View Full Version : SpaceX Falcon 9 Live Landing Attempt
SpaceX Falcon 9 cargo launch to the ISS. After payload separation they will attempt to start the motor on re-entry and do a controlled descent and landing onto a barge in the Atlantic. Launch approx 1120 UTC.
Live video here (http://ti.me/1tChxuS).
Launch abort at T-90 seconds. Actuator drift. Next launch attempt Friday at 0509, (presumably East Coast Time.), 1009 UTC.
Ancient Mariner
6th Jan 2015, 10:27
Delayed to Friday.
Per
SpaceX's fifth official cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station is now targeted to launch on Saturday Jan 10th at 0947 UTC
henry_crun
9th Jan 2015, 18:47
X MARKS THE SPOT: FALCON 9 ATTEMPTS OCEAN PLATFORM LANDING | SpaceX (http://www.spacex.com/news/2014/12/16/x-marks-spot-falcon-9-attempts-ocean-platform-landing)
NASA NTV-1 Sat 8.30 am - 10.30 am GMT
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html
http://www.ustream.tv/nasahdtv
Thanks Elon, real nice of you to schedule this for ol' henry's birthday. :ok:
.
henry_crun
10th Jan 2015, 07:56
Launch less than one hour away. Watching on UStream....
felixflyer
10th Jan 2015, 08:06
Approximately how long does it take to get to and dock with the ISS?
Will we get to see anyhing in the night sky later?
I think it normally takes a few days. It's to do do with trajectories and velocity. Some fairly precision parking is required, and you don't want to rear end the thing. Recently, though the Russians got up there in about six hours. They must know a short cut.
Is Ladbrokes or someone running a book on this robot ship landing?
henry_crun
10th Jan 2015, 09:08
Landing attempt can also be viewed here:
Watch this: SpaceX's Falcon 9 barge landing is underway | The Verge (http://www.theverge.com/2015/1/9/7521671/spacex-falcon-9-rocket-launch-livestream)
SpaceX update on landing attempt:
Landing Update: Rocket made it to drone spaceport ship, but landed hard.
Close, but no cigar this time. Bodes well for the future though.
henry_crun
10th Jan 2015, 09:43
p7x-SumbynI
CRS-5 Launch
henry_crun
10th Jan 2015, 10:54
Little Jim tells me he has run a wire all the way from SpaceX HQ to Castle Crun and a bell willl ring in our main R&R area when the first stage landing is on their television channel.
"whisper, whisper"
Ah, no, not quite, Little Jim tells me it's not an actual wire, and it's not an actual bell. He has 'subscribed' to 'youtube' and they will send an 'email' which puts an 'alert' on his 'tablet' and just sounds like a bell.
Same thing, really. :8
Elon Musk ✔ @elonmusk
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Rocket made it to drone spaceport ship, but landed hard. Close, but no cigar this time. Bodes well for the future tho.
10:05 AM - 10 Jan 2015
Elon Musk ✔ @elonmusk
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Ship itself is fine. Some of the support equipment on the deck will need to be replaced...
10:10 AM - 10 Jan 2015
Elon Musk ✔ @elonmusk
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Didn't get good landing/impact video. Pitch dark and foggy. Will piece it together from telemetry and ... actual pieces.
10:15 AM - 10 Jan 2015
Windy Militant
10th Jan 2015, 11:24
Growing up in the sixties all the blurb from NASA and the media showing us that space travel would be a normal everyday occurrence by now. It's taken a bit longer getting there, but things are getting more like Thunderbirds every day. I wonder how long it will take them to get it accurate enough to land through the summer house!
The onboard shots were interesting if a bit smudgy due to the ice. Shame they had no footage from the barge. Be interesting to see the landing from the ground so to speak.
Better luck next time chaps!
henry_crun
10th Jan 2015, 13:43
Still no vid of the stage 1 landing, I guess they are finding it difficult to put anything together.
There is a vid of the July test landing, that's the one with all the ice.
Approximately how long does it take to get to and dock with the ISS?
As a general rule if you watch the ISS overhead (look at Heavens-Above (http://www.heavens-above.com/)
You will see a point of light preceeding the ISS in the same orbit* for a few hours, maybe days before docking and a few hours/days after undocking.
* Not really, it's in a slower and higher orbit before docking and a faster and lower orbit when leaving, but you can't tell that with the naked eye.
Landing through a summer house is nothing...I will be impressed when they can land under the swimming pool.
henry_crun
11th Jan 2015, 16:05
NASA says two days to catch up with ISS, so that's sometime tomorrow.
Flagon
11th Jan 2015, 16:20
As someone who doubted that they would be able to balance a telegraph pole on a rocket exhaust, I was VERY impressed to watch this test flight - and doubt no more.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t15vP1PyoA
henry_crun
12th Jan 2015, 00:39
Er, yes, and here's a frenchman doing the same thing......in 1957
L'ATAR VOLANT : A.F du 29/05/1957. - Vidéo Dailymotion (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x59ijl_l-atar-volant-a-f-du-29-05-1957_tech)
Flagon
12th Jan 2015, 16:03
Meanwhile, back in the 21st Century - does anyone know how the telegraph pole is kept upright? Presumably extending steerable cruciform fins at the top deployed for the freefall, but is it thrusters or gimballing exhaust for the delicate bit?
henry_crun
13th Jan 2015, 19:41
https://mobile.twitter.com/SpaceX/status/554638011485257728/photo/1
henry_crun
13th Jan 2015, 19:58
Flagon
There is mention here of a cold gas attitude control system:
SpaceX Grasshopper Development Updates - Spaceflight101 (http://www.spaceflight101.com/spacex-grasshopper-development-updates.html)
There is mention here of a cold gas attitude control system:
I believe it's cold gas thrusters outside the atmosphere, fins in the atmosphere with the engine off, and engine gimballing when the engine is running.
Landing video is up, didn't see anyone else post it yet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3nMsUvakPM
Apparently the fins got stuck at a steep angle when the hydraulic fluid ran out, and the engine gimbal couldn't compensate for it and still decelerate enough to land softly.
Unfortunately, from the video, it looks like there won't be many pieces left that are large enough to determine whether it really will be reusable when they land it in one piece. Hopefully next time it will work.
Wasn't this also the first time they did a boostback manoeuvre where it turns around and heads back toward Florida? I think the previous attempts just fell into the sea wherever it was heading.
Edit: here you go, this is how it's supposed to work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfMuvsC9k2U
JFZ90
17th Jan 2015, 10:07
Despite going wrong as above, that is pretty close, demonstrates they have clearly cracked a lot of the technical challenges to get this far, and a very impressive achievement.
Dwe10pbVPDQ
Next try tonight. (http://www.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/2015/02/08/spacex-hopes-for-next-dscovr-launch-attempt-monday-after-radar-failure-scrubbed-first-try-sunday/23090933/)
henry_crun
10th Feb 2015, 07:50
While we're waiting, let's go on -
TQ6tZtGrShg
Elons Tour of SpaceX
henry_crun
10th Feb 2015, 12:22
Launch 11.05 pm gmt
Mission background:
SpaceX moves Falcon 9 launch with DSCOVR to Tuesday | NASASpaceFlight.com (http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2015/02/spacex-falcon-9-dscovr-mission/)
Watch here:
http://techcrunch.com/2015/02/08/watch-spacex-dscovr-launch-live/
henry_crun
10th Feb 2015, 22:25
SpaceX Scrubs Falcon 9's DSCOVR Launch (Again) Due to Winds
BY ALAN BOYLE
SpaceX postponed the launch of its Falcon 9 rocket with the Deep Space Climate Observatory once more on Tuesday, due to unacceptable upper-level winds.
The rocket was geared up to send the observatory, also known as DSCOVR, on its trek to a vantage point a million miles from Earth — and then make a second try to land the rocket's first stage on an oceangoing platform.
But with 13 minutes left on the countdown clock, the upper-level winds were judged to be too high for the rocket to handle.
Even before the launch was postponed, SpaceX founder Elon Musk expressed concern about Tuesday's conditions. "Extreme wind shear over Cape Canaveral," Musk said in a tweet. "Feels like a sledgehammer when supersonic in the vertical. Hoping it changes..."
SpaceX Scrubs Falcon 9's DSCOVR Launch (Again) Due to Winds - NBC News (http://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/spacex-scrubs-falcon-9s-dscovr-launch-again-due-winds-n303966)
Rescheduled to Wednesday 11.03 pm gmt
SpaceX, Air Force sign deal for landing pad at Cape (http://www.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/2015/02/10/spacex-air-force-sign-deal-for-landing-pad-at-cape-canaveral/23163757/)
SpaceX and the Air Force have reached an agreement to use a former Atlas launch pad on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station as a landing site for returning Falcon rocket boosters.
"The way we see it, this is a classic combination of a highly successful launch past morphing into an equally promising future," Brig. Gen. Nina Armagno, commander of the 45th Space Wing, said in a statement........
Located on "Missile Row," Launch Complex 13 first supported a test of an Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile in 1958, and later launches of unmanned planetary probes for NASA and classified Air Force missions. It was deactivated in 1978 after more than 50 launches and designated part of a National Historic Landmark, according to Air Force records.
"For decades, we have been refining our procedures for getting successful launches skyward here on the Eastern Range. Now we're looking at processes on how to bring first-stage rockets back to earth at the first landing pad at the Cape," Armagno said. "We live in exciting times here on the Space Coast."
henry_crun
11th Feb 2015, 07:53
4Ca6x4QbpoM
Falcon Heavy Animation
includes landing boosters at cape
henry_crun
11th Feb 2015, 22:22
Launch tonight went well, no holds, everything nominal, DSCOVR is now in parking orbit ready for next burn to reach Lagrange point.
First stage returned to sea. Wave height 10m did not permit ships to stay in recovery location.
henry_crun
12th Feb 2015, 07:08
OvHJSIKP0Hg
JimNtexas
12th Feb 2015, 17:59
Yesterday's Falcon 9 launch of the DSCOVR spacecraft (http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2015/02/spacex-falcon-9-dscovr-mission/) to the L-1 point was picture perfect (http://www.spacex.com/news/2015/02/11/spacex-launches-dscovr-satellite-deep-space-orbit).
According to Elon Musk, the booster fly-back (http://youtu.be/Pl3x71-kJGM?t=2m58s) was successful, landing vertically within ten meters of the target.
Sadly, due to 10 meter wave conditions, Just Read The Instructions (http://www.spacex.com/sites/spacex/files/crs5_drone_ship.jpeg) was recalled prior to what became a water landing of the Falcon 9 stage one.
SpaceX will try again to make history during the launch of its robotic Dragon cargo capsule to the International Space Station on Monday (April 13).
The company aims to bring the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket back to Earth for a soft touchdown on an unmanned "spaceport drone ship" in the Atlantic Ocean after the booster sends Dragon on its way toward the orbiting lab. Liftoff is scheduled for 4:33 p.m. EDT (2033 GMT) Monday from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station; you can watch all the action live here at Space.com, courtesy of NASA TV.
WATCH LIVE NOW: HD Views from the International Space Station (http://www.space.com/17933-nasa-television-webcasts-live-space-tv.html)
TURIN
13th Apr 2015, 20:06
NASA says two days to catch up with ISS, so that's sometime tomorrow.
Live feed on NASA TV now.
Launched scrubbed due to weather, another try tomorrow..
TURIN
13th Apr 2015, 20:44
Scrubbed due to thunderstorms.
Falcon is on the way, so far all ok. I caught a glimpse of the mission control crowd behind the windows sort of clapping and sort of looking disappointed - I wonder if stage 1 landing was a very near miss...?
....confirmed by Elon Musk. They hit the ship but too hard for the stage to survive the impact. It'll get there I'm sure !
Wokkafans
14th Apr 2015, 20:43
Had a good view of the capsule passing over here in the south of England as it was quite bright and on a lovely cloudless night.
Our children watched the launch then we all headed outside to watch it pass over 20 minutes later. They were most impressed to see science/spaceflight in action :ok:
Video from chase plane is here: https://vine.co/v/euEpIVegiIx
Looks like they almost got it this time, but it was still tilting a little when it landed (or maybe that was the start of tipping over).
Apparently they think it was due to the throttle valve sticking so it wasn't responding as fast as expected; which would explain the apparent overcompensation in the video. In that case, hopefully the next time will work.
hiflymk3
15th Apr 2015, 21:07
Come on guys get it to work, after all it's not rocket scien...
New video, and much better resolution. That looks really close to a survivable landing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhMSzC1crr0
SpaceX To Land Reusable Launcher on Ground (http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/air-space/space/2015/04/15/spacex-ground-attempt-reusable-landing-sea/25827625/)
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — SpaceX hopes that the next attempt to land its Falcon 9 reusable launch vehicle will occur on solid ground. While not providing details of when or where that attempt would occur, Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX President and COO, told Defense News on Wednesday that the company hopes its next attempted landing will take place on land, not at sea.
All tests of the reusable vehicle have occurred over water as a safety precaution, but the natural instability that occurs when a landing pad floating in the ocean has a very heavy rocket land on top of it has led to a series of near-misses for the technology. The most recent test of the technology occurred Tuesday, when the rocket appeared to land on target safely before tipping over. The hope is that the added stability of landing on ground would allow a safe landing.
"Just purely the boat moving, even in a low sea state, it's hard to imagine that vehicle is going to stay vertical," Shotwell said. "That vehicle is big and tall, compared to the itty-bity-greater-than-a-football-field-size ship."
She also downplayed the potential risk factors that led the company to attempt its landings over water in the first place. "The risk of damage to the public of ascent is far greater than return," she said. "There's a lot of propellant going up, and there's very little propellant coming back. "
She also noted that there will be a flight termination system in place in case something goes wrong. "It's a lot harder to think about blowing up that rocket when you're going up and it has a payload on board," Shotwell said. "But when it's coming back, if things look wonky, blow it up.".......
Musk posted on Twitter, saying they've confirmed the problem was slow throttle response. So things are looking good for next time if they can fix that or work around it.
PAXfips
28th Jun 2015, 13:06
Next try: Streamcoverage (NASA TV) and ticker at Live coverage: All systems go for SpaceX resupply launch | Spaceflight Now (http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/06/27/spacex-7-mission-status-center/)
SpaceX own stream will start in about one hour.
SCHEDULING
28th Jun 2015, 14:25
Launch vehicle failure. Seen a few of those in my career, always upsetting.
Ooops......
Not sure if that was an auto-destruct, but it's gone, one way or another.....
There did seem a lot of strange effects in the exhaust trail prior to failure, but they were calling thrust nominal at the time.
SCHEDULING
28th Jun 2015, 14:34
a lot of strange effects in the exhaust trail
A design problem is matching the exhaust nozzle of a "rocket" engine to external pressure at the point of ignition, through the flight and up to MECO. The exhaust does tend to spread with altitude. However I agree it didn't look as consistant a burn as I would have thought.
PAXfips
28th Jun 2015, 14:38
http://i.imgur.com/VMqgXA9.jpg
Vehicle destroyed before MECO.
Launch replay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuNymhcTtSQ
Two's in
28th Jun 2015, 15:43
It was a timing error. The mission computer was inexplicably set to July 4th and not June 28th.
There did seem a lot of strange effects in the exhaust trail prior to failure, but they were calling thrust nominal at the time.
They said something about excessive pressure in the second stage oxygen tank, so it's possible pieces of the second stage could have been falling off before they blew it up. Or maybe liquid oxygen leaking out?
Following a nominal liftoff, Falcon 9 experienced a problem shortly before first stage shutdown, resulting in loss of mission. Preliminary analysis suggests the vehicle experienced an overpressure event in the upper stage liquid oxygen tank approximately 139 seconds into flight. Telemetry indicates first stage flight was nominal and that Dragon remained healthy for some period of time following separation.
Our teams are reviewing data to determine root cause and we will be able to provide more information following a thorough fault tree analysis. Below is a link to the CRS-7 post launch briefing with representatives from SpaceX, NASA and the FAA, additional updates will be posted as they become available.
LxqZOb68mrA
Fareastdriver
29th Jun 2015, 09:40
I told you not to press that button unless I told you to.
Third time's the charm!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCBE8ocOkAQ
Will be interesting to see what shape it's in tomorrow. Looked a bit blackened in the video, but otherwise OK.
Looks like it just needs a new coat of paint, and it will be ready to go again :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iQGVlruqyA
glad rag
27th Dec 2015, 13:09
Everything has just changed.
Many cannot see it yet, but it has.
It will be a gradual, but accelerating, process as the vendors of non returning/reusable boosters find themselves slowly but inextricably losing business due to budget pressures..
Mechta
18th Jan 2016, 08:57
Sill a few teething problems with Falcon 9. Yesterday's landing was looking good right until the last moment. :{
https://www.instagram.com/p/BAqirNbwEc0/
It will be interesting to read their final report on this landing, if there is one, as although Elon Musk suggests the problem is a lockout collet on one of the legs, there appears to be quite a bow in the rocket body after touchdown, suggesting that momentum (fuel slopping?) is applying a sideways force to the top, and the leg just failed due to the extra load this imposed on it.
Out of interest, does anyone know what proportion of the weight of the recovered stage is due to the need to recover it?
All credit to Elon Musk. Its refreshing to see someone who uses his fortune to push the boundaries of what is possible. He must have inspired a lot of students to opt for engineering and science, rather than easier courses.
Of course this is how it should be done (from 2:08):}:
5MGwyz_erUo
Mechta
18th Jan 2016, 09:34
Elon Musk's quote on this landing: "Well, at least the pieces were bigger this time!"
:D:ok:
james ozzie
19th Jan 2016, 05:48
The whole idea of hefting the propellant into orbit and then using it for a soft landing seems very compromising from an energy viewpoint. The payload capacity of the rocket must be greatly reduced by tankering the propellant up and back. The traditional ablative shield + parachute seems a much more efficient means.
The whole idea of hefting the propellant into orbit and then using it for a soft landing seems very compromising from an energy viewpoint. As a fraction of the total fuel load its actually small. First stage fuel load is 418 tons, and landing fuel is around 32 tons, less than the reserve they carry to compensate for the additional burn time in case of a single engine failure out of the cluster of 9.
Empty weight of the first stage is only 18 tons!! Just the weight of the engines and effectively a tin tube with internal bracing - no wonder they crumple so easily.
netstruggler
19th Jan 2016, 11:36
As a fraction of the total fuel load its actually small. First stage fuel load is 418 tons, and landing fuel is around 32 tons, less than the reserve they carry to compensate for the additional burn time in case of a single engine failure out of the cluster of 9.
But how much of that 418 tons is only there to lift the 32 tons up into orbit?
Radix
19th Jan 2016, 12:15
.............
I thought I covered that above; the 32+ tons is carried to provide a reserve to cover the case of one or more engine failures during ascent and to still achieve orbit. To carry less would turn a mission survival failure into a mission failure.
In the event all or part isn't used, the first stage can still be recovered; turning a necessity into a virtue.
But how much of that 418 tons is only there to lift the 32 tons up into orbit?
If I remember correctly, Musk has said that reusing the first stage cuts the payload by about 30%? Which is still a big win if you can safely reuse it even two or three times without major refurbishment.
From what I've read, they did find a problem with one of the engines when they test-fired the first recovered stage. But that's the kind of issue where you need to recover a few stages for analysis to fully debug it.
But most launches don't need it....
"......Just like the v1.0, the Falcon v1.1 launcher provides engine-out capability for a large portion of its first stage flight. All nine engines are ignited on the ground, about three seconds before launch. All must reach operational conditions and liftoff thrust for the launch release command to be issued.......
The first stage has a primary burn time that varies depending on the mission design. Flights using the full performance of the first stage without propulsive return maneuvers burn the first stage for up to 185 seconds while missions that include a first stage return require the stage to shut down its engines after 155 to 165 seconds of powered flight to leave sufficient propellants for the descent to a landing site.........
The re-usable version of Falcon 9 is known as F9R which itself does not represent a fully different launcher and is more of an add-on to the v1.1 version in the form of the Nitrogen Cold Gas Attitude Control System, the four deployable landing legs and four grid fins used for three-axis control during atmospheric flight, especially during non-propulsive flight phases.....
----------------------------------------------------------
So for most missions, its just some additional fuel. The aim, of course, is to reduce the number of missions where insufficient fuel would be left to enable a return and hence loss of the first stage. That's where the barge comes in rather than a return to the Cape.
The return to the Cape needs enough fuel to flip over, stop, then reverse speed and head back. With the barge positioned along the route the first stage can follow pretty much a ballistic curve from its separation point only need enough fuel for small course adjustments and the final deceleration to land.
Sick burn, brah: SpaceX test fires rockets for SES bird launch this week
Get ready for another launch, another attempt for water landing
23 Feb 2016 at 01:56, Iain Thomson
SpaceX reports that it's ready to roll for Wednesday's satellite launch, which will be followed by another attempt to get one of the Falcon 9 rockets to land on a water-borne platform.
Luxembourg-based SES is paying SpaceX to loft a new communications satellite into geostationary orbit along the equator at 108.2 degrees east longitude. The current launch window is available from Wednesday at 1846 ET (2346 UTC) and for about two hours after that point.
The new satellite, dubbed SES-9, will be used to provide data and video services across Asia. The SpaceX rocket will deliver the satellite most of the way, then its electrically powered ion thrusters will take the hardware into the required orbital position over the next few months.
On Monday, SpaceX lit up the rocket that will (hopefully) deliver its hardware cargo. Because the rocket uses liquid rather than solid fuel, the rockets can be switched off and on again without too much trouble. These static burns all look good to go, SpaceX reports.
Full-duration static fire completed. Targeting Wednesday for launch of SES-9 satellite @SES_Satellites pic.twitter.com/lp6nxGvUuH
Once the payload has been delivered, SpaceX will attempt to land the rocket again for testing and possibly reuse it. Because this is a launch to the Clarke orbit (35,786 kilometres (22,236 mi) above Earth), the Falcon isn't going to have much fuel left, so instead of the land-based landing pad the firm used successfully, SpaceX is going to make another attempt at a water landing.
All of SpaceX's attempts at a water landing to date have failed, as it's intrinsically much harder to get a rocket down on a barge that's in moving water compared to a static Earth-based pad. The last attempt, in January, nearly succeeded, but one of the landing legs on the rocket failed to lock down, leading to a biggish bang.
Elon's Musketeers think they have cracked that problem and confidence is high for a world-first water landing. SpaceX will use its East Coast landing barge, named Of Course I Still Love You as an homage to British science fiction author Iain Banks, and has a similar ship, the Just Read the Instructions on the West coast for later launches.
This kind of satellite delivery shows why such barges are needed. Landing on land is a lot easier, but with geosync launches fuel is tight and water landings are the only possibility. They are going to be key to SpaceX reusing its hardware – a move that would slash the costs of orbital delivery.
Wednesday's launch currently has a 60 per cent chance of going ahead, thanks to weather conditions, but if all looks good than another Musk bird will fly – and hopefully land in one piece this time – on Wednesday afternoon.
Mechta
23rd Feb 2016, 20:53
In case you are wondering, as I was; the barge is 400miles (650km) down range from the launch pad. That's East of Cape Canaveral in this case.
Falcon 9 clears static fire test before launch this week | Spaceflight Now (http://spaceflightnow.com/2016/02/22/falcon-9-clears-static-fire-test-before-launch-this-week/)
@SpaceX
Team opting to hold launch for today.
Looking to try again tomorrow; window also opens at 6:46pm ET.
Rocket and spacecraft remain healthy.
WhatsaLizad?
25th Feb 2016, 14:54
Should be interesting. Breezy day in Florida after a cold front passage. Surface winds might be a factor for launch. Present gusts up to 30kts in central FL.
I haven't seen much discussion on the landing barge. Any stabilizers to cut the wave affects? Below is the present reading of a NOAA buoy east of Cape Canaveral. It would seem that 5'-7' swells and possible 20kt-25kt surface winds at the barge would push the limits, especially trying to stabilize a tall cylinder with little upper mass.
NOAA Buoy 41047
NDBC
Location: 27.517N 71.483W
Date: Thu, 25 Feb 2016 14:50:00 UTC
Winds: S (190°) at 19.4 kt gusting to 23.3 kt
Significant Wave Height: 5.2 ft
Dominant Wave Period: 11 sec
Average Wave Period: 5.1 sec
Mean Wave Direction: ESE (109°)
Atmospheric Pressure: 30.02 in and rising
Air Temperature: 75.4 F
Dew Point: 71.6 F
Water Temperature: 74.7 F
Another site with swell and wind forecasts for the general area:
Central Florida Hurricane Surf Report, Surf Forecast and Live Surf Webcams (http://magicseaweed.com/Central-Florida-Hurricane-Surf-Report/1092/)
I hope it works, goodluck SpaceX team!
SpaceX considering Sunday launch try
SpaceX scrubbed a second Falcon 9 launch attempt from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Thursday.
SpaceX is considering a third attempt to launch a commercial communications satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station as soon as Sunday evening.
A forecast posted by the Air Force's 45th Weather Squadron Wing shows near-perfect conditions are expected during a more than 90-minute launch window running from 6:47 p.m. to 8:20 p.m. Sunday. The weather would also be excellent Monday, should an attempt be made then, with a 90 percent chance of acceptable weather.
SpaceX has not yet confirmed its plans, saying only that it is reviewing data and the next available launch date.
The company's first two attempts to launch the SES-9 satellite scrubbed on Wednesday and Thursday. In both cases, SpaceX cited challenges keeping the two-stage rocket's supply of liquid oxygen at cold enough temperatures. Wednesday's countdown was halted about a half-hour before the launch window opened, before the liquid oxygen was loaded onto the 230-foot rocket. Thursday's countdown scrubbed less than two minutes before a planned blastoff.
The Falcon 9 is flying for the second time in what SpaceX calls its "upgraded" or "full thrust" version, which uses liquid oxygen chilled almost to its freezing point to make it more dense, so tanks can hold more. The upgraded rocket generates more thrust, enabling it to lift heavier payloads and creating more opportunities for SpaceX to try to land the first-stage boosters.
The fueling process begins just 30 minutes before the targeted launch time, and SpaceX has said there's only enough time during this window to perform that process once. If the rocket isn't ready to go at the targeted time, the liquid oxygen must be offloaded and the launch delayed to another day.
The nearly 12,000-pound SES-9 satellite, owned by Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES, is the heaviest yet that a Falcon 9 will try to lift to an orbit more than 22,000 miles over the equator, requiring all of the the rocket's performance.
SpaceX plans to try to land the booster on a ship located 400 miles down range. Given the speed the rocket will be traveling and limited fuel to spare, the company has said a successful landing is unlikely.
SpaceX not having any luck this week. First hold due a range safety issue, a boat in the restricted area. Then on the second attempt the computer automatically aborted the launch after ignition due to "less than expected thrust". Apparently the first hold raised the liquid oxygen temperature too high creating a helium bubble in a fuel line causing the thrust shortfall.
Congratulations!!!!!!
SpaceX Just Landed a Rocket on a Drone Ship (http://gizmodo.com/spacexs-falcon-9-rocket-just-made-the-first-ocean-barge-1769942283)
"Minutes after a smooth launch of its Dragon spacecraft to the ISS this afternoon, SpaceX hit a long-standing, elusive goal: It landed the Falcon 9 rocket that had launched the spaceship neatly down on an ocean barge like it was nothing at all.........."
http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--io6_1TlC--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/eipwfhdddgyzmrywpfob.png
Gertrude the Wombat
8th Apr 2016, 21:33
Very neat indeed.
So when can I buy a tourist ticket to the ISS for a sensible prices, say ten grand?
That is bl00dy impressive!
Is it just me getting old or do they all look so young?
The Apollo era rocket scientists seemed ancient in comparison.
:ok:
Buster Hyman
9th Apr 2016, 01:53
Loved the crowd going nuts outside the control room.
meadowrun
9th Apr 2016, 02:40
Very significant accomplishment. The barge was pitching quite a bit. I'm sure all the naval helichopper pilots appreciated that landing.
West Coast
11th Apr 2016, 21:14
So when can I buy a tourist ticket to the ISS for a sensible prices, say ten grand?
I heard they're planning on using liberals on the first passenger test flight. Monkey's are out, they actually work.
I kid, I kid...the monkeys were busy that day.
mickjoebill
11th Apr 2016, 22:52
The 400km distance to the International Space Station could also be scaled by stacking the 375,000 advance orders of the Tesla model 3 on top of each other :8
Mickjoebill
Scuffers
12th Apr 2016, 07:27
Falcon 9 returns to Canaveral:
http://i.imgur.com/Dl0duNd.png
Scuffers
13th Apr 2016, 13:00
https://i.imgur.com/GXO20Ot.jpg
Prophead
13th Apr 2016, 13:12
What's the meaning of the message on the landing platform?
Someone been spending all his time and money playing with his toys?;)
What's the meaning of the message on the landing platform?
Someone been spending all his time and money playing with his toys?
The robotic unmanned landing barges are named after the sentient starships (http://www.space.com/28445-spacex-elon-musk-drone-ships-names.html) in the Culture series by Iain M. Banks.
wiggy
13th Apr 2016, 13:54
TURIN
Is it just me getting old or do they all look so young?
The Apollo era rocket scientists seemed ancient in comparison.
Perhaps.....OTOH some of the Apollo controllers (the systems guys who we used to see on TV sat at their consoles in what was usually described as "Mission Control") were recruited straight from Uni and a few were working at the consoles by the age of 23-24. The legendary (in space flight circles) John Aaron saved Apollo 12 at the tender age of 26.
Their bosses, the Flight Directors (Krantz, Lunney et.al.) were a bit older..mid 30's. Their boss, Chris Kraft, was an old man at the age of 45 when Apollo 11 landed on the Moon.
In any event there's no doubt many of them certainly looked young, even wearing what was fashionable for a young engineer at the time - take a look at John Aaron's picture in the wiki link below...looks to me like he should still be doing his homework.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Aaron
Congratulations again - they are making a habit of successful landings now, another one back down in one piece.
Did it again. Getting to the stage (sic) when it will only be reported when they don't manage to recover the stage.
SpaceX lands fourth booster after successful Falcon 9 launch (http://www.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/2016/05/27/spacex-launches-falcon9-rocket-lands-first-stage-atlantic-ocean-drone-ship-thaicom8/85051798/)
XdtK0poWp20
However, landing on the barge is always going to be relatively high risk because it moves so much and the Falcon engine can't throttle low enough to hover. So I'd expect to see a persistent low level of crashes for the forseeable future.
SpaceX successfully lands Falcon 9 rocket on solid ground for the second time | The Verge (http://www.theverge.com/2016/7/18/12208560/spacex-falcon-9-ground-landing-success)
QEqJeczK14I
And they just reflew this stage and landed it on a drone ship again.
Congratulations!!!!!!
SpaceX Just Landed a Rocket on a Drone Ship (http://gizmodo.com/spacexs-falcon-9-rocket-just-made-the-first-ocean-barge-1769942283)
"Minutes after a smooth launch of its Dragon spacecraft to the ISS this afternoon, SpaceX hit a long-standing, elusive goal: It landed the Falcon 9 rocket that had launched the spaceship neatly down on an ocean barge like it was nothing at all.........."
http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--io6_1TlC--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/eipwfhdddgyzmrywpfob.png
SpaceX picking up the pace......
https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/05/16/fourth-satellite-for-inmarsats-global-broadband-network-launched-by-spacex/
A Boeing-built satellite on the way to join Inmarsat’s globe-spanning network geared to beam Internet and data transmission capacity to airline passengers, maritime crews and military personnel flew into orbit Monday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard an expendable Falcon 9 rocke. The satellite is the fourth member of Inmarsat’s broadband communications fleet, a $1.6 billion initiative named Global Xpress conceived to connect aircraft, ships at sea, and mobile users on land with through an umbrella of worldwide Ka-band beams.
The two-stage rocket, towering 229 feet (70 meters) tall, was stripped of recovery hardware to give the 6.7-ton Inmarsat 5 F4 payload the boost it needed toward an eventual circular geostationary orbit 22,300 miles (35,800 kilometers) over the equator.......
The first stage engines turned off around T+plus 2 minutes, 45 seconds, and the booster stage detached to fall into the Atlantic Ocean on a destructive plunge. The heavy weight of the Inmarsat 5 F4 satellite, which weighed 13,417 pounds (6,086 kilograms) at liftoff, required all of the Falcon 9’s energy, leaving no propellant left over for the first stage to slow down for a landing........
The on-target deployment gave SpaceX its second successful launch in two weeks, after a Falcon 9 rocketed into orbit with a top secret U.S. government spy payload May 1*......
Monday’s launch debuted an upgrade to the Falcon 9 rocket’s second stage intended to speed up fueling during launch countdowns, allowing liquid oxygen and helium pressurant to be simultaneously loaded into the launcher.
Investigators blamed a Falcon 9 rocket explosion at Cape Canaveral’s pad 40 last September on voids in the skin of high-pressure helium tanks immersed in super-cold liquid oxygen inside the launcher’s second stage. Liquid oxygen became trapped, and perhaps froze, in the openings, leading to friction that eventually caused the rocket to explode, destroying an Israeli-owned communications satellite during a countdown rehearsal. After an engineering inquiry settled on a probable cause for the mishap, SpaceX said future countdown sequences would change to load helium into the rocket before liquid oxygen, a modification the company said would avoid the problem. At the same time, SpaceX said it would make hardware changes to the rocket to permanently fix the helium tank concern.
Those unspecified safety upgrades made their way into the Falcon 9 that launched Monday. A SpaceX official said the next two Falcon 9 flights in June will not have the helium tank modification, but then all future rockets will incorporate the change.
SpaceX ground crews are preparing for four more launches by the end of June, with the next Falcon 9 flight slated for June 1 with a Dragon supply ship to ferry experiments and equipment to the International Space Station. Liftoff of the Dragon capsule — the first SpaceX cargo craft to be reused after a previous space station mission — is scheduled for approximately 5:55 p.m. EDT (2155 GMT) June 1 from pad 39A.
Another Falcon 9 rocket is being primed for blastoff from the Kennedy Space Center on June 15 with BulgariaSat 1, Bulgaria’s first communications satellite. That launcher will fly with a previously-used first stage, the second time SpaceX will have re-flown a Falcon 9 booster.
Two more Falcon 9 missions in late June will launch from the Kennedy Space Center and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
The Intelsat 35e telecom satellite, a trans-Atlantic video, data and broadband relay station, has a launch window some time between June 26 and July 2 from Florida, an Intelsat spokesperson said Monday.
The second batch of 10 next-generation satellites for Iridium’s mobile telephone and data messaging constellation is supposed to launch June 29 from California.
*1st May booster landed back at Canaveral successfully. Excellent video of recovery included below.
GhaD8XLoOl4
The most telling comments here is "as has become customary".....
SpaceX launches top-secret space shuttle before Irma hits Florida (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/sep/07/spacex-us-air-force-shuttle-mission)
SpaceX launched the US air force’s super-secret space shuttle on Thursday, blasting off from Kennedy space center in Florida as schools and businesses boarded up for Hurricane Irma. The crewless aircraft, a technology testing mini-shuttle capable of spending years in orbit, rode an unmanned Falcon rocket on the fifth such flight.....
As has become customary, SpaceX landed its leftover booster back at Cape Canaveral for eventual reuse.
This was the first time SpaceX has provided a lift for the experimental minishuttle. The previous missions relied on United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rockets. Air force officials said they wanted to use a variety of rockets for the X-37B program, to be able to launch quickly if warranted...... At the air force’s request, SpaceX stopped providing details about the X-37B’s climb to orbit a few minutes after liftoff. The booster’s return to SpaceX’s landing zone at Cape Canaveral air force station, however, was broadcast live.
“The Falcon has safely landed,” a SpaceX launch controller announced. Cheers erupted at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. It was SpaceX’s 16th successful return of a first-stage booster......
And an absolutely f***ing awesome video....
FZvR0CCRNJg
ShyTorque
7th Sep 2017, 21:15
I was always taught never to return to an apparently spent firework......
That was because they loved a sucker who was willing to buy a totally new one every time....
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/spacex-launches-station-supply-ship-from-rebuilt-pad/
A previously-flown SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying a "used" Dragon cargo ship loaded with 4,800 pounds of equipment bound for the International Space Station blasted off from Cape Canaveral Friday, the first flight off a launch pad that was virtually destroyed when another Falcon 9 booster exploded on the ground last year. In a now-familiar but still thrilling sight, the rocket's first stage, which first flew in June to help launch another station cargo flight, flew itself back to a pinpoint landing at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station seven-and-a-half minutes after launch. It was the California rocket builder's 20th successful booster recovery over the past two years and its eighth on land......
The launching Friday was the first by NASA using a previously flown booster and only the second using a "flight proven" Dragon cargo ship. Recovering, refurbishing and relaunching booster stages is a key element of SpaceX founder Elon Musk's drive to lower launch costs. Equally important to SpaceX, Friday's launch was the first off pad 40 at the Air Force station since a Falcon 9 exploded five minutes before an engine test on Sept. 1, 2016, destroying that rocket and its $200 million satellite payload and virtually wiping out the launch complex and its systems.
In the wake of the mishap, SpaceX rushed to complete modifications to historic pad 39A at the nearby Kennedy Space Center, launching 16 successful flights in a row -- 12 from the Florida spaceport and four from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., before Friday's return to launch complex 40.
SpaceX needs both East Coast launch pads to fly off a backlog of satellites in its $10 billion manifest. The company plans to use complex 40 primarily for civilian and military payloads and to launch space station crew and cargo missions from pad 39A. It also plans to use the repurposed NASA pad to launch the Falcon Heavy, made up of three Falcon 9 core stages strapped together. The booster, which will generate 5.1 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, is scheduled for its maiden flight in January.....
SpaceX holds contacts valued at more than $2 billion for 20 space station resupply flights -- this was No. 13 -- and a subsequent contract covering another six cargo missions. SpaceX is building a piloted version of its Dragon capsule to ferry astronauts to and from the station under a separate $2.6 billion contract.....
https://cbsnews2.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2017/12/15/4e33563f-309d-41d5-9cec-01be2953200b/resize/620x/e587ad38634e52d81f40c2d4c9f1fa19/121417-land1.jpg
SpaceX rocket dazzles in California sky as it carries 10 satellites into space (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/dec/23/spacex-rocket-dazzles-in-california-sky-as-it-carries-10-satellites-into-space)
A reused SpaceX rocket carried 10 satellites into orbit from California on Friday, leaving behind a trail of mystery and wonder as it soared into space.
The Falcon 9 booster lifted off from coastal Vandenberg air force base, carrying the latest batch of satellites for Iridium Communications. The launch in the setting sun created a shining, billowing streak that was widely seen throughout southern California and as far away as Phoenix, Arizona.
https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/h/0/9/p/k/o/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.h09pkt.png/1514006900810.jpg
Calls came in to TV stations as far afield as San Diego, more than 200 miles south of the launch site, as people puzzled about what caused the strange sight. Cars stopped on freeways in Los Angeles so drivers and passengers could take pictures and video. The Los Angeles fire department issued an advisory that the “mysterious light in the sky” was from the rocket launch.
Jimmy Golen, a sports writer for Associated Press in Boston who was in southern California for the holidays, said he and other tourists saw the long, glowing contrail while touring Warner Brothers studio in the Los Angeles suburb of Burbank. “People were wondering if it had something to do with movies, or TV or a ufo,” he said. “It was very cool.”
https://imagesvc.timeincapp.com/v3/mm/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpeopledotcom.files.wordpress.com%2F2 017%2F12%2Fspacex.jpg%3Fw%3D450&w=1400&q=70
The same rocket carried Iridium satellites into orbit in June. That time, the first stage landed on a floating platform in the Pacific ocean. This time, the rocket was allowed to plunge into the sea. It was the 18th and final launch of 2017 for SpaceX, which has contracted to replace Iridium’s system with 75 updated satellites. SpaceX has made four launches and expects to make several more to complete the job by mid-2018.....
fleigle
23rd Dec 2017, 14:32
Bugger!, I live north of Vandenburg and was looking at my pint and not the sky last evening.
My 'bro, who lives in Spain, asked me about it this morning.....
Grrrrr.
f
So what happened to Zuma? All indications so far seem to a successful launch. Rumours are a failure to separate from stage 2 (not a SpaceX failure), but the blog in the second post seems to indicate that is unlikely. (Replace the * with a t as usual) URL disabled so you can read the Who.e string.
If you prefer you can Click through from my third link. (Marco Landbroek)
Regardless, it looks like the launch of the Falcon Heavy is about a week away - and they have another successful first stage landing under their belt.
https://www.space.com/39328-spacex-secret-zuma-launch-statement.html
[url]https://sattrackcam.blogspo*.com/2018/01/fuel-dump-of-zumas-falcon-9-upper-stage.html[url]
space.com (https://www.space.com/39338-spacex-zuma-rocket-sky-spiral-photos.html)
vaqueroaero
12th Jan 2018, 23:45
We watched the launch from our front porch. It is a pretty amazing sight to see, sure makes the windows and doors rattle. The sonic booms when it returns to the landing pad sure wake you up. Can't wait to see the big one!
TEEEJ
13th Jan 2018, 17:26
Excellent amateur footage of the 7th January launch/landing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjQ41VIaL3Q
Now you know what one of the uses for the Falcon Heavy is. I wonder how many Starlink sats it can orbit at a time.....
SpaceX launches Falcon 9 with PAZ, Starlink demo and new fairing (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/02/spacex-falcon-9-paz-launch-starlink-demo-new-fairing/)
SpaceX has launched with the debuting of an upgraded payload fairing for the Falcon 9 rocket during Spain’s Paz satellite lofting from Vandenberg Air Force Base on Thursday. The launch, scrubbed on Wednesday due to Upper Level Winds, also carried the first demonstration satellites for SpaceX’s own satellite internet constellation. Launch occurred at an instantaneous launch opportunity at 06:17 Pacific Time (14:17 UTC).....
Paz was joined aboard Falcon 9 by MicroSat-2a and 2b, a pair of 400-kilogram (880 lb) demonstration satellites for SpaceX’s planned Starlink internet constellation. The satellites are the first prototypes in a fleet which may consist of up to 12,000 spacecraft.
SpaceX first announced Starlink in early 2015. The project will use satellites in place of traditional infrastructure to help provide high-speed broadband internet access around the world. SpaceX’s filings with the US Federal Communications Commission indicate that the constellation will be used for fixed satellite services (FSS), such as backhaul for transmitting data around the globe. The space-based architecture could be used to help bring faster internet access to more remote regions of the planet in the future. The Starlink constellation will consist of Ka- and Ku-band satellites orbiting at an altitude around 1,200 kilometers (750 miles, 650 nautical miles) and V-band satellites orbiting considerably lower – at around 340 kilometers (210 miles, 180 nautical miles).
SpaceX aims to have Starlink fully operational by 2024, with the final operational constellation expected to contain 4,425 satellites across 83 planes in the higher orbit, with a further 7,518 satellites in the lower orbits.
The MicroSat-2a and 2b demonstration satellites carry Ku-band payloads. They were expected to be deployed into approximately the same orbit as Paz. In showing footage of their deployment, Elon Musk also revealed their names: Tintin.
https://mobile.twitter.com/elonmusk/status/966703261699854336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasaspaceflight.com%2F2018%2F02%2F spacex-falcon-9-paz-launch-starlink-demo-new-fairing%2F
Paz was SpaceX’s fourth launch of 2018, following the Falcon Heavy mission and two Falcon 9 flights in January that carried the Zuma spacecraft for Northrop Grumman and GovSat-1 for LuxGovSat and its parent company SES.
The Paz mission was the first of two SpaceX launches in February with Spanish payloads. The second, which will carry the HispaSat 30W-6 communications satellite into geostationary transfer orbit, is due to lift off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in the early hours of next Sunday morning.
Ramping up, so to speak.
Iridium NEXT-5 satellites ride to orbit on SpaceX Falcon 9 (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/03/iridium-next-5-satellites-spacex-falcon-9/)
SpaceX conducted the fifth launch of its contract with Iridium Communications Friday, deploying ten more satellites to bring Iridium’s next-generation fleet up to a total of fifty satellites in orbit. Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 07:13:51 Pacific Daylight Time (14:13 UTC).....
Friday’s launch was one of eight that SpaceX is conducting for Virginia-based Iridium Communications, to deploy a total of seventy-five Iridium-NEXT satellites into low Earth orbit. SpaceX began deploying the constellation with four launches last year – the remaining launches will take place in 2018 with Saturday’s the first of the year......
The Iridium launch is the first of two that SpaceX will conduct over the Easter weekend. Another Falcon 9 is due to lift off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Monday carrying an unmanned Dragon spacecraft to orbit on its CRS-14 mission to the International Space Station.
G-CPTN
30th Mar 2018, 19:06
deploying ten more satellites
How do they space them out?
Following a 43-minute, three-second coast, Falcon restarted its second stage for an eleven-second circularisation burn – raising the perigee – or low point – of the orbit.
The Iridium satellites began separating from the upper stage five minutes after the end of the second burn, with the deployment process lasting fourteen minutes and 47 seconds.
Gertrude the Wombat
30th Mar 2018, 19:39
deploying ten more satellites to bring Iridium’s next-generation fleet
I thought Iridium went bust?
Gertrude, do so research. The original company went bankrupt - but the satellites were in orbit and those who bought them have made a fortune.
Just like the railways in the UK when they started...
G-CPTN
30th Mar 2018, 19:51
I thought Iridium went bust?
The cost of building and launching its fleet of satellites, combined with a slower-than-planned uptake from customers, led to Iridium SSC declaring bankruptcy in 1999. Time Magazine described the company’s collapse as one of the “ten biggest tech failures of the […] decade”. A new company, which would become the present-day Iridium Communications, was formed in 2001 and purchased Iridium SSC’s assets – including the satellites – at a fraction of their value.
From:- Iridium NEXT-5 satellites ride to orbit on SpaceX Falcon 9 (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/03/iridium-next-5-satellites-spacex-falcon-9/).
Gertrude the Wombat
30th Mar 2018, 20:37
Just like the railways in the UK when they started...
Well, it is the traditional way of doing infrastructure in the UK, but I hadn't realised that this business model had spread to space. Why anyone invests in these things at the construction stage when they know perfectly well that the first owner is going to go bust is a mystery to me.
Why anyone invests in these things at the construction stage when they know perfectly well that the first owner is going to go bust is a mystery to me.
From what I remember, Iridium phones were expected to be a huge market for people who travelled a lot, particularly to remote areas.
But, by the time the satellites were up there, we had a massive expansion of cellphone coverage, so much of the market had gone away.
The Rise and Fall and Rise of Iridium (https://www.airspacemag.com/space/the-rise-and-fall-and-rise-of-iridium-5615034/)
Mac the Knife
31st Mar 2018, 07:34
They sent Zuma into space?
About bloody time!
Mac
Launch teams are ready to kick off a busy month for the Space Coast with the Monday afternoon liftoff of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral with supplies destined for the International Space Station.
About 5,800 pounds of cargo and science experiments will vault off the pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Complex 40 in a Dragon spacecraft during an instantaneous window that opens at 4:30 p.m. The window pushes back to 4:08 p.m. in the event of a delay to Tuesday.
The mission, SpaceX's 14th under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services Contract, marks the second time the agency has flown on a combination of a previously flown booster and Dragon spacecraft. The 156-foot-tall booster first flew on CRS-12 in August 2017, while Dragon flew on CRS-8 in April 2016.
But unlike previous CRS missions where SpaceX landed boosters back at Cape Canaveral, CRS-14 will not include a local recovery and instead focus on providing data as part of an expendable "demonstration mission."....
Another successful Falcon 9 launch - and recovery. This time the first stage landed on the drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You” in mid-Atlantic.
It almost seems routine now, but it must be remembered nobody else can do anything like it at all.
VP959
19th Apr 2018, 09:34
Another successful Falcon 9 launch - and recovery. This time the first stage landed on the drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You” in mid-Atlantic.
It almost seems routine now, but it must be remembered nobody else can do anything like it at all.
I still think it's pretty gob-smacking technology, particularly the relatively short time between design and production.
Compare it with any military aircraft project, for example, and it really illustrates well how damned good SpaceX are at this stuff.
For example, SpaceX was founded in 2002, and we have a pretty reliable production vehicle working now, 16 years after the company was founded and only 7 years after SpaceX announced that it was developing a reusable delivery vehicle.
Lockheed Martin started F-35 development in 1992, first flew the aircraft 14 years later in 2006 and it first entered service 11 years after that, in 2015.
B Fraser
19th Apr 2018, 09:44
We are now living in an age where the science fiction of our childhood is now science fact. When I was a kid, I dreamed of toy helicopters that could really fly and devices that you could ask any question imaginable. I thought about watches that enabled you to talk to anyone else on the planet and television that could show you any programme at any time. We now have Elon Musk leading the way in access to space and doing a grand job of dazzling the world with self landing rocket stages.
We are living in great times.
https://youtu.be/BfuLW3bPTyo
https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/11/17341452/spacex-falcon-9-block-5-launch-landing-success
This afternoon, SpaceX landed the most powerful version yet of its Falcon 9 rocket, after launching the vehicle from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The so-named Block 5 upgrade took off from the company’s launchpad at Kennedy Space Center, sending a communications satellite into orbit for Bangladesh and then touched down on one of the company’s drone ships in the Atlantic. It was the 25th successful rocket landing for SpaceX, and the 14th on one of the company’s drone ships.
It also marks the first launch of the Block 5, the vehicle that will carry humans to space for NASA. The Block 5 is meant to be SpaceX’s most reusable rocket yet, with many upgrades put in place that negate the need for extensive refurbishment between flights (https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/9/17254384/spacex-falcon-9-block-5-upgrade-rocket-reusability-savings). In fact, the first Block 5 rockets will eventually be able to fly up to 10 times without the need for any maintenance after landings, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said during a pre-launch press conference. Ideally, once one of these rocket lands, SpaceX will turn it horizontal, attach a new upper stage and nose cone on top, turn it vertical on the launchpad, fill it with propellant, and then launch it again. Musk noted that the vehicles would need some kind of moderate maintenance after the 10-flight mark, but it’s possible that each rocket could fly up to 100 times in total.It’ll be a while before SpaceX is that efficient, though. Since this is the first launch and landing of the Block 5, the company will still deconstruct the vehicle and do inspections to see if it can indeed fly again without refurbishment. “Ironically, we need to take it apart to confirm that it does not need to be taken apart,” Musk said. He noted that this particular rocket probably won’t fly again for a couple months......
Not only is the Block 5 more equipped for reuse, but it’s also got much more power than its predecessors. The main Merlin engines at the bottom of the rocket have 8 percent more thrust than before, and Musk thinks there’s more room for improvement. “The thrust we’re getting is truly incredible at this point,” he said. Meanwhile, the Merlin engine in the upper stage of the rocket — the one that operates in the vacuum of space — has 5 percent more thrust than before.
The Block 5 is also the rocket that SpaceX will use to send astronauts to the International Space Station, as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. In order to make the vehicle certified for carrying humans, SpaceX had to make a huge number of improvements to the rocket’s design. “There are thousands and thousands and thousands of requirements,” Musk said. For one, the rocket has to be able to handle more loads during launch and it has to have a much higher tolerance for small failures. In other words, if a few things go wrong during flight, the rocket will be okay. Musk noted that a few engines could go out on this vehicle and the Falcon 9 would still be able to make it to orbit. But just to be safe, NASA is requiring that SpaceX fly the Block 5 at least seven times, without making any major changes to the rocket, before people can ride on it......
SpaceX doesn’t intend to make any major revisions to the Block 5, though, save for small changes to improve flight reliability and reusability. The company will likely have between 30 to 50 Block 5 rockets in rotation at some point, according to Musk. The number depends on which customers insist on flying satellites on a new vehicle, though he’s hoping the mentality on used rockets will change in the coming years. “The general sentiment will change from... feeling like, ‘A flown rocket is scary,’ to ‘An unflown rocket is scary,’” Musk said.
But the goal is to ultimately close the gap on the Falcon 9’s turnaround time between flights. Musk says that to show the true power of the Block 5, SpaceX plans to launch the same rocket twice within a 24-hour period sometime next year.......
https://youtu.be/jpANDP-SCSg
SpaceX sent a cargo spacecraft skyward early Friday (June 29) during a dazzling predawn liftoff that showcased the company's considerable reusability chops.
A two-stage SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket (https://www.space.com/18962-spacex-falcon-9.html) lit up the early-morning Florida sky as it launched the company's robotic Dragon capsule toward the International Space Station (ISS) on a delivery mission for NASA at 5:42 a.m. EDT (0942 GMT) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The Dragon will arrive at the space station early Monday (July 2). The liftoff was the second for both the Dragon and the Falcon 9's first stage; the capsule previously visited the ISS in July 2016, and the booster helped launch NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite this past April (https://www.space.com/40320-spacex-nasa-tess-exoplanet-satellite-launch.html). The 10-week turnaround was the shortest ever for a landed and relaunched SpaceX first stage, company representatives said.
SpaceX did not attempt today to land the booster for a second time. The booster is a "Block 4" Falcon 9 variant, which SpaceX is phasing out in favor of the recently debuted "Block 5 (https://www.space.com/40545-spacex-new-falcon-9-rocket-launch-landing-success.html)." So, the company surrendered the first stage to the ocean. In fact, today marked the last-ever flight of a Block 4 Falcon 9, SpaceX representatives said......
https://youtu.be/AoDHwGA-XI8
vaqueroaero
30th Jun 2018, 10:24
This was the most spectacular launch to watch to date. Once we'd got over the initial shock of being woken up by it, we went out to the front porch. The atmospheric conditions made the exhaust plume an amazing sight. As it was twilight you could see it for a long time. Kind of interesting that eventually you lost sight of it as it went below the tree line.
Daysleeper
30th Jun 2018, 11:24
SpaceX did not attempt today to land the booster for a second time. The booster is a "Block 4" Falcon 9 variant, which SpaceX is phasing out in favor of the recently debuted "Block 5 (https://www.space.com/40545-spacex-new-falcon-9-rocket-launch-landing-success.html)." So, the company surrendered the first stage to the ocean.
Given that spaceX can recover this type of booster flying this sort of profile and have chosen not to ... can they be sued for littering the ocean 🤨.
meadowrun
30th Jun 2018, 15:39
At least it's not plastic and sinks unlike all the plastic faux-fish food the oceans are awash with.
WingNut60
30th Jun 2018, 15:46
Given that spaceX can recover this type of booster flying this sort of profile and have chosen not to ... can they be sued for littering the ocean ��.
I am sure that the owners of the ocean could do just that. The same way that they sue everyone else for the copious amounts of crap that gets dispatched over the side.
As well as the owners of every non-Space-X booster ever launched - Russians excepted. I think Kazakhstan wears all that crap.
And the Chinese - several accidents with both stage one failure and boosters landing on villages.
TURIN
26th Sep 2018, 22:37
Elon Musk announces the first paying passenger on the Big F***** Rocket!
Jesus that thing's big.
https://www.spacex.com/webcast
From about 22 minutes in.
TURIN
27th Sep 2018, 09:28
Freefall re-entry and approach. :eek:
BFR Landing Technique (https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-bfr-spaceship-landing-like-a-skydiver/)
Amazing landing in the circumstances - and Spacex reporting the rocket is still in good condition and available for possible reuse.
https://www.firstpost.com/tech/science/spacex-falcon-9s-failed-landing-may-hide-a-silver-lining-in-its-readiness-safety-5696071.html
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1280x720/falcon_9_booster_being_towed_back_to_shore_twitter_restrante k_941c961e58da24a90e3fd4f6253c92773ce37714.jpg
https://youtu.be/5p1SDaXRaWY
https://www.sciencealert.com/elon-musk-s-aiming-as-fast-as-possible-for-the-moon
Elon Musk Has Shared Jaw-Dropping Images of The Latest 'Starship' Tests
https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/22/18236771/nasa-spacex-dragon-commercial-crew-dm-1-test-flight
NASA gives SpaceX the okay to launch new passenger spacecraft on uncrewed test flight
Crew Dragon’s first flight is a week away
https://www.inverse.com/article/53500-spacex-s-falcon-9-just-survived-its-highest-reentry-heating-ever
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Just Survived Its Highest Reentry Heating Ever
SpaceX has completed one of its most challenging missions yet. The company launched what may become the world’s first privately-owned lunar lander (https://www.inverse.com/article/53490-spacex-falcon-9-historic-moon-mission)toward the surface of the moon on Thursday, before successfully landing the Falcon 9 rocket with the highest reentry heating ever. The rocket took off from Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 8:45 p.m. Eastern as scheduled, landing eight minutes and 48 seconds later.
The landing marks another successful milestone for SpaceX, which aims to refine its landing technology to save more rockets and reduce costs further. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk noted that the company’s video feed showed burning metal sparks, while manufacturing engineer Jessie Anderson said during the feed that the landing on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship (https://www.inverse.com/article/33361-how-the-spacex-droneships-got-their-sci-fi-names) was completed despite “challenging conditions.” The mission was the third for the rocket in question, a “Block 5” core dubbed “B1048” that previously flew on the July 25 Iridium NEXT-7 (https://www.inverse.com/article/47369-spacex-falcon-9-launch-of-iridium-7-to-mark-a-huge-milestone-for-elon-musk)and the October 8 SAOCOM 1A (https://www.inverse.com/article/49473-spacex-s-new-falcon-9-landing-zone-is-about-to-tackle-its-first-mission) missions last year.
https://youtu.be/4NlZCzjCCJ4
Ascend Charlie
23rd Feb 2019, 18:33
And how many Indian villages could have received a sewerage plant for the cost of sending a washing machine to the moon?
And why would, or should, a privately funded Israeli company pay for washing machines, or sewerage plants, in India?
B Fraser
23rd Feb 2019, 20:29
And how many Indian villages could have received a sewerage plant for the cost of sending a washing machine to the moon?
A question best put to the director of the Indian space programme.
https://phys.org/news/2019-01-india-space-mission-december.html
Ascend Charlie
24th Feb 2019, 10:22
Well, that's what you get for typing with a skinful, and not seeing that the spell-checker had changed the garble of letters meant to say Israel into India.
Bluddy tecknollergy!
keith williams
24th Feb 2019, 12:34
You are being very shortsighted.
The Moon is a very dusty place. If people are going to live there they will need a washing machine.
MarcK
24th Feb 2019, 18:29
A question best put to the director of the Indian space programme.
https://phys.org/news/2019-01-india-space-mission-december.html
Many years ago I sold some electronic equipment to ISRO. But they had trouble using it as they only had power for 6 hours per day.
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47414390
er340790
2nd Mar 2019, 01:55
Great! I've just prepped my pontoon boat on the central FL Lakes to go out at 02:30 Sat. Skies should be clear, so hoping for a nice reflection in the water.
Fingers crossed for an on-time launch! :ok:
Looks like the Dragon vehicle has successfully docked with the ISS.
WingNut60
3rd Mar 2019, 13:51
Looks like the Dragon vehicle has successfully docked with the ISS.
It's been reported that there may have been a leak on the hull.
The crew on the ISS have been trying desperately to resuscitate the newly arrived crew member.
It's been reported that there may have been a leak on the hull.
The crew on the ISS have been trying desperately to resuscitate the newly arrived crew member.
Sometimes I really wish there was a like button here.
"Alas, poor Ripley! I knew her, Horatio; a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy; he hath borne me on his back a thousand times; and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is! My gorge rises at it. Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft. Where be your gibes now? Your gambols? Your songs? Your flashes of merriment, that were wont to set the table on a roar?"
(with apologies to WS)
Ripley (she)
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1000x1249/image_fae792cc44fe624a7a53f5550f7fefacb4f1663c.png
Oops...
(padding characters so this would post)
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47477617
SpaceX Dragon demo capsule returns to Earth
https://www.space.com/spacex-falcon-heavy-triple-rocket-landing-success.htmlSpaceX Falcon Heavy Sticks Triple Rocket Landing with 1st Commercial Launchhttps://youtu.be/nqOU2CGeAvk
meadowrun
12th Apr 2019, 06:36
They are doing some really good work.
Pinpoint landings are more exciting than the launch.
Gertrude the Wombat
12th Apr 2019, 18:10
Pinpoint landings are more exciting than the launch.
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
I don't care that I know it's technology. It's still magic.
megan
13th Apr 2019, 03:15
Magnificent effort. Question, why no flame issuing from the engine in space on the upper stage? Ionisation of gases when in the atmosphere?
Whoops....
https://eu.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/2019/04/20/smoke-seen-miles-spacex-crew-dragon-suffers-anomaly-cape-canaveral/3531086002/
Smoke seen for miles as SpaceX Crew Dragon suffers anomaly at Cape Canaveral
A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule suffered an anomaly during an engine test firing at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Saturday afternoon, company and 45th Space Wing officials confirmed. "On April 20, 2019, an anomaly occurred at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station during the Dragon 2 static test fire," Wing Spokesman Jim Williams told FLORIDA TODAY. "The anomaly was contained and there were no injuries."
........Unconfirmed reports indicated the capsule was destroyed.
“Earlier today, SpaceX conducted a series of engine tests on a Crew Dragon test vehicle on our test stand at Landing Zone 1 in Cape Canaveral, Florida," SpaceX said in a statement. "The initial tests completed successfully but the final test resulted in an anomaly on the test stand. Ensuring that our systems meet rigorous safety standards and detecting anomalies like this prior to flight are the main reasons why we test. Our teams are investigating and working closely with our NASA partners," the company said.........
It is unknown which Crew Dragon was involved in the Saturday anomaly, but each spacecraft has Super Draco thrusters designed to be used as a launch abort system. All SpaceX engines require occasional test firings to evaluate readiness and performance. SpaceX's timeline to return crews to the ISS from U.S. soil will now likely be modified as the investigation into the incident continues........
https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-crew-dragon-explosion/
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon suffers catastrophic explosion during static fire test
Six weeks after the spacecraft completed its orbital launch debut, SpaceX’s first flight-proven Crew Dragon capsule suffered a catastrophic explosion seconds before a planned SuperDraco test fire.
In the last nine years, SpaceX has successfully built, tested, launched, and recovered Cargo and Crew Dragons 18 times, including five instances of Cargo Dragon capsule reuse, all with minor or no issues. The April 20th event is the first time in the known history of SpaceX’s orbital spacecraft program that a vehicle – in this case, the first completed and flight-proven Crew Dragon capsule – has suffered a total failure. Regardless of the accident investigation’s ultimate conclusions, the road ahead of Crew Dragon’s first crewed test flight has become far more arduous........
According to information acquired by NASASpaceflight.com, SpaceX was in the middle of a series of static fire tests meant to verify that the flight-proven capsule was in good working order after Crew Dragon’s inaugural mission to orbit. The spacecraft was to be tested near SpaceX’s Cape Canaveral Landing Zone facilities, where the company has a small but dedicated space for Dragon tests. Crew Dragon C201’s testing began earlier on Saturday, successfully firing up its smaller Draco maneuvering thrusters. This transitioned into a planned SuperDraco ignition, what would have been the first such integrated test fire for capsule C201.
SpaceX planned to rapidly reuse Crew Dragon C201 for an upcoming in-flight abort (IFA) test, in which the spacecraft would be required to successfully escape from Falcon 9 at the point of peak aerodynamic stress (Max Q). Based on a leaked video of the failure, one or several faults in Crew Dragon’s design and/or build led to a near-instantaneous explosion that completed destroyed the spacecraft. Sound in the background seems to indicate that the explosion occurred several seconds before the planned SuperDraco ignition, a major concern given their pressure-fed design.......
As pressure-fed rocket engines specifically designed to be the basis of a launch escape system, Crew Dragon and its SuperDraco thrusters are meant to be ready to ignite at a millisecond’s notice once they are armed in a flight-ready configuration. It’s safe to say that ten seconds away from a specifically planned ignition is one of those moments, although there is a limited chance that SpaceX’s static fire procedures intentionally diverge from an abort-triggered ignition. Regardless, the fact that Crew Dragon was destroyed before the ignition of its SuperDracos is not an encouraging sign.
Instead of a problem with its high-performance abort thrusters, it can be tentatively concluded that Crew Dragon’s explosion originated in its fuel tanks or propellant plumbing. Such an immediate and energetic explosion points more towards a total failure of propellant lines or valves (or their avionics), while another – and potentially far more concerning – cause could be one of Crew Dragon’s pressure vessels. In a space as enclosed as a Dragon capsule, the rupture of a pressure vessel could trigger a chain reaction of pressure vessel failures, freeing both oxidizer (NTO) and fuel (MMH). Known as hypergolic propellant, NTO and MMH ignite immediately (and violently so) when mixed.
It’s quite possible that the accident investigation to follow will be SpaceX’s most difficult and trying yet. Regardless of the specific cause, the footage of Crew Dragon C201’s demise does not support any positive conclusions about the fate of astronauts or passengers, had they been aboard during the violent explosion. Seemingly triggered in some way by the very system meant to safely extricate Crew Dragon and its astronauts from a failing Falcon 9 rocket, major work will need to be done to prove to NASA that the spacecraft is safe. Sadly, Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft – funded in parallel with Crew Dragon under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program – suffered a far less severe but no less significant failure during a static fire test of its own abort thrusters. Boeing was forced to remove the impacted hardware from its flight plans to extensively clean, repair, and rework the service module.
NASA is now faced with the fact that both of the spacecraft it supported with CCP have exhibited major failures related to their launch escape systems. Crew Dragon’s catastrophic explosion comes as a particularly extreme surprise given how extensively SpaceX has already tested the SuperDraco engines and plumbing, as well as the successful completion of the spacecraft’s launch debut. In the process of DM-1 launch preparations, Crew Dragon likely spent a minimum of 80 minutes with its SuperDraco thrusters and propellant systems primed and ready to abort at any second, apparently without a single mildly-concerning issue.
https://youtu.be/bIJRjs6tJAA
SpaceX launches supplies to space station after power delays
SpaceX launched a load of supplies to the International Space Station on Saturday following a pair of power delays.
A Falcon rocket raced into the pre-dawn darkness, carrying a Dragon capsule with 5,500 pounds (2,500 kilograms) of goods. This recycled Dragon—which is making its second space trip—is due to arrive at the orbiting lab Monday. The delivery is a few days late because of electrical power shortages that cropped up first at the space station, then at SpaceX's rocket-landing platform in the Atlantic. Both problems were quickly resolved with equipment replacements: a power-switching unit in orbit and a generator at sea.
Minutes after liftoff, SpaceX landed its brand new, first-stage booster on the ocean platform a mere 14 miles (22.53 kilometers) offshore, considerably closer than usual with the sonic booms easily heard at the launch site (https://phys.org/tags/launch+site/). The booster should have returned to Cape Canaveral, but SpaceX is still cleaning up from the April 20 accident that destroyed an empty crew Dragon capsule.......
Successful launch and deployment of first 60 Starlink comsats - and the third successful launch/landing of the same Falcon booster which is lifted for between 50-100 launches......
https://www.space.com/elon-musk-says-spacex-starlink-satellites-doing-well.html
Elon Musk Says It's 'So Far, So Good' for SpaceX's 1st 60 Starlink Satellites
SpaceX's internet-satellite megaconstellation appears to be off to a good start in low-Earth orbit.
The first 60 members of the company's Starlink network launched last night (https://www.space.com/spacex-launches-60-starlink-internet-satellites.html) (May 23) atop a Falcon 9 rocket. The satellites deployed smoothly about an hour after liftoff, and they came online shortly thereafter, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk (https://www.space.com/18849-elon-musk.html) announced via Twitter last night.
Musk gave us another update this afternoon (May 24), tweeting "So far, so good" in response to a follower's question about Starlink's status.
"Krypton thrusters operative, satellites initiating orbit raise every 90 mins," he added in another tweet a bit later. (The satellites deployed at an altitude of 273 miles, or 440 kilometers, and are making their own way to their operational altitude of 342 miles, or 550 km).
Related: SpaceX's 1st Starlink Satellite Megaconstellation Launch in Photos! (https://www.space.com/spacex-first-starlink-satellites-launch-in-pictures.html)
https://youtu.be/pbX6J1PsP6A
https://youtu.be/ytUygPqjXEc
Pardon the expletives, but this is f****ing AWESOME. Night launch and recovery. The booster separation and start of burn back is just about 3 mins in and the landing burn at about 7:30 in.
https://youtu.be/UpqhqIVMf9Y
https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-ceo-elon-musk-explains-falcon-heavy-missed-landing/
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk explains why Falcon Heavy’s center core missed the drone ship
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/06/25/spacex_falcon_heavy/
SpaceX's Falcon Heavy turned night into day this morning as the monster rocket successfully hauled itself from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A. The 27 Merlin engines illuminated the night sky in a manner to bring a nostalgic tear to the eye of those that remember the only Saturn V night launch: Apollo 17 in 1972 (https://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/12/11/apollo_17_40th_anniversary/) from the same pad.
With the weather cooperating and after dealing with a ground hydraulic issue which cropped up early in the count, SpaceX went ahead with loading the rocket with liquid oxygen, effectively committing the company to a launch or scrubbing for the day.
Launch occurred at 0630 UTC on 25 June and the side boosters of the heavy lifter were shut down and separated from the centre core approximately 2 minutes 30 seconds later. The boosters, previously used for the last Falcon Heavy launch, headed back to briefly light up Landing Zones 1 and 2 with a synchronised touchdown. The remaining Falcon 9 first stage continued its burn for another minute before it too was shut down and separated from the second stage of the Falcon Heavy.
Unlike the side boosters, the centre core was faced with what the SpaceX PAO breathlessly described as "the most difficult landing we've had to date" with the spent booster coming in fast towards the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You, which was stationed twice as far into the North Atlantic Ocean (from Port Canaveral) than usual. Not that anything involving landing the first stage of an orbital booster on its end atop a platform at sea should ever be described as something so mundane as "usual".
SpaceX has yet to successfully recover a Falcon Heavy centre stage. The maiden launch of the rocket saw the stage undergo a rapid disassembly after its engines failed to reignite to slow the thing down. The second did land, but subsequently toppled over. Third time was, alas, not the charm. While the engines (the centre and two extra) ignited as planned, cameras on the drone ship captured the returning first stage appearing to miss the barge before creating its own night-into-day moment with a spectacular explosion.
Landing excitement aside, the second stage continued firing and the fairing was deployed just after the four minute mark, exposing the ride-share payload. And the fairing? Much whooping could be heard as SpaceX finally managed to catch one half in the net strung atop Ms Tree (pic here (https://regmedia.co.uk/2019/06/25/t_minus_114_spacex.jpg)), the ship formerly known as Mr Steven. This was the first time the company has accomplished the feat. The other half will be recovered from the water.
The company boasted that this launch included payloads from the largest number of government agencies it had served thus far on a single Falcon with 24 satellites from the likes of the Department of Defense, the US Air Force and NASA to be deployed over more than three hours (and another three restarts of that second stage engine.)
While SpaceX will be chuffed to demonstrate that its Falcon Heavy can be trusted for government payloads, the science carried on the monster rocket is hugely interesting and includes the crowdfunded LightSail 2........
pr00ne
27th Jun 2019, 17:39
ORAC,
Expletives excused, understood and thoroughly endorsed!
That was imply stunning and awe inspiring, "two 10 storey buildings falling from space..." There is something ethereal about those simultaneous landings, and the commentator/reporter was great, lovely to hear such genuine enthusiasm, appreciation and excitement.
I missed this at the time on TV, thank you SO much for taking the time and trouble to post.
Starhopper due for untethered test on Tuesday.
I like the geeky rough rough and ready look. If it works, it works, don’t worry about appearances....
”The prototype initially had a nosecone, but powerful Texas winds blew it off and damaged it (https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-elon-musk-starship-test-hopper-rocket-ship-damaged-2019-1). That's why the vehicle looks stubby and unfinished today.“
https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-starhopper-hop-test-boca-chica-texas-launch-site-2019-6?r=US&IR=T (https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-starhopper-hop-test-boca-chica-texas-launch-site-2019-6?r=US&IR=T)
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/2000x1504/image_5d1d27b253b892a4d8b864af04c2d251b0071dd1.jpeg
“Pa, the neighbours are being noisy again!!”
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/750x750/image_9bab1abe5adaf26b5afd12689c81c1b71a5bed39.jpeg
Jhieminga
14th Jul 2019, 20:18
This one is also quite impressive, footage from the caught fairing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfm_ytIcuPk
Two month turnaround between launches for the Falcon and third reuse of the Dragon capsule.
https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/07/25/new-docking-port-spacesuit-and-supplies-en-route-to-space-station/
New docking port, spacesuit and supplies en route to space station
A break in thunderstorms streaming across Central Florida allowed a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon cargo capsule to blast off Thursday from Cape Canaveral in pursuit of the International Space Station with a new docking mechanism, a spacesuit and 40 mice acting as high-flying research specimens.......
Liftoff occurred at 6:01:56 p.m. EDT (2201:56 GMT) Thursday on the the 73rd flight of a Falcon 9 rocket since SpaceX’s workhorse launcher debuted in June 2010......
The first stage braked for landing using the booster’s center engine, then extended four legs before touchdown at SpaceX’s Landing Zone 1, a seaside facility once used as a launch base for Atlas rockets. Sonic booms accompanied the landing around eight-and-a-half minutes after liftoff, marking the 44th successful recovery of a Falcon booster by SpaceX since 2015.
The booster launched and recovered Thursday helped carry SpaceX’s most recent Dragon cargo mission aloft in May. NASA and SpaceX could use the same rocket again for the next Dragon resupply mission, set for launch in December.........
The Dragon capsule launched Thursday is making its third trip to the space station. It’s the first time SpaceX has flown the same Dragon spacecraft three times.......
Starhopper completed its first 15 second untethered hop. Not much to, just a test of the Raptor engine.
More impressed that they did it just a day after an abort where a leak caused flames to come out of the top!!! One of the advantages of making the test bed out of stainless steel I guess......
https://youtu.be/N9HTQgwT3PA
treadigraph
27th Jul 2019, 09:31
That thing looks like the love child of a Dalek and Dusty Bin...
Two's in
27th Jul 2019, 14:01
Anyone dismissing the Starhopper as less than serious should watch the current rash of successful Spacex launches, followed by the still amazing return of the first stages back to a flawless landing (well, mostly these days). The cost savings in multiple reuse of the first stage are staggering, and it took a commercial venture to make that a reality. Apparently sucking off the public teat like NASA prevents you from thinking that way...
VP959
27th Jul 2019, 14:22
Anyone dismissing the Starhopper as less than serious should watch the current rash of successful Spacex launches, followed by the still amazing return of the first stages back to a flawless landing (well, mostly these days). The cost savings in multiple reuse of the first stage are staggering, and it took a commercial venture to make that a reality. Apparently sucking off the public teat like NASA prevents you from thinking that way...
NASA did re-use both the SRB parts and the main engines of the Shuttle, though, didn't they? AFAIK, the main disposable parts of the STS were the external fuel tank plus some parts of the SRBs that couldn't be refurbished for re-use.
Technology has moved on and has allowed Space X to land their boosters on a dry platform, which allows greater re-use. Not surprising that this is a big step up from STS, as STS was conceived way back in 1969.
TURIN
28th Aug 2019, 12:24
Starhopper reaches 150M on its last flight.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2214517-spacexs-starhopper-has-made-its-highest-and-final-test-flight/
https://www.universetoday.com/143462/musk-shares-the-latest-progress-on-the-starship-prototypes/
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1200x900/image_d1296384e676b03c4d8cfeae20b905ee39ee66f5.jpeg
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1177662806117584896?s=21
TURIN
30th Sep 2019, 12:05
Video of Elon Musk explaining what's going on.
There can be no doubt, this is not a joke.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sOpMrVnjYeY
https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-launch-fourth-rocket-landing-success.htmlSpaceX Just Launched 60 Starlink Satellites (And Nailed a Milestone Rocket Landing)
https://youtu.be/H9PVbGcp_aw
TURIN
12th Nov 2019, 00:02
Marvelous!
Those first stage landings are getting to be routine.
Can't wait to see the big Starship nail a powered landing.
Another successful launch and booster recovery. I am intrigued that this was an “instantaneous” launch window - literally a one second launch window with a reschedule if missed.
https://youtu.be/CJfFHGNucx4
https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-2-launch-success.html
SpaceX Launches 60 Starlink Satellites, Nails Rocket Landing in Record-Breaking Flight
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX (https://www.space.com/18853-spacex.html) kicked off 2020 with the record-breaking launch of its third batch of Starlink satellites (https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-satellite-internet-service-2020.html). Sixty of the internet-beaming satellites launched atop a used Falcon 9 booster on Monday, Jan. 6.
The sooty Falcon 9 rocket (https://www.space.com/18962-spacex-falcon-9.html) roared to life at 9:19 p.m. EST (0219 GMT Tuesday), lifting off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station here in Florida. Its nine Merlin 1D engines lit up the night sky above the space coast as it climbed towards orbit......
The satellites rode into space atop a reused Falcon 9 first stage, marking the second time the company has flown a booster four times. The star of this mission, dubbed B1049.4 by SpaceX, previously lofted the first batch of Starlink satellites as well as the Iridium-8 (https://www.space.com/43046-spacex-falcon-9-rocket-iridium-8-launch-photos.html) and Telstar 18 VANTAGE (https://www.space.com/41736-spacex-telstar-satellite-launch-date.html) missions......
Following the successful launch, the rocket's first stage gently touched down on a SpaceX's drone ship landing platform "Of Course I Still Love You (https://www.space.com/28445-spacex-elon-musk-drone-ships-names.html)" in the Atlantic Ocean, marking the company's 48th booster recovery. SpaceX designed its souped up Falcon 9 rocket to fly as many as 10 times with only light refurbishments in between. The company has yet to fly a booster five times, but with four successful flights under this booster's belt, it's likely that it could fly again in the future......
The launch is part of the private spaceflight company's plan to create a constellation of small broadband satellites (https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-satellites-launch-just-beginning.html), each weighing slightly more than 485 lbs. (220 kilograms), that will provide internet coverage to the world below. With this launch, it brings SpaceX's burgeoning constellation up to 180 satellites, making it the largest satellite fleet in orbit.....
One of SpaceX's fairing catcher boats, GO Ms. Tree (https://www.space.com/spacex-fairing-catching-ship-port-photos.html), attempted to catch a fairing half in its giant outstretched net Monday night, but failed to snag it, SpaceX officials said. “We didn't catch it this time. We got really close," SpaceX Starlink satellite engineer Laurel Lyons said during live commentary. "But we're going to keep on trying again."
Payload fairings (also known as the rocket's nose cone) are designed to protect the payload during launch. Each fairing is equipped with its own navigation system that allows it to glide gently back to Earth. The Falcon 9’s payload fairing come in two halves that are jettisoned once the rocket reaches space. With each piece fetching roughly $3 million, SpaceX hopes to save some money by reusing them on future flights. To date, GO Ms. Tree (the vessel formerly known as Mr. Steven (https://www.space.com/41608-spacex-mr-steven-rocket-fairing-recovery-boat-photos.html)) has made two successful catches.
The company acquired a second vessel in order to eventually scoop up both fairing pieces. That ship, dubbed GO Ms. Chief, is sidelined tonight as crews work on necessary repairs due to damage sustained from its last mission.
https://youtu.be/FNws7fodDeI
jolihokistix
7th Jan 2020, 14:41
Will the projected tens of thousands of such satellites start falling from the sky at some point?
Yes, but at that weight they’ll burn up during reentry. Downside, they’ll need continuous replacement, upside they won’t add to the debris field outside LEO.
In-flight test abort of Falcon/Dragon combo next Saturday 18th at 1010 ET (1510 UCT). Live stream on NASA and SpaceX.
https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/01/11/spacex-test-fires-rocket-ahead-of-crew-dragon-in-flight-abort-test/
More on the above test.
https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-falcon-9-rocket-destroyed-dragon-fire/
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX (https://www.space.com/18853-spacex.html) postponed a critical launch escape test of its Crew Dragon astronaut taxi today (Jan. 18) due to bad weather at the mission’s launch site. The next attempt will be on Sunday, the company said.
The California-based spaceflight company was scheduled to launch its unpiloted Crew Dragon (https://www.space.com/18852-spacex-dragon.html) spacecraft on a used Falcon 9 rocket today from the historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. However, bad weather at the launch site, coupled with rough seas at Crew Dragon's recovery zone in the Atlantic Ocean, prompted the delay.
"Standing down from today's in-flight Crew Dragon launch escape test due to sustained winds and rough seas in the recovery area," SpaceX wrote in a mission update on Twitter. "Now targeting Sunday, January 19, with a six-hour test window opening at 8:00 a.m. EST, 13:00 UTC."
You can watch the launch live here (https://www.space.com/17933-nasa-television-webcasts-live-space-tv.html) and on Space.com's homepage on Sunday, courtesy of SpaceX, beginning at about 7:40 a.m. EST (1240 GMT). You can also watch the launch directly from SpaceX here (https://www.spacex.com/webcast), or from NASA here. A NASA TV webcast will begin at 7:45 a.m. EST (1245 GMT).
tdracer
18th Jan 2020, 19:39
I wonder if they'll have the spectacular booster breakup as the Dragon pulls away on the launch abort system that occurred on the final test of the Little Joe II/Apollo abort system :E
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/755x925/apmisc_65_h_823_a_003_299a423b8668b02b5629c181c74a52c943c593 61.jpg
BTW, for those of you who aren't Apollo geeks like me, that Little Joe II breakup wasn't intended. One of the roll control devices failed hard over, causing the Little Joe II to start spinning so fast that the centrifugal forces tore it apart. But it made for a spectacularly successful test of the Apollo abort system. :ok:
Supposed to destruct spectacularly. Effectively it is an ultra thin tin can with the top torn off at max-Q where the supersonic air will be rammed into the tube.
Test seemed a total success - falcon broke up explosively as expected after separation.
Another successful SpaceX launch of another 60 Starlink satellites yesterday. That makes 300 in orbit and SpaxeX the owners of the largest constellation in orbit.
The first stage was on its fourth trip and missed the landing platform at sea by about 50m. Unsure why but the video shows something dropping off during the re-entry burn so it seems reasonable to assume the problem is easily solvable.
Asturias56
18th Feb 2020, 14:04
Another successful SpaceX launch of another 60 Starlink satellites yesterday. That makes 300 in orbit and SpaxeX the owners of the largest constellation in orbit.
The first stage was on its fourth trip and missed the landing platform at sea by about 50m. Unsure why but the video shows something dropping off during the re-entry burn so it seems reasonable to assume the problem is easily solvable.
Four missions - now we're starting to see some economies in the business...............
https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-florida-first-polar-launch-half-a-century/
SpaceX sets date for first Florida launch of its kind in more than half a century
https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-sn1-prototype-bursts-videos.html
SpaceX's Starship SN1 prototype appears to burst during pressure test
SpaceX's new Starship (https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-super-heavy.html) prototype appeared to burst during a pressure test late Friday (Feb. 28), rupturing under the glare of flood lights and mist at the company's south Texas facility.
The Starship SN1 prototype, which SpaceX moved to a launchpad near its Boca Chica, Texas, assembly site earlier this week, blew apart during a liquid nitrogen pressure test (https://videos.space.com/m/LyWQC1AW/spacex-starship-sn1-prototype-bursts-in-pressure-test?list=9wzCTV4g) according to a video captured by SPadre.com (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GenS0_BvGPU&feature=youtu.be).
A separate video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYeVnGL7fgw&feature=youtu.be) posted by NASASpaceflight.com member BocaChicaGal clearly shows the Starship SN1's midsection buckle during the test, then shoot upward before crashing back to the ground.
Space.com has reached out to SpaceX (https://www.space.com/18853-spacex.html) for details of Friday's test. This story will be updated as more information is available.
https://youtu.be/sYeVnGL7fgw
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — SpaceX successfully launched an uncrewed Dragon spacecraft (https://www.space.com/18852-spacex-dragon.html) for NASA today (March 6), sending fresh supplies toward the International Space Station (ISS) — and also sticking another rocket landing, the 50th for the company overall.
The two-stage Falcon 9 rocket (https://www.space.com/18962-spacex-falcon-9.html) used in today’s flight is a veteran; its first stage also lofted the previous Dragon cargo mission, in December 2019. The rocket blasted off from Pad 40 here at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 11:50 p.m. EST (0450 GMT on Saturday, March 7), illuminating the skies above Florida’s Space Coast.......
This Dragon capsule is a veteran as well, having reached the ISS twice before, in February 2017 and December 2018. If all goes according to plan, the capsule will arrive at the ISS for the third time early on Monday morning (March 9).
The mission that kicked off tonight, dubbed CRS-20, is the final flight under SpaceX's first commercial resupply services contract with NASA, which was signed in 2008 and is valued at $1.6 billion. The first Dragon reached the ISS in 2012, becoming the first commercial spacecraft ever to do so. Twenty flights later, this version of the Dragon will soon retire.
Beginning in October of this year, all future resupply missions will feature SpaceX's upgraded Dragon 2 capsule. That version will be capable of flying five times whereas each Dragon 1 was rated to fly just three times. Dragon 1 has to berth with the space station via robotic arm, whereas Dragon 2 will dock itself to the orbital outpost. The new capsule features many other upgrades as well.
SpaceX (https://www.space.com/18853-spacex.html) has also built a crew-carrying capsule, called (appropriately enough) Crew Dragon. Crew Dragon first flew a year ago, reaching the space station on SpaceX's uncrewed Demo-1 mission (https://www.space.com/spacex-crew-dragon-demo-1-launch-anniversary-video.html). The crew spacecraft will soon fly astronauts to the orbiting lab on a mission called Demo-2, which could launch as soon as early May. SpaceX holds a multibillion-dollar NASA contract to fly astronauts to and from the ISS. This deal is separate from the company's cargo contract.
https://youtu.be/hFdASGosD94
That first stage boost back and landing never gets old. They make it look so easy but it is still one of the most remarkable things to witness.
Can't wait to see the Starship prototype do the same. That will be a hell of a sight.
https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-5-internet-satellites-launch-webcast.html
SpaceX to launch next 60 Starlink internet satellites Sunday.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The private spaceflight company SpaceX (https://www.space.com/18853-spacex.html) will launch 60 new Starlink satellites (https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-satellites.html) to join its ever-growing broadband internet megaconstellation Sunday (March 15) and you can watch it live online.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket (https://www.space.com/18962-spacex-falcon-9.html) will launch the Starlink mission from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Liftoff is scheduled for no earlier than 9:22 a.m. EST (1322 GMT). You can watch SpaceX's Starlink launch webcast here (https://www.space.com/17933-nasa-television-webcasts-live-space-tv.html) and on the Space.com homepage, courtesy of SpaceX, beginning about 15 minutes before liftoff. You'll also be able to watch the launch directly from SpaceX here (https://www.spacex.com/webcast).
This is SpaceX's sixth launch of the year and the sixth Starlink launch to date. The mission will star a veteran Falcon 9 rocket that will do what no other Falcon has done before: launch and land five times. The booster, dubbed B1048.5, previously launched a bevy of satellites including part of the Iridium NEXT constellations, an Israeli lunar lander (https://www.space.com/spacex-israeli-moon-lander-satellites-launch-success.html) a communications satellites for Argentina and Indonesia, and a previous Starlink mission (https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-launch-fourth-rocket-landing-success.html).
This is a major milestone for SpaceX. The upgraded version of their workhorse was introduced in 2018, launching the first communications satellite for Bangladesh (https://www.space.com/41636-spacex-first-block-5-falcon-rocket-launch-future.html). Company founder and CEO, Elon Musk said that the souped up booster would be able to fly ten times with little refurbishment in between. Sunday's flight marks the first time a Falcon has reached the halfway point.
To date, four Falcons have four successful flights under their belts, but today’s booster will be the first to launch five times. However, of those four, two were not recovered and will not fly again. One was intentionally destroyed during the company’s in-flight abort test (https://www.space.com/spacex-crew-dragon-launch-abort-test-success.html) and the booster used in the latest Starlink mission (https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-4-launch-success-misses-rocket-landing.html) before this one, was lost after narrowly missing the drone ship.......
Approximately eight minutes after launch, the Falcon’s first stage will return to Earth. It’s scheduled to touch down on the deck of SpaceX’s drone ship, Of Course I Still Love You, stationed out in the Atlantic Ocean.
The company has also deployed its two fairing-catching ships: GO Ms. Tree and GO Ms. Chief in hopes of snagging the payload fairings (https://www.space.com/spacex-boat-falcon-heavy-payload-fairing.html) as they fall back to Earth. The fairing used in today’s launch attempt was previously used on the first Starlink mission. (It was refurbished after gently splashing down in the ocean.)
SpaceX aims to catch and refurbish fairings to cut down on costs and reuse more of its launch hardware. Currently the company has successfully recovered 50 first stage boosters and GO Ms. Tree has made three successful fairing catches. With any luck, the company will see its first double catch Sunday.....
TURIN
15th Mar 2020, 23:27
3...2...1...Liftoff..disregard.
Well that's a shame.
.......The countdown for a planned launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida automatically aborted in the last second before liftoff Sunday after an on-board computer detected unexpected data during an engine power check.
The dramatic last-second abort occurred at 9:22 a.m. EDT (1322 GMT) Sunday, moments after the Falcon 9’s main engines ignited on launch pad 39A. A member of launch team announced engine start and liftoff. A second later, she said: “Disregard. We have an abort.”
This was an instantaneous launch opportunity Sunday, so the abort meant SpaceX had to scrub the day’s launch attempt........
SpaceX tweeted later Sunday morning that a “standard auto-abort triggered due to out of family data during engine power check.”
Last-second aborts after engine ignition during SpaceX countdowns are rare, but they have happened before on several occasions. On the Falcon 9’s inaugural launch in June 2010, SpaceX aborted the countdown just before engine start and tried again the same afternoon, resulting in a successful mission that reached orbit.
The company said it will announce a new target launch date once the schedule is confirmed with the U.S. Space Force’s 45th Space Wing, which runs the Eastern Range that oversees all launch activity at Cape Canaveral.
An updated launch weather forecast released by the 45th Space Wing on Sunday suggested the next launch opportunity for the Falcon 9 rocket might be Wednesday at 8:21 a.m. EDT (1221 GMT).
The weather forecast shows an 80 percent chance of acceptable conditions for launch Wednesday morning with scattered clouds, light easterly winds, and a temperature of around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The primary weather concern is with cumulus clouds........
Belated post. Successful launch last Wednesday. First stage, on 5th flight, lost one engine during flight but the other 8, as designed, compensated.
No attempt made to land the first stage due to the engine failure.
https://www.space.com/spacex-falcon-9-rocket-engine-launch-anomaly-investigation.html
Well that's a shame, looks like they depressurised the lower section while the upper tank was still full.
Oops.
SN3 Test Fail (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2020/04/spacex-starship-sn3-ground-flight-testing/)
Starship prototype 4 on the pad in a couple of weeks......
https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-starship-destroyed-cryo-test-next-ship/
On a more positive note, SpaceX has continued to churn out steel rings and bulkheads and assemble them into sections of Starship SN4 – the rocket’s next full-scale prototype – for the last two or so weeks. If Starship SN1, SN2, and SN3 are anything to go by, the fourth full-scale Starship prototype could be ready to head to the pad for testing just a handful of weeks from now, picking up where Starship SN3 left off. Thankfully, the latter rocket’s April 3rd failure appears to have been relatively benign as far as pad hardware goes, likely requiring minimal repair work to be ready for its next test campaign.
While unfortunate, it’s critical to remember that this is all part of SpaceX’s approach to developing new and unprecedented technologies. Be it Falcon 1, Falcon 9 booster recovery, or Falcon 9 fairing recovery, all groundbreaking SpaceX efforts have begun with several consecutive failures before the first successes – and the first streaks of consecutive successes. Given Musk’s September 2019 claim that SpaceX is putting just ~5% of its resources into Starship, prototypes like Mk1, SN1, and SN3 are being fabricated for pennies on the dollar.
As a schedule setback, SpaceX is building ships so quickly that any single prototype failure shouldn’t cause more than a handful of weeks of delays, and the goal is to produce an entire Starship every week by the end of 2020. For now, SpaceX will hopefully learn from each failure during developmental testing and roll those lessons learned into each future prototype.
Starship payload - 150 tons to LEO
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a32052844/spacex-starship-user-guide-payload/
SpaceX's Starship Can Lift a Lot More Than We Thought
https://www.spacex.com/sites/spacex/files/starship_users_guide_v1.pdf
https://news.yahoo.com/nasa-announces-first-spacex-crewed-flight-may-27-171702903.html
NASA announces first SpaceX crewed flight for May 27
Washington (AFP) - A SpaceX rocket will send two American astronauts to the International Space Station on May 27, NASA announced on Friday, the first crewed spaceflight from the US in nearly a decade.
"On May 27, @NASA will once again launch American astronauts on American rockets from American soil!" Jim Bridenstine, head of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, said in a tweet..........
Astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley will fly to the ISS on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft also built by SpaceX, the company founded by tech entrepreneur Elon Musk. They will lift off at 4:32 pm (2032 GMT) on May 27 from historic launch pad 39A, the same one used for the Apollo and space shuttle missions, at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA said.......
meadowrun
18th Apr 2020, 08:38
Hugely significant task for SpaceX.
Glorious future or a very questionable one. Country could use a brilliant success.
All depends on safe delivery of the cargo.
Haven't read that they're bringing anyone back.
Asturias56
18th Apr 2020, 08:46
Hugely significant task for SpaceX.
Glorious future or a very questionable one. Country could use a brilliant success.
All depends on safe delivery of the cargo.
Haven't read that they're bringing anyone back.
Since its a test they'll probably just take some supplies along and stay a couple of days - they won't want to change the long term ISS crew rotations until the new craft is in regular service
Trouble is I can hear Mr Trump instantly sounding off about how much better US technology is than Russian stuff (and there'll be a Chinese plot in there somewhere)
More than a couple of days stay....
”Behnken and Hurley have been completing training for the mission, such as a series of simulations from launch to docking as well as undocking and preparations for re-entry and splashdown. They have also been training for ISS operations, given that their mission, which originally was to spend only a couple weeks at the ISS, will now likely last for two to three months.”......
NASA has already named the crew for the first operational Crew Dragon mission (https://www.space.com/spacex-crew-dragon-1st-operational-flight-full-crew.html)to follow the Demo-2 launch. That flight would launch NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, Jr., Shannon Walker and Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi to the space station sometime after Demo-2.
VP959
18th Apr 2020, 09:26
A joke that Tesla owners will immediately get:
3 Astronauts are sitting in a Dragon Capsule atop a Falcon-9.
It's T minus 20 minutes and counting.
Their mobile phones all ding at the same time.
They look at their screens...
"An update will start in 1 minute and take approximately 25 minutes to complete...."
Asturias56
19th Apr 2020, 08:57
A joke that Tesla owners will immediately get:
3 Astronauts are sitting in a Dragon Capsule atop a Falcon-9.
It's T minus 20 minutes and counting.
Their mobile phones all ding at the same time.
They look at their screens...
"An update will start in 1 minute and take approximately 25 minutes to complete...."
was it John Glenn who was asked what was passing though his mind as the countdown reached 10.... "I'm sitting on a machine built from 2 million plus parts - every one of which was built by the lowest bidder..."
The AvgasDinosaur
20th Apr 2020, 09:28
was it John Glenn who was asked what was passing though his mind as the countdown reached 10.... "I'm sitting on a machine built from 2 million plus parts - every one of which was built by the lowest bidder..."
I always believed John Glenn’s famous quote was ‘I’m sitting on top of the biggest pile of lowest bids ever assembled’ but I’m old and grey so no guarantees.
David
Video of Wednesday’s successful launch and first stage recovery.
https://youtu.be/H4vcREtkvlw
Meanwhile Starship SN4 is already on the test pad and SN5 and SN6 are under construction.
https://www.space.com/spacex-rolls-out-starship-sn4-prototype-video.html
https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-third-starship-rocket-finished-two-months/
TURIN
28th Apr 2020, 17:05
SN4 pressure test passed.
A single Raptor engine to be attached and a short hop within a couple of weeks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzsMp2zfy-o
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/nasa-ready-to-carry-us-flag-back-into-orbit-with-spacex-trip-to-iss-7r7ws8r98
Nasa ready to carry US flag back into orbit with SpaceX trip to ISS
It has been 39 years since America last launched astronauts on a test flight aboard its own newly built spacecraft. In three weeks’ time it will do so again, sending the SpaceX (https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/elon-musk-how-techs-bad-boy-won-the-race-to-space-dwsd850wr) Crew Dragon capsule on its first crewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS) and ending America’s reliance on Russia to act as its taxi driver.......
On May 27, Doug Hurley, 53, a US Marine Corps colonel, and Bob Behnken, 49, a US air force colonel, will be aboard as Crew Dragon is launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Centre at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
“My heart is sitting right here and I think it’s going to stay there until we get Doug and Bob back,” said Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer of SpaceX, gesturing to her throat. “I’m nervous now. There will be a little relief when they’re in orbit, more relief when they’re on station, and I will start sleeping again when they are back on the planet.”
Colonel Hurley said: “It’s the first flight with crew, the second flight of the vehicle. Statistics will tell you that’s riskier than the 15th or 20th.”
The need for attention to safety has been compounded by the coronavirus pandemic. The astronauts have been in a “quarantine bubble” for weeks, with only family members and mission-essential personnel allowed near them until they go into full isolation on May 16.
Mr Bridenstine has appealed to the public to stay at home for the launch — one of the most illustrious events on Nasa’s calendar in decades — mindful of the social distancing challenges for the hundreds of thousands expected to pack beaches and causeways.
But the sheriff of Brevard county, Wayne Ivey, urged crowds to come. “It’s another piece of great American history that’s happening right here in our back yard. We are not going to keep the great Americans that want to come watch that from coming,” he said. “If Nasa’s telling people to not come here and watch the launch, that’s on them. Nasa’s got their guidelines and I got mine.”
Starship prototype SN4 successful test firing of Raptor engine in situ.
Looks like a good test, pressure testing with liquid methane and LOX completed the night before.
Short hop next?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cp2oaguCzN8
https://www.space.com/starship-prototype-sn4-cryo-pressure-test.html
SpaceX's Starship SN4 prototype passes another, tougher pressure testSpaceX's latest Starship (https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-super-heavy.html) prototype keeps passing tests, edging closer and closer to a highly anticipated test flight.
The SN4 vehicle, the latest pathfinder for SpaceX's Starship Mars-colonization spacecraft, aced a high-pressure and high-simulated-thrust trial at the company's Boca Chica facilities in South Texas, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk announced on Twitter on Saturday (May 9). And this was a "cryo" test: the SN4 was filled with frigid liquid nitrogen, simulating the conditions experienced during operational missions, which will employ ultracold propellant.
The SN4 already had a "cryo proof" success under its belt, surviving one on April 26 (https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-sn4-prototype-pressure-test-success.html). The vehicle endured pressures of 4.9 bar during that earlier test, compared to 7.5 bar over the weekend, Musk said. (Atmospheric pressure at sea level is 1 bar.)
The prototype has also performed two "static fires," lighting up its single Raptor engine (https://www.space.com/43289-spacex-starship-raptor-engine-launch-power.html) briefly on May 5 (https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-sn4-engine-static-fire-test.html) and then again on May 7, both times remaining firmly on the ground.
That's probably as high as the SN4 will get. SpaceX (https://www.space.com/18853-spacex.html) is already building its successor, the three-engine SN5, which Musk has said will target a test-flight altitude of 12 miles (20 kilometers)........
A busy couple of weeks. Looks like the first hop for Starship 4 later this week and the first manned launch to the ISS next week.
STARSHIP SN4
Reports suggest that the first 'hop' of the Starship will take place next week, with three Raptor full-flow staged-combustion methane-fuelled rocket engines powering the prototype. Speculation around this hop has picked up after the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) released a NOTAM (notice to airmen) on Friday to "provide a safe environment for space launch and reentry operations" (FAA NOTAM 0/1466).
FALCON/DRAGON
https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/05/16/crew-dragon-capsule-meets-falcon-9-rocket-inside-launch-pad-hangar/
Falcon and Dragon on the launch pad.
https://youtu.be/e_zBjcDOVwI
https://www.countytimes.co.uk/news/national-news/18468181.nasa-tells-spectators-stay-away-launch-sheriff-says-welcome/
Nasa tells spectators to stay away from launch but sheriff says they are welcome
https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/05/22/nasa-review-clears-spacex-crew-capsule-for-first-astronaut-mission/
NASA clears SpaceX crew capsule for first astronaut mission
After a two-day readiness review, NASA managers gave a green light Friday for SpaceX to proceed with final preparations for launch next Wednesday, May 27, of a commercial spaceship carrying astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to the International Space Station on the first orbital spaceflight from U.S. soil since 2011.
Hours later, SpaceX test-fired the 215-foot-tall (65-meter) Falcon 9 rocket that will boost Hurley and Behnken into orbit aboard the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft........
On Monday, SpaceX will convene a Launch Readiness Review to go over data and results from the test-firing Friday and the crew dress rehearsal Saturday. If all looks good, preparations will proceed toward launch of the first orbital crewed mission from the Kennedy Space Center in nearly nine years at 4:33 p.m. EDT (2033 GMT) Wednesday.......
Launch planned for 20:33 UTC, 21:33 BST
https://youtu.be/Aymrnzianf0
Weather scrub at T-17 minutes. Next window in 3 days on the 30th.
clareprop
28th May 2020, 07:42
I am impressed and quite taken by the enthusiasm of the Spacex/Nasa team. The watchword for these highly talented and mainly young people seems to be 'If you're going to space, do it safely but also, do it cool'.
Good luck for Saturday.
A prototype of SpaceX’s upcoming heavy-lift rocket, Starship, exploded on Friday during ground tests in south Texas (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/texas) as Elon Musk’s space company pursued an aggressive development schedule to fly the launch vehicle for the first time.
The prototype vanished in an explosive fireball at SpaceX’s Boca Chica test site on Friday, as seen in a livestream recorded by the website Nasa Spaceflight. There was no immediate indication of injuries. SpaceX (https://www.theguardian.com/science/spacex) did not immediately respond to a request for comment.........
https://youtu.be/vIh4aLX3cZQ
A_Van
30th May 2020, 07:14
ORAC, it seems to be the 3rd accident with StarShip protos since Nov. '19. Aren't SpaceX too much in a hurry with this launcher?
Dct_Mopas
30th May 2020, 07:20
ORAC, it seems to be the 3rd accident with StarShip protos since Nov. '19. Aren't SpaceX too much in a hurry with this launcher?
Don’t think so, this design/test/fail/redesign process leads to much faster rate of development than other development methods. SpaceX probably didn’t expect SN-4 to get this far with multiple cryo pressure tests and static fires prior to failure.
SN-5 is ready to begin testing and will hold 3 raptor engines.
SN-6 is currently in final build
SN-7 is also coming together
So SpaceX have a line of test vehicles over the next few weeks/months. All of which are an improvement over each predecessor, going to be great to watch how they get on
Lyneham Lad
30th May 2020, 15:25
NASA TV - May 30, Saturday (https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html#public)
11 a.m. - Live launch coverage of the SpaceX/DM-2 Crew Dragon Mission to the International Space Station: launch scheduled at 3:22 p.m. EDT - Kennedy Space Center/Hawthorne, California/Johnson Space Center (All Channels)
Fitter2
30th May 2020, 18:32
T-50 minutes, and crew visors still open - I guess they aren't worried about getting the bends on depressurisation?
Fitter2
30th May 2020, 19:44
Pity the livestream missed the stage 1 touchdown - I guess teh ioniused exhaust interfered with the uplink But amazing !
Jump Complete
30th May 2020, 19:53
Pity the livestream missed the stage 1 touchdown - I guess teh ioniused exhaust interfered with the uplink But amazing !
Must have been a hell of a rate of descent to get down that fast!
All very impressive. Fantastic!
Starship SN5 planned for 150m hop on 20th June.
https://spacelaunchnow.me/launch/starship-sn5-150m-hop
meadowrun
30th May 2020, 23:36
I found another channel when the CNN News Show announcer said:
"Those who are about to launch, we salute you."
donotdespisethesnake
31st May 2020, 08:04
Crew Demo-2 appears to be progressing smoothly. Quite a remarkable technical achievement for SpaceX. Also a step forward for NASA, as they learn to let go of the reins a little. Hopefully a further nail in the coffin for SLS.
Already Demo-2 has slipped of the front pages, USA has more pressing issues I guess, in that sense not so much change.
Wondering if there is any news on SN4, appeared to be a problem with ground equipment?
wiggy
31st May 2020, 08:10
, USA has more pressing issues I guess, in that sense not so much change.
Isn't that the truth..from way back..
TIME Magazine Cover: Anders, Borman, Lovell, Men of the Year - Jan. 3, 1969 - Person of the Year - NASA - Space Exploration - Astronauts (http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19690103,00.html)
as much as anything because, as a member of public told one of the crew - "you saved 1968"
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/how-apollo-8-saved-1968-180970991/
Wondering if there is any news on SN4, appeared to be a problem with ground equipment?
Discussion and photo analysis on the NASA forums seems to indicate the Ground Service Equipment (GSE) rapid disconnect fuelling/defuelling connectors failed and allowed methane and LOX to mix below SN4 which then ignited. Consensus is that there was nothing wrong with SN4 itself before the explosion.
Pad itself will need repair, and debris landed in the tank farm. But Spacex have redundancy as they have prototypes being built on both coasts.
yakker
31st May 2020, 14:25
Docked, well done SpaceX and NASA, brilliant to watch.
What a week. Amazing performance all round. The Crew Dragon-Endeavour looks so much more comfotable than the Soyuz.
Glad to hear the explosion during the SN4 test was not a rupture of the pressure vessel itself.
Did you see how high the 'mass simulator' went when it blew?
Can't wait for the SN5 hop. That will be a hell of a sight..
For those interested this is a link to the relevant NASA forum thread.
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=50773.2040
Weeds round the prop
1st Jun 2020, 10:20
Spectacular achievement. The entry to the space station was made a little more 'workaday' when the second astronaut through the hatch (Bob Behnken?) seemed to have bashed his head on something sharp and it was bleeding. He dabbed at it several times as they set up a photo op, and eventually was handed a tissue or cloth to stem the bleeding!
It really is non-stop operations isn’t it?
https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/06/01/spacex-targets-wednesday-night-for-next-starlink-launch/
SpaceX targets Wednesday night for next Starlink launch
Days after launching astronauts for the first time, SpaceX is set to resume a speedy cadence of satellite launches Wednesday night with liftoff of a Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company’s next batch of Starlink broadband relay stations.
A Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled for takeoff Wednesday, likely around 9:25 p.m. EDT (0125 GMT Thursday), from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad. A weather forecast issued by the U.S. Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron on Monday indicates there is a 70 percent probability of favorable conditions for launch Wednesday night.
The weather forecast lists a 61-minute launch window for the Starlink mission opening at 8:55 p.m. EDT (0055 GMT), but SpaceX typically targets liftoff in the middle of the window for Starlink flights.
SpaceX has launched 420 Starlink satellites on seven dedicated Falcon 9 launches since May 2019, with each rocket carrying 60 Starlink spacecraft. This week’s launch is expected to loft around 60 additional Starlink satellites, which each weigh about a quarter-ton.
This eighth launch devoted to the Starlink network was previously scheduled for mid-May. SpaceX delayed the launch after Tropical Storm Arthur brought high winds and rough seas to the downrange recovery area northeast of Cape Canaveral in the Atlantic Ocean, where SpaceX’s drone ship needs to be positioned for landing of the Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage booster.
Once Tropical Storm Arthur forced the initial launch delay, SpaceX decided to keep the Starlink mission on the ground (https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/05/18/spacex-delays-next-starlink-mission-after-crew-launch/) until after the company launched the Crew Dragon spacecraft from nearby pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. The Crew Dragon launched Saturday with NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, the first crewed mission to launch into orbit from U.S. soil since the retirement of the space shuttle in 2011.
SpaceX’s drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You” was deployed in the Atlantic Ocean for the landing of the Falcon 9’s first stage booster after the Starlink launch. The drone ship was later used for the landing of the Falcon 9 first stage after the Crew Dragon launch.
Another drone ship in SpaceX’s fleet — named “Just the Read Instructions” — has completed upgrades and departed Port Canaveral, Florida, to support the booster landing for the next Starlink launch. Meanwhile, SpaceX’s “Of Course I Still Love You” recovery vessel is on the way back to Port Canaveral with the first stage recovered after the Crew Dragon launch......
Asturias56
2nd Jun 2020, 17:54
Thats what happens when it's your money being spent rather than the taxpayers........
Lost on the Tundra
3rd Jun 2020, 00:10
Speaking of Starlink, we happen to live almost directly under the orbital path in central BC. Having paid no attention to news of their launch I was greatly surprised one very dark early morning when I saw one after another after another flare into daylight overhead. A little hurried research revealed what they were. I figured they were some kind of surveillance orbiters! My little still half asleep conspiracy theory died a quick, merciful death.
But I look forward to Starlink coming online. Should work very well for us up here methinks. As a long time sci-fi addict I find the sight of them absolutely thrilling.
https://www.pprune.org/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=10798094
SpaceX rocket returns to shore after historic astronaut launch (photos)The rocket that launched SpaceX's first-ever crewed mission has returned to terra firma.
That mission, called Demo-2 (https://www.space.com/spacex-crew-dragon-demo-2-test-flight-explained.html), lifted off atop a two-stage Falcon 9 (https://www.space.com/18962-spacex-falcon-9.html) rocket on Saturday (May 30) from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, sending NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley toward the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a Crew Dragon (https://www.space.com/18852-spacex-dragon.html) capsule.
About 9 minutes after liftoff, the Falcon 9 first stage aced a pinpoint landing on the SpaceX drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You," which was stationed a few hundred miles off the Florida coast. The ship soon started heading back toward shore, and on Tuesday (June 2) its sea voyage came to an end: "Of Course I Still Love You," with the rocket secured to its deck, arrived at Florida's Port Canaveral, SpaceX announced via Twitter.
SpaceX commonly refurbishes and reflies Falcon 9 first stages, as well as the first stages of the company's Falcon Heavy (https://www.space.com/39779-falcon-heavy-facts.html) megarocket. Such reuse is a key priority of SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk (https://www.space.com/18849-elon-musk.html), who wants to cut the cost of spaceflight dramatically enough to enable a variety of ambitious exploration feats — especially the colonization of Mars. (The one-engine Falcon 9 second stage remains expendable at the moment, but it's not nearly as expensive as the nine-engine first stage.)
We perhaps cannot assume that this particular booster will fly again, however. SpaceX had not announced its fate as of the time of this writing, and it's possible the company might want to preserve it as a historic artifact. The first Falcon 9 first stage that ever landed successfully, for example, now stands outside SpaceX's headquarters in Hawthorne, California. And this particular Falcon 9 has a little bit of added historic appeal beyond Saturday's exploits: Emblazoned across its body is NASA's retro "worm" logo (https://www.space.com/18962-spacex-falcon-9.html), which was brought out of retirement for Demo-2.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/970x647/image_43d47ebae6c7d750be5869ace65fe22346324e94.jpeg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/970x1455/image_568c9d3906d91d24414fcc05ff5d791ea491954c.jpeg
They just nailed another landing after launching the Starlink 8 mission.
It was the first time the same booster had landed five times. Impressive.
They are attempting to catch both fairings too...in the dark, mid atlantic. Incredible stuff.
tdracer
4th Jun 2020, 02:29
And this particular Falcon 9 has a little bit of added historic appeal beyond Saturday's exploits: Emblazoned across its body is NASA's retro "worm" logo (https://www.space.com/18962-spacex-falcon-9.html), which was brought out of retirement for Demo-2.
Personally, I don't consider the NASA 'worm' logo retro - I simply consider it ugly. And it's not exactly retro, given the current logo is also the original NASA logo. The worm was someone's idea of an updated 'modern' logo for NASA, which thankfully didn't last long (sort of like the short lived Pratt and Whitney "Pigs in Space" logo.
I have a few flying (or at least flyable) Space Shuttle model rockets. They came with the 'worm' logo decals - I didn't use them - I paid to get decals of the original/current logo.
Personally, I don't consider the NASA 'worm' logo retro - I simply consider it ugly.
Glad it's not just me then...
treadigraph
4th Jun 2020, 15:45
Heavens Above have added a rather neat new feature to their excellent, Live Sky View, which shows potentially visible satellites passing over your location and their tracks - pity it's cloudy, would like to give it a go tonight!
https://www.heavens-above.com/skyview/?lat=51.3446&lng=-0.107&cul=en
Confirmation that the problem wasn’t with SN4 itself, rather that as theorised it was leakage from the quick disconnect GSE fuel lines.
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2020/06/spacex-swift-testin-starship-sn4-anomaly/
SpaceX set for a swift return to testing following Starship SN4 anomaly
Following the May 29 explosive failure of the Starship SN4 prototype during a Static Fire test, SpaceX workers have been quickly making repairs to its Boca Chica, Texas launch facility. Starship SN5 is expected to roll to the launch site in the coming days in preparation for testing to begin on June 10.
The anomaly totaled the existing test stand used to hold down the vehicle during the testing milestones. On June 3, a replacement launch stand was installed at the launch site. SpaceX had already been working on a new launch stand before the May 29 accident – a factor that accelerated the recovery process.
The new stand appears to be similar in design to the original Starship launch mount.
In the coming days, teams will continue to repair Ground Support Equipment (GSE) at the launch site. There was significant damage to GSE infrastructure due to the anomaly, but SpaceX will have the GSE repaired in time for testing to resume on June 10, per the latest notice of road closures.
While the Starship SN4 anomaly was dramatic (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/?s=SN4), the required corrective action is not expected to be too complicated. Early indications were that an issue with the umbilical connections to the vehicle leaked significant quantities of propellant near the base of the vehicle. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk later confirmed to Reuters reporter Joey Roulette that the problem was related to the quick disconnect system.
It is understood that one of the test objectives of the May 29 static fire was to test disconnecting the umbilicals ahead of a planned 150-meter test flight scheduled for the following week. The umbilicals must be able to quickly detach when the launch vehicle leaves the pad. During the testing of the quick disconnects, the system malfunctioned – spilling large amounts of propellant. This could be seen during NASASpaceflight’s live stream of the test.
The propellant eventually ignited, leading to a large explosion. It is not entirely clear what the ignition source was, but a still frame from the NASASpaceflight broadcast shows that the ignition occurred near the base of the vehicle.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/2000x1124/image_9ad57982adac250e3766235836c64967edb9cc82.png
Notably, the structural integrity of Starship is not believed to be the cause of the accident. SpaceX has had issues with the prototypes collapsing under high pressure in the past. All of the previous full-scale prototypes failed cryogenic pressurization testing.
Including the May 29 test, SpaceX completed five static fires with Starship SN4. No previous Starship had even gotten far enough to have an engine installed (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/?s=Starship). The Raptor engines performed well throughout testing (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/?s=Raptor), and the vehicle’s primary structure held strong.
If structural issues had been the cause of the recent anomaly, the flight-worthiness of SpaceX’s upcoming prototypes might have been invalidated. Starship SN5 is scheduled to roll to the launch pad on Monday, Starship SN6 is undergoing final assembly, and a Starship SN7 bulkhead has already been spotted. It is unlikely that the quick disconnect issue will require significant changes to these vehicles – avoiding a prolonged setback for SpaceX.
The lack of a significant design flaw with the vehicle will mean that the largest delay with SpaceX’s Starship testing flow will be the time required to repair the pad. The exact length of this process is not currently known, but Starship SN5 is expected to roll to the test stand within a few days.
Starship SN5 is now expected to be the first Starship to fly. Most likely, it will attempt the 150-meter hop test originally planned to occur with Starship SN4. However, SpaceX had also been planning to install three Raptor engines and a nosecone on Starship SN5 as opposed to the single-engine and no nosecone on SN4. It remains to be seen if SpaceX will proceed with these plans in the wake of the SN4 anomaly, or if Starship SN5 will end up looking similar to SN4.
Whatever the case, Starship SN5 is currently scheduled to undergo proof testing starting as early as June 10, with a static fire following later next week. SpaceX will likely conduct a few static fires before attempting a flight test.
Based on FCC filings, it is believed that SpaceX plans to conduct a 150-meter hop, followed by a three-kilometer hop, and then a 20-kilometer hop. Not all of these flight tests will be done with Starship SN5 – with the higher altitude tests likely slated for later Starship prototypes.......
NutLoose
6th Jun 2020, 19:05
2 hour special about it starting on Discovery channel 125 NOW
Starship Super Heavy Vertical Assembly Building and Spacex Starship Shipyard.......
https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-starship-super-heavy-assembly-tower/
SpaceX’s Starship Super Heavy booster needs a custom assembly tower
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has confirmed that Starship’s Super Heavy rocket booster will get its own tower-like vehicle assembly building (VAB) – and work on the structure may have already begun.
While the only visible work SpaceX has thus far completed on its next-generation Starship launch vehicle is related to the more complex and unproven upper stage of the rocket, its Super Heavy first stage (booster) is just as critical. For SpaceX, Starship was the perfect starting point, itself following on the footsteps of a largely successful multi-year Raptor engine development program. Substantially smaller than Super Heavy and requiring 5-10 times fewer engines, Starship serves as a testbed for an almost entirely new suite of technologies and strategies SpaceX is employing to build massive rockets out of commodity steel.
In recent months, particularly following the first successful pressure test of a full-scale Starship tank section in April, SpaceX has effectively proven that those uncharacteristically cheap and simple materials and methods can, in fact, build rocket structures that should stand up to orbital spaceflight. In theory, aside from the booster’s 31-engine thrust structure, the same methods and materials used to build Starships can be applied unchanged to manufacture Super Heavy. The booster’s almost unfathomable size, however, will necessitate its own dedicated assembly facilities.
While Starship itself is not exactly small at ~50m (165 ft) tall and 9m (30ft) wide, the Super Heavy booster tasked with launching the ship on its way to orbit will easily be the largest individual rocket stage ever built. Currently expected to measure 70m (230 ft) tall, Super Heavy – just the first stage of the Starship launch vehicle – will already be as tall as an entire Falcon 9 or Falcon Heavy and weigh roughly three times more than the latter triple-booster rocket when fully fueled. At liftoff, Super Heavy will produce more than triple the thrust of Falcon Heavy and double the thrust of Saturn V, the most powerful liquid-fueled rocket to reach orbit.
Thanks to the sheer size of the booster, SpaceX’s existing Starship-sized vehicle/vertical assembly building (VAB) is far too small for Super Heavy and is even too short to fully stack a ~50m Starship. SpaceX’s contractor of choice started assembling that VAB around January 15th and the facility was able to begin supporting its first Starship stacking and welding operations on March 2nd, just a month and a half later, with the structure fully completed by March 18th. As such, assuming the in-work foundation is as close to completion as it seems and SpaceX uses the same contractor for the next building, Super Heavy’s VAB could be ready to build the first massive booster prototype as early as July or August.
Things could take a bit longer given that Musk says the booster VAB will be 81m (265 ft) tall, nearly twice the height of Starship’s VAB, but likely by no more than a few weeks.
That timeline meshes well with a senior SpaceX engineer and executive’s recent suggestion that the first orbital Starship launch attempt (https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-starship-orbital-launch-debut-2020/) could still happen before the end of the year. .........
https://youtu.be/mUtLGDk9VWo
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/07/elon-musk-email-to-spacex-employees-starship-is-the-top-priority.html
Elon Musk tells SpaceX employees that its Starship rocket is the top priority now
I do hope the travel ban is lifted by then, I really would like to see that.
I got a great view of Starlink 5/6 7/8 last night too. Quite a sight.
TURIN
13th Jun 2020, 00:19
Another Falcon 9 launch scheduled for this morning. 0521 EDT, 1021 BST
If you're up really early there's also a Rocket Labs launch in New Zealand too.
goofer3
13th Jun 2020, 07:45
Another Falcon 9 launch scheduled for this morning. 0521 EDT, 1021 BST
If you're up really early there's also a Rocket Labs launch in New Zealand too.
Link;https://www.spacex.com/launches/
Another one up and another one down, third successful landing for the booster. I believe this is one of the newer batch with a projected life of 10 launches.
Not sure what happened with SkySat 3. They called the launch of 1 and it appeared in view 10 seconds later, they called the launch of 2 and it appeared 10 seconds later, they called the launch of 3...... and I didn’t see anything appear, but they all appeared happy.
TURIN
13th Jun 2020, 10:15
Yes, it definately deployed ok, you could see it.
No info yet if they caught the fairings.
It's a busy month. Five more launches scheduled for the rest of June. Two Spacex, one Aranespace Vega and a couple of Chinese Long March missions.
clareprop
13th Jun 2020, 10:30
They called the launch of 1 and it appeared in view 10 seconds later, they called the launch of 2 and it appeared 10 seconds later, they called the launch of 3...... and I didn’t see anything appear, but they all appeared happy.
At 34:45 on the official SpaceX video ( t+ 19:51) you can see three objects in a slightly lower orbit and they appear again whenever that camera angle is used....I presume that's them.
Everything you ever wanted to know about fairings - except if they caught them.....
https://youtu.be/Gk8Ay3QmF6s
TURIN
17th Jun 2020, 12:19
Just read elsewhere they fished them out of the sea, one is a total loss. Ouch.
https://spacenews.com/nasa-to-allow-reuse-of-crew-dragon-spacecraft-and-boosters/
NASA to allow reuse of Crew Dragon spacecraft and boosters
WASHINGTON — NASA will allow SpaceX to reuse Crew Dragon spacecraft and the Falcon 9 first stages for launching them as soon as next year.
A modification to the Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contract NASA has with SpaceX, published last month, will allow SpaceX to reuse both the Falcon 9 first stage and Crew Dragon spacecraft starting with the second operational mission of the spacecraft, known as Post-Certification Mission (PCM) 2 or Crew-2. That change was described as part of a “bilateral modification” that also formally extended the length of the Demo-2 mission from two weeks to as long as 119 days.
The move is a change for SpaceX, as the company originally planned to use a new Crew Dragon spacecraft on each of its commercial crew missions for NASA. That stood in contrast to Boeing, which will refurbish its CST-100 Starliner crew modules between flights.......
TURIN
23rd Jun 2020, 21:59
Tonight's launch postponed until Thursday. Shame as its clear skies here, was looking forward to a view.
Niw that is pushing the envelope.....
https://newslanded.com/2020/06/21/nasa-planning-on-emergency-escape-from-iss-using-spacex-crew-dragon/
NASA PLANNING ON EMERGENCY ESCAPE FROM ISS USING SPACEX CREW DRAGON
SpaceX made history on May 30, 2020, by becoming the first private company to launch astronauts onboard its human-rated spacecraft, the Crew Dragon. Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley set off towards the International Space Station (ISS) on a NASA mission titled “Demo-2,” testing the capabilities of the SpaceX Crew Dragon for NASA’s Commercial Crew program.
The first official mission with 4 NASA astronauts, called Crew-1, is expected to launch later this year. The main goals the current Demo-2 aims to accomplish is to test the spacecraft and all its functionality, including manual control. However, it seems NASA is planning on conducting another unprecedented test with Crew Dragon: escaping the ISS in an emergency rehearsal.
According to Teslerati, the drill will “rehearse” an “emergency” in which the four of the five ISS crewmembers will simulate a last-minute escape from the space station. Unfortunately, this is all the information that we currently know about the planned demonstration.
Along with the planned demonstration, other tests are currently still being conducted with Crew Dragon. In a Q&, the new head of NASA’s Human Spaceflight Office Kathy Lueders, says, “The Crew Dragon has been doing great. Every week it wakes up and we do checkouts, and then it goes back into sleep mode. The crew on orbit have also been putting it through its paces. About to do a demonstration with four crew members in the vehicle at once.”
She also said that the mission is expected to return to Earth early in August. Right now, the crew of the ISS consists of the 2 NASA astronauts that launched aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, and 1 NASA astronaut + 2 Roscosmos astronauts that launched aboard Russia’s Soyuz. The demonstration is planned to take place with four of these five astronauts, including one Roscosmos astronaut......
tdracer
23rd Jun 2020, 22:41
If push ever comes to shove and they need to abandon the ISS, I wonder how they determine who the unlucky soul is that's going to be left behind :eek: