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9 minutes ago, tater said:

Similar mass to shuttle (dry mass), but the crew version is vastly more pressurized volume.

 

That image looks wrong. The BFS is supposedly 48m, and Shuttle is a little over 37m long.

I found this one but it is outdated and based on speculation sooo.

4b8809c9dd6c9c2c02883103e95636e6.jpg

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1 hour ago, tater said:

The speculative one is closer to reality in terms of scale. That other one is clearly wrong.

BFS is basically one BFS diameter longer than shuttle.

I think the cargo and crew version is the same size? If nothing else to keep production and aerodynamic the same. The dedicated tanker should be shorter.
I liked the side opening doors better, make it easier to offload cargo after landing. 
 

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3 hours ago, Green Baron said:

Stealing a car is much easier than stealing a spaceship. ...

I don’t think that theft was the point. But for arguments’ sake, the best way to steal a car (if you don’t have the keys) is to just tow it. Although I bet that most spaceships don’t have keys...

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51 minutes ago, _Augustus_ said:

Barring weather delays, I believe FH will fly before the end of the year.

Static fire, anyway. If the fairing issue is something that remains, then launch waits on it. They want a lot of static fires anyway, though.

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16 minutes ago, CatastrophicFailure said:

Transporter/Erector/Launcher AKA the Strongback. It’s the contraption that moves the assembled rocket from the hangar to the pad, then lifts it vertical and launches it. 

Know TEL is used for missiles but thought Falcon 9 used an more Russian system with transporter / erector but with launch facilities and tower on pad. 
Its not like you will drive the rocket down to the keys to launch it there to get closer to equator :)  

1 hour ago, CatastrophicFailure said:

Hah! I knew it! My money says Zuma was never even a real thing, it was all just a test, maybe so SpaceX could practice and verify horizontal integration for gummint birds that have, until now, required vertical integration. 

In that case they could do the testing in Texas, official it would be testing of new lighter or reusable fairing. 
Fell Zuma was an military or NRO bird who was an emergency replacement or target of opportunity and then found not needed. 

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1 hour ago, magnemoe said:

Know TEL is used for missiles but thought Falcon 9 used an more Russian system with transporter / erector but with launch facilities and tower on pad. 
Its not like you will drive the rocket down to the keys to launch it there to get closer to equator :)  

AFAK all the launch facilities (umbilicals, hold downs, etc) are on the TEL. The pad itself is pretty bare. It’s also on special-gauge rails so won’t be driving anywhere. :wink:

1 hour ago, magnemoe said:

In that case they could do the testing in Texas

There’s no launch pad in Texas or accommodation for a fully assembled rocket. 

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Hah! The conspiratorial plot thickens! Just read an absolutely credible source that Zuma was cancelled at the last minute because Oumuamua, the 400-meter-long cigar-shaped interstellar “asteroid” that recently passed by Earth, did not perform the expected braking maneuver! Absolutely credible!

of course it didn’t stop. It scanned Earth and still found humpback whales, so...

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5 hours ago, CatastrophicFailure said:

AFAK all the launch facilities (umbilicals, hold downs, etc) are on the TEL. The pad itself is pretty bare. It’s also on special-gauge rails so won’t be driving anywhere. :wink:

There’s no launch pad in Texas or accommodation for a fully assembled rocket. 

Ok I did not know and it makes some sense, then they connect everything to the TEL, assuming the TEL is also connected to pad as it hold down at full power. 

Now how will they do it for manned launches? here you need an real launch tower to load the astronauts.They could still use the TEL for other stuff. 
 

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11 minutes ago, magnemoe said:

Ok I did not know and it makes some sense, then they connect everything to the TEL, assuming the TEL is also connected to pad as it hold down at full power. 

Now how will they do it for manned launches? here you need an real launch tower to load the astronauts.They could still use the TEL for other stuff. 
 

IIRC they're going to build a crew tower next to the pad just like ULA. Easier to do when you're only occasionally using that pad for Dragon and FH. I would assume the TEL will function the same, the tower will just be there for crew access and (maybe eventually) for vertical integration of gov't payloads...

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25 minutes ago, CatastrophicFailure said:

IIRC they're going to build a crew tower next to the pad just like ULA. Easier to do when you're only occasionally using that pad for Dragon and FH. I would assume the TEL will function the same, the tower will just be there for crew access and (maybe eventually) for vertical integration of gov't payloads...

Yes, thought the same, as you have crew access adding an wrap around walkway for integration would not be that hard. 

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On 11/17/2017 at 8:36 PM, sevenperforce said:

Looks like a no go then.

Love the mission patch though.

index.php?action=dlattach;topic=44175.0;

 

On 11/17/2017 at 9:56 PM, Mitchz95 said:

Six stars... that must be significant somehow.

*engage thought pricess*

Six stars... star... six-pointed star... Judaism... Israel... Spacecom... Amos... Amos-6......

Zuma is the replacement for Amos-6! :0.0:

It all makes sense now... 

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