VERY TRUE. AJ is a snake oil sellin' gypsy fart.
I never got the context of that.
49 minutes ago,
First launch of SpaceX's revamped Falcon 9 carries Bangladesh's space ambitions
Today brings historic firsts for both SpaceX and Bangladesh: the former is sending up the final, highly updated revision of its Falcon 9 rocket for the first time, and the latter is launching its first satellite. It's a preview of the democratized space economy to come this century.
Although Bangabandhu-1 is definitely important, especially to the nation launching it, it is not necessarily in itself a highly notable satellite. It's to be a geostationary communications hub that serves the whole country and region with standard C-band and Ku-band connectivity for all kinds of purposes.
Currently the country spends some $14 million per year renting satellite time from other countries, something they determined to stop doing as a matter of national pride and independence.
"A sovereign country, in a pursuit of sustainable development, needs its own satellite in order to reduce its dependency on other nations," reads the project description at the country's Telecommunications Regulation Commission, which has been pursuing the idea for nearly a decade.
It contracted with Thales Alenia Space to produce and test the satellite, which cost about $250 million and is expected to last at least 15 years. In addition to letting the country avoid paying satellite rent, it could generate revenue by selling its services to private companies and nearby nations.
Bangabandhu-1 in a Thales test chamber.
"This satellite, which carries the symbolic name of the father of the nation, Bangabandhu, is a major step forward for telecommunications in Bangladesh, and a fantastic driver of economic development and heightened recognition across Asia," said the company's CEO, Jean-Loïc Galle, in a recent blog post about the project.
Bangabandhu-1 will be launching atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, but this one is different from all the others that have flown in the past. Designed with crewed missions in mind, it could be thought of as the production version of the rocket, endowed with all the refinements of years of real-world tests.
https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/first-launch-spacex-apos-revamped-201332935.html
Here's everything Elon Musk told reporters about the reusable rocket that will fly twice within 24 hours
SpaceX founder Elon Musk took questions before the launch of Falcon 9 Block 5.
"We're on track to be double our launch rate" in 2018, Musk said.
"Next year is when we intend to demonstrate … same day re-flight of the same rocket," Musk said.
A majority stake of the global launch market
"We're on track to be double our launch rate last year, which was a record launch rate for us. In fact, I believe Falcon 9 was the most launched rocket worldwide of 2017. And, if things go well, which is a caveat, then SpaceX will launch more rockets than any other country in 2018."
After 8 years of upgrades, the final version of Falcon 9
"This will be the last major version of Falcon 9 before [the Big Falcon Rocket]. And we expect this to be a mainstay of SpaceX business. We think of probably winding up something on the order of 300 flights, maybe more, of Falcon 9 Block 5 before retirement."
"10 or more flights with no refurbishment"
"The key to Block 5 is that it's designed to do 10 or more flights with no refurbishment between each flight — or at least not scheduled refurbishment between each flight. The only thing that needs to change is you reload propellant and fly again."
"We believe that the Block 5 boosters are capable of on the order of at least 100 flights before being retired. Maybe more."