SpaceX

Everything else!

Moderators: Bakhtosh, EvilHomer3k

Post Reply
User avatar
Daehawk
Posts: 63528
Joined: Sat Jan 01, 2005 1:11 am

Re: SpaceX

Post by Daehawk »

That thing only has 1 engine?? Wow.
Zaxxon wrote: Tue Aug 04, 2020 11:40 pm
--------------------------------------------
I am Dyslexic of Borg, prepare to have your ass laminated.
I guess Ray Butts has ate his last pancake.
http://steamcommunity.com/id/daehawk
"Has high IQ. Refuses to apply it"
User avatar
Zaxxon
Forum Moderator
Posts: 28118
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 12:11 am
Location: Surrounded by Mountains

Re: SpaceX

Post by Zaxxon »

Yep. Next iteration for the 20km hop should have 3, and the final 1st stage will have 31. Will be a sight to see.

Animation:

User avatar
Daehawk
Posts: 63528
Joined: Sat Jan 01, 2005 1:11 am

Re: SpaceX

Post by Daehawk »

Thats neat. Ive not kept up on this rocket. Other than it looking like its straight off the pages of some 1950s sci-fi space artist's drawing pad. Is it supposed to be some heavy lift cargo rocket with lots of space in it or a long range (Mars) human passenger rocket?
--------------------------------------------
I am Dyslexic of Borg, prepare to have your ass laminated.
I guess Ray Butts has ate his last pancake.
http://steamcommunity.com/id/daehawk
"Has high IQ. Refuses to apply it"
User avatar
Zaxxon
Forum Moderator
Posts: 28118
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 12:11 am
Location: Surrounded by Mountains

Re: SpaceX

Post by Zaxxon »

Daehawk wrote: Wed Aug 05, 2020 2:34 pm Thats neat. Ive not kept up on this rocket. Other than it looking like its straight off the pages of some 1950s sci-fi space artist's drawing pad. Is it supposed to be some heavy lift cargo rocket with lots of space in it or a long range (Mars) human passenger rocket?

Yes.
User avatar
Daehawk
Posts: 63528
Joined: Sat Jan 01, 2005 1:11 am

Re: SpaceX

Post by Daehawk »

hmmm. The Jack of all trades. A renaissance rocket.
--------------------------------------------
I am Dyslexic of Borg, prepare to have your ass laminated.
I guess Ray Butts has ate his last pancake.
http://steamcommunity.com/id/daehawk
"Has high IQ. Refuses to apply it"
User avatar
coopasonic
Posts: 20969
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 11:43 pm
Location: Dallas-ish

Re: SpaceX

Post by coopasonic »

Makes me feel bad about how bad I am at landing in KSP even in low gravity and it's generally a much smaller ship with a MUCH lower center of gravity.
-Coop
Black Lives Matter
User avatar
Daehawk
Posts: 63528
Joined: Sat Jan 01, 2005 1:11 am

Re: SpaceX

Post by Daehawk »

Should have hired me. Ive been landing these things like this since Lunar Lander 1979.

Enlarge Image
--------------------------------------------
I am Dyslexic of Borg, prepare to have your ass laminated.
I guess Ray Butts has ate his last pancake.
http://steamcommunity.com/id/daehawk
"Has high IQ. Refuses to apply it"
User avatar
Isgrimnur
Posts: 82093
Joined: Sun Oct 15, 2006 12:29 am
Location: Chookity pok
Contact:

Re: SpaceX

Post by Isgrimnur »

ars technica
Charlie Bolden, a four-time astronaut, served as NASA administrator from mid-2009 through early 2017. During that time, he oversaw the creation and initial development of the agency's large Space Launch System rocket.
...
Meanwhile, the SLS rocket, originally due to launch in 2017, is now delayed until at least the end of 2021.

As a result of this, Bolden appears to have changed his mind. In an interview with Politico published Friday morning in the publication's Space newsletter, Bolden was asked what might happen during the next four years.

“SLS will go away," he said. "It could go away during a Biden administration or a next Trump administration… because at some point commercial entities are going to catch up. They are really going to build a heavy lift launch vehicle sort of like SLS that they will be able to fly for a much cheaper price than NASA can do SLS. That’s just the way it works.”
It's almost as if people are the problem.
User avatar
Kraken
Posts: 43688
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 11:59 pm
Location: The Hub of the Universe
Contact:

Re: SpaceX

Post by Kraken »

Well, that's what SHOULD happen, but all that money is getting spread around a LOT of congressional districts. More likely, they'll finish those development contracts and produce one or two vehicles before it's out-competed, probably by Super Heavy + Starship. Phat development contracts good, ridiculous operational costs bad.
User avatar
Zaxxon
Forum Moderator
Posts: 28118
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 12:11 am
Location: Surrounded by Mountains

Re: SpaceX

Post by Zaxxon »

Kraken wrote: Fri Sep 11, 2020 5:08 pm Well, that's what SHOULD happen, but all that money is getting spread around a LOT of congressional districts. More likely, they'll finish those development contracts and produce one or two vehicles before it's out-competed, probably by Super Heavy + Starship. Phat development contracts good, ridiculous operational costs bad.
The anonymous new space company official quote sums it up pretty well:
"If Santa Claus arrived, and said, 'I have good news. It now works and you can launch tomorrow. Everything's done. You're going to have a launch tomorrow.' ... It still isn't getting us to the Moon. Even if they achieve everything they aim for, it still does not get people to the Moon. It certainly does not get a base on the Moon and absolutely doesn't get humans to Mars."
SLS is dead, and has been dead for years. It's still burning money and will continue to do so for some time as you mentioned. But its chance to be a vehicle that actually proves productive for more than a token launch or two ended at least 2.5 years ago when FH flew.
User avatar
Zaxxon
Forum Moderator
Posts: 28118
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 12:11 am
Location: Surrounded by Mountains

Re: SpaceX

Post by Zaxxon »



They also popped SN7 this week. Getting close to a much higher test hop in the near future.
User avatar
Daehawk
Posts: 63528
Joined: Sat Jan 01, 2005 1:11 am

Re: SpaceX

Post by Daehawk »

Lets put that in an old Pinto...but not move the gas tank.
--------------------------------------------
I am Dyslexic of Borg, prepare to have your ass laminated.
I guess Ray Butts has ate his last pancake.
http://steamcommunity.com/id/daehawk
"Has high IQ. Refuses to apply it"
User avatar
LawBeefaroni
Forum Moderator
Posts: 55316
Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2004 3:08 pm
Location: Urbs in Horto, outrageous taxes on everything

Re: SpaceX

Post by LawBeefaroni »

Mars is the god of war, after all..
Elon Musk's SpaceX and the US military plan to build a rocket capable of delivering 80 metric tons of cargo anywhere in the world in 60 minutes.

Under a newly agreed contract, SpaceX will assess the costs and technical challenges of the project, while initial tests are expected in 2021, Gen. Stephen Lyons, the head of US Transportation Command, said Wednesday at a virtual conference.

A 7,652-mile journey from Florida to Afghanistan could be completed within about an hour with such a high-speed rocket, which could travel at 7,500 mph, per The Times.
" Hey OP, listen to my advice alright." -Tha General
"No scientific discovery is named after its original discoverer." -Stigler's Law of Eponymy, discovered by Robert K. Merton

MYT
User avatar
Daehawk
Posts: 63528
Joined: Sat Jan 01, 2005 1:11 am

Re: SpaceX

Post by Daehawk »

I bet that would freak Russia out every time they had a delivery....giant rocket zooming up....giant rocket coming down...payload ejected.
--------------------------------------------
I am Dyslexic of Borg, prepare to have your ass laminated.
I guess Ray Butts has ate his last pancake.
http://steamcommunity.com/id/daehawk
"Has high IQ. Refuses to apply it"
User avatar
Holman
Posts: 28907
Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2004 8:00 pm
Location: Between the Schuylkill and the Wissahickon

Re: SpaceX

Post by Holman »

LawBeefaroni wrote: Sat Oct 10, 2020 10:25 pm Mars is the god of war, after all..
Elon Musk's SpaceX and the US military plan to build a rocket capable of delivering 80 metric tons of cargo anywhere in the world in 60 minutes.

Under a newly agreed contract, SpaceX will assess the costs and technical challenges of the project, while initial tests are expected in 2021, Gen. Stephen Lyons, the head of US Transportation Command, said Wednesday at a virtual conference.

A 7,652-mile journey from Florida to Afghanistan could be completed within about an hour with such a high-speed rocket, which could travel at 7,500 mph, per The Times.
Cost of shooting down a ballistic rocket delivery will probably be 1/10,000 the cost of the launch.
Much prefer my Nazis Nuremberged.
User avatar
Isgrimnur
Posts: 82093
Joined: Sun Oct 15, 2006 12:29 am
Location: Chookity pok
Contact:

Re: SpaceX

Post by Isgrimnur »

We don't have an operational fleet of X-51 Waveriders at Mach 5, but sure, Mach 10 sounds doable for having something safely delivered in 60 minutes or less.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
User avatar
Daehawk
Posts: 63528
Joined: Sat Jan 01, 2005 1:11 am

Re: SpaceX

Post by Daehawk »

Ha X-51 Waverider. I still remember seeing a scale model one at the air show in Chattanooga around 1990 or 1991. It was the size of a Volkswagen or two and had the decals and paint of the US Postal Service.
--------------------------------------------
I am Dyslexic of Borg, prepare to have your ass laminated.
I guess Ray Butts has ate his last pancake.
http://steamcommunity.com/id/daehawk
"Has high IQ. Refuses to apply it"
User avatar
jztemple2
Posts: 11544
Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2009 7:52 am
Location: Brevard County, Florida, USA

Re: SpaceX

Post by jztemple2 »

SpaceX Starship: The Continued Evolution of the Big Falcon Rocket
Since 2012, SpaceX has been working on a reusable rocket family, now called Starship, that will eventually replace its workhorse Falcon 9 family. Its design has evolved into a rocket possibly unprecedented in its ambition, being even larger than the venerable Saturn V rocket, but with far more uses. At launch, it will be the world’s largest launch vehicle and mass 5000 tonnes, more than eight times the world’s largest passenger jet, the Airbus A380.

Pushing it off the pad will be 28 Raptor engines producing more thrust than an astounding 50 A380s (75,315 kN/16,931,500 lbf). The Starship upper stage alone will mass 11/12th of a Falcon Heavy, and its reusable cargo variant’s 150 tonne payload would take five reusable Falcon Heavy launches to equal. Its cargo bay is large enough to swallow a passenger locomotive or a tunnel boring machine.
See Also

A passenger variant of Starship will hold at least 100 passengers in a 1000 cubic meter pressurized cabin, an amount 9% greater than the International Space Station. This variant could potentially enable hypersonic point-to-point travel from any two points on Earth in 60 minutes or less.

A tanker variant would be required for missions beyond low Earth orbit (LEO), enabling the retrieval and repair of satellites, missions around and to the Moon, Mars and beyond. With the potential to slash the cost of missions to a fraction of their current levels, Starship’s debut may herald a new era in spaceflight.

Thanks to NASASpaceflight.com’s (NSF) behind the scenes reporting, SpaceX’s method of building it out in the open and Elon Musk regularly tweeting new details, we have been able to trace its progress through 12 known versions.

We’ll be covering seven years of design changes, including new information on materials, internal thinking and upper stage evolution learned since NSF’s first comprehensive article on SpaceX’s Big Falcon Rocket (BFR) was published on August 9, 2018. Additionally, we’ll be covering the latest development news.
Enlarge Image
My father said that anything is interesting if you bother to read about it - Michael C. Harrold
User avatar
Formix
Posts: 639
Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2005 6:48 am

Re: SpaceX

Post by Formix »

Wait, wait. The cargo bay will hold a tunneling machine.....like a Boring tunnel machine? That changes a lot for a moon or Mars base.
User avatar
Daehawk
Posts: 63528
Joined: Sat Jan 01, 2005 1:11 am

Re: SpaceX

Post by Daehawk »

28 engines sounds like a recipe of failure.
--------------------------------------------
I am Dyslexic of Borg, prepare to have your ass laminated.
I guess Ray Butts has ate his last pancake.
http://steamcommunity.com/id/daehawk
"Has high IQ. Refuses to apply it"
malchior
Posts: 24794
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 12:58 pm

Re: SpaceX

Post by malchior »

Daehawk wrote: Sun Oct 25, 2020 10:18 am 28 engines sounds like a recipe of failure.
Falcon 9 has lost engines on flights without issues before. It's better to lose 10-20% of your engines than say 25-50% is 1 or 2 of 4 fails. On at least one of the Falcon 9 launches IIRC two were turned off by the flight computer to maintain the ascent profile.
User avatar
Zaxxon
Forum Moderator
Posts: 28118
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 12:11 am
Location: Surrounded by Mountains

Re: SpaceX

Post by Zaxxon »

Formix wrote: Sun Oct 25, 2020 7:04 am Wait, wait. The cargo bay will hold a tunneling machine.....like a Boring tunnel machine? That changes a lot for a moon or Mars base.
You didn't really think Musk was practicing tunneling on Earth to solve mass transit here, did you?
User avatar
Formix
Posts: 639
Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2005 6:48 am

Re: SpaceX

Post by Formix »

Zaxxon wrote: Sun Oct 25, 2020 10:47 am
Formix wrote: Sun Oct 25, 2020 7:04 am Wait, wait. The cargo bay will hold a tunneling machine.....like a Boring tunnel machine? That changes a lot for a moon or Mars base.
You didn't really think Musk was practicing tunneling on Earth to solve mass transit here, did you?
Well, I did. I don’t think I’ve ever been more conflicted about anyone else in my life. Elon is everything I hate, and, the only hope for making my boyhood dreams come true all in one.
User avatar
coopasonic
Posts: 20969
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 11:43 pm
Location: Dallas-ish

Re: SpaceX

Post by coopasonic »

Formix wrote: Sun Oct 25, 2020 10:57 am
Zaxxon wrote: Sun Oct 25, 2020 10:47 am
Formix wrote: Sun Oct 25, 2020 7:04 am Wait, wait. The cargo bay will hold a tunneling machine.....like a Boring tunnel machine? That changes a lot for a moon or Mars base.
You didn't really think Musk was practicing tunneling on Earth to solve mass transit here, did you?
Well, I did. I don’t think I’ve ever been more conflicted about anyone else in my life. Elon is everything I hate, and, the only hope for making my boyhood dreams come true all in one.
...and now you know how supervillains actually work.
-Coop
Black Lives Matter
User avatar
Daehawk
Posts: 63528
Joined: Sat Jan 01, 2005 1:11 am

Re: SpaceX

Post by Daehawk »

Enlarge Image
--------------------------------------------
I am Dyslexic of Borg, prepare to have your ass laminated.
I guess Ray Butts has ate his last pancake.
http://steamcommunity.com/id/daehawk
"Has high IQ. Refuses to apply it"
User avatar
jztemple2
Posts: 11544
Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2009 7:52 am
Location: Brevard County, Florida, USA

Re: SpaceX

Post by jztemple2 »

malchior wrote: Sun Oct 25, 2020 10:26 am
Daehawk wrote: Sun Oct 25, 2020 10:18 am 28 engines sounds like a recipe of failure.
Falcon 9 has lost engines on flights without issues before. It's better to lose 10-20% of your engines than say 25-50% is 1 or 2 of 4 fails. On at least one of the Falcon 9 launches IIRC two were turned off by the flight computer to maintain the ascent profile.
IIRC, during one of the Saturn V launches two of the Rocketdyne J-2 engines in the second stage shut down. One had a failure of some type and when the onboard computer issued the command to make sure it was shut down, turns out the wiring lead to the wrong engine :doh:. Since the flight software was programmed to account for engine outages this wasn't a mission success issue.

On the Space Shuttle we had one flight where one of the SSMEs shut down due to a faulty sensor :roll:. Again, not a mission success issue. Before the next flight the onboard software was altered to not automatically shut down the engine but instead notify the crew and Houston. The crew had the capability to shut down any engine via push button.

While there are failure scenarios where an engine failure can damage adjacent engines, the likelihood that the failure will either be physically confined to the envelope of a single engine or be caused by a non-mechanical issue (sensors, software, wiring) is probably much greater. Also, as malchior notes, the more engines the less effect the loss of any individual one. And with more engines, each will be physically smaller and therefore less of a hazard to the vehicle.
My father said that anything is interesting if you bother to read about it - Michael C. Harrold
User avatar
Zaxxon
Forum Moderator
Posts: 28118
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 12:11 am
Location: Surrounded by Mountains

Re: SpaceX

Post by Zaxxon »

Lacquer.

I would not want to be tasked with tracking these issues down...
User avatar
raydude
Posts: 3894
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 9:22 am

Re: SpaceX

Post by raydude »

User avatar
Zaxxon
Forum Moderator
Posts: 28118
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 12:11 am
Location: Surrounded by Mountains

Re: SpaceX

Post by Zaxxon »

raydude wrote: Thu Oct 29, 2020 10:36 am OSIRIS-REx Sample Stowed. We got our souvenirs. Packing our bags and getting ready to head home.
Awesome.
User avatar
Daehawk
Posts: 63528
Joined: Sat Jan 01, 2005 1:11 am

Re: SpaceX

Post by Daehawk »

I hope you have plenty of samples after driving off and leaving your trunk open :)
--------------------------------------------
I am Dyslexic of Borg, prepare to have your ass laminated.
I guess Ray Butts has ate his last pancake.
http://steamcommunity.com/id/daehawk
"Has high IQ. Refuses to apply it"
User avatar
Hrdina
Posts: 2913
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 6:18 pm
Location: Warren Cromartie Secondary School

Re: SpaceX

Post by Hrdina »

Zaxxon wrote: Wed Oct 28, 2020 7:17 pm Lacquer.

I would not want to be tasked with tracking these issues down...
On the one hand, that was incredibly frustrated since my satellite was atop the rocket that aborted launch at T minus 2 seconds.

On the other, thanks to the engineers who made it so that this kind of thing was detected prior to liftoff. I've read that it was unlikely that this problem would have caused RUD, but still...

Now we're scheduled for November 5 at 18:24 local time.
Conform or be cast out!
User avatar
jztemple2
Posts: 11544
Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2009 7:52 am
Location: Brevard County, Florida, USA

Re: SpaceX

Post by jztemple2 »

Yup. two launches this week, I'll be watching them from my backyard and since they will both be after sunset it will be pretty cool.
My father said that anything is interesting if you bother to read about it - Michael C. Harrold
User avatar
Zaxxon
Forum Moderator
Posts: 28118
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 12:11 am
Location: Surrounded by Mountains

Re: SpaceX

Post by Zaxxon »

Exciting. Good luck!
User avatar
Hrdina
Posts: 2913
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 6:18 pm
Location: Warren Cromartie Secondary School

Re: SpaceX

Post by Hrdina »

jztemple2 wrote: Sun Nov 01, 2020 6:41 pm
Yup. two launches this week, I'll be watching them from my backyard and since they will both be after sunset it will be pretty cool.
Zaxxon wrote: Sun Nov 01, 2020 6:41 pmExciting. Good luck!
WOO HOO!

Conform or be cast out!
User avatar
Zaxxon
Forum Moderator
Posts: 28118
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 12:11 am
Location: Surrounded by Mountains

Re: SpaceX

Post by Zaxxon »

I watched it live. Good stuff!
malchior
Posts: 24794
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 12:58 pm

Re: SpaceX

Post by malchior »

Zaxxon wrote: Thu Nov 05, 2020 9:39 pm I watched it live. Good stuff!
Yeah fantastic. I love how they've packaged this up for the 'consumer' audience. It'll really help develop that pipeline of future rocket scientists.
User avatar
Zaxxon
Forum Moderator
Posts: 28118
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 12:11 am
Location: Surrounded by Mountains

Re: SpaceX

Post by Zaxxon »

malchior wrote: Fri Nov 06, 2020 11:42 am
Zaxxon wrote: Thu Nov 05, 2020 9:39 pm I watched it live. Good stuff!
Yeah fantastic. I love how they've packaged this up for the 'consumer' audience. It'll really help develop that pipeline of future rocket scientists.
I also love how we've reached the point where the fact that this was a new, 'unproven' booster was an issue. Flight-proven (aka used) boosters are now the more reliable option for SpaceX. We're so far past landing/re-use being a novel thing that the dichotomy is reversing--how long before the launch price is discounted for new boosters rather than used?
User avatar
Zaxxon
Forum Moderator
Posts: 28118
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 12:11 am
Location: Surrounded by Mountains

Re: SpaceX

Post by Zaxxon »

Tonight's Starlink launch was the 100th Falcon 9 launch. This particular rocket landed for the 7th time.

Yegads; we live in the future.
User avatar
stessier
Posts: 29816
Joined: Tue Dec 21, 2004 12:30 pm
Location: SC

Re: SpaceX

Post by stessier »

Five years ago today!



Also, from the comments, I thought this was pretty cool (I'm assuming it's true):
" The thing that really gets me is that the ship and the rocket don't coordinate with each other in any way - both are locked into reaching, or maintaining in the case of the ship, a specific set of GPS coordinates, and if the readings are accurate, when the rocket lands, it's also where the ship is."
I require a reminder as to why raining arcane destruction is not an appropriate response to all of life's indignities. - Vaarsuvius
Global Steam Wishmaslist Tracking
Running____2014: 1300.55 miles____2015: 2036.13 miles____2016: 1012.75 miles____2017: 1105.82 miles____2018: 1318.91 miles__2019: 2000.00 miles
User avatar
Zaxxon
Forum Moderator
Posts: 28118
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 12:11 am
Location: Surrounded by Mountains

Re: SpaceX

Post by Zaxxon »

I was just reading that article. Can't believe it's been five years. Now it's extremely rare for a 'fresh' F9 to be used, and missing a landing is news.

Can't wait until the Starship RTLS is nailed and we start seeing the full stack in testing. Whole other scale.
Post Reply