totm nov 2023 SpaceX Discussion Thread

[Beccab]

4 hours ago, Beccab said:

Some new info from the article, in addition to what was said during the conference:
- the 7 raptors per week target was hit a quarter ago
- the second Starship launch NASA is tracking after the maiden one features a tank-to-tank propellant transfer inside a single starship
- the third Starship launch NASA is tracking features a ship-to-ship propellant transfer, to mimic a tanker/depot mission
- the fourth and last launch NASA is tracking features a long duration flight, mimicking the duration of the HLS in-space time
- the HLS demo mission on the moon, targeting Q4 2024 (i.e. 2025) but dependant on the other flights listed above, will return to lunar orbit after the completion of the landing and the associated tests. This was quite likely, but not yet 100% sure because NASA didn't include it in the HLS demo flight objectives

There's another part of the article I missed previously: SpaceX intends to keep the depot continously filled as far as possible instead of just filling it before a mission. This means that instead of a stream of tankers starting a few weeks before HLS launches, we'll likely see it happen right after it launches (same for every Starship mission going decently beyond LEO, excluding probably things like lunar flybys)

[tater]

 

[Terwin]

11 minutes ago, Beccab said:

There's another part of the article I missed previously: SpaceX intends to keep the depot continously filled as far as possible instead of just filling it before a mission. This means that instead of a stream of tankers starting a few weeks before HLS launches, we'll likely see it happen right after it launches (same for every Starship mission going decently beyond LEO, excluding probably things like lunar flybys)

That sounds a lot like having an emergency refueling drone on stand-by, possibly even by the time the recently fueled starship reaches the moon.

Got to imagine that having a tanker on stand-by would mitigate a few risks, especially if it had some sort of emergency habitation capsule near the nose that could be fed oxygen from the lox tank...

(the size of the interior of an apollo lander should be more than enough, and adding that much(usually) empty space should not make it too much heavier.  Might need to add a small heater to be manually turned on when needed, as the rest of the rocket might be chilly, and the LOX vented into the rescue-pod sure would be) 

[Beccab]

 

[sevenperforce]

1 hour ago, Beccab said:

There's another part of the article I missed previously: SpaceX intends to keep the depot continously filled as far as possible instead of just filling it before a mission. This means that instead of a stream of tankers starting a few weeks before HLS launches, we'll likely see it happen right after it launches (same for every Starship mission going decently beyond LEO, excluding probably things like lunar flybys)

They talk about missions other than Artemis but I'm unsure what other missions they'd need depots for, unless they're talking about Mars.

In theory, such a depot could make @tater's dream of a fully reusable stretched Lunar Starship possible by coming up to meet it in MEO.

[tater]

39 minutes ago, sevenperforce said:

In theory, such a depot could make @tater's dream of a fully reusable stretched Lunar Starship possible by coming up to meet it in MEO.

I think if it's large enough it can refill LSS in lunar orbit.

[tater]

Launch moved 2 hours later

[tater]

Live

[Brotoro]

Coverage is Live

Edited November 3, 2022 by Brotoro

[Brotoro]

First stage landed.

[tater]

 

[Beccab]

S24's is also starting to get a frost line

[Beccab]

 

[RealKerbal3x]

New video (it's a recruitment ad, but lots of nice new footage):

 

[Beccab]

Sneak peek at the progress on the KSC launch mount!

[Beccab]

1 hour ago, RealKerbal3x said:

New video (it's a recruitment ad, but lots of nice new footage):

 

 

[darthgently]

Does SpaceX push the F9 2nd stage Merlins beyond design limits given they are going to burn up anyway?  I ask because I often see (what looks like)  copper-green in the plume later in the burn

Edited November 5, 2022 by darthgently

[RyanRising]

21 hours ago, RealKerbal3x said:

New video (it's a recruitment ad, but lots of nice new footage):

 

I’m by far not the first to come up with this comparison, but I do think it’s rather sinister they appear to be pitching to employees the prospect of a company town. Live on company land, eat at company restaurants, have fun at company sanctioned events, send your kids to the company school, etc.

Really cool footage of the operations, though! 

[RealKerbal3x]

4 minutes ago, RyanRising said:

I’m by far not the first to come up with this comparison, but I do think it’s rather sinister they appear to be pitching to employees the prospect of a company town. Live on company land, eat at company restaurants, have fun at company sanctioned events, send your kids to the company school, etc.

This sort of occurred to me when there was first talk of 'Starbase City', I'm hoping things don't end up that way but I guess we'll have to see.

[tater]

2 hours ago, RyanRising said:

I’m by far not the first to come up with this comparison, but I do think it’s rather sinister they appear to be pitching to employees the prospect of a company town. Live on company land, eat at company restaurants, have fun at company sanctioned events, send your kids to the company school, etc.

The facility is about a 30 minute drive from Brownsville. That means that "lunch hour" would involve ~1 hour of driving. The workers on night shifts would have nowhere to drive TO to get food, except maybe a few 24 hours joints‚ and the same hour of transit.

Very few people are actually living at Starbase. They show a preschool—if you work 30 minutes from town (possibly farther, it's 40 min from the beach to the middle of town), childcare is a real concern, having preschool/daycare on site is a nice perk for workers with families. Parties now and again at the coolest place for many hundreds of miles is a bad thing?  This is hardly a "company town" of the Battle of Blair Mountain era.

Edited November 5, 2022 by tater

[tater]

11 minutes ago, RealKerbal3x said:

This sort of occurred to me when there was first talk of 'Starbase City', I'm hoping things don't end up that way but I guess we'll have to see.

There is a huge difference between an actual, incorporated town, where people buy houses and live, and a "company town" from 100 years ago where rent was paid to the company, groceries bought from the company, etc. That's simply not a thing in the US at this point, and would not be.

Mars? Yeah, that's a different story since assuming a Mars colony ever becomes a thing, literally everything needs to be supplied by whatever company is capable of bring supplies, and assuming it was to happen in the middle future, the only plausible company is SpaceX.

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

SnaX

... Could be the name of the Company Store 

[magnemoe]

6 hours ago, RyanRising said:

I’m by far not the first to come up with this comparison, but I do think it’s rather sinister they appear to be pitching to employees the prospect of a company town. Live on company land, eat at company restaurants, have fun at company sanctioned events, send your kids to the company school, etc.

Really cool footage of the operations, though! 

Convenience then having an large workforce working long shifts 24/7, its not far to a nearby town and all has cars, but all the workers can not rent apartments in nearby towns. 
Guess this is pretty common of you have an large workforce not next to an large city, companies don't want to bother with stuff like this unless they have to. 
 

[Pthigrivi]

1 hour ago, magnemoe said:

companies don't want to bother with stuff like this unless they have to. 
 

Or see some profit in it. 

[tater]

3 hours ago, Pthigrivi said:

Or see some profit in it. 

There is no meaningful profit for a company spending literally billions. Real estate? Convenience stores? Woot, we made $0.50 on that candy bar, now we can go to Mars!