SEC warns celebs about legal dangers of bitcoin endorsements

When celebrities endorse things on social media, a lot of people tend to take their word for it. Now that some of them have also begun endorsing a controversial means of crowdfunding called “initial coin offering” or ICO, which was recently banned in China and South Korea, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has had to step in with a warning. Since ICOs are an unregulated means to raise money using cryptocurrencies, people could use them to sell products that don’t exist or to entice investors to sink their money into projects that will never materialize. That’s why SEC has decided to be on the lookout for celebrity ICO endorsements to protect potential investors.

The agency’s warning says:

“Any celebrity or other individual who promotes a virtual token or coin that is a security must disclose the nature, scope, and amount of compensation received in exchange for the promotion. A failure to disclose this information is a violation of the anti-touting provisions of the federal securities laws. Persons making these endorsements may also be liable for potential violations of the anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws, for participating in an unregistered offer and sale of securities, and for acting as unregistered brokers.”

SEC’s warning comes after The New York Times published a piece on celebrities like Floyd Mayweather and Paris Hilton endorsing various ICOs. The famous boxer help a Miami-based ICO called Centra Tech raise $30 million. According to the publication, Centra Tech’s founders created a chief executive that doesn’t exist. In addition, despite promising a Visa or a Mastercard debit card to its backers that will supposedly allow them to spend their Centra coins anywhere, the company reportedly doesn’t have any kind of deal or partnership with either credit card company.

Centra’s (CTR) ICO starts in a few hours. Get yours before they sell out, I got mine https://t.co/nSiCaZ274l pic.twitter.com/dB6wV0EROJ

— Floyd Mayweather (@FloydMayweather) September 18, 2017

I just received my titanium centra debit card. The Centra Card & Centra Wallet app is the ultimate winner in Cryptocurrency debit cards powered by CTR tokens! Use your bitcoins, ethereum, and more cryptocurrencies in real time across the globe. This is a Game changer here. Get your CTR tokens now! #CryptoBilli #Bitcoin #Ethereum #Digitalcurrency

A post shared by DJ KHALED (@djkhaled) on Sep 27, 2017 at 4:09pm PDT

Going forward, posts like the ones above need to disclose if they’re paid promotions — NYT has confirmed that Mayweather got paid for his Centra endorsement, though it’s unclear whether he got paid in cash or in Centra coins. If you ask the FTC, though, Instagram’s and YouTube’s “includes paid promotion” marks are nowhere near enough to indicate sponsorship: the agency recently said those platforms’ built-in disclosures are a bit too subtle for its liking.

For interested investors, SEC has this to say:

“Investors should note that celebrity endorsements may appear unbiased, but instead may be part of a paid promotion… Celebrities who endorse an investment often do not have sufficient expertise to ensure that the investment is appropriate and in compliance with federal securities laws. Conduct research before making investments, including in ICOs.”

Source: SEC

Ableton Live will remember your riffs if you forget to press record

Ableton Live is popular with computer musicians thanks to its flexibility. As the name suggests, it enables live performance of electronic music, but it’s also a robust music making tool in its own right. Fans of Live are long overdue an update, as the last full release (Live 9) was four years ago. Today Ableton revealed Live 10, which promises to make it even easier to translate ideas into anthems.

Aside from Live’s double duty as performance and creation software, one of the biggest lures for budding producers is its workflow. Ableton designed Live to work on one screen, with clever shortcuts to jump between common tasks. Live 10 builds on that with new tools to do more with less. For starters, you can now edit multiple MIDI clips side by side, and zoom in for precision work with one key.

Most musicians have struggled with getting a part of their track just right. Currently, if you start playing a project back, you won’t hear MIDI instruments until the next note in the clip. This means if you start playback mid-note, you won’t hear it — annoying for long strings sounds, for example. A new “Note chasing” feature solves that, meaning all notes will play even if halfway through. It’s a low key change, but one that will please anyone who’s heard the same part over and over again just to get to where you want to edit.

For those (like me) who seem to give their best performance while not recording, there’s “Capture.” It sounds similar to a feature in Apple’s Logic Pro that remembers all MIDI input in the background, even if you’re not recording. So, if you happen to play a killer riff along to a beat, but weren’t recording, Live will have snagged it anyway so you can retrieve it.

For advanced users, Ableton’s “Max for Live” kit has long allowed you to create tools like Capture, or software instruments from scratch. Max is now built right in to Live 10 (previously it was a $200 add-on), but it’s good to see some of the more popular ideas made in Max find their way into the standard version of the software.

Other updates include a new built-in synthesizer call “Wavetable” for squelchy sounds a-la Stranger Things and three new audio effects (Pedal, Drum Buss and Echo). Owners of Push — Ableton’s companion hardware controller — can look forward to improved graphics and visualizations so you can keep your eyes away from the computer (and look less like you’re checking your email on stage).

Despite the announcement today, eager users will still need to wait a little longer. Ableton Live 10 won’t be available until early 2018. The good news is, that you can snag a copy of Live 9 right now if you don’t already have it at 20 percent discount, which will automatically be upgraded to the new version once it lands. Once released, Live 10 will cost $449 for the standard version and $499 for the suite with all the software instruments (this is the one you probably want).

Source: Ableton

LG V30 owners in Korea can preview Android Oreo

LG’s phones may be bothersome for its bottom line, but they boast a sizeable advantage for users: Quick access to Android updates. And it looks like the trend is set to continue with the company’s latest beaut, the V30. LG is currently letting owners of its flagship in South Korea try out Android Oreo, ahead of the official update. Users can apply via the firm’s Quick Help app, and will then receive a software update alert within the month. LG claims it will also take onboard customer feedback for its official Oreo rollout in December.

The electronics giant did the same thing last year by giving 2,000 G5 users an early taste of Nougat, but this time there’s no limit on sign-ups. LG’s close bond with Google — it built the Pixel 2 XL and the bulk of Nexus phones — could be behind its Android upgrade perks. How that relationship will be affected by Google’s recent acquisition of HTC’s R&D department remains to be seen.

Source: LG

iPhone X Pre-Order Customer Strikes it Lucky at Courier Collection Depot

While the vast majority of iPhone X customers continue to watch their pre-order status for signs of progress, at least one lucky customer in the U.K. has already managed to get his hands on the phone a day early.

MacRumors forum member Illdoit2morrow apparently visited his local DPD collection depot on Thursday morning and somehow managed to agree pickup of his iPhone X parcel a full day ahead of Apple’s official November 3 launch date.

As a result, pre-order customers in the U.K. will probably start trying their luck at DPD collection depots throughout the country, however the incident is highly unusual and unlikely to be replicated. Apple typically keeps a tight rein on the couriers it hires to ship products, and DPD could well find itself in trouble when news of the pre-release handover gets back to Apple.

Order statuses currently “Preparing for Shipment” should start indicating that the iPhone X is in transit later today, for delivery on Friday, as per Apple’s official launch plans.

The lucky customer said he pre-ordered his iPhone X through British retailer Carphone Warehouse.

Related Roundup: iPhone XBuyer’s Guide: iPhone X (Buy Now)
Discuss this article in our forums

iPhone X Orders Now Widely Shipping to Customers as Delivery Dates Continue to Improve

iPhone X pre-orders began shipping to customers earlier this week, and with just hours remaining until the device launches around the world, most orders have now been updated with a “shipped” status on Apple’s website.

MacRumors readers continue to report improved delivery estimates, with some customers who were previously quoted a November 17-24 window now expected to receive their iPhone X around November 8. Many of these customers, but not all, are enrolled in the iPhone Upgrade Program and ordered a silver model.

iPhone X pre-orders destined for the United States are passing through UPS and FedEx hubs in Anchorage, Alaska, as usual, with UPS shipments headed to its Worldport facility in Louisville, Kentucky. From there, the iPhone X orders will begin to make their way to customers around the country.

The truest of Apple aficionados can take the UPS tracking number they receive, once their iPhone X has been shipped, and match their device’s departure scan with UPS flights on FlightAware. The page hasn’t been updated since the iPhone 7 launch, but the flight information appears to remain accurate.

The calendar is already turning to Friday in Australia and New Zealand, two countries where the iPhone X will launch first. Long lines are forming at Apple Stores across the Asia-Pacific region, including the Orchard Road location in Singapore.

Line at Apple Orchard Road in Singapore via Instagram user kytetsu
If you didn’t pre-order and plan on lining up for a chance to purchase the iPhone X tomorrow, our iPhone Launch Meetups section in the MacRumors discussion forums is a useful resource. The vast majority of Apple Stores will open at 8:00 a.m. local time on Friday, and supplies wil likely be very limited.

Related Roundup: iPhone XBuyer’s Guide: iPhone X (Buy Now)
Discuss this article in our forums

HTC U11 Life hands-on: Don’t dismiss this phone too quickly

HTC might have flown under the radar compared to its competitors this year, but we at Android Authority have given their latest flagship, the U11, some high marks for its performance and camera capabilities. When we caught wind of a new device from HTC, the hope for an enhanced version of the U11 was indeed fulfilled in the U11 Plus.

HTC was not content with the Plus version however, and the Taiwanese manufacturer also launched the third – and most accessible – member of the U11 family, the HTC U11 Life.

More covarage:

• Everything you need to know about HTC U11 Life
• HTC U11 Life full spec sheet

This affordable new edition might not seem as exciting at first, but it’s definitely worth some attention. Let’s take a closer look at the HTC U11 Life in this hands-on impressions post.

Quick disclosure, I have had the U11 Life for a little bit now, and I was initially prepared to bring you a more casual take on a device that tries to emulate the experience of the flagship original. However, it slowly became obvious that I should give the phone a deeper dive – and that’s because the U11 Life seems to be a success.

Two versions of the HTC U11 Life are going to be available in different parts of the world. The version that I got to handle is the original, HTC edition, that has HTC Sense and all of the additions that the company would normally put in their smartphones.

On the other hand, Kris Carlon got a little bit of time with a version of the HTC U11 Life that is part of the Android One family. That edition, of course, does not use all of the different software additions from HTC and instead has a very lean version of stock Android. That will be the version of the phone available to a global audience, while the non-Android One edition will be available in the US with T-Mobile as a carrier partner.

Two versions: US – HTC/Sense — Global – Android One

Some parts of the U11 Life are obvious downgrades from the original – the shrunken-down size of the phone is mostly due to the smaller screen, a 5.2-inch Full HD resolution screen, sitting across an acrylic body (instead of glass) that really shines and really takes to fingerprints. I actually quite like the blue color of this phone, even if it’s really reflective and gets really smudgy. The size is really nice, though, as one-handed usage is pretty easy on this overall compact device.

Read: Full HTC U11 specifications

It’s nice to have this many options for the squeeze function

And that also helps with Edge Sense, which returns from the original U11 and can be user-programmed for a number of different functions. For example, you can set a short squeeze to launch the camera and take a selfie, set a long squeeze and hold to trigger a voice assistant, or change either of them to open apps and perform other functions. It’s nice to have this many options for the squeeze function, and HTC has recently launched a beta program where squeezes can be used in applications. I have tried to use it a few different times with spotty results – in most cases so far, the phone triggered the global setting and not the in-app shortcut. But I’ll continue testing this moving forward, especially since users can actually program specific taps in pretty much any application to a squeeze or hold. Overall, it’s nice to see the function move from the flagship iteration into the Life version of the U11.

The hardware bits and pieces within are all dialed back a little bit, which is expected on a phone that is supposed to be more affordable. The Snapdragon 630 powers the device, and, so far, it has been able to keep up with my usage that revolves around media consumption and some gaming. The 630 is backed up by 3 GB of RAM and only 32 GB of onboard storage, though a microSD card can be used for more storage.

I have played quite a few games on the HTC U11 Life already, including recent hits like Shadow of War, and I haven’t noticed the phone struggle to keep up. The performance is actually noticeably smooth, which is a feather in the cap for the phone’s specifications and optimization. So far, it doesn’t feel like anyone will be sacrificing very much in the Life.

And the same goes for the battery life, thanks to the 2600 mAh unit inside the U11 Life. It seems that power consumption is relative, as I have gotten the phone to go the distance in my short time with it already. The phone has been able to last for around 4 hours of SoT on average usage, which I thought was pretty impressive – in fact, it was what made me want to continue testing the phone, to make sure that this experience is definitely the norm.

These earphones are definitely above average

Audio has always been a focus – in one way or another – for HTC, and the U11 Life tries to make up for the lack of a headphone jack with a pair of USB Type-C earbuds that are included in the box. These Usonic-compatible earbuds feature Active Noise Canceling, which is triggered in the notification shade and tweaked in the settings. While I might not quite understand what the automatic setting is actually looking for in my ear, the result has been an enjoyable experience. These earphones are definitely above average and provide a full sound that doesn’t muddle out the highs by paying too much attention to the bass and lows. Music and YouTube have been a blast to enjoy thanks to this sound experience.

There is something that we can’t really let slide,

There is something that we can’t really let slide, however – while it’s nice that these HTC earphones are included in the box, there is no adapter so that you can use your own 3.5 mm jack headphones. Instead of putting one in the box, users will have to buy an adapter separately for an extra cost. This is a bit of a bummer, despite the good time that the USonic earbuds provide, and we felt the need to draw attention to what could be a contentious choice by HTC.

A place where HTC wanted to continue the high-end experience as much as possible is in the camera package. In hoping not to compromise on the photography side, HTC put 16MP cameras on both sides of the phone, so that even selfies are taken at a high quality. This seems to be the case so far. The rear camera is different from the 12MP shooter on the original U11, including the move to a f/2.4 aperture on both units. I, personally, have not spent enough time with the original HTC U11, which was regarded as a pretty great camera experience. For that reason, I decided to continue testing the U11 Life camera with one of our original U11s to get a better gauge of HTC’s more affordable offering.

And finally, there is the software, which is the familiar HTC Sense. Some might not like HTC’s take on Android, but it is certainly less in-your-face than other iterations. HTC’s Sense Feed returns as well, collating social media posts in a grid format for easy viewing. Aside from that, a number of features from previous HTC devices return here, like Motion Gestures. You can even theme the interface to your liking, thanks to a pretty powerful theme engine and app.

One of the most interesting additions on the U11 family of phones has been Amazon’s Alexa. The AI assistant makes its way to the U11 Life, and yes, you can program it to one of the Edge Sense squeezes. As an avid Google Assistant user, I’ll be getting a further feel for Alexa as a potential daily voice assistant, and we’ll touch more on that in our full review. It is pretty nice, though, that the choice is there to begin with.

Google Assistant vs Siri vs Bixby vs Amazon Alexa vs Cortana – Best virtual assistant showdown!

For all that HTC is trying to do with this device, the hope that the U11 experience can be had for less money hinges on the price. As we mentioned before, different versions of the U11 Life will be available, with either Android One or HTC’s own software. In almost all cases, the phone will sell for $349, which is a pretty aggressive price for a phone that, so far, has been succeeding in providing a reliable alternative to a flagship phone that doesn’t sacrifice too much.

In the few days that I’ve used the HTC U11 Life as my daily driver thus far, I’ve been a bit surprised at how easily it has handled my everyday tasks and usage. It would be easy to just dismiss it as a lesser version of a sought-after flagship phone. But real world experience with the U11 Life has me thinking a bit harder. And for that reason, we will bring you our full review in the coming days, after we assess the question: Can a near-flagship experience be achieved in a phone that is $349? Stay tuned to find out here at Android Authority and let us know what you think of the HTC U11 Life and the other new phone in the series, the U11 Plus!

Hands on with Redmi Y1: Xiaomi’s maiden selfie-focused smartphone

The Xiaomi juggernaut in the budget and mid-range segment in India is unstoppable, and with each offering, the company sets new benchmarks in terms of value for money offering as well as sales figures.

But unlike other Chinese players like Vivo, Oppo, Gionee, Xiaomi (like me) didn’t really give in to the new-age vanity trend – selfies. Until now, that is. Xiaomi today introduced a Redmi Y series with a focus on front-camera setup, debuting with the Redmi Y1 (and Redmi Y1 Lite).

Here are my initial impressions of the Redmi Y1 after just about two days of usage.

The Redmi Y1 sports a plain vanilla, but functional, design. It’s an all plastic build, with a metallic finish. There’s nothing we’ve not seen before, but it is built nicely with a smooth finish at the back that feels great in the hand.

While the display offers great contrast ratio, it’s not the brightest out there. Also, the lack of sharpness because of 1280 x 720 resolution on a 5.5-inch is a tad disappointing. I was all praise for the HD display on Redmi 4 (one of the best I’ve seen) because the resolution was good enough for the 5-inch screen it packed. But it boasts of Corning Gorilla Glass on top for protection which is a neat addition on a budget smartphone.

Powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 processor paired with 3 GB of RAM (there’s also a higher spec’d variant with 4 GB RAM), the Redmi Y1 chugs along nicely. I’ve not stress-tested it in my limited time with the device, but I don’t believe there would be any problem in everyday performance. The Snapdragon 435 is a pretty snappy chip. There’s 3,080 mAh battery which should be good enough for an entire day of heavy usage because of modest, power-efficient internals.

There’s good enough 32 GB storage on board, which is expandable up to 128 GB with a microSD card. Xiaomi has done away with the hybrid tray for the Redmi Y1 – much to the delight of most users – which would now allow you to use two 4G nano-SIMs as well as a microSD card, all at the same time. Out of the box, the phone had about 23 GB of free memory.

The phone runs MIUI 9 beta out of the box and will receive the upgrade for the stable version later this month. MIUI is one of the better Android skins out there and has a lot of fans.

MIUI 9 brings in faster app launches that makes use of optimized touch feedback, CPU acceleration, and optimized thread scheduling in the background. There’s also better notifications, split screen (like stock Android), icon animations, and smart photo editing. MIUI 9 introduces new features like App Vault and Stickers with improvements to Mi Video, Mi Drop, and Mi Calendar.

The company claims that the latest iteration of MIUI is as fast as stock Android. MIUI, despite its popularity, has often been criticized in the past for being a heavy UI layer that affects overall performance – especially on budget smartphones.

That brings us to the highlight of the Redmi Y1 – the 16-megapixel front camera with soft LED flash, dubbed LED Selfie-light. The few selfies I clicked looked decent, mostly better than what other smartphones in this price segment offer. The color accuracy was a little off sometimes and a bit of grain is evident when zooming in or when observing them on computer. In low light conditions, too much noise creeps in. But overall, it should serve you well for sharing selfies on Facebook or Instagram.

At the back, there’s a 13-megapixel camera with PDAF which does quite well in good light conditions and isn’t unusable in low light as well. I would really need to explore the camera more in diverse settings to make a final judgment.

After building reputation based on value-for-money offerings, Xiaomi has now built a brand that goes beyond the specifications sheet. Redmi Y1 is a testimonial to the fact that the company has its ears on the ground and knows the pulse of the customers – and their requirements.

At ₹8,999 ($140) in India (₹10,999 for the 4 GB + 64 GB variant), the Redmi Y1 looks like a capable phone at first glance. It’s quite basic, apart from the front camera shenanigans, but sometimes that is just good enough in the budget smartphone market. We’ll find out more in our detailed review.

The Morning After: Thursday, November 2nd 2017

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

It’s no surprise to see a few new phones from HTC, but what about Razer? The gaming company is ready with a new mobile device that you should really see, and we’re going to explain who the real Wolfenstein II villains are.

Built for gamers, good enough for everyone.Razer Phone hands-on

We finally got a real look at Razer’s $699 Android phone, and it’s living up to the hype. According to Chris Velazco, “If you took a Nextbit Robin, made it bigger and draped the thing in dark anodized aluminum instead of cutesy plastic, you’d basically have the Razer Phone.”

It has a massive 4,000mAh battery, awesome front-facing speakers and an IGZO LCD with a 120Hz refresh rate that’s great for high-res mobile gaming. The Snapdragon 835 CPU and 8GB of RAM inside should provide more than enough power, although there was a little lag on the pre-release models we tried. The phone’s dual-camera and its lack of dust or water resistance were less impressive, but it will be worth a look when it launches on November 17th.

U.HTC tries again with the U11+ and cheaper U11 Life

HTC is following up its latest flagship with a couple of phones that expand the lineup in either direction. The U11+ isn’t headed to the US, but as you’d guess from the name, it’s a bigger version of the U11 with improved Edge Sense features and Android 8.0 Oreo onboard. The smaller (5.2-inch) U11 Life, however, is confirmed for a US debut, and at $349, it should be an intriguing option for smartphone shoppers on a budget.

Now with a proper drum sequencer.GarageBand expands its music-making palette

Apple pushed a major update to its mobile production suite yesterday, and according to Terrence O’Brien, GarageBand 2.3 is all about versatility. Thanks in part to the aptly-named Sound Library, artists can get free instruments and sound packs straight from Apple, while third-party developed add-ons are still restricted to the App Store. It’s free, so you can try to pull together a few tracks on your own and see how it’s improved.

That waitlist isn’t moving much.Tesla is still struggling to mass-produce the Model 3

Tesla dropped its third-quarter earnings report today, which showed it only managed to deliver 222 units of the car. That’s a fraction of the 1,500 it expected to produce in September alone.

Alexa, is this all you’ve got?Amazon Echo Plus review

The Echo Plus is an upgrade over the base model sonically with better bass and high-end, but does it offer enough to justify its $150 price? Maybe not, since its smart hub feature is still very basic and only supports the Zigbee protocol.

Hard hat HoloLens?Microsoft HoloLens is now certified protective eyewear

Microsoft’s augmented reality headset is ready for work. (And 29 new European markets.)

But wait, there’s more…

• The makers of ‘Resogun’ are leaving arcade shooters behind
• Apple TV 4K update will fix its HDR problem
• The real villain in ‘Wolfenstein II’ is a complicit America
• GoPro is finally profitable again
• House Intel Committee releases Russia-backed Facebook election ads
• Apple finally makes it easier to change your registered email

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Apple Likely to Retain iPhone X Dual-Lens Camera Design for 2018 iPhones

Apple is likely to retain the all-plastic lens system used in the iPhone X for its 2018 iPhone range, according to respected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

In a research note for KGI Securities, obtained by MacRumors, Kuo said he disagrees with market speculation that Apple will implement a 7P (seven-lens plastic) or a 2G3P (two-glass, three plastic) lens design for the rear-facing camera modules in next year’s iPhone line-up.

With its rear camera specs, iPhone X has managed to strike a phenomenal balance between picture quality and form factor design, in our opinion, given how far we’ve come today technologically. Switching from a 6P lens to a 7P lens or a 2G3P hybrid lens, with camera module design largely similar to iPhone X’s, would make for only limited improvements in aperture performance, we believe.

In addition, Kuo believes that moving to a new 7P or hybrid lens design would incur unnecessary risk on the supply of iPhones in 2018, and Apple is unlikely to make any manufacturing choices that could bring about a repeat of the supply constraints related to this year’s iPhone X.

Should Apple retain the 6P lens design on its 2018 iPhones, Kuo thinks Apple supplier Largan can expect slightly higher market share, although its leading market position will likely remain unchanged. The company commands the world’s largest lens capacity, while its prowess in design and assembly can be carried toward upgrades of future generations of 7P lens or hybrid lens.

The iPhone 7 Plus was the first handset to adopt the dual-lens design, which includes a wide angle and a telephoto lens, while the iPhone 8 Plus builds on the improved performance by using a more advanced sensor module. The iPhone X camera basically uses the same design as the iPhone 8 Plus, with the exception of an additional optical image stabilization component for the telephoto lens.

Related Roundup: iPhone XTag: Ming-Chi KuoBuyer’s Guide: iPhone X (Buy Now)
Discuss this article in our forums

SpaceX could end the year with the mother of all fireworks

Why it matters to you

SpaceX has been making steady progress with its reusable rocket system and a successful launch of the Falcon Heavy would mark another notable step forward.

SpaceX has been launching and landing its Falcon 9 rocket on such a regular basis recently that the missions hardly make the news these days, a testament to the impressive progress made by Elon Musk’s private space company in recent years.

So now attention is turning to the Falcon Heavy, which Musk says will be “the most powerful operational rocket in the world by a factor of two.” Sporting not one, or two, but three boosters with nine engines each, the Falcon Heavy will have twice the thrust of the next largest rocket at lift-off — equal to about eighteen 747 aircraft — and space enthusiasts are eagerly awaiting its maiden mission. But no one is quite sure when it’ll be.

Earlier this year, SpaceX mentioned November as a possibility, but November is here and the launch has reportedly been delayed due to issues linked to launchpad availability, partly down to SpaceX’s own busy launch manifest with its current Falcon 9 rocket.

Now a new report from NASASpaceflight this week confidently claims SpaceX is planning to launch the Falcon Heavy for the first time “in the late-December time period.” Specifically, it says Musk’s company wants to perform a static test-fire of the boosters in the middle of next month, followed by a launch on December 29.

The report takes into account the length of time it’ll take to convert Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A for the Falcon Heavy, with one rocket launch remaining before the work can begin. In September, Musk said during a presentation in Australia that he hoped the Heavy would launch “toward the end of the year.”

Musk, a man who comes up with ideas of huge ambition like most of us come up with ideas for breakfast, recently teased space fans with an animation showing how the Falcon Heavy launch might look. It shows the extraordinarily powerful rocket leaving the launchpad before the start of various separation steps, and ends with its booster cores landing back on Earth, a maneuver once considered as wildly ambitious but now pretty much perfected by SpaceX. But mindful of the issues experienced with the Falcon 9 over the years, Musk noted that a lot “can go wrong” with the Heavy in its early, complex missions.

A post shared by Elon Musk (@elonmusk) on Aug 4, 2017 at 3:00am PDT

SpaceX’s rocket system, which has been in development since the company’s founding in 2002, is designed to enable the reuse of rockets as part of a plan to dramatically cut the cost of space travel and pave the way for manned missions into deep space.

Fingers crossed SpaceX can get the Heavy off the ground in December — it’d certainly be a spectacular way to end what has been a successful year for the company.

Editor’s Recommendations

• SpaceX teases November launch of ‘world’s most powerful rocket’
• ‘How not to land an orbital rocket booster’ – Elon Musk shares blooper video
• SpaceX sees a payoff from its pioneering work with reusable rockets
• Elon Musk’s latest crazy idea? Rocket-based travel. On Earth
• SpaceX’s slim new spacesuits look straight out of sci-fi