Dream Chaser Program to go Forward
Sierra Nevada Dream Chaser Program to Continue, SpaceRef Business
“Having lost out to Boeing and SpaceX for the lucrative Commercial Crew Program contract, Sierra Nevada’s Mark Sirangelo told the Denver Post the companies plans to go forward with development of the spacecraft and bid on future contracts.”
I read they just laid off 90 workers,
Yeah, and that wasn’t the janitorial staff either. Pure 100% USDA prime off the bone.
In the wake of losing NASA’s Commercial Crew Program competition, Sierra Nevada laid off about 90 employees who had been working on the Dream Chaser space shuttle, the Denver Post reports.
Space Systems chief Mark Sirangelo said many of those let go had been hired in anticipation of the NASA contract.
“We did do a workforce reduction, but it was a relatively minor one compared to what it might have been,” he said.
The layoffs represent a 9.4 percent reduction in Space Systems’ Colorado workforce, he said.
“many of those let go had been hired in anticipation of the NASA contract”
Nice, so a bunch of people that Sierra Nevada recently hired are now unemployed. I have to wonder if the employment sales pitch was legit or overblown to get people to leave their jobs and come onboard prior to a government contract being awarded–they must have really thought they were going to win.
i’d lean towards that they really thought they’d win. a lifting body spacecraft has some advantages that a capsule doesn’t have, though at the cost of significant additional weight and complexity. i was hoping they would get selected so that the gentler reentry and touchdown option would remain, for example, to transport more delicate experiments or an injured / sick astronaut.
unfortunately i think that the recent design change from a hybrid engine to a liquid fueled engine is what did them in.
I had read a study on the HL-20 and that reported the bailout time for the craft vesus a capsule took longer … also lifting extra weight, they went through that with the shuttle, higher costs… plus the engine change, I believe their might of been a few factors against them for them hitting a 2017 operational date.
“i think that the recent design change from a hybrid engine to a liquid fueled engine is what did them in”
I concur!
To be fair, without those $$$’s in funding, SNC would not have been able to go full tilt for an operational system. Now, they’ve no choice but to go slow (unless their Int’l partners add generously to the DC space-kitty to hire those folks back)
SpaceX – if they had lost – would probably have done an order of magnitude worse in layoffs (all the while still continuing on, also at a slower pace, and at Elon’s expense).
OTOH, Boeing would merely have carried out its not-too-idle threat to totally gut their program: layoff/retire/reassign everyone, scrap test articles and tooling, delete TB’s of data, and just deny the effort was ever worth anything (something not unlike what they did to DC-X after they had acquired McDonnell Douglas; and this has also been SOP with aircraft projects too, btw).
Plus they would turn a hefty profit on tax deductions.
Like the saying goes, “crime does not pay at our level”
However, only #2 in tax avoidance
Visit The Bank of Boeing
We need to cut corporate taxes! 🙂
Raising or lowering corporate taxes by themselves won’t solve the problem. The solution would be to lower overall tax rates while simultaneously closing tax loopholes and limiting deductions.
For example because of the loopholes in the tax code corporations had an effective tax rate of 12.6% versus the 35% federal corporate tax rate in 2010 (which is the highest in the developed world right now). If you lower the federal tax rate to say 25% while simultaneously eliminating the loopholes you have a net gain of about 12% without scaring the corporations overseas.
On Dream Chaser I am glad that they are continuing the program. Looking forward to seeing it fly.
Those who are paying -9% actual effective tax rate like GE will never stand for a fair system. Why should they? They will prevent it.
Remember, democracy is based on the concept of One Person, One Vote. Capitalism is based upon the concept of One Dollar, One Vote (in the marketplace).
Each should operate in their own sphere.
However, those with mass cash don’t like the political side of the arrangement. They strive for One Dollar, One Vote in both the market and the political domain.
And they get it, and unfortunately, we’re also getting it good, but not in the same way!
Yeah, that way it won’t be as annoying when they don’t pay them anyway!
Boeing doesn’t pay taxes they get a rebate.
Vald, *whack*
You are smarter than that. Took 30 seconds to see that Boeing paid $1.6 billion in taxes on $6.2 billion in profits..
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/…
Boeing Receives Tax Rebates; Pays No Income Taxes for 3 Years
http://gather.com/boeing-re…
http://www.ctj.org/pdf/boei…
“Boeing’s Reward for Paying No Federal Taxes Over Last
Three Years? A $35 Billion Federal Contract Despite reporting nearly $10 billion in domestic pre-tax profits between 2008 and 2010, the Boeing Corporation, which was granted a contract worth as much as $35 billion to build airplanes for the federal government earlier this week, did not pay a dime of U.S. federal corporate income taxes during this three-year period.
In particular: Boeing’s Reward for Paying No Federal Taxes Over Last Three Years? A $35 Billion Federal Contract Despite reporting nearly $10 billion in domestic pre-tax profits between 2008 and 2010, the Boeing Corporation, which was granted a contract worth as much as $35 billion to build airplanes for the federal government earlier this week, did not pay a dime of U.S. federal corporate income taxes during this three-year period.
In particular: Despite reporting nearly $10 billion in domestic pre-tax profits between 2008 and 2010, the Boeing Corporation, which was granted a contract worth as much as $35 billion to build airplanes for the federal government earlier this week, did not pay a dime of U.S. federal corporate income taxes during this three-year period.
In particular: In 2010, Boeing reported $4.4 billion in pre-tax profits, and paid just 0.3 percent of its pre-tax income in federal income taxes.
In 2009, Boeing reported $1.5 billion in pre-tax profits, but didn’t pay any federal income tax at all on those profits. Instead, the company claimed an outright tax rebate of $132 million. income tax at all on those profits. Instead, the company claimed an outright tax rebate of $132 million.
In 2008, the company reported $3.77 billion in pre-tax profits, and paid a paltry 1.2 percent federal income tax rate on those profits. percent federal income tax rate on those profits.
Over the three-year period from 2008 to 2010, the company didn’t pay a dime of its profits in federal taxes, and actually received a rebate of $75 million. Its pretax U.S. profits over this period were $9.7 billion. profits in federal taxes, and actually received a rebate of $75 million. Its pretax U.S. profits over this period were $9.7 billion.”
Vlad, I provided you with the data from there SEC filings. I don’t care what other websites say, it is irrelevant and wrong.
I checked one of your links, and it is extremely misleading.
Shenanagins! The statement infers that Boeing paid no taxes plus got a refund. Seriously? More like they overpaid taxes or found some extra deductions mid-year and got a comparibly small amount back. Gee, that sounds like Joe Q Taxpayer to me!
Great example of “Statistics can be made to say any point”.
No. They paid no taxes They instead received 2% of their earnings as cash from the treasury! GE got even more.
This is not like you or I getting 25% withheld and then after deductions getting a refund of 2% (or a net effective tax of 23%, in this example.
No Boeing’s paid zero taxes and received cash back equal to 2% of earnings! GE got 9% not off their taxes, but as cash back on ZERO taxes.
http://www.thedailybeast.co…
http://www.ctj.org/corporat…
How about going to the actual sources of their filings, as Yahoo has the SEC filings..
$1.6 billion in taxes on $6.2 billion in profits.
Good lord people.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/…
looks like they think they have staff and resources to get thru first launch and they will bid for cargo flights to iss.
Is that cargo? I thought they were interested in crew!
Cheers
Yales. Your right, please ignore my last post. I found the source of the CRS-2 bid as you mentioned.
I hope they can get the contract. It leaves the door open for getting it upgraded to crew somewhere down the road. Antares may be the victim, tho. There aren’t that many old Russian engines ln Orbital Science’s possession. I hear they are contemplating moving to solids, but that might delay them too far out.
Do we yet know why they didn’t get it ? Or part of it ?
well, certainly the biggest issue is that a few months ago they decided to switch their rocket engines from hybrid to liquid. that will take more time to redesign and test.