SpaceX (general discussion)

[FighterJock]

Good news about Tuesdays launch, looks like it is going ahead as planned according to Space.com.

http://www.space.com/36023-spacex-echostar-23-launch-webcast-tuesday.html

 

[flanker]

Considering the weather is 40% GO, not really. 90% go for backup date (16'th).

 

[FighterJock]

Considering the weather is 40% GO, not really. 90% go for backup date (16'th).

Trust the weather to spoil the launch, let's hope that Thursday proves to be much better.

 

[FighterJock]

SpaceX has successfully launched the EchoStar 23 satellite into orbit early today (Thursday). And I missed the launch. Damn.

http://www.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/spacex/2017/03/16/spacex-falcon-9-launches-echostar-23-satellite-ksc/99243968/

And here is the YouTube video of the launch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9gMnzYueho

 

[Grey Havoc]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/03/19/european-rocket-scientists-pledge-make-first-private-moon-landing/

 

[Dragon029]

An update on the robot being developed to capture landed Falcon 9 first stages - someone snapped a pic of it on OCISLY (in the bottom right of the attached pic):

• According to an anonymous SpaceX employee, the robot is apparently named Optimus Prime.
• While the rocket is landing, it hides away in a bunker at one end of the drone ship, shown here.
• Once the rocket lands, it'll drive (via a pair of treads shown in attached image) under the Falcon 9 first stage and deploy 4 hydraulic rams which will grip the bottom of the rocket, similar to how they've done it manually in the past, like in this image.

 

[Michel Van]

if all goes right

Optimus Prime will have debut at Flight 32 (SES-10 to GTO)
Also debut of reused first stage from Flight 23
Schedule to launch at 29 March from Pad 39A

if the flight 32 is a success, it's the begin of new era for SpaceX

Simulation of emotional reaction of Management at ULA and Ariane Space on March 30, 2017

 

[FighterJock]

SpaceX will carry out an engine test for the Falcon 9 rocket launch which will happen no later than 29th March, depending on the weather of course.

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/03/ses-10-static-fire-spacex-first-core-re-flight/

 

[fredymac]

Static fire test completed for Thursday’s launch. This booster was flown back in April of last year for an ISS resupply mission. A successful launch will close the loop on the concept of re-usable rockets and move Spacex further down the road toward refining the technology for incremental cost reductions as each launch adds data and confidence. It won’t be as dramatic as the first return landing but it will be as important and probably more consequential to competitors.

 

[FighterJock]

Found this interesting article on CNBC about China's secret plan to crush the US space program and SpaceX.

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/28/chinas-secret-plan-to-crush-spacex-and-the-us-space-program.html

 

[Grey Havoc]

You beat me to it, though I was going to post it over in the Chinese Space Projects thread over in Space Projects.

 

[Grey Havoc]

On a amusing note:

ORIGINAL CAPTION: PROPHET MOTIVE Elon Musk, co-founder of Tesla and OpenAI, inside part of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, 2010.
Photograph by Jonas Fredwall Karlsson.


http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/03/elon-musk-billion-dollar-crusade-to-stop-ai-space-x​

 

[sferrin]

Found this interesting article on CNBC about China's secret plan to crush the US space program and SpaceX.

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/28/chinas-secret-plan-to-crush-spacex-and-the-us-space-program.html

"Though the exact value of China's spending on its space programs remains shrouded in secrecy, many analysts peg its civilian space budget at around $3 billion annually in recent years, a fraction of the $19.3 billion the United States allocated to NASA in 2016. But on that relatively small budget, China has managed to accomplish big things."

It helps when a dollar buys a whole lot more in China than in the US.

 

[FighterJock]

It looks as if today's launch is going ahead, but with a back-up launch date of Saturday if the weather is not good.

 

[flanker]

There will be fairing recovery attempt btw;

https://www.facebook.com/jurvetson/posts/10158475022955611

 

[sferrin]

There will be fairing recovery attempt btw;

https://www.facebook.com/jurvetson/posts/10158475022955611

Parachutes?

 

[sienar]

There will be fairing recovery attempt btw;

https://www.facebook.com/jurvetson/posts/10158475022955611

Parachutes?

This with helicopter recovery according to some sources online

 

[Dragon029]

Successful launch, landing and therefore reuse of the first stage.

 

[Michel Van]

Today is begin of new era in Space flight: entering low-priced launch
SpaceX manage to launch there reused Falcon9 and to land save on there Drone Ship

 

[sferrin]

"It's been 15 years to get here. . ." and this is exactly why the private sector, and countries willing to accept failure, will dominate the future.

 

[sienar]

next goal is reflight in 24hrs

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/847594208219336705

 

[sienar]

and here is a vid of the post launch press conference

https://www.facebook.com/everydayastronaut/

some interesting bits;

going forward the grid fins will be forged titanium, aluminum burns up too much

this flight had the same engines and airframe, but lots of secondary systems switched out for new as a precaution.

this booster will probably be put on display at the cape

they are targeting half a dozen or so reflights this year, double that next year

fairing recovered successfully and it has its own thruster control system with a steerable parachute.

 

[FighterJock]

Some of us missed the launch due to the fact that BST started on Sunday, so I am still getting used to the clock change. But here is the whole launch in technical detail thanks to YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfNO571C7Ko

 

[Michel Van]

next goal is reflight in 24hrs

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/847594208219336705

I think that's musk quirky sense of humor
making spoof on NASA 1970s "we will overhaul in 24 hours the Shuttle to it next launch"
not first time, about his plan for Moon and deep space
he posted a link to video on twitter https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/846667837716410368

way back in 2002 he founded SpaceX in small office building
celebrating with a mariachi band

Apropos
Traditional Aerospace company vs celebrating SpaceX

 

[Michel Van]

How SpaceX fans celebrate flight 32

https://vimeo.com/cinesaurus/spacex

 

[flanker]

It is not humor. When he says within 24 hours, he means it. It has been a goal for a very long time.

 

[Trident]

Practical jokes are a form of humour in their own right

 

[Hobbes]

fairing recovered successfully and it has its own thruster control system with a steerable parachute.

Not quite. They did a successful experiment towards recovery, but the fairing went into the ocean and has not been recovered.

 

[flanker]

I dont believe we have seen confirmation whether they recovered it or not. We know they took a picture of it so they must have been close enough to actually recover it. Meanwhile Elon is getting increasingly confident and willing to do reusable S2...

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/847882289581359104

Since the flight is in 6 months or so, that means they must have been seriously working on the architecture for it for a while.

 

[sienar]

fairing recovered successfully and it has its own thruster control system with a steerable parachute.

Not quite. They did a successful experiment towards recovery, but the fairing went into the ocean and has not been recovered.

He said it was a success at the press conference, so not sure what metric he was using. Maybe just validation of the steering parachutes and thrusters.

next goal is reflight in 24hrs

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/847594208219336705

I think that's musk quirky sense of humor
making spoof on NASA 1970s "we will overhaul in 24 hours the Shuttle to it next launch"
not first time, about his plan for Moon and deep space

He talked about this quite a bit during the press conference. The goal is getting reusability to just refueling, no refurbishment or replacement of anything and hitting a 24hr turn around.

 

[sferrin]

I dont believe we have seen confirmation whether they recovered it or not. We know they took a picture of it so they must have been close enough to actually recover it. Meanwhile Elon is getting increasingly confident and willing to do reusable S2...

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/847882289581359104

Since the flight is in 6 months or so, that means they must have been seriously working on the architecture for it for a while.

I hope they're able to pull the flight off by late summer. If they managed to recover a 2nd stage and 3 1st stages. . . I would love to be a fly on the wall in the ULA boardroom.

 

[FighterJock]

I came across this interesting article from Sciencealert about why last Thursday's launch was the start of a new era of Spaceflight.

http://www.sciencealert.com/here-s-what-the-spacex-reusable-rocket-revolution-could-really-mean

 

[fredymac]

It will be interesting to see how much Spacex uses their Texas launch site if business grows as much as they hope.

 

[Deino]

Video:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSfJDjMFzwR/?hl=de

 

[Michel Van]

Here some new info about Falcon 9 Block 5

The Block 5 upgrade — Musk prefers to call it Version 2.5 — will include around 100 changes to the vehicle

Uprated Engines thrust to up 109% on original Merlin

modified flight-path for more payload and return glide

The current Aluminum grid fins will be replace by forged titanium grid fins.
on SES-10 mission there grid fins burn during reentry

The Block 5 will have more control authority on descent

A New thermal barrier coating to replace the paint currently used on the first stage, because it burn off during flight

A heat shield at the base of the rocket, to protects the engines and the plumbing of the booster’s
after each flight they have to be replace because do damage by landing engine operation

with Falcon 9 Block 5 SpaceX want to achieve:
Launching each Falcon 9 first stage 10 times with only inspections.
Landing and reflying a first stage booster within 24 hours
Under moderate refurbishment providing Falcon 9 first stage launching a 100 times.

This theoretically, reduce launch costs by a factor of 100. That's would be US$620,000 for Falcon 9

NASA demand five testflight of Falcon 9 Block 5 as “frozen” design before putting astronauts in Dragon 2 capsule.

Source
https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/04/04/musk-previews-busy-year-ahead-for-spacex/

 

[flanker]

I dont believe we have seen confirmation whether they recovered it or not. We know they took a picture of it so they must have been close enough to actually recover it. Meanwhile Elon is getting increasingly confident and willing to do reusable S2...

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/847882289581359104

Since the flight is in 6 months or so, that means they must have been seriously working on the architecture for it for a while.

I hope they're able to pull the flight off by late summer. If they managed to recover a 2nd stage and 3 1st stages. . . I would love to be a fly on the wall in the ULA boardroom.

Forget about ULA, atleast they are not sticking their head into the sand - i would love to be a fly on Arianespace boardroom wall...

It will be interesting to see how much Spacex uses their Texas launch site if business grows as much as they hope.

Where is this from?

EDIT; NVM found; https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=35425.400

So basically not based on anything just fanboy wishing.

 

[fredymac]

Spacex in Boca Chica

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6AXpAXppvc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yz5T2nUh5Po

 

[FighterJock]

SpaceX has gained substantial cost savings by re-using the Falcon 9 first stage according to this report from Spacenews.

http://spacenews.com/spacex-gaining-substantial-cost-savings-from-reused-falcon-9/

 

[FighterJock]

The USAF are reportedly interested in putting military satellites on to SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets according to this article by Reuters.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-space-spacex-military-idUSKBN1782ZS

 

[FighterJock]

Just found this article about the Falcon Heavy rocket from Futurisim.com.

https://futurism.com/this-year-spacex-will-launch-a-game-changing-rocket/