Ra Paulette – cave artist
An evening pause: He doesn’t draw art in caves, he carves the cave itself.
Hat tip Tom Biggar.
Tag: competition
Airbus-Safran demand total control of Arianespace
The heat of competition: The European joint-venture between Airbus and Safran is now demanding that be given total control of Arianespace and the development of the new Ariane 6 rocket.
From Airbus’ perspective, the production of rockets in Europe should be done the same way commercial Airbus aircraft are built. “The launcher business in Europe in the beginning of 2014 was one in which the vehicles were designed by government agencies, commercialized by a company called Arianespace, produced by an ensemble of companies, and then launched by Arianespace. This is not an optimal situation,” [Airbus strategy director Marwan] Lahoud said.
“The optimal solution is to industrialize the process, with one prime contractor that designs, builds, sells and operates the launchers, with a supply chain — much as we do with Airbus today.”
Essentially, this would be a shift in ownership of the rocket, moving from the government to the private company. We have seen the same process in the U.S., with the new commercial space products no longer controlled or designed by NASA. The result has been lower cost, faster development, and greater profits.
Falcon 9 launch rescheduled for Saturday
SpaceX and NASA have now rescheduled the Falcon 9/Dragon launch to ISS for Saturday morning at 4:47 am Eastern.
I am wondering if lack of light is going to effect the effort to vertically land the first stage.
Europe reconsiders reusability in its rockets
The competition heats up: Pressured by SpaceX, Europe has restarted a research program into developing a reusable first stage to its rockets.
The headline is actually an overstatement. The European managers quoted in the article actually spend most of their time explaining why trying to reuse a rocket’s first stage makes no sense, but they feel forced to reluctantly look into it anyway because of what SpaceX is doing with its Falcon 9.
This story makes me think of two blacksmiths around 1900. One poo-poos cars, saying that the repair cost is so high no one will ever buy them. He goes back to pounding horseshoes. The other decides that if he learns how to fix cars, he can turn his shop from fixing horseshoes to fixing cars, and make more money. Europe is the first blacksmith, while SpaceX is the second.
Which do you think is going to succeed?
Sierra Nevada loses its protest of NASA contract decision
The GAO has ruled against Sierra Nevada’s protest of NASA’s decision to pick Boeing for its manned spacecraft decision.
The ruling is not really a surprise. Even if political considerations gave Boeing an unfair advantage, the space agency has enough legal leeway to make this decision as it did. The GAO recognized that it would be inappropriate to overrule them.
Falcon 9 launch scrubbed
Due to issues in the rocket’s steering system this morning’s Falcon 9/Dragon launch was scrubbed.
They will try again Friday morning at 5:09 am Eastern.
Chinese service module journeys to and from Moon
The competition heats up: The service module of China’s first lunar return capsule, launched and successfully returned to Earth in November, is returning to lunar orbit after journeying to L2 more than 35,000 miles from the Moon.
After testing its maneuvering ability at L2, engineers are now moving it back to lunar orbit for further tests.
China lifts export limits on rare earth minerals
Having lost its case before the World Trade Organization China has lifted the limits it had placed on the export of rare earth minerals back in 2009.
Because of low costs, China produces about 90% of all rare earths worldwide, needed for most high tech electronics. This decision eases a concern that has existed now for better part of a half decade.
SpaceX job offers posted for Brownsville Texas
Want to work for SpaceX? You can! They are now posting job openings for those who want to work at their new spaceport in Brownsville Texas.
Some details on the SpaceX’s attempt to land its Falcon 9 first stage
This SpaceX press release gives some good info on the difficulty they face getting the first stage on Tuesday’s Dragon launch to land successfully on its floating sea platform:
To complicate matters further, the landing site is limited in size and not entirely stationary. The autonomous spaceport drone ship is 300 by 100 feet, with wings that extend its width to 170 feet. While that may sound huge at first, to a Falcon 9 first stage coming from space, it seems very small. The legspan of the Falcon 9 first stage is about 70 feet and while the ship is equipped with powerful thrusters to help it stay in place, it is not actually anchored, so finding the bullseye becomes particularly tricky. During previous attempts, we could only expect a landing accuracy of within 10km. For this attempt, we’re targeting a landing accuracy of within 10 meters.
They are going to try however, and they will be filming their attempt all the way. Stay tuned for some very interesting footage.
Weather reports moderately favorable for Tuesday’s Falcon 9 launch
The weather for Tuesday morning’s SpaceX launch of Dragon/Falcon are presently 60% favorable.
If all goes right, SpaceX will also try to bring the first stage back to a vertical soft landing on a ocean-going platform. If they succeed, they will immediately revolutionize the entire space launch industry.
The most rocket launches in 20 years
The competition heats up: 2014 saw the highest number of rocket launches in two decades.
Russia led the way with the most launches, as has been typical.