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Sigmetnow

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #100 on: May 26, 2019, 01:39:17 AM »
Deep dive into what makes the Raptor engine so special.  Approved by Elon Musk!
Quote
Everyday Astronaut (@Erdayastronaut) 5/25/19, 3:02 PM
Want to know how @SpaceX's Raptor engine works? Confused about what the full flow staged combustion cycle is? Why are they using methane? How's the Raptor compare to other rocket engines? My deep rundown on the Raptor is finally up! Great engine @elonmusk
https://twitter.com/erdayastronaut/status/1132361263714058245

Quote
Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 5/25/19, 4:44 PM
@Erdayastronaut @SpaceX Great video. Couple notes: Raptor designed for subcooled CH4/O2, so propellant density & thrust increase up to ~8%, as needed for mission. 380 Isp & up to 50% thrust/weight improvement over time. Merlin thrust/weight doubled from V1, but Raptor is closer to optimum.
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1132386984444383233
Quote
Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 5/25/19, 7:31 PM
@Erdayastronaut @SpaceX Super proud of SpaceX propulsion/test/materials team! One of hardest technology problems. New high temp superalloy & internal foundry needed to make it work. Foundry iteration interval is ~3 weeks from design to flight part vs ~36 weeks typical for aerospace.
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1132429010514788352

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ArcticMelt2

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #101 on: May 26, 2019, 02:22:03 AM »
Thank you for the video. The key point there is a table. The new engine SpaceX (Raptor) is the most cost-effective in the history of astronautics. And of course methane is much cheaper than kerosene or liquid hydrogen. Moreover, methane gives less soot, and simplifies the reusable use of engines.

I saw the information that the number produced  of Raptors had already reached 10.

In general, space colonization, as a way to solve the problem of climate catastrophe, is becoming more and more real.

ArcticMelt2

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #102 on: May 26, 2019, 03:21:22 AM »
And another important point. Now the Mask has to compete with the old (time tested) rockets of space agencies.

For comparison. Falcon-9 Mask has flown so far 71 times.

Disposable missiles its competitors made a much larger number of flights: Atlas-5 79 flight, Ariane-5 103 flight, Proton 418 flight, Soyuz 1899 flight, DF-5 304 fligth. More flights - on average, more than a percentage of reliability.

But almost all of these rockets will retire soon. Some will be replaced by new missiles due to lower prices (Atlas-5->Vulcan, Ariane-5->Ariane-6), others because of the transition to environmentally friendly fuel (Proton->Angara, DF-5->CZ-5-9). New one-time missiles will not have large statistics of reliability, like the old ones. And all these rockets are still disposable. In this regard, their customers will go to E. Mask.

The only one-time rocket with large statistics, which will remain in the future is the Soyuz. This is the oldest space rocket with a record number of launches and flying on environmentally friendly fuel. Moreover, due to low wages in Russia, its cost is relatively small. But this missile will be bad able to compete with the Falcon. Firstly, this one-time missile, secondly, Russia is still wary of it, third, the missile carrying capacity is small (almost 3 times less than Falcon).

A similar situation will be in the field of communications. Starink’s 10,000th group of satellites will press all competitors (geostationary satellites and submarine cables).

In this regard, it is obvious that in immediate 5 years corporation SpaсeХ will become the leading monopolist in the space industry and communication.  Above all, the place Microsoft occupies in area the operating system (more than 90 percent of the world market). An absolute majority of rockets, rocket engines and spacecraft will be produced at SpaceХ Corporation.

Such a concentration of high technology and finance in the hands of one corporation will allow concentrating efforts on the rapid progress in the creation of space colonies. It will resemble the Drax Empire in the Moon racer.
« Last Edit: May 26, 2019, 03:32:58 AM by ArcticMelt2 »

ArcticMelt2

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #103 on: May 26, 2019, 04:07:39 AM »
Above all, the place Microsoft occupies in area the operating system (more than 90 percent of the world market).

Naturally, this is true for the personal computer market. If you count along with mobile, then Android has already outstripped Windows.

According to the latest reports, the share of Android in mobile devices is 87%, together with IOS reaches 99.9%.

ArcticMelt2

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #104 on: May 26, 2019, 04:28:04 AM »
A similar situation will be in the field of communications. Starink’s 10,000th group of satellites will press all competitors (geostationary satellites and submarine cables).

In this regard, it is obvious that in immediate 5 years corporation SpaсeХ will become the leading monopolist in the space industry and communication.  Above all, the place Microsoft occupies in area the operating system (more than 90 percent of the world market). An absolute majority of rockets, rocket engines and spacecraft will be produced at SpaceХ Corporation.

Such a concentration of high technology and finance in the hands of one corporation will allow concentrating efforts on the rapid progress in the creation of space colonies. It will resemble the Drax Empire in the Moon racer.

Regarding the launch of Starlink, I remembered another fresh comedy thriller:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingsman:_The_Secret_Service

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Richmond Valentine, who has recently offered everyone in the world SIM cards that grant free lifetime cellular and Internet connectivity.

Quote
Eggsy, Merlin, and Roxy set out to stop Valentine. Roxy uses high-altitude balloons to destroy one of Valentine's satellites and break up the network, but Valentine quickly secures a replacement from a business associate.

The writers of this film are clearly parodying Elon Musk (the reason for which Valentine decided to create a spare ark is also global warming.). Although Valentine’s refuge is not on Mars, but under the Andes, he also promises free satellite Internet.


oren

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #105 on: May 26, 2019, 09:18:21 AM »
Quote
In general, space colonization, as a way to solve the problem of climate catastrophe, is becoming more and more real.
This is OT for this thread, but space colonization does not solve the climate catastrophe. It possibly prevents human extinction, but does not prevent the misery for the 10.billion humans expected on Earth in 2050, nor prevents the extinction of a multitude of other species.

vox_mundi

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #106 on: May 26, 2019, 06:51:28 PM »
SpaceX Satellites Spark Dutch UFO Frenzy   
https://phys.org/news/2019-05-encounters-spacex-satellites-dutch-ufo.html

A Dutch website set up to record UFO sightings was flooded early Saturday with reports after a "train of stars" was spotted crossing the Netherlands' skies, sparking fears of an alien invasion.

... Dutch website www.ufomeldpunt.nl was inundated with more than 150 sighting reports, with astonished spotters describing a "bizarre train of stars or lights moving across the skies at constant speed".

« Last Edit: May 28, 2019, 05:07:15 AM by vox_mundi »
“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

SteveMDFP

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #107 on: May 26, 2019, 07:13:14 PM »
A well-written article that discusses some of the concerns raised here about the massive number of StarLink satellites to be deployed:

Private Companies Are Building an Exoskeleton Around Earth
SpaceX and its competitors plan to envelop the planet with thousands of small objects in the next few years.
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/05/spacex-satellites-starlink/590269/

"But the thought of a commercial company’s satellites outnumbering all the rest, and in such a short period of time, is rather astonishing. If extraterrestrial beings were to swing past Earth and check the tags on the artificial objects shrouding the planet, they might think the place belonged to SpaceX."

I note that deploying satellites with long-lasting ion thrust drives opens the possibility of using them to pick up and dispose of the many dead satellites and debris in orbit.  Of course, a mechanism to pay Musk to be the orbital garbage collector would be needed...

ArcticMelt2

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #108 on: May 26, 2019, 11:11:20 PM »
It is also interesting that the recent trends in the rapid development of satellite Internet and cellular networks do not confirm one of the explanations of the Fermi paradox.

This explanation states that with the rapid development of wired communication technologies, the radio brightness of inhabited planets is reduced to almost zero.

Thus, the Great silence of the Universe is associated with either a low probability of life or mind, short lifespan of civilizations (nuclear war, resource depletion, climate catastrophe), or the regime of radio silence in the Universe (the existence of interstellar wars).

It is a pity that with the development of wireless communication we become almost completely deaf. Theoretically, this problem can be solved by placing radio telescopes on the back of the moon.

SteveMDFP

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #109 on: May 26, 2019, 11:25:05 PM »

Thus, the Great silence of the Universe is associated with either a low probability of life or mind, short lifespan of civilizations (nuclear war, resource depletion, climate catastrophe), or the regime of radio silence in the Universe (the existence of interstellar wars).

My own suspicion is that intelligent life in the universe is probably quite common--but precious few of these species evolve with hands.  It's hard to build an industrial civilization if nobody can make or use tools.  This is why there's no dominant whale civilization on earth.

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #110 on: May 27, 2019, 12:46:53 AM »
I note that deploying satellites with long-lasting ion thrust drives opens the possibility of using them to pick up and dispose of the many dead satellites and debris in orbit.  Of course, a mechanism to pay Musk to be the orbital garbage collector would be needed...

Space isn't a static place like a park, where you can just go pick up litter.

Space is a violently hostile place where objects move silently through the inky blackness falling along the gravity well at speeds that are often about seven and a half to eight kilometers a second horizontally. The combined speed of impact of objects at right angles is nearly eleven to twelve kilometers per second. Vertical velocities can also be quite significant.

To "pick up" trash requires extremely delicate planning and orbital adjustments. Many of these are seemingly quite counterintuitive. Rotational dynamics are a ^%(*. Even small contact velocities can have terrifying consequences.

If either of the objects is spinning, a whole other level of difficulty is involved. Rotational momentum - first, second and third degree moments of inertia come into play. On contact these create tremendous and rapidly changing dynamic torques that can quickly tear things apart.

For an excellent example of what is involved, watch the Russian movie Salyut-7. It is extremely good. There are versions with subtitles.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6537238/
(link deleted: likely copyrighted and possibly pirated. I think you can find it on Prime and other provider services.)

Nothing is -easy- in space. Everything is hard. And most things can kill you - quickly.

Sam
« Last Edit: May 27, 2019, 12:53:12 AM by Sam »

kassy

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #111 on: May 27, 2019, 03:19:17 PM »
It might be quite visible:

As a quick check, I just modeled 12,000 copies of the typical orbits of Starlink satellites launched this week. At midsummer midnight in Seattle, I estimate about 500 of them will both be above the horizon and directly illuminated by the sun.

https://www.iflscience.com/space/why-astronomers-are-very-unhappy-about-spacexs-new-starlink-satellites/

Then again growing up in modern city environment i did never get to see the skies properly until i camped out in the middle of nowhere in Spain.

PS: Here is the story of how the whales discovered fire:
Þetta minnismerki er til vitnis um að við vitum hvað er að gerast og hvað þarf að gera. Aðeins þú veist hvort við gerðum eitthvað.

b_lumenkraft

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #112 on: May 27, 2019, 04:11:46 PM »
The amount of debris up there is quite shocking by the numbers, but even more impressive as a visual.

kassy

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #113 on: May 27, 2019, 04:15:11 PM »
Cool...you probably need really good cameras to detect such debris fields around distant planets.
Þetta minnismerki er til vitnis um að við vitum hvað er að gerast og hvað þarf að gera. Aðeins þú veist hvort við gerðum eitthvað.

Sigmetnow

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #114 on: May 27, 2019, 04:51:37 PM »
He’s on it....

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says Starlink will strive to protect and support science
Quote
On the heels of a swelling debate among astronomers about the potential negative scientific impacts of constellations like Starlink, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says that the company will “make sure [it] has no material effect on … astronomy.”

Additionally, Musk noted that he had already asked Starlink engineers to examine methods of reducing the albedo (i.e. reflectivity) as one potential upgrade for future satellites. ...
https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-starlink-satellites-will-protect-science/
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Sigmetnow

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #115 on: May 27, 2019, 05:13:40 PM »
Quote
In general, space colonization, as a way to solve the problem of climate catastrophe, is becoming more and more real.
This is OT for this thread, but space colonization does not solve the climate catastrophe. It possibly prevents human extinction, but does not prevent the misery for the 10.billion humans expected on Earth in 2050, nor prevents the extinction of a multitude of other species.

Not a direct solution, of course.  But developing technology to survive the long journey to Mars with limited life support and energy generation, and dealing with the CO2-rich Martian atmosphere... is highly likely to result in new methods (and cultural awareness) of improving and protecting life on earth.  And if the unthinkable happens on earth (say, a huge asteroid strike), Mars will be a lifeboat until earth is liveable again. 

These first steps to Mars do not mean we are abandoning earth — any more than the New World explorers were abandoning The Old Country.  But there are many learnings to be had from “living differently.”
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

mitch

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #116 on: May 27, 2019, 06:39:29 PM »
I am always frustrated by people that say that space exploration is a solution to earth's climate change.  It is not, and means only that a few hundred people at a cost of 10^9 dollars per person will be delivered into an environment that is much worse than the worst environments on earth. 

Spend a few trillion and we can fix earth. 

SteveMDFP

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #117 on: May 27, 2019, 08:53:02 PM »
I am always frustrated by people that say that space exploration is a solution to earth's climate change.  It is not, and means only that a few hundred people at a cost of 10^9 dollars per person will be delivered into an environment that is much worse than the worst environments on earth. 

Spend a few trillion and we can fix earth.

Completely agree.  And those 10^9 dollars per person will result in accelerated resource depletion and accelerated environmental destruction -- and take up  much-needed resources for building a sustainable global economy.  The idea is deeply counter-productive to human survival and prosperity.

ArcticMelt2

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #118 on: May 27, 2019, 11:59:37 PM »
I am always frustrated by people that say that space exploration is a solution to earth's climate change.  It is not, and means only that a few hundred people at a cost of 10^9 dollars per person will be delivered into an environment that is much worse than the worst environments on earth. 

Spend a few trillion and we can fix earth.

Completely agree.  And those 10^9 dollars per person will result in accelerated resource depletion and accelerated environmental destruction -- and take up  much-needed resources for building a sustainable global economy.  The idea is deeply counter-productive to human survival and prosperity.

A billion dollars per person, it is now. But Musk said that with new reusable rockets, the cost of a ticket to Mars will drop to 500 thousand dollars. This will move about a million people to Mars in the next 100 years..

With each re-use of rockets, the cost of space flight decreases:



Imagine how much cars and planes would cost now if they were thrown into a landfill after the first use. The high cost of space technology due to their disposability.

The space way to solve the problem of climate catastrophe is the normal way. It is possible that this path will be much cheaper than the technology of emergency carbon burial from the atmosphere. To stop warming quickly somewhere to bury trillions of tons of carbon. How much money is required for this? I have seen valuations of many trillions of dollars. This path is probably more expensive than space colonization.

It is possible that earthly civilization can not be saved. We have passed the point of no return. In a few decades, a rapid collapse of permafrost, gas hydrants on the ocean floor, deforestation, and the release of  disintegrated carbon dioxide in ocean water will begin. The average temperature will rise by 10-20 degrees Celsius, the land infrastructure will be heavily damaged by powerful earthquakes due to destabilization of tectonic plates from the melting of the polar caps.

In this regard, it is likely that Musk is rightly accelerating space colonization before it is too late. Otherwise, no one will be saved, because the living conditions on Venus do not allow to survive even in underground shelters.
« Last Edit: May 28, 2019, 12:04:44 AM by ArcticMelt2 »

Sam

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #119 on: May 28, 2019, 12:31:20 AM »
One itsy bitsy teeny weeny problem...  long duration space flight results in bone mass loss of about 1% per month.

By the time they arrive on Mars they will be very lucky not to break most of their bones on landing. On return to earth they will be jelly fish, doomed to remain in orbit until they die. Returning to earth would likely be fatal.

Sam

ArcticMelt2

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #120 on: May 28, 2019, 12:31:34 AM »
Link to accurate estimates

https://www.power-technology.com/features/carbon-capture-cost/

Quote
The Carbon Capture & Storage Association (CCSA) estimated that the earlier CCS projects in the power sector would cost between €60–€90 per tonne of carbon dioxide abated, the equivalent of around $69-$103 per tonne.

The association also predicted that these costs will decline to €35–€50 ($40-$57) in the early 2020s, thanks to technological advancements.

That is, even at best, this technology costs $ 40 per ton. And humanity has emitted into the atmosphere about a trillion tons of carbon dioxide. It means that its binding will cost the world economy 40 trillion dollars or half of today's GDP of the planet.

In the future, this amount will only increase. In this regard, that the climatic problems on Earth can be solved completely unknown. But space colonization offers a completely technically feasible solution.

ArcticMelt2

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #121 on: May 28, 2019, 12:33:48 AM »
One itsy bitsy teeny weeny problem...  long duration space flight results in bone mass loss of about 1% per month.

By the time they arrive on Mars they will be very lucky not to break most of their bones on landing. On return to earth they will be jelly fish, doomed to remain in orbit until they die. Returning to earth would likely be fatal.

Sam

There are people who have successfully lived in zero gravity for almost a year and a half. In addition, it is possible to create artificial gravity by rotating the spacecraft. And on Mars there is almost terrestrial gravity.

Sigmetnow

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #122 on: May 28, 2019, 12:55:37 AM »
More satellite discussion on Twitter:

Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 5/27/19, 2:32 AM
There are already 4900 satellites in orbit, which people notice ~0% of the time. Starlink won’t be seen by anyone unless looking very carefully & will have ~0% impact on advancements in astronomy. We need to move telelscopes to orbit anyway. Atmospheric attenuation is terrible.
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1132897322457636864
Wiki screen shot at the link.

< If they help billions of people in remote locations inexpensively access the internet, it's a price I'd be willing to pay.
EM: Exactly, potentially helping billions of economically disadvantaged people is the greater good. That said, we’ll make sure Starlink has no material effect on discoveries in astronomy. We care a great deal about science.
< But if you can throw up a few Starlink-chassis space telescopes, I'm sure that'll smooth things over with the astro community. Especially since they'd be able to return the data quickly via... Starlink.
EM: Would love to do exactly that

EM: If we need to tweak sat orientation to minimize solar reflection during critical astronomical experiments, that’s easily done. Most orbital objects are close to Earth btw, as shown by this NASA density map. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_deb…
Image below.

< It seems that radio astronomers also have concerns about the RF band(s) Starlink operates on. I’m totally ignorant as to how these work, but are there a range of frequencies to choose from? Is it possible to minimize disruption when passing over arrays?
EM: Yes, already planned. We avoid use of certain lower Ku frequencies specifically for radio astronomy.
 
Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 5/27/19, 2:58 AM
Aiming for sub 20ms latency initially, sub 10ms over time, with much greater consistency than terrestrial links, as only ever a few hops to major data centers
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1132903914586529793
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ArcticMelt2

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #123 on: May 28, 2019, 12:58:36 AM »
Quote
In general, space colonization, as a way to solve the problem of climate catastrophe, is becoming more and more real.
This is OT for this thread, but space colonization does not solve the climate catastrophe. It possibly prevents human extinction, but does not prevent the misery for the 10.billion humans expected on Earth in 2050, nor prevents the extinction of a multitude of other species.

Naturally, space colonization does not guarantee salvation for all 10 billion. It all depends on how much time earth civilization has left.

It's like the Titanic. If it sank 12 hours again 2 hours, almost all would be saved (would have had to approach other ships).

The Titanic did not have a spare ship, but only boats for some people. All the boats did not place because the ship seemed unsinkable. In this regard, on the contrary, we can say that too little money is spent on space, because the Earth is considered unsinkable.

In this sense, I remember the film 2012, in which information about the impending disaster was carefully hidden, and lifeboats were built in deep secrecy.


Archimid

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #124 on: May 28, 2019, 01:08:58 AM »
If we can't get our own climate under control forget Mars. However if we can demostrate sufficient organization to control the climate and save ourselves from self destruction then Mars, the asteroids, the moon are all the next frontier.

Mars can only serve as a backup for humanity only if Mars is independent of humanity. I think it is safe to assume that we may be centuries away from an independent Mars.
I am an energy reservoir seemingly intent on lowering entropy for self preservation.

ArcticMelt2

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #125 on: May 28, 2019, 01:17:52 AM »
If we can't get our own climate under control forget Mars. However if we can demostrate sufficient organization to control the climate and save ourselves from self destruction then Mars, the asteroids, the moon are all the next frontier.

Mars can only serve as a backup for humanity only if Mars is independent of humanity. I think it is safe to assume that we may be centuries away from an independent Mars.

So you're saying that the death of the unsinkable Titanic (who died for simple stupidity - the owner wanted to set a record crossing the Atlantic in the first voyage) proves that humanity can not build large ships for the oceans?

People do not have to predict the weather even a month ahead, but for their own greed and stupidity run to the brink of a climate of Venus. No one wants to control the climate to the detriment of their interests as long as they like it. But when the climate stops liking the time simply will not remain.

ArcticMelt2

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #126 on: May 28, 2019, 01:57:34 AM »
The military confirms that all satellites have successfully separated from each other.

https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/1132858982178201600

Quote
Launch plus3 days:  64 objects from the Starlink mission now cataloged with TLEs. That's 60 sats and 4 debris objects.  It will likely be a while yet before we know which object is which

ArcticMelt2

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #127 on: May 28, 2019, 03:42:07 AM »
Some satellites have already begun to ascend.

https://twitter.com/Marco_Langbroek








SteveMDFP

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #128 on: May 28, 2019, 03:58:06 AM »


Completely agree.  And those 10^9 dollars per person will result in accelerated resource depletion and accelerated environmental destruction -- and take up  much-needed resources for building a sustainable global economy.  The idea is deeply counter-productive to human survival and prosperity.

A billion dollars per person, it is now. But Musk said that with new reusable rockets, the cost of a ticket to Mars will drop to 500 thousand dollars. This will move about a million people to Mars in the next 100 years.

I'm less concerned about the costs of transporting bodies than the costs of building and maintaining a society where there are few available resources and no infrastructure.  Colonizing Antarctica or the ocean floor would be a far simpler, cheaper proposition.  Providing food, water, oxygen, shelter and medical care would be a massive undertaking for the smallest colony.

ArcticMelt2

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #129 on: May 28, 2019, 04:08:56 AM »
https://spacenews.com/musk-says-starlink-economically-viable-with-around-1000-satellites/

Quote
With every launch, SpaceX will add about a terabit of “usable capacity,” Musk said, and two to three terabits overall.

Thus, the capacity of 11 thousand satellites to approach one thousand terabits per second. Mask satellites will be able to replace all submarine cables in the world.

https://www.iij-ii.co.jp/en/members/romain/pdf/zach_hotnets2018.pdf



Satellite Internet will be much cheaper than laying thousands of kilometers of cables along the ocean floor.

ArcticMelt2

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #130 on: May 28, 2019, 04:13:32 AM »
Colonizing Antarctica or the ocean floor would be a far simpler, cheaper proposition.  Providing food, water, oxygen, shelter and medical care would be a massive undertaking for the smallest colony.

The colonization of Antarctica is a fait accompli. Currently, thousands of people live and work there.

Colonization of the ocean depths is extremely difficult due to high pressure. It is much easier to build a colony on Mars than on the bottom of the ocean. Mars is much farther than Venus, but much more robots work on its surface (and much longer).

Mozi

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #131 on: May 28, 2019, 01:47:05 PM »
Satellite Internet will be much cheaper than laying thousands of kilometers of cables along the ocean floor.

Just gotta hope there's not a big solar flare anytime soon!

ArcticMelt2

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #132 on: May 28, 2019, 01:51:36 PM »
Satellite Internet will be much cheaper than laying thousands of kilometers of cables along the ocean floor.

Just gotta hope there's not a big solar flare anytime soon!

How and large earthquakes with large landslides on continental slopes...

Sam

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #133 on: May 28, 2019, 02:24:53 PM »
Satellite Internet will be much cheaper than laying thousands of kilometers of cables along the ocean floor.

Just gotta hope there's not a big solar flare anytime soon!

Good point! One fine day in a blink, that entire infrastructure goes poof as a solar flare or CME destroys it, taking all of those dependent on it with them.

We humans build extremely fragile systems, never understanding the serious vulnerabilities we are exposing ourselves to.

Sam

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #134 on: May 28, 2019, 02:43:20 PM »
In the entire history of astronautics, there were no powerful solar flares that disabled several spacecraft.

For example, now in the GPS system uses satellites launched in 1997! (22 years old)
http://www2.unb.ca/gge/Resources/GPSConstellationStatus.txt

And this is not the limit. From this list you can determine the oldest active satellite:
https://www.ucsusa.org/nuclear-weapons/space-weapons/satellite-database

This is a radio satellite launched in 1974:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMSAT-OSCAR_7

The satellite is 45 years old, and it still works!

In this regard, the danger of solar flares is extremely small. The threat of breaks in submarine cables due to landslides is much higher.

kassy

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #135 on: May 28, 2019, 04:17:34 PM »
45 years is very short on the cosmic scale.
Þetta minnismerki er til vitnis um að við vitum hvað er að gerast og hvað þarf að gera. Aðeins þú veist hvort við gerðum eitthvað.

ArcticMelt2

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #136 on: May 28, 2019, 04:34:50 PM »
It is still surprising that the solar panels retained their work-ability in terms of cosmic radiation and, after 45 years, on a satellite weighing less than 30 kg.

Not so terrible space as it seems.

Sigmetnow

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #137 on: May 28, 2019, 08:12:56 PM »
The https://www.starlink.com  website is up, with new renderings of the satellites.  Things are happening fast — limited service could begin as soon as the end of this year! This article also discusses OneWeb, the closest Starlink has to competition:

SpaceX wants to offer Starlink internet to consumers after just six launches
Quote
SpaceX has created a brand new website dedicated to its Starlink satellite constellation, a prelude to offering Internet service to consumers after as few as six launches.

Additionally, Starlink.com reiterated CEO Elon Musk’s estimate that SpaceX will conduct 2-6 dedicated Starlink launches – carrying at least 60 satellites each – in 2019 alone. In other words, a best-case satellite deployment scenario could mean that SpaceX will be able to start offering Starlink service to consumers “in the Northern U.S. and Canadian latitudes” as early as this year, while commercial offerings would thus be all but guaranteed in 2020. A step further, SpaceX believes it will be able to offer coverage of the entirety of the populated world after as few as 24 launches (~1500 Starlink satellites). ...
https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-teases-starlink-internet-service-debut/


——
At the link below: Aerial video of SpaceX’s fairing-catcher ship Mr. Steven, as it returns to port amongst huge cruise ships.  Norwegian Dawn is occupying the SpaceX dock area.

Quote
Port Canaveral (@PortCanaveral) 5/27/19, 3:02 PM
SPACE MEETS CRUISE: SpaceX's Mr. Steven had to get into the act as it arrives at Port Canaveral to meet the 6 cruise ships. Here it is as it passes the @norwegian Dawn, which is our port-of-call ship today. More than 33,000 pasengers on and off our cruise ships today.
https://twitter.com/portcanaveral/status/1133086032524660740
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Sigmetnow

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #138 on: May 30, 2019, 01:53:42 AM »
Rare footage of Octagrabber moving out from under the booster on autonomous drone ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY). When a rocket lands on the ship, the machine robotically attaches the rocket to the deck, preventing the rocket from sliding around (or off!) the deck in rough seas, and eliminating the need for a human presence in the toxic and potentially explosive environment after landing.
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< Octagrabber caught moving out from underneath the booster. I believe this is only the second ever time this has been filmed.

Stephen Marr (@spacecoast_stve) 5/28/19, 3:49 PM
#Octograbber being moved out from under #Falcon9 B1049.3 before the lifting of the booster can begin.
https://twitter.com/spacecoast_stve/status/1133460349464616960
Brief video at the link.
   
Quote
Greg Scott  (@lake_sea_mtns) 5/28/19, 3:11 PM
@octagrabber doing its job on hanging on to a near perfect landing on @OCISLYDroneship back into port today.
https://twitter.com/lake_sea_mtns/status/1133450622123040770
Image below; notice the white “arms” that reach up and fasten onto the booster to hold it firmly to the deck.
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ArcticMelt2

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #139 on: May 30, 2019, 06:20:16 AM »
A new record has been set in the port.

https://twitter.com/SpaceXFleet

Quote
According to the data available on r/SpaceX... the record time from OCISLY being docked to a booster going horizontal is ~41 hours (Merah Putih). B1049.3 has smashed that record at only ~29 hours!

https://old.reddit.com/r/SpaceX/wiki/recovery_timing

ArcticMelt2

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #140 on: May 30, 2019, 06:35:44 AM »
https://twitter.com/cgbassa/status/1133830098807873537

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This figure takes the individual video frames and tracks the brightness of each of the 64 #Starlink objects as they pass through the camera field-of-view. The four debris objects clearly stand out in their optical behaviour, while the payloads either flare or remain constant.


ArcticMelt2

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #141 on: May 30, 2019, 06:37:42 AM »
https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/1133911648006283265

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One Starlink item from Gwynne's talk:  56 of the payloads are working well.  4 of them are misbehaving in some way but are nevertheless in communication.

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #142 on: May 30, 2019, 06:40:12 AM »
But at the same time, the engines successfully operate on all 60 satellites.

https://twitter.com/cgbassa/status/1133831192074231808

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None of the objects classified as payloads matched positions predicted by the CSpOC/@18SPCS orbital elements (then 1.4 days old), where as the four objects classified as debris did. This suggests that all 60 #Starlink satellites are operational and adjusting their orbits.

ArcticMelt2

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #143 on: May 30, 2019, 09:45:06 AM »
https://twitter.com/generuso/status/1133961769041444864

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The debris objects generated during the deployment of #Starlink satellites are possibly hold-downs/wiring looms from the four sides of the double stack of the satellites:


ArcticMelt2

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #144 on: May 31, 2019, 10:29:53 AM »
Graph of changes in the height of the orbits of satellites.



Four fragments have a constant orbit, as well as two satellites (probably broken).

Two more broken satellites first increased the orbit, and now they understand (they will probably be de-orbited).

The remaining 56 satellites stable increase orbit.

Sigmetnow

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #145 on: May 31, 2019, 09:56:42 PM »
#249 by Chris Bergin on 31 May, 2019 19:38
Quote
SpaceX:
Update on Starlink Satellites

The following update about the Starlink satellites can be attributed to a SpaceX spokesperson:

“We continue to track the progress of the Starlink satellites during early orbit operations. At this point, all 60 satellites have deployed their solar arrays successfully, generated positive power and communicated with our ground stations.

Most are already using their onboard propulsion system to reach their operational altitude and have made initial contact using broadband phased array antennas.

SpaceX continues to monitor the constellation for any satellites that may need to be safely deorbited. All the satellites have maneuvering capability and are programmed to avoid each other and other objects in orbit by a wide margin.

Also, please note that the observability of the Starlink satellites is dramatically reduced as they raise orbit to greater distance and orient themselves with the phased array antennas toward Earth and their solar arrays behind the body of the satellite.”

On background:

    SpaceX is still in the early stages of raising the Starlink satellites to their intended orbit. The satellites will not reach their final orbit for about another 3-4 weeks.

    This mission was intended to push the operational capabilities of the satellites to the limit. SpaceX expected to encounter issues along the way, including the possibility that some satellites may not function as expected. Our learnings here, however, are key to developing an affordable and reliable broadband service.
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=48135.msg1952406#msg1952406
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ArcticMelt2

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #146 on: June 02, 2019, 03:45:55 AM »
Due to the uncertainty of the future of the planet in the context of global warming, investing in space is becoming increasingly profitable (more profitable than in electric cars).

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/31/spacex-valuation-33point3-billion-after-starlink-satellites-fundraising.html

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SpaceX valuation rises to $33.3 billion as investors look to satellite opportunity

Additionally, Musk’s space company is now more valuable than his electric vehicle company. Tesla shares closed down on Friday giving the company a market value of $32.8 billion – just below SpaceX’s valuation.

Over the past 5 years, the cost of the space corporation has increased in 3 times:



For comparison, Airbus costs about 90 billion, and Boeing almost 200 billion.

Sigmetnow

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #147 on: June 04, 2019, 12:54:54 AM »
Dragon Completes Cargo Return Mission with Splashdown in Pacific – Space Station
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SpaceX‘s Dragon cargo spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 5:48 p.m. EDT (2:48 p.m PDT), approximately 202 miles southwest of Long Beach, California, marking the end of the company’s 17th contracted cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station for NASA. The spacecraft returned more than 4,200 pounds of valuable scientific experimentsand other cargo.

Some of the scientific investigations Dragon returned to Earth include:

Observing Protein Crystal Growth

NASA’s Biophysics-6 experiment looks at the growth of two proteins of interest in cancer treatment and radiation protection. Scientists are using ground-based predictions and in-space X-ray crystallography to determine which proteins benefit from crystallization in microgravity, where some proteins can grow larger and with fewer imperfections.

Microalgae Biosynthesis in Microgravity

Microalgae Biosynthesis in Microgravity (MicroAlgae) studies the effects of microgravity on Haematococcus pluvialis, an algae capable of producing a powerful antioxidant, astaxanthin. It could provide a readily available dietary supplement to promote astronaut health on long-duration space exploration missions. A community college student and alumnae of the NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS) program proposed the research, and NCAS is engaging community colleges across the U.S. to conduct ground studies for comparison to the in-orbit investigation.

Genes in Space

On May 23, astronauts aboard the space station successfully edited DNA using CRISPR/Cas9 technology for the first time in space, working on the Genes in Space-6 investigation. This milestone advances understanding of how DNA repair mechanisms function in space and supports better safeguards to protect space explorers from DNA damage. Genetic damage caused by cosmic radiation poses a serious risk to space travelers, especially those on long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars. CRISPR/Cas9 now joins a growing portfolio of molecular biology techniques available on the ISS National Lab.

These are just a few of the hundreds of investigations aimed at keeping astronauts healthy during space travel and demonstrating technologies for future human and robotic exploration beyond low-Earth orbit, including missions to the Moon by 2024 and on to Mars. Space station research also provides opportunities for other U.S. government agencies, private industry, and academic and research institutions to conduct microgravity research that leads to new technologies, medical treatments, and products that improve life on Earth.

For more than 18 years, humans have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and demonstrating new technologies, making research breakthroughs not possible on Earth that will enable long-duration human and robotic exploration into deep space. A global endeavor, more than 230 people from 18 countries have visited the unique microgravity laboratory that has hosted more than 2,500 research investigations from researchers in 106 countries.
https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2019/06/03/dragon-completes-cargo-return-mission-with-splashdown-in-pacific/
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zizek

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #148 on: June 04, 2019, 02:06:40 AM »
Link to accurate estimates

https://www.power-technology.com/features/carbon-capture-cost/

Quote
The Carbon Capture & Storage Association (CCSA) estimated that the earlier CCS projects in the power sector would cost between €60–€90 per tonne of carbon dioxide abated, the equivalent of around $69-$103 per tonne.

The association also predicted that these costs will decline to €35–€50 ($40-$57) in the early 2020s, thanks to technological advancements.

That is, even at best, this technology costs $ 40 per ton. And humanity has emitted into the atmosphere about a trillion tons of carbon dioxide. It means that its binding will cost the world economy 40 trillion dollars or half of today's GDP of the planet.

In the future, this amount will only increase. In this regard, that the climatic problems on Earth can be solved completely unknown. But space colonization offers a completely technically feasible solution.

This is insane

ArcticMelt2

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Re: SpaceX
« Reply #149 on: June 04, 2019, 03:41:28 AM »
It looks like one satellite was repaired (now 57 satellites increase the orbit).