SpaceX Tuesday...
Discussion
No, it's about the pork barrel politics.
Anyway, here's some photos of Starhopper taken by a guy who got arrested for trespassing on the site.
https://imgur.com/a/TjJd6XR
One of the feet punched through the concrete landing pad. Looks like they'll need to address that.
Since these were taken, it's being jacked up & moved off the pad so they can use it for Starship.
Anyway, here's some photos of Starhopper taken by a guy who got arrested for trespassing on the site.
https://imgur.com/a/TjJd6XR
One of the feet punched through the concrete landing pad. Looks like they'll need to address that.
Since these were taken, it's being jacked up & moved off the pad so they can use it for Starship.
Here's a NASA mini-tour of the SpaceX HQ and a talk about the Crew Dragon capsule:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc5D2Jb7qXQ
Click and hold to drag the camera view around.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc5D2Jb7qXQ
Click and hold to drag the camera view around.
SpaceX are said to be launching a polar orbit satellite southward from Cape Canaveral next year. The first time this had been done since 1960.
This will be the SAOCOM 1B ground observation satellite for Argentina's space agency. SpaceX launched its sister-satellite SAOCOM 1A from Vandenberg AFB last October. The booster returning to the launch site and landing nearby - the first time at Vandenberg.
Southbound, polar trajectories from Cape Canaveral have been avoided since 1960, after the US Navy accidentally dropped a faulty Thor rocket stage on Cuba, reportedly killing a cow.
However, early last year the US Air Force's 45th Space Wing opened up a "polar corridor" to allow "certain vehicles" to fire southwards. By "certain vehicles" they mean have the automated flight termination system fitted, which Falcon 9's do.
The rocket would take off and arc eastwards like normal, dog legging south once clear of the Florida peninsula. Should be a good show for those in the Miami area. It would still overfly Cuba, but at least it's a civilian rocket and payload this time.
This will be the SAOCOM 1B ground observation satellite for Argentina's space agency. SpaceX launched its sister-satellite SAOCOM 1A from Vandenberg AFB last October. The booster returning to the launch site and landing nearby - the first time at Vandenberg.
Southbound, polar trajectories from Cape Canaveral have been avoided since 1960, after the US Navy accidentally dropped a faulty Thor rocket stage on Cuba, reportedly killing a cow.
However, early last year the US Air Force's 45th Space Wing opened up a "polar corridor" to allow "certain vehicles" to fire southwards. By "certain vehicles" they mean have the automated flight termination system fitted, which Falcon 9's do.
The rocket would take off and arc eastwards like normal, dog legging south once clear of the Florida peninsula. Should be a good show for those in the Miami area. It would still overfly Cuba, but at least it's a civilian rocket and payload this time.
Beati Dogu said:
Watching that video, the landing profile looks fantastic, I definitely need to get to the Cape to see this take off when it happens!Yes, it'll be quite a sight.
They have large cranes on site at Pad 39A at the moment to help build the new launch platform, They're also putting in new drainage ponds and tank farms for LOX and Methane. Possibly a landing pad too.
Starship 2 itself is back under construction at nearby Cocoa.
It seems they may have already started on Starship 3 at Boca Chica. Or at least they're experimenting with making segments from a roll of stainless steel, rather than flat plate.
They have large cranes on site at Pad 39A at the moment to help build the new launch platform, They're also putting in new drainage ponds and tank farms for LOX and Methane. Possibly a landing pad too.
Starship 2 itself is back under construction at nearby Cocoa.
It seems they may have already started on Starship 3 at Boca Chica. Or at least they're experimenting with making segments from a roll of stainless steel, rather than flat plate.
Beati Dogu said:
Yes, it'll be quite a sight.
They have large cranes on site at Pad 39A at the moment to help build the new launch platform, They're also putting in new drainage ponds and tank farms for LOX and Methane. Possibly a landing pad too.
Starship 2 itself is back under construction at nearby Cocoa.
It seems they may have already started on Starship 3 at Boca Chica. Or at least they're experimenting with making segments from a roll of stainless steel, rather than flat plate.
Roll v flat plate of stainless steel makes me worry that there are too many unknowns with this construction given they want to do re-entry with it as well due to being re-susable...They have large cranes on site at Pad 39A at the moment to help build the new launch platform, They're also putting in new drainage ponds and tank farms for LOX and Methane. Possibly a landing pad too.
Starship 2 itself is back under construction at nearby Cocoa.
It seems they may have already started on Starship 3 at Boca Chica. Or at least they're experimenting with making segments from a roll of stainless steel, rather than flat plate.
It might be biting off more than they can chew I think.
There's no prior experience with steel for that mode of operation. I'm going to say now I think this may be a costly cul de sac.
t ton more stuff if it left the rocket building to others. MartG said:
Chester35 said:
Beati Dogu said:
Crazy isn't it?
Each RS-25 costs the same as an entire Falcon 9 flight.
But some engines have so far been in orbit multiple times. And does the cost actually matter when one B2 bomber costs $2.1b ? The USA has 21 of those and about to upgrade to the B21.Each RS-25 costs the same as an entire Falcon 9 flight.
Edited by Chester35 on Saturday 5th October 18:20
Does any US citizen worry about the cost of one rocket engine over the other?
No.
Chester35 said:
Roll v flat plate of stainless steel makes me worry that there are too many unknowns with this construction given they want to do re-entry with it as well due to being re-susable...
It might be biting off more than they can chew I think.
There's no prior experience with steel for that mode of operation. I'm going to say now I think this may be a costly cul de sac.
Well It will have heat resistant tiles on the entry side, so it's not the steel that's going to be taking the brunt of reentry. They seem quite happy with stainless steel's properties, so we'll see how it goes. It also allows them to use thinner tiles than they would on say a carbon fibre or conventional aluminium alloy hull like the ShuttleIt might be biting off more than they can chew I think.
There's no prior experience with steel for that mode of operation. I'm going to say now I think this may be a costly cul de sac.
Shuttle Atlantis was nearly lost in 1988 when the nose cap from a booster damaged a line of over 700 tiles down the side. They found out later that one tile was completely missing, but fortunately a steel antenna mounting plate behind it kept the reentry heat out long enough for them to land safely. Columbia was not so lucky in 2003.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-27
The flying grain silo that is Starship has been moved to the launch site. Well, the bottom half anyway.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpkX2QXLwFY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpkX2QXLwFY
It has been over 3 months since the last Falcon 9 launch and now they're getting back on track again.
It's scheduled no earlier than Monday, November 11th @ 10 am ET (3 pm UK time). They static fired the booster today.
This will be carrying 60 of the new design "version 1.0" Starlink satellites to orbit. The first batch were version 0.9.
This will be the booster's 4th flight. A new record for a Falcon 9.
They'll be trying to land the booster on the drone ship and also capture both fairing halves for the first time.
The fairings themselves have also flown before - on the Falcon Heavy’s Arabsat-6A mission. Interestingly, both fairings halves landed in the sea and were not plucked out of the air. Here's a video of them being jettisoned:
https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1191779232231...
So quite a few potential firsts really.
It's scheduled no earlier than Monday, November 11th @ 10 am ET (3 pm UK time). They static fired the booster today.
This will be carrying 60 of the new design "version 1.0" Starlink satellites to orbit. The first batch were version 0.9.
This will be the booster's 4th flight. A new record for a Falcon 9.
They'll be trying to land the booster on the drone ship and also capture both fairing halves for the first time.
The fairings themselves have also flown before - on the Falcon Heavy’s Arabsat-6A mission. Interestingly, both fairings halves landed in the sea and were not plucked out of the air. Here's a video of them being jettisoned:
https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1191779232231...
So quite a few potential firsts really.
AshVX220 said:
Hoping we get some clear skies then, so we can see the star link constellation fly over before they start to dissipate. I saw the first batch, but they were very faint.
Will have to try and find the website that allows you to predict their orbit.
I tried to see the first batch but the predictions seemed to vary and even after standing in the garden from 30 minutes before to 30 minutes after the predicted time I saw nothing!Will have to try and find the website that allows you to predict their orbit.
HA had predictions - https://www.heavens-above.com/StarLink.aspx
Once launched, you can try these too:
https://www.n2yo.com
https://me.cmdr2.org/starlink/
The upcoming Starlink booster will try to land 391 miles (629km) downrange (blue marker below)
The orange area is the hazard zone and the green marker the area the fairings should come down in.
I don't think the cluster will be as visible this time, as they were underlit by the sun more due to the time of year.
Not that I managed to see them back in May anyway.
They say that Starship will be able to hoist 400 Starlink satellite up at a time. Now that may be easier to spot.
Elon says that a single Starship launch will use about $900,00 worth of methane and oxygen to send “at least 100 tons, probably 150 tons to orbit,” Furthermore, SpaceX’s cost to operate Starship will be around $2 million per flight, which is “much less than even a tiny rocket”.
https://spacenews.com/elon-musk-space-pitch-day/
The orange area is the hazard zone and the green marker the area the fairings should come down in.
I don't think the cluster will be as visible this time, as they were underlit by the sun more due to the time of year.
Not that I managed to see them back in May anyway.
They say that Starship will be able to hoist 400 Starlink satellite up at a time. Now that may be easier to spot.
Elon says that a single Starship launch will use about $900,00 worth of methane and oxygen to send “at least 100 tons, probably 150 tons to orbit,” Furthermore, SpaceX’s cost to operate Starship will be around $2 million per flight, which is “much less than even a tiny rocket”.
https://spacenews.com/elon-musk-space-pitch-day/
FurtiveFreddy said:
AshVX220 said:
Hoping we get some clear skies then, so we can see the star link constellation fly over before they start to dissipate. I saw the first batch, but they were very faint.
Will have to try and find the website that allows you to predict their orbit.
I tried to see the first batch but the predictions seemed to vary and even after standing in the garden from 30 minutes before to 30 minutes after the predicted time I saw nothing!Will have to try and find the website that allows you to predict their orbit.
HA had predictions - https://www.heavens-above.com/StarLink.aspx
Once launched, you can try these too:
https://www.n2yo.com
https://me.cmdr2.org/starlink/
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