SpaceX Starship Launch/Mission/Space Station Contracts

[mongo]

Starship selected to launch Starlab for Voyager Space
Starlab Space Selects SpaceX’s Starship for Historic Launch - Voyager Space

https://twitter.com/x/status/1752700978686742984

 

[JB47394]

Starship selected to launch Starlab for Voyager Space

I love how they have a "sizzle reel" that shows the CGI of the interior of their space station with a kind of conference table. And there's a high school microscope and a couple laptops sitting on it. I'd prefer to see some hardware in development and some dates, but I can't find anything like that. They do seem to be good at organizing and at being 'thought leaders".

Voyager Space has been acquiring other small aerospace companies, notably including Nanoracks in 2021.

 

[mongo]

I love how they have a "sizzle reel" that shows the CGI of the interior of their space station with a kind of conference table. And there's a high school microscope and a couple laptops sitting on it. I'd prefer to see some hardware in development and some dates, but I can't find anything like that. They do seem to be good at organizing and at being 'thought leaders".

Voyager Space has been acquiring other small aerospace companies, notably including Nanoracks in 2021.

Yeah, I chuckled at the chair.

 

[ecarfan]

They do seem to be good at organizing and at being 'thought leaders".

They also make some optimistic and slightly misleading statements in this press release:

Voyager, and its operating company Nanoracks, were awarded $160 million in NASA funding in 2021 for the Starlab space station, which is set to replace the International Space Station.

That implies that NASA is paying Voyager Space to build a station to replace the ISS, without mentioning that in fact NASA awarded money to 3 different companies to do the same thing, and of course that level of funding is nowhere near enough to build and launch a functional human-rated station.

The press release is titled Hilton and Voyager Space to Design Crew Lodging and Hospitality Suites Aboard Starlab. So what aerospace experience is Hilton providing? It’s laughable. Quote:

Hilton will bring the company’s renowned hospitality expertise and experience to support the design and development of crew suites aboard Starlab, helping to reimagine the human experience in space, making extended stays more comfortable.

 

[scaesare]

Yeah, I chuckled at the chair.

Ditto. Also "Hilton" as one of the partner companies at the beginning lol...

 

[JB47394]

Here's a twist: the Department of Defense has approached SpaceX about being able to operate a Starship of their own for particular missions.

SpaceX: DOD Has Requested Taking Over Starship For Individual Missions | Aviation Week Network

The Pentagon has approached SpaceX about potentially taking over Starship for sensitive and potentially dangerous missions.

aviationweek.com

The idea is similar to how the Air Force moves cargo. At times, the service contracts with private carriers to deliver cargo, but for certain critical missions it uses service “gray tail” aircraft. In this hypothetical case, the military could take a Starship off the line for a specific mission and return it to SpaceX after it is complete.

 

[scaesare]

Here's a twist: the Department of Defense has approached SpaceX about being able to operate a Starship of their own for particular missions.

SpaceX: DOD Has Requested Taking Over Starship For Individual Missions | Aviation Week Network

The Pentagon has approached SpaceX about potentially taking over Starship for sensitive and potentially dangerous missions.

aviationweek.com

Have seen some discussion of that.... the "potentially dangerous missions" part is intriguing. One hypothesis is that it could potentially be used to deliver weapons payloads... either for subsequent deployment or (less likely) actually deploying them directly... one suggestion was that Starship is large enough to deliver a "Rod of God" type payload...

 

[JB47394]

One hypothesis is that it could potentially be used to deliver weapons payloads... either for subsequent deployment or (less likely) actually deploying them directly...

Can't wait. Should be fun. I'm going to get to work on measuring kinetic yields for the day when the Chinese rods start falling in my area.

Edit: Our area.

 

[Grendal]

More on the government using Starship for missions. As always, check out the comments section in Space News articles.

Air Force rocket cargo initiative marches forward despite questions about feasibility

Air Force rocket cargo initiative marches forward despite questions about feasibility

spacenews.com