Capitalism in space: SpaceX officials confirmed yesterday that they now expect the first Falcon Heavy launch to slip into 2018.
They still plan to do the initial but critical launchpad static fire tests in December.
An evening pause: This animation expresses well what I often feel and think, as someone who does not use a “smart” phone.
Hat tip Jim Mallamace, who sent it from his own smart phone, which left him “not feeling very high and mighty.”
Capitalism in space: In its current round of stock sales SpaceX had raised another $100 million in investment capital.
In August, the space exploration company sold $349.9 million worth of shares, a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing showed. That amount has now risen to $449.9 million, a new filing showed on Monday, adding an extra $100 million onto the current fundraising effort.
The latest injection of cash values SpaceX at $21.5 billion, according to Equidate, a platform that facilitates the trading of shares in private technology firms. SpaceX was not immediately available for comment on the valuation when contacted by CNBC.
If I was a big money investor I too would be interested in buying some SpaceX stock. Meanwhile, Aviation Week is reporting that the first Falcon Heavy launch has slipped to 2018. I am not surprised, but I have also not seen any other news reports on this, so I am withholding judgement.
The second Soyuz rocket launch from Russia’s new spaceport in Vostochny ended in failure this morning due to a problem with the rocket’s upper stage
It is presently unclear what happened. One Russian news report suggests “human error,” though I do not understand exactly what they mean by that. Either way, all 19 satellites, including a new Russian weather satellite and 18 smallsats, were lost.
For Russia, this failure comes at a bad time. Roscosmos had been striving to recover from last year’s recall of all rocket engines due to corruption at one of their factories. A new launch failure, especially if it is due to another engine issue, will not encourage sales from the international market. Worse, the lose of the 18 smallsats on this launch will certainly make future smallsat companies more reluctant to fly on a Russian rocket.
Capitalism in space: Faced with stiff and increasing competition from SpaceX, European governments are finally beginning to realize that their decades of poo-pooing the concept of rocket reusability might have been a big mistake.
In what was likely an unexpected question during a Nov. 19 interview with Europe 1 radio, French Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire was asked if SpaceX meant the death of Ariane.
“Death? I’m not sure I’d say that. But I am certain of the threat,” Le Maire said. “I am worried.” Le Maire cited figures that are far from proven — including a possible 80% reduction in the already low SpaceX Falcon 9 launch price once the benefits of reusability are realized. “We need to relfect on a reusable launcher in Europe, and we need to invest massively in innovation,” Le Maire said.
Then there was a report out of Germany that has concluded that SpaceX commitment to reusability is about to pay off.
The article also cites those in Europe and with the U.S. company ULA that remain convinced that they can compete with expendable rockets. In reading their analysis, however, I was struck by how much it appeared they were putting their heads in the sand to avoid facing the realities, one of which has been the obvious fact that SpaceX has been competitively running rings around them all. This is a company that did not even exist a decade ago. This year it very well could launch more satellites than Europe and ULA combined.
China today launched three more military reconnaissance satellites with its Long March 2C rocket.
The race for the most launches in 2017 is tightening, with China coming up the rear.
17 Russia
16 SpaceX
13 China
The US itself has a comfortable lead with 27 total launches.
An evening pause: That’s Donald Fagen, Michael McDonald, and Boz Scaggs performing live in 2014.
Hat tip Joe Griffin.
A private company and a volunteer group dedicated to promoting interstellar travel have written a paper [pdf] exploring the possibility of launching a mission to fly past the interstellar object Oumuamua, now speeding out of our solar system.
As they note in the paper’s abstract,
Can such objects be intercepted? The challenge of reaching the object within a reasonable timeframe is formidable due to its high heliocentric hyperbolic excess velocity of about 26 km/s; much faster than any vehicle yet launched. This paper presents a high-level analysis of potential near-term options for such a mission. Launching a spacecraft in a reasonable timeframe of 5-10 years requires a hyperbolic solar system excess velocity between 33 to 76 km/s for mission durations between 30 to 5 years. Different mission durations and their velocity requirements are explored with respect to the launch date, assuming direct impulsive transfer to the intercept trajectory. Several technology options are outlined, ranging from a close solar Oberth Maneuver using chemical propulsion, and the more advanced options of solar and laser sails. To maximize science return decelerating the spacecraft at ’Oumuamua is highly desirable, due to the minimal science return from a hyper-velocity encounter. It is concluded that although reaching the object is challenging, there seem to be viable options based on current and near-term technology.
The paper even considers the use of SLS or SpaceX’s Big Falcon Rocket.
Capitalism in space: Budweiser’s goal to eventually brew beer on Mars will take its next step with the launch to ISS of a beer experiment in December.
To get the ball rolling, the famous beer brand is partnering with the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, which manages the ISS U.S. National Laboratories, and Space Tango, a payload development company that operates two commercial research facilities within the National Laboratory.
Working with Budweiser’s innovation team, the group will send two barley-based experiments to the ISS as part of the next SpaceX cargo supply mission, scheduled for December 4. Budweiser’s barley seeds will stay in orbit for around a month before returning to Earth for analysis.
Seems right to me.
An evening pause: Seems very appropriate for Thanksgiving. This cover was performed by the couple immediately after they had gotten married.
Hat tip Edward Thelen, who said he prefers this to the original, an opinion to which I agree whole-heartedly.
An evening pause: A short film about the moment the first human was born on Mars, as seen from the perspective of a Navajo family on Earth.
Hat tip Jeff Poplin.
Capitalism in space: XCOR’s bankruptcy has revealed that the company owed $27.5 million to creditors, the largest of which are government agencies that gave the company money in the hope its operations would bring business to their regions.
Space Florida is the largest secured credit at $3.6 million. The state-run agency’s has a “blanket security interest in personal property.” XCOR had made a deal to manufacture and operate its Lynx suborbital space plane from Florida.
XCOR estimates it spent $25 to $30 million developing the unfinished Lynx. An additional $15 to $20 million would be required to complete the vehicle, according to the documents.
Midland Development Corporation (MDC) has $10 million in unsecured claims. The funding was provided to XCOR to move from its base in Mojave, Calif., to the West Texas city, a process the company did not complete before it filed for bankruptcy earlier this month.
In addition, a private spacesuit company, Orbital Outfitters, appears to have gone of business in connection with this bankruptcy.
The science fiction movie prop Robbie the Robot has sold at auction for $5.3 million, making it the second most expensive movie prop in history.
The complete Robby suit, control panel, his jeep, numerous spares, alternate original “claw” hands, and the original wooden stage shipping crates, were sold yesterday (November 21, 2017 ) by Bonhams in New York for US$5,375,000 including buyers premium.
The only purpose-built movie prop to have ever sold for more is Marilyn Monroe’s “subway dress” from The Seven Year Itch (1955) which was sold by Profiles in History for $5,520,000 (inc. buyers premium) in 2011.
Capitalism in space: According to SpaceX’s CEO, they plan to up their annual launch rate by 50% in 2018, and hope to average 30 to 40 launches per year thereafter.
They also hope to introduce their Big Falcon Rocket (BFR) by 2022, but will continue operations with both the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy, if that is what their customers prefer.
An evening pause: Hat tip Jim Mallamace, who tells this story about the song’s origin: ” Future country music star, Jeannie Seely, worked as a secretary at Liberty and Imperial Records in 1963. The producer for the record company, Eddie Ray, was looking for a new song for Rythm & Blues legend, Irma Thomas.
“After each day’s work, Seely would work on her own compositions on the studio piano. One day, Seely was asked to attend an Artists and Repertoire meeting by Ray. She came to the meeting with her stenography pad but was told, no, he wanted her to sing that song she was writing the night before.
“‘Anyone Who Knows What Love Is’ became a 1964 hit for Irma Thomas in both the R&B and Pop charts. It was the first song Seely had published.”
In an auction of space memorabilia on Friday a solid gold replica of an Apollo Lunar Module sold for more than $149K.
It appears that the market for space memorabilia is hot right now.
The head of the the Air Force’s Strategic Command revealed this past weekend that he wants the military to quickly shift its focus to buying small satellite constellations.
As one of nine U.S. combatant commanders, Hyten has a say in how the Pentagon plans investments in new technology. With regard to military satellites, STRATCOM will advocate for a change away from “exquisite” costly systems that take years to develop in favor of “more resilient, more distributed capabilities.” This is the thinking of the new “space enterprise vision” adopted by the Air force and the National Reconnaissance Office, Hyten said. “That vision is about defending ourselves. In that vision you won’t find any of those big, exquisite, long-term satellites.”
“I’ve made a call at U.S. Strategic Command that we’ll embrace that as a vision of the future because I think it’s the correct one,” he added. STRATCOM will “drive requirements,” Hyten noted, “And, as a combatant commander, I won’t support the development any further of large, big, fat, juicy targets. I won’t support that,” he insisted. “We are going to go down a different path. And we have to go down that path quickly.”
Makes sense to me. Not only will the Air Force save money, but their satellite assets will be harder to attack and easier to sustain and replace should they be attacked.
For the satellite industry this shift will accelerate the growth of the smallsat industry, and provide a lot more business for the new smallsat rocket industry that is now emerging.
ARCA has issued a statement following the arrest last week of Dumitru Popescu for embezzlement and fraud.
ARCA Space Corporation will continue the development of its aerospace technology as scheduled. The company has full confidence in CEO Dumitru Popescu and expects him to lead the efforts. Mr. Popescu was charged in New Mexico state courts with alleged embezzlement and securities issues. However, Mr. Popescu maintains his innocence and expects to prevail in court proceedings.
Meanwhile the work of the company will proceed with a goal of presenting a successful aerospike rocket engine.
Capitalism in space: Smallsat rocket company Vector has made a deal with Harris Corporation to use its launch facilities at Vandenberg in California for future launches.
Vector now has arrangements to launch its rockets from Kennedy, from Wallops Island, from Alaska, from the new spaceport in Georgia, and now from Vandenberg. With the rocket designed small enough for easy transportation by truck around the country, this will give them the ability to reach a large variety of orbits while also maintaining a fast launch rate.
Capitalism in space: Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne has won a contract to launch a Defense Department payload.
The details are vague, but the deal appears real. The article also suggests that Virgin Orbit is on schedule to complete its first launch next year.
Its carrier aircraft, a Boeing 747 that was formerly a passenger airliner for Virgin Atlantic, is currently in flight tests after undergoing modifications to accommodate the launch vehicle. A pathfinder version the rocket, meanwhile, has been shipped from the company’s factory in Long Beach, California to Mojave for testing, including static fire tests of both stages.
All evidence now suggests that my prediction one year ago that this Virgin company will make its first operational flight before Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo, despite being in development only six years, compared to the fourteen years SpaceShipTwo has been under development.
Capitalism in space: Rocket Lab’s second test Electron rocket has arrived at the company’s New Zealand launch facility in preparation for the rocket’s second flight.
They hope after several weeks of check-out they will be able to announce a launch date. The launch, though intended entirely as a test, will still carry three commercial cubesats, which Rocket Lab hopes to place in orbit.
For the Google Lunar X-Prize contestant Moon Express this launch is critical. They must launch by the end of March to win the prize, and are dependent on Electron as their rocket.
The expected Falcon 9 launch this past week of the mysterious Zuma government payload, built by Northrop Grumman but linked to no government agency, has been postponed indefinitely because of a fairing issue identified during testing for a different customer.
This delay also suggests that this may be an issue that will delay more than one launch, which could effect SpaceX’s effort to achieve 20 launches in 2017.
Capitalim in space: The next to last ULA launch of a Delta 2 rocket successfully launched a $1.6 billion NOAA weather satellite on Saturday.
An evening pause: Hat tip to Edward Thelen for reminding me that I should post another Bowie song. This was recorded live in 1999.
Link here. He finds much of what he reads, especially involving Virgin Galactic, to be seriously wanting.
Expect a more detailed review in the coming days, but essentially Branson’s dishonest hyperbole shines through.
An evening pause: I haven’t posted one of these in awhile, and this one is a doozy, including three new US domino records: largest domino field, largest domino structure, and largest overall domino project in America. It took 19 builders from 5 countries 7 days (over 1,200 combined hours) to build it.
As I have noted before, I welcome suggestions for evening pauses. If you have suggested before, please suggest again! And if you have never done so but have something you want to suggest, comment here (without mentioning the suggestion itself) and I will provide you info on how to submit your suggestion.
Capitalism in space: In response to the announcement by Chinese officials that they aim to reduce their launch costs in order to attract more commercial business, Indian officials announced that they plan to do the same in order to compete.
Interestingly, the reduced price that China revealed, $5,000 per kilogram, remains about twice that of SpaceX’s estimate per kilogram price for a launch using a reused first stage.
