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SpaceX Discussion Thread


Skylon

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8 minutes ago, Nightside said:
Raptor had a check engine light on...

Fortunately Musk had cheap OBD controller which can clear error codes and turn off warning lights for inspection. Duct tape will fix it permanently before longer flights.

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In 2014 NASA paid Northrop Grumman $56M to launch a satellite on Pegasus XL. They are paying SpaceX just over $50M to launch this one.

Northrop Grumman has two more Pegasus XL vehicles in "a pretty advanced state of integration" but has no customers for them.

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11 minutes ago, Scotius said:

Wait, it will fly solo or rideshare? Because that is a whole lot of free space left for other customers LOL

Solo. 
Because it’s going to the equator.

:o
yup, you read that right. SpaceX is launching this little thing into a zero-inclination equatorial orbit. 

From Florida

I really cannot wait to see the flight profile for this guy. :cool:

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Just now, CatastrophicFailure said:

Solo. 
Because it’s going to the equator.

:o
yup, you read that right. SpaceX is launching this little thing into a zero-inclination equatorial orbit. 

From Florida

I really cannot wait to see the flight profile for this guy. :cool:

Yep, I was about to say that.

I suppose it could have gone up on Pegasus XL. Pegasus can take off from Kwajalein and get an equatorial trajectory without an inclination change. Initial IXPE renders seem to have assumed it would go up on Pegasus. XL can send 450 kg to a LEO reference orbit so I suppose it might be able to manage 320 kg to 540 km.

A 540x540 km equatorial orbit from the Cape is going to be...exciting. I wonder if it will even circularize in its parking orbit. For that hefty of an inclination change it might want to do a 23-degree-inclined ascent to a 540 km apogee with the perigee still suborbital, then do the inclination change during circularization.

 

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2 hours ago, Nightside said:

Those things are starting to look pretty sharp! 

Yep! We’re a long way from Starhopper in that regard. I guess the manufacturing process is sharpening up too.

”Cos Elon Musk’s crazy bout a sharp-dressed can.”

Edited by KSK
Better scansion, yo
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