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SpaceX Discussion Thread


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7 minutes ago, Shpaget said:

Well, to be perfectly honest, there are more types of steel than you can poke a stick at, each with different properties. Unfortunately, the type that SpaceX uses in stainless (of which there are also countless types), which is trickier to machine and weld than your run of the mill carbon steel. Of course, automating the production process leads to uniformity and more consistent final product, and it is easier to fine tune the process. It does take time, skill and knowledge to nail it, though. I'm sure SpaceX has the money to find someone with skill and knowledge, so it's jut the matter of time.

Water tanks, and chemical tanks are probably mostly stainless, right?

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Pretty much everything in food industry is stainless (well, anything that touches food), and probably chemical stuff as well, but usually those things are custom made for a particular installation and are one off, so automation doesn't make sense.

Looking at mass production, water tanks for domestic heating systems are not stainless, at least none of the ones I've seen.

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16 minutes ago, Shpaget said:

Pretty much everything in food industry is stainless (well, anything that touches food), and probably chemical stuff as well, but usually those things are custom made for a particular installation and are one off, so automation doesn't make sense.

Looking at mass production, water tanks for domestic heating systems are not stainless, at least none of the ones I've seen.

The top vid I posted here is stainless:

 

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If metals were animals, they would be something like birds. They would all be birds, but they might be as different as a penguin and a hummingbird.

Stainless steels would be something like jays. Not as wildly different as ostriches, but definitely a whole family of different materials, not a single species.

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3 hours ago, Shpaget said:

Pretty much everything in food industry is stainless (well, anything that touches food), and probably chemical stuff as well, but usually those things are custom made for a particular installation and are one off, so automation doesn't make sense.

Looking at mass production, water tanks for domestic heating systems are not stainless, at least none of the ones I've seen.

However steel tanks are bit very weight restricted. Hot water is also not recommended for drinking not even using it as an shortcut for boiling it fast. England and some other countries even have separated hot and warm water taps. 
Yes it you did not want an mix you could design something like an dual barrel shotgun rater than two taps 20 cm apart. 
Who is has three effects, you wash your hand in cold water, you wash in hot until it get go hot or you don't bother. 

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12 minutes ago, Dale Christopher said:

Hmmmm... so it was a failure of the welds fixing the engine mount to the tank?

I... I guess? What the heck does "don't shuck the puck" mean?!

 

But yeah, I'm *guessing* that's what he meant, and this as also suggests that SN2 isn't going to fly- it's just going to do what SN1 was doing with pressure tests.

 

So... I'm guessing after SN2, if it succeeds, they'll start building SN3, and THAT will do the 20km hop. Hopefully in only a few months, they can certainly build one that quickly by now.

 

Of course, it's getting a bit repetitive saying each vehicle is supposed to do a 20km hop, and then it blows up

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1 hour ago, ThatGuyWithALongUsername said:

I... I guess? What the heck does "don't shuck the puck" mean?!

I am guessing it is a rough way of saying "don't mess it up".

1 hour ago, ThatGuyWithALongUsername said:

But yeah, I'm *guessing* that's what he meant, and this as also suggests that SN2 isn't going to fly- it's just going to do what SN1 was doing with pressure tests.

So... I'm guessing after SN2, if it succeeds, they'll start building SN3, and THAT will do the 20km hop. Hopefully in only a few months, they can certainly build one that quickly by now.

Of course, it's getting a bit repetitive saying each vehicle is supposed to do a 20km hop, and then it blows up

Nah, nothing here suggests that they plan on testing SN2 to destruction. He just means that SN1 exposed a flaw and they are going to quickly put together the corresponding parts of SN2 in order to make sure they've fixed that flaw since.

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2 hours ago, sevenperforce said:

I am guessing it is a rough way of saying "don't mess it up".

Nah, nothing here suggests that they plan on testing SN2 to destruction. He just means that SN1 exposed a flaw and they are going to quickly put together the corresponding parts of SN2 in order to make sure they've fixed that flaw since.

I didn't mean to suggest that they were going to test it to destruction, I thought he meant SN2 was going to do the tests it was going to do before it blew up- pressurization, Raptor static fire, etc. There was already some speculation on SN1 not flying the 20km hop because of Elon's tweets and minimal equipment being mounted on the outside of the tank (where it would be easier to service but hard to move inside for flight). I'm guessing that "stripping to a bare minimum" means the same thing they did for SN1, but that doesn't mean it's supposed to blow up.

 

And, yes, obviously it would test the thrust structure welds (as well as the tank autopressurization and Raptor firing, probably?)

Edited by ThatGuyWithALongUsername
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It’s a bit scary actually... you really need to keep making a concerted effort to do stuff with your life or it’s gone before you know it. That 1 year seemed like yesterday to me! 

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https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-starlink-ambitions-save-space-station-delays/?fbclid=IwAR1vjmLLtEghs-JfFq5ySf3sy4giprmKCovOHXeSiHezhrsidYVfif3fYjY

I know we already know about the second stage swap, but it pretty much couldn't have happened without SpaceX's ambitious internal market for Starlink launches that can take a back seat if necessary.

Starlink is directly improving SpaceX's service to customers. That's pretty impressive!

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Thats very cool but, while I am in the same state, Houston is kind of far away (7+ hours). I like that you will be able to inspect the whole thing because of a horizontal installation but I feel that standing up on its legs is the best thing about an F9.

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15 minutes ago, AngrybobH said:

Thats very cool but, while I am in the same state, Houston is kind of far away (7+ hours). I like that you will be able to inspect the whole thing because of a horizontal installation but I feel that standing up on its legs is the best thing about an F9.

Can always make sure you fly into LA at LAX, and then stop on your way in or out of the airport to see the booster there. They are adding one in FL as well, I think.

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The nosecone looks pretty good. We keep seeing these square holes. If more rockets were made out of steel, having a gaping hole in the tank section would probably be nothing unusual since steel is much more forgiving than aluminium when it comes to welding.

Edited by Wjolcz
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