SpaceX has a sufficiently packed manifest for the next 3 years that they can accept payload mass / orbit energy /pricing requirements that are F9R/FHR only for several years and lose no revenue.
F9 to mars - hmm.Getting first stages up is quite easy - fit a second stage 'backwards' - when staging would normally occur, flip 180, ignite the second stage, and then you have first stage up with some hundred tons of fuel onboard...
Article about it in Motley Fool:http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/05/29/spacex-news-send-your-stuff-to-mars-today.aspx
Quote from: sanman on 05/29/2016 05:45 pmArticle about it in Motley Fool:http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/05/29/spacex-news-send-your-stuff-to-mars-today.aspxThe handful of Motley Fool space articles I've seen have all triggered my BS detector in one way or another. This one seems to imply that the price on the SpaceX site is for payload soft-landed on Mars. But it's almost certainly for payload injected into Mars Transfer Orbit. That means the payload has to supply its own EDL hardware if it's going to land when it gets there. I suspect the author is getting this launch service confused with a full-up Red Dragon mission.
Note that SpaceX describes these capabilities in a line separate from its "standard payment plan" price of $62 million for a Falcon 9 launch, or $90 million for the Falcon Heavy. The company isn't promising any specific price tag for the Mars launch service, and is not offering to send you, or anyone else, specifically, to Mars. The company is only offering to transport cargo at this time. But even so, it's a unique service.
Quote from: speedevil on 05/22/2016 12:52 pmF9 to mars - hmm.Getting first stages up is quite easy - fit a second stage 'backwards' - when staging would normally occur, flip 180, ignite the second stage, and then you have first stage up with some hundred tons of fuel onboard...The topic of this thread is using F9 to send a payload to Mars, not the F9 itself. What you describe is completely unworkable.
Quote from: Exastro on 05/29/2016 06:36 pmQuote from: sanman on 05/29/2016 05:45 pmArticle about it in Motley Fool:http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/05/29/spacex-news-send-your-stuff-to-mars-today.aspxThe handful of Motley Fool space articles I've seen have all triggered my BS detector in one way or another. This one seems to imply that the price on the SpaceX site is for payload soft-landed on Mars. But it's almost certainly for payload injected into Mars Transfer Orbit. That means the payload has to supply its own EDL hardware if it's going to land when it gets there. I suspect the author is getting this launch service confused with a full-up Red Dragon mission.No, he writes:QuoteNote that SpaceX describes these capabilities in a line separate from its "standard payment plan" price of $62 million for a Falcon 9 launch, or $90 million for the Falcon Heavy. The company isn't promising any specific price tag for the Mars launch service, and is not offering to send you, or anyone else, specifically, to Mars. The company is only offering to transport cargo at this time. But even so, it's a unique service.