Slashdot Mirror
SpaceDev Auctioning Microsatellite Mission On Ebay
physicsnerd writes "SpaceDev has announced that they are auctioning a Microsatellite Mission on Ebay. From the SpaceDev Press Release: "Most earth orbiting small satellite missions can cost $25 million or more, not including the launch. To demonstrate the affordability of private space missions, SpaceDev has posted a "Buy it Now" price of $9.5 million which includes an insured launch and on-orbit insurance. The high bidder will win a spacecraft based on SpaceDev's Maneuvering and orbit Transfer Vehicle (MTV(TM)).""
Man EBay Commission is going to be $$$$$$$$$$$$ on this one....
time to "spy on teh neighbors." yes, "teh neighbors."
--
WHO ATE MY BREAKFAST PANTS?
Feels a bit like watching a webcam from space..
Comment removed based on user account deletion
But what are their plans for humans into space? When they can do that, it will be the commercial first post for humans in space!
Cover your eyes and click this link!
Anyone wanna lend me 9.5 mil? Ok, too much to ask. Maybe if each reader on slashdot would kick me say 100 bucks, that would at least give me the ability to bid on ebay. *killer idea* we could tape a porn film while in orbit, think about how much money we would make back. Woohoo, two for Benny.
just kidding. imagine, do all your owned communicating/spying etc..., for under 10mm?
I want my
I want my
I want my (MTV(TM))
sulli
RTFJ.
How many missiles will it hold?
Any sufficiently unpopular but cohesive argument is indistinguishable from trolling.
It's a shame Ebay had to pay $25 million, the price that most such launches cost, for using the "Buy it Now" feature without owning the patent.
You really can get anything on ebay.
This seems more like a "name-the-sat" contest than an actual scientific launch. Note that they promise only the ability to put some of your stuff in the launch vehicle and see pictures from "your" sat. Likely, the sat will be one THEY designed used for THEIR purposes, not your scientific pet project.
Since when has this country used intellectual elite as a pejorative term?
User spacedev has 0 feedback and wants over 9 million for his item. He won't see me bidding on this.
I think they're going to get a few sensible bids due to Slashdot bringing this to everyones attention.
Get your own free personal location tracker
Are surfing eBay?
Really?
That'll buy a lot of beanie babies
Want to buy.. Refurbished space laser to be launched into space on cheap rocket for undisclosed use.
Personal Website
Once again proof positive you can buy ANYTHING on ebay.
Most geeks can't afford something like this -- but terrorists can. I wonder what the shipping is to Iraq or Afghanistan.
Is Paypal accepted?
Hmm.
9.5 million is affordable? For whom?!
I'm just guessing, but probably to people who would otherwise spend >$25 million for a launch.
i don't like my old sig.
From the article:
Thousands may be able to witness your satellite returning from space in the form of a shooting star, a fireball that burns up in Earth's atmosphere!
Now you can have your satellite burn up just like all that money! How cute!
This offered mission will include, but will not be limited to:
* Mission Design
* Satellite Design
* Satellite Construction
* Satellite Testing
* Payload integration into satellite
* Satellite integration into launch vehicle
* Launch of satellite
* Command and control of satellite
* De-orbiting of satellite
I get to pick the payload, but do I also get to pick where it will land? Redmond, here I come!!!!
I Am My Own Worst Enemy
They can send a payload into space for under $10 million, but they still can't fix their crappy home page design?
As luck would have it, my kids would probably get the controls and send it crashing into china, then run screaming "DADDY, WE WON!"
I seem to recall that eBay restricts Buy It Now
selling to those who've sold heaps with positive
feedbacks (mostly).
Have these guys been selling heaps of extremely
small items to earn their place on eBay's lift
of Buy It Now vendors, or what?
i can see it now, i'll place my bid and 2 seconds before the auction ends some geek will up the bid by 5 cents using some fancy auto-bid software and my plans for world domination will be foiled. again. if it wasn't for those pesky kids blah blah john ashcroft yada yada oil oil oil
All I Want For Christmas Is My Constitutional Rights
as in unbreakable?
.asp it is. plus, it wwworks on several (more than 3) dimensions, & is not subject to damage by solar activity, a significant advantage, in these curious times.
you can bet your spacial
Don't you see this for what it is; a PR stunt? Even if nobody buys into this on ebay, the exposure will make potential investors turn their heads.
geek gear and more
I would have bid, but I make it a policy not to bid on auctions from sellers with zero feedback. You never know who you're buying from these days.
I don't know about you, but I know what's going on the top of MY christmas list. Hell, at that price, I might get two!
Under capitalism man exploits man. Under communism it's the other way around.
For your 9 1/2 mil you get to buy up to a year's worth of time on the satellite (which hasn't even been designed yet, btw). After 60 days you can sublet your time to defray cost.
From the article:"...qualified people around the world would be able to purchase time slots on your satellite for a fee, and you would receive revenues from those sales.** With enough purchases, over a long mission life, you might have the opportunity to make some or all of your money back."
Sounds like a hell of a deal to me.
No matter how many of my rights are taken away, somehow I still don't feel safe. -Frigid Monkey
So when will our friend Lance Bass be leaving?
Business \Busi"ness\, n.;
A scam in which all people involved perceive as beneficial...
Be careful! $9.5 million sure, but you probably have to pay another $19.5 million in shipping and handling charges :-P
... not including the launch ...
for the very first moment I thought it was lunch and wondered how would someone buy a space travel without lunch anyways, and how lunch is supposed to make a 9.5 m$ trip even more expensive, I guess it's time for a nap after hours of programming...
The IT section color scheme sucks.
They are probably ID Verified. Costs a whole five bucks, and you get access to everything.
Am I the only one who finds the new vertical ads to be insanely annoying?
At that cheap for a sattelite we all run the risk of someone buying one and having it transmit the contents of goatse.cx over and over and over....
The though of it makes me shiver....
I bet al' Queso would consider $9 million a bargain to put 2000lb of ball bearings into orbit!!!!
The high bidder will win a spacecraft based on SpaceDev's Maneuvering and orbit Transfer Vehicle (MTV(TM)).""
If it is based on MTV its mission will go from finding stars to creating it's own instead!
come on people. think! we all know that if they were selling the thing for 9.99mill they'd already have a buyer. it is a proven fact that when .99 is attached to any number people will sell their sister's panties to get it.
tonight is a good night not to sleep in a eucalyptus tree.
Pffff, my squeeze would buy it for me in a heartbeat if I ask nicely. Did I mention I'm dating Paris Hilton?
https://www.accountkiller.com/removal-requested
Hmmm... I could have swore these people where at my door trick-or-treat'ing on halloween!
Maybe you are thinking of an Ebay store or one of the other special programs they provide for high volumn venders.
"You can now flame me, I am full of love,"
Do you have a payload that you would like to put in orbit around the Earth?
...Yes my one meter tall Plush Tux Penguin
If they could launch something into space towards the sun I would nominate my Microsoft and SCO Operating system licenses..."Burn baby burn"...
Mastercard jig: "Not Priceless...bid starts at only $250000 on ebay"
Imagine the fun of crashing your own personal satellite at oribital velocities into a major American city. Imagine the fun you and your towel-wearing friends could have by watching the panic as Americans everywhere worry about death from above, even though it would likely burn up in the atmosphere. Call your local madras-supporting sheik today and ask for the money! Your own orbital death-star is waiting.
"Curiosity killed the cat, but for a while I was a suspect."- Steven Wright
Damn...now I'll have to scratch this off my list. I hate choices...
I'd run a web server and keep some space for me, and rent out the rest. Upgrades would be a bitch though. It could almost be like the failed seaworld project. I wonder if there could be any legal jurisdictions on a satellite.
I saw your video. You are definitely need to brush up on our camera work. I suggest getting tips from Tommy Lee.
9.5 Million is durn cheap for a space mission. Big commmunications satellites, for example, run about $200 millions to build and launch. A cheap NASA-managed mission runs around 50 million$ or more - although SpaceDev recently did one for much cheaper based on the PI model (minimal NASA involvement), in which UC Berkeley managed the mission.
Helium balloons want to be free.
a mini-nuke. Or is that an extra?
The total payload if 60kg and you only get to choose for 20kg. Why do you have to have a camera? If I pay $9.5M, I wanna be able to decide.
Unless I can use Paypal I won't even consider it.
Seller information
spacedev( 0 )
Feedback rating: 0 feedback reviews
Registered Nov-07-03 in United States
Seller registered within the last week with 0 feedback??? Oh yeah - like I'm gonna buy from HIM!
The way I see it, owning (at least in part) a satellite is a lot like owning a radio station.
My uncle owns a few stations, and the scheme works like this; he buys a radio station for around $10 million (with hefty financing from a bank, of course), and arranges it so that the monthly payments on the loan are less than the monthly revenues from the radio station.
Maybe there is a similar opportunity for small business owners to have access to a satellite like this? Lord knows, I can't think of anything. How could a satellite bring in $10 million? I mean, aside from Real Genius Death Lasers and government spycams?
for great justice, this sig has been moved
I suspect that you'd have no problem at all putting whatever you wanted on your satelite web server. Of course, after you started hosting mpegs of necrobeastialpedophilia whoever was linking the satelite to land lines would STOP, and you'd have cops at your door wondering where those images were generated.
It's kind of like ransom - the biggest problem isn't the crime, its trying to collect.
...here comes the SpaceDev eDonkey Server! Imagine the coolness factor of downloading the latest game, knowing that you've found an uploader using a SATELLITE!
Condemnant quod non intellegunt.
but really... is there even any broadcasting equipment on it? I can probably buy a piece of space junk for alot less and it will have the same functionality... unless your a small business and think it makes you sound cool to say you have a satellite in space...
There used to be a tagline back in my BBS'ing and FidoNet days that said something like: "You bought a 486 for your kid? I launch satellites with my 486!"
goto http://rizzn.com
I'm thinking the following are some of the potiential bidders that might be interested in this auction:
s t_Control_Dept
O_B_Ladden
Saddam_H
CIA^H^H_Research
NASA_Co
A_Schwarzenegger (I can imagine him saying every 90 minutes when the satallite passes over...
"Heeeyyy fellas, looook ait my wondafull California state I am in charge of...isn't this very neat and powerful?")
Its not like iraq has billions of $$ worth of fuel, oh wait, ..nevermind.
for the last time people, I am "frodo from middle eaRTH", not "middle eaST".
That fine piece of tail is exclusively for rich bwahs. If you can afford to date Paris Hilton, you can afford to buy this thing and more. I suppose you can't really call it "dating" Paris Hilton since you have to buy your way in. I guess it's more like being a John to Paris Hilton's whoring. Nice tits though.
First they drop videos for cartoons, then game shows, then video-related shows, then reality shows, and now space missions. Sure they hinted that this is where they were heading when they adopted the moon walk as a logo, but shouldn't they admit now that the M is for Miscellaneous and not Music?
R: That voice. Where have I heard that voice before? B: In about 365 other episodes. But I don't know who it is either.
LOL, but how can that be modded insightful?
I reckon there's got to be in the region of a million slashdotters here. We chuck in 20 USD each, and we've got us an orbiting camera.
Now, I can see this going one of two ways:
1) Hey, look, there's Ashcroft edging the yard! Who's your privacy daddy now, huh?
2) Hey, there's Natalie Portman in a bikini! Who's got the zoom?
I'm up for it. Who's with me?
Warning: May contain nuts
I've sold two things on Ebay - total value about $20.. and I can use Buy It Now.
I guess you're wrong.
Now all I gotta do is make that mirror, and win the auction, and I'm all set! Schweet.
Now, where'd I put my List....? It seems the Revolution has arrived!
As per Yahoo Finance, SpaceDev is offered under the Symbol 'SPDV.OB', a tag usually given to companies that are having financial problems (ie. bankrupt or really close to it). Perhaps the Ebay auction is a possible way for it to get the needed cash to keep operating instead?
Check Yahoo Finance for more information: http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=SPDV.OB
-- M
Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.
Affordable to the computer illiterates that instead of passing hours whining about other people success and masturbating in front of the last Linux distro have to manage their time between their job as a CEO, the SPA with 10 playboy centerfolds and some weekly trip around the world. ;)
Yahh, hiii haaaaa! -Major Kong, from Dr. Strangelove
I use it, and don't see ads anywhere. Because it can look at the entire URL, you can block ads from a given subdirectory without killing off the entire site. You can also block web-tracking images.
> 9.5 million is affordable? For whom?!
The X-prize winner.
The unofficial
UC berkley has a command and control center? All Ic could find was the one for the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer, is there an actual program there to train "technicians" for the space economic boom that will be coming? Hopefully not stalled out like nuclear power because of daft policy positions based on the emotional panic induced in those who remain wholly ignorant of technology. Damn you hippies, you have a c&c center, now I am considering moving back to emeryville.
An Education is the Font of All Liberty
my mother-in-law
I do not fear computers. I fear the lack of them. Isaac Asimov (1920 - 1992)
www.egay.com
Finally, an unregulated P2P file-sharing platform! If we all work together we can share in an automous, free, file-trading mecca on our personal orbital joy-wagon. .]
Hummm - bandwidth - yeah, something the size of a pumpkin probably can't stream simultaneous video to all of slashdot, can it? But if you all pitch in, it will be enough for ME!!!!!!
[ Me exits stage left with evil laugh. .
Maybe we need a "no sense of humor" rule instead.
- sigs are for wimps.
Sure, let me just get my wallet right over... RUN!
Great, for only $9.5 mil you can be a tall fellow in a bunny suit...
I made this huge catapult in the backyard using a large supple tree, but could never find a volunteer? - want to give it a go?
The auction was "Powered by eBay Turbo Lister". Aren't they being a bit optomistic that they'll sell a lot of these on eBay to need the use of a bulk listing tool? :-)
Ruby on Rails Screencast
Sorry, read the fine print toward the bottom of the page on items you can put in the satellite: "The item(s) that the winning bidder wants to put on the spacecraft will be limited by size, weight and other characteristics, and will be subject to approval by SpaceDev and the United States government."
Your payload has to be approved by the US government. Sorry but no frickin satellites with frickin laser beams attached to their wings for you...
Disclaimer: This comment was generated by a Flock of Trained Microsoft Programmers for Aqua_Geek.
at first this sounds like you get your very own satellite but if you read it, you would see
Through this auction you can purchase exclusive use of an actual SpaceDev MTV(TM) satellite
this pretty much means you can put what you want on it and use a portion of the satellite but it's not yours
So this problem of space junk is about to get worse then ? Since anyone with the odd $9million to burn can have a satellite launched.
Will they be providing facilities to recover/repair the broken satellites ?
Mark
I was wondering if they would take paypal(tm) for this. So I sent them an email via ebay. Here is the reply. "Within 10 Days upon close of auction the winning bidder will sign the contract for the satellite mission and monies will be paid at that point. Unfortunately, under these circumstances, Paypal may not work. However, we are open to using Paypal if we can find a way to do it. Sincerely, XXXXXXXXX" All names changed to protect the innocent.
Thousands may be able to witness your satellite returning from space in the form of a shooting star, a fireball that burns up in Earth's atmosphere!
Yeah, thousands of fish as it plunges into the Pacific.
I wonder if they'll let you deorbit it at the right time to hit Redmond?
If "disco" means "I learn" in Latin, does "discothèque" mean "I learn technology"?
Yes, we do.
I can't tell you about the secret launch facility or the antimatter weapons. Soon all your base are belong to hippies.
Support SETI@home
3) The PayPal account gets highjacked and we lose $9.5 million.
While I don't realistly think that anybody is going to purchase this item, what a great piece of marketing! Now they will get loads of free publicity due to all the news web sites, "look at this" email and usenet postings. /. to post. ;o)
It was good enough for
Stop the Slashdot effect! Don't read the articles!
... hey man I can't even pay the EBay insertion fee...
Iraq: war to save the U
Ok, so maybe no trusted, but whatever.
My patience is infinite, my time is not.
No way, even if i had the money. Did you see that guys feedback??? (It's 0 for those of you who didn't look) NO WAY
On August 6, 1998 the United States Securities and Exchange Commission filed an administrative proceeding alleging securities fraud against a San Diego, California company named Spacedev Inc. According to the SEC, Spacedev is a microcap company that promotes itself extensively on the Internet. The company claims that it intends to launch an unmanned spacecraft to a near earth asteroid in approximately 2000. The SEC alleges that the company made false and misleading statements over the Internet and via other media in violation of U.S. securities laws. The SEC is seeking cease and desist orders against Spacedev and its chairman, James W. Benson.
Well that just sounds like a right fine company they got there.
More Links
Your hair look like poop, Bob! - Wanker.
Boy, you could sit this puppy in polar orbit and broadcast whatever yore l'il ole heart desired.
Man, there is NEVER a Sugar Daddy around when you need one!
"Where am I going, and what am I doing in this handbasket?"
I for one welcome our new orbiting overlords... must...not...resist...zoom...
Roses are red, violets are blue, most poems rhyme, but this one doesn't...
The only problem is the 10 day deadline. No university could find that kind of money that quickly, the funding/budget/beaurocratic cycles re too long.
wow, not mtv has gone into space missions, what next? creating a real matrix to enslave millions of teens into a world with the jackass folk and teeny bopper singers?
that does seem like one hell of an expensive microsat deal. the microsats i deal with HERE are no where near that expensive. (this is not advertising, because i am not an employee, or related to this company, other than by marriage)
Every slashdotters' dream...
That's funny. Mozilla 1.4 opens it just fine. And personally, I don't think it's that bad. I've seen much, much worse from commercial websites. Though with your witty "winblows" statement, I'm probably wasting my time.
I wouldn't pay more than a dollar for that.
They made it a pre-approved bidder auction. That was a good move. The mistake they made though is putting a reserve on it. There is no reason to increase interest in the space faring billionaire niche. Just list the item with the lowest price you are willing to get for it.
Reserves are just to make eBay more money in the long run.
Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
Ok, im in..where's my American Express Card If someone read the fine print; I got the impression that the mission is only for 60 days...does that mean the sat's functionality is limited to 60 days? This is all good and plenty..but I want my own manned mission to the moon. Lets look at the facts...using computer technology less equivable to a Ti85 Calculator, NASA flew 3 men to the moon and back safely. Sure they had unlimited budget but look at the leaps we have made in technology. A privately funded moon mission would be the mother of vacations for a private citizen. We could even time it so there can be a Sinus Aestuum Terra-Eclipse. We can have paintball fights across hundreds of kilometers on the Mare Vaporum. I wonder what the going rate would be for a holiday package like that?
It's not what you know; It's what you can find out.
The real question for slashdotters is "But does it run linux?" :)
Yeah, opening bid is...ummm, how about just a thousand bucks. Just mail me the money. I promise that your satellite will be up soon :)
Defender of Microsoft and Communism!!!
$15 million on thinkgeek.com
It looks like eBay is becoming a cheap way to get your company, or yourself, into the media spotlight these days. Just put something strange up for auction (satellite, your virginity, your dignity, your wife, etc.) and you're guaranteed to get coverage on all major tech websites, magazines and news shows (CNN, Time, BBC, etc. are sure to run this). The fact that they porbably won't get $9,500,000 out of it doesn't really matter. Millions more people will now know that they can build satellites for a fraction of the price NASA or ESA does.
If you don't have $9,500,000, or don't want something quite as big, look at getting your own CubeSat. Dozens of these are beign built at universities around the world. You can buy most of the parts you need and just put them together. They are launched together on one rocket, sharing the launch cost and making it even cheaper than the $9,500,00 needed for a microsatellite (CubeSats are pico satellites, 10cm x 10cm x 10cm, and weigh only 1 kg).
Low Earth Orbit shark with laser..
"You lied to me! There is a Swansea!"
Ok, everyone club together, and lets send up an ion drive, a few solar cells - 18 month /. moon mission anyone?
Or maybe a solar sail..
"You lied to me! There is a Swansea!"