Falcon 9 pad test update + SpaceX HLV studies
The Falcon 9 pad test firing is scheduled for 9:00 am EST on Friday. Latest news can be found at Falcon Launch Report | Mission Status Center – Spaceflight Now. === Sen. Nelson et al won’t want to hear about it, but SpaceX will offer a range of Falcon based solutions to NASA’s request for input on a heavy lift launcher: NASA Studies Scaled-Up Falcon, Merlin – Aviation Week.
> SpaceX will respond to NASA’s heavy-lift launch vehicle study with concepts that can carry 150 tons to orbit and cost no more than $300 million per launch.
Outlining SpaceX’s approach to the contract—one of 13 trade-study awards made by NASA in early November to look at innovative launch vehicle concepts and propulsion technologies—CEO Elon Musk says only plans that embrace economic, political and technical solutions will work.