Fully reusable, it's LEO payload is only 10.5t. So it's about half a Falcon 9 assuming it's successful.mean while in Russia
Russian space chief says new rocket will put Falcon 9 reuse to shame
There's just one catch...arstechnica.com
My opinion on Russia estimation:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EoAHdwGBvU
reading this, I spit my coffee almost over my computer...“If the Falcon 9, as a rule, is used more than 10 times, our new methalox first stage will be reusable at least 50 and perhaps up to 100 times,"
If it works.Fully reusable, it's LEO payload is only 10.5t. So it's about half a Falcon 9 assuming it's successful.
This week on Starbase Update, we catch up with Jack and look into the intense preparations for Flight 4 at SpaceX's Starbase, including major updates to the "Chopsticks" for their upcoming first catch attempt. Join us as we explore the rapid construction at the Starfactory, and get a sneak peek at the future of Starship with the new office building taking shape. Plus, we’ll take a closer look at Booster 11 and Ship 29 gearing up for the next big test flight.
Aerospace and defense company Northrop Grumman is working with SpaceX, the space venture of billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, on a classified spy satellite project already capturing high-resolution imagery of the Earth, according to people familiar with the program.
The program, details of which were first reported by Reuters last month, is meant to enhance the U.S. government's ability to track military and intelligence targets from low-Earth orbits, providing high-resolution imagery of a kind that had traditionally been captured mostly by drones and reconnaissance aircraft.
The network's imaging capabilities are designed to have superior resolution over most existing U.S. government spying systems.
It's also designed to address another concern: Currently, U.S. defense and intelligence agencies gather considerable amounts of imagery from drones and reconnaissance aircraft in other countries' sovereign airspace, which poses risks, especially in conflict zones. Placing that image-collection in Earth's orbit reduces the risk, U.S. officials have said.
Once the new spy satellite network is fully deployed, the people told Reuters, it will be equipped with an array of different sensors, including optical and radar technology. The system will also feature relay satellites that can transmit the imagery and other data across the network, two of the people added.
Not at all. NRO is funded separately from either.I suspect the NRO project is back door funded via the Spaceforce/Space Development Agency
Not at all. NRO is funded separately from either.
Huh?The future NRO constellation I think is more dedicated recon packages, possibly/likely made by other contractors, employing a starlink style bus and optical cross link. The stated goal is "hundreds" of satellites, not thousands, and it is not clear what capability they will contain. I personally suspect part of the GMTI program is included in this effort, but I assume there is also an optical component as well given the scope of the project. I'm actually putting together an article concerning the entire tracking/transport and now...observation (for lack of a better word) satellite layers. Tranch 0 of the tracking transport layer I believe is already on station for testing purposes. Tranch 1 will start next year, and in total is over 170 satellites (total constellation > 200). It looks like the NRO observation satellites will start launching next month, with a half dozen launches apparently scheduled for this year. Tranche 2 of the tracking layer has been contracted and is 54 satellites split between three contractors.
This capability is going to be created practically overnight compared to other ISR and C3 systems. The US has figured out it has total booster superiority and it intends to exploit it heavily.
Do you think technology is at the point where moderate resolution imagery from different satellite viewing angles can be consistently/continuously combined into a high resolution scene that can be examined from multiple viewpoints? Asking for a paranoid friend...The future NRO constellation I think is more dedicated recon packages, possibly/likely made by other contractors, employing a starlink style bus and optical cross link. The stated goal is "hundreds" of satellites, not thousands, and it is not clear what capability they will contain. I personally suspect part of the GMTI program is included in this effort, but I assume there is also an optical component as well given the scope of the project. I'm actually putting together an article concerning the entire tracking/transport and now...observation (for lack of a better word) satellite layers. Tranch 0 of the tracking transport layer I believe is already on station for testing purposes. Tranch 1 will start next year, and in total is over 170 satellites (total constellation > 200). It looks like the NRO observation satellites will start launching next month, with a half dozen launches apparently scheduled for this year. Tranche 2 of the tracking layer has been contracted and is 54 satellites split between three contractors.
This capability is going to be created practically overnight compared to other ISR and C3 systems. The US has figured out it has total booster superiority and it intends to exploit it heavily.
Does he looks like Gene Hackman or Will Smith ?Do you think technology is at the point where moderate resolution imagery from different satellite viewing angles can be consistently/continuously combined into a high resolution scene that can be examined from multiple viewpoints? Asking for a paranoid friend...
Not at all. NRO is funded separately from either.
The Super Heavy’s liftoff from SpaceX’s Boca Chica flight test facility on the Texas Gulf Coast had been targeted for 8 a.m. EST Friday before Musk announced the postponement.
I'd be delighted to be wrong but I think they posted an old article for clicks. They had to replace a grid-fin actuator on Flight 3, delaying it by a day, and the current rocket isn't even stacked. On top of that they just received their launch license from the FCC and their launch window doesn't open until the 25th.SpaceX Super Heavy-Starship cleared for Saturday launch attempt - KTSA
The test launch of SpaceX's Super Heavy-Starship rocket will come nearly seven months after an initial test...www.ktsa.com
Huh?
Tranche 2 is missile warning and tracking
Tranche 1 is "transport" i.e. comm
Tranche 0 is test of 1 & 2
NRO is not involved with these. or ready to launch a similar constellation.
Do you think technology is at the point where moderate resolution imagery from different satellite viewing angles can be consistently/continuously combined into a high resolution scene that can be examined from multiple viewpoints? Asking for a paranoid friend...
oh by the way
why has Starlink communication satellite, cameras on board ?
Huh?
Tranche 2 is missile warning and tracking
Tranche 1 is "transport" i.e. comm
Tranche 0 is test of 1 & 2
NRO is not involved with these. or ready to launch a similar constellation.
No.This proposal by VAST as seen on NSF
may be of interest:
That could go in one of two ways—
1.) Inert tankage either left alone or perhaps made a wet workshop, or
2.) Refilled like standard Starship but made a giant Dragon XXL.
A. They will never exist because Dragon propulsion landing was never developed—with Falcon Heavy Red Dragons for fast taxies perhaps.
Zero interest for it just a classic launcherTrue.
This proposal by VAST as seen on NSF
may be of interest:
That could go in one of two ways—
1.) Inert tankage either left alone or perhaps made a wet workshop, or
2.) Refilled like standard Starship but made a giant Dragon XXL.
That might push a hypergolic lander towards towards Mars’ asteroid moons to build infrastructure there, saving a manned landing for last—preferably with a smaller hypergolic craft.
I know, this less than the all-or-nothing approach where Starship just does a Ray Bradbury all in one go…but this may be a way to engender longer term support for prolonged Mars exploration by havinga more easily scrubbed lander the planetary protection types could swallow.
Once infrastructure is in place, XXLs can take their time on trajectories described here:
'Tube map' around planets and moons made possible by knot theory
Just as sat-nav did away with the need to argue over the best route home, scientists from the University of Surrey have developed a new method to find the optimal routes for future space missions without the need to waste fuel. The paper is published in the journal Astrodynamics.phys.orgRefining space mission interoperability: NASA unveils new trajectory sharing strategy
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Apr 26, 2024 - NASA's Engineering and Safety Center has introduced a new approach, dubbed Trajectory Reverse Engineering (TRE), for transferring spacecraft trajectories between flight mechanics tools. This mwww.spacedaily.com
—with Falcon Heavy Red Dragons for fast taxies perhaps.
FLEM revised?
No, that doesn't make sense to SpaceX.My point was that Starship equipment may not need tiles to be useful. Something like Bullet might shove a more modest lander Marsward. The planetary protection folks might prefer that or perhaps get full Starship nixed.