Jump to content

SpaceX Discussion Thread


Skylon

Recommended Posts

2 minutes ago, cubinator said:

Fewer welds means fewer potential points of failure...and fewer parts! :D

The framerate gets pretty bad in LEO, so they're taking steps to reduce the number of objects the universe has to run physics simulations for.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, Clamp-o-Tron said:

The framerate gets pretty bad in LEO, so they're taking steps to reduce the number of objects the universe has to run physics simulations for.

It's all the pretty visuals they've got, have you seen those high-res pictures from orbit? If they ditched the fancy clouds and scattering they could launch much more complex ships.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, cubinator said:

If SN9 is intact after the 12.5 km flight, they should do a 100 km flight with it.

I doubt they'll reuse any Starships until they've stopped rapidly iterating on it. By the time a prototype flies, it's already been made obsolete by the next one.

Seeing SN10 do a 100km flight would be awesome though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, RealKerbal3x said:

I doubt they'll reuse any Starships until they've stopped rapidly iterating on it. By the time a prototype flies, it's already been made obsolete by the next one.

Seeing SN10 do a 100km flight would be awesome though.

Since when did "obsolete" have anything to do with "fun to watch soaring into the sky"?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, RealKerbal3x said:

I doubt they'll reuse any Starships until they've stopped rapidly iterating on it. By the time a prototype flies, it's already been made obsolete by the next one.

Seeing SN10 do a 100km flight would be awesome though.

You can still learn a lot from obsolete prototypes, especially aerodynamics, as there probably aren't a lot of changes to the tried-and-true (at least once!) control scheme. A 100km flight would be tremendously useful in determining the flight characteristics in thin atmosphere and long-term Raptor firings, even if it wouldn't replicate orbital reentry velocities. Worst-case scenario they lose a landing pad, which as we see with SN-8 wasn't much of a big deal.

Edited by Clamp-o-Tron
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, cubinator said:

Since when did "obsolete" have anything to do with "fun to watch soaring into the sky"?

Obviously watching SN9 fly to 100km would be mind-bogglingly awesome. I just don't think it would make sense to reuse it with an improved prototype almost ready to go.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, RCgothic said:

Yeah, I got ahead of myself. 

 

 

 

Think once you reach 10 km attitude they make it unlimited as this is the attitude of commercial and private jets. Air traffic control don't regulate attitudes above 60 K feet as its just a few military and research planes so high. 

  • SR71: QQ requesting clearance to flight level 600
  • ATC: QQ, climb and maintain flight level 600... if you can get there.
  • SR71: Roger, descending to flight level 600 from 850.

 

4 minutes ago, Clamp-o-Tron said:

You can still learn a lot from obsolete prototypes, especially aerodynamics, as there probably aren't a lot of changes to the tried-and-true (at least once!) control scheme. A 100km flight would be tremendously useful in determining the flight characteristics in thin atmosphere and long-term Raptor firings, even if it wouldn't replicate orbital reentry velocities. Worst-case scenario they lose a landing pad, which as we see with SN-8 wasn't much of a big deal.

This, you can also take risks with an obsolete prototype you would not with the top line unit, stuff like engine out during landing burn tests as an example. 

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...