I almost get the feeling that Elon would love to partner with NASA, but he's just as likely to flip them the bird and be waiting on the Moon for NASA's arrival if NASA flinches.

Flying Crowbar said:

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I almost get the feeling that Elon would love to partner with NASA, but he's just as likely to flip them the bird and be waiting on the Moon for NASA's arrival if NASA flinches.

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I think Elon wants DoD money.

This is his entrance to Lockheed Martin/Boeing Status...

He will partner with NASA.

scottimus said:

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He will partner with NASA.

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Will? He just won the most significant NASA award of at least this decade.

SpaceX is now official!

nortex97 said:

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scottimus said:

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He will partner with NASA.

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Will? He just won the most significant NASA award of at least this decade.

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Was in response to Flying...

https://texags.com/forums/16/topics/3141111/replies/59126528

Holy hell, I never would have thought that they'd actually pick SpaceX...

That being said...this is NOT over. Make no mistake, Congress is going to force Boeing/LM/BO back into this somehow. They need their welfare program. Remember the KC-135 contract (I think it was that one)?

But man, how about NASA making the sensible decision?

I agree with your assessment.

But I also think Elon's not putting all his eggs in one basket. If Congress reverses the HLS contract decision somehow (I'm sure Sen. Shelby of Alabama is hearing about the selection from his constituents), do you think Elon will fold up the tent and abandon development of the Starship? That's all I was getting at.

Maximus_Meridius said:

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Holy hell, I never would have thought that they'd actually pick SpaceX...

That being said...this is NOT over. Make no mistake, Congress is going to force Boeing/LM/BO back into this somehow. They need their welfare program. Remember the KC-135 contract (I think it was that one)?

But man, how about NASA making the sensible decision?

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You're thinking about the KC-46 (Boeing) vs. KC-45 (Northrop/Airbus). I don't think congress forces this back, but they could 'give' more money so it is a dual award, I agree. BTW, Boeing has lost their ass on the KC-46 since, and will continue to do so for at least another two years.

nortex97 said:

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Maximus_Meridius said:

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Holy hell, I never would have thought that they'd actually pick SpaceX...

That being said...this is NOT over. Make no mistake, Congress is going to force Boeing/LM/BO back into this somehow. They need their welfare program. Remember the KC-135 contract (I think it was that one)?

But man, how about NASA making the sensible decision?

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You're thinking about the KC-46 (Boeing) vs. KC-45 (Northrop/Airbus). I don't think congress forces this back, but they could 'give' more money so it is a dual award, I agree. BTW, Boeing has lost their ass on the KC-46 since, and will continue to do so for at least another two years.

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Yep, you're right. Not sure about the additional money, I think it's going to be a "we believe the selection was flawed, we're going to give you a marginal increase in budget, go back and try again" kind of thing. There's too much at stake for them: LM/Boeing will be kicked squarely in the balls (well, not so much LM, their defense stuff should keep them happy), and Bezos is staring at a complete BO failure without this contract, which then screws ULA over with Vulcan*. I honestly don't know that SpaceX is the "best" choice because I don't necessarily think Starship works as a lander with Gateway, but when you look at performance over the last 5 years, or even 10, SpaceX has embarrassed everyone else.


*Supposedly Aerojet has developed an engine for Vulcan and ULA has managed to keep their options open should/when BO utterly **** the bed with BE-4. I still don't understand why the hell they didn't just go with AR in the first place.

Edit: and Boeing losing their ass makes me giddy. I'm sorry to all the Ags that work there, but I have gotten to the point where I utterly despise that company...

Funny how the DC can never keep a secret. I do some HLS work and this award was a surprise in my office.

The old saying, "If it ain't Boeing I ain't going" doesn't really ring true anymore.

That said my next flight will be on a Boeing aircraft. Though it's a significantly older design. B-29 Doc...

Do what??

Centerpole90 said:

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Do what??

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My father and I booked a flight on the recently rebuilt and restored B-29 named Doc. May 8th out of Ellington.

Related to this thread because that's back when Boeing built things that worked! No MCAS, and no mission clocks out of sync.

It's awesome you got a ride on Doc. And I think you'll have a safe flight.

But my reading of the history of the B-29 program precludes me from saying that was when Boeing "did things right".

Kenneth_2003 said:

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The old saying, "If it ain't Boeing I ain't going" doesn't really ring true anymore.

That said my next flight will be on a Boeing aircraft. Though it's a significantly older design. B-29 Doc...

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You lucky SOB!

Doc and Fifi were both up in my neck of the woods about 2 years ago at a local airshow. I didn't go because it had been raining cats and dogs the past 2 days and figured they'd cancel, so I didn't want to drive the 3 hours. Rain cleared up and they flew that afternoon. Still kicking myself on that one...

With regards to SpaceX, IF this decision holds (still a big if to me), then I can honestly say that I will go from pessimistic about man ever reaching the moon before 2050, to believing it happens before the end of this decade. That's how big I think this decision is. Overemphasizing? Maybe, but I have zero confidence in anyone being able to beat SpaceX to the moon (unless Elon says **** that I'm going to Mars) at this point.

Maximus_Meridius said:

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With regards to SpaceX, IF this decision holds (still a big if to me), then I can honestly say that I will go from pessimistic about man ever reaching the moon before 2050, to believing it happens before the end of this decade. That's how big I think this decision is. Overemphasizing? Maybe, but I have zero confidence in anyone being able to beat SpaceX to the moon (unless Elon says **** that I'm going to Mars) at this point.

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The new space race is now Xi vs Elon.

I followed the Doc rebuild from the time I learned about it through first flight.

Father's Day (well got delayed a few weeks due to weather) two years ago I took dad on a flight on Texas Raiders B17 out of her home airport in Conroe. What a flight! The overwhelming sense of history that rushed over me as I settled into a plywood seat sent chills they me. Staring at the structural webs and realizing that thin skin was all that once separated a 20 year old kid from German flak, and here I was with a Nikon around my neck!

I'm glad NASA made this decision. I've got a friend at Lockheed that's running stress tests on a sample obsoleted Orion hardware from a previous version that will never fly. But that's where their focus is. SoaceX is looking forward, and the big boys are playing with obsolete scraps

Reminder; manned launch this evening; it's tough to keep up with all of the space news right now.

Oh, and Soyuz returned from ISS last night;

I thought the manned launch was the 22nd?

bthotugigem05 said:

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I thought the manned launch was the 22nd?

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It is.

This morning they completed a static fire.

Targeted Date: April 22, 2021 - 6:11 a.m. Eastern

Mission: NASA's SpaceX Crew-2 Mission to the International Space Station

Description: NASA's SpaceX Crew-2 mission will launch four astronauts aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center to the space station. It will be the first mission to fly two international partner crew members as part of the Commercial Crew Program. NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur will serve as spacecraft commander and pilot, respectively. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet will join as mission specialists.

Sorry about that, my bad. I got carried away before coffee reading my news feed. Sadly, it happens more often than not.

Morning launch around sunrise should be awesome on the 22nd.

No worries, buddy of mine runs Star Fleet Tours for people who want to watch the launches from a boat out on the cape and he's been getting ready for the 22nd and I did a double take.

Any idea what he charges?

https://www.star-fleet.tours/current/

Scott Manley has a good video discussing award;

Mission Control going live:

The host of this broadcast makes me want to punch myself in the face. You're way too chipper for 5am.

Whatever phone number is posted on the wall right behind the communication guy's head is going to probably need changing.