{"id":19466,"date":"2016-02-10T22:35:18","date_gmt":"2016-02-10T14:35:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/spaceflights-online-price-list-makes-it-easier-for-the-feds-to-buy-a-launch\/"},"modified":"2016-02-10T22:35:18","modified_gmt":"2016-02-10T14:35:18","slug":"spaceflights-online-price-list-makes-it-easier-for-the-feds-to-buy-a-launch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/spaceflights-online-price-list-makes-it-easier-for-the-feds-to-buy-a-launch\/","title":{"rendered":"Spaceflight\u2019s online price list makes it easier for the feds to buy a launch"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Spaceflight
Spaceflight\u2019s SHERPA carrier, shown in this artwork, is set to deploy 87 satellites. (Credit: Spaceflight)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Federal agencies can now buy a satellite launch as easily as they buy pencils, thanks to a new arrangement with Seattle-based Spaceflight.<\/p>\n

OK, maybe it\u2019s not quite that<\/em> easy. You still have to get the go-ahead to put something into orbit, whether you\u2019re a climate scientist at NASA or Agent Fox Mulder at the FBI. But once that go-ahead is given, the launch can be ordered from a standardized menu instead of going through a months-long contracting process.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat this does is make it a more expeditious process,\u201d Spaceflight\u2019s president, Curt Blake, told GeekWire.<\/p>\n

<\/span> If you run NASA, you don\u2019t have to go compete out a contract to determine which pencil vendor is the best.<\/span><\/p>\n

Spaceflight is the first launch service provider to be awarded what\u2019s known as a General Services Administration Professional Services Schedule. That means any federal official who\u2019s authorized to spend the money can order a CubeSat or a MicroSat launch online, via the GSA Advantage\u2019s eBuy site.<\/p>\n

The online ordering site gets around many of the hurdles that stand in the way of arranging a launch \u2013 making the process more similar to the pencil procurement routine. \u201cIf you run NASA, you don\u2019t have to go compete out a contract to determine which pencil vendor is the best,\u201d Blake said.<\/p>\n

Spaceflight guarantees that it will find a spot on a launch vehicle for a fixed price, much in the same way as pencils are sold.<\/p>\n

Satellite launches are pricier than pencils, of course. The cheapest item on Spaceflight\u2019s online menu goes for $278,503.78. That gets you the launch of a satellite about the size of a loaf of bread, weighing no more than 11 pounds (5 kilograms).<\/p>\n

The most expensive item on the list is the launch of a 660-pound (300-kilogram) satellite for $7,667,074.85.<\/p>\n