SpaceX vs. Everyone - ULA, NG, Boeing, Lockheed, etc.

[scaesare]

Thanks for the references @spacerf and comments @dhanson865 ...

It would be consistent with DoD comms for Starshield to have separate physical infrastructure. The seemingly conflicting comments referring to the existing constellation might indeed be explained by the routing of unclassified data from Shield to Link.

 

[mongo]

Thanks for the references @spacerf and comments @dhanson865 ...

It would be consistent with DoD comms for Starshield to have separate physical infrastructure. The seemingly conflicting comments referring to the existing constellation might indeed be explained by the routing of unclassified data from Shield to Link.

Encryption should be happening before first uplink.
That said, OpSec would want untrusted packets as far from trusted systems as possible.

 

[dhanson865]

Encryption should be happening before first uplink.
That said, OpSec would want untrusted packets as far from trusted systems as possible.

If the Dishy is being shared then a classified and unclassified computer could be sharing the same Secure Dishy.

Seeing that one Dishy has more bandwidth than required for a single PC it will be common for them to be a shared resource behind the router and will have to process both unsecure and secure data.

Sure you could have a regular Dishy and a Secure Dishy on site and route the traffic out to the correct Dishy but you could also have Secure Dishy only and have it route the traffic to the correct network as needed after the router (in both directions).

I can't believe every site with a Secure Dishy would bother to setup a regular dishy beside it. Maybe the biggest sites with multiple Dishys would, but not every site.

 

[mongo]

If the Dishy is being shared then a classified and unclassified computer could be sharing the same Secure Dishy.

Seeing that one Dishy has more bandwidth than required for a single PC it will be common for them to be a shared resource behind the router and will have to process both unsecure and secure data.

Sure you could have a regular Dishy and a Secure Dishy on site and route the traffic out to the correct Dishy but you could also have Secure Dishy only and have it route the traffic to the correct network as needed after the router (in both directions).

I can't believe every site with a Secure Dishy would bother to setup a regular dishy beside it. Maybe the biggest sites with multiple Dishys would, but not every site.

Yeah, Dishy then secure firewall for classified network would likely be needed regardless of secure vs consumer Dishy.

 

[scaesare]

And the hits just keep on coming for NASA and their contractors.... this time from the Inspector General:

NASA should consider commercial alternatives to SLS, inspector general says

A rather telling table:

 

[Cosmacelf]

Boeing is the first to drop out of the mega constellation race vs Starlink. They won’t be the last…

Reddit - Dive into anything

reddit.com

 

[bxr140]

Boeing is the first to drop out of the mega constellation race vs Starlink. They won’t be the last…

FWIW, they were never "in" the race. This is just a timeout of the filing they made years ago, which was the equivalent of real estate speculation. They were never going to self fund a tens of $B's constellation.

 

[Cosmacelf]

FWIW, they were never "in" the race. This is just a timeout of the filing they made years ago, which was the equivalent of real estate speculation. They were never going to self fund a tens of $B's constellation.

The same thing could be said about all the others. Time will tell.

 

[bxr140]

The same thing could be said about all the others.

The point was that Boeing always meant to sell their filing. They never intended on operating under that filing.
Nearly every other filing comes from an operator, whether they're existing or aspirational.

 

[Cosmacelf]

The point was that Boeing always meant to sell their filing. They never intended on operating under that filing.
Nearly every other filing comes from an operator, whether they're existing or aspirational.

Ah so they bought, and lost, on effectively a call option then. Kinda funny that of all companies, they should have known whether it would pan out.

 

[ecarfan]

Ars Technica: CEO of rocket-maker ULA makes a sales pitch—for the whole company

It sure sounds like United Launch Alliance is up for sale. Tory Bruno, the rocket builder's CEO, said this week that anyone who purchased ULA would reap the rewards of the company's "transformation" over the last few years, a course change primarily driven by geopolitics and the competitive threat of SpaceX.

ULA has not been “transformed”. It’s still making expendable rockets. Just reusing the 2 main engines won’t be enough to compete with Starship.

No full reusability, no future.

 

[mongo]

ABL's launch failure was attributed to the launch mount flame trench being undersized.

The source of the fire is attributed to an overly restrictive launch mount and flame deflector that created plume recirculation, overloading RS1’s base heat shield.

FAA Closes RS1 Mishap Investigation — ABL Space Systems

 

[ecarfan]

ABL's launch failure was attributed to the launch mount flame trench being undersized.

Well, at least ABL had a flame trench…

 

[spacerfc]

Well, at least ABL had a flame trench…

They don't actually. Their GSE is mobile and can be setup anywhere that has a flat concrete pad, their launch mount is basically the same concept as Starship, i.e. an elevated platform. The difference is they have an inclined flame deflector under the platform which redirects exhaust to a single direction.

 

[ecarfan]

They don't actually. Their GSE is mobile and can be setup anywhere that has a flat concrete pad, their launch mount is basically the same concept as Starship, i.e. an elevated platform. The difference is they have an inclined flame deflector under the platform which redirects exhaust to a single direction.

Okay, a portable flame trench. Sort of. At least they have a deflector. SpaceX IFT-1 didn’t even have that!

 

[mongo]

ULA sale may be official soon. Blue Origin, private equity, and unnamed 3rd party (with no current major space capabilities) in the running.

Sale of United Launch Alliance is nearing its end, with three potential buyers

 

[Cosmacelf]

ULA sale may be official soon. Blue Origin, private equity, and unnamed 3rd party (with no current major space capabilities) in the running.

Sale of United Launch Alliance is nearing its end, with three potential buyers

"acquiring United Launch Alliance would give Bezos an orbital rocket"

Yeah, probably the only way he's going to get one the way things are going!

 

[scaesare]

You can bet Bruno and the bunch at ULA are darn hopeful that their planned Xmas Eve launch actually heppens, and is successful, given they want to put their best foot forward for potential suitors....

Also: given the leisurely Vulcan development schedule, as well as the woes B.O. has had in things like getting the BE-4's done & delivered, one wonders what combining those two orgs would result in...Jeffrey's new guy would have his work cut out for him...

 

[scaesare]

Berger article on Vulcan

Slight jab at B.O.:

"As a result, ULA is seeking to scale up production of the Vulcan rocket to reach a cadence of two launches a month by the end of 2025. That seems rather ambitious and might be asking a lot of suppliers, including engine manufacturer Blue Origin. Bruno, however, said the management challenges of that scaling are being worked on.

"We are expecting Blue to keep up with us, and we're working very, very hard to do that," he said. "So far, so good.

 

[JB47394]

Berger article on Vulcan

Slight jab at B.O.:

It's an odd statement. It reads as if ULA is working hard to get Blue Origin to keep up. Surely he wouldn't say that in public.