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Blue Origin thread.


Vanamonde

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52 minutes ago, Motokid600 said:

So what was the point of firing the LES after booster sep again? Just to use it as a second stage and go higher?

 

29 minutes ago, mikegarrison said:

Testing the LES over the full flight envelope.

Seems like it's just as a stage 2 to me. After stage sep, there is no reason to fire the LES, ever. I guess the claim is to fire it in a particularly thin atmosphere (100km), but I have trouble imagining that there was any worry it would not work.

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3 minutes ago, tater said:

 

Seems like it's just as a stage 2 to me. After stage sep, there is no reason to fire the LES, ever. I guess the claim is to fire it in a particularly thin atmosphere (100km), but I have trouble imagining that there was any worry it would not work.

Well, now they tested it, so they don't have to leave that to the imagination.

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Is New Shepard supposed to be capable of orbit or is it ballistic only? It seems like they've done a lot of testing without ever getting very far.

Also, are there regulations for a privately funded, commercial space capsule? If NASA is not paying for it, who would regulate for safety?

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10 minutes ago, Nightside said:

Is New Shepard supposed to be capable of orbit or is it ballistic only? It seems like they've done a lot of testing without ever getting very far.

Also, are there regulations for a privately funded, commercial space capsule? If NASA is not paying for it, who would regulate for safety?

1) Suborbital tourism.

2) FAA. https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/human_space_flight_reqs/

1+2) The FAA mandates that they must do flight testing before human passengers are allowed on board. What they have done so far is nothing compared to the amount of flight testing that a commercial airliner has to undergo before paying passengers are allowed to fly on it.

Edited by mikegarrison
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14 minutes ago, tater said:

If the flight time was increased by even a minute, that's a 20-30% improvement in the microgravity time for the passengers or experiments. If that matters.

But the increased altitude and coast time comes at the cost of a high-g burn. I doubt if this is going to be a regular option.

Edited by mikegarrison
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4 minutes ago, mikegarrison said:

But the increased altitude and coast time comes at the cost of a high-g burn. I doubt if this is going to be a regular option.

 

50 minutes ago, tater said:

Seems like it's just as a stage 2 to me. After stage sep, there is no reason to fire the LES, ever. I guess the claim is to fire it in a particularly thin atmosphere (100km), but I have trouble imagining that there was any worry it would not work.

I’m wondering if maybe they figure those abort motors have a limited lifespan, “use it or lose it” after n hours/flights/etc. So they run it up to its “expiration” then offer an extra-long, high-G special flight for their more adventurous passengers... for a small premium, of course. 

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I was concerned when I first heard that they were going to do an abort test off of their shiny new (relatively) booster...because it seemed sad to risk damaging the booster. But doing the burn 20 seconds after separation, and (it appeared from what I saw during the flight) aiming the capsule abort motor thrust away from the booster was a good move.

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3 hours ago, MaverickSawyer said:

I suspect that this test was more for an edge case reentry from significantly higher than normal. I.E., if it survives this, it'll survive any expected reentry.

That seems possible too. Likely the correct answer is "all of the above".

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4 hours ago, Brotoro said:

I was concerned when I first heard that they were going to do an abort test off of their shiny new (relatively) booster...because it seemed sad to risk damaging the booster. But doing the burn 20 seconds after separation, and (it appeared from what I saw during the flight) aiming the capsule abort motor thrust away from the booster was a good move.

How do they control the capsule after separation? RCS I assume 

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So in the video, the commentary said that the reason for the test was:

1) how well does the LES motor work at that altitude?

2) how well will capsule handle the stress (remember, this is their capsule 2.0)?

3) how will the capsule handle the extra re-entry energy?

So it seems as if the answer "all of the above" was in fact correct.

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1 hour ago, mikegarrison said:

Yes, they said that in the video.

Yes, did not see it before after I posted, they obviosly need it if nothing to stalized before decent but also to position it correctly during freefall. 
Is I the only one who think of the torist mission in KSP there you have to have a kerbal pass out of g force?

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57 minutes ago, Wjolcz said:

Do we know if, apart from the engines, NG is being built/worked on right now? Or are they focusing on testing New Shepard for and after it's finished they will start making NG?

It's hard to say. Apparently NG will be ready in a couple of years.

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4 hours ago, Wjolcz said:

Do we know if, apart from the engines, NG is being built/worked on right now? Or are they focusing on testing New Shepard for and after it's finished they will start making NG?

They said 2020 for orbital flights.

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2 hours ago, DAL59 said:

The best and worst idea ever: use the New Shepard for Mount Everest tourism.

-Launch base at base of Himalayas

-Somewhat diagonal profile

-Propulsive landing at the top means capsule is attached to booster

-Is there really enough fuel to do two hops? If not...well it's not like you can take it back on a rail.

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17 minutes ago, cubinator said:

Is there really enough fuel to do two hops?

It would take less fuel than launching to space.  Or, the capsule paraglides of the mountain.  

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