totm nov 2023 SpaceX Discussion Thread

[Nightfury]

1 minute ago, _Augustus_ said:

F9 has ridiculous margins on this launch - easy to RTLS.......

maybe a NASA restriction , perhaps they wan't to do it overly secured

[PB666]

9 hours ago, mikegarrison said:

Airplanes usually last forever, unless you crash them. They just get to be more and more and more and more expensive to keep flying.

That being said, comparing the expected life of a 787 (plastic/titanium structure) versus a DC-3 is kind of pointless. And talking about how some DC-3s are still flying ignores that something like 16000 of them were built (mostly for WW2) and probably less than 1% are still flying.

The problem with the DC3 is that it is only used in application where it almost has to be used, and keeping engines up an running in an aircraft engine is tedious unless you are going to use it. But my point was not about that, if the 787 is useful say 80 years from now, even in small numbers then one might expect some very well worn 787 to be flying. Its even more abstract than that, because if you look at the types of frame ending damage (for example what happened to some of the last DC6 and 7) they tended to be used by nefarious operators which did the types of things that would end the life of an air-frame. The same can be said about old 737, its generally at the end of their life once they are sold to other parties that the real test of the airframe begins.

If you talk about hours and cycles, the primary culprit that takes jet aircraft out of service are the engines. You come to a point where its cheaper to by a new craft (after the current had been fully depreciated anyway) than to buy two (or four) new engines. In the case of a DC8 or earlier craft, you really can't buy them. In the case of other craft (such as 727, 707, and some early 747) many municipalities basically tell you that the planes engines are too noisy or too pollutive to be allowed in and out of a particular airspace. The 727 is an excellent example, it was the fastest of the mid-sized jets, it also used more fuel, its engines were more noisy and in produced more pollution. Eventually it ended up doing package delivery services overnight, and pretty much has been pulled from service. " When the Stage 3 requirement was being proposed, Boeing engineers analyzed the possibility of incorporating quieter engines on the 727. They determined that the JT8D-200 engine could be used on the two side-mounted pylons, but the structural changes to fit the larger-diameter engine (49.2 inches (125 cm) fan diameter in the JT8D-200 compared to 39.9 inches (101 cm) in the JT8D-7) into the fuselage at the number two engine location were prohibitive. "-wikipedia - Boeing 727.

[tater]

Chris B at NSF says this one will not fire at the beginning of the window.

[PB666]

35 minutes ago, tater said:

Chris B at NSF says this one will not fire at the beginning of the window.

Restricted from firing or physically unable to fire?

[Delay]

@PB666 Why not both?

[CatastrophicFailure]

 

[tater]

 

 

Edited April 11, 2018 by tater

[sh1pman]

https://www.fastcompany.com/40557831/spacex-wants-to-replace-long-haul-flights-with-rocket-travel-in-the-next-10-years

Quote

At TED 2018 in Vancouver, Shotwell announced that SpaceX will, in the next decade, launch rockets for international travel. A trip from London to Shanghai, for instance, would take as little as a half an hour, and cost somewhere around what a business-class trip the same distance would. “It’s space travel for earthlings,” she says.

The rockets will be able to hold around 100 people, and for doubters, Shotwell has these words: “It’s definitely going to happen.”

 

Edited April 11, 2018 by sh1pman

[Ultimate Steve]

Well, color me surprised at the "definitely." Hopefully it all works out, although I foresee it either taking longer than expected, being on a vastly smaller scale than anticipated, or having reliability problems (hopefully not the last one).

[PB666]

7 minutes ago, Ultimate Steve said:

Well, color me surprised at the "definitely." Hopefully it all works out, although I foresee it either taking longer than expected, being on a vastly smaller scale than anticipated, or having reliability problems (hopefully not the last one).

Like yeah, dude, wow, definitely.

[CatastrophicFailure]

 Delayed from the 24th. 

[tater]

Boo.

[Ultimate Steve]

Speaking of optimistic timelines...

[CatastrophicFailure]

3 minutes ago, tater said:

Boo.

Putting it mildly. 

Tho an interestin takeaway from the article, which doesn’t seem to be quite right, apparently TESS will be the last new Block 4. I would have thought they still had at least a couple in inventory still to go thru. Like, what about the next few Vandy launches & such?

[PB666]

9 minutes ago, CatastrophicFailure said:

 Delayed from the 24th.

Did they give a reason?
 

[Vanamonde]

Some personal remarks have been removed from this thread. Keep it polite, please. 

[Delay]

7 hours ago, sh1pman said:

https://www.fastcompany.com/40557831/spacex-wants-to-replace-long-haul-flights-with-rocket-travel-in-the-next-10-years

 

So basically a suborbital flight to the other side of the planet?

[sh1pman]

3 hours ago, Delay said:

So basically a suborbital flight to the other side of the planet?

Yes.

Though I still don't get the economics of this. Shotwell said it's going to cost the same as a business class ticket, lets say a $1000 per seat. With 100 passengers, it's going to generate a hundred grand per flight. Now, I understand that reusability is a game changer, but surely a BFR launch can't cost less than that. 

Edited April 12, 2018 by sh1pman

[RCgothic]

Edit: NVM, factually incorrect comment.

Edited April 12, 2018 by RCgothic

[Wjolcz]

Block 5 in May? I thought it's going to be another 6 months or so before it flies. It's not that bad.

Also, when was the last successful barge landing? Last year?

[YNM]

What's the difference in Block 5 ?

[Spaceception]

Just now, YNM said:

What's the difference in Block 5 ?

Well, each one has the new titanium grid fins, it's much easier to reuse, so some new structural changes. Engine improvements, better fuel tanks I suppose. Updated landing legs.
Here's a video, should have all of them;

 

[sh1pman]

Where can I get a model F9 like that?

[Reactordrone]

8 minutes ago, sh1pman said:

Where can I get a model F9 like that?

There's a link in the video description. Buzz-space models.

[sevenperforce]

Surprised to hear Shotwell so very onboard.

Also it's impressive...feels like just yesterday it was "Go for age of reflight" on the first reflown booster, and now we are looking at the last launch of a new F9 rocket before the rapidly-reusable model starts flying.