Owner of destroyed satellite may ask SpaceX for reimbursement

[Shawn Knight]

As the investigation into what caused last week’s explosion of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket during pre-launch testing continues, parties directly impacted by the accident are already looking ahead. For one company, that may mean some form of reimbursement or compensation from the Elon Musk-led private space flight firm.

Israeli-based Spacecom, owners of the AMOS-6 communications satellite that was destroyed in Thursday’s accident, said during a conference call earlier today that it may seek $50 million or a free flight from SpaceX according to Reuters.

Officials with the company also said they could collect $205 million from Israel Aerospace Industries, makers of the lost payload.

The publication further reports that SpaceX has yet to disclose what insurance it had for the ill-fated Falcon 9 rocket or the launch pad that was damaged in addition to what the Federal Aviation Administration requires for damage to government property.

Spacecom has seen its share value plummet in the wake of the unfortunate incident. Its planned merger with Beijing Xinwei Technology Group may also be in jeopardy as that deal was contingent upon the successful launch of the AMOS-6 satellite. Spacecom general counsel Gil Lotan said he was hope to continue fruitful communications with the prospective buyer.

The launch pad at Cape Canaveral, which was damaged during the accident, will undergo repairs to make it functional once again. Fortunately, SpaceX operates two other launch pads which should be operational in the coming months.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/66208-owner-destroyed-satellite-may-ask-spacex-reimbursement.html

 

[seeprime]

Shouldn't the owner of the satellite have their own insurance on it?

 

[psycros]

Shouldn't the owner of the satellite have their own insurance on it?

I think that's what everyone would automatically be asking. It comes down to how the contracts were written. I can't imagine that SpaceX would have left itself exposed to massive liabilities..and if they did they they probably shouldn't be in the business of constructing giant bombs with a nozzle on the end.

 

[yRaz]

Why is anyone surpised? This kind of thing is risky and they should have been aware of the risks ahead of time.

Anyway, considering this is a Facebook company I don't see it's failure as a bad thing for the greater good of society.

 

[oldikes]

Reddit live thread had tweets stating that because the rocket was not intentionally firing for launch, insurance would not cover payload losses

 

[cliffordcooley]

The way I see it SpaceX is liable.

Shouldn't the owner of the satellite have their own insurance on it?

Just because we have auto insurance, doesn't mean in case of accident our insurance will be the ones to automatically pay out. That charge goes to the one found to be at fault.

 

[Phr3d]

We've never heard much about the many Many previous explosions destroying cargo in the U.S. and Russia, so it -seems- that a SOP must be already in place, but it's a new world with Brexit and Trump, so who knows? (pass the dice)

 

[Emexrulsier]

Maybe spacex can claim on their third party FIRE and theft

 

[captaincranky]

I'm with the people who think that a UFO destroyed the rocket. After all, should the launch have been "successful", extraterrestrial scientists looking for "intelligent life" on other planets (*), would have had to sift through all the garbage Facebook puts out, in their attempts to find it. God knows, could massive quantities of inane, "tweets", leaking into outer space be far behind?

(*) Well, we do it, why would you expect an advanced culture from another planet not to try and learn who's out there? If only for the aspect of us being a possible food source for them.

 

[Uncle Al]

Or they could claim "Hit & Run" .... since the video has been a big hit, and no doubt anyone in the area was running like crazy!

 

[captaincranky]

Spacecom has seen its share value plummet in the wake of the unfortunate incident. Its planned merger with Beijing Xinwei Technology Group may also be in jeopardy as that deal was contingent upon the successful launch of the AMOS-6 satellite. Spacecom general counsel Gil Lotan said he was hope to continue fruitful communications with the prospective buyer.</p>

The launch pad at Cape Canaveral, which was damaged during the accident, will

Tell me this creep Musk is leeching off US government property as he's trying to sell Space X to the Chinese.

We should really deport this a**hole. Cancel his visa, whatever it takes to get rid of him.

 

[yRaz]

Tell me this creep Musk is leeching off US government property as he's trying to sell Space X to the Chinese.

We should really deport this a**hole. Cancel his visa, whatever it takes to get rid of him.

Spacecom is a subsidiary of Facebook that Mark Zuckerberg is trying to sell to the Chinese

 

[captaincranky]

Spacecom is a subsidiary of Facebook that Mark Zuckerberg is trying to sell to the Chinese

OK then, is or isn't Musk planning a Tesla factory in the orient? That alone should be enough to get rid of him. He has been here for years leeching tax credits on his stinking overpriced cars.

Not to mention he's still "suborning" this Spacecom sh!t.

 

[yRaz]

OK then, is or isn't Musk planning a Tesla factory in the orient? That alone should be enough to get rid of him. He has been here for years leeching tax credits on his stinking overpriced cars.

Not to mention he's still "suborning" this Spacecom sh!t.

Nothing is official for the gigafactory 2, but the locations being thrown around are Arizona, Texas, Japan and Germany. There was talk of building one near shanghai, but Tesla wants the building to run entirely on Solar and with the pollution problem in china, solar energy really isn't a viable option.

The most likely scenario is an expansion of the current gigafactory because they can get additional tax credits as well as a lot of solar energy.

I'd love if they built both the factories in the US because then we would account for 3/4ths the world's Lithium Ion production

 

[captaincranky]

...[ ].....The most likely scenario is an expansion of the current gigafactory because they can get additional tax credits as well as a lot of solar energy.

I'd love if they built both the factories in the US because then we would account for 3/4ths the world's Lithium Ion production

Well, as long as it doesn't turn into this nonsense like Apple, which stated they were going to build a factory here, and then under their breath mentioned, "it's going to be mostly staffed with robots".

As for "loving it if he builds here", we're at the point where he owes it to us to build here.

Lithium should be pretty easy to find, it's only 3 on the periodic table. It burns a bright red. Just the thing to perk up a battery fire, you know, to make it seem "festive".

And Musk is still an "enabler" for this Spacecom sh!t.

They should program the next try with one of those satellites to veer off course and take out Zuckerberg's compound.

(I don't know what makes me say stuff like that, I just do).

 

[RustyTech]

Why the hate on Spacecom? Because Zuck is trying to sell it to the Chinese?

 

[wiyosaya]

Well, as long as it doesn't turn into this nonsense like Apple, which stated they were going to build a factory here, and then under their breath mentioned, "it's going to be mostly staffed with robots".

As for "loving it if he builds here", we're at the point where he owes it to us to build here.

Lithium should be pretty easy to find, it's only 3 on the periodic table. It burns a bright red. Just the thing to perk up a battery fire, you know, to make it seem "festive".

Lithium is very difficult to handle which may justify robotic factories. Lithium burns in oxygen. Just watch the episode where Bear Grylls pokes a hole in his cell-phone battery with a knife. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-Nnqlxel2c

 

[captaincranky]

Why the hate on Spacecom? Because Zuck is trying to sell it to the Chinese?

Do you have a better reason not to?

 

[captaincranky]

Lithium is very difficult to handle which may justify robotic factories. Lithium burns in oxygen. Just watch the episode where Bear Grylls pokes a hole in his cell-phone battery with a knife.

Well, not exactly. Lithium burns whet heated in air.

So, chopping a lithium battery in half doesn't really prove anything. The plates in the battery are short circuited. Any short circuit produces heat. In fact, that's why we have fuses and circuit breakers, to prevent fires caused by overloaded or shorted circuits.

Lithium is stored in "oil", (I even came up with "naptha", which is pretty darned flammable in and of itself), being mentioned, to prevent oxidation. In other words, lithium "rusts' rapidly when exposed to air, and also creates a nitride, which is unusual.

Speaking of "toxic and noxious fumes", I'm pretty sure the plastic pipes used in the home give off cyanide when burned.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/6/2/1096855/-PSA-Burning-Plastic-Can-Kill-You

http://www.fireengineering.com/arti...rns-for-firefighting-and-medical-tactics.html

So, some fool chopping a lithium battery in half with a hatchet on YouTube, causing a fire, leaves me markedly unimpressed. (This was the video after the one you linked). The only real issue I see developing, is which boy scout in your troupe would have to be beaten or killed to get the phone off of him. You know it's not going to be taken without a fight. Of course in my neighborhood, somebody just points a 9 mil at you and says, "give me the phone m***** f******"! OK, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but you definitely can't leave one sit on your car seat.

Phosphorus is the truly nasty element when exposed to air: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allotropes_of_phosphorus#White_phosphorus

 

[wiyosaya]

So, some fool chopping a lithium battery in half with a hatchet on YouTube, causing a fire, leaves me markedly unimpressed. (This was the video after the one you linked).

Who is trying to impress? The video is fun to watch, and you never know when you might be in a similar situation.

 

[captaincranky]

Who is trying to impress? The video is fun to watch, and you never know when you might be in a similar situation.

No, no, not the "here's how to start a fire in the woods" video, the one after it.

Besides, I'm getting too old to go traipsing around the woods, nor do I own a cellphone. Not only can I not outrun the bear, more than likely, I can't outrun you either...

 

[wiyosaya]

No, no, not the "here's how to start a fire in the woods" video, the one after it.

Besides, I'm getting too old to go traipsing around the woods, nor do I own a cellphone. Not only can I not outrun the bear, more than likely, I can't outrun you either...

You were running along side me anyway. What you said reiterated my point about lithium being difficult to handle, and thus being, perhaps, better handled by robots. Some robots can outrun us both.