America Space Prize

[kdavis007]

What is the latest with the latest America Space Prize.. It has been kinda quiet....

 

[spaceinator]

I know that SpaceX is planning on competing with their <i>Falcon V</i>...

 

[kdavis007]

So I guess it is still going on then....

 

[tap_sa]

ASP deadline in Jan 10th, 2010.<br /><br />Btw Falcon V isn't enough to win, you need a spacecraft too <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> t/Space's CXV may not qualify anymore, they have recieved government funding, which is a no-no according to ASP rule #9.

 

[gunsandrockets]

" t/Space's CXV may not qualify anymore, they have recieved government funding, which is a no-no according to ASP rule #9. "<br /><br />I used to think that too, but it isn't true.<br /><br />[I specifically asked the Bigelow people about that t/Space contract and was told it does not disqualify t/Space.] D'oh! Error error! Sorry about that, it's been a while and my memory misfired. What I specifically asked about was the $100 million SpaceX had received from the USAF for project FALCON. <br /><br />The only government funding that disqualifies a competitor is funding which is directly related to winning the ASP.

 

[j05h]

>I specifically asked the Bigelow people about that t/Space contract and was told it does not disqualify t/Space. The only government funding that disqualifies a competitor is funding which is directly related to winning the ASP.<br /><br />Is that building-the-system funds or building-the-unit funds? Could Boeing/Grumman win it using their capsule? How does the govt. contract not disqualify t/space? <br /><br />very interesting, as I had assumed the contract would disqualify them.<br /><br />josh <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div align="center"><em>We need a first generation of pioneers.</em><br /></div> </div>

 

[spacester]

This is another indicator that Mr. Bigelow is not only a sharp cookie, but that he thinks like a true space nut.<br /><br />The contract does not disqualify t/space because Bigelow wants them to be eligible, and they don't have a long history of feeding at the government trough. So he makes the rules less restrictive than we saw for X-prize: the entrant can do things for the government.<br /><br />BA and Lockmart are disqualified in the sense that the vehicles they are working on under government contract are disqualified. If one of them were to (amazingly) pursue a self-funded vehicle, a separate program from VSE stuff, that vehicle would likely qualify.<br /><br />So Mr. Bigelow is telling the big boys that if they want to act like entrepreneurs, they can play his game. But he knows they never will. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[gunsandrockets]

"Is that building-the-system funds or building-the-unit funds? Could Boeing/Grumman win it using their capsule? How does the govt. contract not disqualify t/space?"<br /><br />Here is the link to my report...<br /><br />http://uplink.space.com/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=businesstech&Number=233726&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=0<br /><br />

 

[gunsandrockets]

"So Mr. Bigelow is telling the big boys that if they want to act like entrepreneurs, they can play his game. But he knows they never will. "<br /><br />I don't think you grasp the scope of what is entailed in winning the America's Space Prize. It would be a challenge even for one of the big aerospace companies to win. What Bigelow wants isn't just a reusable orbital vehicle but the whole launch vehicle that is reusable. A launch vehicle able to put five men into orbit, twice within 60 days. That is even beyond the capability of the Space Shuttle.<br /><br />The prize of $50 million is peanuts for such an achievement. The real reward is the half billion dollar contract for servicing the Bigelow orbital Module which Bigelow expects to have in orbit by 2010.