Jump to content

SpaceX Discussion Thread


Skylon

Recommended Posts

7 hours ago, RCgothic said:

Yes, it is wasteful. Return to launch site comes with a hefty performance penalty

Is it though?  I remember reading waaay back when that the real cost was losing the rocket engine - and that fuel was comparatively inexpensive 

 

-so a loss of performance but an economic gain? 

Edited by JoeSchmuckatelli
Link to comment
Share on other sites

31 minutes ago, Deddly said:

Engines off, then. Sorry, I didn't realise that "engines out" meant "engine failure" 

Ah. OK, yeah, I guess I'm used to airliners. "Engine out" has a pretty specific meaning there, and I just unthinkingly assumed you meant the same thing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Performance in this case is mass to space. Given the reality that even with Starship most all "mass to LEO" will in fact be residual propellant, it's just how many re-tanking flights are required to send a SS someplace past LEO.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Deddly said:

I still can't believe they nailed the belly flop and skydive maneuvre right from the first attempt. 

And that’s why I believe Spacex can get this down. Falcon 9 didn’t get that close on its first landing attempt. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, mikegarrison said:

Ah. OK, yeah, I guess I'm used to airliners. "Engine out" has a pretty specific meaning there, and I just unthinkingly assumed you meant the same thing.

This actually brings up a decent point. Starship depends on its engines to land. It's literally screwed if its engines don't turn on at the right moment and if they don't throttle correctly. Its fair to say that no spacecraft has a backup, but stuff like parachutes are hard to not get to work if they deploy correctly and they are a failsafe with most approaches. Complicated engines using cryogenic propellant and turbopumps haven't been extensively tested after a six month drift through deep space and there is really only one way to find out if an engine of this caliber can work properly but is it worth it? and even if it works landing on mars, would it work coming home? After possibly 3 years of mission time elapsing. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, SpaceFace545 said:

Its fair to say that no spacecraft has a backup, but stuff like parachutes are hard to not get to work if they deploy correctly and they are a failsafe with most approaches.

Parachutes are far from 100% reliable, and wouldn't be enough to slow down all the way in the thin martian atmosphere.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, Spaceman.Spiff said:

Parachutes are far from 100% reliable, and wouldn't be enough to slow down all the way in the thin martian atmosphere.

I'm actually excited about the prospect of SX crashing a few prototypes into the Moon and Mars in my lifetime.  Because I'm confident that after a few - they'll stick the landing... And we are off to the races 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, JoeSchmuckatelli said:

I'm actually excited about the prospect of SX crashing a few prototypes into the Moon and Mars in my lifetime.  Because I'm confident that after a few - they'll stick the landing... And we are off to the races 

Indeed...they'll surely toss one off at Mars of their own volition as soon as they're capable of refueling. Then we'll get to see a picture of the crater from MRO.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, cubinator said:

Indeed...they'll surely toss one off at Mars of their own volition as soon as they're capable of refueling. Then we'll get to see a picture of the crater from MRO.

If they have the capability, maybe they can launch a new observation sat! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

25 minutes ago, cubinator said:

Indeed...they'll surely toss one off at Mars of their own volition as soon as they're capable of refueling. Then we'll get to see a picture of the crater from MRO.

does spacex have any isru and surface habituation in the works? because if the musk date is accurate then those should be happening soon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, SpaceFace545 said:

does spacex have any isru and surface habituation in the works? because if the musk date is accurate then those should be happening soon.

Actually yes. One, the first "hab" will be SS itself.

As for ISRU, they are building a few plants to make LOX from the air, and I think they have messed with extracting C from CO2.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Spaceman.Spiff said:

If they have the capability, maybe they can launch a new observation sat! 

Anything to pay for the fuel, eh?

"You pay half gas, and I'll get you to Mars orbit; just don't expect me to hang around... Bradbury expects me"

2IFjkkVOL9pb9_MqE2W9KbwadV8wqH5aKEPPjnW62n4FXwiBpAUfxV2mO1ks1a7Cv0jyn8YRJKgC-P7_nYVcjZTu6vMZOL1YDw79CIHx0eNJ44hk2xSrarv-MO6qXfYjU0ACQR82ddNsPWJRVlKh8Saj=w1200-h630-p-k-no-nu (375×630) (googleusercontent.com)

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Spoiler

Is the owner of the rightmost pickup sure that it's ok with his car and nothing leaks?

***  

1 hour ago, tater said:

This is supposedly an air separator (all the things together).

That net separates the fresh air from smoke? Wise.

Edited by kerbiloid
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, tater said:

A reddit post suggests the timing for hop internally is 12:50 local time.

From what I can see... it will happen during the time I have to take my kid to practice.

 

Grumble.

 

My guess, based upon no information other than that there's a crane next to the ship, is that it will fly between 3:30 and 4:30 EST if they go forward.  (Also, because that's when I will be AFK)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

30 minutes ago, tater said:

Definitely not until the weather clears some.

Weather dot Kom radar and my neo meteorological skills suggest the cloud cover is moving toward clearing

Boca Chica, TX, United States of America Weather and Radar Map - The Weather Channel | Weather.com

(enable clouds and play)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

41 minutes ago, JoeSchmuckatelli said:

Weather dot Kom radar and my neo meteorological skills suggest the cloud cover is moving toward clearing

Boca Chica, TX, United States of America Weather and Radar Map - The Weather Channel | Weather.com

(enable clouds and play)

It's not clouds we're worried about, it's the wind at 10 km, where Starship will be going.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...