Some interesting things coming up, plus thread 7 had run over 30 pages.
— Spacecom, Amos-6. Launch is currently scheduled for Sept. 3-4. An in-orbit failure of a Spacecom satellite has put pressure on the company to shore up its revenue base and customer set and to launch Amos-6 as soon as possible. It’s already late.
— EchoStar Corp., EchoStar-23. EchoStar told investors to expect a launch in October.
— SES, SES-10. The Luxembourg fleet operator was an early SpaceX supporter and has two satellites slated for launch on Falcon 9 this year. SES-10 is set to go first, and has substantial incremental capacity that SES is counting on to drive revenue growth late this year.
— SES, SES-11/EchoStar-105. This satellite, part of commercial agreement with EchoStar, is perhaps the most likely inaugural customer for a reused Falcon 9 first stage because it is intended to replace capacity in orbit.
SES has said it wants a substantial discount on SpaceX’s already low price in exchange for being the first customer. But SES has made clear to investors that regular use of partially reusable rockets is a key component of SES’s strategy for reducing capital spending. SES insurance underwriters have said they will not insist on major premium increases to cover a launch with a reused first stage.
— NASA, Dragon CRS-10 cargo-transport mission to the International Space Station, now scheduled for November.
— KT Corp. of South Korea, Koreasat-5A. The company has told investors the launch should occur before the end of this year.
In addition the above launches from Cape Canaveral, SpaceX has three launches scheduled from Vandenberg.
— Iridium Communications, Iridium Next 1-10. The first 10 satellites for Iridium’s second-generation constellation is now scheduled for mid-September.
— National Space Program Office (NSPO) of Taiwan, Formosat-5; and Spaceflight Inc.’s Sherpa small-satellite tug. Repeatedly delayed, this launch is scheduled for late this year. But in a launch manifest crowded with customers whose businesses depend on mission timing, NSPO may find it hard to maintain its slot.
— Iridium Communications, Iridium Next 11-20. For insurance and satellite-validation reasons, Iridium needs to wait three months from the first launch to the second. Assuming a successful launch of the first 10 satellites, a slip into early 2017 would not do damage to the company.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz paid a visit Friday to SpaceX’s Texas test site. The Texas Republican, who is chairman of the Senate’s space committee, visited the McGregor facility and witnessed an engine test at the site.
“In recent years, there has been tremendous progress within the commercial cargo and crew programs, and it is encouraging to see how the commercial space industry is revolutionizing the future of space exploration,” Cruz said.
Like him or not, Cruz is a supporter of NewSpace in the Senate.
Higher insurance costs for re-flying Falcon 9 stages seems off the table. They must have liked what they saw during their look-sees.
SES has made clear to investors that regular use of partially reusable rockets is a key component of SESs strategy for reducing capital spending. SES insurance underwriters have said they will not insist on major premium increases to cover a launch with a reused first stage.
The first landed Falcon 9 stage (ORBCOMM) is now on display at their Hawthorne, California headquarters.
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Air Force released on Aug. 19 a draft solicitation that sets up a competition between SpaceX and United Launch Alliance to launch a multipurpose experimental satellite in late 2018 that’s equipped to detect nuclear detonations for the Pentagon and carry out a laser communications demonstration for NASA.
Known as Space Test Program Satellite (STPSat)-6, the Orbital ATK-built spacecraft will host up to eight payloads. The satellite’s primary payload is the Space and Atmospheric Burst Reporting System (SABRS), which is designed to complement nuclear detonation detectors aboard current GPS spacecraft. STPSat-6 will also be carrying a Laser Communications Relay Demonstration payload built by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. That payload originally was scheduled to launch aboard a Space Systems/Loral satellite in 2019, but NASA opted for the Defense Department satellite citing less risk and common technology interests.
The Air Force said in late July that STPSat-6 will be built on an Orbital ATK A-500 satellite bus another U.S. government agency bought for a different geosynchronous mission but transferred to the Space Test Program after deciding it didn’t need it.
Orbital ATK’s A-500 bus, which it refers to as its High End Modular Bus, can accommodate 200-500 kilograms of payloads and is intended for missions lasting 2-7 years. The Air Force said it has room for up to six hosted payloads in addition to the SABRS and Laster Communications Relay Demonstration payloads.
In an effort to re-introduce competition to the national security launch industry, the Air Force has said it plans to award nine competitively bid launch contracts before the end of 2018. By releasing the draft request for proposal, the STPSat-6 launch appears to be the third of those missions. Six of the nine missions are expected to be GPS-3 satellites.
SpaceX won the first competitively bid contract in more than a decade in April to launch the GPS 3-2 satellite in 2018 for $82.7 million. Earlier this month, the Air Force released a formal request for proposals for the second competitive mission, the GPS 3-3 satellite. That satellite is expected to launch in 2019.
SpaceX plans to lease one building and construct a newer second building at Port Canaveral, just two miles from where it launches its Falcon 9 rockets from the Cape Canaveral space pad, according to port chief John Murray.
The company plans on leasing the former 52,000 square foot Spacehab building, which used to belong to the aerospace company now called Astrotech Corporation. The new building will be constructed nearby.
SpaceX plans on both processing and refurbishing its Falcon rockets at the port. The site is where the company has sent its recovered first stage boosters, including four it has safely landing on drone ships at sea. So this expansion is a sign of the company’s more aggressive push to transform its rocket operation into a renewable enterprise, whereby its Falcon rockets are launched from Cape Canaveral, recovered at sea, and sent to the port to be retooled.
"With SpaceX’s recent progress in recovering first stage Falcon 9 boosters, we’re looking to expand our facilities on the Space Coast to support rocket refurbishment," SpaceX spokesman John Taylor told Florida Today. Murray says a lease agreement for the former Spacehab building may be finalized as soon as early September. While it waits for approval, SpaceX will be moving into the building by relying on a temporary property use permit.
Saw that this afternoon...looks great.
For a flown engine it looks almost factory fresh. Love to see a bore scope image.
I've got the scope...lets sneak in with our ninja outfits on.
^ Excellent video...Thank's much for posting this Doc.
The CRS-8 first stage will fly again and it has been confirmed by SES that SES-10 will be the bird riding it!
Reusing rockets could eventually cut launch costs 30%, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell has estimated. Halliwell said he could not disclose the price that SES paid for its flight on the rocket, saying only that the company did get a discount for being the first customer.
There also was “no material change” in the insurance rate compared to using a new Falcon 9 rocket, indicating insurers’ confidence in the launch vehicle, Halliwell said.
The 5.3-ton SES-10 satellite is intended to provide broadband, video and mobile-phone service, including maritime and in-flight connectivity, to Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean.
Halliwell told investors this year that SES wanted to be the first commercial satellite operator to fly the same rocket twice.
NSF public side reports of 6, possibly 7, full launch duration test burns of the landed JCSAT-14 stage - the hottest fastball stage so far. These tests have included an upper stage/payload mass simulator.
Why do I get the feeling they're going to test this one until it breaks?