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Skylon

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I love how their tests aren't just "let's see if it operates reliably within X parameters," but "let's test it within X parameters, but then also test the limits of Y!"  Always pushing the boundaries.

For example, "ok, we've landed once.  Woohoo!  Next time, let's switch to a 1-3-1 landing burn to improve fuel margin!" 
Or, "Yeah, we could just launch this high-dV payload and expend the center core.  But heck, why not try to land it?"
Or, "Sure, we've got the highest chamber pressure ever.  But let's see what happens when we increase it some more!"

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1 hour ago, zolotiyeruki said:

Or, "Sure, we've got the highest chamber pressure ever.  But let's see what happens when we increase it some more!"

Spoiler

laser_pointer_more_power.png

In these days where simulation is supplementing physical testing in aerospace, there is something gratifying about watching SpaceX's experiments.

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19 minutes ago, Ultimate Steve said:

Ah great.

Lesson learned by Boca team: don’t set crap on fire. :P

UPDATE: not that bad, most was from that other fire...<_<

Guess we know why the original Coastal Steel went under... 

Spoiler

tenor.gif

 

Edited by CatastrophicFailure
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6 minutes ago, CatastrophicFailure said:

Apparently ol’ Sparky in the trailer didn’t get the memo. <_<

Reminds me of a time I was observing an emissions test with a combustor in a test cell. There were two different fuel flow meters reading two different numbers, one a lot bigger than it should be. I asked the test cell guy why, and he said he didn't know, but it seemed to be an error.

It wasn't an error. It turned out there was a leak in the line between the two fuel flow meters, and while we had been running the test, Jet-A had been spraying all over the test cell. The whole test cell was a pool of kerosene. Luckily we never hit the wrong fuel/air ratio in the cell or I might not be here to type these words, because that would have been an amazing fuel-air bomb.

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Lol... it will probably keep going down over time as they reliably get more miles out of the hardware. 

So happy for Elon to see SpaceX going so well!

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This just keeps getting better. :) I'd say you couldn't make it up but...

From just over six years ago:  

Spoiler

Halnie's eyes were fixed firmly on the approaching launch tower, although at the moment, it looked like nothing so much as a very large shower booth. She commented on this to Ornie, who chuckled. “It does a bit now that you mention it. We call it The Tent with all those drapes hanging around it. They do a decent enough job of keeping the vweather off during assembly although I'm looking forward to the day that we can put up a proper building for the job!"

Apologies for the plug but (as I may have mentioned before) I'm just tickled by the whole building-a-rocket-inna-field thing, for that reason.

Edited by KSK
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So a tent VAB? Cool. Oddly, it's stuff like this that make me think they are actually serious about building and flying that thing.

Are they making it on a triangle base? Seems like the best way to deal with the winds. A square building would catch a lot more of incoming air putting additional strain on it, right? The smaller the angles in the corners the more likely wind is to slip off the walls, I guess.

Now that I wrote all this: how about instead of having a tent made out of some sort of fabric they would put steel sheets on the frame? It's way less flammable, won't tear as easily and they are building a rocket out of it anyway, so could cut the cost and time of production since they can just order more of the same thing from the same manufacturer.

Edited by Wjolcz
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35 minutes ago, Wjolcz said:

So a tent VAB? Cool. Oddly, it's stuff like this that make me think they are actually serious about building and flying that thing.

Are they making it on a triangle base? Seems like the best way to deal with the winds. A square building would catch a lot more of incoming air putting additional strain on it, right? The smaller the angles in the corners the more likely wind is to slip off the walls, I guess.

Now that I wrote all this: how about instead of having a tent made out of some sort of fabric they would put steel sheets on the frame? It's way less flammable, won't tear as easily and they are building a rocket out of it anyway, so could cut the cost and time of production since they can just order more of the same thing from the same manufacturer.

My guesses: Steel is heavier, so needs a different frame. Also with fabric they could take it down when not needed. The frame should be able to easily ride out a hurricane, for instance, while a steel-skinned structure would have to be strong enough to resist all that wind pressure.

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1 hour ago, mikegarrison said:

My guesses: Steel is heavier, so needs a different frame. Also with fabric they could take it down when not needed. The frame should be able to easily ride out a hurricane, for instance, while a steel-skinned structure would have to be strong enough to resist all that wind pressure.

Also, they can claim that it is not a permanent structure when the county building permit inspectors come around.

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