SpaceX

[cognitivebias2]

If reusable configuration launches 70% of payload, why use 50% in your calculation?  Refurbishment cost also way overstated.  Begin with the end in mind?

[Sigmetnow]

Put the Elon-hating aside, and it’s easy to see SpaceX’s success is forcing the entire industry to follow their lead:

If reusable rockets are not worth the trouble and have no significant benefits, then why are Russia, ESA, China, ULA, Blue Origin, Rocket Lab…, and many more, ALL spending millions developing new rockets to switch over to that model as quickly as they can?

Edit:  Using expendable rockets to go to space is like throwing each airplane away after only one flight.  Reusability is key.

[Sigmetnow]

—- Starship
Mary reports road closure and Static fire “alert” notice received for Monday
https://twitter.com/bocachicagal/status/1363677618537701377

Mary:
All the concrete has been poured for the landing pad. Hopefully, Starship SN10 will fly as early as this week.
https://twitter.com/bocachicagal/status/1363621263814524929
Photo at the link: the pad. Featuring: cement smoother guys!

Brady Kenniston (@TheFavoritist) 2/21/21, 8:11 PM
Crews pour concrete at the Landing Pad in preparation for Starship SN10's maiden flight. SpaceX is making the pad wider & thicker. SN10's flight could occur early as this coming week as crews test its aft flaps.
Video & Photos from Mary (@BocaChicaGal)

SpaceX Boca Chica: Starship SN10 Tests its Flaps for Flight - Concrete Poured at the Landing Pad - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYmh2OQSq6A&feature=youtu.be

<With rapid curing additives you can load concrete in a few hours.
This is commonly done with freeway repair etc.
Won't reach the maximum strength as slow cure would, but this isn't a bridge beam or anything, just a slab on grade, so you just make it a little thicker to compensate

—-

Mary:
An aft flap has been deployed on SN10.
https://twitter.com/bocachicagal/status/1363526146864812033
Photo at the link.

Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 2/21/21, 4:25 PM
Good chance of flying this week!
Chris B - NSF:
Excellent! So that answers the landing pad concrete cure timeline! 
SPadre:  SNX
< Damnit. We should have been calling it that this whole time. Talk about a missed opportunity

Eric Berger:
Assuming a good static fire test early this week, and FAA clearance, it looks like SN10 flies before the end of February.

SpaceX Starship ready to find out if third time’s the charm later this week
https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-starship-sn10-third-times-the-charm/amp/


—- Sandy Munro at SpaceX Boca Chica

Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) 2/19/21, 1:01 PM
Sandy Munro on his Elon Interview: After our interview finished Elon said "we are having a design review if you wanna stick around." We spent 2 hours at the design review. I was blown away. I've seen dozens of CEO's. I've never seen a CEO ever that knew more about a product.
https://twitter.com/sawyermerritt/status/1362824563705413632
2-minute clip at the Twitter link; 9 minute excerpt here:
Visiting SpaceX & Meeting Elon Musk [Munro Clip]



The full video:  https://youtu.be/S2yVZA3yDhA&feature=youtu.be
Mostly recounting their cross-country Tesla trip (their first in an EV). 
Then, talking about how they sat in on the SpaceX design meeting:
34:56 Visiting SpaceX & Meeting Elon
44:48 Returning Home. 
Published on Feb 19, 2021

​—-
ICYMI:
Here’s the Boca Chica interview itself.  Sandy Munro visits Boca Chica Texas to chat with Elon Musk. They mostly talk about Tesla:  production, mega-castings, Model 3 Seats, structural battery packs, MBA’s, short-Sellers and more.  Published on Feb 2, 2021

Elon Musk Interview: 1-on-1 with Sandy Munro
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YAtLTLiqNwg&feature=youtu.be

[Sigmetnow]

—- Inspiration 4
Representing the mission pillar of Hope, #Inspiration4 has named its first crew member – a cancer survivor and physician assistant at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

World’s First All-Civilian Mission to Space, Inspiration4, Names Second Crew Member
Hayley Arceneaux, physician assistant at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and pediatric cancer survivor, to represent Hope on historic flight Two remaining seats on mission still available to the general public until February 28
February 22, 2021

MEMPHIS, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Inspiration4, the world’s first all-civilian mission to space, has announced its second crew member, Hayley Arceneaux of Memphis, TN, a 29-year-old physician assistant at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® who was treated as a child for bone cancer at St. Jude. Arceneaux joins Inspiration4 mission commander Jared Isaacman. She will occupy the mission seat representing Hope.
…
The mission name Inspiration4 recognizes the four-person crew’s purpose – to send a humanitarian message of possibility and inspire support for St. Jude – and represents the pillars of Leadership, Hope, Generosity and Prosperity.
…
The remaining two seats representing Generosity and Prosperity are available to the general public through February 28, with details available at the mission website, Inspiration4.com. The Generosity crew seat can be secured by a member of the public who enters for an opportunity to join the flight to space. The Prosperity seat is available to any deserving entrepreneur who utilizes the new Shift4Shop eCommerce platform to submit their idea and be selected by a panel of distinguished judges. The Shift4Shop platform is designed to empower entrepreneurs to build and grow successful eCommerce businesses. …

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210222005280/en/World%E2%80%99s-First-All-Civilian-Mission-to-Space-Inspiration4-Names-Second-Crew-Member
 
Nice to see that we’re progressing from “only professional astronauts and the rich get to go to space” to “the rich buy seats for others to go to space.”  Like Yusaku Maezawa’s Dear Moon mission.  Inspiration 4 will fly on a SpaceX Crew Dragon; Dear Moon on a Starship.

[Neven]

[Sigmetnow]

The Definitive Guide To Starship: Starship vs Falcon 9, what's new and improved?
Everyday Astronaut
https://everydayastronaut.com/definitive-guide-to-starship/

[Sigmetnow]

—- Starship
FAA clears SpaceX Starship prototype for third launch and landing attempt
By Eric Ralph February 22, 2021

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has already cleared Starship serial number 10 (SN10) for flight, cutting short any potential licensing drama facing SpaceX’s latest high-altitude Starship launch efforts.

Less than three weeks ago, Starship serial number 9 (SN9) lifted off from SpaceX’s South Texas launch facilities after a tedious week or so of opaque licensing ‘issues’ only vaguely touched upon by the FAA. The regulatory body never actually offered an explanation for why it publicly dragged SpaceX through the coals in January and February for purported “launch license violations” during Starship SN8’s December 8th launch debut, nor why the FAA only brought up those claimed issues more than a month after the fact.
…
SpaceX has already filed temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) with the FAA for possible SN10 launch attempts on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, suggesting that the company hopes to turn Starship around for flight as few as 24-72 hours after a successful static fire. Stay tuned for updates as SpaceX works to conduct its third Starship launch before the month is out.

https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-starship-third-launch-landing-faa-clearance/

Temporary Flight Restrictions have been posted for Starship SN10's test flight. Opportunities are Feb. 23 through Feb. 25.
https://twitter.com/nextspaceflight/status/1363881725554688006
Surface to unlimited

Mary:
An “Alert” notice has been delivered and a road closure has been scheduled for [today] February 23 from 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Another static fire attempt….
https://twitter.com/bocachicagal/status/1364022127402262529

Chris B - NSF:
Some resources to keep you occupied in the meantime!

The latest Starship/Super Heavy round-up by me.
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2021/02/starship-sn10-launch-super-heavy-waiting/

And Mary's latest daily video from today:
➡️https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zC6rOdmz3SY   

https://twitter.com/nasaspaceflight/status/1364023580967763971


—- Turtles all the way down

nomadd (@nomadd13) 2/21/21, 10:53 PM
@elonmusk We returned about 1500 of the turtles that people, including SpaceX employees rescued from freezing temperatures. About 35 miles off shore, to nice warm 61F water. They survived thanks to a SpaceX supplied generator. 

https://twitter.com/nomadd13/status/1363698396587044865
Photo at link: scads of turtles on the rescue center floor


—- SLS Green Run hot fire retest delayed

Eric Berger:
NASA confirms the rumor I posted earlier, that the SLS Green Run test hot fire will be delayed from February 25 due to a malfunctioning valve.

The last time there was a valve issue with the SLS it delayed the Green Run test by about six weeks. I don't know if there will be a similarly long delay this time.

?:  Now "NET February 4th, 2022" launch date?
Eric Berger:
There is no official information. I have also heard the earliest likely date is February, 2022, but NASA is not going to confirm anything until after the hot fire test.

https://twitter.com/sciguyspace/status/1363965116488777728

Green Run Update: NASA Investigating Valve Performance Before Second Hot Fire
February 22, 2021

NASA’s is reviewing the performance of a valve on the core stage of the Space Launch System rocket before proceeding with a second hot fire test at the agency’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

During checkout preparations over the weekend, engineers determined that one of eight valves (a type of valve called a prevalve) was not working properly. This valve is part of the core stage main propulsion system that supplies liquid oxygen to an RS-25 engine. During the first hot fire, all four liquid oxygen valves performed as expected as did the four liquid hydrogen valves. NASA and the core stage lead contractor Boeing will identify a path forward in the days ahead and reschedule the hot fire test that was originally scheduled for Feb. 25. …

https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/2021/02/22/green-run-update-nasa-investigating-valve-performance-before-second-hot-fire/

[Sigmetnow]

—- Wen hop
SpaceX now targeting no earlier than Thursday, February 25th, for a flight test of Starship prototype SN10, judging by current TFRs.

—  Starship Static fire yesterday!
Two clips:
➡️ https://twitter.com/bocachicagal/status/1364352262160572421

➡️ https://twitter.com/nasaspaceflight/status/1364350540193423363

Possibly another Static fire today, Feb 24:

Mary (@BocaChicaGal) 2/23/21, 7:15 PM I have received another “Alert” notice for tomorrow and a road closure has been scheduled. Possible static fire test tomorrow?

https://twitter.com/bocachicagal/status/1364368340597186560

—-
TFRs from surface to unlimited are posted for Feb 25, 26 — and 27, Saturday, which is unusual. 
Wed and Thurs TFRs are cancelled.

Of note is that the restricted area has changed somewhat. 
Different flight profile?
⬇️ See below: newer is on right.

—-

Brady Kenniston (@TheFavoritist) 2/23/21, 7:57 PM
SpaceX receives Raptor engine SN52 from McGregor, TX and ships back Raptor SN43. Meanwhile Super Heavy BN1 waits for a new ring section in the High Bay.
Static Fire video coming later tonight!
Video & Photos from Mary (@BocaChicaGal)
➡️youtu.be/bOEGEN0qrls 

https://twitter.com/thefavoritist/status/1364378988236316674

—-Starship Seaports

< Any further details on the Rigs?
Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 2/23/21, 6:53 AM
I hope we don’t go bankrupt building them!

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1364181510295744514


—- Next Starlink launch

SpaceX (@SpaceX) 2/24/21, 7:25 AM
Static fire test complete – targeting Sunday, February 28 at 8:37 p.m. EST for launch of Starlink from LC-39A

https://twitter.com/spacex/status/1364552086629842947

Emre Kelly (@EmreKelly) 2/23/21, 4:09 PM
Falcon 9 and its Starlink payload went vertical at 39A about an hour ago. ...
➡️ https://twitter.com/emrekelly/status/1364321537487175682 [30 sec time lapse. Raising the rocket ]
< Is there any reason for stopping movement around 60°?
Emre Kelly:
Yes, lunch break.
JK I have no idea, but it does happen every time.

—-

Gavin Cornwell (@SpaceXFleet) 2/23/21, 1:59 PM
Starlink V1 L17 is tentatively set for NET Feb 28th at 8:37pm EST.
Of Course I Still Love You droneship should depart in the next 48 hours if the schedule holds.
This will be the the third time a droneship has been sent out for this mission. Third time lucky?

https://twitter.com/spacexfleet/status/1364288846586871808

—-

Julia:
It looks like SpaceX has woken up the Roberts Road site at KSC. I am unsure if this is going to be a Starship related facility or general use.
There is no public access and no bus tours running so images like this are rare. It will be interesting to see how they use the space.

Leo (@TerminalCount) 2/24/21, 4:46 AM
SpaceX's Roberts Road facility is taking shape.
Not known exactly what this site is for, but possibly Starship production-related; either way, it's great for the Cape launch sites.
Image from spsam, but original author unknown.

https://twitter.com/terminalcount/status/1364512116846264320
⬇️ Photo below.

—-
Eastern Range discusses drive toward “airport model” operations, eyes increased launch demand
written by Justin DavenportFebruary 23, 2021

A few years ago, the @45thSpaceWing set a goal of supporting 48 launches per year from Florida. As they aim to meet that this year, the Range now looks to adopt a more "airport-like" model over the next 9 years.

The entire Eastern Range is looking at a projected cadence of 60 launches per year in the near future, with that number increasing to upwards of 96 launches a year by 2030, if not more.

To this end, Mr. Cabana, Brig. Gen. Purdy, and Mr. Monteith discussed the “range of the future,” including a pivotal swing toward a more airport-like model of launch support that would routinely be capable of supporting one to two launches per day. …

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2021/02/eastern-range-airport-model/


—- China’s next heavy lift rocket

Larry Teds (@LarryTeds) 2/24/21, 7:24 AM
It is confirmed that Chinese government has officially approved Long March 9 super heavy launcher, which is going to power crewed lunar exploration, Mars sample return and crewed Mars exploration missions.
~ Maiden flight is scheduled by 2030. Next step is to make CZ-9 reusable.
~ LEO 140+ tons, LTO 50+ tons
Larry Teds:
Source: CCTV interview with Wu Yanhua, deputy director of CNSA: “Now the state has decided to develop Long March 9. Its main purpose is for (if any) crewed lunar landing or crewed Mars landing missions.”
➡️ https://twitter.com/larryteds/status/1364553735330963456
[Clip at the link includes render of rocket launch.]
Larry Teds:
Xi was shown yesterday about CZ9. It is the most official render.
https://twitter.com/larryteds/status/1364556559007682565
Photos at the link.

[vox_mundi]

... Third time lucky?

[Sigmetnow]

... Third time lucky?

...

I think even the indefatigable crew of Tug Hawk might mutiny at six attempts.

[Sigmetnow]

—- Starship
SLS:  Engine valve problem.  Several weeks delay.
Starship: Engine is suspect after static fire. Swapped for a new one, next day.   

   Brady Kenniston (@TheFavoritist) 2/24/21, 12:43 AM
   SpaceX ignites Starship SN10's Raptor engines for the first time! It is unknown if the test was successful.
   Mary received a notice that testing may occur on Feb. 24th as well.
   Video from Mary (@BocaChicaGal) and the NSF Robotic Camera Team
   ➡️youtu.be/XE9K3W0ojjk
    https://twitter.com/thefavoritist/status/1364450800244830208

Elon Musk @elonmusk) 2/24/21, 2:12 AM
One of the engines is suspect, so we’re swapping it out
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1364473175279620096

Mary (@BocaChicaGal)2/24/21, 11:44 AM
 Raptor SN? is headed to the launch site.
➡️ https://twitter.com/bocachicagal/status/1364617190352314373
⬇️ 5 sec trundle down the road at the link. Screencap below.

~ Interesting that there was no visible SN# on the nozzle.
~ There’s nothing better than passing a Raptor on the highway at Boca Chica.

< I *LOVE* how @SpaceX carries this around so unceremoniously. If this was @NASA there'd be road closures, police bikes, a full escort, an airtight container, a documentary about the logistics, etc... 

—-
Zeus out for a stroll around the new landing pad.  1 min vid.

Dayton Costlow (@DaytonCostlow) 2/24/21, 3:26 PM
The full video. 

➡️ https://twitter.com/daytoncostlow/status/1364673154224824321


—- Human Landing System

Marcia Smith (@SpcPlcyOnline) 2/24/21, 10:51 AM
At Spaceport Summit, NASA's Mark Kirasich says NASA is "down to the wire" in downselecting the HLS contractors. Will be "in next few weeks." Tough choice because three "incredible" proposals.
https://twitter.com/spcplcyonline/status/1364603780923346950
Eric Berger:
During an interview last week Steve Jurcyzk said the decisions likely would be made in mid-late April.

> Waiting for #Starship to stick a landing maybe?
< What’s the odds that those who are not selected continue their designs for their own purposes?
Eric Berger:
The odds of SpaceX continuing are 100 percent. The other companies are much lower.
<< I agree re SpaceX. After all NASA already awarded them a Lunar *Cargo* contract. Only difference been Lunar HLS Starship and Lunar Cargo Starship would be the inclusion of life support system for humans in the former.
<<  But, IIRC, since the Moon, not Mars, is the off-Earth body that interests Jeff Bezos the most, isn’t it a possibility that he (Bezos) would contract the others in the “National Team” to continue assisting BO in developing the HLS anyway?

[Sigmetnow]

A longish think piece on private astronaut flights, the democratization of space and what that means for the future of NASA.

“We at NASA should always be doing the next thing, the thing where the profit motive is not as evident and where the barriers to entry are still too high for the private sector to really make a compelling business case.”  — Phil McAlister, NASA’s director of commercial spaceflight.

“A necessity, it will allow NASA to work as a specialist entity and allow for more innovation and modernisation of future flight hardware as well as an ability to work without diplomatic influences pulling and prying missions to breaking point.” — David Alan Rodgers

As private companies erode government’s hold on space travel, NASA looks to open a new frontier
Christian Davenport
Feb. 25, 2021

The four astronauts who will fly aboard a SpaceX mission by the end of the year will be a bunch of private citizens with no space experience. One’s a billionaire funding the mission; another a health care provider. The third will be selected at random through a sweepstakes, and the last seat will go to the winner of a competition.

In the new Space Age, you can buy a ticket to orbit — no need to have been a fighter pilot in the military or to compete against thousands of other overachievers for a coveted spot in NASA’s astronaut corps.

In fact, for this mission, the first comprised entirely of private citizens, NASA is little more than a bystander. It does not own or operate the rocket that will blast the astronauts into space or the capsule they will live in for the few days they are scheduled to circle the Earth every 90 minutes. NASA has no say in selecting the astronauts, and it will not train or outfit them — that will all be done by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

The money to pay for the flight also will not come from NASA — or any other government account. The cost of the project is being born by a billionaire, Jared Isaacman, who has set it up as a fundraiser for St. Jude’s Research Hospital and a promotional device for his business, Shift4Shop, which helps businesses set up websites and process payments.

This is the new look of human space exploration as government’s long-held monopoly on space travel continues to erode, redefining not only who owns the vehicles that carry people to space, but also the very nature of what an astronaut is and who gets to be one.

And it comes as NASA confronts some of the largest changes it has faced since it was founded in 1958 when the United States’ world standing was challenged by the Soviet Union’s surprise launch of the first Sputnik into orbit. Now it is NASA’s unrivaled primacy in human spaceflight that is under challenge.

Thanks to NASA’s investments and guidance, the private space sector has grown tremendously — no entity more than SpaceX, which according to CNBC is now worth $74 billion. The commercial space industry is taking on ever more roles and responsibilities — flying not just cargo and supplies to the International Space Station, but even NASA’s astronauts there. The private sector will launch some of the major components of the space station NASA wants to build in orbit around the moon, and private companies are developing the spacecraft that will fly astronauts to and from the lunar surface.

Space enthusiasts, including NASA, see enormous benefit in the shift — a new era of space exploration that will usher in a more capable and efficient space industry. But the changing dynamic also has left NASA, which for decades has set the pace for the American space project, with an uncertain role, a development NASA’s Safety Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel warns could have consequences for years to come.

The growth of companies like SpaceX has "tremendous upside potential — and are accompanied by equally tremendous challenges for managing the risk of human space exploration,” it said in its annual report, released last month. “NASA leadership in human space exploration is still preeminent, but the agency’s role is evolving with critical implications for how risk and safety will be managed.” 
 
…

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/02/25/nasa-space-future-private/#click=https://t.co/GXrB4rL8Sx

[Sigmetnow]

—- Starship
TFRs now for Fri, Sat, Sunday!
Brownsville (TX) SpaceX high-altitude flight TFR:
From February 28, 2021 at 1400 UTC To March 01, 2021 at 0030 UTC
Altitude: From the surface to space
https://tfr.faa.gov/tfr2/list.jsp

—- SpaceX Spaceports at sea

< How long until you think the Deimos and Phobos rigs will be operational?
Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 2/24/21, 2:24 AM
One of them may be in limited operation by end of year

<< How will Starships be transported to the floating platform? Will these launch platforms be stationed permanently in the gulf?
Elon Musk:
They will fly there from our launch site.
Stationed around the world. 

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1364476185359642626

Surprise! Elon Musk Says SpaceX's Floating Oil Rig Platforms May Be Operational This Year
https://interestingengineering.com/elon-musk-spacexs-floating-oil-rig-platforms-this-year


—- Next Starlink launch
KSC TFRs listed for Sunday and Monday night,
SpaceX: Static fire test complete – targeting Sunday, February 28 at 8:37 p.m. EST for launch of Starlink from LC-39A
0137 GMT on 1st (8:37 p.m. EST on 28th)

Gavin Cornwell (@SpaceXFleet)n2/25/21, 9:05 AM
SpaceX is set to reuse a fairing half for the FOURTH time on the upcoming Starlink mission.
They might not catch it every time (or even need too!) but the fairing recovery programme has been a major success.
spacex.com/launches/

< Recovery & re-use is an amazing goal. But is it at the point where it can be considered successful already? Those ships and crew must be $$$.
Gavin Cornwell:
Each fairing costs $3 million dollars to manufacture. Ignoring the cost of refurbishment, ships and crew they saved $9 million by reusing this half four times.

https://twitter.com/spacexfleet/status/1364939456155770881


—- Starlink testing

Elon Musk (@elonmusk)2/24/21, 8:25 PM
You might see much higher download speeds on Starlink at times. Testing system upgrades.

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1364748430883631111

Elon Musk says SpaceX ‘will double’ Starlink satellite internet speeds later this year
   “Speed will double to ~300Mb/s & latency will drop to ~20ms later this year,” Musk said in a tweet on Monday.
   Musk added that Starlink will reach customers around “most” of the Earth by the end of 2021, and is expecting to have complete global coverage “by next year.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/22/elon-musk-spacex-will-double-starlink-internet-speed-later-this-year.html


—- NASA Commercial Crew, Feb 24

The @SpaceX Crew Dragon has officially been in space for more than 100 days!

The Crew-1 mission launched on Nov. 15, 2020 & arrived at the @Space_Station on Nov. 16, carrying Shannon Walker, @AstroVicGlover, @Astro_illini & @Astro_Soichi. They will return in late April/early May. 

https://twitter.com/commercial_crew/status/1364677313208537088

[Sigmetnow]

—- Engine swap after dark

Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 2/25/21, 12:15 AM
Out on launch pad, engine swap underway 

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1364806085610147844
⬇️ Photo below. Click to embiggen.
Musk explained in the Joe Rogan webcast that they are still testing the best way to attach the black heat tiles to Starship, and the spacing required to deal with cryo-temperatures (and eventual reentry temps) as the steel expands and contracts.  However, unlike Space Shuttle tiles, most Starship tiles will be identical.

[Sigmetnow]

—- Wen hop
Static fire!  New Brownsville TFRs issued for Mon, Tues, Wed, March 1-3.

Chris B - NSF (@NASASpaceflight) 2/25/21, 5:58 PM
STATIC FIRE! Starship SN10 fires up her three engines after a record Raptor swap turnaround.
The big question is if it was a good test. If so, the launch could be just days away.
Mary (@BocaChicaGal) and the bots views:  youtube.com/watch?v=-OYh9C… 

➡️ https://twitter.com/nasaspaceflight/status/1365073626588999695
15 sec clip of the SF at the link.

—- Next Starlink launch

Gavin Cornwell (@SpaceXFleet) 2/25/21, 12:38 PM
Ms. Tree is missing two arms!
That would explain why the Dragon recovery ships have been reconfigured for fairing recovery.
I wonder if they are planning some upgrades or other work?
[Photo at the link.]

~ With the fairing catchers now semi-armless, GO Searcher and GO Navigator are learning how to recover fairings.
colin (@c_fletcher22) 2/25/21, 3:47 PM
SpaceX practicing scooping fairings from the water on @NASASpaceflight Fleetcam! …
➡️ https://twitter.com/c_fletcher22/status/1365040805119995913
[ 19 sec Twit-Vid is 2x timelapse ]

Gavin Cornwell:
With the Dragon recovery ships now temporarily fairing recovery ships that means SpaceX needs a new temporary Dragon recovery ship.
Confused?
Hello, GO America! That's a very nice Dragon mock-up you have. Welcome to the recovery fleet!
Via Fleetcam: youtu.be/gnt2wZBg89g
https://twitter.com/spacexfleet/status/1365043855708610568
Photo at the link.

GO Searcher and GO Navigator are outbound from Port Canaveral to conduct fairing recovery for the upcoming Starlink mission. …
https://twitter.com/spacexfleet/status/1365331037639872522
Photos at the link.

—— ”Wow. Blue Origin delays maiden flight of New Glenn [heavy lift rocket] until no earlier than Q4 of 2022.”

Just A. Tinker:
Let me get this straight, @blueorigin is putting off #NewGlenn's maiden flight because they didn't get a government contract they wanted?  I think we drop them out the 'New Space' category then!  Hey, @JeffBezos, if you REALLY want to settle Cislunar space, get your butt in gear!
Ken Kirtland IV:
Yup. The entire appeal of Blue Origin was that funding and economics were not much of an equation due to Bezos cash. It's pretty clear they just want to be a traditional launch provider / defense contractor.

Dave F:
Anybody know how many NGs they're currently constructing? If this one, eventually, files, but goes kaboom, do they have another to play with?
OK I'm willing to be corrected, but with the limited images & what some have said, they appear to be designing a 'flight ready' rocket. As you say, it's complicated yet they haven't even tested the first stage landing. Even NS's test program is best described as 'patchy'.
Why spend money/time designing everything to the nth degree if it's likely to RUD. There's definitely something to be said for SpaceX's quick iteration of sending 'aerosol cans' 40k ft into the air.

< So more than likely Starship would be first methalox to orbit.
< Musk already said, that same like SN1-10 prototypes, Super heavy prototypes will start with fewer engines as they plan overall. If first Starship with booster will be some scaled down version they can beat Vulcan to orbit. But not with massive 34 Raptors version.

Sotiris:
The entire Starship program according to Musk is going to cost 2-3 Billion. BO spend 1/3 of that on the launch pad alone

https://twitter.com/tgmetsfan98/status/1364969591152214029

    New Glenn’s Progress Towards Maiden Flight

News Feb 25, 2021
As major progress is being made on the New Glenn launch vehicle and its Cape Canaveral facilities, the schedule has been refined to match the demand of Blue Origin’s commercial customers. The current target for New Glenn’s maiden flight is Q4 2022. The Blue Origin team has been in contact with all of our customers to ensure this baseline meets their launch needs.
…
This updated maiden flight target follows the recent Space Force decision to not select New Glenn for the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 2 Launch Services Procurement (LSP). 

https://www.blueorigin.com/news/new-glenns-progress-towards-maiden-flight

New Glenn - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Glenn
In February 2019, Blue Origin indicated that no plans to build a reusable second stage are even on the company's roadmap.
By December 2020, Blue Origin indicated that the engine delivery to ULA would slip to summer 2021, and ULA disclosed that the first launch of the New Glenn competitor ULA Vulcan would now be no earlier than 4Q2021.


—- Virgin Galactic SpaceShip

Eric Berger:
Wow. This is a serious and unexpected delay.

Jeff Foust (@jeff_foust) 2/25/21, 4:10 PM
Virgin Galactic, in its earning release just posted, says it’s now targeting May (!) for its next rocket-powered SpaceShipTwo test flight. (Remember this was going to be earlier this month.) investors.virgingalactic.com/news/news-deta… [ https://t.co/IuTaBZ4Tpo ]

The company says in the presentation for that upcoming call that it will roll out the next SpaceShipTwo, “SpaceShip III”, on March 30. Flight tests begin in the summer. investors.virgingalactic.com/files/doc_fina… [ https://t.co/U1ov038aRg ]

https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/1365046437181030402


—- Reusable Upper Stage?

Washington-based startup raises $9.1 million. Stoke Space Technologies—the Renton, Washington-based company founded by veterans of Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin space venture—has attracted $9.1 million in seed investments for extending rocket reusability to new frontiers, GeekWire reports. The first goal will be to develop a new kind of reusable upper stage, Stoke co-founder and CEO Andy Lapsa told the publication.

High-powered advisers ... "That's the last domino to fall in the industry before reusability is commonplace," Lapsa said. "Even right now, I think space launch is in a production-limited paradigm." Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Steven Kwast, an adviser to Stoke, goes so far as to say that the team reminds him of the Wright brothers. "Stoke has the right idea about ultra-low-cost access to space, and similar to the first manned flight, will change the world of transportation and national security forever," he said.

—- SLS Green Run update

SLS launch delayed until 2022. During a recent call with reporters about the SLS core stage Green Run test, NASA's Tom Whitmeyer discussed the schedule for the Artemis I flight. In an ideal world in which nothing went wrong, he said, the mission could launch in October 2021. That was unlikely to happen, he acknowledged. And since then, things have already gone wrong, such as with the prevalve issue....

Never tweet while drunk ... Sources have told Ars that the realistic "no earlier than" date for Artemis I inside NASA is now February 2022, and this presumes a successful Green Run hot fire test in early March. We're getting perilously close to the now somewhat infamous prediction I made in 2017 on Twitter—that the rocket would first launch in 2023.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/02/rocket-report-new-glenn-finally-gets-a-date-sls-hot-fire-slips-to-march/
— Eric Berger

Jeff Foust:
The update is... they’re still working on the valve problem, and won’t set a new date for the test until troubleshooting is done. [But that new date is likely to be no earlier than the middle of March.]

NASA_SLS (@NASA_SLS) 2/26/21, 11:48 AM
Green Run Update: @NASA and Boeing, the core stage prime contractor, continue to examine a liquid oxygen valve inside the #Artemis I core stage’s engine section in order to identify repairs needed before a second Green Run hot fire test. 

Green Run Update: NASA Inspecting Valve, Continuing Hot Fire Preparations
https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/2021/02/26/green-run-update-nasa-inspecting-valve-continuing-hot-fire-preparations/

[Sigmetnow]

—- Starship

Jack Beyer (@thejackbeyer) 2/26/21, 2:03 PM
A Raptor Engine labeled “Under Doge” (serial number unknown) was delivered to the Starship build site in Boca Chica just now, and Raptor SN56 (green nozzle) took its place on the Raptor van, presumably headed back to Hawthorne or Mcgregor. 

https://twitter.com/thejackbeyer/status/1365376972658892801
Photos at the link.

—-
⬇️ Status of Starship and Superheavy Prototypes— infographic below
Click to embiggen.

—- SpaceX Sea Fleet

Gavin Cornwell(@SpaceXFleet)2/27/21, 6:13 PM
SpaceX recovery fleet status as of Feb 27th!
OCISLY droneship has arrived at the landing zone for the Starlink mission.
GO Searcher/Navigator are still en-route for fairing recovery. ...

https://twitter.com/spacexfleet/status/1365802218855821317
Locator map at the link.  Weather looks good for the upcoming launch.

—- Crew-1 aboard the ISS — interview

.@VP Harris: What was your first spacewalk like?

NASA astronaut @AstroVicGlover: "The first time that I did just sit back and look down at the Earth, I just wanted to do that for the rest of the seven hours that I was outside – it was pretty amazing."

➡️ https://twitter.com/thesheetztweetz/status/1365742926211538948
Vid at the link: Victor Glover: as the first, I work to make sure I am not the last.


—- HLS
So, at least two, but not all three.
NASA says maintaining competition a priority for lunar lander procurement
Jeff Foust February 25, 2021
https://spacenews.com/nasa-says-maintaining-competition-a-priority-for-lunar-lander-procurement/


—- Boeing's safety culture

Christian Davenport (@wapodavenport) 2/26/21, 1:08 PM
NASA says that the assessment of Boeing's safety culture, ordered in the wake of the flawed OFT-1 mission, has been postponed until after OFT-2 because of Covid. That’s a delay of more than a year. The agency says it will complete the review before Boeing’s crewed flight test. 1/  …

https://twitter.com/wapodavenport/status/1365363224581988354


—- SLS Green Run delay — the second prevalve issue
Eric Berger:
From this article it sounds like NASA is not yet sure how extensive the repair work will be for a second prevalve issue on the SLS core stage. Test fire possible by mid-March, but could be weeks later.

Second prevalve issue delays completion of SLS Core Stage Green Run campaign
written by Philip Sloss February 26, 2021

Fixing the problem with this second balky prevalve will take some time because engineers needed to get “under the hood” access to the vehicle, which was already closed out for the Hot-Fire test when the new problem was discovered. In order to get hands on the prevalve, work access needed to be re-established. …

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2021/02/prevalve-issue-delays-sls-green-run/