Is the U.S. National Security Space “Launch Market” only big enough for two launch providers?
In October 2018, the US Air Force selected four companies (Blue Origin, Northrop, SpaceX, ULA) to compete for the newly established National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program that replaces the 1990s vintage EELV program. The Air Force has… Read the rest
Thinking about SpaceX’s Petition to Launch an Additional 30,000 Satellites
On October 15, various news outlets, including SpaceNews, reported that SpaceX submitted filings for up to an … Read the rest
The White Elephant in the hangar
Earlier this summer, multiple news outlets reported that Paul Allen’s Stratolaunch was for sale for $400 million. At the time, we wondered… Read the rest
An Ocean’s width between success and muddling
It is sometimes interesting to observe how two companies operating in the same business confront challenges from completely different philosophies. In this case, the two companies in question are SpaceX (a U.S. company)… Read the rest
Virgin Orbit – Approaching Pole Position?
Over the past five years, the launch sector has (improbably?) become one of the hottest startup sectors, with more than 100 companies announcing plans to enter the market. To date, however, only one of these new entrants … Read the rest
SpaceX Starship Webcast
On September 28, 2019 (eleven years after the first successful launch of the Falcon 1), Elon Musk hosted a nearly two-hour webcast update on SpaceX’s Starship development plans. While the broad outlines of the company’s plan were already well known (prior speeches, Musk tweets), the webcast provided some important new details and (fantastical?) claims that, … Read the rest