Space Race 2.0 may already be won

[afadeev]

The Space Race may already be won​

[...]When Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone in 2007, most technology reporters realized it would revolutionize the industry. It is arguable, though, that not even Jobs realized that it would not be the actual iPhone but the app market it enabled, which would become the driving market force.

SpaceX is developing an ecosystem that will upend the space industry as much as the iPhone ecosystem upended mobile telecommunications. The importance of Starshield is not in the actual satellites being built today. Rather, the true significance is the new space marketplace that Starshield will create.

https://spacenews.com/op-ed-the-space-race-may-already-be-won/

 

[Hobie1dog]

Time to buy stock in SpaceX?

 

[neil_w]

Time to buy stock in SpaceX?

They're private.

 

[Hobie1dog]

time to apply or a job then

 

[techrat]

If SpaceX stock was available I would have bought it years ago. I'm making money on Rocketlab though....

 

[mh9162013]

Looks like ULA has nothing to worry about; the US government can't afford for them to fail.

 

[jqavins]

SpaceX and Apple have another thing in common: among the many thigs the undeniably do well, self-promotion tops the list. Apple invented neither the smart phone nor the smart phone app marketplace.

 

[techrat]

Apple invented neither the smart phone nor the smart phone app marketplace.

As "smart phone" is a very nebulous and generic term, I can't comment precisely, but the first phone that had 3rd party apps that I remember was for PalmOS and the Handspring. Then came the Treo which was a Palm product. Nokia made a phone that was a complete Linux PC, the 900, I think. There was the Sidekick, which was run "in the cloud" until Microsoft bought them and turned off the servers. And the first iPhone didn't support 3rd party apps.... but that's a story for another day.

 

[afadeev]

SpaceX and Apple have another thing in common: among the many thigs the undeniably do well, self-promotion tops the list.

Very true.
Though, for all his faults, Steve Jobs never dabbled into politics or foreign affairs.

time to apply or a job then

As much as impressed I am with the achievements and societal impact of both Jobs and Musk, both have a well documented reputation to qualify for Top-10 most assholeish employers and bosses of all time.

 

[Art Upton]

As "smart phone" is a very nebulous and generic term, I can't comment precisely, but the first phone that had 3rd party apps that I remember was for PalmOS and the Handspring. Then came the Treo which was a Palm product. Nokia made a phone that was a complete Linux PC, the 900, I think. There was the Sidekick, which was run "in the cloud" until Microsoft bought them and turned off the servers. And the first iPhone didn't support 3rd party apps.... but that's a story for another day.

BlackBerry was the first smart phone that took both the business and consumer market [plus Military phones] by storm.
Even a president had one

 

[afadeev]

BlackBerry was the first smart phone that took both the business and consumer market [plus Military phones] by storm.

BlackBerry was certainly my first smart phone, and I loved it for the longest time.
The rise and fall of BlackBerry is a fascinating business case study. If someone is curious, here is a great read:
https://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/product/TB0485-PDF-ENG

Even a president had one

RIM even had build and deployed a custom secure server for use exclusively by the President and senior members of the administration.
They also ran custom MIL servers, as well as custom secure solutions for many governments around the world.

 

[manixFan]

Interesting article and viewpoint. I also think that is the first time I’ve seen “Credit: SpaceNews AI-generated illustration” used for an image of an actual person. (Used under an image of Musk.) Illustrators everywhere are updating their resumes.


Tony

(Edited to stay relevant to the article)

 

[Art Upton]

BlackBerry was certainly my first smart phone, and I loved it for the longest time.
The rise and fall of BlackBerry is a fascinating business case study. If someone is curious, here is a great read:
https://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/product/TB0485-PDF-ENG


RIM even had build and deployed a custom secure server for use exclusively by the President and senior members of the administration.
They also ran custom MIL servers, as well as custom secure solutions for many governments around the world.

It was my first smart phone also and since it was not a Mil Secure phone, I could load 3rd party apps on it.

Remember what they called the Black Berry Prayer when people typed on it? I could type on it faster then I can on any of my Androids I have had since. ....

 

[OverTheTop]

SpaceX Currently Dominates Rocket Launch Sector​

The Wall Street Journal (7/7, Subscription Publication) reports SpaceX currently has almost all of the space launch business, having handled 66% of US launches last year and 88% during the first half of 2023.
AIAA Daily Launch 7JUL2023

 

[Funkworks]

Shares are not available to anyone on an open market, but they do exist, and they’ve been doing well:

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/13/elon-musk-spacex-near-150-billion-valuation.html

 

[rocket_troy]

Shares are not available to anyone on an open market, but they do exist, and they’ve been doing well:

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/13/elon-musk-spacex-near-150-billion-valuation.html

I'm just gobsmacked at how well SpaceX are doing - particularly with Falcon 9. The 100% mission reliability from >200 flights is just insane.

TP

 

[OverTheTop]

I'm just gobsmacked at how well SpaceX are doing - particularly with Falcon 9. The 100% mission reliability from >200 flights is just insane.

Getting the rockets back to see how they are wearing is absolutely crucial to this. Just throwing them in the ocean gives you no feedback as to possible life extensions on parts. Without direct feedback they would be just guessing.

 

[rocket_troy]

Getting the rockets back to see how they are wearing is absolutely crucial to this. Just throwing them in the ocean gives you no feedback as to possible life extensions on parts. Without direct feedback they would be just guessing.

Agreed, but there's also tricky things like staging and subsequent stage reliability and a myriad of other stuff that need to all go right all the time to achieve that. Dealing with that much energy also narrows the margins for fault tolerance etc in comparison to the commercial transportation in use within the atmosphere.
I'm personally quite surprised how successful the reuse has been in the context of reliability. Yes, I would've expected an improvement, but I'm just so impressed with the perfection especially given the flight rates and the evolutionary transition from completely new concept & vehicle to something quite established.

TP