SpaceX Launch/Satellite Contracts

[Cosmacelf]

Buried in this article, Northrop Grumman bought three launches from SpaceX.

”A Northrop spokeswoman told Reuters that the company purchased three Falcon 9 launches from Elon Musk's SpaceX to launch Cygnus capsules to the space station while Antares 330 is under development. Those Falcon 9 missions will launch in late 2023 and 2024.”

Northrop taps rocket startup Firefly to replace Antares' Russian engines

Northrop Grumman is partnering with rocket startup Firefly Aerospace to build a new version of its workhorse Antares rocket without Russian-made engines that were cut off from the United States after the invasion of Ukraine, the company said on Monday.

www.reuters.com

 

[Grendal]

 

[Cosmacelf]

First Starship contract I‘ve seen. Direct to GSO? SKY Perfect JSAT signed Launch Service Contract for Superbird-9 satellite with SpaceX | SKY Perfect JSAT HD | The SKY Perfect JSAT Group

 

[mongo]

First Starship contract I‘ve seen. Direct to GSO? SKY Perfect JSAT signed Launch Service Contract for Superbird-9 satellite with SpaceX | SKY Perfect JSAT HD | The SKY Perfect JSAT Group

Not direct, just GTO "Superbird-9 will be launched by SpaceX’s Starship launch vehicle in 2024 to geosynchronous transfer orbit."

 

[Cosmacelf]

Not direct, just GTO "Superbird-9 will be launched by SpaceX’s Starship launch vehicle in 2024 to geosynchronous transfer orbit."

Ah so maybe SpaceX is giving reduced launch prices for Starship vs F9.

 

[Grendal]

Ah so maybe SpaceX is giving reduced launch prices for Starship vs F9.

And I would expect there is a clause for launch on a F9 if Starship isn't ready.

 

[mongo]

And I would expect there is a clause for launch on a F9 if Starship isn't ready.

Assuming it fits in the fairing. I didn't find size or mass specs.
I'd hope Starship is operational by 2024. That's like, over a year from now!

 

[Grendal]

And I would expect there is a clause for launch on a F9 if Starship isn't ready.

Sky Perfect JSAT picks SpaceX’s Starship for 2024 satellite launch

Sky Perfect JSAT picks SpaceX’s Starship for 2024 satellite launch

spacenews.com

I always like the comments section on Space News articles and first comment by Dan Mosenzon said:

"SpaceX have been signing a significant amount (if not all) of their commercial satellite launch contracts as service contracts, wherein they can choose to launch the payload on either Falcon or Starship, which means that they can earn a significantly higher profit margin by switching a contract that was priced for Falcon 9 over to a Starship launch should Starship prove to have a meaningfully lower marginal cost of launch."

I can't say whether it is true or not but it certainly sounds reasonable.

 

[Grendal]

NASA's Europa Clipper in High Bay 1 - NASA

The core of NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft has taken center stage in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.

www.nasa.gov

 

[Cosmacelf]

Three new Falcon 9 contracts. SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket wins three new geostationary satellite launches

 

[Grendal]

A lunar lander launch.

Japan ispace, Inc. selects SpaceX Falcon 9 to launch its first cargo Lunar lander mission

ispace, Inc. is a lunar exploration company headquartered in Japan that is developing robotic landers. The company announced this week it selected SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket to launch its first cargo lunar lander Mission 1 (M1) next month, as part of the HAKUTO-R program. M1 is set to liftoff...

www.tesmanian.com

 

[mongo]

A lunar lander launch.

Japan ispace, Inc. selects SpaceX Falcon 9 to launch its first cargo Lunar lander mission

ispace, Inc. is a lunar exploration company headquartered in Japan that is developing robotic landers. The company announced this week it selected SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket to launch its first cargo lunar lander Mission 1 (M1) next month, as part of the HAKUTO-R program. M1 is set to liftoff...

www.tesmanian.com

So, this was only the announcement of selection, right? Or did they/ SpaceX really go from no launch to launch in a month?

 

[Grendal]

So, this was only the announcement of selection, right? Or did they/ SpaceX really go from no launch to launch in a month?

There was probably some early negotiations and maybe an initial contract. Maybe they were holding out on the announcement. This video from May shows a F9 launching. That says they were thinking that it was launching on one.

 

[ecarfan]

SpaceX slashes base price of smallsat rideshare program, adds “Plates”

SpaceX reducing its base price to $275,000 for up to 50 kilograms (~110 lb) will effectively lower the aggregator price ceiling fourfold. In general, it will also make purchasing rideshare launch services easier and cheaper for more prospective satellite operators. To ensure that, SpaceX also appears to be willing to book and integrate individual ‘containerized’ cubesats without the need for an aggregator’s dispenser.
That’s largely thanks to the biggest technical change to the Smallsat Program, which will see SpaceX replace its old cylindrical payload dispenser tower with a new “Rideshare Plate” system. Seemingly derived from the machined aluminum plates SpaceX uses to add rideshare payloads to Starlink launches, the plates should offer customers a more modular and flexible platform capable of supporting all kinds of payload adapters and dispensers.

These changes will likely help SpaceX continue to dominate the global satellite launch rideshare market. Since its Smallsat Program first took flight in January 2021, five dedicated Transporter rideshare launches and eight Starlink rideshare launches have delivered approximately 450 customer satellites and payloads to low Earth orbit (LEO). Seven more Transporter missions are scheduled between December 2022 and Q4 2024.

 

[Grendal]

And a couple more:

ESA moves two missions to Falcon 9 - SpaceNews

ESA now plans to launch a space telescope and an asteroid mission on Falcon 9 rockets because of its loss of access to Soyuz vehicles and Ariane 6 delays.

spacenews.com

 

[Grendal]

Delay for a launch due to the payload not being ready:

O3b mPower service debut pushed later into 2023

O3b mPower service debut pushed later into 2023

spacenews.com

 

[Grendal]

This kind of fits here since the payload is going to be launched by SpaceX. JPL apparently has issues:

Psyche review finds institutional problems at JPL - SpaceNews

An independent review of problems that delayed the launch of NASA’s Psyche asteroid mission uncovered institutional issues at JPL.

spacenews.com

 

[Grendal]

Not specifically SpaceX but part of the overall Space Force GPS program. SpaceX has launched four of these and is scheduled for one more in early 2023 (currently NET January 18, 2023). ULA has launched one and is scheduled for one more on a Vulcan Centaur when that rocket is ready. So, more than likely, two to three of these satellites will be contracted to SpaceX for their eventual launch.

Space Force orders three GPS satellites for $744 million

Space Force orders three GPS satellites for $744 million

spacenews.com

GPS Block III - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Grendal]

This payload is delayed.

Space Development Agency’s first launch slips to March due to satellite glitch

Space Development Agency’s first launch slips to March due to satellite glitch

spacenews.com

 

[Cosmacelf]

This payload is delayed.

Space Development Agency’s first launch slips to March due to satellite glitch

Space Development Agency’s first launch slips to March due to satellite glitch

spacenews.com

“the noisy power issue came up during the most recent tests but had not come up in earlier design reviews.”

Gawd, that’s why you test early and often. This should have been discovered way before this stage of the game. I mean the fix was a simple power supply noise ripple filter. They were relying on paper design reviews just until right before launch?