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SpaceX |OT| Reusable Rockets - To Mars!

LL_Decitrig

LL_Decitrig

User-Requested Ban
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
10,334
Sunderland
Slackerish said:
In case anyone else is up, SpaceX launch, Merah Putih, happening soon at 1:18am ET. Stage 1 landing planned.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjfQNBYv2IY
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I spotted this post just in time to tune in and watch stage 1 coming in to land on Of Course I Still Love You. They lost visual just before the landing but fortunately it does seem to have parked on the barge. Amazing to think that very same booster last flew just three months ago to deliver Bangabandhu Satellite 1 into orbit.

Stage 2 now in parking orbit awaiting the burn to put this satellite into a geostationary transfer orbit.
 
Dan

Dan

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,950
Yes, as LL mentioned above, it was used to launch Bangabandhu 1 a few months ago.

And it'll be used again, as the landing on OCISLY was successful.
 
antonz

antonz

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
5,309
s.p4m said:
Was this a 'flight-proven' stage 5?
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Yep. It was the first reuse of a Block 5. They are saying by next year they want only a 24 hour downtime between reuse available. So that will be something to see.

It was taken apart after its first flight to just verify everything worked properly. Going forward they will only do a teardown when its refurbish time after 10 or so flights.
 
Tygre

Tygre

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,095
Chesire, UK
First Block 5 to be reused, also planned to be the first F9 1st stage to be flown 3 times, more excitingly that third flight is planned for this year.

Rapid reusability here we come!
 
fallout

fallout

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,226
I was pretty skeptical they'd be able to safely get the refurb and turnaround costs down that much so soon, but it really looks like they're doing it. Super impressive.
 
nekkid

nekkid

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
21,823
Bit of a generic question, but do KSC launches slow down over winter? I'm there the second half of January and was looking at the calendar which appears pretty empty for a block from Nov to Feb.
 
OP
OP
Crispy75

Crispy75

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,053
I took the maiden/reflight dates from here: https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/wiki/cores

And made this:

axn86tM.png


Blue = Maiden. Red = Reflight.

(Those two early outliers are the FH side boosters, which were in the factory for a long time)

They're definitely turning them round quicker and quicker.
 
FliX

FliX

Master of the Reality Stone
Moderator
Oct 25, 2017
9,859
Metro Detroit
Dan

Dan

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,950
nekkid said:
Bit of a generic question, but do KSC launches slow down over winter? I'm there the second half of January and was looking at the calendar which appears pretty empty for a block from Nov to Feb.
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I think there is a Christmas holiday, but in general the only major slowdown is actually in July (we've just gone through it) when CCAFS perform a lot of ground maintenance.

Looking at a blog, theres the following listed as December or Late 2018:

Vehicle: ULA: Delta IV 5,2
Payload: WGS10
Pad: CCAFS LC 37B
Date: December 13th

Vehicle: SpaceX Falcon Heavy
Payload: ArabSat 6A
Pad: KSC LC 39A
Date: Late 2018

Vehicle: ULA Atlas V
Payload: Boeing Starliner CST-100
Pad: CCAFS LC 41
Date: Late 2018


So you have two beefy launches there in Falcon Heavy and Starliner. Personally I think Falcon Heavy is the more likely given Starliner's recent issues. That's a good one to target :)
 
nekkid

nekkid

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
21,823
Dan said:
I think there is a Christmas holiday, but in general the only major slowdown is actually in July (we've just gone through it) when CCAFS perform a lot of ground maintenance.

Looking at a blog, theres the following listed as December or Late 2018:

Vehicle: ULA: Delta IV 5,2
Payload: WGS10
Pad: CCAFS LC 37B
Date: December 13th

Vehicle: SpaceX Falcon Heavy
Payload: ArabSat 6A
Pad: KSC LC 39A
Date: Late 2018

Vehicle: ULA Atlas V
Payload: Boeing Starliner CST-100
Pad: CCAFS LC 41
Date: Late 2018


So you have two beefy launches there in Falcon Heavy and Starliner. Personally I think Falcon Heavy is the more likely given Starliner's recent issues. That's a good one to target :)
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Well it's a family vacation for two weeks in January so I can't schedule around it, unfortunately.

From experience that's not a great thing to do anyway - years ago I booked a trip to Orlando to coincide with the launch of Atlantis, only to have it postponed twice and ultimately rolled back into the VAB due to a hurricane.

It's a shame, I would love to see the Falcon Heavy - let's hope it's delayed a bit ;-)
 
golem

golem

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,878
Dragon crews announced

the crew of SpaceX's first human mission, NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken. Likewise, the din continued as she welcomed Mike Hopkins and Victor Glover, crew members for the second flight of the Dragon spacecraft.
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https://arstechnica.com/science/201...-of-its-dragon-spacecraft-for-the-first-time/

Close up shots of the space suit

SpaceX-00549.jpg


https://everydayastronaut.com/up-close-and-personal-with-spacexs-space-suit/

Shots of the simulator

SpaceX-00532-1.jpg


https://everydayastronaut.com/inside-spacex/
 
Dan

Dan

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,950
I think a lot of the functional features are discreetly hidden - There is a flap that you can't make out in those photos where the life support systems plug into, for example.
 
FuocoVivo

FuocoVivo

Member
Oct 30, 2017
252
Italy
Surprised it hasn't been posted here:
SpaceX Crew access arm has been put in place on pad 39A, a big step towards returning the historic launchpad to human spaceflight.
The arm also looks awesome, following the usual SpaceX trend of recognizing the value of aesthetics even in spaceflight. This is a crucial point in transitioning spaceflight from a mere govt'/military endeavor to a commercial and widespread activity.



Also Elon confirmed they're going to cover the old Apollo tower to make the contrast with the shiny new arm less evident:


Nice Article from Nasaspaceflight.com.
 
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Dan

Dan

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,950
The crew arm looks amazing. As mentioned - Elon's stated that the tower will get cladding as it doesn't look great in comparison.

Quite how that'll work with the kind of forces generated by F9/FH is interesting.
 
StrapOnFetus

StrapOnFetus

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
1,355
TX
Block 5 spec is going to be amazing when it is perfected. BFR here we come!! Truly excited times! Ill be 60 in 30 more years, I wonder what kind of amazing things I will see if the average lifespan is 80.
 
Ether_Snake

Ether_Snake

Banned
Oct 29, 2017
11,306
Didn't watch the video yet, did it land? If so, it's crazy how fast things have evolved in a few years, can't wait for the unmanned Dragon test.
 
Dan

Dan

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,950
Yep, landed.

Gwynne Shotwell also stated that the Block 5 first stages have been in better condition than they expected, and turnaround is currently at 4 weeks (!). Amazing.
 
androvsky

androvsky

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,499
Ether_Snake said:
Didn't watch the video yet, did it land? If so, it's crazy how fast things have evolved in a few years, can't wait for the unmanned Dragon test.
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Yup, landed on the drone ship with no apparent problems. They lost video feed as usual just before it landed, but the camera was a bit messed up when it came back and only showed the top of the booster in very poor focus. Later on in the mission they showed a clear shot of the booster on the ship.

Based on the Everyday Astronaut livestream, it sounds like they still haven't flown the new COPV tanks yet, which is unfortunate. They have to fly 7 rockets with the same configuration before they can fly humans on it, and I'm not sure NASA will allow the old COPV tanks at all for crewed flights. I have to assume it'll be ready for the Dragon tests at least.

Dan said:
Yep, landed.

Gwynne Shotwell also stated that the Block 5 first stages have been in better condition than they expected, and turnaround is currently at 4 weeks (!). Amazing.
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Wow, that's pretty amazing.
 
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Crispy75

Crispy75

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Oct 25, 2017
2,053
I wouldn't worry about the COPV test flights. There's 9 launches manifested just this year and there'll be no Dragon 2 flights till next year.
 
cebri

cebri

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
221
COPV 2 are expected to be flight tested in DM1. From NASA's reports, early test seem to be positive.
 
cebri

cebri

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
221
Can't wait.

Btw r/spacex has an official discord for all things related space travel. If you'd like, i could share the link, is better to follow events than forums.
 
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