6 ms·
NASA has selected SpaceX for GOES-U mission
- celeduc 5y agoBezos lawsuit countdown commences!
- JKCalhoun 5y agoIn fact I wish SpaceX had a worthy rival. They're practically becoming a monopoly of space transportation by default.
- sidcool 5y agoDefinitely. Competition is healthy. But what Bezos is doing seems like a patent troll thing.
- mchusma 5y agoI actually think Elon would agree in many ways that he would like to see a viable competitor. He has said as such many times, and his actions generally back that up.
- tehbeard 5y agoIsn't ULA a worthy rival? TBF I haven't kept up with their side and how they're doing with rocket R&D, but I know they're a fairly solid launch provider.
- np1810 5y agoMore details on Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) U spacecraft contract https://spacenews.com/spacex-wins-contract-to-launch-weather-satellite-after-ula-withdraws/ https://spacenews.com/spacex-wins-contract-to-launch-weather...
- nynx 5y agoSpaceX’s velocity is incredible. It’s great that Falcon Heavy is being used a little and seeing their progress with Starship is inspiring.
- rambambram 5y agoI also was a fan - and still am, can't wait to see the next test with Starship - but I'm getting sick of the vaporware around it. Watch the debunking of Starship on the 'Common Sense Skeptic' channel on Youtube, they do a pretty decent job of explaining why most of the press releases are utter scheiss.
- supperburg 5y agoI’ve seen that video and it’s filled with many errors, most of which betray a total lack of knowledge about rockets and space-flight. I’ve never seen a video about spacex from the debunk/outrage YouTube sphere that wasn’t full of errors. Even thunder foot, the ring leader of YouTube outrage and “debunking” made super embarrassing mathematical errors in one of his videos about starlink. And it’s so interesting to see how criticizing Elon musk is basically a trend right now on YouTube. In this environment of dogma and hyperbole I would recommend using your own judgement rather than some youtuber who wants more Patreon money.
- gonesilent 5y agoMaking outrage videos is a very profitable YouTube niche. It's not product placement it's rage placement.
- mwint 5y agoI don’t really understand this comment. I don’t think I’ve even read a press release from SpaceX, most of my exposure to the Starship program has been to videos of Starships flying (and often exploding)… and then another one flies soon after. So I’m not sure how we can call the Starship program vaporware? There are stainless steel towers flying in Texas - the only vapor is their exhaust.
- joshjdr 5y agoCue the BO complaint department…
- Tuna-Fish 5y agoBO is currently legally unable to compete in this contract. GOES is a series of ~$½B weather satellites. For large, expensive sats like this, NASA has and established process of purchasing launch services, and to compete for them you have to prove and certify the safety of your rocket before you can apply. IIRC this launch requires LSP category 2 "medium risk" certification, which requires having successful past launches. Since BO has never launched anything to orbit, they cannot compete. The entity likely to contest this award is ULA, because they are the one other American company who would have been capable of launching this payload. Note that doing so would not be in any way notable -- high-value government contracts are almost contested by default, just because why wouldn't you when it costs so little to do and there is $150M on the line.
- GuuD 5y agoThey voluntarily withdrew their bid, because all 29 of the remaining Atlas 5 rockets (not built afaik, just planned and have engines ready in storage somewhere in Alabama) are already assigned to customers.
- gonesilent 5y agoBezos also buying some of the rockets for his Amazon prime from low Earth orbit took out 3.
- kevin_thibedeau 5y agoULA has fully booked the last of Atlas and will have no track record on Vulcan if it's even ready before U launches.
- nexuist 5y agoVulcan depends on the BE-4 engines from BO, so this is basically just a low stakes staring contest until then.
- n8cpdx 5y agoThe existing GOES series of satellites produces amazing imagery. I'm not enough of a weather/climate nerd to appreciate all of it, but I am a bit of an imagery nerd and the geocolor images never stop being stunning. https://www.goes-r.gov/multimedia/dataAndImageryImagesGoes-17.html https://www.goes-r.gov/multimedia/dataAndImageryImagesGoes-1... The downlink app for Mac makes it easy to set your desktop background to a 'live' feed. Edit: better imagery link: https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/GOES/fulldisk.php?sat=G17 https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/GOES/fulldisk.php?sat=G17
- ghego1 5y agoIf SpaceX ever IPOs it will be huge. I bet it could be a non previously publicized IPO and still break the bank
- mrlonglong 5y agoNetflix are currently running a documentary series on SpaceX and their four civilian astronauts. A fascinating watch.