{"id":15237,"date":"2016-09-13T19:39:09","date_gmt":"2016-09-13T11:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/ses-stands-by-spacex-after-getting-good-discount-on-reused-rocket\/"},"modified":"2016-09-13T19:39:09","modified_gmt":"2016-09-13T11:39:09","slug":"ses-stands-by-spacex-after-getting-good-discount-on-reused-rocket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/ses-stands-by-spacex-after-getting-good-discount-on-reused-rocket\/","title":{"rendered":"SES stands by SpaceX after getting \u2018good discount\u2019 on reused rocket"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Three
Three of SpaceX\u2019s recovered Falcon 9 boosters inside a hangar at launch pad 39A. Credit: SpaceX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of SpaceX\u2019s most loyal commercial customers, the European-based telecom satellite operator SES, remains committed to flying a spacecraft aboard a \u201crefurbished\u201d Falcon 9 booster as soon as the company resumes rocket flights, officials said.<\/p>\n

SpaceX and SES announced the reused rocket deal Aug. 30, two days before a Falcon rocket exploded during fueling for a pre-launch test at Cape Canaveral.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for SES confirmed since the accident that the company will keep its agreement to launch the SES 10 communications satellite on SpaceX\u2019s first launch of a previously-flown Falcon 9 booster.<\/p>\n

The launch of SES 10 was scheduled for late October before the Sept. 1 launch pad mishap, but Falcon 9 missions are grounded while SpaceX investigates the cause. Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX\u2019s president and chief operating officer, said Tuesday that Falcon 9 flights could resume as early as November.<\/p>\n

\u201cSES 10 just fit with us and also in SpaceX\u2019s manifest,\u201d said Martin Halliwell, chief technology officer for Luxembourg-based SES. \u201cSo we decided that this is the one that we were going to go for.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 156-foot-tall (47-meter) first stage slated to launch SES 10 first flew with a Dragon supply ship heading to the International Space Station. The booster made a propulsive vertical landing on SpaceX\u2019s barge in the Atlantic Ocean a few minutes after the April 8 launch.<\/p>\n

The second stage of the Falcon 9 will still be manufactured new for each mission, at least for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n

None of those plans have changed in the wake of the Sept. 1 launch pad accident, but officials are not sure when the SES 10 mission will take off. It was second in line on SpaceX\u2019s manifest before the launch pad explosion.<\/p>\n

In an interview with Spaceflight Now the day before the accident, Halliwell declined to disclose the value of the deal. SES originally inked the SES 10 launch contract with SpaceX in 2014, but Halliwell said it was bundled together with contracts to launch other SES satellites.<\/p>\n

The companies signed a separate agreement to cover the specifics of the partially reusable rocket launch, and the financial terms.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got a discount,\u201d Halliwell said. \u201cI can\u2019t go into the specific pricing, but we did get a discount for being an early adopter of the technology.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response to a question whether the discount was closer to potential figures publicly disclosed by SpaceX\u2019s Shotwell and SES chief executive Karim Sabbagh \u2014 who discussed possible reusability discounts of 30 percent and 50 percent, respectively \u2014 Halliwell said: \u201cIt certainly came out closer to Gwynne than to Karim.\u201d<\/p>\n

The figures, while stated as unofficial and somewhat arbitrary, illustrated the behind-the-scenes negotiation on the real price of a reused Falcon 9.<\/p>\n

Halliwell did not confirm whether the ultimate price for the SES 10 launch fell between the 30 percent and 50 percent discount figures.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did receive a good discount on the baseline price,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not as crazy or spectacular as you might think, and that makes sense. SpaceX has to supply an awful lot of equipment, and they have to do an awful lot of refurbishment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is an interesting price, and it\u2019s something which we believe will be meaningful going forward, and will be meaningful for the industry in the longer term,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

SES says there was \u201cno material change\u201d to the insurance coverage or the company\u2019s premium payment after cinching the agreement to launch SES 10 on a \u201cflight-proven\u201d rocket.<\/p>\n

SpaceX lists on its website the price of a newly-built Falcon 9 launch as $61 million, but industry officials say that price oscillates lower and higher depending on the requirements, and timing, of a specific mission.<\/p>\n

\"Artist's
Artist\u2019s concept of the SES 10 satellite. Credit: Airbus Defense and Space<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SES has been en early adopter of SpaceX\u2019s launch services since 2013, when the telecom firm placed the SES 8 television broadcast station on the first Falcon 9 launch bound for a high-altitude geostationary transfer orbit, the favored destination for most large communications satellites.<\/p>\n

Last year, the SES 9 satellite successfully flew on just the second launch of an upgraded Falcon 9 rocket burning super-chilled densified propellants, which give the launcher the capability to heave more massive payloads into orbit.<\/p>\n

Now SES is again hitching on to SpaceX\u2019s effort to reshape the launch industry with lower prices, an outcome SpaceX managers say will come with \u201crapid and complete\u201d reusability, which could slash costs by an order of magnitude or more in the long run.<\/p>\n

SpaceX\u2019s partially reusable Falcon 9 is not likely to meet that long-term objective in the next few years, but any reduction in the company\u2019s launch prices \u2014 already the lowest in global market for the Falcon 9\u2019s size \u2014 should add pressure to SpaceX\u2019s competitors.<\/p>\n

Halliwell downplayed any added risk to the SES 10 launch from the decision to launch the craft on a reused booster.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be frank, it\u2019s less risky,\u201d Halliwell said. \u201cWe know the engines work. We know that they perform correctly. We know the lifetime cycle of the engines. We know the testing. It is truly flight-proven, so quite honestly, apart from the emotion associated with it, thinking, \u2018Wow, is it going to be an additional risk?\u2019, if you actually look at it in the calm light of day, then it\u2019s absolutely a wash.\u201d<\/p>\n

Halliwell said SES engineers have visited SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, and SpaceX\u2019s test site in Central Texas to observe manufacturing, refurbishment and tests ahead of the SES 10 launch.<\/p>\n

\"Four
Four of the next six SES satellites will launch on SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets. SES has ordered another new satellite, SES 17, since releasing this graphic, but a launcher has not been contracted for that mission. Credit: SES<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He said the Falcon 9 booster assigned to the SES 10 launch has completed an engine hotfire on the test stand in McGregor, Texas. The stage required some refurbishment, but Halliwell did not go into details.<\/p>\n

None of the nine Merlin engines from the April 8 launch were replaced on the stage ahead of the SES 10 launch, he said.<\/p>\n

The Merlin 1D engines were already qualified for multiple flights, but SpaceX\u2019s testing this year has focused on the resiliency of the overall booster stage, comprising tanks and welded structures, to withstand two or more flights.<\/p>\n

A separate Falcon 9 first stage recovered after a subsequent launch in May has been test-fired in McGregor seven times since late July.<\/p>\n

One of the parts of the rocket SpaceX engineers were most concerned about earlier in the reuse initiative was the bottom of the booster, where the nine Merlin engines are mounted with their intricate plumbing. That part of the rocket points forward during the Falcon 9\u2019s descent, subjecting it to high re-entry temperatures and the effects of the engine plume during braking burns guiding the first stage to its landing target.<\/p>\n

But SES says the rocket for SES 10 looks good.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is in extraordinarily good condition,\u201d Halliwell said. \u201cI thought there would be significant damage at the aft end. Absolutely not. It was in really good shape.\u201d<\/p>\n

Four of seven satellites SES has under construction are contracted to launch aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets. Another two will blast off on Ariane 5 launchers, while a telecom craft ordered from manufacturer Thales Alenia Space earlier this month has not been assigned for launch services.<\/p>\n

Before the Sept. 1 pad explosion, the SES 10 and SES 11 satellites were supposed to launch on Falcon 9 rockets before the end of the year. Both spacecraft are finished with ground testing at Airbus Defense and Space\u2019s satellite factory in Toulouse, France, and awaiting shipment to Cape Canaveral.<\/p>\n

Halliwell said the SES 11 satellite will fly on an all-new Falcon 9 booster.<\/p>\n

Email the author.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Three of SpaceX\u2019s recovered Falcon 9 boosters inside a hangar at launch pad 39A. Credit: SpaceX One of SpaceX\u2019s most loyal commercial customers, the European-based telecom satellite operator SES, remains committed to flying a spacecraft aboard a \u201crefurbished\u201d Falcon 9 booster as soon as the company resumes rocket flights, officials said. SpaceX and SES announced […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1657,3143,479,311,1043,3354,3599,316],"class_list":["post-15237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-airbus-defense-and-space","tag-amos-6","tag-falcon-9","tag-reusability","tag-ses","tag-ses-10","tag-ses-11","tag-spacex"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15237"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15237"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15237\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}