the 12GHz spectrum to 5G goes forward, Starlink broadband terminals across America could be crippled, or so SpaceX has complained.

The Elon Musk biz made the claim [PDF] this week in a filing to the FCC, which is considering allowing Dish to operate a 5G service in the 12GHz band (12.2-12.7GHz). This frequency range is also used by Starlink and others to provide over-the-air satellite internet connectivity.

SpaceX said its own in-house study, conducted in Las Vegas, showed "harmful interference from terrestrial mobile service to SpaceX's Starlink terminals more than 77 percent of the time, resulting in full outages 74 percent of the time." It also claimed the interference will extend to a minimum of 13 miles from base stations.In other words, if Dish gets to use these frequencies in the US, it'll render nearby Starlink terminals useless through wireless interference, it was claimed.

The rocket maker criticized a 2021 study that was submitted in favor of Dish to the regulator by RS Access, a group focused on bringing the 12GHz spectrum to 5G in the US. RS Access worked closely with Dish Networks, which is trying to expand into 5G service using the 12GHz band.

"The key technical question before the [Federal Communications Commission] is whether 5G operations can coexist with non-geostationary satellite orbit Fixed-Satellite Service (NGSO FSS) and Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) licensees in the band," RS Access concluded [PDF] in its report to the FCC.

By that, it means Starlink is the NGSO FSS; and Dish, which offers satellite TV, cellular plans, and more, is the DBS.RS Access's argument is that these two should be able to work alongside each other.

"The commission does not face a binary choice to either do nothing or sacrifice DBS and NGSO services in the 12GHz band," RS Access wrote. SpaceX's filing has no immediate effect on the proposals, and a debate over the rollout is ongoing.

Starlink also noted RS Access's report found that "only tens of thousands of Americans, which RS Access deems as negligible," would be affected by Dish's 12GHz expansion. "Yet, as the vast majority of comments about this submission have noted, the analysis is riddled with errors and faulty assumptions," it added.

The 5G for 12GHz Coalition, which includes Dish, RS Access, VMWare, and others, and is working with the FCC to see the proposals through, noted in a statement that "after 18 months and both a robust comment and reply period," SpaceX has finally submitted its response to the plans.

"Our engineers and technical experts are reviewing the filing in depth and remain committed to working in good faith with the FCC and stakeholders to ensure that the American public is able to reap the immense benefits of 5G services in this band," the coalition said.

Interestingly enough, in April 2021, the FCC approved a request by SpaceX to modify its license for operating Starlink satellites, a change that could potentially cause interference in the 12GHz range. Dish and RS Access both objected to the decision, which they said would compromise their 5G plans for the spectrum.

In that ruling, the FCC said it wasn't going to hold up the licensing decision because of the 12GHz proceedings, and added a caveat: "We condition this grant, subject to any modification necessary to bring it into conformance with future actions in commission rulemakings, including but not limited to the 12GHz proceeding Therefore, SpaceX proceeds at its own risk."

Starlink has a goal of providing internet to underserved locations, and by many accounts has done so. At the same time, thousands of Starlink satellites orbiting Earth are congesting the night sky so badly that AI models have been developed to help separate stars from Starlink kit blocking the view.

Read more here:

SpaceX: 5G expansion could kill US Starlink broadband - The Register

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (ValleyCentral) School is almost out for summer, and the South Texas Astronomical Society is gearing up to provide its first summer space camp for students from K to 7th grade.

The organization is partnering with NASA for the camp which will be held at the Rocket Ranch Boca Chica.

Were doing a series of space camps. So, the first space camp would be in the summer of this year and the next one would be in the fall, said executive director of STARSociety, Victor De Los Santos.

Phil Donaus, the director of operations for STARSociety, said the organization is aimed at providing education and inspiration in astronomy, science, and the engineering fields.

Before it was allowing students to be inspired, to get excited, but now we are going to help them connect. Were going to help them reach out to NASA, help them reach out to community partners in STEM and space exploration, said Donaus.

This space camp comes after the organization won a NASA Community Anchor Award and a Generation Artemis Grant.

What were trying to do is create a pipeline to get kids interested in stem science and engineering, and space exploration but also give continue them opportunities to go into these fieldsafter they get interested, said De Los Santos.

Artemis is NASAs mission to return to the moon, which is a main component of the camp.

Students will be able to see what its like to get humanity back to the moon from both the rockets that are going to bring us there, the lunar gateway that is going to help us live in orbit around the moon, and then also the landers, said Donaus.

Students will also have the chance to build a model rocket, use telescopes, and see exclusive content from NASA.

The Artemis Summer Space Camp 2022 is scheduled for three days in June.

For more information, you can visit the STARSocietys Facebook page.

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Kids space camp to launch in the RGV - KVEO-TV

by Douglas MessierManaging Editor

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has vowed to fight for SpaceX to receive federal approval to launch its Super Heavy/Starlink system from the companys Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas. Rio Grande Guardian reports:

Asked by veteran broadcaster Ron Whitlock ofRon Whitlock Reportswhether he is concerned about losing SpaceX, Abbott said:

What I am going to do if Biden interferes with the ability of SpaceX to launch from Boca Chica; I am going to be working every step of the way to make sure that they are going to be able to launch from Boca Chica. We heard the vision from Mr. Patel himself about what they are working on and our job is to make sure they are able to achieve their vision. And I have worked with Elon Musk very closely with regard to Tesla and the Giga factory in Austin, Texas. And we will be working with him very closely, every step of the way in Boca Chica for the future of SpaceX. We want that future and that vision to come from Boca Chica, from Brownsville, Texas.

Whitlock followed up with: And not to Florida? Abbott responded: Correct.

Whitlock interviewed Abbott at an economic development event held recently at the Port of Brownsville. Since this event, SpaceX has learned that its application to expand its Boca Chica rocket launching site has hit a new hurdle.

The new hurdle is that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers suspended consideration of SpaceXs proposal to expand Starbase on the grounds the company had failed to adequately respond to a series of questions about the plan the Corps had raised last May. The matter can be reopened if SpaceX responds with the requested information.

The Corps sent aletterto SpaceX dated March 7 that lists a number of deficiencies in the application. The overriding concern is that SpaceX eliminated alternative locations Cape Canaveral in Florida and Vandenberg Space Force Base in California without providing a thorough analysis of why those sites were not viable.

SpaceX had originally said Boca Chica was the only viable launch site. Earlier this year, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said that if approval of the Texas site was delayed, the company would move operations to Kennedy Space Center in Florida. SpaceX subsequently ramped up Super Heavy/Starship construction in the Sunshine State.

Musks company wants to build a launch complex near Pads 39A and 39B, which are being used for launches of SpaceXs Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy boosters and NASAs Space Launch System, respectively. SpaceX also wants to develop a site situated north of that location which would be known as Pad 49. Environmental groups in Florida have raised objections to the Pad 49 plan.

The Corps is evaluating how the expansion of SpaceXs permit would affect 17.16 acres of land adjacent to SpaceXs current footprint at Boca Chica. The expansion would involve the addition of test, orbital, and landing pads, integration towers, associated infrastructure, stormwater management features and vehicle parking. The proposed expansion will impact 10.94 acres of mud flats, 5.94 acres of estuarine wetlands, and 0.28 acres of non-tidal wetlands, according to the Corps project description.

The review is being done in conjunction with the Federal Aviation Administrations (FAA) programmatic environmental assessment (PEA) of SpaceXs plan to expand the spaceport and launch Super Heavy/Starship vehicles from the location just north of the Mexican border. FAA originally planned to complete the PEA by the end of last December; however, the estimated completion date is now April 28.

Some people are arguing on various Internet sites that the Corps application only covers expansion for a second Boca Chica launch pad and is separate from the PEA document being prepared by the FAA. So, the FAA could approve launches from a pad SpaceX has already built. However, an expert in the subject who writes under the name ESG Hound said that is not so.

The land covered in the Corps application covers all the stuff in the PEA, including support buildings and other site infrastructure. The two actions are intimately intertwined but go ahead in thinking this is some Elon Musk 4D Chess, he tweeted.

You can read his full analysis of the Corps decision and its likely impact on the review processhere.

What SpaceX is looking for in the FAAs PEA is a finding that launching the worlds most powerful rocket from Boca Chica would have no significant impact (FONSI) on the surrounding area. FAA could issue a FONSI subject to a number of conditions designed to limit the impact of launches and launch failures from the site.

However, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Park Service have raised serious questions about whether a FONSI can be issued even with conditions. A number of environmental groups have opposed SpaceXs plans, saying launching the rocket is not compatible with the sensitive nature of the surrounding area.

There are several possible outcomes:

An EIS was originally conducted before the FAA granted approval for SpaceX to launch Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets from Boca Chica. The company abandoned those plans and began testing Starship prototypes at the site, which it named Starbase.

FAA decided that a less rigorous EA was required to approve launches of the even larger Super Heavy/Starship from the location. That in itself has proven controversial; opponents have argued that a full EIS should have been started when SpaceX changed its plans several years ago.

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Texas Gov. Abbott Vows to Fight for SpaceX to Launch From Boca Chica Parabolic Arc - Parabolic Arc

Billionaire Elon Musks ambitious plans for space travel are taking shape on a sandy patch of Texas not far from the U.S.-Mexico border town of Brownsville and South Padre Island, the spring break haven.

Its an area that might not seem to have much in common with Chicago, with its warm, salty waters, occasional shark sightings and the up-righted rockets that protrude from the landscape.

But Chicagoans are central to the history of Musks Texas Starbase property where spaceships are assembled and SpaceX workers, including Musk, stay in an adjacent neighborhood of ranch-style homes or campers along streets lined with palm trees and, reflecting another of Musks business interests, electric-powered Tesla cars in some of the driveways.

Elon Musks Starbase complex includes what initially was called Kennedy Shores when it was created as a retirement village in the 1960s by a Chicago developer.

Robert Herguth / Sun-Times

Campers dot the landscape of Elon Musks rocket facility in south Texas adjacent to what was once a retirement community that drew Polish Americans from Chicago.

Robert Herguth / Sun-Times

Over the past decade, Musk has bought or obtained options to buy land there just down Texas State Highway 4 from a launch site where his spacecraft might one day take off for Mars or beyond.

The area previously was home to a retirement community that Chicago radio personality John A. Caputa helped create, pitching the site on Polish-language radio programs in the 1960s and 1970s as the next Fort Lauderdale.

Caputa who was from Austria but spoke Polish also promoted the development in a Polish language newspaper in Chicago.

Elon Musk speaks at SpaceXs Starbase facility near Boca Chica Village in South Texas.

Only a smattering of homes ended up being built for the retirement community. And no more than a few dozen people at any given time ever lived in the community initially named Kennedy Shores after President John F. Kennedy, then called Kopernik Shores in homage of Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus and now known as Boca Chica Village, a nod in Spanish to the small mouth of the nearby Rio Grande River.

The entrance to Boca Chica Village, with the rocket launch site visible in the distance.

Robert Herguth / Sun-Times

What seemed like an honest venture at the start turned into a nightmare for some by the time Caputa died at 65 in 1977 after a heart attack while driving on what was then called the Northwest Tollway. At the time of his death, hed been staying, penniless or nearly so, at the Leaning Tower YMCA in Niles, noteworthy for its half-scale replica of the Pisa landmark.

In a story headlined, Hes Dead, Their Savings Gone, the Chicago Sun-Times reported: Caputa was building a retirement village for Polish immigrants in south Texas ... and with the help of the Lord and the people of Chicagos Polish community, the dream would come true. He asked his listeners to lend him money and promised a 12% return after a year.

But, according to the story, Caputa had been falling behind on payments to his creditors, including his radio listeners, since the early 1970s.

According to the Texas Almanac, after Caputas death, it was discovered that many of the Kopernik Shore residents did not hold clear title to their land.

Caputa had gotten into real estate in the 1960s, joining a venture with several others who bought a huge parcel along the Texas Gulf Coast. Their plan? To build a Fort Lauderdale of the West, using Caputas salesmanship and ties with the Chicago ethnic community to market lots.

Caputa brought train and bus loads of people from Chicago to see the property, but a series of tropical storms battered the area, and sales slowed, the Sun-Times reported.

Caputa broke with his partners, and legal and financial problems followed.

Two months after Caputas death, the old Dallas Times Herald chronicled the politics of the place, whose mayor at the time was 82-year-old Stanley Piotrowicz, whod been a home builder in Evanston and run unsuccessfully for Illinois secretary of state in 1936 as a third-party candidate.

Piotrowicz got the community incorporated, but that was overturned by a judge as a political rival fumed over the inability to get fresh water piped to the area. The bitterness spilled into the April 2, 1977, election that a judge called the most irregular in the history of Texas, rife with accusations of election fraud.

Piotrowicz, who was born in Poland, believed so strongly in the idea of a Polish megalopolis of senior citizens in southern Texas that he was one of the first to invest, according to the Dallas newspaper.

I was president of the Polish American Senior Citizens Council of Chicago, and we had 2,600 members sign up for land with Caputa, he told the paper. Its the best climate in the U.S. for asthma and rheumatism. Here, you get cured without a doctor just God and the sun.

A grotto of the Virgin Mary, one of the few remaining signs that Boca Chica Village was once a retirement community of Polish Americans.

Robert Herguth / Sun-Times

One of the few unused structures in Boca Chica Village.

Robert Herguth / Sun-Times

Decades later, Musk is using that land in his effort to some day travel to the heavens.

And Caputa and Piotrowiczs dream for whats now Boca Chica Village, which still includes a few retirees who hadnt sold to Musk?

In the words of Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino Jr., It is definitely not a sleepy retirement village any longer.

Link:

Elon Musks Starbase in Texas sits on land once pitched to Chicago Polish retirees by Polish radios John C - Chicago Sun-Times

Every big platform is bracing itself for Web3. NFTs will arrive on Instagram soon. Spotify is hiring for Web3 experts. Twitter already lets users show off their virtual art as profile pictures. YouTube isn't far behind on its own NFT plans, which are vague at the moment, but CEO Susan Wojcicki said they'll help relatively small creators jumpstart their platforms.

"We are seeing that creators are selling their videos and memes as NFTs," Wojcicki told livestreamer Ludwig Ahgren on a recent podcast episode of The Yard. "If creators are selling their videos as NFTs, then that's an important form of monetization. I don't think it would be good if that all happened on another platform."

Wojcicki said allowing creators to sell NFTs on the platform can help smaller influencers who are just beginning to build up their accounts, pointing to musicians who have begun using NFTs as a way to fundraise.

At the end of the day what YouTube does is, were a platform that distributes content and monetization, she said. If NFTs are an important part of that equation, then we think we should be there.

Wojcicki, who owns "a few" NFTs herself, didn't provide too many details on YouTube's Web3 plans. But she said YouTube is in the best position to verify virtual assets that belong to creators through its Content ID tool, which lets creators track and manage their content. It would be a problem for you if some other third-party site were selling your videos without knowing that it belonged to you, Wojcicki added.

Ahgren pushed back on NFTs, saying they're a "blight" in the gaming world and will only help already big influencers in the long run. Gaming companies that have introduced these tools have gotten their fair share of backlash, both for environmental reasons and because some see crypto in gaming as unnecessary. Wojcicki acknowledged that YouTube's decision to work on NFTs was "polarizing" but that the platform's goal behind NFTs is to protect creators. Were going to be really careful. I think you are going to be OK with what we do with NFTs," she said.

YouTube's $100 million Shorts Fund has also been polarizing for creators. Wojcicki told Ahgren that the money from the program is only a temporary form of revenue. I dont think [Shorts funds are] permanent, Wojcicki said. She added that YouTube is working to make the Shorts program more scalable in the future and that the platform is working on a new program for creators to make money. But I cant say anything else, she said.

Ahgren pointed to a video posted by YouTuber Hank Green, who said creator funds arent sustainable because the pool of dedicated cash is static even though the number of creators eligible for the fund grows. But Wojcicki said the Shorts Fund was only an initial form of monetization for short-form creators, and the platform is looking to run more ads on short-form content so people can earn money like they would on longer YouTube videos. YouTube has a great monetization program for long-form creators, and we want to extend that for Shorts, Wojcicki said.

YouTube's decision to stop displaying the dislike count may not have been a popular one, but Wojcicki said even though the move got its fair share of backlash, it was made in the best interest of creators.

"I understand there were many people and yes, we heard loud and clear why people were unhappy with that decision," she told Ahgren. "But then we also saw the impact that it was having on a lot of new creators, and thats bad. We need to have, and continue to support, smaller creators and how theyre growing. Thats really important for the long-term health of our ecosystem."

Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled Ludwig Ahgren's name. This story was updated on April 11, 2022.

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Why YouTube wants to get into the NFT business - Protocol

(TNS) The Alamo Regional Mobility Authority doesn't exactly know where Elon Musk's Boring Co. wants to build its proposed underground transportation loop in San Antonio.

The RMA's board voted 5-0 last month to enter negotiations with the tunnel maker to construct a loop system at an estimated cost of between $247 million and $289 million connecting San Antonio International Airport and downtown.

The system could include a leg linking the Convention Center to the Pearl area on Broadway.

The Alamo RMA also has a lot of questions. Its chairman, Michael Lynd Jr., said the project remains largely conceptual.

"The tunnel is not designed," he said during an Express-News editorial board meeting Thursday. "We have no idea even what the route is today. All of that will have to be determined."

The drive from the airport and downtown is less than 10 miles, mainly on U.S. 281, and takes about 15 minutes in moderate traffic. Drive times are slower, of course, if there's an accident or it's rush hour.

Lynd said the loop would address current traffic problems and could help ease increased congestion resulting from San Antonio's future population growth.

The Boring Co. estimates it could transport 4,400 business travelers, tourists and locals per hour in Teslas from the airport to downtown and back, generating annual revenue of $25 million for the RMA. The tunnels would be about 12 feet wide.

If the loop gets built and is successful, Lynd foresees the possibility of expanding the system, with Teslas delivering passengers to Brooks on the Southeast Side, the University of Texas at San Antonio's downtown campus, Port San Antonio, Texas A&M University-San Antonio, the Shops at La Cantera and the AT&T Center, among other destinations.

But the RMA doesn't know yet whether the tunnel would be financially feasible.

"They need the ability to be self-financed, so they have to be economically viable," said Lynd, CEO of the development firm Kairoi Residential.

He said the authority will bring in consultants to conduct feasibility and ridership studies to determine whether there's enough demand to generate the revenue to pay for the loop's construction and operation.

The RMA hasn't yet hired firms to conduct the studies.

If the results show a loop makes financial sense, he said, the RMA and Boring Co. would begin working out its path. The tunnels could be dug mostly under U.S. 281 in part to avoid having to negotiate with numerous private property owners for rights of way, as well as complications with city utilities.

"It's a lot easier to generate right-of-way access for us," Lynd said. "We would need the ability to secure a right of way even if we're underneath somebody's property. We want to eliminate as many moving pieces as possible between the airport and downtown."

With the loop project, the authority's main goal is to bring in more revenue so the agency can pay for roadway projects that will result in less congestion.

Other RMAs in Texas take in revenue from toll roads. But San Antonio has none of those because of fierce opposition to such projects. As a result, the Bexar County-created Alamo RMA's biggest source of funding comes from vehicle registration fees.

In 2020, the fees accounted for $15.7 million, or more than half of the RMA's total revenue of $29 million.

The company told the RMA it could pay between $27 million and $47 million for the loop's first phase, and it could maintain and operate the system through a long-term lease agreement.

If the RMA moves forward with the project, it could sell revenue bonds to pay for construction of the tunnels. It would use money generated from passenger fares and possibly other sources to repay the debt.

"The key reason for selecting The Boring Co. is that their proposal did not reduce by $1 any available funds to construct any road," Lynd said. "It also did not require a revenue guarantee from the county or taxpayers. And it also did not require any new county taxes in order to pay for its improvement."

"In essence, the project, as proposed, is fully self-financed," he said. " The Boring Co. has indicated a willingness to construct the project under a fixed price with no cost overrun risk to the RMA."

The loop system would include several stations along the route, potentially both underground and at street-level.

Lynd said it could be more than an underground loop system that delivers passengers from Point A to Point B. Boring Co. drivers could drop off riders at locations outside the loop like rideshare drivers.

"What [drivers] can do is exit the tunnel, drive on the streets, drop you at your final destination, loop back around and then be at the entrance of the tunnel so the car can loop back into the system," he said.

Its track record is mixed.

Founded in 2016 by Musk who's also CEO of Tesla and founder and chief executive of SpaceX the company has completed one project: a $52 million, 1.7-mile tunnel under the Las Vegas Convention Center. In October, it received approval from Las Vegas officials to begin building a 29-mile tunnel to include 51 stations across the city.

It's also currently looking to build projects in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

The Boring Co. reportedly connected with Cameron County officials last summer to pitch a tunnel system connecting southern South Padre Island to the northern portion of Boca Chica Beach, near SpaceX's launch site in South Texas.

The tunnel company, headquartered in the Austin area, also met with Austin officials last summer to discuss the possibility of connecting Tesla's "gigafactory" to downtown by tunnels.

Just as many of its proposals have fallen by the wayside, however.

The Boring Co. has halted work on projects in Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City and Washington, D.C., among others. Several of them died in the environmental review process.

"From San Antonio to Austin, this corridor is the fastest-growing in the nation in terms of population growth," he said. "There's no doubt that our roads will continue to meet expanded demand. That's the problem that we're trying to solve."

Bexar County's population alone is projected to hit 2.8 million people by 2040, up from its current 1.9 million.

The proposed San Antonio loop eventually could be expanded to New Braunfels and Austin.

2022 the San Antonio Express-News, Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Will Elon Musk Build a Tunnel Loop in San Antonio? - Government Technology

Good morning! Do you miss roaming a convention center with a tech conference badge? Or the summer camp vibe of reuniting with industry peers you havent seen in years? Well, the virtual events necessitated by the pandemic appear to be sticking around. So is the in-person tech event a thing of the past? I'm Allison Levitsky, and I once worked as a Frida Kahlo impersonator at SFMOMA.

The pandemics darkest days have passed and in-person gatherings are back, but the virtual events that emerged during the pandemic have staying power. Some of techs biggest conferences are hanging on to a hybrid element if not remaining entirely online.

Were fully into year three of the pandemic, and Big Techs conferences are still mostly virtual. The events once packed thousands of attendees into large convention centers in exotic locales like San Jose and Las Vegas, but this week, Apple announced that its annual developers conference would once again be an online event, and Facebook parent company Meta is also putting its annual developers event on pause.

Other companies are going all-in on hybrid conferences. This combines the benefits of in-person gatherings networking, more immersive experiences, a captive audience with the wider audience and deeper focus of online sessions.

In-person networking is a big part of the appeal of conferences. But apparently, thats not deterring tech companies from making their developer conferences virtual.

Well have to see whether Apple takes the wraps off its latest iPhone with a splashy IRL event this September. Either way, the more technical tech conferences are likely to stay at least partially, if not mostly, online or maybe in, IDK, the metaverse?

How is tech setting and measuring climate goals?

Net zero. Carbon offsets. Scope 3 emissions. These are just some of the terms youll find in Big Techs climate plans. Understanding what they actually mean is vital to ensuring the industry is meeting its goals. Join us at 10 a.m. PT April 19, where Protocol's Brian Kahn will talk with some of the people responsible for setting those goals and experts who are monitoring them to find out what tech companies are really doing. RSVP here.

DuckDuckGo has an all-in-one privacy solution aimed at simplifying online privacy protection. DuckDuckGos app can be used as an everyday browser with private search, tracker blocking, encryption, and now email protection built-in. Its the free, easy button for online privacy.

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Tesla shareholder Ron Baron doesnt think Elon Musks Twitter buy is a big deal:

Microsofts Satya Nadella told workers to stop sending those late-night emails:

Janet Yellen said crypto regulation should be tech neutral:

Daversa Partners Frank Cumella said companies should create strong ties with their executive search firm:

Bolt Financial bought Wyre Payments, a blockchain-based payments provider, for about $1.5 billion, sources told The Wall Street Journal.

Coinbase is on a hiring spree in India. The company plans to triple its employee count in the country to 1,000, and half of the new hires will be engineers.

Discoverys new post-WarnerMedia merger leaders are in place. Jean-Briac Perrette will lead its streaming businesses; Bruce Campbell will serve as chief revenue and strategy officer; and Kathleen Finch is the new chair and chief content officer.

Skand Gupta is the new head of Engineering at Cadre. Gupta has worked in senior engineering roles at companies like Better.com and Dropbox.

Elon Musk finally visited the White House. He met with Biden officials alongside other auto industry leaders to discuss topics like charging networks and EVs.

Amazon will appeal its unionization defeat, which last week saw workers in New York vote to establish the companys first U.S. union. Hardly surprising.

Riot Games is the latest to drop its vaccine requirement and ask workers to come back to the office. Sources told Vice the change has upset employees, some of whom have left.

Twitter Employees aren't happy with Elon Musk being on the company's board, so much so that the company plans to host a town hall on the matter, according to The Washington Post.

Activision Blizzards quality assurance testers are now full-time workers after months of activism from some employees. The workers now have full-time contracts and a raise.

Twitter is testing a tool that would let users unmention themselves from conversations on the web.

Epic and Lego want to make the metaverse better for kids. Their plans to work together are vague, but theyre aiming to prioritize kids well-being and protect their privacy.

SpaceX cant expand in Boca Chica, Texas, for now because it never provided documentation on how its growth would affect surrounding ecology and wildlife.

Famous women including Gwyneth Paltrow and Reese Witherspoon are getting in on the crypto craze. Given that men have invested more in crypto than women, that leadership push from women celebrities should be seen as a good thing. But its not really?

Women celebrities interest in NFTs sounds a lot like the girlboss philosophy, which refers to a 2010s trend in which women leaders broke into male-dominated fields, but in a self-serving way. The charge looks like women are successfully breaking the glass ceiling, but at the expense of marginalized women. The ongoing hype around NFTs could play out in the same way, the Washington Post reports, but time will tell.

Tracking is a comprehensive problem over 80% of websites, apps and emails contain third-party trackers. Because of that, people need a multi-pronged privacy solution. DuckDuckGos all-in-one privacy app can be used as an everyday browser with multiple features built-in, including private search, tracker blocking, encryption, and email protection.

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Thoughts, questions, tips? Send them to sourcecode@protocol.com, or our tips line, tips@protocol.com. Enjoy your day, see you Sunday.

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Big tech conferences arent coming back - Protocol

The past few weeks have seen a flurry of activity at SpaceXs Boca Chica Launch Complex! In addition to the SN 20 prototype completing a static fire test with three of the new Raptor Vacuum 6 engines this month, the facilitys Mechazilla Launch Tower recently received a giant pair of steel arms. Once integrated with the ~135m (~450 ft) tower, these arms will be responsible for catching spent Starships and Super Heavy boosters as they return to Earth.

The Tower will also prepare missions by stacking first stage boosters with Starships and refueling these elements for the next launch. In this respect, the Launch Tower is a crucial piece of the Orbital Launch Site (OLS) architecture that Elon Musk has planned for Boca Chica. Once the Starship completes its Orbital Flight Test (which could happen soon!), Boca Chica will become a spaceflight hub where launches and retrievals are conducted regularly.

In addition to the Launch Tower, several elements will be added to the OLS as part of its Ground Support Equipment (GSE) site. This will likely include additional fuel tanks, water tanks, pipelines, a pumping station, and other amenities. Together, the Launch Tower and the GSE will enable SpaceX to launch, retrieve, refuel, and relaunch its vehicles, ensuring rapid reusability and minimized turnaround time.

These giant steel arms, nicknamed the chopsticks by the crews at Boca Chica, are mounted to a carriage-like structure. The Tower, meanwhile, is equipped with rails that have a series of skates, which the ground crews attached the carriage to using a series of large pins. Once the arms are integrated, they will be paired with a third Quick Disconnect (QD) arm that will stabilize boosters whenever they are in the process of being stacked with the Starship.

The QD arm is also tasked with distributing power, commlinks, and ~1.088 million kg (2.4 million lbs; 1200 US tons) of cryogenically-cooled propellant to the upper stage. This was the first component installed aboard the Launch Tower, which took place in late August, about a month after the crews finished stacking the Tower. Around the same time, construction began on the carriage-like structure and the two giant arms, which took about three months to complete.

The integration of the QD arm with the Launch Tower began on Oct. 6th, when the ground crews moved the carriage into a vertical position and reoriented the chopsticks so they were angled the right way. By Oct. 20th, they completed the first step of installing the carriage and arms onto the rail skates using the facilitys largest crane. Twelve connections need to be made in total before the catch arms will be a part of the Tower without the help of a crane.

However, before the catch arms can perform on their own, the ground crews also need to finish installing the hundreds of meters of steel cable that will support the carriage and arms and (with the help of a system of pulleys) lift it up and down. They also need to finish work on the giant cable carrier that will connect the structure to the ground and control systems.

In other news, Elon Musk recently divulged that the long-awaited Orbital Flight Test could take place sometime in November. Musk shared the news via Twitter (as always), indicating that the test could happen if all goes well and pending approval by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This test will see the SN 20 prototype fly to an altitude of 200 km (124 mi), then make a soft touchdown on the landing pad.

Once complete, this flight will validate the Starship as an orbital vehicle and demonstrate its ability to return from space safely. For this reason, the SN 20 is the first prototype to be outfitted with heat-resistant tiles to protect the prototypes stainless steel hull from the scorching heat it will encounter during atmospheric re-entry. This update came a day after the SN 20 prototype successfully concluded the first static fire test of the Vacuum Raptor Engine 6.

These engines have a larger nozzle than the Raptor Engines optimized for sea level, which gives them improved performance in the airless environment of space. The SN 20 will also have three of these Raptor engines to ensure that it can make a controlled landing once its returned to Earths atmosphere. Once this orbital flight is complete, the Starship will officially be ready to move into commercial flights.

These developments are timely, given that Musk hopes to send the Starship on its inaugural mission by 2023. This mission is being financed by Japanese billionaire, entrepreneur, and art collector Yusaku Maezawa and will see a crew of eight artists making a circumlunar flight (the purpose of which will be to inspire art and raise SpaceXs profile). Musk has also indicated that his company plans to send uncrewed missions to Mars by 2024, followed by crewed missions by 2026.

Thats a tall order, for sure. And such a plan requires a robust testing schedule! But if this latest news from South Texas is any indication, SpaceX might make those deadlines!

Further Reading: Teslarati

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Mechazilla is Getting its Arms. Now it can Catch Starships! - Universe Today

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is once again criticizing the proposed billionaire tax, which could cost him up to $50 billion if passed. He claims that the tax is put toward his goal of reaching Mars using rockets built by his firm, SpaceX.

The billionaire, who also happens to be the world's richest person, has other plans for his vast fortune - he wants to make humanity interplanetary.

"My plan is to use the money to get humanity to Mars and preserve the light of consciousness,"he tweetedtoday.

The New York Timesreported on Tuesday that Senate Democrats propose to tax billionaires on unrealized increases in value for liquid assets like stocks as part of a $1.5 trillion spending proposal.

This is why Musk is denouncing a proposed billionaire tax in the United States Congress, which, if passed, would require him to pay $50 billion in government dues. Business Insiderexplained that Musk might be spending his $50 billion on SpaceX rockets and technology that will carry people to Mars.

But Elon Musk, as Fortunepoints out, has frequently relied on government subsidies to build his firms, including a $465 million loan from the US Energy Department in 2010.

In addition, NASA awarded SpaceX a $2.9 billion contract to create a lunar lander as part of the Human Landing System program.

SpaceX CEO has long believed that the best thing mankind can do is create outposts on other planets, particularly Mars.

(Photo : Getty Images)US entrepreneur and business magnate Elon Musk gestures during a visit at the Tesla Gigafactory plant under construction, on August 13, 2021 in Gruenheide near Berlin, eastern Germany. (Photo by Patrick Pleul / POOL / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK PLEUL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

ALSO READ: NASA Delays SpaceX Crew-3 Mission to November 3 Due to Weather Conditions

@twiiter|https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1453852886933377028?@

In a tweet, SpaceX shared their "Gateway to Mars" in a 90-second video that showed the Starship being wheeled to the launch pad, lifting off, doing intricate flips, and landing safely on the ground.

Musk also shared an incredible photo of the Starship and Super Heavy at the company's Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, with a full moon behind them. In the tweet, he said, "Starbase under development."

Musk plans to create an Interplanetary Transport System (ITS) for regular flights to Mars using SpaceX's 120-meter Starship spacecraft atop a Super Heavy rocket as part of his space tourism objective. The spaceship would be capable of transporting 100 people from Earth to Mars and back.

For those Mars voyages, he plans to launch 1,000 or more ITS spacecraft, each with a capacity of 100 passengers. According to Space.com, Musk is planning an architecture that will deliver one million people to Mars over the next century, producing a thriving colony.

Musk predicts a cost of $100,000 to $200,000, which he claims is less expensive than the predicted $10 billion costs of traditional spaceflight technologies. He also calculated that constructing a metropolis on Mars would cost $10 trillion.

SpaceX plans to fly its first orbital Starship test mission in the coming month, ahead of a 2024 Moon landing with the first woman and person of color under NASA's Artemis program.

RELATED ARTICLE: Honda Makes Engine For Reusable Rocket Prototype; Are They Joining Space Race?

Check out more news and information on SpaceX in Science Times.

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SpaceX CEO Elon Musk Wants to Spend $50 Billion To Bring Humanity to Mars - Science Times

The same year that The Verge came into being, another decades-long program was coming to an end. In July 2011, NASAs Space Shuttle Atlantis, with a crew of four on board, blasted off from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, bound for the International Space Station. It was the last time the Space Shuttle would ever take flight and the last time that people would launch to orbit from the United States for nearly a decade.

I didnt start covering space until after the Shuttle stopped flying, but the end of the program was still a pivotal moment for me. NASAs workhorse spaceplane had been a major staple in my life ever since I was born. Both my parents had worked on the Space Shuttle program at Johnson Space Center for nearly the entirety of their professional careers, and for them, its termination was a huge loss. An end of an era. As I watched Atlantis wheels touch down on a Florida runway one final time on TV, I couldnt help but feel that the US was throwing in the towel on human spaceflight.

Yet there were rumblings of new beginnings. During the last few years of the Shuttle program, when I was in college, my dad started experimenting with his own elaborate plan for returning astronauts to the Moon, just as a side project. He wanted to work on something that gave him hope for an exciting future in space. Like any respectable engineer, he made a PowerPoint presentation. And he showed it to the family... a lot. The plan relied on a mix of different rockets all working together to get people and fuel to space. Some of the vehicles were already operating, some still in development. One rocket he envisioned using was a vehicle I had never heard of before called the Falcon 9 Heavy.

I can still remember looking over his shoulder at the computer in his office during summer break, as he pulled up the rocket makers website, this small company called SpaceX. He told me it was founded by the same guy whod created PayPal, and that he thought this was somebody to watch. Mostly, he was impressed at the companys low prices. NASAs biggest weakness had always been exorbitant costs that always seemed to balloon, making it prohibitive for anyone but the government to afford launching to space. But SpaceX boasted incredibly low prices for getting cargo to orbit. He thought their cost structure would change everything.

After the 20th time of listening to his presentation, I promptly tried to forget about all of it when I went back to school. Back then, I had no idea that the PayPal guy would show up again in a big way.

Theres plenty to debate about whether the Space Shuttle program should have ended the way it did. But its conclusion certainly marked the beginning of a new era for NASA and the space industry at large. The Space Shuttle years embodied a time when the government was the primary gatekeeper to space, especially human spaceflight. In the years after Atlantis final flight, the world has seen private space companies leap forward in major ways. Notably, the rise of SpaceX from a bit player to a space behemoth changed the game. Just a year after the last Shuttle flight, SpaceX launched a cargo Dragon capsule to the International Space Station, the first time a private spacecraft had ever docked with the ISS. It was just the beginning of many more firsts to come.

It turned out that my dad was onto something. SpaceXs focus on lowering the cost to get to space certainly played in its favor when securing NASA contracts and customers, and the company captured plenty of followers due to its lofty goals of reusing rockets and sending humans to the Moon and Mars someday. Though the company still clamors for government funding and sometimes makes bold predictions it doesnt actually see through, SpaceX continues to defy expectations with each new accomplishment.

Myriad space companies have sprouted and started to mature since, all aimed at capturing something like SpaceXs success. Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic are dueling to send tourists to the edge of space and back, while Blue Origin also hopes to launch people beyond Earth orbit and to the Moon. Satellite companies like Planet, Spire, OneWeb, and more have capitalized on technology miniaturization, creating satellites that are smaller than ever. And dozens of companies including Rocket Lab, Virgin Orbit, Astra, and Firefly, have created their own rockets to send those small satellites into orbit and beyond. Companies like Astrobotic and Intuitive Machines are working on their own robotic lunar landers, while others like Axiom and Sierra Space are building their own private space stations. Maxar and Astroscale continue to tinker with making satellites that can repair other satellites already in orbit.

Its a type of diversity that has made covering space an extremely intense and dynamic profession, very different from just a decade ago. When I did finally become a space journalist and started attending launches, I spoke with other reporters who had covered Shuttle during its twilight years. And I was a little surprised to learn that they found it to be rather boring. Every few months, the Shuttle would launch, and then itd come back down. It was all pretty routine stuff. Compared to today, it was a much more predictable time.

Now, the space beat is a completely erratic profession. Important human launches will take place in the middle of the night, billionaires will launch to space within weeks of each other, Elon Musk will conduct rocket tests with just a moments notice, or the International Space Station will unexpectedly lurch and spin out of control for a few minutes, sending mission controllers into a panic. Its hard to know what to expect in just a week alone. In the meantime, NASA is still a constant dominating presence. The space agency continues to explore the cosmos with a plethora of robotic explorers, which fly off toward distant asteroids and planets, scooping up materials for scientists back home to analyze. Sometimes those robots work sometimes they dont. As journalists, we have to be ready for any manner of failure, often writing a post for success and one for all the possible ways a spacecraft can explode. And that doesnt even touch on the periodic UFO mania that pops up like clockwork.

With the rise of SpaceX and other commercial companies, theres certainly been an influx of enthusiasm from the public, eager to lap up any new innovative updates about our push into space. People will camp out in front of SpaceXs test facility in Boca Chica, Texas for days and weeks, just so they can witness the construction of SpaceXs next-generation rocket, Starship, in real time. Thousands of space lovers will tune into launch livestreams for every major takeoff, so they can witness the awe of a rocket igniting again and again.

Of course, theres been the opposite kind of reaction, too. The prevalence of billionaires in the commercial space race has been nothing short of divisive. When Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson flew to space on their own rockets this summer, many saw the launches as the worlds most expensive vanity projects, while others pondered if there was something better they could have spent their money on. And not everything SpaceX does is met with joy. The companys Starlink initiative, aimed at sending thousands of satellites into orbit to provide broadband internet coverage to the Earth, has been derided and chastised as polluting the night sky with artificial light, as well as creating a much more crowded space environment. Meanwhile, the problems we all continue to grapple with on Earth sexual harassment, diversity and inclusion, and burnout to name a few are still a problem in the space world, too.

But one thing that cant be ignored is that private space companies are pushing boundaries in ways that many people thought impossible decades before, at least without significant help and oversight from NASA or the government. Nine years after Atlantis made its final flight, SpaceX launched two NASA astronauts to the space station, the first time a private company had ever sent humans into orbit. More than a year later, SpaceX took it even further by launching four civilians to orbit; none of them were astronauts or military personnel. They were a tech billionaire, a cancer survivor, an engineer, and a professor. It was a gateway mission, proving that people dont necessarily need to be NASA astronauts to see the curvature of the Earth from more than 300 miles up.

As a reporter, its been wild to watch it all unfold and witness as space coverage blends into mainstream coverage more and more. When I first started reporting, I was used to being the lone person, staring at my computer screen, intently watching as each rocket took flight. Last year, when SpaceX launched its first astronauts, it felt like millions of people were watching along with me. When the launch got delayed at the last second, pushed to a few days later, my entire company collectively groaned in agony. It was fun to share that experience with them, one Ive felt countless times before.

The year 2011 may have seemed like the end of an era for space, but a new one has blossomed in the years since. I can only imagine what the next 10 years will bring.

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The last decade in space: NASA, SpaceX and more - The Verge