SpaceX set to launch six commercial Moon landers after latest win
After securing yet another contract, SpaceX Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets are now scheduled to launch at least six commercial Moon landers over the next two and a half years.
On May 20th, rocket startup Firefly Aerospace announced that it had selected a SpaceX Falcon 9 to launch its first Blue Ghost Moon lander as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. While Firefly is preparing to launch its own Alpha rocket for the first time later this year, a rocket that is technically capable of launching Blue Ghost with the help of an electric 'space tug,' the company is apparently prioritizing maximum payload delivery and on-time performance.
As a result, Firefly has contracted with a direct competitor to launch its first Moon lander, becoming the sixth company to select SpaceX's Falcon rockets for that purpose.
Also at Space News.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 21 2021, @10:46PM (11 children)
They're now using middlemen to hire SpaceX, so taxpayers can save a bundle by firing the lot of them and giving the keys to Elon.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 22 2021, @03:36AM (6 children)
Shutting down NASA would kill the support programs these startups need to bootstrap themselves. SpaceX are an example of what happens when that process works. What needs an overhaul due to pathological dysfunction is Congress, and that can't happen until enough people vote third party to drive out the corrupt incumbents from both major parties.
(Score: 2) by crafoo on Saturday May 22 2021, @10:49AM
Hah. Like people will ever stop voting for politicians that promise to give them the most free stuff, taken from other people.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday May 22 2021, @12:55PM (4 children)
SpaceX couldn't have successfully started much sooner than it did.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 22 2021, @07:06PM (3 children)
IIRC it was Congress who created that cartel back in the '60s and have been actively enforcing it ever since. It wasn't NASA that created the Shuttle, or Constellation, or SLS. Those were all dictated to them by Congress and the military. The entire political fight against SpaceX right now is because they threaten the established patronage system. EELV itself only exists because Congress isn't united in their corruption.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday May 22 2021, @11:39PM (2 children)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 23 2021, @12:50AM (1 child)
As I said "Congress isn't united in their corruption." That is also why the Commercial Cargo and Crew programs exist and how Constellation was cancelled. A few key people like Obama and Bridenstine managed some push-back against Shelby and his cronies. The fight over HLS is just the next round. What makes it interesting is Nelson's role, since he was solidly in Shelby's camp before his appointment as NASA Administrator but is now defending getting actual work done over pork.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday May 23 2021, @02:43AM
Corruption is a form of disunity in the first place since it's the elevation of person interest over that of a group.
Those key people aren't magic. NASA always had key people since its founding. The bottom line here is that NASA was responsible for its duty, not Congress. They made a Faustian bargain with Congress. They did not need to.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 22 2021, @06:51AM (3 children)
If NASA was only a rocket contractor, sure. But NASA does a lot more than launch people to space -- that's actually what they don't want to try doing anymore. You know, JPL?
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ [nasa.gov]
https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/nasa-knows/what-is-nasa-58.html [nasa.gov]
So, don't try to equal SpaceX with NASA. SpaceX is a great company with correct vision that matches that of many that work for NASA. But, the work of NASA is so much more. Human flight is something that is extra and was too expensive in the past, something that ate the budget of more important programs. SpaceX enables NASA to not spend too much on human spaceflight while still accomplishing that goal. NASA+SpaceX is a win-win now :-)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 22 2021, @10:59PM (2 children)
Let's put all of our eggs into the Muskie basket and get bent over the barrel when he takes his ball and goes home, or starts extorting NASA like the Russians did when the shuttle program ended.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 23 2021, @12:57AM (1 child)
None of those things get Musk to Mars, unless that is what you meant by "goes home", but cutting off the supply line would kill the colony so that doesn't work out for him either. This may be hard for you to understand but Musk doesn't really care about the money. That is the difference between him and his competitors and why SpaceX is so successful. If you want actual competition going forward I'd invest in Rocket Lab since they seem to be cut from similar cloth. The rest are only upset because SpaceX is helping NASA to get off their own barrel and escape their own extortion.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 23 2021, @03:25PM
Doesn't care about money, huh? You go on believing that.
He does like to manipulate the crypto market for his benefit. Probably not for the money though, just for the lulz. Though he coincidentally does seem to come out on the winning side of that . . .
Musk cares about his ego, and as long as you're of use to him, then good for you, but when you are of no further use to him, well, too bad. NASA will learn that the hard way if they put all their eggs in his basket.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Some call me Tim on Saturday May 22 2021, @01:47AM (1 child)
As a former rocket surgeon on the Delta II/IV program, maybe I should offer my services to these folks to get them up and running. It seems that they are in need of folks who have a grasp of whats going on in the industry and what they need to do going forward. To the folks at SLC-2, I know that place like the back of my hand. I helped build it.
Questioning science is how you do science!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 23 2021, @01:03AM
SLC-2W has been operational since 1959. The (now demolished) SLC-2E dates to 1958. Unless you mean you helped build the Delta II (1989-2018)?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 22 2021, @02:01AM
Way to go SpaceX!!
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 22 2021, @03:07AM (4 children)
Off course, Russian's are still cheaper, but the way of free market is mysterious.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 22 2021, @03:58AM (2 children)
Soyuz only has about 1/2 the capacity of the Falcon 9 so it can't handle large payloads and the cost per tonne is still higher. Soyuz is limited to only 2.7 tonnes to TLI, which is fine for a small satellite but not enough for a lander. In fact the only small lunar lander not flying on Falcon is scheduled to fly on Vulcan, which can deliver 12 tonnes to TLI. Falcon Heavy can deliver 16.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday May 22 2021, @12:05PM (1 child)
https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-ceo-elon-musk-predicts-ula-launch-delay/ [teslarati.com]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 22 2021, @07:41PM
And people wonder why SpaceX dominates the launch market. More and more it seems that Rocket Lab is the only other serious player.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday May 22 2021, @01:08PM
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 22 2021, @09:50PM (1 child)
great! now everyone gets to go litter their mars candy bar on the moon.
what we are seeing here is the stupidy of humankind in full bloom.
again every "country" needs their "own" moon lander; needs their proverbial flag planting ceremony.
probably even duplicate experiments ... probably even share some screws or other with another mission (same factory). wow, johnny didn't we just learn alot...
*maximum eye roll*
taking all these "litter the moon" mission under one umbrella we would probably already have a habitat for one astronaut for 3 months duration or such.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 22 2021, @11:03PM
You are right, and you are wrong. You are right in that this will just be a bunch of cruft crashing into the Moon. You are wrong in associating this with nationalism. This is commercialism. Various companies trying to grab the brass ring to win space contracts.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 25 2021, @09:01PM
Sounds to me like a research mission being contracted out to spay sex