With commercial operations expected to begin no earlier than the tail end of 2020. For maybe 5% of Falcon 9's reusable performance. With an estimated (probably optimistic) purchase price almost 30% that of pre-reusability discount Falcon 9. Quote from: vaporcobra on 09:40 pm It truly baffles me that an engineer intimately familiar with SpaceX - someone who led development of freaking grid fins - thought it was a reasonable idea to start an expendable rocket startup specifically intended to rely on external suppliers for all major components. He clearly has no awareness whatsoever of the history of aerospace or the comical failures of the contractor Matroshka doll hell most aerospace and auto companies of the past and present are obsessed with The vendor-prime paradigm had already all but monopolized aerospace, and the result was impossibly expensive rockets, R&D laziness, arrogance, and aggressive attempts to kill potential competitors before they could stand up. The CEO, Hanley, very literally states that a bunch of vendors with a few prime contractors (he uses the major players in the auto industry as a positive example.) is superior to vertically integrated, in-house technology development. I'm sure their tech is strong, and Ursa Major seems like a great propulsion startup, but there is literally NO sane economic rationale for investing in tiny expendable rockets when Falcon 9 Block 5 is < 100 days from first flight, without even considering the potential of BFR, New Glenn, or the existence of Virgin Orbit and Rocket Lab.Įdit: Oh god, the podcast is even worse. The smallsat launch vehicle bubble is soooo real right now. It truly baffles me that an engineer intimately familiar with SpaceX - someone who led development of freaking grid fins - thought it was a reasonable idea to start an expendable rocket startup specifically intended to rely on external suppliers for all major components. I expect to see more examples of this in the future, especially for companies that intend to develop small RLVs faster. What is even more remarkable about this company is that it is skipping doing all the work itself to go to market faster and can do so because there is a healthy base of other companies with the capability to build liquid rocket engines. The current market has echos of the early days of the internet, perhaps even the early days of aviation.
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To advance spaceflight and drive down costs, we really need to have dozens of companies trying out different methods rather than just one or two outliers sponsored by eccentric billionaires. Ofcourse, many of these companies will fail but the fact that an environment exists which allows them even try in the first place is immensely positive.
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There appears to be a great diffusion of the knowledge and skill necessary to construct these machines. Dozens of companies are emerging with the capability to develop liquid fueled rockets which is basically night and day compared to a decade ago.
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An exciting time for spaceflight, Vector included.