sh1pman

It should’ve been called the Roadblock instead of the Gateway then. Because it increases the difficulty of Moon missions instead of simplifying them.

I think you did, significantly more than once... So the reason why the Gateway will be at NRHO is because Orion can't visit any lower orbit. It is this way, because Orion's ESM is a copy of ATV service module and has 2 times less fuel than Apollo CSM. NASA decided to keep it small because SLS Block 1 can't send more than 26t to TLI... Did I get everything right?

Does it have enough dV to land and then launch back to NRHO as a single stage?

Not surprised at all, seeing how Boeing is promoting SLS as a "Boeing rocket" and CST-100 as the only American independent way to get humans to the International Space Station. https://watchusfly.com/innovation/ (It's a Boeing propaganda site disguised as a space blog)

Doubt that NG or Vulcan can throw 25t+ to TLI.

Maybe they can renegotiate this license for a couple more years if it turns out to be impossible to launch this many satellites in time.

Still, it’s not affecting SpaceX in any way since it’s not a publicly traded company. Can we please get back to SpaceX stuff?

For F9 it’s 23t to LEO and 8t to GTO. So more like a quarter to one third of LEO mass, or 25-35t for BFR. And considering that we now don’t have vacuum Raptors, I’d say it’s closer to 25t.

BTW, are there any numbers on how much mass can BFR send to GTO and GEO without refueling? Can it even get to GEO with any significant payload?

@damonvv were you able to find the solution for fin control problem? They’re basically remodeled airbrakes, so the code should be somewhat similar. What I really want is the ability to bind their motion (in small increments) to action groups, if that’s even possible.

Also, pretty sure that 2 BFR launches will be way cheaper than one BFR-FH hybrid (+R&D, modified core, assembly, pad upgrades, etc).

“New OCISLY”

He also doesn’t address the biggest problem with SLS - its huge opportunity cost. All of that money and time could be spent on something vastly more useful.

These renders are super lazy. Same pics we had last year, but with fins. There’s never enough BFR renders for me.

...Then refuel on the spot and jump back.

No reason to be so pessimistic about SpaceX... They’ve got the best people in the industry. It’s not some Elon’s crazy dream, Shotwell seems confident about BFR too, and they already started building it.

They should just book a custom BFS outfitted with lab equipment and park it around the Moon. 10 times more habitable volume, fuel depot, can land on the Moon (if refueled, super cheap bc reusability), can return to Earth, has huge solar arrays, can stay operational in deep space for years (by design), looks badass. And don't go saying "BFS is just a concept", DSG is a concept just as much.

From the F.A.Q. on their website: What's Loop? Loop is a high-speed underground public transportation system in which passengers are transported on autonomous electric skates traveling at 125-150 miles per hour. Electric skates will carry between 8 and 16 passengers (mass transit), or a single passenger vehicle.

Was about to post that^ I wonder how well the NG competes with FH for beyond-LEO destinations. Hydrolox upper stage gives a huge advantage there.

Ah, but you’re wrong on that. I know quite a few people in their 40s who smoke weed occasionally. Most of them are business owners or otherwise well-off people. It’s just their way of dealing with stress, and I can’t say it affects their sense of reality in any negative way.

“Heavy-class rocket carrier” sounds way cooler than what it actually is.

For the initial launches, yes. But when (and if) it reaches the point when new BFRs are no longer needed (and existing ones fly a hundred times per year), resources can be diverted to the vac Raptor. Having to make 7 launches instead of 10 to refuel a single Mars ship can make it worth the effort.