27
votes
Accepted
Why did NASA close the space shuttle program?
This could be a book, but here's the tl;dr version:
1) The space shuttle system never lived up to its cost and performance goals. (See this question for background info.)
2) NASA shuttle management ...
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24
votes
Why did NASA close the space shuttle program?
The vision which initiated the shuttle program was economic, routine, schedulable access to space.
All other space launch systems involved single-use essentially hand-crafted vehicles making each ...
- 17.4k
18
votes
Accepted
Is there a record for unbroken series of "successful launches" by some objective criteria? Who has it now? What has to happen for it to change hands?
Of the American companies ULA and SpaceX, the ULA currently maintains the longest "flawless" streak:
ULA Launch History
SpaceX Launch History
Counting the launches:
ULA has had ~126 ...
- 16.7k
13
votes
What is the fundamental difference between SpaceX from one side and Lockheed Martin from other?
In principle Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Orbital-ATK, and SpaceX are all commercial companies that build space related products. (Boeing and Lockheed Martin of course build lots of other stuff, ...
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12
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Are US Space companies favored to purchase subsystems from US only suppliers. Are there any specific laws that dictate this?
Gov't contracts often have a "Buy American" clause which requires them to buy from US companies or Trade Agreeement Act countries.
See FAR Subpart 25.11, and 52.225-1, 52.225-3, and 52.225-5.
See the ...
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12
votes
Is there evidence whether SpaceX is making a profit launching rockets?
I doubt very much that you will be able to find any significant details about SpaceX profitability beyond the occasional vague or "aspirational" tweet from Musk. As you have pointed out ...
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12
votes
Is Blue Origin redundant?
Blue Origin and SpaceX have two very different goals. They also have very different development philosophies.
Blue Origin's goal is to move loud, polluting, dirty, and otherwise undesirable heavy ...
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11
votes
Accepted
Was a commercial (ad) balloon satellite ever deployed?
Yes, this was done during the EO-21 mission via a spacewalk from Mir in May 1996.
The deployment was filmed (or videotaped) for use in a TV commercial. The balloon was not intended to be visible ...
- 174k
11
votes
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California's rocket tax "by the mile", how would that work exactly?
The official draft
It appears that "milleage" is in fact understood as "altitude":
if a company can’t reveal the specifics of its mission due to confidentiality concerns — common with contracts ...
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11
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How were Intelsat 1 “Early Bird” and Telstar 1's "hundreds" of simultaneous telephone conversations multiplexed/demultiplexed?
It was done on the ground, and frequency-multiplexed.
In this arrangement,
12 individual telephone channels are frequency-multiplexed into the 60 to
108 kc band as shown.
Source: Results of the ...
- 174k
10
votes
Accepted
What happens to Blue Origin's New Shepard capsule if their one engine fails?
The capsule is equipped with a Launch Escape System capable of aborting from pad or in-flight.
The pad abort was already tested in 2012:
http://www.nasa.gov/...
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9
votes
Are US Space companies favored to purchase subsystems from US only suppliers. Are there any specific laws that dictate this?
Much of the rocket industry in the US has to deal with ITAR, a set of laws aimed at regulating the sale of weapons. Launchers are seen as weapons due to their ability (in principle) to deliver a ...
- 123k
9
votes
What prompted all of those private launch companies to get into the business?
The internet happened. Specifically, young engineers (Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos) made gigantic piles of money (more than they could ever use in their original companies), and with that money they ...
- 123k
9
votes
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Who designed the cool-looking Orbita Molniya tracking station at Khabarovsk? What does it look like inside?
The inner hall can be seen, for example, here.
https://anthrax-urbex.livejournal.com/36886.html
https://bu33er.livejournal.com/247978.html
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8
votes
Why does SpaceX not label the Dragon capsules externally?
The dragon capsule has limited painting on it because it has to stay in space for long periods of time and the addition of logos would affect the thermal performance of the exterior at that spot, ...
- 557
8
votes
Why is private spaceflight suddenly expanding so quickly?
Because it's cheaper to design rocket now than it was before
Relatively
The world GDP doubled since the 2000's. Meaning we (humans) have more money to spend on rockets and expensive stuff, but also ...
- 12.6k
8
votes
Are US Space companies favored to purchase subsystems from US only suppliers. Are there any specific laws that dictate this?
The only component that has any major political tie-ups is the RD-180 engine from Russia. Political tensions have made its future in the US rocket industry unclear
The deal was signed in 1995 with ...
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8
votes
How were Intelsat 1 “Early Bird” and Telstar 1's "hundreds" of simultaneous telephone conversations multiplexed/demultiplexed?
Was it [the multiplexing] all done on the ground and the satellites were "bent pipes"?
Even nowadays, almost all GEO satellites are "bent pipe", meaning that they re-transmit the ...
- 2,689
7
votes
What was the first space tourism company?
Pan Am accepted the first reservation for a flight to the Moon in 1964.
Between 1968 and 1971, Pan Am issued over 93,000 “First Moon Flights” Club cards to space enthusiasts eager to make a ...
- 123k
7
votes
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What liability do commercial space firms have for abandoned space junk?
There has been a starting point for international law in place since the 1967 Outer Space Treaty and specifically the detail given in the 1972 Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused ...
- 9,219
7
votes
Are there serious business benefits to going to Mars?
It probably isn't good business along the lines of conventional return on investment.
However necessity is the mother of invention, building colonies on Mars will inevitably accelerate technological ...
- 4,211
7
votes
Were any Components Off The Shelf (COTS) used in the Space Shuttle?
Yes, Velcro is one example. Wheat Thins are another. Did you have some specific type of component in mind?
- 174k
7
votes
Is Blue Origin redundant?
Is Blue Origin redundant?
That's the intent. Both NASA and the Department of Defense want multiple providers for their launch systems.
When there's only one provider for a given item, that one ...
- 71.8k
6
votes
Are there serious business benefits to going to Mars?
There are a few very interesting benefits, although most of them won't take place for some time. I'll break down benefits into short and long term.
Short
Better understanding Earth, sometimes it ...
- 121k
6
votes
Accepted
Are commercial rocket launches by ESA profitable?
It might be more meaningful to look at Arianespace rather than ESA - Arianespace is the commercial operation (owned ~1/3 by CNES and ~2/3 by various European aerospace firms) which actually operates ...
- 7,706
6
votes
Accepted
Are there other companies than Bigelow Aerospace planning to offer a space hotel?
Axiom Space, run by people with management and astronaut experience from the ISS, plans to have commercial customers in space by 2020. First with their module docked to the ISS, and when the ISS is ...
- 26.8k
6
votes
Accepted
SpaceX's ITS as heavy lifter for Earth orbit
It is unclear at this point since everything has been only notional so far.
Musk has said that they will try a 9 meter diameter, 21 engine interim ITS first now, (original was 12 meters, 42 engines). ...
- 78.9k
6
votes
What prompted all of those private launch companies to get into the business?
Just to supplement @Hobbes' correct answer:
The internet happened. Specifically, young engineers (Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos) made gigantic piles of money (more than they could ever use in their ...
- 149k
5
votes
Accepted
Will a bag of potato chips explode in space?
The real problem with potato chips isn't the packaging so much as it is the crumbs. Crumbs in zero gravity are a very serious issue, and would get everywhere, the food that they take into space needs ...
- 121k
5
votes
Accepted
What are the major expenses for a small spaceport?
The first expense is of course rent and taxes for the land the spaceport is on, after that there are a number of infrastructure maintenance expenses involved. A basic spaceport is going to have a lot ...
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