This last exchange really bother me. Let me make something perfectly clear: THERE ARE NO BIT ROLES IN SPACE TECHNOLOGY.
2. There won't be operators until there are RLV's. Operations of ELV's require to much work of the designer.
Quote from: Jim on 05/13/2011 08:26 pm2. There won't be operators until there are RLV's. Operations of ELV's require to much work of the designer.Arianespace is an operator and has ~300 employees. However, there is still a lot of engineering support by other companies like Astrium, Snecma etc.
It burned up! Is it supposed to do that?
Quote from: Robotbeat on 06/04/2011 06:29 pmIt burned up! Is it supposed to do that? OMG, what a waste! We should leave them all in LEO and assemble a Mars transit vehicle out of them! (BTW, that was a joke, before the "Cygnus as MTV?" thread shows up!)
Like how they meld the people in the Cupola into it.
It somehow makes the comparative sizes of the modules more clear: Cygnus isn't much smaller than Columbus, but it sure looks smaller than Kibo!
The Cygnus spacecraft to be launched aboard the Taurus II rocket will be capable of delivering up to 2,300 kg of cargo to the ISS and will be able to return 1,200 kg of cargo from the ISS to Earth.“We are very appreciative of the trust NASA has placed with us to provide commercial cargo transportation services to and from the International Space Station, beginning with our demonstration flight scheduled in late 2010,” said Mr. David W. Thompson, Orbital’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
I'm looking back at the COTS awards and CRS awards. I was wondering if SpaceX was getting more money because they have downmass capability.
The award from NASA orders eight flights valued at about $1.9 billion from Orbital and 12 flights valued at about $1.6 billion from SpaceX.
I'm looking back at the COTS awards and CRS awards. I was wondering if SpaceX should now be getting more money because they have downmass capability
@ugordan your response would seem to indicate that SpaceX will in fact be paid more than Orbital?
Quote from: majormajor42 on 06/05/2011 08:01 pm@ugordan your response would seem to indicate that SpaceX will in fact be paid more than Orbital? I was talking about COTS money, not CRS money. Both SpaceX and Orbital entered their prices in their CRS bids and NASA accepted. I'll defer to someone more knowledgeable on whether SpaceX will get paid extra for any downmass. My understanding is the CRS contracts didn't factor in any downmass capability, but I didn't study the topic closely.
I think SpaceX is feeling like they left a lot of money on the table for CRS. I remember SpaceX getting upset that Orbital got the same money for fewer flights.
I have some quotes from the CRS award where it appears that Cygnus will have downmass capability.