Musk/F9 in the news (Fla. Today)

[docm]

Link....<br /><br /><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p><b>Falcon 9 could soar from Cape next year<br /><br /><i>BY JOHN KELLY<br />FLORIDA TODAY</i></b><br /><br />LONG BEACH, Calif. - A heavier-lift version of a new American-made rocket could launch from a former Titan pad at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station as early as next year.<br /><br />The first Falcon 9, which is similar in scale to United Launch Alliance's Delta 4 and Atlas 5 rockets, is scheduled to be erected on dormant pad 40 next fall. A launch could come within months, according to Space Exploration Technologies chief executive officer Elon Musk.<br /><br />Musk acknowledged that schedule delays are not unusual in development of a new launch vehicle and it is too early to commit to a specific target date for liftoff of the new U.S. launcher. Still, the rocket is in production and testing and the plans remain on track for late next year.<br /><br />"It's hard to say where the launch will occur because we will launch when we're ready, not based on some arbitrary time," Musk said Wednesday during a presentation at the Space 2007 conference in Long Beach, Calif.<br /><br />The tanks, engines and other components of the larger version of the company's new rocket are under construction at its facility in El Segundo, Calif. Test firings at a Texas facility are on track as well.<br /><br />So far, the company has launched two of its Falcon 1 rockets from the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean. The first vehicle barely got off the launch pad before failing and the second failed to reach its target orbit because of a gas bubble that caused an early engine shutdown. A third Falcon 1 launch is planned for early next year.<br /><br />The larger rocket will use many of the same components being tested on the smaller vehicle. For instance, the Falcon 9 first stage will utilize nine of the SpaceX developed Merlin</p></blockquote> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[frodo1008]

I do absolutely hope that spacex is very successful here. But it must be remembered that the real proof is not in whether or not companies (or governments) are willing to buy flights on certain launch systems, but whether or not those flights are successful!<br /><br />Then even if this (hopefully) happens, there are those big bad (and very well healed) established aerospace companies. Look at what recently happened to tspace and Northrup!<br /><br />Boeing is a company that goes ahead and spends some $10 billion on just developing a new aircraft (the 787), and still has plenty of cash left over. And UAL is not even just Boeing (the largest aerospace corporation in the world), but is also the largest National Defense contractor in LM.<br /><br />Spacex is a corporation and therefore like tspace sells stock. I have absolutely no doubt that UAL has the necessary monetary resources to buy spacex anytime it wants to.<br /><br />And as anti trust measures didn't stop UAL from forming, I don't even think that such a buy could be stopped either.<br /><br />So I think that those spacex supporters (if the shoe fits wear it, otherwise pay no attention) that continue to bad mouth UAL, should keep far more quiet. And strangely enough, that might even include Elon Musk himself on occasion!<br /><br />

 

[docm]

<font color="yellow">Look at what recently happened to tspace and Northrup!</font><br /><br />Northrop bought Scaled Composites not t/Space, and they already owned 40% of them anyhow.<br /><br /><font color="yellow">Spacex is a corporation and therefore like tspace sells stock. I have absolutely no doubt that UAL has the necessary monetary resources to buy spacex anytime it wants to.</font><br /><br />SpaceX is privately held, so there is no stock for ULA or anyone else to buy. That may change, but not yet. <br /><br />Deep pockets can be nice, but they can also be a curse in that you tend to be less focussed on efficiency & innovation and tend to stick to "proven methods" even if they are out of date. Look at the US automakers <img src="/images/icons/tongue.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[josh_simonson]

I think he'd at least maintain a majority share in the company. He has goals for SpaceX beyond simply making money, and often that may conflict with what shareholders would like to see.

 

[frodo1008]

Hey fellows, I would be absolutely delighted to see all the alt.space groups actually bring down the price of a pound to LEO by a large factor!<br /><br />I would especially like to see spacex be successful as they would be a very great boost to a southern California economy that will never be able to be what it once was without the aeropace industry!<br /><br />Heck, while I have no desire to return to active work, I did see at least one position that I would qualify for on the spacex site!<br /><br />Neither however, am I anti UAL or NASA. It may even be if these newer companies are successful that the older outfits will have to follow suit, and that would only be to the good of the space efforts of mankind!<br /><br /><br /><br />

 

[themanwithoutapast]

"HUH???<br /><br />SpaceX is a PRIVATE company, therefore has no public issues of stock and nor does it plan to issue any stock in the foreseeable future at the moment. Even if they did issue stock, do you think Elon would be stupid enough to issue more then %50 ownership of the company, i think not."<br /><br />1. There are various financial milestones in the COTS contract that SpaceX has. According to SpaceX (Gwenn Shotwell) only about 30-40% of the total COTS program from 2006 to 2010 is funded through COTS grants, the rest is funding SpaceX has to come up with. That means SpaceX is and will be raising a total of about 400 million between 2006 and 2010. This money is raised by private investors (not just Musk).<br /><br />2. In an interview in June 2007, Gwenn Shotwell also outlined plans on a SpaceX IPO in the future. She said, it is a firm plan to do a public issue of stock in the future after at least two successful Falcon 9 launches + depending on various other factors. That means a potential IPO could occur in 2009 or 2010 if SpaceX is able to perform as they advertise.