MSS Q&A Thread

Thanks Ben,
Look foward to the next one, any idea of when you will be testing the new engines?


Iain

Ben
Perhaps you could let us know when the blog is updated by dropping a post here? Would be much appreciated!

Sure, I can post here when I do updates. There's a new one up where we're looking for two summer interns.

I don't have any date to share on new engine testing; we have a number of concurrent projects under development and timing just depends on what is the highest priority.

How is the recruiment of new employees going? How hard is it to lure people to Mojave?

There doesn't seem to be much visible progress on the XA vehicles, so will Masten participate in this year's lunar lander challenge?

Yeah, I've noticed the lack of updates too. Could be they are just really busy. But I was also curious as to whether they were going to field an entry for the Lunar Lander challenge.

EDIT: hhmm, looks like there's two parts to the blog somehow, and the part they are updating doesn't show on the main front page.

I drove to Mojave before I had a job, which worked out. Our new Guidance, Nav & Control guy came here from Boston, so it's not impossible to get qualified people. From talking with other companies here, I think the hardest part is just getting people before Scaled does. I actually turned them down.

Being here is good, because it means that the employees are only here if they really want to be. But it is a small town.

Jon is putting up a blog post later, we have been busy. And yes, the website needs some fixing.

We may do LLC, we may not. It'd be fun, but it is not the highest priority. This company does not exist to be an LLC competitor. The primary objective will always be to satisfy our clients and partners while moving toward our goals.

Luke,



Yeah, I've been busy, and haven't been in much of a bloggy mood for a while (my personal blog at selenianboondocks.com has been suffering as well). Sorry to leave everyone out of the loop for so long.

~Jon

Jon,
Ben has been fantastic in keping us in the loop the past months! loads of credit to him! Cant wait until your next post, anything to share since the last update?

Rob

We've been working on fixing the old engine modules and changing the various parts that need changed for this vehicle, as well as fixing the two engines that have issues from the crash. I built casters and caster adapters for it (code name Pollux so we can move it around the shop. We stuck the modules on today so that we can finish up the LOX plumbing, which Wayne (the intern) has been working on.

I expect we'll take a photo and stick it up on the blog later this week. The new 36" tank for 0.2 should be showing up as well, and we'll be doing some more abusing of the new igniters.

Hey guys, I finally got the time to do a September 2008 writeup. You can find the link here:

http://masten-space.com/blog/?p=170

~Jon

Thanks Jon, Great update!!
little bit more of a spiel here as well, more of a Mojave whats been going on post..

http://rocketdeech.blogspot.com/2008/10 ... k-day.html


Iain
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http://kiwi2space.blogspot.com

yeah, nice little update! I loved the last paragraph!

...as I was walking to the shop, I glanced over to my left and over the tops of the Scaled buildings, and two tails with "Virgin" emblazoned on them were visible. Between the buildings, you could see the wings, the PW308A turbofans without their cowlings, and the left-hand cockpit, with the "Galactic Girl" nose-art. Derek and I later went to Voyager for lunch, and from the restaurant, the aircraft was clearly visible. It's kind of weird, thinking that that is the aircraft that will be dropping SpaceShipTwo sometime in the future as it rockets off into space. Man, what a cool place this air/spaceport is!

Captured the excitment that must be around there right now!

Hey guys,
Any word yet about the imminent testing? I understand the electronic noise issues have been resolved and that was the thing holding you back. Any hot flamey stuff coming out of the back of XA-0.2b yet?

Cheers,
Webkabouter

We also needed to make major improvements to our test area, so we spent a while on infrastructure. We're working on getting one valve to stop leaking this morning (it was on the crashed XA-0.1), and we'll be rolling out to the test site to fire today.

Of course, it's always possible that something will happen to prevent us from firing. It's a complex system. But we've got good odds today.

Wow, good stuff! Good luck, be safe and wishing you the best. BTW, I've followed the business long enough to know that Murphy is always lurking. Doing a PhD in experimental physics certainly affirms that notion. So to me at least, your second paragraph is a given..

These are interesting times with SpaceX, AA, XCOR, Unreasonable, Truezer0 and now hopefully soon Masten showing various levels of success! Dare I say it, will the new.space boom now finally be close? *knocks wood*