totm nov 2023 SpaceX Discussion Thread

[kerbiloid]

A cheap way for success: name your goods after spaceships from a popular sci-fi series, and everyone associates your goods with the far future, even if they are just suspended 1960s projects equipped with modern electronics _{made in China}.

Edited September 13, 2020 by kerbiloid

[Nothalogh]

5 minutes ago, kerbiloid said:

A cheap way for success: name your goods after spaceships from a popular sci-fi series, and everyone associates your goods with the far future, even if they are just suspended 1960s projects equipped with modern electronics _{made in China}.

Orion ship named Nostromo?

[kerbiloid]

2 minutes ago, Nothalogh said:

Orion ship named Nostromo?

Orion ship is cheap?

Upd.
Oh, you're about the nuclear one...

Edited September 13, 2020 by kerbiloid

[KSK]

4 hours ago, Nothalogh said:

We already know Elon is a man of taste,, they will be named from the Culture series

Godspeed SN25 “Funny - it worked last time.”

[RealKerbal3x]

SN6's been moved out of the midbay - and based on Elon's tweet, I'd reckon it's because they want space in there to attach SN8's rear fins.

 

[RealKerbal3x]

[Rakaydos]

6 hours ago, KSK said:

Godspeed SN25 “Funny - it worked last time.”

I'm calling "it worked last time " as the second rocket lab launched to have reusability.

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

Are there any articles on the 'lessons learned' from the crew dragon landing?  I remember reading the astronauts' comments on how 'lively' the launch was - but I'm curious about whether they're making any changes to the lander based on the recent experience. 

[RCgothic]

SN9 starts to get stacked.

 

Edited September 14, 2020 by Val
Fixed embedding

[tater]

 

[tater]

 

 

Edited September 15, 2020 by tater

[Nothalogh]

6 hours ago, tater said:

 

 

TBF, I want to see the lithobraking

[tater]

Guess they tested that tank last night, but not to destruction.

Given they keep banging out Starship test vehicles, unsure how this new test tank impacts schedule.

[sh1pman]

3 hours ago, Nothalogh said:

TBF, I want to see the lithobraking

I think that we will see a lot of lithobraking. Landing flip is probably the hardest manoeuvre they’ve ever done with Falcon or Startship.

[kerbiloid]

Quote

If SN8 craters, SN9 & SN10 are close behind.

So. now they have a squadron of flying barns.

When can we expect barnstorming?

Spoiler

 

Edited September 15, 2020 by kerbiloid

[magnemoe]

15 minutes ago, sh1pman said:

I think that we will see a lot of lithobraking. Landing flip is probably the hardest manoeuvre they’ve ever done with Falcon or Startship.

One trick here is probably to do the flip higher than standard flight to have more time to recover. However you are limited to fuel reserves in the header tanks, now if they keep crashing make larger ones for the tests. However I guess they have good enough simulations and perhaps wind tunnel tests to know how this will work and its mostly about getting the flight hardware to perform.

[RCgothic]

Briefly thought it would be cool to see them practice the manoeuvre with old F9s, but on further thought falcon's probably not capable of 1) entering the right attitude, 2) relighting engines in that attitude, and 3) surviving hypersonic sideways flight.

Also I'm quite attached to the Falcon flight leaders, I don't want to see them lithobrake!

[sevenperforce]

5 minutes ago, magnemoe said:

One trick here is probably to do the flip higher than standard flight to have more time to recover. However you are limited to fuel reserves in the header tanks, now if they keep crashing make larger ones for the tests. However I guess they have good enough simulations and perhaps wind tunnel tests to know how this will work and its mostly about getting the flight hardware to perform.

As long as the header tanks are full at engine relight, they're fine. Once the engines are lit, you have ullage and so fuel reserves in the main tanks will come available.

It's definitely a lot to have only simulated.

[RealKerbal3x]

1 hour ago, tater said:

Given they keep banging out Starship test vehicles, unsure how this new test tank impacts schedule.

Seeing as SN7.1 is being tested on a separate mount, I doubt it'll be that much of an issue.

[zolotiyeruki]

2 hours ago, sh1pman said:

I think that we will see a lot of lithobraking. Landing flip is probably the hardest manoeuvre they’ve ever done with Falcon or Startship.

I fully expect the first N attempts will be done well offshore for this reason.  Several early F9 landing experiments were done over the water, rather than a droneship.

[sevenperforce]

9 minutes ago, zolotiyeruki said:

I fully expect the first N attempts will be done well offshore for this reason.  Several early F9 landing experiments were done over the water, rather than a droneship.

Nah, they won't sacrifice SN8 just for excrementss and giggles. But they may use a different landing pad so that there is no collateral damage if it pancakes.

[CatastrophicFailure]

1 hour ago, sevenperforce said:

Nah, they won't sacrifice SN8 just for excrementss and giggles. But they may use a different landing pad so that there is no collateral damage if it pancakes.

I would expect they’ll do like they do with F9 landings: have the trajectory aiming for a spot Just offshore, only actively correcting onto the pad once under thrust and stable. 

I expect SN8 to make one L of a splash. 

[sevenperforce]

2 hours ago, CatastrophicFailure said:

I would expect they’ll do like they do with F9 landings: have the trajectory aiming for a spot Just offshore, only actively correcting onto the pad once under thrust and stable. 

I expect SN8 to make one L of a splash. 

That's possible. The F9 landings actually have a degree of risk associated with them because the stage has to scrub non-negligible horizontal velocity at engine relight. The original impact zone is offshore, but the grid fins steer the impact zone beyond the pad, so that the engine relight will scrub both horizontal and vertical velocity to complete the hoverslam. If the grid fins operated properly but the engines failed to light, it would actually impact farther inland than the pad, not between the pad and the shore.

In contrast, the Starship actively controls its fall with its flaperons but then actually gains significant momentum toward anterior at relight because the engines are lit while horizontal. They're gimbaled as far back as possible, but still it pushes forward toward the landing site, and then the flip must actually tip the whole thing back beyond radial to scrub velocity. So if Starship boosts out over the water and then uses its flaperons to glide back, it could actually be safer than the F9 landings.

[RealKerbal3x]

SN8 gets its aerocovers! Flaperon installation should be soon.

Edit: also seems that SN7.1 is being tested right now:

 

Edited September 16, 2020 by RealKerbal3x

[tater]