I'm wondering what the cost is to launch a freight capsule is the ISS. By cost I mean the cost that the company would charge an outside agency to launch the craft which would be provided. Which entitiy is the least expensive?
Quote from: Bundolo on 10/18/2017 08:11 pmI'm wondering what the cost is to launch a freight capsule is the ISS. By cost I mean the cost that the company would charge an outside agency to launch the craft which would be provided. Which entitiy is the least expensive? According to Wikipedia (ahem) NASA's Cargo Resupply Contract totaled $3.5 billion for 20 launches, or about $175 million each, averaged between SpaceX Falcon/Dragon and Orbital Antares/Cygnus. The follow-on CRS-2 contract costs were hidden, but appeared to have increased (probably closer to $200 million per mission). - Ed Kyle
Quote from: woods170 on 10/19/2017 09:14 amQuote from: edkyle99 on 10/19/2017 03:49 amQuote from: Bundolo on 10/18/2017 08:11 pmI'm wondering what the cost is to launch a freight capsule is the ISS. By cost I mean the cost that the company would charge an outside agency to launch the craft which would be provided. Which entitiy is the least expensive? According to Wikipedia (ahem) NASA's Cargo Resupply Contract totaled $3.5 billion for 20 launches, or about $175 million each, averaged between SpaceX Falcon/Dragon and Orbital Antares/Cygnus. The follow-on CRS-2 contract costs were hidden, but appeared to have increased (probably closer to $200 million per mission). - Ed Kyle You can't compare pricing of CRS to that of CRS-2. It's apples to oranges:CRS was a contract with a maximum value of $3.5 billion for the delivery of a minimum amount of 20 metric tons of cargo (both pressurized and unpressurized) to the ISS.CRS-2 is a contract with a maximum value of $14 billion for a minimum number of 6 missions each, per provider.So, the first contract was priced based on upmass requirements. The second contract is priced on number of missions. Apples to oranges.Sources:- https://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/dec/HQ_C08-069_ISS_Resupply.html- https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-awards-international-space-station-cargo-transport-contracts- http://cdn.defensedaily.com/wp-content/uploads/post_attachment/132009.pdf- http://www.satellitetoday.com/launch/2016/01/15/nasa-awards-crs-2-missions-to-orbital-atk-snc-and-spacex/I'm not "comparing" the two contracts. I mentioned that CRS-2 has hidden its costs and then I made a per-launch guess.The Commercial Crew contracts were $3.4 billion for 12 flights, or $283 million each (average). That makes me think that CRS-2 must be somewhere between CRS-1 and Commercial Crew, which would be roughly $200 million. Its a guesstimate. There are lots of estimates out there. Motley Fool estimated that CRS-2 cost $628 million per flight! - Ed Kyle
Quote from: edkyle99 on 10/19/2017 03:49 amQuote from: Bundolo on 10/18/2017 08:11 pmI'm wondering what the cost is to launch a freight capsule is the ISS. By cost I mean the cost that the company would charge an outside agency to launch the craft which would be provided. Which entitiy is the least expensive? According to Wikipedia (ahem) NASA's Cargo Resupply Contract totaled $3.5 billion for 20 launches, or about $175 million each, averaged between SpaceX Falcon/Dragon and Orbital Antares/Cygnus. The follow-on CRS-2 contract costs were hidden, but appeared to have increased (probably closer to $200 million per mission). - Ed Kyle You can't compare pricing of CRS to that of CRS-2. It's apples to oranges:CRS was a contract with a maximum value of $3.5 billion for the delivery of a minimum amount of 20 metric tons of cargo (both pressurized and unpressurized) to the ISS.CRS-2 is a contract with a maximum value of $14 billion for a minimum number of 6 missions each, per provider.So, the first contract was priced based on upmass requirements. The second contract is priced on number of missions. Apples to oranges.Sources:- https://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/dec/HQ_C08-069_ISS_Resupply.html- https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-awards-international-space-station-cargo-transport-contracts- http://cdn.defensedaily.com/wp-content/uploads/post_attachment/132009.pdf- http://www.satellitetoday.com/launch/2016/01/15/nasa-awards-crs-2-missions-to-orbital-atk-snc-and-spacex/
Guestimates won't do. Read the OP again. What does it cost to launch a freight spacecraft to the ISS?The only hard numbers available now are for CRS and ATV: - CRS: $3.5 billion for 30 missions (10 for Orbital, 20 for SpaceX). Or, on average, $116,7 million per mission.- ATV: $532 million per mission.So, what does it cost to launch a freight spacecraft to the ISS? Answer: from $116,7 million to $532 million.There are no hard numbers for CRS-2 available and there won't be until the final number of missions, to be flown under CRS-2, has been determined. That will be somewhere in the 2022 - 2024 time frame IMO.
I've been asked to clarify more about the payload: Weight approx 6000Kg, height 5.2m, diameter 2,25mHope this helps.Jeff
Would the falcon heavy be an option when it comes on line?
what about if I want to send directly to the moon. Originally plan was to put the capsule into LOE then boost it into lunar orbit. That was because there weren't heavy lifters available to do it in one shot, but it appears that the Falcon heavy might be ready within the next few years.