Author Topic: LIVE: SpaceX - Falcon I (Mk.II) NET March 20 (Attempt 2) (Read 265160 times)

savuporo · « **Reply #980 on:** 05/07/2007 11:54 am »

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why the $1.5 million dollar price difference? Can't see why 18 feet (wish they'd use metric ) of extra aluminum would cost so much?

Back in the real world, costs and prices are different animals. Every reasonable business tries to minimize costs and optimize prices for biggest profit, given the existing demand curve. Economics, 101

STSFan10 · « **Reply #981 on:** 05/09/2007 03:27 pm »

Sorry if I missed it, but when is the next SpaceX launch?

jabe · « **Reply #982 on:** 05/09/2007 04:42 pm »

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STSFan10 - 9/5/2007 10:27 AM

Sorry if I missed it, but when is the next SpaceX launch?

check here for launch manifest..
http://www.spacex.com/launch_manifest.php
the actual date isn't given..there seems to be a 3 month window for the launch

Comga · « **Reply #983 on:** 05/10/2007 01:52 am »

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braddock - 6/5/2007 1:29 PM
A Flight Global article last month said Merlin 1C for next Falcon 1 flight this year:
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2007/04/17/213315/spacex-looks-at-saturn-v-class.html

I seriously doubt it. They have yet to fully test the 1C. Have they even had one full duration firing?

And as for a 3 month "launch window", that appears to be a product of their quoting their manifest in calendar quarters. My guess would be that it will be just like the last time. Absolutely no news for a long time followed by an announcement that they are complete at the pad and ready for a hold down firing and launch shortly thereafter.

As for the users manual, it is interesting that there is still a lot of now-very-old sales pitches. The Futron prediction of reliability. (I bet the study did not include the probability of of corroded B-nuts, their "hydraulic fluid" catching on fire, or a pitch-yaw-slosh-roll coupling. Its not the known errors. Everyone can work on those. Its the "unknown unknowns" that get you.) The insertion accuracy prediction is unchanged. Only the capacity curves seem updated. There do not appear to be any results from the recent launch, which one could suppose was the reason for the long delayed update.

An associate (who is trying to propose a mission with the Falcon 1) was commenting on just how little information was contained in this report when compared to the manual for the Delta II or the Atlas V.

jongoff · « **Reply #984 on:** 05/10/2007 06:32 am »

Comga,

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I seriously doubt it. They have yet to fully test the 1C. Have they even had one full duration firing?

My understanding is that the 1C has been in testing for months now. I'm not sure if they've fully qualified it or not, and I'm not entirely sure if they have done any full-duration firings (and if so, how many). But my understanding was that they really were close to ready to try flying the thing.

~Jon

Gary · « **Reply #985 on:** 05/10/2007 12:52 pm »

The website is very poor for news - http://www.spacex.com/updates.php says the next update will be within two weeks but it's been over a month and nothing.

jabe · « **Reply #986 on:** 05/10/2007 02:00 pm »

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Gary - 10/5/2007 7:52 AM

The website is very poor for news - http://www.spacex.com/updates.php says the next update will be within two weeks but it's been over a month and nothing.

well,
not much of a post from the update page but it lets us know he is thinking of us

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Posted May 9, 2007

We are going over the DemoFlight 2 Update with DARPA and expect to post something shortly.

--Elon--

Avron · « **Reply #987 on:** 05/10/2007 02:49 pm »

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jabe - 10/5/2007 10:00 AM

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Gary - 10/5/2007 7:52 AM

The website is very poor for news - http://www.spacex.com/updates.php says the next update will be within two weeks but it's been over a month and nothing.

well,
not much of a post from the update page but it lets us know he is thinking of us

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Posted May 9, 2007

We are going over the DemoFlight 2 Update with DARPA and expect to post something shortly.

--Elon--

I think here the subject may be a key.."POST FLIGHT DATA REVIEW POSITIVE "

if not it will be shown in that light...

jabe · « **Reply #988 on:** 05/23/2007 01:28 am »

something to tide us over..
http://www.wired.com/science/space/magazine/15-06/ff_space_musk

daver · « **Reply #989 on:** 05/23/2007 05:39 pm »

""""By next year, we'll be building 30 to 40 rocket engines a year, more than any other company in the US, getting economies of scale that have never been achieved before." Suddenly Musk laughed, a big, throaty guffaw. "I'd never built any hardware at all," he said. "Never. It isn't some tiny little music player, that's for sure!" Take that, Steve Jobs. """""
http://www.wired.com/science/space/magazine/15-06/ff_space_musk

I love the optimism... and the swagger... Hope he can deliver.

aero313 · « **Reply #990 on:** 05/23/2007 06:22 pm »

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daver - 23/5/2007 1:39 PM

"I'd never built any hardware at all," he said.

Yup. That'll build confidence in the customer base.

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"Never. It isn't some tiny little music player, that's for sure!" Take that, Steve Jobs.

I'm sure Steve is crying all the way to the bank.

Comga · « **Reply #991 on:** 06/03/2007 04:17 pm »

And now Ms Shotwell has move the absurd ad from inside the back cover of Aviation Week to inside the FRONT cover!

Why Musk lets her blow his money in this fashion is beyond me. Anyone have any guesses?

SolarPowered · « **Reply #992 on:** 06/07/2007 04:01 am »

Aviation Leak is what the people who actually buy launches read. Part of gaining share-of-mind with them is having a serious presence in the magazine.

Antares · « **Reply #993 on:** 06/07/2007 05:06 am »

Aviation Leak is very good at aviation, getting inside and in-depth news. If the people who buy launches read it, that's because AWST writers have not gotten past the PR departments to find real news. It tells them, the buyers, what they want to hear.

I'll get my up-to-the-week Space News elsewhere. The best source for inside up-to-the-minute news is this forum and the blurbs Chris gets from its readers.

braddock · « **Reply #994 on:** 06/07/2007 08:34 am »

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Comga - 3/6/2007 12:17 PM

And now Ms Shotwell has move the absurd ad from inside the back cover of Aviation Week to inside the FRONT cover!

Why Musk lets her blow his money in this fashion is beyond me. Anyone have any guesses?

What makes you think it is Ms Shotwell? She is Biz Dev, not PR, and from what little I've seen quite good at it. And yet you are making a personal attack against her competency.

Most companies have firms for PR who are paid $$k per month to get exposure like the AWST ad and the Wired article into industry media. It would seem SpaceX's firm is doing a good job.

It is unwarrented to make personal attacks against the competency of executives for attempting to make a good impression with their investors and customers.

clongton · « **Reply #995 on:** 06/07/2007 11:01 am »

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braddock - 7/6/2007 4:34 AM

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Comga - 3/6/2007 12:17 PM

And now Ms Shotwell has move the absurd ad from inside the back cover of Aviation Week to inside the FRONT cover!

Why Musk lets her blow his money in this fashion is beyond me. Anyone have any guesses?

What makes you think it is Ms Shotwell? She is Biz Dev, not PR, and from what little I've seen quite good at it. And yet you are making a personal attack against her competency.

Most companies have firms for PR who are paid $$k per month to get exposure like the AWST ad and the Wired article into industry media. It would seem SpaceX's firm is doing a good job.

It is unwarranted to make personal attacks against the competency of executives for attempting to make a good impression with their investors and customers.

For those of you who want to question Ms Shotwell’s business sense, tomorrow (Friday June

is your opportunity to question her directly. She will be the guest interviewee on David Livingston’s “The Space Show”. Her topic will be, of course, SpaceX and its plans. But you can call in and question her directly or email questions directly, both live, unedited and uncensored. If you can’t be available at the broadcast time to do so, you can email in questions in advance of the show and David WILL put them to her.

If you want to question her qualifications to hold the position she does, or to question the value of the decisions she makes, this is your opportunity to do so in an up-front manner. Don’t do it behind her back. This forum, and the people on it, are better than that.

This forum prides itself on being upfront with people. This is your chance to be open and upfront with Gwynne Shotwell. Take advantage of it. Do the right thing and ask your questions and express your opinions to her face. She is making herself available to you for that. Otherwise, leave your opinions of her personally at home and just discuss the SpaceX company and its products.

Danderman · « **Reply #996 on:** 06/13/2007 02:03 am »

So, the next attempt is still scheduled for Q3, meaning that it should happen within 90 days or so. Should be interesting.

Chris Bergin · « **Reply #997 on:** 06/15/2007 11:09 am »

I've deleted this thread back by several posts as it became waaaaay too personalized in respect to one certain person who's not even here to defend themselves.

You guys all know the rules around here. I will not allow this forum to turn away from engineering discussion, because that's what kills forums and I'd sooner go crazy with the ban button than allow that.

Anyone that sees any thread go off on a wayward track should hit that alert button and we'll deal with it. I'm going to go back through this thread when there's time to ensure this didn't arise on earlier pages.

Thanks,
Chris.

SpacemanSpiff · « **Reply #998 on:** 06/15/2007 06:27 pm »

Demo Flight 2 DARPA review report is posted. See website.

kevin-rf · « **Reply #999 on:** 06/15/2007 06:51 pm »

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SpacemanSpiff - 15/6/2007 2:27 PM

Demo Flight 2 DARPA review report is posted. See website.

I assume you mean on the http://www.spacex.com site refering to http://spacex.com/F1-DemoFlight2-Flight-Review.pdf

Interesting, I wonder how serious some of those eight reported anomalies are. Having the quick disconnects fail and the mix wrong sounds a little scary to me.

Sounds like they learned quite a bit on this launch.