Re:SpaceX Launches Super-Heavy Communications Satellite
by simonh on Tuesday May 16, 2017 @11:18AM
(#14350244)
I'm actually quite bullish about Boeing, Lockheed and the other big space contractors even if SpaceX and BO (ho, ho) do eat their lunch on boosters. If access to space costs peanuts, companies and governments are going to want to put a heck of a lot more stuff up there. That means someone is going to have to build it all.
Even if SpaceX themselves have no interest in going to The Moon, they're not going to say no to a contract to put a Lockheed/ Boeing/ etc NASA funded Moon mission into orbit for them.
Re:SpaceX Launches Super-Heavy Communications Satellite
by greglindahl on Tuesday May 16, 2017 @02:11PM
(#14351879)
It's worth noting that Boeing's satellite division already did a special design of an all-electric-propulsion GEO satellite, which can launch 2 at a time on Falcon 9 and reduce launch costs even further. They've sold and launched 2 pairs so far.
And ULA has a good story about their work on in-space reuse of rockets even if they aren't going to be reusing boosters any time soon.