Space Travel & Exploration

[Forogil]

They wouldn't be using a Super Heavy on Mars in the first place.

Well, that would make the choice even stranger - but I guess they will wing it.

SpaceX says "SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket – collectively referred to as Starship – represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond."

[Nerraw]

https://arstechnica.com/science/2023...-moon-landing/

[Orange Joe]

Because NASA built the infrastructure that Starship requires for Artemis missions.


Other figures are skewed because SpaceX doesn't have to report costs like NASA. They claim a Starship flight will only cost $2 mil IF/WHEN they can achieve the kind of turn around schedule that F9, something that takes many expensive flights and time to achieve. Because SpaceX is a private company they get to be "creative" in how they report their finances.



Starship still has many development milestones to achieve as Starship is still just a a fuel tank with some engines strapped to it. At the very least a lander and and tanker has to be developed.

Got any examples of a private company doing this and not getting into trouble?

[Shadowferal]

Got any examples of a private company doing this and not getting into trouble?

Isn't that reflective of most big companies? I mean "cooking the books" is only illegal if you get caught.

[Orange Joe]

Isn't that reflective of most big companies? I mean "cooking the books" is only illegal if you get caught.

more just pointing out it's a silly argument that he is trying to use with 0 evidence.

[Nerraw]

https://arstechnica.com/science/2023...-moon-landing/

Contact was lost seconds before planned touchdown. The lander is presumed to have made a hard landing and broken up.

[Pann]

Everyday Astronaut has just released a video of the Starship test flight - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCYSVmSPM7E

The video from the pad seems like it was filmed in the middle of a volcanic eruption!

[Tuor]

Everyday Astronaut has just released a video of the Starship test flight - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCYSVmSPM7E

The video from the pad seems like it was filmed in the middle of a volcanic eruption!

Still amazing how the rocket handled all those flips... All those G's, shit.

[Gabriel]

Was it supposed to go at that angle from the get go, or was that caused by the engines that didn't ignite?

[George]

We don't know for sure. It could have been a tower avoidance maneuver, to get away from the tower as quick as possible in case of it going back down or going boom, or it could have been because of an imbalance in the whole structure, including because of the malfunctioning engines. If the latter, then it was very lucky because if it went the other way, it would have crashed into the tower before clearing it.

But the way it went straight away from the tower and towards the ocean makes me think (hope) that it was planned. If you think about it, the tower and the pad are set up in a position relative to the ocean that allows such maneuver.

[Tuor]

Hubble Deep view seen by the James Webb telecope

[Nerraw]

The video from the pad seems like it was filmed in the middle of a volcanic eruption!

With the exhaust-concrete mix, it more or less was a sort of pyroclastic flow for a while.

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NASA Administrator Nelson testifying at the House Science Committee says that SpaceX can have the pad ready to go in about 2 months: https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/statu...38991853088768

[George]

NASA Administrator Nelson testifying at the House Science Committee says that SpaceX can have the pad ready to go in about 2 months: https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/statu...38991853088768

With or without a proper flame divert system? Including one is kind of optimistic.

Hubble Deep view seen by the James Webb telecope

The Hubble Ultra Deep Field is one of those miracles of modern astronomy that doesn't cease to amaze me. In such a small patch of sky, 10000 galaxies, each with billions of stars, each star with possible dozens of planets and moons that could contain fascinating things. When you think about the scale of it all, it's overwhelming.


Also, it's sad that will come a time in the future when visible will only be a few galaxies in our local group and nothing else. If beings from that distant future would somehow have information from the past that hundreds of billions galaxies were at some point visible in the sky, they would have to take that on faith alone. It would be like a religion to them. We are so lucky to see this beautiful night sky.

[Nerraw]

Micrometeoroid hits have been ruled out as cause of Soyuz leaks: https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/statu...58948833845263

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With or without a proper flame divert system? Including one is kind of optimistic.

He did not elaborate AFAIK. But he would not state this in congress if he did not believe it to be possible with the information he's been given by SpaceX.

[Tuor]

Also, it's sad that will come a time in the future when visible will only be a few galaxies in our local group and nothing else.

If mankind survives untill then... Its still a couple bilion years away for that to happen.

[PACOX]

Was it supposed to go at that angle from the get go, or was that caused by the engines that didn't ignite?

Right after take off as it's clearing the pad? It's not pretty but not exactly uncommon. That's not an issue on its own but it could spell problems. I'm this case it might have been because all the engines weren't firing but SpaceX says all engines do not have to be firing for a proper liftoff.


The answer lies somewhere in the middle.


There was a another rocket, might be in this thread, went made an even larger lateral move before it cleared the pad not to long ago.

- - - Updated - - -

With the exhaust-concrete mix, it more or less was a sort of pyroclastic flow for a while.

- - - Updated - - -

NASA Administrator Nelson testifying at the House Science Committee says that SpaceX can have the pad ready to go in about 2 months: https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/statu...38991853088768

Of course it can't/won't be verified but some say they sent the rocket knowing it would blow up the pad (I hope they did because it was obvious) because the had a replacement ready. The two stages that went up aren't close to what SpaceX will try to certify for Artemis 3. There's quite a few milestones to go through even if the test was somehow success and completed an orbit.


Two months seems like they are going fast but I'm more inclined to believe it thays it's Nelson saying it and not just Musk tweeting.


I think some people forget that NASA is heavily investiged into the project if only to get a version of Starship that can land on the Moon by the time they are ready for Artemis 3.

Starship might be the only hardware we're waiting to be tested when it comes to Artemis 3?

[George]

There was a another rocket, might be in this thread, went made an even larger lateral move before it cleared the pad not to long ago.

It was Astra, which launch... horizontally

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfjO7VCyjPM

[plz delete account]

I hope these were older variety engines. This sort of reliability will not cut it.

Now do you understand why NASA elected to do a green run campaign first?

With the exception of QDs being QDs, all of this was ironed out before a launch attempt was made

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Still amazing how the rocket handled all those flips... All those G's, shit.

Elon pulled a KSP. Was hoping SS would go on past the Karman line, but at least we got to see a real life KSP.

[PACOX]

SpaceX was so close from launching two rockets from the same coast on the same day. Weather said no, would have been historic.

The fact that we're close to seeing multiple pads in the same complex being used in the same day is amazing.

[Nerraw]

Recap on Elon's Starship post mortem last night: https://twitter.com/thesheetztweetz/...51971410935808

And here's a short recap of the recap, because why not!

• Expectations met; booster got off the pad
• Pad damage is not as bad as it looks, should be ready in 6-8 weeks
• Tanks in tank farm to be replaced, was in the plans anyway
• Tower in good shape
• No evidence of environmental damage
• No evidence seen of "rock tornado" generated under the rocket doing any significant damage to rocket or engines
• Leading theory for pad failure is that sand was so compressed under the concrete due to booster exhaust that the concrete bent and cracked
• Lots of steel going under the launch mount, flame trench not needed as payload is too far off the ground to care about acoustics
• Rocket spent too long blasting the pad, will attempt to cut loitering time in half for next launch
• 30 engines bare minimum to reach orbit, 3 initial engines out were shut down, didn't explode
• The sideways slide off the tower was due to engines going out
• Lost a number of engines during flight due to an explosion taking out engine heat shields
• Lost thrust vector control at 85 seconds
• Flight termination system is an issue, took 40 seconds from command sent to vehicle disintegration
• Vehicle more structurally sound than expected
• Got close to stage sep, goal for next launch is to reach that point
• Expected 80% chance of reaching orbit in 2023, expected 100% chance in next 12 months
• Raptor production slowing down because excess of engines
• Next Starship update in ~3 weeks

It seems like Booster 7 was the Franken-Booster at this point in time. Being a testbed for various iterations and generations of technology. They wanted it gone so they can focus on the next vehicle (likely Booster 9) which actually has a cohesive structure to it in terms of tech integration.

6-8 weeks for pad lines up with everything else we've heard so far, including NASA Admin testifying in front of congress.

To me, as an outsider, the biggest takeaway here is that the FTS took 40 seconds to properly scrap the vehicle. SpaceX are truly fortunate that they did not need it while the vehicle was closer to shore.