Last time (COTS demo 1), does anyone remember how long it took from Dragon arriving at the Cape
That's not really what I asked, but interesting anyway.I think it was something like 2-3 months last time. Not sure, it could be less. And it may be slightly less or slightly more this time.
The blue-and-white paint scheme makes me wonder, did SpaceX buy their own truck?
Quote from: corrodedNut on 10/22/2011 08:24 pmThe blue-and-white paint scheme makes me wonder, did SpaceX buy their own truck?Probably. It would make sense considering how often they are shipping stuff back and fourth from Hawthorne to their test site. Plus they can go pick up CNC machines or all kinds of random things like raw goods. Usually oversize loads have special requirements for horse-power per axle and things like that too (at least up here), and renting the beefy engined trucks is very expensive. But I don't really know in this case if they need a special truck because I am sure those stages are a lot lighter than mining and oilfield equipment that I am more used to dealing with (mostly in a different country). Either way, the expense of owning vs. renting a semi also needs to factor in the time staff are waiting on things. For example, if 20 engineers and techs are waiting for an extra hour or two while the rental guy gets organized and shows up, or while someone calls around to find an available rig, the waiting can be frustrating, and intangibly expensive. If the cost of renting vs. owning is similar, it is generally better to own (control). Vertical Integration...
All that says rental. They don't transport often enough
(and even more cheaper than a dedicated ship, like ULA has)
Quote from: Robotbeat on 10/23/2011 03:58 am(and even more cheaper than a dedicated ship, like ULA has)Google Delta Mariner. It's not owned by ULA and has been used by Foss Maritime to ship many other things. ULA has first dibs on it before other customers.
Can someone explain the separation line running around the middle of the COTS 2/3 capsule? It does not appear in the COTS 1 capsule. Will molding of some kind fill that space in?
How they move this stuff around on site. Seems to me that you need to move it around the factory and test areas. Tractor is versatal piece of equipment and hooks to a wide variety of trailers making it a good investment for a company this large I have worked with smaller ones that had three or four. Trailers are not that expensive and have low overhead. They may be special ordered for some of the pieces that they need to move and wont be found at rental agencies so that would put them as a bought piec of equipment and a good investment since then you can insure it is capable of hualing your equipment at a moments notice and has all its licence and certificates. For a company as large as SpaceX a small fleet of tractors and traliers is a drop in the bucket for insuring that you have proper transportation for your product.
Quote from: balan h20 on 10/23/2011 02:34 pmHow they move this stuff around on site. Seems to me that you need to move it around the factory and test areas. Tractor is versatal piece of equipment and hooks to a wide variety of trailers making it a good investment for a company this large I have worked with smaller ones that had three or four. Trailers are not that expensive and have low overhead. They may be special ordered for some of the pieces that they need to move and wont be found at rental agencies so that would put them as a bought piec of equipment and a good investment since then you can insure it is capable of hualing your equipment at a moments notice and has all its licence and certificates. For a company as large as SpaceX a small fleet of tractors and traliers is a drop in the bucket for insuring that you have proper transportation for your product.With SpaceX's requirement for extremely time critical transport from 3 logistics points, the vast majority of which are HUGE insurance liability issues 1 way, and normal freight the other, it makes perfect since for them to own the trailers, but no since at all for them to own the tractors/drivers.Only time it makes since to own trailers/drivers is when you are carrying cargo both ways on a daily basis and at a very predictable/scalable pace.1 tractor would not cut it, and 3 you would have your staff spend the majority of their time with nothing to do.5 will get you 10 it’s SpaceX owned Trailers moved by a contract logistics firm.
Quote from: Jim on 10/23/2011 03:17 amAll that says rental. They don't transport often enoughUsed to work for a rental company. For a good enough customer we would paint a truck pink polka dots. I agree with Jim, they will definitely know weeks in advance of any time they are going to need a truck. Allow the rental agency to keep the truck busy 24/7 and for a small retainer fee, they will make sure your nice blue and white truck will be there hours in advance, with your favorite driver team, and all routing handled for much less than it takes to handle such things yourself.Think I remember one time seeing the figure at my current job that if a trailer sits idle for 2 weeks a year it's cheaper to just lease the hardware and staff.
Here's a picture for you guys, from SpaceX's facebook page:4 Dragons!It shows COTS demo 1 Dragon, the one that just shipped out, and two other Dragons in various stages of assembly.
And it's also not the topic of this thread.
