SpaceX (general discussion)

fredymac said:
Possible "Zuma 2" undisclosed launch revealed for October 25th. Customer is NRO and payload is designated NROL-108. Booster will land back at cape.

Meanwhile, they managed to capture another fairing on this mornings Starlink launch.
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Would NG have had to build this one for free being as they seemingly caused the loss of the first one?
 
If Mars is the apohelion and the orbit is symmetric and synchronized, about 2 1/2 years.
 
fredymac said:
If Mars is the apohelion and the orbit is symmetric and synchronized, about 2 1/2 years.
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Thanks for that fredymac, I wonder if it would be possible to observe Starman through an eight inch or ten inch amateur astronomy telescope when Starman is at closest approach to Earth in two and a half years time.
 
Rule of thumb: visible wavelength (0.0005 mm) divided by telescope diameter (250mm) = angular resolution = 2 micro radians. If your object is say 1000 km away (= 1 million meters), then your target resolution is 2E-6 x 1E6 = 2 meters. So you can resolve objects 2 meters apart or you can see something as small as 2 meters. Objects need to have features bigger than 2 meters to distinguish their shape. So a Tesla Roadster will just be a blob with a long axis. Starman will be hidden in the blob. If Starman had a strong contrast against the seats and car body, then you might see an irregularity inside the blob.
 
Unfortunately most of this is behind a paywall.

www.flightglobal.com

Pentagon, SpaceX may demo rocket delivery of cargo in 2021

The US Transportation Command has partnered with Space Exploration Technologies Corporation to study delivering tens of thousands of kilograms worth of cargo to anywhere on Earth within about an hour using the aerospace company's vertical landing rockets.
www.flightglobal.com www.flightglobal.com
 
Wonder what the landing pad requirements would be and how would they get the rocket back?
 
That one might be attritable.

What would be the empty weight of a Starship?
 
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View: https://youtu.be/JVm0nTZb_x8


Starship SN8 completed Cryo/pressure testing and is readied for its three Raptor engines. The thrust simulator has been removed from Pad A, a roll of stainless steel was delivered, a nosecone pathfinder was scrapped, and work continued around the site.

Video and Pictures from Mary (@BocaChicaGal). Edited by Jack Beyer (@TheJackBeyer)

Click "Join" for access to early fast turnaround clips, exclusive discord access with the NSF team, etc - to support the channel.

Updates: https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/ind...

Articles: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/?s=Starship

NSF Store: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/shop/

L2 Boca Chica (more clips and photos) from BC's very early days to today.
...
(Join L2 and support NSF here: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/l2/)
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sferrin said:
Wonder what the landing pad requirements would be and how would they get the rocket back?
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They fly it right back with the help of the other booster at the destination.

People hear "Starship delivers military equipment" and instantly think of hot-dropping or something, while this study is actually run by USTRANSCOM and basically looks at starship as an alternative to a C-17 or even a C-5. Think less of moving things directly into unprepared conflict areas and more of managing logistics between two well defended and prepared logistics hubs.

Then if it works really well in a prepared and permissible environment, maybe they think of hotdropping later...
 
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https://twitter.com/x/status/1315360940641136641
View: https://twitter.com/austinbarnard45/status/1315360940641136641


Raptor Serial Number 39 has been spotted and is awaiting integration onto StarShip SN8
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https://twitter.com/x/status/1315362904036839429
View: https://twitter.com/austinbarnard45/status/1315362904036839429


StarShip SN8
Wet dress✅
Ambient test✅
3x Cryogenic tests✅
Static fire⭕️
15km flight⭕️
Belly-flop maneuver⭕️
Landed back down⭕️
Champagne time⭕️
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View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICJRvgVQCbQ


Two Raptor Engines, SN39 and SN32 arrived at the Launch Site today for installation on Starship SN8 - though SN39 was later removed. A set of Forward Flaps were moved inside the Nosecone Production Tent and Mary provides us with excellent views of the current state of progress on Suborbital Pad B, the Tank Farm and of course, Starship SN8.

Video and Pictures from Mary (@BocaChicaGal). Edited by Jack Beyer (@TheJackBeyer)
 
The aim is to use commercial space vehicles, including SpaceX’s Starship, to deliver payloads anywhere in the world. Starship can carry loads of 220,000 pounds.


“Our role is to understand the ground support infrastructure required to make it happen,” XArc CEO Sam Ximenes said. “What are the ground facilities and cargo standardizations so that it is seamlessly integrated into the (military’s) current logistics system.”
[...]
“It’s time to learn how our current strategies to project and sustain forces can evolve with a new mode of transportation,” he said.

In addition to speed, commercial space lift “eliminates en-route stops or air refueling,” officials said in a statement. “This capability has the potential to be one of the greatest revolutions in transportation since the airplane.”

The no-cost agreement allows U.S. Transportation Command and the companies to exchange research and technology as they study the use of commercial space launches to move cargo around the globe.
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www.expressnews.com

San Antonio’s XArc helping military use SpaceX rockets to hasten cargo movement

A local company is working with military and SpaceX to move cargo anywhere in the world...
www.expressnews.com www.expressnews.com
 
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The above is now holding up a number of launches including NROL-108.
 
A static test, join the nose-cone, a final static test, and finally: The Adama Maneuver!
 
Keep in mind this just three Raptors doing a short static fire so you can imagine what the 15KM launch is going to be like, let alone a fully engined Starship or Super Heavy.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1318470483998871552
View: https://twitter.com/austinbarnard45/status/1318470483998871552


For the first time in history, three Raptors have performed a successful static fire!!!!!Onwards to merging the vehicle with the nose cone and soon the 15km flight!
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https://twitter.com/x/status/1318466366425518086
View: https://twitter.com/austinbarnard45/status/1318466366425518086


I was 12 miles away, it shook the entire ground and lit up the sky like the sunrise!
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NASA has not issued any updates on the status of the Crew-1 launch, although one NASA webpage lists a launch of no earlier than Nov. 11. “That investigation is ongoing,” Tim Dunn of NASA’s Launch Services Program said at an Oct. 16 briefing about the scheduled Nov. 10 launch of the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich ocean science satellite, which will also use a Falcon 9.

Dunn said that there has been a “tremendous amount of testing” since the GPS 3 launch scrub, including taking the Merlin engines from that rocket back to SpaceX’s McGregor, Texas, test site for further study. That investigation has involved NASA and Space Force personnel working with SpaceX.

He did not elaborate, though, on the specific problem with the engines or when either the GPS 3 or Crew-1 missions might launch. “We’ve learned a lot. There’s going to be some hardware implications as we move forward, depending on the engines installed on various rockets,” he said.
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spacenews.com

Falcon 9 investigation ongoing as SpaceX continues Starlink launches

A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched another set of Starlink satellites Oct. 18 as the investigation into another Falcon 9 launch abort more than two weeks ago continues.
spacenews.com spacenews.com
 

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