Main Engine Cut OffSES, SpaceX, and the Steady Beat of Progress
James Dean with a great article for Florida Today on SES, SpaceX, and reusability.
35 results for “Reusability”
BE-4 Hydrostatic Bearings
Jeff Bezos’ most recent email update on Blue Origin was all about the BE-4 and its hydrostatic bearings. Interestingly, George Sowers, VP of Advanced Concepts & Technologies at ULA, commented on their use of hydrostatic bearings on Twitter.
Prometheus Becomes ESA Project with €85 Million in Funding Towards 2020 Test Firing
I’m not sure how well their strategy for Prometheus will work out, long-term, but I do admire the cautious-yet-curious attitude towards reusability rather than the fingers-in-ears attitude of Arianespace CEO Stephane Israel.
T+26: OA-5, Antares, and Orbital ATK’s Road Ahead
I took a trip down to Wallops Island, Virginia this week for the launch of OA-5—the return to flight for Antares, sending Cygnus up to the ISS on a resupply mission. I recorded this episode on the long drive home afterwards, and talked about what Antares’ return means for Orbital ATK and what their future may hold—both good and bad.
T+25: Falcon 9 Updates and the 10% Discount
Gwynne Shotwell, President of SpaceX, spoke at two events and dropped some tidbits about the Falcon 9 investigation, future versions of the vehicle, and what kind of discount they would offer for “flight-proven” stages. I break down the new info, and discuss their reusability discount.
The SpaceX Discount
In response to this, I saw a lot of people scoffing and saying “Only 10 percent? They had said 30!” The sentiment seemed to be that SpaceX missed their mark and can’t offer a 30 percent reduction right now, rather than realizing that they are making a sensible decision.
Inevitable SpaceX FUD
I’m not going to talk about Amos-6 specifically (or any fallout thereof) until the cause has been found and announced, but I do want to talk about the things that are said about SpaceX after an event like this.
Arianespace Focuses on Faster Horses
That’s a fine strategy for the here and now, but it isn’t a viable long-term strategy by any means. SpaceX isn’t the only one coming for Arianespace’s market share by way of reusability.
New Video on ACES from ULA
ULA posted a new video about the Advanced Cryogenic Evolved Stage over on YouTube. They spend a lot of time talking about on-orbit refueling, distributed lift, and Integrated Vehicle Fluids. The video even shows a little sneak peek of Xeus, the Masten-ULA lunar lander collaboration.
SpaceX Conducts Full-Duration Static Fire of JCSAT-14 Core
Yesterday, SpaceX completed a full-duration static fire of the JCSAT-14 core.