SpaceX Tuesday...
Discussion
RobDickinson said:
Starship 1 is having its 2 halves mated today, its crane central at boco
Close up live stream now https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aDOpyUmfL4
It's still in two main parts currently.
It's going to have 6 landing legs according to Elon. "Two windward, one under each fin & two leeward. Provides redundancy for landing on unimproved surfaces."
It'll also be around 200 tons once complete, with empty tanks (1,400 tons fueled). They want to get that down 120 tons by Mk4 or Mk5.
Total stack mass (i.e with booster) with max payload is 5,000 tons.
I'm not sure if he actually means US tons (he just says "tons"), or metric tonnes, but either way it's large.
For comparison, a fully fueled Saturn V stack was about 3,239 tons / 2,938 tonnes
It's going to have 6 landing legs according to Elon. "Two windward, one under each fin & two leeward. Provides redundancy for landing on unimproved surfaces."
It'll also be around 200 tons once complete, with empty tanks (1,400 tons fueled). They want to get that down 120 tons by Mk4 or Mk5.
Total stack mass (i.e with booster) with max payload is 5,000 tons.
I'm not sure if he actually means US tons (he just says "tons"), or metric tonnes, but either way it's large.
For comparison, a fully fueled Saturn V stack was about 3,239 tons / 2,938 tonnes
Is there any information on when the presentation will be on Saturday so I can watch it online?
Amazing amount of progress they have achieved working flat out. I am still slightly cautious on that side with manned missions though, would rather it went along at a steady pace just for safety side.
Another question, this is a steel rocket and looks like something out of Flash Gordon, but considering the unusual descent trajectory, as per this
https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-elon-musk-explain...
It seems to be going broad side on over a long period of time, with some lift to stretch out the heating phase. That will need something on top of the steel to either ablate off or be resistant to temps, ie thermal tiles like the space shuttle, on top of the steel?
The Space shuttle had a lower AofA and used S shaped curves to slow down whilst using extremely heat resistant tiles on the leading edges. This seems to be slowing down by going broadside.
It's a totally different approach and I am having trouble getting my head around it to be honest.
Amazing amount of progress they have achieved working flat out. I am still slightly cautious on that side with manned missions though, would rather it went along at a steady pace just for safety side.
Another question, this is a steel rocket and looks like something out of Flash Gordon, but considering the unusual descent trajectory, as per this
https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-elon-musk-explain...
It seems to be going broad side on over a long period of time, with some lift to stretch out the heating phase. That will need something on top of the steel to either ablate off or be resistant to temps, ie thermal tiles like the space shuttle, on top of the steel?
The Space shuttle had a lower AofA and used S shaped curves to slow down whilst using extremely heat resistant tiles on the leading edges. This seems to be slowing down by going broadside.
It's a totally different approach and I am having trouble getting my head around it to be honest.
The Shuttle didn't use tiles on the leading edges. The tiles were chiefly on the bottom of the craft with the top surfaces protected by blanket material. The leading edges of the wing and tail fin were actually manufactured from a heat resistent material known as Reinforced Carbon Carbon (RCC). It could withstand higher temperatures than the tiles but was pretty brittle - which was the downfall of Columbia.
You can see the different materials in the image below.
You can see the different materials in the image below.
Chester35 said:
Is there any information on when the presentation will be on Saturday so I can watch it online?
Amazing amount of progress they have achieved working flat out. I am still slightly cautious on that side with manned missions though, would rather it went along at a steady pace just for safety side.
Another question, this is a steel rocket and looks like something out of Flash Gordon, but considering the unusual descent trajectory, as per this
https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-elon-musk-explain...
It seems to be going broad side on over a long period of time, with some lift to stretch out the heating phase. That will need something on top of the steel to either ablate off or be resistant to temps, ie thermal tiles like the space shuttle, on top of the steel?
The Space shuttle had a lower AofA and used S shaped curves to slow down whilst using extremely heat resistant tiles on the leading edges. This seems to be slowing down by going broadside.
It's a totally different approach and I am having trouble getting my head around it to be honest.
I'm not sure that the broadside-on thing from the artist's impression is right, from what the article says? Sounds to me like it's still pointing forwards, and using a bit of up angle to keep it in the thin bit of the atmosphere for longer?Amazing amount of progress they have achieved working flat out. I am still slightly cautious on that side with manned missions though, would rather it went along at a steady pace just for safety side.
Another question, this is a steel rocket and looks like something out of Flash Gordon, but considering the unusual descent trajectory, as per this
https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-elon-musk-explain...
It seems to be going broad side on over a long period of time, with some lift to stretch out the heating phase. That will need something on top of the steel to either ablate off or be resistant to temps, ie thermal tiles like the space shuttle, on top of the steel?
The Space shuttle had a lower AofA and used S shaped curves to slow down whilst using extremely heat resistant tiles on the leading edges. This seems to be slowing down by going broadside.
It's a totally different approach and I am having trouble getting my head around it to be honest.
Chester35 said:
Ming the Merciless will be getting worried by now no doubt. So retro, it is not what I am used to, having not been around for the steel Atlas shots...
The Hood is looking rather concerned too. 
I must admit, if it were anyone other than SpaceX, I would be waiting for it to fail spectacularly. It has that look of "Our brave scientists of the republic have watched many western science films at the cinema on a Saturday morning and have built this world beating advanced modern rocket that will spread our power around the world. Muhahahaha"
As it is, it may go pop, but they will dust themselves off, learn from what went wrong give it another go, and get to where they want to be. And look rather fabulous at the same time. I wonder if their computers have lots of flashing lights and spinning tape drives, meanwhile hiding a world-beating supercomputer.
ETA something vaguely useful: The Youtube stream now has multiple camera views available https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aDOpyUmfL4
Also: Doesn't it look great reflecting the graduated blue sky and fluffy white clouds! This is like an airbrush artists tutorial.
Edited by Zad on Friday 27th September 17:12
Zad said:
ETA something vaguely useful: The Youtube stream now has multiple camera views available https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aDOpyUmfL4
Also: Doesn't it look great reflecting the graduated blue sky and fluffy white clouds! This is like an airbrush artists tutorial.
Thanks for link, here's a screenshot to prove your point:Also: Doesn't it look great reflecting the graduated blue sky and fluffy white clouds! This is like an airbrush artists tutorial.
Edited by Zad on Friday 27th September 17:12
That crane is pretty impressive in its own right. It's a Liebherr LTM 11200-9.1 apparently, if you want to go and Google it.
Its maximum capacity is 1,200 tonnes (at near vertical - this reduces as the boom lowers), The rocket's top section is "only" about 100 tonnes though.
Looks like they're ready to lift. The wind is always going to be an issue though, especially at a coastal site like this.
I imagine they've eventually build them on their side, indoors, once they have a facility to do so. This thing looks like a Russian Proton M rocket built from old B-29 Superfortress parts.
Its maximum capacity is 1,200 tonnes (at near vertical - this reduces as the boom lowers), The rocket's top section is "only" about 100 tonnes though.
Looks like they're ready to lift. The wind is always going to be an issue though, especially at a coastal site like this.
I imagine they've eventually build them on their side, indoors, once they have a facility to do so. This thing looks like a Russian Proton M rocket built from old B-29 Superfortress parts.
Chester35 said:
Is there any information on when the presentation will be on Saturday so I can watch it online?
Supposedly 7 pm local time (Texas = US Central time zone), so 1 am Sunday, UK time. 
That seems quite late to have it though, since it will be getting dark there by then. Hopefully it’ll be a lot earlier. They haven’t officially given a time yet.
Edited by Beati Dogu on Saturday 28th September 01:55
Beati Dogu said:
Chester35 said:
Is there any information on when the presentation will be on Saturday so I can watch it online?
Supposedly 7 pm local time (Texas = US Central time zone), so 1 am Sunday, UK time. That seems quite late to have it though, since it will be getting dark there by then. Hopefully it’ll be a lot earlier. They haven’t officially given a time yet.
Edited by Beati Dogu on Saturday 28th September 01:55
Sunset is at 7.20 pm local, so it would add a dramatic touch to have it around then I suppose. Get some big spotlights moving around that shiny hull and the headlines write themselves really.
Today is also the 11th anniversary of SpaceX's first successful launch, with the Falcon 1. They've come a long way since.
Here's an updated size comparison with Falcon 9 / Heavy
BTW, that crane is well capable of lifting the rocket onto the booster.
Today is also the 11th anniversary of SpaceX's first successful launch, with the Falcon 1. They've come a long way since.
Here's an updated size comparison with Falcon 9 / Heavy
BTW, that crane is well capable of lifting the rocket onto the booster.
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