SpaceX (general discussion)

Any rocket can carry a re-entry vehicle. ICBMs and space programs tended to be the same platforms in the US until the Apollo program demanded more lift than the USAF had any use for, and even then an ICBM version of Saturn V was proposed. Fundamentally, what goes up must come down, and no one has any way of determining payload until it reaches its target orbit or destination.
 
Archibald said:
Lastly, the USAF's FY22 RDT&E budget estimates has listed a new USAF Vanguard program called Rocket Cargo; it describes an investigation into the feasibility of using commercial, fully reusable rockets with 100 tonne payloads (so aka Starship) for delivering cargo to locations within an hour, either via landing or high-speed air-drop, and using innovative loadmaster concepts for rapidly loading / unloading cargo. The program isn't investing in vehicle research itself (ie they're not directly contributing to Starship's development), but they are talking about doing some kind of one-way test in FY22; this might just be the USAF asking to gain access to test results from a potential orbital flight test in the near future that involves recovery and a 100 tonne dummy payload.
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My mind is blown

Reaction 1 "bring it, and they will come" - USAF tried that with the Shuttle back in 1972 and ended badly burned 20 years later. Now they want to try again with Starship - and this time it could work.

Reaction 2 "SUS-TAIN" , here we go again (remember that one ?)

Reaction 3 Philip Bono Ithacus

https://flic.kr/p/JiJ3b7
View: https://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/27767566706

One thing is sure:

9.81*350*ln((1400+80)/(160+80) = 6246 m/s

Thus... Starship even without BFR underneath has a delta-v of 6000 m/s + and this is enough for a 7000 miles long ballistic hop; to the other side of the world with the same payload as a C-17, 80 mt. Except 20 times faster: 16000 km per hour instead of 800.

No surprise they want to try it.
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And for some payloads, not slowing down is a plus.
 
"new" parts arrive at Starbase
Four Diesel Generators and it's support hardware

They are not new but used and refurbish
a trend i notice at Starbase
Allot of hardware/tools deliver are "second hand"
seems save allot money in Starship/Superheavy program
 
correction there not Diesel Generators
but four Leroy Somers 3.4 MW natural gas generator taken out site of Oregon.

they provide power to Starbase
 
It's official
SN17 is scraped, they move it's parts to scrapyard
work on SN16 stop, what will happen to SN16 is unknown for moment

BN2.1 arrived at Launch side for Hydraulic testing
While BN3 is assemble in High bay

SpaceX focus now on completions on new Launch Pad and it's GSE
and completion of BN3 for flight testing
 
SpaceX founder and chief engineer Elon Musk hopes to have a launch platform in the Gulf of Mexico ready for Starship testing at some point in 2022.
So far the company has conducted all test flights of its next-generation Mars rocket system from its development facility on shore in the tiny Texas community of Boca Chica, a place Musk has been campaigning to re-christen as Starbase, Texas.
Last year a SpaceX subsidiary purchased two former deepwater oil rigs, renamed them Phobos and Deimos after the moons of Mars, and began converting them to offshore launch pads. Musk hopes that Starship will carry humans to Mars later this decade.
On Sunday, Musk tweeted an update, announcing that "ocean spaceport Deimos is under construction for launch next year.
 
Activity in this topic in some cases reminds me the Allies' WW2 investigation of German V-2 technology and facilities: photo-recconaissanse, intelligence reports, analysis of rockets' characteristics on the base of limited available info :cool:
Luckily, SpaceX activity remains peaceful or at least not related to offensive weapon systems.
 
I've downloaded Musk old video "How not to land an orbital rocket booster", recovered its audio (the funny music) , and mixed that with "The right stuff" hilarious sequence where rockets explode one after another, to the despair of the poor guy pushing the button every time.

I called that "how not to launch an orbital rocket booster". LMAO.

The two videos lengths (2 minutes and 6 seconds) fits like a glove, and so do their audios. It is pretty amazing.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBAqh2buKrw



View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvim4rsNHkQ
 
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Archibald said:
I've downloaded Musk old video "How not to land an orbital rocket booster", recovered its audio (the funny music) , and mixed that with "The right stuff" hilarious sequence where rockets explode one after another, to the despair of the poor guy pushing the button every time.

I called that "how not to launch an orbital rocket booster". LMAO.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBAqh2buKrw
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That's nice, but would be amazing if you added the reasons for the failures, like in the SpaceX video.
 
I kid you not, there are people at NASAspaceflight.com that could tell you which rocket which day which pad it was, only by looking at it (they have my entire respect, of course). :)

The one and only I can tell is the very last one, where the rocket pops like a bottle of champagne.
When I first saw the movie as kid, I wondered WTH - I thought it was a joke from the film maker.

Well, how wrong was I. That very ridiculous thing happened to a Mercury Redstone flight in 1960, better known as the "four inch flight" because the rocket went no higher.


"all we did was to launch the escape tower."
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LMAO - most ridiculous launch failure, ever (on par with Ariane flight 36 that was killed by a rag)

Best part in the video is kind of 1:19 and happened randomly.

The rocket liftoff, then the music goes quiet and triumphant - just like the poor "push button guy" that for once nailed his takeoff.
...
And then the rocket goes kaboom, the music changes again, and the face of the "push button guy" kills me in laughter, every time.

At 1:34 the first GONG miss the rocket explosion, but the following one at 1:37 comes right in time, GONG, KABOOOM.
 
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DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE ANNOUNCES FOURTH VANGUARD PROGRAM

AFRL will research and develop the unique aspects needed to leverage the new commercial capability for the DoD logistics mission. This includes the ability to land a rocket on a wide range of non-traditional materials and surfaces, including at remote sites. In addition, AFRL scientists and engineers will research the ability to safely land a rocket near personnel and structures, engineer a rocket cargo bay and logistics for rapid loading and unloading, and air drop cargo from the rocket after re-entry in order to service locations where a rocket or aircraft cannot possibly land.

Department of the Air Force announces fourth Vanguard program – Air Force Research Laboratory

afresearchlab.com afresearchlab.com
 
Tuna said:
Archibald said:
I've downloaded Musk old video "How not to land an orbital rocket booster", recovered its audio (the funny music) , and mixed that with "The right stuff" hilarious sequence where rockets explode one after another, to the despair of the poor guy pushing the button every time.

I called that "how not to launch an orbital rocket booster". LMAO.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBAqh2buKrw
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That's nice, but would be amazing if you added the reasons for the failures, like in the SpaceX video.
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Titan I engines failure and Guidance failure
Thor engine failure losing thrust
Juno engine failure losing thrust and Guidance failure
Atlas engine failure and Payload fairing collapse on Atlas Centaur
Last segment was footage of testing the Mercury Parachute
 
Grey Havoc said:
On a side note, all this talk about militarising Starship and the like has reminded me of this old thread:
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me on this one:

I wonder if Space Force pull out a prototype out storage and refurbish for Starship launch ?

2013-12-22-zenith-star-3-a1-1024x808.jpg
 
Grey Havoc said:
On a side note, all this talk about militarising Starship and the like has reminded me of this old thread:
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Same author

warontherocks.com

A Starcruiser for Space Force: Thinking Through the Imminent Transformation of Spacepower - War on the Rocks

The U.S. military has launched and operated Earth-orbiting satellites since the Discoverer 1 mission in March 1959. Despite this long-term presence in
warontherocks.com

warontherocks.com

When it Comes to Missiles, Don’t Copy Russia and China — Leapfrog Them - War on the Rocks

Nearly five years ago, a SpaceX Falcon 9 first-stage booster dropped tail first from the night sky, igniting one of its nine liquid oxygen/RP1 engines and
warontherocks.com
 
Okaaaay so now Branson wants to leapfrog Bezos being a passenger on SS2.

Meanwhile Musk is immensely enjoying the Twitter war between the two, now in a suborbital race when he is preparing ORBITAL flight of BFR-Starship.

July 2021 if all goes well will be a memorable month in space history. My mind is blown.
 
At Starbase allot hardware and tools were delivered (mostly Second hand)
but one thing i don't know what it is

What is this and what used for ?
 

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FUGRO is a Dutch company, one of its activities is geotechnical surveying. The image shows one of their semi-mobile surveying labs.
 
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Michel Van said:
The Intel division of NASA Spaceflight.com were busy at McGregor Engine Test site

They manage to take picture of Raptor engine 131 !
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Apparently it isn't "131" but actually "RB1", the first "Rboost" engine; one of the non-gimballing engines on the Super Heavy booster that utilises larger turbopumps to produce more thrust than a normal Raptor.
 
Progress report
That Mystery piece is rolled out Tent
i think those holes are for landing legs on SN20
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MKdYPDUvrc


For moment no transport of large Stuff like Starship GSE do road works between Assembly site and Launch site
and guy doing the work have sense of Humor.. they put sign up WENORBITAL ?

SpaceX just buy land south of Starbase
the former Massey's Gun Shop and Range, could become a Raptor engine facilitie
https://twitter.com/x/status/1404487134698950659
View: https://twitter.com/SpaceX_Missions/status/1404487134698950659


Gwynne Shotwell made a video in SpaceX production site
for fraction of second you see a display for SuperHeavy Orbital
Seven engines are Green rest white with countdown of 25 days, 7 hours and 30 minutes in progress
it's unclear wenn this Video was made
 

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edition.cnn.com

SpaceX likely to miss July date for Mars rocket test

SpaceX has been targeting July for the first orbital flight of its gargantuan Starship system, which will be the most powerful launch vehicle ever created -- and, the company hopes, will eventually take humans to Mars. But the company is not likely to hit that goal, CNN Business has learned.
edition.cnn.com edition.cnn.com
 
for moment the SpaceX employee are not in colored uniforms...yet

SN16 is rolled out High Bay, why is unclear, probable to make place for Superheavy or SN20 assembly
it's move next to SN15

Tesla related
Model S Plaid logo it remind me of something
sddefault.jpg

THIS :
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neJeyfP73UI
 
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Michel Van said:
Progress report
That Mystery piece is rolled out Tent
i think those holes are for landing legs on SN20
Click to expand...
Those holes appear to be for the grid fins on Booster 2 - that segment has 4 holes, in something like a 30/60/30/60 degree (squashed X) pattern. This would be a bad idea for legs simply due to the instability it'd create in one axis, whereas for Super Heavy this is fine for control surfaces and helps provide more clearance for the booster getting caught by the tower (if it was 4 evenly spaced fins there'd be a higher chance of a fin pointing towards the tower and impacting it or some non-load-bearing part of the catching mechanism).
 

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