Daily Archives: June 18, 2017

Former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio returns to western Massachusetts for 2nd Amendment Rally – wwlp.com

Posted: June 18, 2017 at 10:52 am

BELCHERTOWN, Mass. (WWLP) A Springfield native, who gained national attention for his controversial politics, returned to western Massachusetts Saturday.

Former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio is best known for his anti-immigration tactics, but on Saturday, he came to talk about a different controversial topic hes passionate about, Second Amendment rights. I had a posse of 3,000 people, I armed 500 to carry weapons. I believe citizens, private citizens should be able to carry weapons, he said.

Arpaio was one of several gun activists invited to speak at the fourth annual Second Amendment Rally at the Swift River Sportsmans Club in Belchertown Saturday.

Lou Hermanson told 22News, their goal is to educate others on what the right to bear arms means to them. There are so many people who are fighting against it, and not enough people for it. I think a lot of it is education, people dont understand what weapons can do, or what their use is for, he said.

One man from New Hampshire told 22News, hes a supporter of Second Amendment rights, but accepts the fact that many other New Englanders are not. Unfortunately, theyre misunderstanding the fact theyre law abiding citizens just like them. We respect their right if they dont agree with the Second Amendment, but they should respect ours that we do agree with it, he said.

The debate over the SecondAmendment has continued to heat up in recent years. According to the National Violence Archive, there have been 154 mass shootings this year alone.

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Letters First Amendment not just for doctors; patients can opt out – Palm Beach Post

Posted: at 10:52 am

Now that the courts have ruled that doctors have a First Amendment right to ask their patients if they own guns, I want to remind the patients that they also have the same First Amendment right.

To keep your gun ownership private, do not tell the doctors you own guns as it will become part of your medical records and every agency of our federal government will have a ready-made list of gun owners.

If I am asked I would say:

Doc, it is none of your business but if I owned a gun, and I am not saying that I do, I want you to know that I am aware of how to store and handle guns and I would ensure that they are kept safe from children and other unauthorized people for their safety and mine.

BRUCE MILLS, NORTH PALM BEACH

I was appalled by the letter Words mattertake care with drug use (Wednesday) by professor George Stoupas. Though I agree that addicts deserve our compassion, his comparison to people on the autism spectrum is fundamentally wrong and misleading.

People on the autism spectrum are born that way and cannot be cured. They, however, are taught to make the most of their strong points and live productive lives.

Drug abusers, as well as alcohol abusers, become users as a choice. Yes, addiction is a disease, but they can be cured if they choose to go through the extremely difficult and rigorous detox process. I personally know people who made that choice and live happy and productive lives.

JOSEPH WILLINGER, BOYNTON BEACH

Kudos to my mayor, Jeri Muoio, for joining the Compact of Mayors on Climate and Energy. Within three years, participating cities will endeavor to report their greenhouse gas emissions, set emission reduction targets and develop climate action plans.

By withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, President Donald Trump has done damage to our countrys standing with the rest of the world. The original U.S.-Paris agreement actually expires in 2020. Hopefully, by then, a wiser public will have voted him out of office. In the meantime, much can be done by local governments.

A National Geographic report asserts that Floridas coastline could be radically changed by as much as a 5-foot sea-level rise by 2100, putting Miami and other coastal cities under water. This would impact Floridas major industries as well as $390 billion worth of properties. In the wake of climate change, temperature swings are projected to be more volatile by centurys end.

It is therefore imperative that the mayors do everything within their powers to countervail this imprudent step by the president.

MARCIA DE FREN, WEST PALM BEACH

A recent letter suggested President Donald Trumps decision to leave the global warming agreement was another slap in the face of President Barack Obama and more evidence of hatred. After all, the entire agreement was voluntary.

It allows China to continue its increase of pollution at any rate until 2030. What is clearly not voluntary is the U.S. commitment to provide billions of taxpayer dollars to other countries.

So unless you believe that its all Americas fault, and we should be punished financially, you should support an agreement that commits all the largest polluters to make progress today, not 13 years from now.

Similar to NATO, everyone has to meet commitments, not just wink and expect America to do it all with our money.

JOHN GIGANTI, BOYNTON BEACH

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GUEST COLUMN: Confederate monuments protected by First Amendment – St. Augustine Record

Posted: at 10:52 am

Katherine Owens

St. Augustine

There are some who are offended by the Confederate monuments in our Plaza and/or in other cities. These monuments serve only as a reminder of that which has come before. If every generation destroyed what it found offensive, there would be nothing left. It is a guarantee that something we believe in today will be looked upon with disgust and horror by future generations.

I have family who fought on both sides of the Civil War. I am proud of the service of all my ancestors because they defended their values. My family has lived in Florida for the last 190 years, so I ask: Why are we discussing the taking down of monuments to men who fought for Florida?

Why are we not, instead, raising up more monuments and memorials to Floridians around the state not just in the Oldest City? Instead of tearing down the Confederate monuments, why not build a monument to Union Soldiers from northeast Florida? The Civil War was a war that divided families including the Northeast Florida branch of my own family.

Both Confederate monuments in the Plaza were erected when Florida was either occupied territory or a state within the Union, and hence are protected by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, specifically the First Amendment freedom of speech. They cannot, nor should they be taken down or removed. The builders of those monuments are no longer alive to defend their First Amendment rights. We, the succeeding generations, must do so. Additionally, the General William Loring Monument is under the protection of the Federal law against grave desecration, because he is buried under the memorial.

If in order to appease a few who are offended by the history of the United States, the State of Florida and the City of St. Augustine, an interpretive plaque must be erected, it will need to be worded very carefully. The wording needs to be such that we are neither putting words into the mouths of the erectors of the monuments, nor apologizing for what they believed.

For example: some people claim William Tecumseh Sherman was a hero and a liberator. However, many Southerners still think of him as a mass-murder of white and black Georgians and South Carolinians. It would be a violation of the Freedom of Speech of the erectors of those statues for me or anyone else to insist on a plaque that would cheapen his service to his country (as those who want an interpretive plaque for any Confederate monument or memorial are doing). We cannot know exactly what is in the minds of the men and women who erect and pay for monuments and memorials unless they write down their reasons.

We have been given a trust by proceeding generations to protect their memories. Are we up to that challenge? Or do we destroy the symbols of what they believed in just because we dont?

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Helicopter Money Policy by Central Banks Will Benefit Global Cryptocurrency Adoption – newsBTC

Posted: at 10:50 am

More money in circulation will ultimately lead to more investments in cryptocurrencies.

A lot people wonder where the sudden interest in cryptocurrencies is coming from. Rising prices certainly help to raise more awareness. However,it appears the global central bank woes are the biggest driving factor right now. Up until recently, demand for Bitcoin was small other than from a speculative point of view. A recent Federal Reserve decision will drive more people to cryptocurrency in the future. Central banks are making the swithc to Bitcoin a lot easier these days.

It is evident central banks around the world are slowly losing an uphill battle. Consumers are less eager to trust banks, for obvious reasons. Moreover, despite plenty of evidence suggesting otherwise, central banks feel printing more money is always the solution. Helicopter money has always been ineffective, now more than ever before. When financial turmoil occurs, investors do not buy bonds anymore. Instead, they flock to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The Federal Reserve plans to keep raising interest rates. On paper, this is a good idea for US consumers. In reality, however, things are very different. The US economy is not in a good place and raising interest rates will stress the economy even more. Moreover, these hikes will only be provided by printing more money. More money in circulation will ultimately lead to more investments in cryptocurrencies.

One thing that sets cryptocurrencies apart from central banks is how there is no inflation. At least, where Bitcoin is concerned, as other currencies may not follow the same path. Cash and traditional assets are in high demand to hedge against inflation. Bitcoin has a fixed market cap, although the amount of coins in circulation will continue to grow until the year 2140. At the same time, Bitcoin can be seen as deflationary. Its purchasing power per unit increases, whereas cash has the opposite effect.

It is evident central banks have their work cut out for them. Printing more money is not a solution under any circumstance. It only makes matters worse for the local and global economy. If central banks continue down the path of helicopter money, they will effectively push people toward cryptocurrency. No one would mind that outcome, though. It is due time people learn to take back control of their own wealth. Now is as good a time as any.

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Regulations Are Making it Harder For Security Experts to Use Bitcoin – Fortune

Posted: at 10:50 am

A major U.S. Bitcoin exchange, responding to regulations intended to stop criminals, appears to be suspending the accounts of "white hat" security consultants who use Bitcoin to help law-abiding clients.

As reported by CoinDesk , Night Lion Securitys Vinny Troia was contacted last year by Coinbase, an exchange for buying and selling cryptocurrency. The exchange wanted to know how he was using his Bitcoin. Troia told Coinbase that his security business sometimes involved either paying digital ransom on behalf of clients impacted by attacks like WannaCry , or verifying database breaches by buying data from malicious hackersall with client permission.

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Coinbase, after asking whether Troia had U.S. Department of Justice authorization for those methodsauthorization which Troia couldnt confirm even existsCoinbase suspended his account. When he tried to open new accounts under the names of family members so he could continue conducting business, Coinbase shut those down, too.

The situation illustrates the growing pains of Bitcoin as its ecosystem matures. While there are plenty of good reasons that legitimate businesses might need to conduct Bitcoin transactions with shady charactersincluding, say, unlocking vital systems infected by a clever virusenabling such transactions could put an actor like Coinbase in conflict with regulations intended to prevent money laundering (often referred to by the acronym AML, for "anti-money laundering") and criminal activity (KYC, for "know your customer").

In a related incident in Dec. 2016, prosecutors in New York charged the operator of a Bitcoin exchange with violating anti-money laundering laws specifically because it facilitated ransomware payments. Coin Center, a cryptocurrency policy think tank, came out strongly against that move, pointing out both that everyone from police departments to hospitals have had to pay such ransoms in recent years, and that even the FBI has said that sometimes paying ransom is the sensible choice .

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6 Bitcoin Apps That You Must Check Out – The Merkle

Posted: at 10:50 am

This article will go over some must have apps if you are a cryptocurrency enthusiast. Mainly, it will focus on those services that can be used for managing Bitcoin. The apps in question can accept Bitcoin as payment, serve as your Bitcoin wallet, or even just let you playgames that can let you earn some satoshis. The list is in no particular order.

This is a cryptocurrency tracker, and its able to track over 100 different coins allat once, bitcoin is of course included as well. For many crypto investors, its very important to get the latest market data as soon as possible. Any change in their currency of choice carries meaning, and its crucial to have reliable information regarding the coins price at all times.

However, what makes the app so special is the fact that it hit the top of the list of finance apps that people are willing to pay for, at least when it comes to Apple users. Having an app that you have to pay for, and whose only purpose is to track cryptocurrencies on top of the list shows how relevant these particular services are becoming.

The app can also be used on the Apple watch, and you can even use it to request bitcoin via a QR code. Other than that, it presents data about different cryptocurrencies in detailed and fully customizable graphs. Its a must have if youre in the world of cryptocurrencies.

Another very useful appand website. It tracks your location and then scans the area togive you the location of the closest bitcoin ATM. It supports both iOS and Android, which means that youll know where the nearest ATM is at any time.

Apart from the ATM map, it can also inform you about some of the details concerning a particular ATM. Its always useful to know as much as you can, and with this app youll know limits, fees, and even the type of the ATM.

Most of the bitcoin ATM types are covered, and that includes Robocoin, Genesis Coin, Lamassu, GeneralBytes, BitAccess, and SkyHook. The list of ATMs is growingwith the influence of cryptocurrencies, and you can track them all with this app.

A very promising app thats currently still in beta. It allows you to spend your Bitcoin in the real world. Many companies have already shown interest and signed up as partners. Those include Starbucks, Target, and Whole Foods. In all of their stores, you can pay for the services with bitcoin.

The process is simple, and all you have to do is load the amount of bitcoin that you plan on spending into the app. The app will make a barcode, and after scanning it, the money gets transferred to the services account.

This is the first bitcoin app that caughtthe interest of larger stores and services, which says enough about its potential. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are making their way into the modern society. More and more stores are accepting them, and apps like this will allow you to use them.

Think of this app as a marketplace. You can use it for selling and buying products or serviceswhile using only bitcoin. There are even different communities that you can join, and a message system that you can use to contact your friends.

Its compatible with several bitcoin wallets, and you can connect them to your account here. With this app, youll easily send payments, check your balances, and even scan QR codes.

The Gilph website itself describes the app as a sort of Swiss Army knife for bitcoin, and its not wrong. This is surely one of the apps with impenetrable security at its core.

The literal translation of this apps name in Japanese is flying monkey. Its a game where you earn bitcoin while playing, and the point is to swing Tobi from one vine to another. In the process, you collect bitcoin and bananas.

The game only has one level, but it gets harder the further you get. You must swing as far as you can, and to do that, you use power-ups that you pay for with bananas.

As mentioned, by playing the game, you collect coins, and at the end of the month, the games ad revenue converts them into a certain amount of bitcoin. The more coins you collect, the more bitcoin youll get. From time to time, you even get some tips about bitcoin from the game itself.

The game is pretty addictive, and along the way, you might even earn something. All in all, its a good way to attract a new audience and teach them about bitcoin.

This is another bitcoin-related game, it allowsyou to sell and trade virtual bitcoins. This game doesnt deal with actual bitcoin, which makes it more of a bonus to our list than a real bitcoin app.

Still, its fun to play, especially if you like progressing games. You start with nothing, as you play you can build up an entire fortune, you can buy new things and mine bitcoin when youre not playing. You can even get a T-Rex pet as an upgrade.

Its also a good way to promote and explain bitcoin without the danger of losing any real money.

The rising interest in cryptocurrencies is real and not just a hype or a short term trendanymore. You can tell by the number of different apps that are emerging for the ecosystem.

More and more services and stores are accepting them, and this new form of payment is what awaits us in the future. Check out these apps now and learn as much as you can, because youll need that knowledge very soon.

If you liked this article, follow us on Twitter @themerklenews and make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to receive the latest bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and technology news.

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Bitcoin Gets the Attention of Goldman Sachs After Reaching New Heights – The Merkle

Posted: at 10:50 am

A new gold rush is picking up speed as bitcoin doubles the size of its fund under the BIT-XBTEs management. The fund that was around $50 million on May 1st has jumped to $100 million a few days ago, which is animpressive growth.

The head of trading and operations at XBT Provider, Jean-Marie Mognetti, has stated that during the last two months, the Providers exchange of the traded Bitcoin notes has seen a major demand increase from industrial as well as retail investors. Everyone is searching for exposure to bitcoin, which is a sure sign that its rise isnt going to stop anytime soon.

Bitcoins increase has gone up by 200% since the beginning of the year, but even that isnt as fast as the growth of other currencies. For example, Ethereum has gone up over 3,000% this year alone.

The Bitcoin Tracker Euro ETNs, as well as Bitcoin Tracker One, are currently available in both Euros, as well as in Swedish Krona.

This all happened very soon after Goldman Sachs, the US investment bank, decided to announce the need for analyst coverage concerning the cryptocurrencies. They stated that the client demands were simply too much. Despite the fact that the price of Bitcoin wasnt exactly specified, Goldman Sachs sees the buying opportunities somewhere in between $1,915 and $2,330.

However, Sheba Jafari, the chief technician has issued a warning for the clients, in which he advised against trading. The reason for this is that earlier this week, Bitcoin breached the $3,000. Instead, he advised waiting for it to go between $1,915 and $2,330.

Also, a few days ago, on June 13th, another report called Blockchain: Unchained was issued by Morgan Stanley. In the report, the commitment to exploring the technology on which Bitcoin and similar cryptocurrencies are built on was underlined. Caution is also advised due to the lack of any regulations in their price. Currently, that price is around $2,600.

According to Goldman Sachs, this attraction to the virtual currencies and Bitcoin in particular is due to the lack of volatility when it comes to other asset classes. The often changes in the currencies worth can also offer many opportunities for some.

Another big news related to this, is the new team up between XBT Provider and Xapo, a leading cryptocurrency custodian. Xapo is a very secure Bitcoin holder, and besides the wallet services, it also provides a vault insurance.

When it comes to protecting your Bitcoin, the safest way would be to hold them in the cold storage. What that means is that you would write the amount that you hold on a paper and store it on many different physical sites, or in wallets that dont have a connection to the internet.

XBT Providers head of investor relations, Ryan Radloff, has stated that adding Xapo to XBT Provider was a very critical step. Now that its done, the companys products will be sure to remain the most professional bitcoin investment product on a global scale.

If you liked this article, follow us on Twitter @themerklenews and make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to receive the latest bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and technology news.

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Will Criminals Start Kidnapping People and Asking for Ransomware in Bitcoin? – The Merkle

Posted: at 10:50 am

Some of the very first associations that the wider public made with Bitcoin upon learning about it were fairly focused on its potentially nefarious connotations. That being said, Bitcoin can still be used for criminal activities. This is most noticeable in the recent wanna cry ransomware attacks and fileless ransomware attacks. So does this mean -like a comment on this linked article suggested- that soon criminals will move beyond ransomware to straight up kidnap and ransom in the physical world?

Well, maybe. If someone is willing to accept any form of payment for any legal or illegal deal, then that currency has worth. Bitcoin would be no different in this case than say, cash or bearer bonds. Both of these are extremely anonymous forms of payment, more so than Bitcoin even.

Ransoms being paid in dead drops or trades means that a criminal would be exposing themselves to being followed after the exchange takes place. A wire transfer to a bank means that they would be immediately identified, so Bitcoin being moved to a new address would mean that this would be delayed. However, it would not be untraceable.

Lets put ourselves in the hypothetical that we are trying to negotiate the release of a hostage, and their kidnappers demanded payment in Bitcoin. This means that we have some time to buy bitcoin since most probably would not have stores of Bitcoin ready for kidnapping situations. If it is a large enough amount, we need to wait for verification from an exchange, and in some countries we would need to report these assets. Some countries also monitor the blockchain for large payments made. Law enforcement may already have pegged this situation before the payment is ever even made.

With the help of law enforcement or others, the public ledger nature of Bitcoin would mean that we could start to build a strategy to try to keep track of these funds, even as they undoubtedly will go through tumblers and mixers. Lets not forget again, the likelihood that this much money exchanged hands already has probably tipped off the cops if we have not by this point.

There is also the possibility that the -probably uneducated in Bitcoin- payer of the ransom does not know how many satoshi per byte to pay for a quick confirmation or even one at all. Delayed or cancelled payments does not only spell disaster for the victim, but also is problematic for the kidnappers. Lets remember, these people want money, not to feed, hide, or abuse and kill the victim.

While Bitcoin might provide security by not having to be present at an exchange or dead drop, it has a whole host of other problems. I do not see how Bitcoin would be easier or even more appealing to higher level criminals like this over cash or some other commodity. Too few people know about it, Blockchain analysts work tirelessly to connect addresses to personal information, and for larger sums of money it is just not as practical as other payment methods.

I am not saying that criminals do not use or will not use Bitcoin -because they do-, but I do not think we have to worry about kidnappers asking for ransoms only in Bitcoin in the future. In the end, they want money, not Bitcoin. That is how criminals always have operated. They want easily laundered and liquid monetary assets. Bitcoin may not be the most practical option for them in such a situation.

If you liked this article, follow us on Twitter @themerklenews and make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to receive the latest bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and technology news.

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Baking Experiments on International Space Station – TrendinTech

Posted: at 10:49 am

A future experiment on the International Space Station is taking the recipe instruction allow the dough to rise to all new heights. Scheduled to launch in 2018 during Horizons, Alexander Gersts second science mission as a European Space Agency astronaut, Bake in Space will experiment with a specialty bread dough in a microgravity oven to bake in orbit for the first time ever.

Baking where nobody baked before, said the team behind Bake In Space. Bake In Space seeks to address the scientific and technical challenges relating to the production of fresh bread in space. The Bake in Space team behind the experiment is compromised of former shuttle astronaut Gerhard Thiele, German scientists, and engineers but its not about augmenting the current station crews diet. Instead, researchers are exploring options for future space travel, when spaceflight is available for private tours.

As space tourism takes off and people spend more time in space, we need to allow bread to be made from scratch, said Sebastian Marcu, CEO, and founder of Bake In Space, based in Bremen Germany. The main difficulty with bread in space and the driving force behind the experiment is the tiny, innocuous breadcrumb. While perfectly innocent on Earth, in the microgravity of space, they can cause a laundry list of issues including complications with ventilation filters or electrical system failures. A breadcrumb could even cause health problems if inhaled by an astronaut or space tourist.

In past missions, crumb-less bread solutions, as developed by NASA, have been unappetizing, to say the least. After crews on the Mercury and Gemini missions snuck sandwiches on board, astronaut food supplies included pre-cut bread cubes coated in gelatin to encapsulate the crumbs. Eventually, bread was removed from the equation entirely and replaced with tortillas space shuttle era missions.

Bake in Space will attempt to make a type of German bread roll using a unique dough and a small convection or vacuum oven that requires little power. In a video recorded earlier this year, astronaut Shane Kimbrough explained from aboard the space station, The first thing we need for a sandwich is a piece of bread. Well, up here, we dont have bread like you have on Earth, but we have tortillas. So we use tortillas a lot for our sandwiches.

However, breadcrumbs alone are not the only difficulties Bake in Space will face in testing their new bread dough. The dough must produce a bread that is not only nutritious but also enjoyable to consume and emotionally satisfying, emitting the warm and pleasant smell of freshly baked bread. A goal described on the companys website: Besides [being] a source for nutrition, the smell of fresh bread evokes memories of general happiness and is an important psychological factor. It is a symbol of recreational time and procedure down on Earth.

This is the biggest challenge, agreed Florian Stukenborg with the research firm TTZ Bremerhaven. Similar food-based experiments have already been performed previously for fresh produce grown in a plant chamber called Veggie, and a microgravity coffee makes called ISSPresso. Besides baking bread, Bake in Space also hopes to form a sourdough batter in space, which will later be baked on Earth and become the first space-born loaf sold on the planet.

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SpaceX’s Elon Musk to Reveal Mars Colonization Ideas This Year

Posted: at 10:48 am

Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur behind the private spaceflight company SpaceX, says he will unveil his concepts for Mars colonization later this year.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk poses with the firm's manned Dragon V2 spacecraft during an unveiling event at the company's headquarters in Hawthorne, California on May 29, 2014.

In an "Ask Me Anything" session on Reddit Monday evening (Jan. 5), Musk told readers that the details of his Mars Colonial Transporter would be unveiled by the end of the year, and that the plan would be different from the Dragon capsules and Falcon 9 rockets SpaceX is flying today.

"The Mars transport system will be a completely new architecture,"Musk wrote in the Reddit AMA. "Am hoping to present that towards the end of this year. Good thing we didn't do it sooner, as we have learned a huge amount from Falcon and Dragon." [SpaceX's Plan for Mars & Reusable Rockets (Video)]

The goal will be to send 100 metric tons (110 tons) of "useful payload," he added. "This obviously requires a very big spaceship and booster system," Musk said.

This year, SpaceX will also reveal plans for spacesuits that will meet both design aesthetics and utility requirements, Musk noted. Although he did not specify where the spacesuits would be used, it is possible that they could form the basis for future Mars exploration.

SpaceX is the first private company to deliver cargo to the International Space Station, which it did for the first time in 2012. The company has a $1.6 billion contract to provide 12 delivery missions to the station for NASA. A second company, Orbital Sciences, has a $1.9 billion deal with NASA for eight delivery missions.

Elon Musk founded SpaceX, where he is both CEO and chief designer, in 2002 with the goal of flying people in space. Last September, NASA picked the company as one of two firms to fly U.S. astronauts to the station beginning in 2017 under a separate contract. (Boeing was the other company selected.)

SpaceX's next flight to the space station, its fifth delivery flight so far, is set to launch at 4:47 a.m. EST (0947 GMT) on Saturday (Jan. 10) from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. During that mission, a Dragon resupply ship will launch toward the station, and SpaceX will also attempt to land the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket on an "autonomous spaceport drone ship" in the Atlantic Ocean. The mission was initially set to launch on Tuesday (Jan. 6), but a last-minute rocket issue delayed the flight.

While Musk discussed space travel possibilities that extend far into the future, he also mentioned some of the systems that the company is currently developing, including the reusable rocket test this week.

In response to a question about the planned Falcon 9 first-stage rocket landing, Musk said the stage would use "mostly gravity" to stay on the robotic ship, with "steel shoes over the landing feet as a precautionary measure."

Previously, Musk had said there was a 50 percent chance of mission success. But when he was pressed by a reader as to how he came up with that percentage, he said, "I pretty much made that up. I have no idea."

Musk did write that the innovative "hypersonic grid fins" on the rocket are vital for the landing attempt.

"The grid fins are super important for landing with precision," he wrote. "The aerodynamic forces are way too strong for the nitrogen thrusters. In particular, achieving pitch trim is hopeless. Our atmosphere is like molasses at Mach 4!"

Musk also suggested that SpaceX could work on making the second stage of the Falcon 9 reusable, as the company is attempting to do with the first stage, but he said the resources would be best suited for a mission to Mars. In the meantime, he is working on making the rocket as light as possible. [Red Dragon: Mars Mission Idea with SpaceX Capsules]

"With sub-cooled propellant, I think we can get the Falcon 9 upper stage mass ratio (excluding payload) to somewhere between 25 and 30. Another way of saying that is the upper stage would be close to 97 percent propellant by mass," Musk wrote.

One reader asked how Musk is able to learn so quickly. "I do kinda feel like my head is full!" he responded. "My context-switching penalty is high, and my process isolation is not what it used to be."

"Frankly, though, I think most people can learn a lot more than they think they can," he added. "They sell themselves short without trying. One bit of advice: It is important to view knowledge as sort of a semantic tree make sure you understand the fundamental principles, i.e., the trunk and big branches, before you get into the leaves/details, or there is nothing for them to hang on to."

Musk also answered questions, ranging from the mundane (he gets six hours of sleep a night) to what games he plays (the Kerbal Space Program).

And aside from Mars, readers wanted to know what other places in the solar system would be good to explore. One reader asked if Jupiter's icy moon Europa should be a target.

"There should definitely be a science mission," Musk said.

You can watch SpaceX's Falcon 9/Dragon launch live on Saturday, courtesy of NASA TV. The webcast will begin at 3:30 a.m. EST (0830 GMT).

Follow Elizabeth Howell@howellspace, or Space.com@Spacedotcom. We're also onFacebookandGoogle+.Original article on Space.com.

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