SpaceX (general discussion)

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Borisov said:
“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,"
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reading this, I spit my coffee almost over my computer...
Falcon 9 will this year reach 20th reuse of first stage, Russia never reuse there first stage...

The Amur-CNG rocket is another Russian vaporware
The planed launch is push from 2024 to 2030s

In mean time in Texas stand the biggest Methalox rocket ever build
good luck russia you need it...
 
Forest Green said:
Fully reusable, it's LEO payload is only 10.5t. So it's about half a Falcon 9 assuming it's successful.
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If it works.

People may ham and hal the Starship but that thing been at least flying and has the Falcon development with nearly a decade of flights as a background.

This thing? Hasnt even left the paper for the computers yet let alone the manufacturer. And the Soyuz and that ISS Module manufacturing issues show that making ut be questionable before the labor and mind crunch due to a certain conflict.

I be highly surprised if it ever flies.
 
Here's a new video from NASASpaceflight concerning preparation of SpaceX's "Chopsticks" at Boca Chica for future flights of the Starship:


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.
Click to expand...
 
GLZrSCBWUAAA4-m

wonderful picture of yesterday Falcon 9 launch

Source X
 
This is in relation to the so called Starshield system. The prototypes are believed to have been hidden amongst Starlink launches. It’s designed to be the most all encompassing reconnaissance system ever launched.

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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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finance.yahoo.com

Exclusive: Northrop Grumman working with Musk's SpaceX on U.S. spy satellite system

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...
finance.yahoo.com finance.yahoo.com

The system will eventually be mostly controlled autonomously by large numbers of AI systems due to the huge amounts of data produced.

www.twz.com

If SpaceX's Secret Constellation Is What We Think It Is, It's Game Changing (Updated)

A constellation of hundreds of sensor-equipped satellites would offer unprecedented strategic and tactical surveillance around the globe.
www.twz.com www.twz.com
 
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I suspect the NRO project is back door funded via the Spaceforce/Space Development Agency and that it will be integrated with the “Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture” (ugh), which is to be composed of some 400-500 tracking and transport layer satellites. The tracking layer is for ballistic and hypersonic weapon detection and fire control via IR, and the transport layer is a series of UHF and L band communications satellites. The entire constellation is to have laser cross links. The PWSA is to also have a processing function, which I believe will allow the data collected to be analyzed for high priority targets in near real time. It will probably be a revolution in warfare on par with the explosion of UAVs in the last few years.
 
Byeman said:
Not at all. NRO is funded separately from either.
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My post was poorly phrased. It would be more correct to say that the two organizations are collaborating on recon satellites, given that they will have a tactical as well as strategic role. It see likely Space Force is spending some of it’s budget on projects that are also funded by NRO, though it is impossible to know since NROs budget is black.

How Space Force, NRO are sharing the ground-tracking mission, for now - Breaking Defense

"The good news about this approach is this really fits my priority of speed, speed and speed," Frank Calvelli, space acquisition czar at the Department of the Air Force, said of the plan to have NRO take the lead with Space Force oversight and some funding.
breakingdefense.com
 
i think that Starshield provide real time image and video from Space
But with thousand satellite in orbit give global coverage

There are small cube sat that provide this service
So those sensors hardware can be installed in Starlink platform instead

more on that technology
dragonflyaerospace.com

Earth Surface Observation: from Aerial Surveys to Ultrahigh-Resolution Satellite Shots - Dragonfly Aerospace

Dragonfly Aerospace's new land surface satellites provide multispectral and hyperspectral imagery with ultra-high resolution ground sampling distance.
dragonflyaerospace.com dragonflyaerospace.com

oh by the way
why has Starlink communication satellite, cameras on board ?
it go one on board
https://twitter.com/x/status/1778587215880474811
View: https://twitter.com/smvllstvrs/status/1778587215880474811
 
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.
 
Josh_TN said:
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.
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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.
 
Josh_TN said:
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.
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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...
 
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martinbayer said:
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...
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Does he looks like Gene Hackman or Will Smith ? :D
 
Byeman said:
Not at all. NRO is funded separately from either.
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Really? Show me their budget.

The only "public" portions of the NRO budget are those that come from other services, under budget items such as (IIRC) "Selected Activities" or "BILLIE JEAN" from the USAF budget.
 
TomcatViP said:
www.ktsa.com

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 www.ktsa.com
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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.

GLeUMWCX0AAkd6k.jpg
 
Byeman said:
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.
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I stand corrected on Tranche 1/2 composition. However NRO appears to have a half dozen launches scheduled for a large recon constellation to be built by Starshield. It is my guess that it will be integrated with the Spaceforce transport layer.
 
martinbayer said:
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...
Click to expand...

Some articles concerning the new NRO project claim superior resolution compared to current satellites; I cannot see how that is possible on smaller platforms ant similar altitude unless they are using multiple cameras to image the same location at once. But it could also just be bad reporting. I suspect that will not ever be disclosed. The satellite orbits might provide some indication.
 
Michel Van said:
oh by the way
why has Starlink communication satellite, cameras on board ?
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Because cell phone cameras are very cheap and light, and are useful for Q&A/debugging. Same reason why all SpaceX hardware has a whole bunch of microphones onboard. If there is an energetic event, it will make a sound, which will reach the microphones at different times, and from arrival times SpaceX can figure out where the event happened. This was used to figure out what went wrong with B1018 during the CRS-7 flight. A strut holding the helium COPV inside the LOX tank failed, the bottle impacted the dome and broke, and overpressure destroyed the tank. SpaceX got the sound from the strut breaking and the impact, and very quickly located them and figured out what went wrong.
 
Byeman said:
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.
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Now that I have a full keyboard and some saved links to call up...

Tranch 0 is 28 satellites, 20 Transport and 8 Tracking.



Tranch 1:

"SDA plans to field the first operational generation of the PWSA, Tranche 1, beginning in late 2024. Tranche 1 will include 126 Transport Layer satellites, 35 Tracking satellites, and 12 tactical demonstration satellites (called T1DES). "

www.spaceforce.mil

Space Development Agency Successfully Launches Tranche 0 Satellites

SDA delivers first 10 satellites on-orbit, two-and-a-half years from award to launchThe Space Development Agency (SDA) today announced the successful initial launch of Tranche 0 (T0) of the
www.spaceforce.mil


So far I have only identified contracts for the tracking layer for Tranche 2, so perhaps there are no Transport layer satellites yet assigned to that generation. Tranche 1 does appear to have separate tracking and transport satellites, and I believe there are different models of Transport satellite as well - Alph, Beta, and Gama (UHF, Link 16/L band, UHF). But I'm still sorting out when different models/frequencies of transport satellite are being sent up; there seems to be little documentation that describes the system in total. Each article I've looked at seems to only mention what is in a particular launch, or a particular contractor, or sometimes a particular tranche. Any information you can link would be appreciated.
 
99% of those types of videos aren't even generated by a human.
 
True.

This proposal by VAST as seen on NSF
may be of interest:

Starship Expendable Upper Stage?

Starship Expendable Upper Stage?
forum.nasaspaceflight.com forum.nasaspaceflight.com

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:
phys.org

'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.org
www.spacedaily.com

Refining 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 m
www.spacedaily.com

—with Falcon Heavy Red Dragons for fast taxies perhaps.

FLEM revised?
 
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publiusr said:
This proposal by VAST as seen on NSF
may be of interest:

Starship Expendable Upper Stage?

Starship Expendable Upper Stage?
forum.nasaspaceflight.com forum.nasaspaceflight.com

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.
Click to expand...
No.
1a. How do you make a wet workshop out of stages that are escape trajectories or high energy orbits?
1b. Concept is deader than ABMA. Not economical.

2. No. Starship is the Dragon XXL
 
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publiusr said:
True.

This proposal by VAST as seen on NSF
may be of interest:

Starship Expendable Upper Stage?

Starship Expendable Upper Stage?
forum.nasaspaceflight.com forum.nasaspaceflight.com

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:
phys.org

'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.org
www.spacedaily.com

Refining 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 m
www.spacedaily.com

—with Falcon Heavy Red Dragons for fast taxies perhaps.

FLEM revised?
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Zero interest for it just a classic launcher
 
It looks like Vast is assuming delivery by an expended Starship, not that they’re making use of said Starship for anything afterwards.
 
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.
 
publiusr said:
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.
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No, that doesn't make sense to SpaceX.
 
Sandboxx has posted this video about the potential military applications of the Starship:


In 2021, the Air Force Research Laboratory kicked off its Rocket Cargo Program, which aims to use commercial rocket applications to rapidly deliver military cargo anywhere in the world in under an hour. This concept was considered so potentially significant that the Air Force itself quickly established the Rocket Cargo effort as one of just four Vanguard Programs — the branch's highest priority technological efforts.
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And while SpaceX's Starship may not be the only potential platform for the job, it may prove to be exactly what the Air Force and Space Force need to revolutionize military logistics.
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I have to say that this is the first time I've heard of the AFRL's Rocket Cargo programme.
 

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