[amsat-bb] Re: [eagle] Re: Falcon 1 successful

[Bob McGwier]

I am moderated on bod (I thought anyone could send to bod?) so this may not
get to them.

Please make sure they all see this.

Peter Guelzow is in contact with SpaceX and he is going in at the top.  It
never works in a timely fashion to be "talking to SpaceX" or Intelsat or
anyone else when you are talking to someone who has no ability at all to
talk the entity into accepting something odd, different, and outside the
normal business model.

We have always done business, right back to the beginning of AMSAT, by
looking for low friends in high places.  It is the only way we will succeed.
I say we should continue to make contacts but we need to get real about the
approach.  



ARRL SDR Working Group Chair
Member: ARRL, AMSAT, AMSAT-DL, TAPR, Packrats,
NJQRP, QRP ARCI, QCWA, FRC.
"Trample the slow ....  Hurdle the dead"


-----Original Message-----
From: eagle-bounces at amsat.org [mailto:eagle-bounces at amsat.org] On Behalf Of
Lee McLamb
Sent: Monday, September 29, 2008 7:59 PM
To: bod at amsat.org
Cc: 'EAGLE'; amsat-bb at amsat.org
Subject: [eagle] Re: Falcon 1 successful

Yes it was great to see them get into orbit with a very nominal mission.  
Watching the live video coming up from Ascension Is. of the second burn was 
very cool.

I have already been talking with SpaceX regarding AMSAT opportunities.  
Interestingly they don't have test flights planned for the F9.  They've got 
paying customers manifested right on from flight 1.  Also, since they are 
focused on their COTS contract for delivering supplies to ISS, many of their

initial F9 flights will be to LEO.  They are working on GTO mission though.

When I last spoke with SpaceX they were not very interested in dealing with 
secondaries.  Their business model and costs are based around launching a 
single payload.  However, they don't care if that "single payload" is 
actually a stack of satellites as long as someone else does the integration 
and delivers them an integrated payload stack.  With that I've also been 
talking with the company who brokered the multi-manifest mission for F1 
flight 3, since they are smallsat friendly and already have a relationship 
with SpaceX.

73, 
Lee-KU4OS

PS My day job at the Eastern Range includes working both Atlas V and SpaceX 
launches.



On Sunday 28 September 2008 23:42:07 Bob McGwier wrote:
> Falcon 1 successfully made it to orbit today.
>
>
>
> http://www.spacex.com/
>
>
>
> Falcon 9 Heavy will be a 12000 Kg to GTO launcher and will almost
certainly
> have test flights.
>
>
>
> http://www.spacex.com/falcon9_heavy.php
>
>
>
> and it pays to have friends:
>
>
>
>
http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Jeff_Ward_To_Head_Up_Avionics_Guidance_
>A nd_Control_At_SpaceX_999.html
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Bob
>
> N4HY
>
>
>
>
>
> ARRL SDR Working Group Chair
>
> Member: ARRL, AMSAT, AMSAT-DL, TAPR, Packrats,
>
> NJQRP, QRP ARCI, QCWA, FRC.
>
> "Trample the slow ....  Hurdle the dead"


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