Author Topic: Why does ULA (w/ many achievements) appear less "inspiring"?  (Read 73233 times)

Offline edkyle99

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Re: Why does ULA (w/ many achievements) appear less "inspiring"?
« Reply #200 on: 05/26/2012 06:09 pm »
I think it is time to remind ourselves about what it is that ULA does.

This company launches payloads that cost, literally, billions of dollars, per payload.  The payloads are more important, to the United States, than anything launched by or for NASA - ever.  Lives depend on them, in real time. 

That's a big burden, and ULA does its job, successfully, time after time, without seeking the public accolades that it is due, because that's the nature of the work it does. 

Consider, just for a moment, that big bus-size Hexagon satellite now at the AF Museum in Dayton, how big and complex that program was, how many tens of thousands of people worked on that program, how much it cost.  And we knew nothing about it for decades.  ULA is launching modern versions of things like that right now.

It's like the submarine service of space. 

And, BTW, if SpaceX starts doing lots of this work, the doors will figuratively close on Hawthorne and its cheering employees.  They'll become as invisible as ULA workers.  We might never see Elon again!

 - Ed Kyle
« Last Edit: 05/26/2012 06:13 pm by edkyle99 »

Offline mikegi

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Re: Why does ULA (w/ many achievements) appear less "inspiring"?
« Reply #201 on: 05/26/2012 11:08 pm »
I think SpaceX is more exciting because:

1. Musk risked his own money to chase this obsession
2. They appear to be focussed on the goal rather than the trip
3. They don't let failure faze them

ULA could produce a 10X better rocket than SpaceX right now ... if they wanted to. Of course, I think they're restricted in what they can do so we're somewhat comparing apples and oranges.

Still, SpaceX reminds me of a young startup software company that stretches itself a long way. Sometimes they bite off more than they can chew but they keep trying. I fully expect to see Musk step out of the first manned Dragon flight. If he doesn't, I'll be disappointed!


Offline Jim

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Re: Why does ULA (w/ many achievements) appear less "inspiring"?
« Reply #202 on: 05/27/2012 12:19 pm »
I fully expect to see Musk step out of the first manned Dragon flight. If he doesn't, I'll be disappointed!

He has stated many times that he won't be on the first.  Too much at risk.

Offline Jim

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Re: Why does ULA (w/ many achievements) appear less "inspiring"?
« Reply #203 on: 05/27/2012 06:29 pm »
In so doing his company is working to lower the cost of spaceflight, unlike his competitors. 

Unsubstantiated.

Offline peter-b

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Re: Why does ULA (w/ many achievements) appear less "inspiring"?
« Reply #204 on: 05/27/2012 09:35 pm »
I don't think that SpaceX's popular support can be fully placed at the door of "better PR", sorry. As others in this thread have pointed out, SpaceX isn't doing anything in terms of PR that other companies aren't, and in fact in many respects they give a much less professional and polished presentation.

I think that the popular support and interest can be attributed to the fact that SpaceX has a stated long term goal (interplanetary human spaceflight), that SpaceX has obviously structured everything about the company (the launchers, the spacecraft, the choices of technologies used) to support that goal, and that SpaceX are happy to talk about how whatever they've done most recently works towards that goal. This captures the imagination of the public.

No matter how efficient, competent and reliable LM, Boeing and ULA are, they will carry on being boring as long as their corporate ambitions are limited to "generate good quarterly revenue forecasts." Unfortunately, those are the only corporate ambitions that the stock market will let them have.
Research Scientist (Sensors), Sharp Laboratories of Europe, UK

Online Chris Bergin

Had enough of this thread. Trimmed again, but now locked.
« Last Edit: 05/28/2012 01:26 am by Chris Bergin »
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