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

[bxr140]

Interesting philosophical topic: Should mega vertical mergers be kosher? Primary objection seems to be Raytheon, since Aerojet supplies motors for both Lockheed and Raytheon missiles.

Lockeed wants to buy Aerojet-Rocketdyne

For tin-hatters that can't get enough out of their Qanon feeds, consider that ULA, which at one point considered (but did not select) an Aerodyne main stage motor, and who are currently suffering through BE-4 supply issues, is 50% owned by Lockheed...

 

[bxr140]

Some fodder for the BO h8r's out there.

Of course we've seen similar high profile departures [and corollary media responses] from a company a little closer to home, but its worth noting that even with Elon persistently pissing off the executive suite at Tesla the rank and file are behind him. Bob Smith reportedly has a whopping 15% on Glassdoor...

 

[Grendal]

 

[Grendal]

Every launch for Atlas 5 is sold.

SpaceX wins contract to launch weather satellite after ULA withdraws

NASA has selected SpaceX to launch the last in a series of geostationary weather satellites that had previously been launched by United Launch Alliance.

spacenews.com

 

[Grendal]

SpaceX gets less but gets it this year.

Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, SpaceX, ULA win Space Force contracts for rocket technology projects

Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, SpaceX, ULA win Space Force contracts for rocket technology projects

spacenews.com

 

[Grendal]

More ouch for ULA:

Tory Bruno: ULA won’t get engines by Christmas, BE-4s coming in early 2022

Tory Bruno: ULA won’t get engines by Christmas, BE-4s coming in early 2022

spacenews.com

 

[Grendal]

Even more delayed.

Due to delays in development—at one point, the Vulcan rocket was expected to debut in 2020—the US Space Force and ULA have already agreed to move the first military mission assigned to Vulcan, designated USSF-51, onto an Atlas 5 rocket. However, ULA has since said that all of its remaining Atlas rockets, which are being phased out due to reliance on the Russian-built RD-180 engine, are allocated to other missions. It is not clear, therefore, that other military missions can be moved off of Vulcan and onto an Atlas.

With further delays to BE-4 rocket engine, Vulcan may not make 2022 debut

"These are really big, heavy, complicated pieces of machinery."

arstechnica.com

 

[scaesare]

Even more delayed.

From comments, looks like Elon's hat is safe:

 

[Cosmacelf]

Spicy!

https://twitter.com/x/status/1472973709141065730

 

[ICUDoc]

My money is on Elon.
Regardless of anything else, he will win that race, purely because he hates to lose.

 

[adiggs]

My money is on Elon.
Regardless of anything else, he will win that race, purely because he hates to lose.

I like his response. Spicy, we think he'll win.

But mostly he's not dissing anybody. I find his comment to be more of a 'welcome to the race - we all win' type of response. I hope Airbus / ESA are successful getting there.

 

[Grendal]

Vulcan Centaur on schedule for first launch in 2022 as New Glenn slips

ULA remains confident that its Vulcan Centaur rocket will make its first launch this year while Blue Origin is pushing back the first flight of New Glenn.

spacenews.com

 

[JohnSnowNW]

Vulcan Centaur on schedule for first launch in 2022 as New Glenn slips

ULA remains confident that its Vulcan Centaur rocket will make its first launch this year while Blue Origin is pushing back the first flight of New Glenn.

spacenews.com

Call me skeptical, but I'm betting it gets pushed to 2023.

 

[ecarfan]

Call me skeptical, but I'm betting it gets pushed to 2023.

It is incredible that the Vulcan Centaur has been in development since 2016 — 6 years ago — and during that time the Falcon 9 has made all other rockets obsolete. ULA is building a completely outdated vehicle and it has not even flown yet. That is a terrible business plan. Without government contracts ULA would go bankrupt.

And BO is still not going to reach orbit this year, with a vehicle design that will likely be made obsolete by Starship.

 

[Electroman]

Call me skeptical, but I'm betting it gets pushed to 2023.

Calll me an optimist, New Glenn will not see orbit anytime this decade.

 

[Grendal]

12 more missions: 6 for SpaceX and 6 for Northrup. The big question is how Northrup is going to do any of these. They only have enough rockets to fulfill their current contract. Maybe one or two on a Falcon 9.... then Vulcan - possibly.

NASA Orders Additional Cargo Flights to Space Station - NASA

NASA has ordered 12 additional missions under its Commercial Resupply Services-2 (CRS-2) contracts to ensure continuous science and cargo delivery for the

www.nasa.gov

 

[Cosmacelf]

12 more missions: 6 for SpaceX and 6 for Northrup. The big question is how Northrup is going to do any of these. They only have enough rockets to fulfill their current contract. Maybe one or two on a Falcon 9.... then Vulcan - possibly.

NASA Orders Additional Cargo Flights to Space Station - NASA

NASA has ordered 12 additional missions under its Commercial Resupply Services-2 (CRS-2) contracts to ensure continuous science and cargo delivery for the

www.nasa.gov

Easy. Northrop will charge NASA more than SpaceX and then turn around and contract with SpaceX. I mean, isn’t that business as usual with these guys?

 

[Grendal]

Explanation of the differences between BE-4 and Raptor. As far as I know, it is accurate:

 

[Cosmacelf]

Explanation of the differences between BE-4 and Raptor. As far as I know, it is accurate:

Wow. That is one awesome video. Starts all the way at the beginning with cool chemistry info about different hydrocarbons and proceeds from there. We’ll worth a listen.

 

[ecarfan]

Wow. That is one awesome video. Starts all the way at the beginning with cool chemistry info about different hydrocarbons and proceeds from there. We’ll worth a listen.

Absolutely! That was fascinating. Very clear, straightforward explanation that does not require a deep understanding of chemistry of physics to comprehend.

I hope that BO solves their engine problems. The video speculates that even if they can make the BE-4 work for the non-reusable Vulcan that does not mean it will work for the reusable New Glenn. If they have to completely redesign the engine for reusability that is going to result in many years of delay for that rocket.