Unsolicited suggestions are likely to be returned unopened, in the general case
That's not how patents work.If you disclosed it to them, then they can't PATENT it, but they can sure use it (unless it is already patented or filed for).If you disclosed it in a public forum, then probably nobody else can patent it either.
Maybe a half dozen people with names many of you would recognize have told me that they read these forums.
Suggestions from the public might have limited applicability on highly technical issues, but there might be other areas that would be more applicable.Ideas for publicity along the lines of the Tesla Roadster for instance?Or ideas for rising funds perhaps? How about selling bits of old rockets? They must have loads of old kit that will never fly again that could be cut up into small parts and sold as “flown in space”?I suspect a lot of people would wish SpaceX well and might even be willing to donate some money to their cause if they simply made it easy to do so.
Quote from: Slarty1080 on 05/13/2018 12:18 pmSuggestions from the public might have limited applicability on highly technical issues, but there might be other areas that would be more applicable.Ideas for publicity along the lines of the Tesla Roadster for instance?Or ideas for rising funds perhaps? How about selling bits of old rockets? They must have loads of old kit that will never fly again that could be cut up into small parts and sold as “flown in space”?I suspect a lot of people would wish SpaceX well and might even be willing to donate some money to their cause if they simply made it easy to do so.The kind of amounts they could make from that might be useful to a couple of guys in a garage trying to get their first VC funding round, but to SpaceX it wouldn't be material.
i'm not so sure about no, no, no, no, no, etc. While, as individuals, few of us have the expertise required to advise in any sort of detail, we (and they - SpaceX) have an imagination, it's really hard to see how, even a so-called crazy idea can have unforseen effects. What I am reading here sounds like projecting the worst perceptions of NASA culture to Sp;aceX.For sure, I'm not dumb enough to go posting crazy, alien space bat comments into the middle of one of Dmitry's threads on BFR design specifics. I'm not qualified. At the same time if there is an issue or thought I can bring ujp, I'm not so afraid or lack self-confidence to think that my ideas have no value. We have no way of knowing what thought that may trigger in someone else...i.e. James Burke's Connections.So while there maybe many armchair rocket scientists, and 'mere' enthusiasts here, there is great value in questions and comments from the mouths of babes. Who really does know where the next great leap in imagination at SpaceX will come from?
Quote from: ChrisWilson68 on 05/13/2018 12:37 pmThe kind of amounts they could make from that might be useful to a couple of guys in a garage trying to get their first VC funding round, but to SpaceX it wouldn't be material.But they sell T shirts on their web site?
The kind of amounts they could make from that might be useful to a couple of guys in a garage trying to get their first VC funding round, but to SpaceX it wouldn't be material.
I have been on this website for about 10 years or more now. I have seen a lot of good ideas before they were actually tried.
Quote from: spacenut on 05/14/2018 02:11 amI have been on this website for about 10 years or more now. I have seen a lot of good ideas before they were actually tried. It's not enough that there are some good ideas from some members of the public. SpaceX employees' time is a precious resource. The question is whether it's worth their time to be reading through suggestions from the general public as opposed to listening to other SpaceX employees, going to industry and academic conferences, reading academic papers, talking to former classmates and coworkers in the field, etc.Edit: and, also, they should probably be spending some of their time actually doing their jobs.
It was pointed out to me by another member that I was the first to suggest the use of "grid fins" on Falcon for entry control before they appeared coincidence, maybe...
Quote from: Rocket Science on 05/14/2018 01:47 amIt was pointed out to me by another member that I was the first to suggest the use of "grid fins" on Falcon for entry control before they appeared coincidence, maybe...Well deserved kudos.But as to this thread, such a suggestion is something well known to practitioners of the art, aerospace engineers. Any competent aerospace engineer would have known of grid fins and would at least consider their use. Point being regarding the thread topic, this was not a "suggestion from the public" that SpaceX would not have entertained on their own.
Quote from: Slarty1080 on 05/13/2018 12:18 pm>Or ideas for rising funds perhaps? How about selling bits of old rockets? They must have loads of old kit that will never fly again that could be cut up into small parts and sold as “flown in space”?I suspect a lot of people would wish SpaceX well and might even be willing to donate some money to their cause if they simply made it easy to do so.The kind of amounts they could make from that might be useful to a couple of guys in a garage trying to get their first VC funding round, but to SpaceX it wouldn't be material.
>Or ideas for rising funds perhaps? How about selling bits of old rockets? They must have loads of old kit that will never fly again that could be cut up into small parts and sold as “flown in space”?I suspect a lot of people would wish SpaceX well and might even be willing to donate some money to their cause if they simply made it easy to do so.
...the offering of 3 million new shares raises SpaceX's valuation to $27.5 billion, according to Equidate and two people familiar with the fundraising."There is an unlimited amount of funding that the company could probably access globally in private markets," Hilmer said, adding that he has personally met many of "a diverse group" interested in SpaceX."Everywhere I travel around the world, investors of all types — individuals, family offices, hedge funds, sovereign wealth funds or private equity — want to get into SpaceX," Hilmer said. "It's almost all investors I talk to."Such vast, unparalleled interest from private investors gives SpaceX "a lot of runway" to continue its "very long-term approach" to the development of its business, Hilmer said.