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SpaceX Profitable as Musk Pulls in NASA Contracts, Google Cash

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Re: SpaceX Profitable as Musk Pulls in NASA Contracts, Google Cash

#51

Post by edgyswingset »

frandroid wrote: post #43
cryptoz wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with you completely until > Why do self driving cars? Def no ad revenue there. Sure there is. Many people commute in their cars for 1-2 hours per day, when it is illegal for them to look at ads on their smartphone. If Google makes this legal, it's another 10%ish increase in the waking hours that people may be clicking on their ads. I think that Google's ambitions are a lot higher than this, of course. Self-dr…

The business model in a self-driving car is THE SELF-DRIVING CAR...

... unless they're interested in taking in a loss for each vehicle or only selling to the richest people in the world.

Re: SpaceX Profitable as Musk Pulls in NASA Contracts, Google Cash

#52

Post by trothamel »

aros wrote: post #40
skadamat wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed, it's a bit silly to assume that all Google cares about is ad revenue. Plus, improving internet accessibility and making more revenue aren't mutually exclusive. Why do self driving cars? Def no ad revenue there.

It isn't silly to assume considering that an overwhelming majority of Google's revenue comes directly from advertisements. As for self driving cars, I can think of a ton of marketing use cases including tracking how often people drive, where they go, how long they stay there, the frequency in which someone goes to a location, what type of features in the car the user takes advantage of... And that's just from the top…

I suspect that technology giants like Google and Facebook are trying to wean themselves from ad revenue, to become conglomerates like other companies of that size, like GE.

The alternative is massive problems in a few years, when somebody has the guts to kickstart a consumer laptop that comes with adblock preinstalled.

Re: SpaceX Profitable as Musk Pulls in NASA Contracts, Google Cash

#53

Post by freehunter »

sandworm wrote: post #35

I have trouble trusting business statements from companies in the space industry. They play in a world of secrets, classified technologies and continuous background checks. At every launch, over in the corner, sits a uniformed member of the US military and a switch. That switch is to destroy the rocket should it run off course. SpaceX might be profitable today. It might be very profitable tomorrow. But because of the…

Well the reason for that is because they're given exclusive access to basically launch a missile from US airspace. With a mere change of payload, that rocket can be used to deliver a nuclear warhead. So yeah, it's pretty prudent to have background checks, massive amounts of oversight, and many kill switches. An even if you have all the best intentions, it doesn't take that much to accidentally crash into the ISS and kill everyone aboard. Look at all the maneuvers SpaceX had to do to prove they were capable of docking with the ISS.

Sure, politics comes into play. But the idea of a less-regulated spaceflight industry doesn't seem feasible anytime soon. Even the airline industry is still heavily regulated compared to even automobiles. That's just the risk associated with the massive inherent dangers associated with flight.

Re: SpaceX Profitable as Musk Pulls in NASA Contracts, Google Cash

#54

Post by JshWright »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #21
mrfusion wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How will the spaceport in Texas help?

They control scheduling and occupancy. That is an issue with a shared launch pad but not with one you own and can schedule.

They don't share the pad. They share the range (which consists of multiple pads and various support services (radar, etc)).

Re: SpaceX Profitable as Musk Pulls in NASA Contracts, Google Cash

#55

Post by NeutronBoy »

josephjrobison wrote: post #17

I love how the writer phrased Google's incentive for investing as "Google has a practical goal in linking up with SpaceX. It wants to beam the Internet to hard-to-reach regions of the planet so it can take in more advertising revenue." While... "'Space-based applications, like imaging satellites, can help people more easily access important information, so we’re excited to support SpaceX’s growth,' Google spokesman A…

You don't think making money is one of the goals behind Tesla or SpaceX?

Even if you have some other intrinsic motive, you gotta pay your employees with money, and you gotta get that money form somewhere.

Re: SpaceX Profitable as Musk Pulls in NASA Contracts, Google Cash

#56

Post by threeseed »

pbreit wrote: post #41
Animats wrote: post #5

If SpaceX can fly out their 2015 manifest, that will be impressive. This is the year the Falcon Heavy is supposed to launch. Their first manned flight has apparently been postponed; it's been "2-3 years" away for 2 years now.[1] I notice they've stopped putting dates on their manifest for future flights.[2][3] SpaceX is doing a great job, but they're behind their own schedule. They're two flights behind on ISS resupp…

Aggressive scheduling is a tactic. Because no matter what the schedule, human nature dictates that things are likely to slip.

Spin it all you want but a failure to meet schedules isn't really acceptable. You either failed to deliver or failed to manage your project estimation process.

Re: SpaceX Profitable as Musk Pulls in NASA Contracts, Google Cash

#57

Post by rdudek »

threeseed wrote: post #56
pbreit wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Aggressive scheduling is a tactic. Because no matter what the schedule, human nature dictates that things are likely to slip.

Spin it all you want but a failure to meet schedules isn't really acceptable. You either failed to deliver or failed to manage your project estimation process.

There are weather related reasons too.

Re: SpaceX Profitable as Musk Pulls in NASA Contracts, Google Cash

#58

Post by trose »

freehunter wrote: post #53
sandworm wrote: post #35

I have trouble trusting business statements from companies in the space industry. They play in a world of secrets, classified technologies and continuous background checks. At every launch, over in the corner, sits a uniformed member of the US military and a switch. That switch is to destroy the rocket should it run off course. SpaceX might be profitable today. It might be very profitable tomorrow. But because of the…

Well the reason for that is because they're given exclusive access to basically launch a missile from US airspace. With a mere change of payload, that rocket can be used to deliver a nuclear warhead. So yeah, it's pretty prudent to have background checks, massive amounts of oversight, and many kill switches. An even if you have all the best intentions, it doesn't take that much to accidentally crash into the ISS and…

To be fair, it's pretty improbable to accidentally hit the ISS. It takes really precise maneuvers and calculations to get there on purpose.

Re: SpaceX Profitable as Musk Pulls in NASA Contracts, Google Cash

#60

Post by bgvopg »

arcadeparade wrote: post #45
Animats wrote: post #5

If SpaceX can fly out their 2015 manifest, that will be impressive. This is the year the Falcon Heavy is supposed to launch. Their first manned flight has apparently been postponed; it's been "2-3 years" away for 2 years now.[1] I notice they've stopped putting dates on their manifest for future flights.[2][3] SpaceX is doing a great job, but they're behind their own schedule. They're two flights behind on ISS resupp…

It's possible that Elon counts in Mars years.

That would actually explain a lot of his comments.
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