Y'know, I can't help but wonder how well the very different culture of SpaceX and the NRO 'spooks' will mesh. I have no doubt that SpaceX's people will be very professional but I can imagine that the NRO might be a bit wary of working with SpaceX's more transparent and public-facing culture when it comes to publicising their work.
Quote from: Ben the Space Brit on 03/19/2017 08:02 amY'know, I can't help but wonder how well the very different culture of SpaceX and the NRO 'spooks' will mesh. I have no doubt that SpaceX's people will be very professional but I can imagine that the NRO might be a bit wary of working with SpaceX's more transparent and public-facing culture when it comes to publicising their work.Well they are going to have to learn to adapt with organisations like the NRO if they want to make any inroads into government contracts long term.
Quote from: Star One on 03/19/2017 08:38 amQuote from: Ben the Space Brit on 03/19/2017 08:02 amY'know, I can't help but wonder how well the very different culture of SpaceX and the NRO 'spooks' will mesh. I have no doubt that SpaceX's people will be very professional but I can imagine that the NRO might be a bit wary of working with SpaceX's more transparent and public-facing culture when it comes to publicising their work.Well they are going to have to learn to adapt with organisations like the NRO if they want to make any inroads into government contracts long term.Since they have a backlog of a couple dozen government launches (extending through 2024), I think there's a reasonable chance they will be able to make some 'inroads'
Quote from: AncientU on 03/19/2017 09:27 amQuote from: Star One on 03/19/2017 08:38 amQuote from: Ben the Space Brit on 03/19/2017 08:02 amY'know, I can't help but wonder how well the very different culture of SpaceX and the NRO 'spooks' will mesh. I have no doubt that SpaceX's people will be very professional but I can imagine that the NRO might be a bit wary of working with SpaceX's more transparent and public-facing culture when it comes to publicising their work.Well they are going to have to learn to adapt with organisations like the NRO if they want to make any inroads into government contracts long term.Since they have a backlog of a couple dozen government launches (extending through 2024), I think there's a reasonable chance they will be able to make some 'inroads'Government in this case equaling the intelligence agencies of course.
Quote from: Star One on 03/19/2017 09:29 amQuote from: AncientU on 03/19/2017 09:27 amQuote from: Star One on 03/19/2017 08:38 amQuote from: Ben the Space Brit on 03/19/2017 08:02 amY'know, I can't help but wonder how well the very different culture of SpaceX and the NRO 'spooks' will mesh. I have no doubt that SpaceX's people will be very professional but I can imagine that the NRO might be a bit wary of working with SpaceX's more transparent and public-facing culture when it comes to publicising their work.Well they are going to have to learn to adapt with organisations like the NRO if they want to make any inroads into government contracts long term.Since they have a backlog of a couple dozen government launches (extending through 2024), I think there's a reasonable chance they will be able to make some 'inroads'Government in this case equaling the intelligence agencies of course.The intelligence agencies will also likely adapt to the new realities of the launch market... and the a-sat threat. Their current battleship galactica approach to NRO platforms needs to drastically change if they want their assets to remain viable long term.
What does any of this have to do with NROL-76?
As I posted here two weeks ago, I think this flight could be "SpaceX Mission 1363" according to new nomenclature in FCC application.Other FCC application with same requested period of operation says it includes LZ-1 booster landing - so probably LEO satellite. And NROL-76 is only one mission in closest SpX manifest (except CRS-11), which could be non GTO mission from 39a.
IIRC, the NRO launch isn't a commercial launch.
Quote from: deruch on 03/22/2017 01:41 amIIRC, the NRO launch isn't a commercial launch. It wasn't purchased through the Air Force