Quite unexpected that he gave away his entire stock for free, but given the situation in Ukraine right now I don't know how could have expected to keep his stock. On the otherhand, this is good news for Firefly as a company as it means they should be able to move forward without further delays.
Quote from: Hug on 01/06/2022 01:51 amPolyakov has to first sell his ~0.5 bil $ stake so that they can do launches again; so the 300 mil raise actually has to raise 800 mil.Or it could be sold for 1$. Bit sad for Max though.https://twitter.com/SciGuySpace/status/1494072439235559426
Polyakov has to first sell his ~0.5 bil $ stake so that they can do launches again; so the 300 mil raise actually has to raise 800 mil.
The upside is that Tom Markusic now appears to be firmly in control of Firefly.
On plus side Alpha can now fly. This my 2nd favorite launch company behind RL so happy to see them return to flight.Sent from my SM-G570Y using Tapatalk
Quote from: niwax on 02/16/2022 11:34 pmThe upside is that Tom Markusic now appears to be firmly in control of Firefly. "Appears to be"... Legally this might be true but there have been cases like this where former owners continue to exercise shadow control via a puppet front man after such a generous gift. I suspect this grand gesture will not satisfy all those national security authorities - they will look for a genuine sale to an unrelated 3rd party who cannot be influenced off the books.
Quote from: ringsider on 02/17/2022 03:18 amQuote from: niwax on 02/16/2022 11:34 pmThe upside is that Tom Markusic now appears to be firmly in control of Firefly. "Appears to be"... Legally this might be true but there have been cases like this where former owners continue to exercise shadow control via a puppet front man after such a generous gift. I suspect this grand gesture will not satisfy all those national security authorities - they will look for a genuine sale to an unrelated 3rd party who cannot be influenced off the books.I concur. This looks to be a superficial farce and even if it meets certain legal obligations, I'm sure they'd find another rationale for holding it up. Selling the stake for a $1 is an indicator that Markusic and Polyakov are buddy-buddy and makes it clear that the foreign influence issue isn't resolved, just disguised...poorly. Pouting about it on Twitter also lends credibility to the issue being valid, especially with the line "Max love Ukraine" - how was that supposed to assuage the DoD's concern that the technology won't migrate to Ukraine?
Quote from: ParabolicSnark on 02/17/2022 04:37 amI concur. This looks to be a superficial farce and even if it meets certain legal obligations, I'm sure they'd find another rationale for holding it up. Selling the stake for a $1 is an indicator that Markusic and Polyakov are buddy-buddy and makes it clear that the foreign influence issue isn't resolved, just disguised...poorly. Pouting about it on Twitter also lends credibility to the issue being valid, especially with the line "Max love Ukraine" - how was that supposed to assuage the DoD's concern that the technology won't migrate to Ukraine?What is an interesting topic is why this came to a head now. My working hypothesis is that competitors with a deep reach into USG didn't like the look of Firefly being so successful on the first launch last September and used their contacts and influence to bring some heat. It is not that hard to think of 2-3 candidates with the right kind of connections.
I concur. This looks to be a superficial farce and even if it meets certain legal obligations, I'm sure they'd find another rationale for holding it up. Selling the stake for a $1 is an indicator that Markusic and Polyakov are buddy-buddy and makes it clear that the foreign influence issue isn't resolved, just disguised...poorly. Pouting about it on Twitter also lends credibility to the issue being valid, especially with the line "Max love Ukraine" - how was that supposed to assuage the DoD's concern that the technology won't migrate to Ukraine?
Transferring US engine technology would've been illegal no matter who owned the company, so if that is the concern then this has all been rather irrational. I totally agree that this "sale" won't satisfy those that in the government that have concerns, but now that Firefly is totally US owned, I don't see what else they can do. And I suspect that any attempt to do more will see the government laughed out of court.
Quote from: ringsider on 02/17/2022 03:02 pmWhat is an interesting topic is why this came to a head now. My working hypothesis is that competitors with a deep reach into USG didn't like the look of Firefly being so successful on the first launch last September and used their contacts and influence to bring some heat. It is not that hard to think of 2-3 candidates with the right kind of connections.I doubt such a conspiracy. And I also suspect there is more to Max than we know. Some Russian connections? Why else would he write "Max love Ukraine and yes I have Ukrainian passport?" Such a bewildering statement, everyone knows he is Ukrainian after all.
What is an interesting topic is why this came to a head now. My working hypothesis is that competitors with a deep reach into USG didn't like the look of Firefly being so successful on the first launch last September and used their contacts and influence to bring some heat. It is not that hard to think of 2-3 candidates with the right kind of connections.
Quote from: JEF_300 on 02/17/2022 06:34 pmTransferring US engine technology would've been illegal no matter who owned the company, so if that is the concern then this has all been rather irrational. I totally agree that this "sale" won't satisfy those that in the government that have concerns, but now that Firefly is totally US owned, I don't see what else they can do. And I suspect that any attempt to do more will see the government laughed out of court.What US engine technology ?
The Firefly team is laser-focused on reaching orbit this year. With the successful stage 2 hotfire today, both stages of our flight 2 Alpha vehicle have now completed acceptance testing and are ready for flight. See you on the pad. youtu.be/4T1DeCFRJW0 #makingspaceforeveryone
My understanding is that a significant number of engine components (turbopumps, etc.) were being manufactured in the Ukraine. I would guess they have parts in the US for at least a couple more rockets, but how long will it take them to move all manufacturing state-side?
My understanding was that while they used Ukrainian tech and designs in places, that everything was manufactured in the US.
