Quote from: savuporo on 12/09/2013 06:48 pmMuch more interesting would be actually passing the radiation, ESD, vibration and thermal cycling tests - with flight electronics and other components. Good luckWell, their CEO was involved in Phoenix lander program. And their senior technical staff has pretty relevant experience in that regard. So maybe they deserve a little credit.
Much more interesting would be actually passing the radiation, ESD, vibration and thermal cycling tests - with flight electronics and other components. Good luck
A tweet :"Mini-trailer to our "Behind the Scenes" MX-1 unveiling video under production: <link snipped> " - with a million attached hashtags.Really ? A mini-trailer to the trailer of unveiling of an engineering mockup ?
Not very clear but seems like the MX-1 is capable of a few short flight/hops which would allow it to sample a few areas. Would be ideal for verifying if any the polar craters contain water.
I said - good luck, and i never questioned anyones credentials on the team. If they actually get into a flight hardware config, i'll be really impressed. Considering that they are camping at Moffett field here and have a close support of Ames, i think its likely they will get there eventually. But as always, it will take more time and money than anyone in the team thinks.Your "less than $100 million" is a nice goalpost but also completely unsubstantiated, i think.
My issue with them is their press releases - the hyperbole and self promotion is at obnoxious levels.A tweet :"Mini-trailer to our "Behind the Scenes" MX-1 unveiling video under production: <link snipped> " - with a million attached hashtags.Really ? A mini-trailer to the trailer of unveiling of an engineering mockup ?
Having been down the secondary payload road myself a few times, the real problem is getting a ride. You have to find a primary payload which is willing to accept you on their flight...
Manoeuvres before lunar injection greatly depend on the Keplerian elements of theinitial orbit.The launching inclination should ideally be within the moon inclination interval. If it isthe case, a transfer is almost manoeuvre-free, or has a small mid-course manoeuvre,if the spacecraft is launched with optimal conditions of:• argument of perigee and right ascension of ascending node, for GTO transfers• right ascension of ascending node only for LEO transfersSome rare GTO Ariane 5 launches provides such conditions.None-optimal conditions would require expensive manoeuvring which may doublethe trajectory total Δv cost.
They're not too forthcoming with numbers, but some BOE calculations show that if they can bring their inert mass in at 40 kg, they could achieve a gross mass of 300 kg, which would let them fly on a proposed growth version of an ESPA ring. (The current ESPA payload limit is 180 kg, way too small for a 60 kg landed lunar payload.)Having been down the secondary payload road myself a few times, the real problem is getting a ride. You have to find a primary payload which is willing to accept you on their flight. This typically means they want a vanishly small chance that you could do anything to screw up their delivery mission. This generally means no pressurized gases, no chemical energy (i.e., propellants), and if you're lucky only three interlocks to prevent you from powering up before the primary payload is long gone. (Some rides demand you launch with depleted batteries and recharge passively post-separation.) Your typical GTO primary is a communications satellite company with ~$200M+ in the bird and looking at ~50M+/month from transponder revenues - they are not likely to say,"Sure!" when you ask to put 200 kg of rocket propellants (liquids, with unmodeled slosh modes for the LV coupled loads analyses) Onboard and tag along. You're adding a significant increase in the chance of losing their bird, and they're not going to accept that. Moon Express' best chance is to find another similar (almost certainly NASA-funded) payload heading to the moon and tag along, like LCROSS. (Although, for Discovery-class missions led by the PI, I have trouble imagining any of them would accept this as a secondary, either...)
Article on Yahoo! Finance about Moon Express:http://finance.yahoo.com/news/billionaire-teams-nasa-mine-moon-140000975.html
Quote from: grakenverb on 03/10/2015 02:40 pmArticle on Yahoo! Finance about Moon Express:http://finance.yahoo.com/news/billionaire-teams-nasa-mine-moon-140000975.htmlThanks for the link. A billionaire in the mix? He's either the sponsor/bankroller, CEO or both.That's a good sign. The fact that they tested some actual large-scale hardware is another good sign.NASA's role? Unknown, but welcome. The big problem is? What booster, and booster service, are they attempting to use? That may be the showstopper, like it has for so many such enterprises over the years/decades.
Launch is now scheduled for 2017, although they still have not announced which launch vehicle they will be using.