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22 minutes ago, Minmus Taster said:

The lower half is apparently Sn17's barrel section!

Now that's a name I haven't heard in a long time

Also, Booster 3 now has three Raptors installed!

Edited by Beccab
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1 hour ago, Minmus Taster said:

The lower half is apparently Sn17's barrel section!

I'm not sure if that nose/barrel combo is actually SN20, or if they might be using it for a test article to get the tiles right.

You'll note in the pic the one on the right has the curved tiles... maybe THAT is the flight article?

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1 minute ago, tater said:

I'm not sure if that nose/barrel combo is actually SN20, or if they might be using it for a test article to get the tiles right.

You'll note in the pic the one on the right has the curved tiles... maybe THAT is the flight article?

It's clear that is a test article, the nose nor the barrel is marked for SN20 and those sections for it have alrady been spotted. Not to mention, no flaps attachments.
I'm not 100% sure that one on the right is the one for SN20, but it's definitely possible

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3 hours ago, sevenperforce said:

Looks like very large COPVs for the hot-gas thrusters are positioned in the interstage region. I wonder if this one is as armored up there as subsequent models will be. 

Generate hot gas for the hot-gas thrusters by hot-staging?:cool:

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For anyone reading this that may not get the reference to Block 5 in @tater's post:

"To work toward that goal, SpaceX engineers outfitted this turbocharged Falcon with some sweet upgrades over its predecessors. The design changes — which include improved engines, a more durable interstage (the piece that connects the rocket's two stages), titanium grid fins and a new thermal protection system — will help the booster hold up better to launch stresses. According to SpaceX, each Block 5 can fly 10 times or more times before requiring light refurbishments, and as many as 100 times before the booster is retired."

 

 SpaceX's 1st 'Block 5' Rocket: A Tale of 2 Launches | Space

(okay - I admit most of you on this forum are WAAAAAAY more educated on this stuff than I, but perhaps there's a lurker or two...)

 

=D

Edited by JoeSchmuckatelli
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6 hours ago, tater said:

Nosecone with tile studs:

 

It looks like an ordinary pattern at this point in the curve, so perhaps they are simply accepting the gaps.

If they are willing to accept the gaps then the simplest way of doing it is to introduce alternating smaller hexagons into the shield one layer at a time.

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4 hours ago, sevenperforce said:

It looks like an ordinary pattern at this point in the curve, so perhaps they are simply accepting the gaps.

Wait, no, I spoke too soon.

tiles.png

If you look closely, there is a row of inverted tile studs. This row lines up cleanly with the mounting points below it, but it is misaligned with the row above, indicating that the row above has a different tile count.

That middle, inverted row must be the transition between layers. We'll have to wait and see whether they go with a simple straight-edge cutoff or if they use some sort of adapter tiles...

Spoiler

tiling.png

 

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