SpaceX

[claytorj]

Jean-Yves Le Gall , the president of the French national space agency CNES and former CEO of Arianespace, has written an op-ed in Le Monde in which he identifies what SpaceX has gotten right and calls upon Europe to respond in kind.

CNES Figures Out What SpaceX Got Right, But Can Europe Respond? at Parabolic Arc

 

[Mario Kadastik]

Yeah, I'm not really expecting this to do anything reasonable. If we really want to have any kind of space race we need someone with silicon valley like ambitions and purpose to lead the space race from europe. As Estonia has been coined multiple times as the Silicon Valley of Europe (highest per capita startups, loads of successful ones like Skype, Transferwise, Erply, Kazaa etc etc) wouldn't it be a nice thing to start a decent space delivery company But I think it will be a tough sell. And who the heck would want to bet against Elon Musk

 

[Doug_G]

I suspect these guys are toast, especially if SpaceX gets the reusability thing working. SpaceX is a disruptive innovator and they'd have to utterly change their organization if they hope to compete with them.

 

[Mario Kadastik]

I suspect these guys are toast, especially if SpaceX gets the reusability thing working. SpaceX is a disruptive innovator and they'd have to utterly change their organization if they hope to compete with them.

The trouble with that is that unlike US where you have a federal government that surpasses the local states and takes care of such things with its own budget, then in EU it's really a bunch of countries working together and the politics involved are of multiple parties even though there's EU common budget for some things etc. This will mean that if it's slimmed down to just a few partners to maximize the efficiency, then most funders will back out of this and the whole system is in trouble. The main reason this might be an issue is that EU will lose access to space that is independent of other countries. That is in the long run a so-so result. While I believe that with Elon on top SpaceX will not abuse their monopoly, but after Elon retires on Mars we might be in some problematic regions if no other company takes this up enough.

But I do root for SpaceX as they're clearly on the right path and the underdog still. I'll worry about their monopoly in a decade

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Well, if SpaceX is ultimately successful with reusability, the satellite industry will be bigger, albeit there will be a continued focus on lowering cost due to a lower cost of failure. I think SES has made a very smart decision to collaborate closely with SpaceX.

And if SpaceX abuses its future monopoly to charge exorbitant prices (only 1/50th of current prices instead of 1/100th?) at least you can assume the ill-gotten gains will be going into Mars exploration.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

My only concern with extremely cheap satellite launches is this:

(Credit: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1283.html)

 

[scaesare]

My only concern with extremely cheap satellite launches is this:



(Credit: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1283.html)

However:

the debris objects are shown at an exaggerated size to make them visible at the scale shown..

 

[ggr]

My only concern with extremely cheap satellite launches is this:

(Credit: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1283.html)

"Space is big. I mean really really big! You think it's a long way to the corner shop..." -- Douglas Adams, HHGTTG.

 

[aronth5]

Interesting comment on Putin. Obviously a big fan:wink:

Elon Musk on state of U.S. space exploration: Being at Putin&#

 

[jeff_adams]

Interesting comment on Putin. Obviously a big fan

The Russians tried to shake Elon down before he started SpaceX. I think he hinted they would even sell him a nuke rocket for the right price. That had to scare him.

 

[claytorj]

Article on Grasshopper 2, with pictures of landing legs:

Falcon 9 preparing to stretch her legs via Grasshopper trials | NASASpaceFlight.com

 

[Grendal]

Article on Grasshopper 2, with pictures of landing legs:

Falcon 9 preparing to stretch her legs via Grasshopper trials | NASASpaceFlight.com

It's been a while and I'm needing a Grasshopper fix. Thanks for the article but it just made it worse. I can't wait to see the big version take flight. The article says they will do initial testing in Texas then move the rocket to New Mexico for the high altitude tests.

 

[Grendal]

SpaceX news:

More SpaceX land purchases point toward a Texas space port - Houston Space news | Examiner.com

SpaceX buys more land in Texas.

And:

SpaceX forms subdivision dubbed 'Mars Crossing' - The Monitor: Local News

SpaceX creates a new company to focus on Mars.

 

[claytorj]

SpaceX Falcon 9 lands 2 more SES Satellite launches (2015 & 2016)

Updated: SES Books Falcon 9 for 2016 Launch | SpaceNews.com

 

[rabar10]

SpaceX forms subdivision dubbed 'Mars Crossing' - The Monitor: Local News

SpaceX creates a new company to focus on Mars.

Subdivision as in adjacent lots of property, not as in a corporate division. But still, cool name

 

[claytorj]

Interview with SpaceX head of engine development:

SpaceXs propulsion chief elevates crowd in Santa Barbara | Pacific Coast Business Times

 

[Grendal]

SpaceX moves closer to launching spy satellites | Fox News

Moving still closer to spy satellite launches for the military. Last year they spent $1.6 billion for 5 launches. SpaceX would half that cost.

 

[aronth5]

Next week the Senate Appropriations Committee’s defense subcommittee will hear from SpaceX (Elon Musk) and ULA on military space launch issues.
It will interesting to see how much Elon pushes their significant cost advantagesover ULA. ULA finally has true competition.

http://www.spacepolitics.com/2014/02/26/senate-appropriators-to-hear-from-spacex-and-ula-on-military-space-launch-issues/?utm_source=feedly&utm_reader=feedly&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=senate-appropriators-to-hear-from-spacex-and-ula-on-military-space-launch-issues

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

^ gotta fire up C-SPAN at 7 am Pacific!

 

[claytorj]

Elon on KSC 40 groundbreaking ceremony (6 years old).