Spacex Falcon Heavy Launch

[dennishoddy]

The masses didn't have the balls to fly Mercury and Gemini missions. It took special people to look that in the eye and performed those missions.
That being said, WTF is it with Musk putting a roadster in space? Yeah, his money, his option, but why not rainbow glitter and unicorn symbols in giant holographs that can be seen from earth?
I don't see the point when something that could benefit the US or the world like an observatory or communications, or something useful.
It is very cool to bring the boosters and maybe next time the main booster back to earth for re-use. I think I read it was in the 90 million for the launch vs several billion that the .gov launches cost under NASA.
I was pretty pissed when Obama turned NASA into a political arm of the democratic party and defunded the space money, but in reality, it's turned out pretty well under private ownership.
Wait a minute!!! How much money has Musk got from .gov for development? Somebody help me here.
Isn't he the person carrying the title of the richest government grant money man on earth?

 

[Mos Eisley]

The masses didn't have the balls to fly Mercury and Gemini missions. It took special people to look that in the eye and performed those missions.
That being said, WTF is it with Musk putting a roadster in space? Yeah, his money, his option, but why not rainbow glitter and unicorn symbols in giant holographs that can be seen from earth?
I don't see the point when something that could benefit the US or the world like an observatory or communications, or something useful.
It is very cool to bring the boosters and maybe next time the main booster back to earth for re-use. I think I read it was in the 90 million for the launch vs several billion that the .gov launches cost under NASA.
I was pretty pissed when Obama turned NASA into a political arm of the democratic party and defunded the space money, but in reality, it's turned out pretty well under private ownership.
Wait a minute!!! How much money has Musk got from .gov for development? Somebody help me here.
Isn't he the person carrying the title of the richest government grant money man on earth?

His news conference afterwards said they did this 100% with his money. So I guess he rented all that property at Kennedy Space Center and reimbursed them for all the labor and time? I doubt that. But if he did at least spend all of his money on the vehicle that's a step in the right direction. And I don't know if he counts grant money as his. I know I would.

 

[donner]

The masses didn't have the balls to fly Mercury and Gemini missions. It took special people to look that in the eye and performed those missions.
That being said, WTF is it with Musk putting a roadster in space? Yeah, his money, his option, but why not rainbow glitter and unicorn symbols in giant holographs that can be seen from earth?
I don't see the point when something that could benefit the US or the world like an observatory or communications, or something useful.

Just a guess on my part, but wasn't this launch (in large part) a test of the falcon heavy system? Seems like putting an expensive observatory or communications satellite on an experimental launch system might risk a lot of $$$$ unnecessarily.

If he had loaded it up with expensive tech, and it blew up on the ground, wouldn't people be asking why they risked so much hardware on an untested rocket...

 

[CHenry]

Just a guess on my part, but wasn't this launch (in large part) a test of the falcon heavy system? Seems like putting an expensive observatory or communications satellite on an experimental launch system might risk a lot of $$$$ unnecessarily.

If he had loaded it up with expensive tech, and it blew up on the ground, wouldn't people be asking why they risked so much hardware on an untested rocket...

I'd say this is a common sense answer.

 

[Dave70968]

His news conference afterwards said they did this 100% with his money. So I guess he rented all that property at Kennedy Space Center and reimbursed them for all the labor and time? I doubt that. But if he did at least spend all of his money on the vehicle that's a step in the right direction. And I don't know if he counts grant money as his. I know I would.

The property, anyway: https://www.nasa.gov/content/nasa-spacex-sign-property-agreement-for-historic-launch-pad

The historic site where American astronauts first launched to the moon was the location of a recent landmark agreement, part of NASA’s continuing process to transform the Kennedy Space Center in Florida into a 21st century spaceport. During ceremonies on April 14 [2014], agency officials announced they signed a property agreement with SpaceX of Hawthorne, Calif., for use and operation of Launch Complex (LC) 39A for the next 20 years.

NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden stated that pad A is beginning a new mission as a commercial launch site, part of an ongoing effort to collaborate with industry in meeting the agency's objectives.

"NASA today signed a property agreement with SpaceX, which allows them to develop Launch Complex 39A to serve as a platform for the company's future commercial launch activities," he said during a news briefing at the pad. "SpaceX and our other commercial partners are a critical part of our exploration strategy. This includes the (International Space Station), proving technologies in deep space, the asteroid initiative that brings an asteroid closer to Earth so astronauts can visit it and a mission to Mars in the 2030s."

Bob Cabana, Kennedy's director, noted that permitting the pad's use and operation by a commercial space partner will ensure its continued viability and allow for its on-going use in support of the nation's space activities.

"This agreement will preserve this national asset and will enable commercial operations at Kennedy," he said. "We continue to enable commercial operations from the Cape, allowing them to use national assets that would otherwise sit empty and decay."​

The value of the lease is not disclosed, but it's clear at least that yes, the property is under a lease agreement, which requires consideration in both directions to be valid (as is the case with all contracts). It seems like I also read somewhere that such launches do require reimbursement to the Air Force for its costs (monitoring the launch range, etc.0, but I don't recall anything about NASA, and I could be completely misremembering anyway.

 

[Mos Eisley]

The property, anyway: https://www.nasa.gov/content/nasa-spacex-sign-property-agreement-for-historic-launch-pad

The historic site where American astronauts first launched to the moon was the location of a recent landmark agreement, part of NASA’s continuing process to transform the Kennedy Space Center in Florida into a 21st century spaceport. During ceremonies on April 14 [2014], agency officials announced they signed a property agreement with SpaceX of Hawthorne, Calif., for use and operation of Launch Complex (LC) 39A for the next 20 years.

NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden stated that pad A is beginning a new mission as a commercial launch site, part of an ongoing effort to collaborate with industry in meeting the agency's objectives.

"NASA today signed a property agreement with SpaceX, which allows them to develop Launch Complex 39A to serve as a platform for the company's future commercial launch activities," he said during a news briefing at the pad. "SpaceX and our other commercial partners are a critical part of our exploration strategy. This includes the (International Space Station), proving technologies in deep space, the asteroid initiative that brings an asteroid closer to Earth so astronauts can visit it and a mission to Mars in the 2030s."

Bob Cabana, Kennedy's director, noted that permitting the pad's use and operation by a commercial space partner will ensure its continued viability and allow for its on-going use in support of the nation's space activities.

"This agreement will preserve this national asset and will enable commercial operations at Kennedy," he said. "We continue to enable commercial operations from the Cape, allowing them to use national assets that would otherwise sit empty and decay."​

The value of the lease is not disclosed, but it's clear at least that yes, the property is under a lease agreement, which requires consideration in both directions to be valid (as is the case with all contracts). It seems like I also read somewhere that such launches do require reimbursement to the Air Force for its costs (monitoring the launch range, etc.0, but I don't recall anything about NASA, and I could be completely misremembering anyway.

Good to know!

 

[Mos Eisley]

Just a guess on my part, but wasn't this launch (in large part) a test of the falcon heavy system? Seems like putting an expensive observatory or communications satellite on an experimental launch system might risk a lot of $$$$ unnecessarily.

If he had loaded it up with expensive tech, and it blew up on the ground, wouldn't people be asking why they risked so much hardware on an untested rocket...

NASA’s former deputy administrator, Lori Garver, says...

I was told by a SpaceX VP at the launch that they offered free launches to NASA, Air Force etc. but got no takers. A student developed experiment or early tech demo could have led to even more new knowledge from the mission. The Tesla gimmick was the backup.

 

[Dave70968]

NASA’s former deputy administrator, Lori Garver, says...

You have to admit, the pictures and video of Starman in the car with Earth over the dashboard make for pretty good press copy.

 

[Mos Eisley]

Ye

You have to admit, the pictures and video of Starman in the car with Earth over the dashboard make for pretty good press copy.

Yep