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It's pretty obscene where we are in regards to political discourse these days. It's not a good path....
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Launches just this week….
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NASA will certify SpaceX's Falcon Heavy to launch nuclear materials (RTG power sources for interplanetary probes) into space.
https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/1...ered-payloads/ NASA awards SpaceX a contract for one of the few things it hasn’t done yet When you compare SpaceX to the world's other space enterprises, it's probably easier to list the things SpaceX hasn't done instead of reciting all of the company's achievements. One of these is the launch of nuclear materials. SpaceX has launched a handful of planetary science missions for NASA, but these spacecraft have all used solar arrays to generate electricity. In this century, NASA's probes relying on nuclear power have all flown on rockets built by United Launch Alliance (ULA), a 50-50 joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin. This is about to change with a $256.6 million contract NASA awarded to SpaceX on Monday. The contract covers launch services and related costs for SpaceX to launch Dragonfly, a rotorcraft designed to explore the alien environment of Saturn's largest moon, Titan. Dragonfly's power source is a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG), which generates electricity from the heat put out by the radioactive decay of plutonium-238. These plutonium-fueled generators have flown on many previous space missions, including NASA's Perseverance and Curiosity rovers on Mars, the New Horizons spacecraft that beamed back the first up-close views of Pluto, and the long-lived Voyager probes exploring interstellar space. All of these missions were launched on rockets that have either retired or are nearing retirement: the Atlas V, the Titan, and the space shuttle, to name a few. So, it is time for NASA to certify a new generation of rockets to launch nuclear-powered payloads. The Space Force is already working on this for ULA's Vulcan rocket, the replacement for the Atlas V, which is due to launch an innovative nuclear propulsion demonstration as soon as 2027. SpaceX's Falcon Heavy has launched 11 times, all successfully, and is based on the Falcon 9 rocket rated to ferry people into orbit. NASA already certified Falcon Heavy to launch its most expensive robotic missions, such as the Europa Clipper mission, which launched last month. But there is an additional certification required to launch nuclear materials, including a review of the rocket's explosive self-destruct range safety system to ensure it would not damage the payload and cause a release of radioactive plutonium. The RTG itself is designed to survive an impact with the ocean intact.….. |
Another poke in the eye for ULA….
SpaceX launches rapid response GPS mission |
SpaceX has completed the construction of its fifth Crew Dragon spacecraft, designated C213, at their Hawthorne, California facility.
This capsule is scheduled for its inaugural mission, Crew-10, in March 2025, where it will transport four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). The spacecraft will now be transported to Florida for final preparations ahead of its journey to orbit. |
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Very impressive. Wonder if it's on it's original Merlins?
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B1067 after recovery being carried past New Glenn.
Looks like it’s carrying the soot from every one of its 25 flights…. |
SpaceX vs Blue Origin.
And, yes, it’s a joke…. |
Video.Falcon 9 lands on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship, completing the first 26th launch and landing of an orbital class rocket.
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Little piece explaining how they ended up bombing Poland with debris. Short version, another propellant leak. QC issues with these second stages? Are making a lot of them!
https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/...lcon_9_debris/ |
Originally Posted by MostlyHarmless
(Post 11835079)
Little piece explaining how they ended up bombing Poland with debris. Short version, another propellant leak. QC issues with these second stages? Are making a lot of them!
https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/...lcon_9_debris/ skadi |
TWO Falcon 9 launches in one day The pace SpaceX is launching is just Insane… For the rest of the space industry, it takes months or years to pull off one launch But in the last 24 hours, SpaceX completed TWO flawless missions: • 119 payloads delivered to orbit. • 29 more Starlink satellites launched. That’s 148 satellites in ONE DAY and this is quite routine for SpaceX SpaceX is operating on a completely different level. In 4 or 5 years, there will be a launch every hour. |
SpaceX will attempt to launch the Falcon Heavy rocket today at 10:21am EDT from NASA's LC-39A.
This will be the 12th launch of a Heavy and the 1st since Oct 2024. It will be carrying the ViaSat-3 F3 satellite. The center booster will be expended into the Atlantic while the 2 side boosters with return to land at LZ-40 & LZ2 approx 8 mins later. |
Scrubbed for the day, 24 hour hold.
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Now Wednesday.
BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – After weather forced a scrub on Monday, SpaceX is targeting a Wednesday morning Falcon Heavy launch from Florida’s Space Coast. The 85-minute launch window opens at 10:13 a.m. The ViaSat-3 F3 mission will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center. If the attempt is scrubbed, a backup opportunity is available Thursday, April 30, during an 85-minute window opening at 10:09 a.m. ET. |
The California Coastal Commission has issued a formal apology to @elonmusk and SpaceX, adding that it will not consider political views or speech in future regulatory decisions. • The Commission admits some officials made politically biased and improper statements about SpaceX and Elon Musk • It formally apologizes for those remarks • Agrees it will not consider political views or speech in future regulatory decisions • The Commission will NOT require coastal permits for most launch operations at Vandenberg Full statement: "The Commission agrees that it may not consider irrelevant factors in performing its function and specifically agrees that it will not take into account the perceived political beliefs, political speech, or labor practices of SpaceX or its officers in considering any regulatory action concerning SpaceX. The Commission acknowledges that Commissioners made statements, including during their October 10, 2024, hearing on the Base’s Falcon 9 launch program, that showed political bias against SpaceX and its CEO and were improper. The Commission apologizes for those statements, as set forth in the signed letter attached as Exhibit C." This filing means that SpaceX and the California Coastal Commission have reached a settlement in their federal lawsuit, and it provides long-term regulatory clarity for SpaceX for future Falcon 9 launches. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....46ca212ca9.png |
What a marvellous achievement. Absolutely stunning.
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From someone who grew up excited at grainy, broken in car footage from F1 cars, the footage SpaceX manage to provide is beyond gorgeous.
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