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SpaceX and Iridium Sign $492M Launch Contract
FleaPlus writes "Following up on the successful first launch of their Falcon 9 rocket, SpaceX has signed a $492M deal for launching several dozen satellites for the Iridium NEXT constellation, the biggest commercial launch deal ever (teleconference notes). This is a needed boost for the US launch industry, which has dwindled to a fraction of the international market due to problematic ITAR arms regulations and high costs. SpaceX's next launch is scheduled for later this summer, carrying the first full version of the Dragon reusable capsule, which will run tests in orbit and then splash down off the California coast."
Do they? I thought they got deals to build satellites, not launch them. Got a link?
Igor Presnyakov stole my hat
Boeing has Delta IV. Lockheed has Atlas V. These are satellite launchers. They do not do many commercial launches since Proton is cheaper and Ariane 5 does not have ITAR limitations either.
Iridium satellites (both current and next generation) are in LEO, not GEO. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridium_satellite_constellation
It has nine engines in the first stage (and another similar engine in the second stage, to save on research and production costs)
Losing one engine is no longer a reason to detonate the rocket.
Rockets first:
Next, Launch Capabilities:
I don't know if LM or Boeing still provide launch services outside of the scope of ULA.
just an analog boy living in a digital age.
Maybe it's time for thinking about mandatory destruction of satellites at the end of their useful life
Already done. Everything up there aside from a few nuclear powered Soviet satellites has a plan for coming down (such as stuff in LEO which can reenter Earth's atmosphere without much difficulty) or getting boosted to a more remote orbit (such as stuff in geostationary orbit).
The FCC calls for all US-registered spacecraft to be disposed of at the end of its useful life. This means either decay into the atmosphere within a specific amount of time (25 years, I think) or placement into a "disposal" orbit. For geosynchronous spacecraft, that disposal orbit is one slightly higher, getting it out of the way of operational spacecraft.
You're full of shit. If that were true the DoD wouldn't have to sign multi-million dollar contracts with Iridium for upkeep and airtime. See http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=2769, http://www.spacedaily.com/news/iridium-03a.html, http://investor.iridium.com/releasedetail.cfm?releaseid=412313, http://www.defense.gov/contracts/contract.aspx?contractid=3235, etc.