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Rob Dekker

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SpaceX
« on: February 24, 2019, 10:34:25 AM »
This thread created from the "Tesla" thread.

SpaceX does all kind of exciting stuff, so I'm just dropping in my comment as a starter :

At this point, it would be good to note that SpaceX just completed another successful launch, this time of the first Israeli Moon Lander, and a Indonesian communication satellite :



Also noteworthy is that with this launch they completed the 34th successful landing and recovery of a Stage-1 booster rocket, and this is the second time that SpaceX re-uses a Stage-1 booster for the THIRD time.

That really shows that they can re-use booster rockets successfully and in doing so reduced the cost for LEO launches below ANY other competitor, and still make money !
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Sigmetnow

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #1 on: February 24, 2019, 02:01:55 PM »
NASA completes certification of SpaceX Dragon Crew capsule; sets March 2 launch date for Demo-1 flight to International Space Station; will provide live coverage and updates.

NASA, SpaceX Demo-1 Briefings, Events and Broadcasts
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-spacex-demo-1-briefings-events-and-broadcasts

NASA TV - SpaceX DM-1 [Pre-] Flight Readiness Review Press Conference - YouTube



——

SpaceX is building a big ship to go to the moon, then Mars in just a few years.  (As Musk has said, you don’t want to live for months in something the size of an SUV. ;) )
To get there, they needed to design and build a new, more powerful rocket engine.  Behold, the Merlin engine.

SpaceX’s Starship engine breaks Russian rocketry record held for two decades
https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-starship-engine-breaks-russian-record-extraordinary-test-series/

Elon Musk on Twitter: Raptor just achieved power level needed for Starship & Super Heavy - spacex
https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/ao1lz5/elon_musk_on_twitter_raptor_just_achieved_power/
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Archimid

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #2 on: February 27, 2019, 02:37:08 AM »
SpaceX Falcon 9 booster (B1048.3) return and recovery operations


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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #3 on: February 27, 2019, 11:32:56 AM »
Third Lift For A Three-Time Flown Booster - B1048 - 02-24-2019


Rob Dekker

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #4 on: March 08, 2019, 08:53:16 AM »
This is just so AWESOME :

SpaceX Crew Demo-1 Mission.

Launch and successful booster landing :



Docking with the International Space station :



Astronauts Enter Crew Dragon after Docking



Re-entry and splash down :



And with that, the first ever commercial mission to launch a vehicle to the ISS, dock with the ISS, and return to planet Earth comes to a close. Eight years after the last US vehicle visited the ISS.

Congrats to SpaceX and NASA for making this happen.

Looking forward to the first manned mission of SpaceX's Crew Dragon Demo-2 to ISS later this year.
« Last Edit: March 09, 2019, 09:07:25 AM by Rob Dekker »
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Rob Dekker

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #5 on: March 09, 2019, 10:53:17 AM »
Crew Dragon looked a bit like a toasted marshmallow, although that was to be expected after reentry at 17,000 mph.



Important thing is that it made it in one piece and the inside was cool.
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Sigmetnow

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #6 on: March 14, 2019, 01:07:34 PM »
Looks like NASA will announce next week that it wants SpaceX to launch the Orion uncrewed mission around the moon, rather than NASA’s own SLS rocket, which is facing delays.  (SpaceX could launch several Falcon Heavy rockets more quickly, and at much less cost, than one SLS launch.)
Quote
Eric Berger (@SciGuySpace) 3/13/19, 10:25 AM
Big news: NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine says agency will consider launching EM-1 mission of Orion crew capsule around the moon on a private rocket.
https://twitter.com/sciguyspace/status/1105837253765550081
Bridenstine says NASA wants to keep its commitment to launching the EM-1 mission by June 2020.

Eric Berger (@SciGuySpace) 3/13/19, 10:28 AM
NASA would use two rockets: One to launch Orion into low-Earth orbit. One to launch a fully fueled upper stage. They would mate, and then Orion flies its EM-1 mission profile. "NASA has a history of not meeting launch dates, and I'm trying to change that."
Incredible to hear.
https://twitter.com/sciguyspace/status/1105838101811744768

Eric Berger (@SciGuySpace) 3/13/19, 1:14 PM
Have heard that one company recently sent an unsolicited proposal to NASA to launch Orion on its rockets.
Which are built in LA.
https://twitter.com/sciguyspace/status/1105879804790951937
See also: his other March 13 tweets….

Facing more delays, NASA opens door to launching lunar mission with commercial rockets
https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/03/13/facing-fresh-sls-delays-nasa-chief-opens-door-to-launching-orion-lunar-mission-with-commercial-rockets/

Reddit discussion:
https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/b0p2iq/erig_berger_on_twitter_have_heard_that_one/
« Last Edit: March 14, 2019, 02:37:32 PM by Sigmetnow »
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Sigmetnow

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #7 on: March 18, 2019, 02:35:49 PM »
Watch a cool, 2-minute time-lapse video of the Crew Dragon maintaining position next to, and docking with, the International Space Station as they orbit the earth at over 17,000 miles per hour:
Quote
Cameron Byers (@Cameron_Byers_) 3/17/19, 6:56 PM
Edited a sped-up video of the DM-1 Dragon 2 docking. Really shows how active the guidance software is while at the 20m hold point. @NASASpaceflight @ChrisG_NSF @elonmusk #spacex #nasa
https://twitter.com/cameron_byers_/status/1107415378043375616

———

• Starship Hopper is preparing for first hop tests as soon as next week
• Their special formulation of stainless steel withstands test orbital entry temperature of 1650 Kelvin (2500ºF/1400ºC)
• SpaceX begins building a full Starship prototype

SpaceX’s first orbital Starship begins assembly as steel heat shield passes tests
Quote
Tests like those shown on March 17th by Musk indicate that SpaceX is indeed deep into the process of extensive and often destructive testing, something the company has proven to be exceptionally good at. It’s unclear if the above test of Starship’s hexagonal heat shield tiles – likely made out of a variant of 300-series stainless steel – involved tiles with active or passive cooling, but Musk suggested that the hot-spots created with spin-forming torches reached temperatures as high as 1650 Kelvin (2500ºF/1400ºC. Unlike the ablative heat shields SpaceX is familiar with building and operating through its Crew and Cargo Dragon spacecraft, a stainless steel heat shield would be expected to almost entirely resist erosion (i.e. ablation) during extremely high-velocity reentries of at least 12-14 km/s (~31,000 mph, Mach 40+).

Meanwhile, Musk also confirmed that SpaceX has decided to skip constructing a replacement nosecone/fairing for Starhopper, a functional Starship prototype that will be used to conduct extremely short hop tests like Falcon 9’s development-era Grasshopper and F9R test articles. Over the last several weeks, SpaceX technicians have been rapidly assembling what was initially assumed to be the replacement fairing Musk had previously suggested would be built. Instead, the duo of stainless steel barrel sections – relying on steel much thinner than the heavy-duty stuff used to build Starhopper – are apparently the beginnings of the first orbital-class Starship prototype, said by Musk to be aiming for flight-readiness as early as June 2019 around two months ago.
https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-orbital-starship-heat-shield-tests/

Quote
< Do y’all think #SpaceX will attempt some sort of test, With only one raptor [engine] or wait for the other two to arrive. It’s honestly been boggling my mind.
Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 3/17/19, 3:37 PM
First (really short) hops with one engine. Suborbital flights with three.
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1107365369168056320
< Saw this on Reddit, so the first hops are happening next week? [Image of road closure notice.]
EM: Hopefully. Always many issues integrating engine & stage. First hops will lift off, but only barely.
« Last Edit: March 18, 2019, 02:42:15 PM by Sigmetnow »
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Neven

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #8 on: March 30, 2019, 10:52:04 PM »
From the Tesla thread:

https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-starship-hopper-cautious-testing/

...while Starhopper appears to be far too heavy and simplistic to warrant the expensive and time-consuming task of outfitting it with aerodynamic control surfaces and a new nose cone capable of surviving the associated forces.

(Old nose cone broke in a 50 mph wind. LMFAO)


Anyone interested in a side wager about whether the tin-foil-half-of-a-self-crushed-rocket will ever fly? I think it should be obvious which side of the bet I'm take.

(This is on topic, cuz Musk has a proven record of using one company to bail out another company and I can't imagine he would let Tesla go bust without raiding SpaceX first. Thus they will all be imploding at the same time.)
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Rob Dekker

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #9 on: March 31, 2019, 08:54:53 AM »
Anyone interested in a side wager about whether the tin-foil-half-of-a-self-crushed-rocket will ever fly? I think it should be obvious which side of the bet I'm take.

Sure it will fly.
I bet you $100.- it will get off the ground.
This is our planet. This is our time.
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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #10 on: March 31, 2019, 11:58:57 AM »
Anyone interested in a side wager about whether the tin-foil-half-of-a-self-crushed-rocket will ever fly? I think it should be obvious which side of the bet I'm take.

Sure it will fly.
I bet you $100.- it will get off the ground.

i don't know hence won't tell but be aware that even if it get's 1 meter high and explodes one could claim that it got of the ground LOL, hence some kind of definition of "getting of the ground" is definitely needed here.

crandles

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #11 on: March 31, 2019, 05:04:28 PM »
Anyone interested in a side wager about whether the tin-foil-half-of-a-self-crushed-rocket will ever fly? I think it should be obvious which side of the bet I'm take.

Sure it will fly.
I bet you $100.- it will get off the ground.

i don't know hence won't tell but be aware that even if it get's 1 meter high and explodes one could claim that it got of the ground LOL, hence some kind of definition of "getting of the ground" is definitely needed here.

Also suggest defining 'what will fly':
I doubt the self crushed part will ever fly, unless it was blown by wind upwards before crashing back down so that it already has flown. SpaceX have said they aren't going to bother with it on these scaled down version for the hop tests.

(That seems to raise the question of why they were bothering with it in the first place.)

Sigmetnow

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #12 on: March 31, 2019, 10:01:14 PM »
< Will the nosecone be used for the hop test?
Elon Musk: We decided to skip building a new nosecone for Hopper. Don’t need it. What you see being built is the orbital Starship vehicle.
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1107373237208416256

SpaceX's Starship hopper steps towards first hop with several cautious tests
Quote
Despite a lack of official information is known and SpaceX’s general silence – even to local residents – about Starhopper’s testing, some barebones insight can be derived from what has and hasn’t been done or seen over the past seven days of testing, as well as five apparent wet dress rehearsals (WDRs). To verify the operational integrity of Starhopper and iron out best practices for what is effectively a one-off mobile test stand for Raptor, these WDRs (and one more active test) have seen the unusual prototype filled with some amount of liquid oxygen and methane propellant, taken to flight (hop?) pressures, and generally monitored closely to gather valuable telemetry and judge Starhopper’s condition and hop-readiness. Aside from Hopper, these tests also serve as a shakedown for complex pad and support facilities sprung up from a dirt pile in barely three months.
https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-starship-hopper-cautious-testing/

———-
In other news: Falcon Heavy Launch next weekend!  All three boosters to return!  Static fire test probably April 2.

April 7/8Falcon Heavy • Arabsat 6A
Launch window: 2236-0035 GMT on 7th/8th (6:36-8:35 p.m. EDT on 7th)
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will launch the Arabsat 6A communications satellite for Arabsat of Saudi Arabia. Arabsat 6A will provide Ku-band and Ka-band communications coverage over the Middle East and North Africa regions, as well as a footprint in South Africa.

From Reddit’s pre-launch party thread:
Quote
   •   First flight of Falcon Heavy Block 5, which brings performance increases and more power.
   •   Most difficult landing to date (of any booster) - center core is landing 1000km from shore and will be experiencing extreme entry conditions
   •   First paying customer on Falcon Heavy - if it goes well, other customers may follow suit and book flights
   •   A successful mission will go towards Air Force certification. If certified, FH may get several big-ticket launches.
   •   There is a lot riding on landing the cores. Falcon Heavy's next mission will be in June, and will reuse all the boosters from this mission. If either booster is lost, the mission will be delayed and the Air Force (customer on next flight) won't be happy.
And also - it's Falcon Heavy! The most powerful rocket in the world!
https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/b7nd9a/rspacex_official_falcon_heavy_arabsat6a_prelaunch/

Air Force sees upcoming Falcon Heavy launches as key to certifying reused rockets
https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/03/14/air-force-sees-upcoming-falcon-heavy-launches-ask-key-to-certifying-reused-rocket-hardware/
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crandles

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #13 on: April 01, 2019, 12:10:49 AM »
Quote
No official info has been provided beyond a brief indication that SpaceX means to static-fire Starhopper before transitioning to tethered hops, meaning that it’s quite difficult to determine what exactly the testing plan and schedule are.

Does tethered also provide an excuse not to pay up on a 'get off the ground' bet?

Rob Dekker

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #14 on: April 01, 2019, 08:07:48 AM »
Anyone interested in a side wager about whether the tin-foil-half-of-a-self-crushed-rocket will ever fly? I think it should be obvious which side of the bet I'm take.

Sure it will fly.
I bet you $100.- it will get off the ground.

i don't know hence won't tell but be aware that even if it get's 1 meter high and explodes one could claim that it got of the ground LOL, hence some kind of definition of "getting of the ground" is definitely needed here.

OK. Let's be a bit more specific :

I think that SpaceX will successfully launch, fly at some to be determined altitude, and land, StarHopper, and I think they will do it this year.

I bet $100.- that they will pull that off.

Is that an acceptable bet, GoSouthYoungins ?

Neven to be the moderator.
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Rob Dekker

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #15 on: April 01, 2019, 08:55:28 AM »
< Will the nosecone be used for the hop test?
Elon Musk: We decided to skip building a new nosecone for Hopper. Don’t need it. What you see being built is the orbital Starship vehicle.

That reminds me of the "the Martian" movie, taking off without a nose cone  :D



Just kidding.
What we are talking about is StarHopper, which will be only the propulsion part of StarShip.
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Sigmetnow

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #16 on: April 01, 2019, 07:16:31 PM »
< Will the nosecone be used for the hop test?
Elon Musk: We decided to skip building a new nosecone for Hopper. Don’t need it. What you see being built is the orbital Starship vehicle.

That reminds me of the "the Martian" movie, taking off without a nose cone  :D
...
Just kidding.
What we are talking about is StarHopper, which will be only the propulsion part of StarShip.

And only for the initial, sub-orbital flights. Testing the new Raptor engines.  Orbital tests of the new stainless steel rocket (different thickness, if not formulation, from the hopper’s steel) will test aerodynamics.

“Past statements from Musk, as well as regulatory filings from the company, have indicated SpaceX plans to carry out an incremental test flight program using this vehicle, with very low altitude tests that, over time, will go higher and faster. Those tests will use a single Raptor engine, although Musk said later ‘suborbital’ flights will be powered by three such engines.“
https://spacenews.com/spacex-preparing-to-begin-starship-hopper-tests/
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Sigmetnow

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #17 on: April 02, 2019, 06:04:15 PM »
Still no official word on how NASA will get to the moon “by 2020.”  The planned Space Launch System rocket is years behind schedule and massively over budget — but has powerful state representatives in Congress determined to see its funding continue.  The Orion capsule is similarly plagued.  The plan at the moment seems to be to strip out several testing procedures and events, to speed things up. :o  Having the head of NASA publicly declare that using commercial rockets such as SpaceX Falcon Heavy might be an option does seem to have added a new sense of urgency.

Examining NASA’s challenge to SLS as ‘Moon, soon’ becomes the latest bold goal
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2019/03/examining-nasas-challenge-sls-moon-soon-bold-goal/

NASA chief says a Falcon Heavy rocket could fly humans to the Moon
https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/04/nasa-chief-says-a-falcon-heavy-rocket-could-fly-humans-to-the-moon/

Concerning Orion – Amid SLS push, Orion requires Life Support testing
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2019/04/concerning-orion-sls-push-orion-eclss-testing/

—-
Bonus:  Hopper-watching video clip.  Just some venting and a nearby methane flare after pressure tests.
Quote
Chris B - NSF (@NASASpaceflight) 4/2/19, 9:15 AM
SpaceX StarHopper clearly overjoyed at spotting @BocaChicaGal taking video and decided to show off a bit.
https://twitter.com/nasaspaceflight/status/1113067540224397313
Video below.

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Sigmetnow

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #18 on: April 03, 2019, 02:16:25 PM »
No surprise. Boeing’s “April” estimate was pretty much just for public relations purposes while SpaceX stole the spotlight with its recent uncrewed mission to the ISS.

Boeing Starliner (Crew Dragon competitor) orbital test flight delayed from April, to now August — putting SpaceX ahead in US-launched manned space flight program.

Boeing confirms delay of first Starliner crew capsule test flight to August – Spaceflight Now
Quote
Boeing said Tuesday the first orbital test flight of its commercial crew capsule, named the Starliner, will be delayed until August “in order to avoid unnecessary schedule pressure” and give priority on the Atlas 5 rocket’s manifest to a U.S. Air Force communications satellite.

A statement issued by Boeing on Tuesday confirmed previous reports that the company’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, designed and built under a $4.2 billion contract from NASA, would miss its previous target launch date for an unpiloted test flight to the International Space Station in April. NASA and industry sources have said for months that an April launch date was not feasible, but NASA and Boeing had not officially published a revised schedule since early February.

The first Starliner test flight with astronauts on-board was previously scheduled for August. In Boeing’s schedule update released Tuesday, the company only said it expects the Crew Flight Test to occur “later this year,” but sources said the Starliner could fly with astronauts in November, at the earliest.
[See previous post re: Starliner for ISS test flight will not contain key life support and other systems.]
Quote
SpaceX tested Crew Dragon’s abort system during an on-pad test in 2015, demonstrating the ship’s SuperDraco escape thrusters have the power to drive the spacecraft off its rocket sitting on the ground in the event of an accident during the countdown. An in-flight abort test is planned this summer, before the Crew Dragon’s first mission with astronauts, to evaluate the capsule’s ability to escape a rocket at high altitude.

Unlike the pad escape demonstration, an in-flight abort test was not required by NASA of either company, and Boeing elected to forego it.

The Crew Dragon that flew to the space station last month launched with much of the spaceship’s life support system, including air revitalization equipment to regulate oxygen and carbon dioxide inside the spaceship. The crew seats and display monitors also flew, but the displays were not activated and functional, according to Hans Koenigsmann, SpaceX’s vice president of build and flight reliability.
The touch-screen crew controls, push buttons and the toilet will be added to the next Crew Dragon vehicle for astronauts. …
https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/04/02/boeing-confirms-delay-of-first-starliner-crew-capsule-test-flight-to-august/

Reddit discussion here:  https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/b8u9sc/boeing_starliner_crew_dragon_competitor_orbital/
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Sigmetnow

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #19 on: April 04, 2019, 03:55:23 PM »
Quote
Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 4/3/19, 9:25 PM
Starhopper completed tethered hop. All systems green. twitter.com/nextspacefligh…
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1113613409767964673
Subtweet has Distant video from San Padre Island cam.

BocaChicaGal video with audio synced: 
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Sigmetnow

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #20 on: April 06, 2019, 01:59:58 PM »
Progress continues:  The Raptor engine lifted Starhopper off the ground, and it landed safely! ;)

Quote
Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 4/6/19, 12:52 AM
Starhopper just lifted off & hit tether limits!
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1114390314565787648
2-second vid at the link.
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Sigmetnow

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #21 on: April 06, 2019, 06:21:42 PM »
Quote
Chris B - NSF (@NASASpaceflight) 4/6/19, 11:27 AM
Hoppy looks to be in good shape after her little hop in Boca Chica last night.
Photographer: @BocaChicaGal
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=47120.500 - marked to videos through to this morning.
https://twitter.com/nasaspaceflight/status/1114550190277570561
Photo below.

Quote
#504 by golosio on 06 Apr, 2019 12:16
Assuming the camera used for Elon's video was not moving, neglecting distortions, assuming hopper diameter is 9 m, a rough estimate yields 0.9 m (about 3 feet) altitude for the first tethered hop.
Photo below.
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Sigmetnow

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #22 on: April 06, 2019, 10:15:00 PM »
Wow.  Amazing 15-sec time lapse at the link:
Quote
SpaceX (@SpaceX) 4/6/19, 3:30 PM
Booster mate inside SpaceX's hangar at LC-39A ahead of Falcon Heavy’s static fire yesterday
https://twitter.com/spacex/status/1114611309180411905

Latest word is that the launch of Falcon Heavy / ArabSat from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, is scheduled for approx. 2230 GMT (6:30 p.m. EDT) Tuesday, April 9.  Watch the live webcast at spacex.com

—-
Fairing-catcher ship ‘Mr. Steven’ is currently running some sort of maneuvers off the Florida coast — but without arms or net. :( Destination point had been 'Catch Time,' set as joke by the crew during PSN-6... but was just changed to “THANKS FOR COOKIES”, likely as a reference to @julia_bergeron, known for feeding the East Coast Fleet crew many many cookies...
More:  https://twitter.com/spacexfleet/status/1114557883813957632
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Sigmetnow

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #23 on: April 08, 2019, 06:04:13 PM »
SpaceX’s first dedicated Starlink launch announced as mass production begins
Quote
SpaceX has announced a launch target of May 2019 for the first batch of operational Starlink satellites in a sign that the proposed internet satellite constellation has reached a major milestone, effectively transitioning from pure research and development to serious manufacturing.

R&D will continue as SpaceX Starlink engineers work to implement the true final design of the first several hundred or thousand spacecraft, but a significant amount of the team’s work will now be centered on producing as many Starlink satellites as possible, as quickly as possible. With anywhere from 4400 to nearly 12,000 satellites needed to complete the three major proposed phases of Starlink, SpaceX will have to build and launch more than 2200 satellites in the next five years, averaging 44 high-performance, low-cost spacecraft built and launched every month for the next 60 months. ...
...
https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-starlink-first-launch-date/


Background:  https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/17/spacex-testing-its-own-satellite-broadband-internet-network.html
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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #24 on: April 09, 2019, 04:07:26 PM »
Quote
SpaceX (@SpaceX) 4/8/19, 4:17 PM
Now targeting Falcon Heavy launch of Arabsat-6A on Wednesday, April 10 – weather forecast improves to 80% favorable
https://twitter.com/spacex/status/1115347895958560771

But it’s all good:
SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy Block 5 launch debut moved to April 10 to skip storms
https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-falcon-heavy-launch-date-update/

And here’s why:
SpaceX likely to win NASA’s crew competition by months, for billions less
https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/04/spacex-likely-to-win-nasas-crew-competition-by-months-for-billions-less/
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Sigmetnow

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #25 on: April 10, 2019, 12:56:34 AM »
Quote
SpaceX (@SpaceX) 4/9/19, 3:49 PM
SpaceX will attempt to land Falcon Heavy’s side boosters at Landing Zones 1 and 2 and Falcon Heavy’s center core on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship during the Arabsat-6A mission → spacex.com/webcast
https://twitter.com/spacex/status/1115703384642805762
20-sec vid at the link of the first simultaneous landings!

Arabsat-6A Launch Campaign Thread
This is SpaceX's fourth mission of 2019, the first flight of Falcon Heavy of the year and the second Falcon Heavy flight overall. This launch will utilize all brand new boosters as it is the first Block 5 Falcon Heavy. This will be the first commercial flight of Falcon Heavy, carrying a commercial telecommunications satellite to GTO for Arabsat.
Liftoff currently scheduled for:
18:35 EDT // 22:35 UTC, April 10th 2019 (1 hours and 57 minutes long window) …
https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/b0kscl/arabsat6a_launch_campaign_thread/


—-  Falcon Heavy will launch from the historic Launch Complex 39a, where the Apollo and Space Shuttle missions began.  Meanwhile, over on nearby Launch Complex 40:

Quote
NASA (@NASA)4/9/19, 4:57 PM
A @SpaceX #Dragon cargo spacecraft is now scheduled to launch at 5:55am ET on Friday, April 26 from Florida. It will launch to @Space_Station carrying supplies and @ISS_Research experiments for the crew on orbit. Details: go.nasa.gov/2Ur3kJM
https://twitter.com/nasa/status/1115720470593265664
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zizek

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #26 on: April 10, 2019, 05:09:40 AM »
It's amazing that we just shamelessly post corporate propaganda on the forums. SpaceX of all things.... A corporation that's in the business of space tourism - probably one of the most carbon intensive activities known to mankind.

This place is such a joke.

Rob Dekker

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #27 on: April 12, 2019, 06:01:02 AM »
Great day for rocket enthausiasts today.

An entirely flawless mission of Falcon Heavy launching Arabsat-6A :

SpaceX launches Falcon Heavy and lands all three rocket boosters for the first time :



The simultaneous landing of the two side boosters is still one the most awe-inspiring space engineering feats since the Space Shuttle.
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Rob Dekker

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #28 on: April 12, 2019, 06:15:23 AM »
Launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket a few months ago, the Israeli Beresheet moonlander landed on the moon today.

It landed... although a bit hard...  ;)



Still an amazing engineering achievement by this small nation.
« Last Edit: April 12, 2019, 06:22:20 AM by Rob Dekker »
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Rob Dekker

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #29 on: April 12, 2019, 08:36:08 AM »
It's amazing that we just shamelessly post corporate propaganda on the forums. SpaceX of all things.... A corporation that's in the business of space tourism - probably one of the most carbon intensive activities known to mankind.

This place is such a joke.

SpaceX is not about tourism.

To get an idea of what SpaceX is about, watch the movie "Tomorrowland".

Then post back here.
« Last Edit: April 12, 2019, 10:01:17 AM by Rob Dekker »
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SteveMDFP

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #30 on: April 12, 2019, 03:38:23 PM »
Great day for rocket enthausiasts today.

An entirely flawless mission of Falcon Heavy launching Arabsat-6A :

SpaceX launches Falcon Heavy and lands all three rocket boosters for the first time :

The simultaneous landing of the two side boosters is still one the most awe-inspiring space engineering feats since the Space Shuttle.

More so, I think.  The shuttle was nifty tech, but requiring a manned crew is a huge flaw, as I see it.  Doing everything without a person on-board is important.  Not just in terms of risk to the human--maintaining biological crew in space enormously increases the size, weight, cost, and complexity of any mission.  Manned spaceflight is a huge sinkhole for scarce resources.

Ability to carry things into orbit, though, is tremendously useful for important science, obviously including the ability to understand and project climate change.

People should only go up *after* autonomous/intelligent robots have constructed a secure habitat for them when they arrive. 

Sigmetnow

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #31 on: April 13, 2019, 12:22:47 AM »
The Falcon Heavy launched ArabSat 6a, a communication satellite, for:

Direct To Home (DTH) television broadcasting
Broadband & Telephony backbone connectivity
Satellite Internet
VSAT Global High Speed Internet Services

VSAT systems provide high speed, broadband satellite communications for Internet or private network communications. VSAT is ideal for vessels at sea, satellite news gathering, emergency responders or any application that requires a broadband Internet connection at a remote location.

No space tourists.
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Sigmetnow

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #32 on: April 13, 2019, 02:49:44 AM »
Sharp-eyed FH webcast watchers may have noticed the brief, unexplained, strange image below.

Quote
Rishvan (@iamrishvan) 4/11/19, 7:12 PM
What am I looking at @elonmusk? #FalconHeavy
https://twitter.com/iamrishvan/status/1116479118986469378

Quote
Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 4/11/19, 7:12 PM
Liquid oxygen
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1116479251669078016

Another possibility:  a Stargate. ;)
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GoSouthYoungins

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #33 on: April 13, 2019, 03:40:51 AM »
How can a company who has a rocket ready for flight, but that gets self-crushed by 50mph winds be taken seriously?

How can a company that claims to be rebuilding a a rocket in a few weeks but then scraps the whole plan a builds half a rocket, be taken seriously?

How can people who believe in this nonsense be take seriously?!?!


In my honestly opinion, none of it can be taken seriously.

A mean date for settlement of Mars? What is half of infinity?!?!?

There is no evidence that the basic mission statement of SpaceX is possible. We have been able to go to other celestial bodies for 50 years (apparently). And since then there hasn't been one gram of advancement.
big time oops

vox_mundi

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #34 on: April 13, 2019, 06:45:47 AM »
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

Rob Dekker

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #35 on: April 13, 2019, 09:03:24 AM »
Sharp-eyed FH webcast watchers may have noticed the brief, unexplained, strange image below.

Quote
Rishvan (@iamrishvan) 4/11/19, 7:12 PM
What am I looking at @elonmusk? #FalconHeavy
https://twitter.com/iamrishvan/status/1116479118986469378

Quote
Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 4/11/19, 7:12 PM
Liquid oxygen
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1116479251669078016

Another possibility:  a Stargate. ;)

Yeah. That's liquid oxygen in the Falcon 9 oxygen tank. So cool !

Scott Manley actually explained about how keeping that liquid oxygen in place in zero gravity (after the booster shuts down) is not easy at 12:30 in this video which also features the Israeli moon lander and the Falcon Heavy launch :

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #36 on: April 13, 2019, 09:47:13 AM »
GSY, when a private company can flawlessly launch a rocket as large as the Falcon Heavy, and land its three boosters back safely for reuse, I take them seriously. It doesn"t matter whether their long term mission statement is achievable or not - though judging by their progress I would think it is achievable if they find sufficient funding.
But when posters say such a company cannot be taken seriously based on some rhetorical arguments while ignoring said achievements, I can't take such posters seriously.

Quote
There is no evidence that the basic mission statement of SpaceX is possible. We have been able to go to other celestial bodies for 50 years (apparently). And since then there hasn't been one gram of advancement.
Just wondering, does "apparently" mean that you believe the moon landing was a fraud?

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #37 on: April 13, 2019, 10:04:52 AM »
How can a company who has a rocket ready for flight, but that gets self-crushed by 50mph winds be taken seriously?

How can a company that claims to be rebuilding a a rocket in a few weeks but then scraps the whole plan a builds half a rocket, be taken seriously?

How can people who believe in this nonsense be take seriously?!?!

In my honestly opinion, none of it can be taken seriously.

Dude, the guy launched a Tesla Roadster into space !

How can you NOT be inspired and NOT have to pick up your lower jaw from the floor ?
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Sigmetnow

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #38 on: April 13, 2019, 01:14:55 PM »
Helping prevent one kind of planetary catastrophe

Falcon Heavy soars; SpaceX lands critical NASA double asteroid redirect launch
Quote
To say 11 April 2019 was a banner day for SpaceX would be an understatement.  The private space company that has soared into the public’s imagination and trust not only succeeded in launching its Falcon Heavy rocket – the most powerful currently operational rocket in the world – on its first commercial flight, but also – just 70 minutes before that launch – secured yet another first: the launch contract for the first-ever spacecraft impact asteroid redirect mission.

A marked difference from last year’s debut, this Falcon Heavy did not undergo a staggered start sequence of its 27 Merlin 1D engines.
Instead, all 27 engines lit at once at T-2 seconds, imparting 5.1 million lbf of thrust into LC-39A before leaving the launch pad.  The Block 5 Falcon Heavy’s thrust then increased to a maximum of 5.5 million lbf of thrust as the rocket ascended out of Earth’s dense lower atmosphere and into  vacuum.

After a 32 minute 4 second flight, Falcon Heavy deposited the ArabSat-6A telecommunications satellite into a super-synchronous Geostationary Transfer Orbit – sending the satellite on its way to a 15 year operational lifespan to bring phone, TV, voice, text, and digital communication services to the Middle East, Europe, and Africa.
   …

Quote
Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission:

Falcon Heavy wasn’t the only success SpaceX had on Thursday.
Just 70 minutes before Falcon Heavy took flight, NASA announced the U.S. space agency had awarded SpaceX a critical contract to launch the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission.

DART will be the first mission to demonstrate and test the effectiveness of slamming a spacecraft into an asteroid to change it orbit.
The mission is considered a critical step in planetary defense preparations should the need to deflect an asteroid on a collision course with Earth arise.


Per the NASA announcement, the launch contract with SpaceX is worth $69 million and will see SpaceX launch the DART spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, in June 2021.
A launch in that time frame will allow DART to intercept the asteroid Didymos, specifically its small moon, in October 2022 when the asteroid will be within 11 million kilometers of Earth.
This intercept time is crucial as ground-based telescopic observations and planetary radar will have to be used to measure the change in momentum imparted into Didymos and its moon to determine the effectiveness of the asteroid kinetic impact deflection technique.
Therefore, the mission’s entire purpose is to slam the 500 kg DART spacecraft into Didymos’ small moon at a velocity of approximately 6 kilometers per second. …
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2019/04/falcon-heavy-spacex-nasa-asteroid-redirect/

Video explainer for the DART mission:

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Sigmetnow

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #39 on: April 13, 2019, 01:43:52 PM »
The 30-second video at this link is more distant than the usual clips, and shows how crazy fast the boosters are descending at this point until they slow with their final landing burn.  Bonus: audio of crowd reaction and the double sonic boom!

Quote
Glenn Wester (@glennwester) 4/11/19, 7:51 PM
#SpaceX Falcon Heavy boosters returning to the cape with sonic boom! @elonmusk
https://twitter.com/glennwester/status/1116489083340107781
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Sigmetnow

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #40 on: April 19, 2019, 01:38:01 PM »
Falcon Heavy could launch STP-2 as early as June 22nd.

SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy flies a complex mission for the Air Force in launch video
Quote
SpaceX has gone to unique lengths for the third launch of its Falcon Heavy rocket and made an exhaustive webpage dedicated to the mission, reviewing its importance to SpaceX and the United States and discussing most of its 23 manifested spacecraft.

Known as the US Air Force’s Space Test Program 2 (STP-2) mission, Falcon Heavy Flight 3 will be a critical pathfinder for the US military’s systematic utilization of both Falcon Heavy and its flight-proven boosters.

The STP-2 mission will be among the most challenging launches in SpaceX history with four separate upper-stage engine burns, three separate deployment orbits, a final propulsive passivation maneuver and a total mission duration of over six hours. [It] will demonstrate the capabilities of the Falcon Heavy launch vehicle and provide critical data supporting certification for future National Security Space Launch (NSSL) missions. In addition, [the USAF] will use this mission as a pathfinder for the [military’s systematic utilization of flight-proven] launch vehicle boosters. ...
https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-falcon-heavy-next-launch-video/

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=qLEuCn8RT14
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Sigmetnow

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #41 on: April 20, 2019, 01:58:12 AM »
Longread explainer on the difficulties of getting the Orion space capsule on some sort of moon flyby by the mid-2020 target date; and why SpaceX’s options wouldn’t work with Orion’s bygone-era-design — this time, anyway.

NASA Launch Services Program outlines the alternative launcher review for EM-1
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2019/04/nasa-lsp-studies-alternate-orion-options/

“tl;dr: Orion is big and fat, for reasons better not remembered”
https://twitter.com/kaidokert/status/1119306466966376448
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Thomas Barlow

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #42 on: April 20, 2019, 04:22:29 AM »
How can a company who has a rocket ready for flight, but that gets self-crushed by 50mph winds be taken seriously?
How can a company that claims to be rebuilding a a rocket in a few weeks but then scraps the whole plan a builds half a rocket, be taken seriously?
A mean date for settlement of Mars? What is half of infinity?!?!?
There is no evidence that the basic mission statement of SpaceX is possible. We have been able to go to other celestial bodies for 50 years (apparently). And since then there hasn't been one gram of advancement.
And the main rocket - on another much-hyped test launch - just last week, tipped into the ocean in heavy seas after it landed. That will not be 're-usable' without a lot of work checking and double-checking and a lot of money spent, and even then, they'll be nervous to re-use it.

The Falcon Heavy puts about a million kg of CO2 into atmosphere in 5 minutes (look it up. Not clean, that a lot of people erroneously claim). That's not much globally, but a hell of a lot for one man's misinformed dream. And he wants 20 launches a year.
It will take a worldwide cooperative (socialist) effort to put humans into space as a species. A private company like Musk's will fail. He's already 15 years behind where he originally thought he would be, and yes, his mission to populate Mars is that of a man who really doesn't understand space.
NASA has now hired Musk to crash a rocket into an asteroid because crashing is what SpaceX is good at, while NASA (tax-payer funded) develops a megarocket to go back to the moon, working together with the European Space Agency (tax-payer funded) for a future moonbase. This rocket will be more powerful than the Saturn V rocket (tax-payer socialist funded) we watched send men to the moon in 1969. The most powerful machine ever made.
« Last Edit: April 20, 2019, 03:22:01 PM by Thomas Barlow »

GoSouthYoungins

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #43 on: April 20, 2019, 05:19:56 AM »
the Saturn V rocket (tax-payer socialist funded) we watched send men to the moon in 1969.

I've also watched Luke Skywalker blow up the Death Star. And in higher definition.

Who actually believes that the US was more advanced 50 years ago than any other nation has been since (including the US, LMFAO)?


In general though, I totally agree.

SpaceX is a joke. Their plan to be profitable via a super satellite constellation is absurd and even people in senior positions within SpaceX agree.

Furthermore, vertical landing has been around for decades. SpaceX invented nothing. It is not used cuz it is not effective. You have to launch with a lot of extra fuel, and...

Reuse of rockets is a bust. If it wasn't, why wouldn't they just be reusing the same rocket again and again instead of replacing each one after 1-3 launches.
big time oops

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #44 on: April 20, 2019, 12:55:43 PM »
Quote
It is not used cuz it is not effective. You have to launch with a lot of extra fuel, and...

Reuse of rockets is a bust.

Yes it is such a bust, that its market share is



growing rapidly.

You may not like Musk and what he and his companies do, but does this justify some of the things you say which are plainly absurd? Does saying such absurd things advance your argument at all or are they just designed to wind up the fans? Why do that unless you are so totally lacking in sensible arguments that the only thing you can do is play the wind up merchant?

Thomas Barlow

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #45 on: April 20, 2019, 03:01:11 PM »
the Saturn V rocket (tax-payer socialist funded) we watched send men to the moon in 1969.
Who actually believes that the US was more advanced 50 years ago
Em... me.
We also had Concorde, flying lazily over my school before test-flights, west-coast Scotland, looking like a UFO, directed by my Dad, who was international air-traffic control. 3 hours, London to New York, instead of the 8 hours now (yes, very polluting and expensive). My dad was navigator (hardest job) in the highest flying operational aircraft on Earth before there were astronauts. An RAF aircraft that won the Cold War (my mother was avante-garde female artist in the 1950s before that was the norm.) We also had space shuttles, deep-space probes such as Voyager, wind power, solar power, wave-power, pump-storage hydroelectricity, hovercraft over the English Channel instead of Brexit Chunnel, and Harrier Jump-Jet vertical take-off RAF fighter planes. Also Donna Summer, Kraftwerk, Joy Division, New Order, Detante instead of the New Cold War, Peristroika, David Attenborough warning the world in 1979, NHS (being dismantled by corporotists now), The Rumble in the Jungle, and Sean Connery.
And the most powerful machine ever made to this day, that took men to the moon in 1969.
 
« Last Edit: April 20, 2019, 03:36:27 PM by Thomas Barlow »

crandles

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #46 on: April 20, 2019, 03:44:53 PM »
the Saturn V rocket (tax-payer socialist funded) we watched send men to the moon in 1969.
Who actually believes that the US was more advanced 50 years ago
Em... me.
We also had Concorde, flying lazily over my school before test-flights, west-coast Scotland, looking like a UFO from the math class window, directed by my Dad, who was international air-traffic control. 3 hours, London to New York, instead of the 8 hours now (yes, very polluting and expensive). My dad was navigator (hardest job) in the highest flying operational aircraft on Earth before there were astronauts. An RAF aircraft that won the Cold War (my mother was avante-garde female artist in the 1950s before that was the norm.) We also had space shuttles, deep-space probes such as Voyager, wind power, solar power, wave-power, pump-storage hydroelectricity, hovercraft over the English Channel instead of Brexit Chunnel, also Donna Summer, Kraftwerk, Joy Division, New Order, Detante instead of the New Cold War, Peristroika, David Attenborough warning the world in 1979, The Rumble in the Jungle, Francis Chichester, NHS (being dismantled by corporotists now), and Sean Connery.
And the most powerful machine ever made, that took men to the moon in 1969.

What should we deduce from things like hovercraft no longer operating, 47 years without man returning to the moon?

Is it that we are less advanced or it is more likely to be other factors like:

Chunnel is faster and cheaper so hovercraft's selling point of being faster than ferry has disappeared.

Cost of moon program was prohibitive at that time with a really high proportion of scientists working on space flight and moon landing in some direct or indirect way. And Apollo 13 showed it had been rushed and was being done in unsafe manner.

Shuttle - quite a bit reusable but with high costs and slow preparation to reuse.

Concorde - expensive.

Deep space probes - we have more and more sophisticated now.

Wind power, solar yes they existed but not at competitive price.

Wave power still doesn't seem to have got to being reliable enough to be competitive.


Donna Summer, Kraftwerk, Joy Division, New Order,  The Rumble in the Jungle, Francis Chichester, NHS (being dismantled by corporotists now), and Sean Connery
Hmmm, I'll leave these to others to assess.


Trump, brexit makes one wonder but then are we any worse than cuban missile crisis?

Thomas Barlow

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #47 on: April 20, 2019, 11:41:44 PM »

Not exactly the point of my post, but if you can't see the point of it, it is too much to explain.

crandles

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #48 on: April 21, 2019, 12:57:43 PM »
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft suffers an anomaly during static fire testing at Cape Canaveral

https://twitter.com/EmreKelly/status/1119739797566738432
Quote
Couple of things on #SpaceX Crew Dragon:

– Unconfirmed reports: Capsule "all but destroyed"
– Here's a photo gallery: https://bit.ly/2XyaXuV
– And the story: https://bit.ly/2VeyfbB

Suspect we need to expect a long delay to US manned flight.

Better found now than later, but still disappointing.

Sigmetnow

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #49 on: April 21, 2019, 09:45:12 PM »
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft suffers an anomaly during static fire testing at Cape Canaveral

https://twitter.com/EmreKelly/status/1119739797566738432
Quote
Couple of things on #SpaceX Crew Dragon:

– Unconfirmed reports: Capsule "all but destroyed"
– Here's a photo gallery: https://bit.ly/2XyaXuV
– And the story: https://bit.ly/2VeyfbB

Suspect we need to expect a long delay to US manned flight.

Better found now than later, but still disappointing.

 :'(
Some points from what I’ve read about it:

- Per the audio, the explosion occurred during the countdown to the test (T-minus 8 seconds), not upon ignition of the engine.
- It occurred after other successful static firings that morning.
- The explosion appears to have started *above* the location of the rocket engine, and resembles a pressurized container or plumbing rupturing, rather than an engine.  The Super Dracos have been tested for seven years and are housed in “protective shells” to contain any engine failure.
- Whenever fuel touches the oxidizer, it ignites. A small leak could lead to a fire that takes out everything around it.
- SpaceX Crew Dragons were not to be reused, but this Dragon, preparing for use in the unmanned in-flight abort test (a test recommended by SpaceX, not NASA), was the Dragon that had been exposed to sea water after its return from the ISS.  A problem caused by such immersion would not affect future Crew Dragons.
- Re-used Cargo Dragons have made successful deliveries to the ISS.
- SpaceX returned to flight after Amos-6 in just 4.5 months, and from CRS-7 in 6 months.  The cause of Saturday’s RUD may be something unique to that particular Dragon’s experience which need not delay the program more than a few months.
« Last Edit: April 21, 2019, 09:50:41 PM by Sigmetnow »
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