SpaceX (general discussion)

Comeback for Booster 14
it rollout Megabay 2 to launch site and put on pad A for static firing today
seems Booster 14 will fly again on flight 9
 
At Launch Complex 39A emerge a new Flame Trench
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Poor Jared....he shook so many mitts at his DC confirmation hearing that even Lady Macbeth and Howie Mandel are worried about his excessive hand-washing :(

Ideally, Starship should not need helium.

In terms of heat shielding, has anyone thought to have a long, torus shaped header tank running the length of a vehicle...behind the skin/TPS tiles?

China used helium to enhance efficiency--so perhaps the helium ring can reject the heat out as rocket exhaust.

When rockets fuel, the liquid levels drop top to down.

Can that drop be changed to coreward dropping to skinward by spinning a bullet Starship and keeping cool that way?
 
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A company started by "two blokes in a Cardiff garage" is about to launch a game-changing space factory that could start a new industrial revolution.

Space Forge will ship its prototype manufacturing satellite in the coming weeks from an industrial park in the city to the US, where it will be sent into orbit on a SpaceXrocket.

Sky News was given exclusive access to the company's dust-free 'clean room' to watch engineers carry out final checks.

ForgeStar-1 is already loaded up with the raw ingredients to make a new generation of super-efficient semiconductor chips that would be impossible to produce on the planet's surface.
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The UK's Satellite Applications Catapult, which supports space start-ups, says everything from stronger metal alloys to powerful cancer drugs could in future be made in space.

Nafeesa Dajda, chief of missions at the Catapult, said Britain is taking the lead.

"We can communicate from pretty much anywhere on Earth using satellite technology," she said.

"There's an opportunity now to think about how we use space in a different way and the unique environment that space provides us with, that microgravity environment, means we can do things we just can't do on Earth.

"So how big could this be for the UK? Huge.

"We've estimated that the opportunity is worth around £20bn to the UK economy over the next 10 years."
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news.sky.com

Satellite 'space factory' could create advanced tech that slashes billions of pounds from energy bills

Making high-grade material for electronic components could be a lucrative business but also make computers significantly more energy efficient.
news.sky.com news.sky.com
 
It looks like Starlink's valuation may be at risk with Musk's DOGE "Work", from Forbes:


While DOGE dismay has hammered Tesla stock, SpaceX is still flying high with investors as the world’s most valuable private company. But economic realities and the physical limits of beaming internet connectivity from space could puncture the good vibes.
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Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeremybo...
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Then of course there are already rival satcom networks in progress such as Amazon's planned Kuiper network (The first batch will be launched very soon) and I do believe that the ESA has plans for a rival network too.
 
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Celestial has a video out about whether or not SpaceX can survive without Elon Musk:


If Elon Musk vanished tomorrow, would SpaceX thrive—or collapse? We examine his past, his present influence, and what the future might hold for humanity’s most ambitious space company.
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Personally I think that SpaceX is doing perfectly well with Gwyne Shotwell running the company and would actually do better long term without him around.
 
Elon Musk is absolutely essential for SpaceX.

Example from 2018:

SEATTLE/ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) - SpaceX Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk flew to the Seattle area in June for meetings with engineers leading a satellite launch project crucial to his space company's growth.
Within hours of landing, Musk had fired at least seven people on the program's senior management team at the Redmond, Washington, office, the culmination of disagreements over the pace at which the team was developing and testing its Starlink satellites, according to two SpaceX employees with direct knowledge of the situation.
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NMaude said:
Celestial has a video out about whether or not SpaceX can survive without Elon Musk:




Personally I think that SpaceX is doing perfectly well with Gwyne Shotwell running the company and would actually do better long term without him around.
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Bingo. Musk value as the "miracle engineer" of his companies is grossly exagerated. Nowadays he is more a nuisance than anything else.
 
Archibald said:
Bingo. Musk value as the "miracle engineer" of his companies is grossly exagerated. Nowadays he is more a nuisance than anything else.
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Safe to say that without him his major companies would've settled at milking markets, several times over. Which is exactly that happened with everyone else.

For better or worse, he's always that loose cannon, preventing mediocrity.
 
NMaude said:
Then of course there are already rival satcom networks in progress such as Amazon's planned Kuiper network (The first batch will be launched very soon) and I do believe that the ESA has plans for a rival network too.
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OneWeb doesn't sell directly to consumers, IRIS² will have a fraction of Starlink's capacity (and is intended mainly for European governments à la Starshield, though supposedly it will also offer services to people and companies), and Kuiper will not be a viable competitor for several years, if not longer. SpaceX has far more launch capacity available for Starlink at much lower cost, and such an advantage compounds. They're also better at mass-manufacturing satellites. I think Kuiper will be successful, but it's no Starlink killer.
 
This may be helpful to SpaceX
phys.org

Nacre-like ceramic-metal composite achieves superior strength and mass-production potential

Mollusks possess sturdy protective shells, thanks to their internal nacre structure. Nacre, the natural nanocomposite, demonstrates outstanding mechanical properties through both high strength and high toughness. Nacre, therefore, is expected to be applied in fields such as lightweight...
phys.org phys.org
 
NMaude said:
Maybe he's preventing mediocrity however he appears to have become a major liability for his companies.
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I would note that this is presently largely dependent on where one's own political leanings lie, and leave it at that.

What's more interesting is wondering who will succeed both Musk and Shotwell. Neither of them will live forever.
 
publiusr said:
Isn’t this rich:
www.spacedaily.com

Putin praises Musk, compares him to Soviet space hero

Moscow (AFP) April 16, 2025 - Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Elon Musk on Wednesday, telling university students he was a pioneer comparable to legendary Soviet rocket engineer Sergei Korolev.
www.spacedaily.com
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Disgusting! Not to mention that Musk has nothing on the late Sergei Korolev (And the irony is that Korolev was Ukrainian)..
 

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