Good to see the Israelis willing to continue do business with SpaceX after all the delays with the F9 that made AMOS-4 jumping ship to the Land Launch Zenit.
I'll write it up, although I did have five seconds of thinking "Bloody hell, I wish we made money like space.com"
What confuses me is that Amos-6 weighs 5.5ton/12,125lbs according to SFN report, far beyond Falcon 9 GTO capability(4.85 ton/10,682lbs as described by SpX's F9 page). Or did I miss something?
No, I don't think you did miss anything, but SpaceX is in the process of updating their line (to v1.1) and, as far as I recall, stats have not been announced for it yet, and 2015 is another 2 years away to boot.
Now all SpaceX has to do is up the launch rate. A lot.
Quote from: Chris Bergin on 01/29/2013 08:18 pmI'll write it up, although I did have five seconds of thinking "Bloody hell, I wish we made money like space.com" Not the same as making money, but I almost never go to Space.com since finding this site.
Quote from: cmj9808 on 01/30/2013 04:36 amWhat confuses me is that Amos-6 weighs 5.5ton/12,125lbs according to SFN report, far beyond Falcon 9 GTO capability(4.85 ton/10,682lbs as described by SpX's F9 page). Or did I miss something?Quote from: QuantumG on 01/30/2013 04:42 amNo, I don't think you did miss anything, but SpaceX is in the process of updating their line (to v1.1) and, as far as I recall, stats have not been announced for it yet, and 2015 is another 2 years away to boot.The published NASA NLS F9 v1.1 performance data does suggest v1.1 is short of putting 5.5tons into GTO. Maybe that's without a "delta-v mission kit" for which we haven't yet seen details for v1.1?edit: Now back to KSLV-1 (looking good!). Congrats all and thanks to the NSF crew for the coverage!
That's the high-energy orbit graph, wouldn't the elliptical graph be more appropriate for GTO? Punching in an 36km x 27.0 degree elliptical (Not sure if that's standard for GTO, but closest I can find in a couple minutes of searching), the same tool gives a payload of 5715mt. Does that leave enough margin for a kick motor?
Quote from: grythumn on 01/30/2013 08:10 pmThat's the high-energy orbit graph, wouldn't the elliptical graph be more appropriate for GTO? Punching in an 36km x 27.0 degree elliptical (Not sure if that's standard for GTO, but closest I can find in a couple minutes of searching), the same tool gives a payload of 5715mt. Does that leave enough margin for a kick motor?Yes, you're right (doh!); elliptical with standard GTO appogee plot...
Ex-Im Bank Approves $105.4 Million Loan to Finance SpaceX LaunchWashington, D.C. – Continuing its support of the space industry in America, the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) has authorized a $105.4 million loan to Space Communication Ltd. of Ramat Gan, Israel, to finance the Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) launch of the Amos-6 communications satellite, the purchase of American made-solar arrays, and insurance brokered by Marsh USA (Marsh)The transaction is Ex-Im Bank’s third in support of a SpaceX launch, and it will support approximately 600 U.S. jobs in California and elsewhere, according to bank estimates derived from Departments of Commerce and Labor data and methodology. In June of 2013, Ex-Im Bank announced that it had approved financing for the launches of two satellites manufactured by Space Systems/Loral LLC, and in November of 2012 the Bank announced that it had approved financing for the launches of two Boeing-manufactured satellites.“Ex-Im Bank is always ready to help the American space industry boost its international sales and export its products to important markets,” said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. “Our support of American launches and exports levels the playing field for U.S. companies and keeps highly-skilled, well-paying jobs on American soil.”Satellite financing represents Ex-Im Bank’s most prominent stand-out sector in the Bank's newly transformed portfolio. Just three years ago, satellites accounted for only $50 million in authorizations per year. This year numbers as the third consecutive year in which Ex-Im Bank's satellite sector authorizations will have topped $1 billion. Amos-6, a geosynchronous satellite, will replace Space Communication’s Amos-2 and cover markets in Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East. The satellite will also provide pan-European coverage and broadband services in Europe and Africa. The launch is scheduled for 2015.Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Hawthorne, Calif., SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches rockets and spacecraft. It is the first private company to build, launch, and dock spacecraft at the International Space Station, a mission previously accomplished only by government space entities.
Don't forget engineering services from SpaceX...
Quote from: IRobot on 08/26/2013 05:08 pmDon't forget engineering services from SpaceX...Yeah, that was what I meant, in that this price give us an upper bound for the actual launch cost including all of the payload specific engineering and processing costs? Subtract off whatever the insurance and solar array costs are and whatever is left is the price spaceX is charging them for the LV hardware plus all the engineering for their payload.