ULA Media Blitz
ULA Ramps up Media Blitz, SpaceRef Business
“In recent weeks United Launch Alliance (ULA) has begun ramping up its media coverage to combat what it considers misrepresentation of facts by SpaceX. At stake is billions in future launch business.
Their website was revamped, new videos were released highlighting mission successes, and posters have been posted to their Facebook page with direct messages aimed squarely at SpaceX though without mentioning them.”
Keith’s note: ULA had a media briefing for media this week in the Washington area – except … they did not invite all space media. Hmm … that’s not a strategic move made out of confidence …
This illustrates the advantages of competition over monopoly.
Upsetting the ULA status quo has to be a good thing.
Well, since ignoring SpaceX hasn’t worked all that well, and paying Shelby even more money seems to have hit the point of diminishing returns, how does designing a New Attack Poster sound?
Yeah, me too.
Imagine if SLS had to engage in a media campaign to defend the inspirational value of monopolizing Orion launches on $5 billion / flight. If only NASA considered competitive procurement of all astronaut transport…
It’s funny. Over the years coming here, I have done a complete 180. I have Keith and NasaWatch to thank for opening my eyes to the serious management problems that exist within the organization, and the ineffectual (actually, toxic) role that the Government has in providing direction, commitment and wise oversight to one of America’s greatest national assets. I used to think NASA was the be-all, end-all for human spaceflight. I also freely admit that I once was very skeptical of “Commercial Space”, as well as that up-start company known as SpaceX.
LOL, how the scales have fallen from my eyes.
I would say that the final event that completely won me over to SpaceX, and converted me from a respected admirer into an enthusiastic supporter, was watching Elon Musk comport himself, and argue SpaceX’s case in front of the Sentate Appropriations Subcommittee. The fact that ULA came across rather poorly (to be kind), and the evident favoritism, cronyism and kinds of unfavorable -isms displayed by the GAO, USAF and certain members of Congress was downright troubling.
Now, I am firmly behind Musk, and hope he sticks it “to the man” by continuing to guide SpaceX to greater accomplishments, while hopefully embarrassing ULA, and shaming our elected officials for allowing the DOD/USAF to engage in completely unfair, and un-American sole-source contracts, while doing their utmost best to discourage the development of competitive alternatives, and a robust commercial space launch capability.
Instead of being responsible stewards of America’s National Security, this behavior has compromised it; (a) by leaving us beholden to a geopolitical adversary for the Atlas V RD-180, and (b) jeopardizing America’s assured access to space. Furthermore, by fostering a monopolistic situation, our elected representatives have allowed ULA to charge exorbitant prices. So, they have also failed their fiduciary responsibility to the American taxpayer.
You give me hope!
No disagreement and I am a huge fan of Musk. The most innovation and
hope I see come from Space X. None the less, the government and NASA do
have a legitimate role and it disturbs me to see them so incompetent as
evidenced by Orion and many other examples. It appears we cannot build
for ourselves or even cooperate with others to build for space
exploration. Even reading and learning from Keith’s writings seems to be beyond the capabilities of our government space program.
ULA is scared. Genuinely scared. Dinosaur Sees Flaming Asteroid scared.
I have noticed am vociferous cry coming from some of my oldspace supporting Facebook friends but I have to wonder what they are crying about and how they try to defend themselves. They sure have cockeyed viewpoints.
“The Orion people are told by their NASA masters that they cannot/should not defend themselves”. Defend what? That after nearly ten years and tens of billions of dollars they are demonstrably a half decade behind of of the Newspace competition, The sum total of Newspace spending is about 1/10 that spent on Orion, and over a much shorter period.
“ULA should be encouraged to spend as many of the taxpayers dollars as possible in order to provide a reliable launch service.”
“We should maintain the procurement and delivery of Russian rocket motors since US costs are too high and US manufacturing ability mtoo unreliable, and besides we are helping our international friends…”
Personally I would rather rely on indigenous US, developing, technologically growing Newspace providers like SpaceX rather than a money grubbing, Russian dependent Oldspace provider like ULA.
ULA will sadly continue to fight for their subsidies and contracts instead of innovating. Trashing SpaceX, overtly or covertly, does ULA no good. Even with all of the “growing pains” of SpaceX, the new technology SpaceX is bringing to the market will push ULA into a position in which ULA cannot recover from.
But don’t blame ULA for all of this – blame the parent companies of ULA.
Maybe they thought some were biased against them?
Yeah Right MR. Hartswick
Congress, NASA, Old Space contractors
You steal billions of my money, to build a throw away Rocket, for some silly exploration trip, instead of allowing me or my kids to go into space.
I’m bliased against you!
Joe Tax Payer
Well Joe, may I call you Joe? I pay quite a little bit of taxes myself; and I’m not doing it so I and my kids can have an E-ticket ride…what a fantasy! We invest in space exploration because its in the long-term interest of the nation. It is difficult, dangerous and expensive work in the harshest and most unforgiving of environments; and its too important to be left to the continuing heartbeat of any one man; no matter how swell you think he is.
http://www.the-american-int…
Too cute. I love your strawman, and I couldn’t agree with you more…but relying on the KGB Colonel is the only other thing more stupid than relying exclusively on Mr. Musk and whoever his heirs are exclusively for all of our lift needs. Its not reality based and is almost becoming a fan club around here. We should spend some money and rebuild our own F1a engine and move on with our program, but that will never happen on our current funding level.
Well it probably sounds like a fan club because SpaceX is the furthest along right now and Musk has exciting vision for a lot of people. Count me as part of the Dream Chaser fan club too though, and XCOR, etc etc., and SLS too if it has a good chance of doing what they say.
Meanwhile, SpaceX does something stupid:
In light of ULA’s new media campaign, SpaceX has chosen a lousy time to be shy about their launches. Everyone else who launches rockets seems to muster up the “resources” to broadcast them. And since when have SpaceX launches become routine? Even Shotwell acknowledged at the Atlantic Council that they need to get better at their launch pace.
I have been around to watch each of Spacex’s launches in hopes of seeing a little history just as I did as a kid with NASA
Well in this day and age with today’s Tech if Spacex can’t afford to let me watch live ?
Rant removed by author 🙂
I have better things to do with my Sunday afternoon.
George Worthington
@dtarsgeorge
Just a Tinker @John_Gardi tweeted it well
@ElonMusk, until today, We THOUGHT you were including us on your journey to Mars. Have you thrown us under the spacecraft before its built?
SpaceX Scrub due to Wx… maybe the company will realize just how important webcasting is and we can get a show on Tuesday.
The most important political bomb Spacex has in its arsenal Is a guy with video camera up close and personal watching that for F9R gently setting down in the ocean. Be smart to have drones or jets getting it from different angles too.
I wonder if they have some crew installing waffle fins on it before Tuesday?
=> SpaceX kills American troops? 🙂
Ok yes, that was a little too much extrapolation from the ad’s statements.
However, the “American troops” part of the ad doesn’t add anything if you think logically about it. It’s just an emotional ploy (the troops!!!). They’ve been around a long time, SpaceX hasn’t. They’ve done DOD launches, SpaceX hasn’t (yet). And I guess ULA had little reason to use rhetoric in the past. Apparently now it does.
“The company that has always valued results over rhetoric,” the company added, rhetorically.