tater Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 36 minutes ago, Xd the great said: Are they hiring engineerers now? They laid off some people, but they were still hiring in FL as I recall. Full scale Raptor is about ready to test, apparently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xd the great Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 14 minutes ago, tater said: They laid off some people, but they were still hiring in FL as I recall. Full scale Raptor is about ready to test, apparently. Yay. *On interview* Me: I have blown up so many engines in KSP that I know exactly what happens if you fire an engine. It blows up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IncongruousGoat Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 On 1/25/2019 at 5:48 AM, NSEP said: Is that a real actively cooled heatshield segment or are they just heating a sheet of stainless steel Looks actively cooled to me. All that white stuff around the hot bit looks an awful lot like the frost that forms on the Falcon 9 LOX tank before liftoff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tater Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 10 minutes ago, IncongruousGoat said: Looks actively cooled to me. All that white stuff around the hot bit looks an awful lot like the frost that forms on the Falcon 9 LOX tank before liftoff. It doesn't look like frost, it looks like insulating fabric. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaverickSawyer Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 Agreed. Looks like furnace insulating wool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rakaydos Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 (edited) On 1/25/2019 at 11:08 PM, Xd the great said: Why not attach 2 flaps for simulating the canards and give them a better test for drag and landing? They're still building that version. Elon expects it to begin testing later this summer. Which means doing this simpler hopper at the same time gives them months more testing. Edited January 27, 2019 by Rakaydos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevenperforce Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 (edited) On 1/25/2019 at 5:16 PM, CatastrophicFailure said: It don’t mean a thing if you ain’t got that swing... Will the test launch carry crash test dummies to evaluate loads? 14 hours ago, tater said: One of the reasons Falcon 9 is such a great rocket is commonality. Two highly related engines. One propellant, and one oxidizer. The "long pole" of BFR with CFC was in fact the CFC issues. The engine was a done deal. It might have issues, but they have a great propulsion team, and all it takes is blowing up some engines at this point. Software they have a handle on. The remaining issue is now transpirational cooling, but again, this has been a thing since the earliest days of rockets/ICBMs, so I think they can sort this out. The remaining issue on a crew version... life support (this is non-trivial). The StarShip+SuperHeavy combo has taken this to the next level by using a single engine design for both stages. This was driven by reuse, to be sure---vacuum engines take up too much space, are too hard to cool, and are useless to land---but it also means a massively simplified production line. What's the closest we've ever come to getting a working transpiration-cooled active heat shield? 11 hours ago, IncongruousGoat said: Looks actively cooled to me. All that white stuff around the hot bit looks an awful lot like the frost that forms on the Falcon 9 LOX tank before liftoff. Definitely insulating foam. 4 hours ago, Rakaydos said: They're still building that version. Elon expects it to begin testing later this summer. Which means doing this simpler hopper at the same time gives them months more testing. On Elon time, which means fall at the earliest. The hopper is, as others have said, just a flying testbed for the engines. They want to test for a lot of things: pogo, turbine spin-up rates, throttle cycling, gimbal authority, and so forth. This is about validating the simulated aspects of the model before they start flying the full-size version. The fairing is much higher than it needs to be for aerodynamic and element protection purposes---the cylindrical portion is completely unnecessary---so I suspect that the sizing is intended to approximate the CoM of the larger vehicle so that they can get meaningful data from pitch correction on descent. Edited January 27, 2019 by sevenperforce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rakaydos Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 7 minutes ago, sevenperforce said: What's the closest we've ever come to getting a working transpiration-cooled active heat shield? I usually see comparisons to de-icing equipment, but they can test their designs on the 35A Flame Deflector. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tater Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 (edited) 20 minutes ago, sevenperforce said: Will the test launch carry crash test dummies to evaluate loads? 20 minutes ago, sevenperforce said: What's the closest we've ever come to getting a working transpiration-cooled active heat shield? My answer to both is "I don't know." I do know that transpirational cooling was tested (lab, not in flight) a long time ago for reentry vehicles (nuclear weapons). https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a379308.pdf Another interesting paper: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/2006ESASP.631E..35K (check what they cited, as well. Stuff back into the 1950s). Edited January 27, 2019 by tater Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tater Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starman4308 Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 25 minutes ago, tater said: The scaffolding brought home to me for the first time just how massive the Hopper is. That thing is a monster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotius Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 10 minutes ago, Starman4308 said: The scaffolding brought home to me for the first time just how massive the Hopper is. That thing is a monster. Now imagine it flying. Then imagine a proper stack of Starship\Superheavy taking off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xd the great Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 How are they going to do fueling, both in orbit and before launch? 2 minutes ago, Scotius said: Now imagine it flying. Then imagine a proper stack of Starship\Superheavy taking off ACOUSTIC ALERT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnemoe Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 27 minutes ago, Starman4308 said: The scaffolding brought home to me for the first time just how massive the Hopper is. That thing is a monster. yes, remember stating working in the oil industry. Saw an compressor yes it larger than normal, probably the size of an car. Then I saw the walkway halfway up on it and realized it was more like 4 shipping containers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerbiloid Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 Spoiler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnmorris Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 (edited) On 1/21/2019 at 1:52 AM, cubinator said: It would look more or less like this: So, not quite blending in with the rest of the greeble. An Imperial-class Star Destroyer is 1600 m long, or almost exactly one mile. Great picture! Star Wars is my favorite movie, and I like the design of Star Destroyers. However, I prefer the design of Republic Venator-Class Star Destroyer. Edited January 28, 2019 by johnmorris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDE Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 21 minutes ago, johnmorris said: Great picture! Star Wars is my favorite movie, and I like the design of Star Destroyers. However, I prefer the design of Republic Venator-Class Star Destroyer. Call the Commissar, I’ve found the follower of the false Emperor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSK Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 13 hours ago, tater said: Forget about building a rocket in a clean room. In American America, rocket is clean room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xd the great Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 1 hour ago, KSK said: Forget about building a rocket in a clean room. In American America, rocket is clean room. *literal bug in the computer* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightside Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 5 hours ago, johnmorris said: An Imperial-class Star Destroyer is 1600 m long, or almost exactly one mile. Then how long is a Metric Star Destroyer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xd the great Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 11 minutes ago, Nightside said: Then how long is a Metric Star Destroyer? 1000 miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wumpus Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 3 hours ago, KSK said: Forget about building a rocket in a clean room. In American America, rocket is clean room. Clean room? I thought the VAB had its own weather. Build a big building in Florida and you get strange effects. Although the payload/spacecraft often is built in a clean room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrandedonEarth Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 14 minutes ago, wumpus said: Clean room? I thought the VAB had its own weather. Build a big building in Florida and you get strange effects. Although the payload/spacecraft often is built in a clean room. My understanding is that it would have its own weather if not for air conditioning. That must be one (or several) big honkin AC unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatastrophicFailure Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 w0000000t! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tater Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 Wonder if I can fly to London via Orlando? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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