The company has kept up a blistering pace of a launch every four days on average in 2023. SpaceX launches additional OneWeb and Iridium satellites, with its Falcon 9 rocket flying the company's 34th launch of the year.Astranis' first commercial satellite working, with service to Alaska expected to begin in June: The alternative satellite broadband company gave a post-launch update on Arcturus, with CEO John Gedmark saying "we have a new way of connecting people in some of the most remote and underserved parts of the world." – CNBC.The company said the FAA does not adequately represent SpaceX's interests, and outlined the stakes at hand given the lawsuit could heavily delay development of its monster rocket. SpaceX aims to join FAA in fighting environmental lawsuit that could delay Starship work: In an intervening motion, SpaceX requested the federal court allow the company to join the FAA as a defendant against the lawsuit.The flight marks Peggy Whitson's return to space, and the first orbital trip of businessman John Shoffner as well as two Saudi astronauts. SpaceX's 10th human spaceflight reaches the ISS for Axiom, with the Ax-2 mission carrying four people for an eight-day stay at the space station. Rocket Lab, Stratolaunch and Vast's Launcher each bought pieces of the former rocket company's facilities and assets for a combined $36 million. Virgin Orbit shuts down after bankruptcy sales.I've spoken to dozens of space executives in the past year whose companies are not directly involved in the Artemis program, but are already reaping the benefits of the excitement and interest of establishing a "cislunar economy." The ripple effects of the Artemis program, powered by the dual engine (so to speak) of Musk and Bezos, will push the technological boundaries in space and, in turn, benefit life on Earth – as has happened countless times before in the industry's history.Īs NASA chief Bill Nelson told my colleague Morgan Brennan yesterday, "We are a capitalist economy" and "people take risk often where there is risk there is high reward." What's up Just as talent who worked on rockets that reached orbit are highly sought after in the industry, the folks who work on these vehicles will be valuable to companies and organizations for years to come. The pair each count national workforces in the 10,000-employee range, and the scale of the lunar Artemis lander projects has the companies hiring even more. The projects will also grant invaluable experience to the companies' talent. The lander contracts are filled with milestones the companies must hit in order to see paydays, and the fixed-price nature of both awards means that any cost or delay overruns are absorbed by the private ventures, rather than taxpayers – a contrast to the billions in over-spending of NASA's existing SLS rocket and Orion capsule programs for Artemis. The private funding also means NASA is insulated from excessive costs. (NASA acknowledged in public documents that both companies underbid their competitors to secure the contracts.) follow-on contracts).īoth SpaceX and Blue Origin heavily self-capitalize, meaning NASA can partner on the projects without significant increases to its annual budget. Flying early missions successfully will build NASA's trust and confidence in the companies' respective vehicles – and help them toward the race's ultimate prize (i.e. And NASA has already paid out nearly $2 billion to SpaceX under its contract, granting the company effectively an 18-month head start.īut this race is a marathon, and it's now underway.īoth companies will first aim to land uncrewed demonstrations on the moon in the next couple of years. Blue's lander is scheduled for its first crew mission on Artemis five. On the criteria of becoming the first to put astronauts on the moon, the "race" metaphor doesn't apply here: NASA awarded Musk's SpaceX a contract to use Starship for its Artemis three and four missions. Blue's award was widely viewed as a boon for the space industry, but the lunar-scale battle of egos has a variety of advantages for government-backed efforts. The company pledged to invest more than that amount of its own funding. space agency announced Bezos' Blue Origin had won a $3.4 billion contract to build an astronaut lunar lander. Personal Loans for 670 Credit Score or Lower Personal Loans for 580 Credit Score or Lower Best Debt Consolidation Loans for Bad Credit
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