http://www.geekwire.com/2016/relativity-space-blue-origin-spacex-stealth/
Quote from: ringsider on 01/10/2017 06:45 pmhttp://www.geekwire.com/2016/relativity-space-blue-origin-spacex-stealth/This article was from back in July. Is there any more recent information? Tim Ellis was one of the two interns at Masten the summer I left to start Altius. Really smart and talented kid, but when I saw the $10M fundraise and what they're publicly saying they're doing, it had me scratching my head. But I'd love to hear any updates if there are any.~Jon
Quote from: jongoff on 01/11/2017 09:19 amQuote from: ringsider on 01/10/2017 06:45 pmhttp://www.geekwire.com/2016/relativity-space-blue-origin-spacex-stealth/This article was from back in July. Is there any more recent information? Tim Ellis was one of the two interns at Masten the summer I left to start Altius. Really smart and talented kid, but when I saw the $10M fundraise and what they're publicly saying they're doing, it had me scratching my head. But I'd love to hear any updates if there are any.~JonSorry I have no direct insight into what they do, only guesses (see below). Their hiring pattern and statements seem to indicate using robots and 3D printing to build the vehicles. I did wonder if they target the smallest possible orbital vehicle, just big enough to orbit a 5kg 3U or something like that. That would make the manufacturing scale and quantites / volume suitable for a CAD/CAM, industrial robot and 3D printing line, and would match their practical experience at USC RPL, which was all small-scale rocketry. With a couple of printers and 4-5 robots you could have a decent assembly line for $3-4m.Scaling -down- would have a lot of cost advantages if you could automate the production processes. Smaller size is also less costly to develop, launch, transport etc. You could easily see how they get a very very small rocket onto a one-a-week schedule (or more) because the entire problem is much more manageable. If you charge say $300k-$350k per launch, each being fully dedicated to one single payload (which by the way makes payload integration much easier) that is a sustainable $15-20m pa business model with low staff overheads and a fairly strong margin.If that is the model - and frankly that would make a lot of sense given how quiet they are being, because it is relatively easy to copy - then Masten should probably look at it too, as those guys could get there first.Here's a video of Tim Ellis talking about his philosophy:-Vanilla stuff but it might give some insight to what he has in mind.
Is it possible to find a place to launch from that would not be in conflict with existing ranges, so their own range could be built? (This is the approach SpaceX seems to be taking with Boca Chica)
Quote from: Lar on 01/11/2017 09:48 pmIs it possible to find a place to launch from that would not be in conflict with existing ranges, so their own range could be built? (This is the approach SpaceX seems to be taking with Boca Chica)Are they not taking the Ursa Major Technologies route by putting technologies on the market that other companies can buy to be used on their launch vehicle? Or are they going for the full on launch service?
I'm not so sure about this and feel it shouldn't be taken seriously.I looked at a the site and all I saw is the usual kind of video and musical score you on kick starter pages.No video of an engine under test not diagrams of the LV etc.The claim of zero human labor seems a little outrageous too significantly reduced would be much more realistic.