Gwynne Shotwell
A rather appropriate name.
European satellite operator SES will trust its latest hardware to a SpaceX Falcon rocket that has already made it into space once. The refurbished rocket first flew in April, delivering nearly 7,000lb (3,175kg) of supplies and experiments to the International Space Station and then landing on the floating sea barge Of course I …
This is pretty cool stuff. Not only do I look forward to access to space becoming significantly cheaper, but reusing components will bring design and manufacturing defects to light that would not have been noticed otherwise.
Kudos SpaceX, you're a shimmering light in the black, dismal swamp that is modern civilization.
Title says it all.
Why exactly the snide comments now?
Flight proven is precisely correct. Until the hardware has flown a mission you don't know it if it has any residual flaws that only come to light when a full mission is flown. How many would be happy taking off in an airliner if told it has actually been delivered on a truck from the factory and this journey would be the first time it had ever taken off?
To be fair the Space Shuttle wasn't all that re-useable. It needed a brand new external tank, the solid boosters had to basically be completely rebuilt, and the Shuttle itself had to go through months of work to make it ready to fly again. The SSMEs (the shuttle's main engines) had to be completely removed and rebuilt between flights.
The Falcon 9 is actually more re-useable than the Shuttle ever was.
The Falcon 9 is actually more re-useable than the Shuttle ever was.
At this point, I'd have to split hairs about that since the Falcon 9 isn't recovering its upper stage yet. The Shuttle, for all its hangar queen antics, did recover most of its first stage (the boosters) and the most expensive bits of its second stage (the orbiter).
The Falcon 9 is, however, on its way to better reusability if Musk doesn't waver from second stage recovery plans.
Really? You would trust a parachute that has never been used versus one that has proven it has no defects in manufacture? Never come across the term "infant mortality" in failure analysis? The most common time for something to fail is when it is used first.
Somehow there is this strange idea that rockets are intrinsically single use. Yet the problem with re-use isn't their design, it is that it is hard to get them back economically. Aircraft are not single use, nor is your car. Why should a rocket be?
> "Aircraft are not single use, nor is your car. Why should a rocket be?"
That attitude may have something to do with the extreme flame coming out the back end. That sort of thing tends to be associated with catastrophe for most vehicles, particularly aircraft.
Would you trust a 2nd hand parachute? (One previous owner, slight blood-staining)
In light of recent events, I might wait until the third or fourth flight.
Rocketry in general still can't offer an assured and precise outcome every time. However, if this one fails, the naysayers will pounce on it and declare the whole concept a failure. Which will be quite unfair if that happens.
Please please please let this one go well!
Throwing away the 2nd stage every time (and they are going to do so for the foreseeable future) not so much.
The $64(m) is will their price cut be big enough to increase demand for services, so called "price elasticity."
Some think 30% will be enough. Some don't.
Phew, that was asking a lot. Surely all they really needed was a reduction in cost by the extra the insurers are sure to charge and, say, another 20% off since the 1st stage is, as someone mentioned further up, "pre-loved".
If it all goes horribly wrong, then they get the insurance payout and since this is rockets we a re talking about, you alway work on the assumption that it might go bang in the wrong place and have a plan B ready for another, later launch attempt with a new payload.
On the other hand, if it all goes well, the whole world is going to be watching and no doubt the commentators will keep on mentioning the SES satellite that was the first ever successful launch on a "flight proven" rocket.
Whatever happens, I shall be watching with bated breath and pint or two of the fizzy brown stuff.