SpaceX (Vol. 2)
Discussion
RacerMike said:
Eric Mc said:
Can we keep the SpaceX shares etc discussions to the relevant business/news forums please?
I mean it s still very relevant to the overall topic of this thread no?There are already two threads running on the finnacial activities of Musk - one in the Finance Forum and the other in the News Forum.
I think it is better to keep the chat on the science forum to scientific and engineering issues.
I know it can be difficult to keep science topics on track especially when the subject matter has multiple areas associated with it such as money, finance, politics etc.
Ship 40 is currently under tow in the Indian ocean, presumably back to Australia. They're towing it backwards and it looks like they've lifted the aft end up and possibly put something underneath for it to rest on. Mind you at the current speed it's going to take about 12 days to reach the nearest port!
I don't see any significant problem with this.
The moon is a cosmic artillery range. The surface of the moon is testimony to it's role as a giant dart board. It has been hit continuously by all sorts of objects for over 4 billion years.
Since 1959 a tiny amount of the objects that hit the moon have been man made - and quite a few of them have been bigger than the top stage of a Falcon rocket.
All that has happened is that one new crater has been added to the millions of craters that already exist on the moon.
An added bonus is that the impact, because it is predictable and we know when and where it will happen, can be observed and used as a scientific experiment to help us understand better the composition of lunar material and some of the internal geophysical properties of the moon.
The moon is a cosmic artillery range. The surface of the moon is testimony to it's role as a giant dart board. It has been hit continuously by all sorts of objects for over 4 billion years.
Since 1959 a tiny amount of the objects that hit the moon have been man made - and quite a few of them have been bigger than the top stage of a Falcon rocket.
All that has happened is that one new crater has been added to the millions of craters that already exist on the moon.
An added bonus is that the impact, because it is predictable and we know when and where it will happen, can be observed and used as a scientific experiment to help us understand better the composition of lunar material and some of the internal geophysical properties of the moon.
LivLL said:
They didn't deliberately hit the moon but I agree, littering near earth space with junk for commercial gain is all a bit arrogant.
That applies to pretty much every company involved in space flight. The earth is surrounded by space debris, so singling out SpaceX as a fly tipper is wrong.If hitting the moon isn't intentional, and you can't mitigate for every possible scenario when launching something into space.
The only way to keep space (or the moon) debris free is not to go at all.
Edited by 98elise on Thursday 6th August 13:14
I've just done a quick check. on comparative weights.
Between 1968 and 1972, five SIVB stages were deliberately impacted onto the lunar surface. Each of these stages weighed approximately 13,500 kg (Apollos 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17).
The upper stage of the Falcon 9 weighs approximately 4,000 kg.
No big deal.
Between 1968 and 1972, five SIVB stages were deliberately impacted onto the lunar surface. Each of these stages weighed approximately 13,500 kg (Apollos 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17).
The upper stage of the Falcon 9 weighs approximately 4,000 kg.
No big deal.
98elise said:
LivLL said:
They didn't deliberately hit the moon but I agree, littering near earth space with junk for commercial gain is all a bit arrogant.
That applies to pretty much every company involved in space flight. The earth is surrounded by space debris, so singling out SpaceX as a fly tipper is wrong.It hitting the moon isn't intentional, and you can't mitigate for every possible scenario when launching something into space.
The only way to keep space (or the moon) debris free is not to go at all.
LivLL said:
98elise said:
LivLL said:
They didn't deliberately hit the moon but I agree, littering near earth space with junk for commercial gain is all a bit arrogant.
That applies to pretty much every company involved in space flight. The earth is surrounded by space debris, so singling out SpaceX as a fly tipper is wrong.It hitting the moon isn't intentional, and you can't mitigate for every possible scenario when launching something into space.
The only way to keep space (or the moon) debris free is not to go at all.
Its fair enough it you think we shouldn't launching stuff into space in the first place.
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