Another court report - this one says Markusic claims VG got a big military contractor working on XS-1 to stop talking to Firefly (last few paragraphs):http://www.law360.com/articles/831887/virgin-galactic-rocket-scientist-blasted-in-secrets-battleSent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
Article is behind a paywall...
"The way I do things is I go very fast, so our burn rates are high. To have an interruption throws sand in the gears," Markusic said, adding he had to lay off half his staff while looking for other partners.
Also:Quote"The way I do things is I go very fast, so our burn rates are high. To have an interruption throws sand in the gears," Markusic said, adding he had to lay off half his staff while looking for other partners.
Lots of LOIs from customers to try and support them:http://www.fireflyspace.com/news/ournews/customers-rally-in-support-of-firefly-space-systems
Quote from: Chris Bergin on 11/14/2016 04:25 pmLots of LOIs from customers to try and support them:http://www.fireflyspace.com/news/ournews/customers-rally-in-support-of-firefly-space-systemsUnless those customers are pre-paying, this sounds like good news for Rocket Lab...
Seems like no one can finance them as long VG has a very good chance of winning their IP lawsuit, and owning FFSS.
Has anyone heard that Firefly is selling off assets?
Quote from: HMXHMX on 11/17/2016 06:09 amHas anyone heard that Firefly is selling off assets? Have not heard that but would not be surprised. The problem is: what assets? The IP is in dispute, the desks and chairs etc are basically worth zero. The test stand might be valuable. Not sure what else they have. Plus you know if you were VG you would ask for an injunction on that, to ensure payment.
Firefly Alpha Rocket Technology: OverviewJanuary 4th, 2017Firefly is not alone in pursuing the mission of “rapidly producing a new low-cost, high flight rate launcher” (see Dr. Tom’s March 6, 2015 blog entry). Space is the next frontier for the information revolution. The Firefly team believes that fulfilling the mission will not only enrich successful rocket companies, but also enhance the quality of life for individuals throughout the world. Firefly has promoted the motto: Making Space For Everyone. So today, Firefly is reporting on its progress in developing the Firefly Alpha vehicle. We hope that the high degree of detail provided by Firefly will be useful to others actively pursuing the mission, as well as newspace enthusiasts who want to participate in the “big picture” discussion.Firefly is striving to rapidly field new launch capability and, hence, has pursued a simplest-soonest technological path that relies on proven, high Technology Readiness Level (TRL) system architectures and components. The first installment of this new blog series provides an overview of the technology employed in the design of Alpha, which relies heavily on the rich heritage of NASA and U.S. public domain technologies that are available in the open-source literature. Last year, Firefly provided open access to the Schafer Corporation – open access to all of Firefly’s facilities and employees — to compile an independent review of the Alpha vehicle architecture and a high-level description of its subsystems. The public-domain origins of the technology employed were established through a detailed list of references, and component technologies were categorized and critiqued for technological maturity using commonly used TRL methodologies. The report contains over one hundred and twenty five public domain references, and clearly outlines how the Alpha design was rapidly evolved by drawing on the reference material. We encourage the community to view or download the report via the links provided below, and participate in Dr. Tom’s Rocket blog by adding comments to this thread.
Firefly made this post yesterday, discussing a report that they say shows they used public-domain info and technologies:QuoteFirefly Alpha Rocket Technology: OverviewJanuary 4th, 2017Edit: hmm, just noticed that the report linked to the above post is dated 29th Feb 2016 ...
Firefly Alpha Rocket Technology: OverviewJanuary 4th, 2017
Quote from: FutureSpaceTourist on 01/05/2017 02:48 pmFirefly made this post yesterday, discussing a report that they say shows they used public-domain info and technologies:QuoteFirefly Alpha Rocket Technology: OverviewJanuary 4th, 2017Edit: hmm, just noticed that the report linked to the above post is dated 29th Feb 2016 ...Good catch, how strange to have such a time lag. It seems to me that the purpose of the commissioned study is obvious: to refute claims of infringement. But if that is the case and it has been in play for 10 months then it doesn't seem to have worked. Perhaps the motivation was more of a public service announcement afterall! Or simply an external review for their own purpose. Hmmm....