SpaceX Updates (Thread 7)

[DocM]

woods170 at NSF has quoted sources saying SpaceX is building at least one larger size fairing.

 

Post #6,

 

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=39837.0

 

This was anticipated as the 5.2x13.1 meter fairing is too short to launch Bigelow modules and certain DoD payloads now launched using the Atlas V 500 or Delta IV Heavy and their largest fairings.

 

The largest Atlas V 5xx fairing is 5x26.5 meters long, but ~10.4 meters of that encases the Centaur upper stage leaving a much shorter net length of ~16.1 meters.

 

The largest Delta IV Heavy fairing is 5x19.1 meters, but it doesn't encase the DCSS upper stage allowing DIVH to launch larger payloads than Atlas V. 

 

There were rumors 2 years ago that FH's extended fairing could be 5.2x18-19 meters, so ISTM they'd try to match or exceed the internal length of Delta IV Heavy's 5x19.1 meter offering.

Edited March 22, 2016 by DocM

[BetaguyGZT]

Ooh, nice. They're gonna try it anyway.  I like.

[Draggendrop Veteran]

 

[DocM]

I hear VC Steve Jurvetson (founder Draper Fisher Jurvetson, member of SpaceX and Planet Labs's boards) is trying to put together a lunar north pole (Peary crater) base plan involving DFJ, SpaceX, Planet Labs and others. 

Edited March 29, 2016 by DocM

[Draggendrop Veteran]

Excellent news...This is how neat stuff happens....Just having talks about it means a "venture" of some form. Now, if they could tie this into "Moon Village..

[BetaguyGZT]

Hope the "others" also means they will involve Bigelow in a major way. I really, really want to see them succeed, and I believe that their Habs are the future not only in Space but on the Ground as well. Their tech can be designed for that purpose too.

[Draggendrop Veteran]

 

 

 

 

On the far left, FH nosecone test article.....and main image, upper stages in various modes of completion.

[Draggendrop Veteran]

bits and bytes...

 

trying to sell SLS.....

 

 

Unconfirmed SpaceX suit .....no idea if legitimate, but making a few rounds...

link to image

 

 

SpaceX accused of poaching chipmaker’s employees

 

Quote

Broadcom filed suit in Orange County, California, last week, claiming SpaceX hired a number of Broadcom’s top engineers to develop “a family of sophisticated, customized computer chips.”

The two companies had been working together on the development of advanced computer chips for an undisclosed project, but SpaceX ultimately ended the collaboration.

Broadcom alleges that SpaceX then sought to hire the Broadcom engineers working on the project. SpaceX countered that the engineers reached out to them seeking jobs, concerned about potential layoffs at Broadcom. [Courthouse News Service]

http://spacenews.com/spacex-accused-of-poaching-chipmakers-employees/

 

Where would one want to work...Broadcom or SpaceX...mmmmm....

I don't think this case is going anywhere.

 

[BetaguyGZT]

Heh, no doubt.

 

Instead of losing their jobs, they found another one -- meaning they quit before they got laid off/fired -- and Broadcom took it all personal-like.

 

Sour grapes. I've heard stories about working at Broadcom; how nasty the Management can be -- specifically how back-stabby they get -- if you don't toe the company line. It's like working at Boeing or Lockheed-Martin. You'd better be in, 115%, or they'll toss ya out on your posterior perpendicular.

 

So yep, sour grapes.

[DocM]

These guys were working on high gigahertz chip level phased arrays, which would be very useful for BEO spacecraft, the "CommX" constellation and a Mars comm & navs infrastructure.

 

Broadcom is laying off 750 at Irvine after a merger early this year, so these guys had good reason to jump ship. AIUI, California has also outlawed "non-compete clauses," employment contract clauses limiting key peoples job opportunities in a similar area of development. It would actually be illegal in California for SpaceX and Broadcom to enact a no-poaching agreement.

 

Sounding weak guys.

 

Edited March 30, 2016 by DocM

[DocM]

SpaceX wins round one: the engineers can continue working for them

 

http://www.courthousenews.com/2016/03/30/spacex-wins-first-round-in-poaching-case.htm

 

 

Quote

SANTA ANA, Calif. (CN) - Five engineers can keep working for Elon Musk's space transport company SpaceX after an Orange County Superior Court judge denied Broadcom's attempt to prevent them from doing so.

 

 Orange County Superior Court Judge Randall Sherman denied Broadcom's motion for a temporary restraining order that sought to bar five engineers formerly employed at the semiconductor vendor from working at SpaceX, claiming the individuals would be in a position to divulge Broadcom's trade secrets.
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Broadcom is represented by Daniel Pyne of Hopkins & Carley in San Jose, California, who did not respond to a voicemail message requesting comment by press time. Broadcom representatives also did not return emails seeking comment by press time.

 

[Draggendrop Veteran]

SpaceX hopes to sell used Falcon 9 boosters for as low as $40 million

 

The Falcon 9 first stage booster recovered after a Dec. 21 launch at Cape Canaveral is seen inside SpaceX’s hangar in Florida. Credit: SpaceX

 

Quote

SpaceX intends to cut the price of a Falcon 9 rocket launch by up to 30 percent when flying with reused first stage boosters, an achievement the company still hopes to demonstrate before the end of the year, SpaceX’s president said recently.

 

That figures to approximately $43 million per flight, a reduction from the Falcon’s commercial rate of $61 million published on SpaceX’s website.

Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s president and chief operating officer, said earlier this month that the company might fly a previously-flown Falcon 9 booster stage later this year.

 

She said the 15-story first stage booster that returned to Earth in December after a Falcon 9 launch with 11 Orbomm communications satellites weathered the up-and-down trip without major issues.

more at the link...long article

http://spaceflightnow.com/2016/03/31/spacex-hopes-to-sell-used-falcon-9-boosters-for-40-million/

 

[BetaguyGZT]

Love it. I remember the days, not all that long ago, when access to space wasn't so readily available or so affordable.  Glad things are different now.

[Draggendrop Veteran]

Here is a partial image of a SpaceX stage hauler, as seen parked on a lot in Los Angeles.

 

SpaceX trailer for stages

 

 

 

[DocM]

Redmond, Washington (near Seattle) office where the SpaceX datasat constellation is being developed gets its sign.

 

 

 

[DocM]

http://www.albanydailystar.com/science/space-price-war-between-russia-spacex-norfolkf-daily-news-15964.html

 

Space Price War between Russia & SpaceX

 

After initiating a space price war, SpaceX has become now one of the top players in the world in the space business.U.S. Senator John McCain is urging the military to end reliance on Russian-made rocket engines.

 

U.S. Capitalism versus Russia state capitalism

 

Recent moves in Congress to restrict the use of Russian rocket engines on national security missions sparked a revolution in the U.S. commercial space program. Private businesses such as SpaceX and Blue Origin, as well as Aerojet Rocketdyne, are lining up to offer homegrown rocket engines to NASA. Meanwhile, Russian President Putin just abolished his countrys own Federal Space Agency, replacing Roscosmos with a new corporation that will design new spacecraft and implement new projects by itself.
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Who charges more less

 

Consider: SpaceX publishes the price it charges for a rocket launch right up front on its website: $61.2 million for a simple Falcon 9 launch; $90 million for a ride on the new Falcon Heavy.

Already, ULA (the Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture) is finding these prices hard to beat. Citing the oft-mentioned price tag of $400 million that ULA has famously charged for some of its larger launches, SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell once quipped: "I dont know how to build a $400 million rocket.  I dont understand how ULA are as expensive as they are."

 

And yet, other SpaceX rivals are in much the same boat as ULA. At a Congressional hearing on the subject of launch costs last year, California Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez described a conversation she had with Frances Arianespace a few years ago: "They were telling me that their launch costs about $200 million equivalent. They said they werent worried about ULA but could I get rid of SpaceX? Because they were going to drive them out of business!"

 

And over in China, officials interviewed by Aviation Week recently lamented that "published prices on the SpaceX website [are] very low." So low, in fact, that with Chinas own Long March rockets costing $70 million per launch, "they could not match them."

[BetaguyGZT]

2 hours ago, DocM said:

Citing the oft-mentioned price tag of $400 million that ULA has famously charged for some of its larger launches, SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell once quipped: "I don't know how to build a $400 million rocket.  I don't understand how ULA are as expensive as they are."

Pork, Miss Tessmacher, pork. As in pork barrel. Politicians spoiled ULA, Boeing, Grumman, Spartan, Douglas Aircraft (DC), ATK, Lockheed-Martin and everyone else that ever got into the Military/Industrial business. They got used to the fat, lucrative contracts that paid billions for very little in comparison; and over time those companies got used to it and began basing their business models upon those contracts because they paid so well compared to doing business with the public.

 

ULA could get their prices down if they wanted to. But honestly, if a business model is actually working for your company still, would you change it even if you could see its' demise on the horizon; or does ULA Management have the blinders on and is oblivious to what will most certainly be a painful passing?

[DocM]

They're trying to lower their prices but are limited in what they can do by ULA's charter, meaning what LockMart and Boeing will let them do and how much they'll chip in. Already we see the chipping in problem in the Vulcan development which is on a very short leash. Tory Bruno has been given a big job and half a toolbox.

[BetaguyGZT]

Yep. And he's been told to return the tools to the toolbox in the same condition he borrowed them in, and to sort those tools neatly. And clean the garage while he's at it. Then rake the yard after he's finished mowing it. Then take the dog for a walk after that. Oh, and he's responsible for his kid brother too.

 

Seriously, I wouldn't want his job. He's serving too many masters, quite literally. If there's anyone who's in the real-life position of "Nick Fury" with all of the hassle and none of the reward, it's Tory Bruno. Sheesh.

[DocM]

Tuning up for the anticipated September announcement at IAC 2016 in Guadalajara?

 

http://recode.net/2016/04/06/mark-zuckerberg-speechwriter-leaving-for-spacex-elon-musk/

 

Mark Zuckerberg’s Speechwriter Left to Head Up Communications at SpaceX

 

Dex Torricke-Barton spent the past half-decade writing speeches for two of the tech industry’s most prominent CEOs. Now he’s headed to SpaceX to run communications for a different one.

 

Torricke-Barton is taking the head communications job at SpaceX, the rocket and aerospace company run by CEO Elon Musk, the one that is trying to put humans on Mars. Torricke-Barton spent the last four years working at Facebook, primarily writing speeches for CEO Mark Zuckerberg, but also the company’s other top executives.

 

He did the same at Google for then-CEO Eric Schmidt before that, and also spent three years working with the United Nations and its Secretary-General.

 

Now Torricke-Barton will run his own comms team, which entails much more than writing speeches — but we assume he’ll probably write a few speeches for Musk along the way, too.

 

Speech writing is typically viewed as a political skill, but it’s a stark reminder that as the tech industry has increased in reach and relevance, so too have its star executives. In that vein, it’s no surprise that Zuckerberg (and other top execs) would have someone skilled at speech writing to help him prepare remarks for events where other world leaders and policy makers are in the audience.

 

That will likely be important for Musk and SpaceX. Condensing the grand idea of interplanetary travel into something we regular folks can actually digest and understand will be Torricke-Barton’s new job.

 

“As someone who grew up devouring science fiction, before making a career telling stories, it was impossible to pass up the chance to tell this one,” he wrote in his blog.

 

Torricke-Barton left Facebook at the end of March and plans to take up his new post as senior director of communications at SpaceX in May.

[Draggendrop Veteran]

 

Hence this article....

Ariane 6 designers say they’ll beat SpaceX prices on per-kilogram basis

http://spacenews.com/ariane-6-rocket-designers-say-theyll-match-or-beat-todays-spacex-prices-on-per-kilogram-basis/

 

I can't quote anything with a straight face, you'll have to read it at the link...

 

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Op-ed | 3 things to know if you want to work for SpaceX

 

Group photo from February 2015 marking the departure of a Dragon capsule from SpaceX headquarters. Credit: SpaceX

 

Quote

SpaceX is arguably one of the coolest companies you can dream of working for. Elon Musk’s team now consists of over 4,000 employees spread across the United States, from its headquarters in California to its launch facility in Florida, rocket-development facility in Texas, and additional offices in Virginia and Washington.

With a busy launch manifest and big backlog, SpaceX is the fastest growing provider of launch services and one the hardest places to land a job.

Here are three things you should know if you’re bold enough to throw your name into the ring.

1. The hiring bar is the top 1 percent of the human population. And then gets higher 

<snip>

2. There are a lot of backdoor entry points 

<snip>

3. Work/life balance means work is your life

<snip>

 

I thought it was a good article with examples to chuckle at...

http://spacenews.com/op-ed-3-things-to-know-if-you-want-to-work-for-spacex/

 

[DocM]

NASA Senior Scientist Dan Rasky on working with and at SpaceX. Rasky was embedded with SpaceX during the COTS and other programs. Great stuff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Draggendrop Veteran]

I thought this was ironic....

 

I wonder if anyone noticed........look who's docked....

[FloatingFatMan]

2 hours ago, Draggendrop said:

I thought this was ironic....

 

I wonder if anyone noticed........look who's docked....

Hahahaha!! Sneaky!  I wonder if anyone from ULA noticed!

[DocM]

Bigelow will be using both Dragon and Starliner, perhaps Dream Chaser as well.

 

The Atlas V552 launch is because SpaceX hasn't yet offered a long enough fairing long enough to handle the B330 module, but that'll change soon enough. It's on the short list for Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy so they can compete for all DoD payloads.