SpaceChampion Posted December 7, 2020 Author Share Posted December 7, 2020 FAA approval for launch of Starship was received. Days away... could be Tuesday for the first hop -- will be 12.5km instead of 15km though. I haven't looked into why the lower altitude yet. Cargo Dragon resupply mission to ISS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starkess Posted December 7, 2020 Share Posted December 7, 2020 10 hours ago, SpaceChampion said: FAA approval for launch of Starship was received. Days away... could be Tuesday for the first hop -- will be 12.5km instead of 15km though. I haven't looked into why the lower altitude yet. I don't think they've said explicitly, but I'm guessing they decided they didn't need the full 15 to get useful data (it's still much higher than previous) and it's probably a bit safer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leofric Posted December 7, 2020 Share Posted December 7, 2020 Someone's feeling lucky and wants to hit triple 7's (12.5 km = 7.77 miles). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceChampion Posted December 7, 2020 Author Share Posted December 7, 2020 12 hours ago, Starkess said: I don't think they've said explicitly, but I'm guessing they decided they didn't need the full 15 to get useful data (it's still much higher than previous) and it's probably a bit safer. Might be they don't want to hit a higher Max Q just yet, which increases to about 15km for the Falcon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceChampion Posted December 8, 2020 Author Share Posted December 8, 2020 Chuck Yeager passes away... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceChampion Posted December 8, 2020 Author Share Posted December 8, 2020 Today is looking like a good day to launch from Boca Chica weather-wise. SpaceX livestream starting soon: NASASpaceFlight forum has it's own feed here: 4:40 pm EST: Propellant loading. Should be soon! 5:35 pm EST: Raptor auto-aborted at T-1.3 seconds. Better luck tomorrow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rotting sea cow Posted December 9, 2020 Share Posted December 9, 2020 Op-ed | No, Mars is not a free planet, no matter what SpaceX says https://spacenews.com/op-ed-no-mars-is-not-a-free-planet-no-matter-what-spacex-says/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceChampion Posted December 9, 2020 Author Share Posted December 9, 2020 4pm EST / 3pm CST time targetted for launch attempt: Everyday Astronauts stream: 4:05pm EST: Countdown on hold.... Might be because an aircraft was in range. Should get started with a new T-0 time. New T-0 at 5:40pm EST / 4:40 CST. 5:50-ish: Launch! Perfect flying, sliding horizontally and belly flop maneuver, but hard explody landing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Altherion Posted December 9, 2020 Share Posted December 9, 2020 Wow, they got so very close to landing and then appeared to lose an engine at the end. Oh well, Musk did say it only has about a 1 in 3 chance of coming back in one piece, but man, that was oh so close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceChampion Posted December 9, 2020 Author Share Posted December 9, 2020 9 minutes ago, Altherion said: Wow, they got so very close to landing and then appeared to lose an engine at the end. Oh well, Musk did say it only has about a 1 in 3 chance of coming back in one piece, but man, that was oh so close. Apparently no landing leg deploy from what i hear on twitter. But all the main milestones achieved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceChampion Posted December 9, 2020 Author Share Posted December 9, 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starkess Posted December 10, 2020 Share Posted December 10, 2020 That was insane to watch. Even the explosion! Glad they got the data--here's to SN9! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceChampion Posted December 12, 2020 Author Share Posted December 12, 2020 This is not an animation! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceChampion Posted December 12, 2020 Author Share Posted December 12, 2020 Indonesia asks SpaceX to assess country for a Starship launch site. SN9 tips in the high bay building, SpaceX workers trying to save it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceChampion Posted December 14, 2020 Author Share Posted December 14, 2020 Another Falcon 9 launch... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Anti-Targ Posted December 15, 2020 Share Posted December 15, 2020 Ah, sooooo cool, my first ever live view of a rocket launch. Rocket Labs did a night launch just now and the night was so clear that I could see the rocket as a rising red dot from a distance of 270km, standing at the end of my driveway. So awesome. I got a few seconds of horrible grain phone footage, but the rising dot is still visible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceChampion Posted December 15, 2020 Author Share Posted December 15, 2020 The "Angry Astronaut" makes the case against Blue Origin's lunar lander design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Anti-Targ Posted December 15, 2020 Share Posted December 15, 2020 So it boils down to a ladder potentially killing the whole Artemis programme? Seems a bit overblown and sensationalist to me. For starters, a slick marketing youtube video is not what's going to convince the Artemis boffins to pick Blue Origin in its current form as the lander of choice. If Angry Astronaut can identify it as a safety flaw then I imagine other people will too, and this safety issue will need to be addressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceChampion Posted December 15, 2020 Author Share Posted December 15, 2020 1 minute ago, The Anti-Targ said: So it boils down to a ladder potentially killing the whole Artemis programme? Seems a bit overblown and sensationalist to me. For starters, a slick marketing youtube video is not what's going to convince the Artemis boffins to pick Blue Origin in its current form as the lander of choice. If Angry Astronaut can identify it as a safety flaw then I imagine other people will too, and this safety issue will need to be addressed. No, that just annoys him. His argument is it is 2/3rds expendable and that'll be too expensive for permanent occupation of the moon. I'd want more than flags and footprints again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Anti-Targ Posted December 15, 2020 Share Posted December 15, 2020 31 minutes ago, SpaceChampion said: No, that just annoys him. His argument is it is 2/3rds expendable and that'll be too expensive for permanent occupation of the moon. I'd want more than flags and footprints again. I didn't watch the last couple of minutes because I thought they were just concluding remarks, but yes ye does seem concerned about the expense. But even then, still overblown. Assuming Artemis is a half competently prepared project plan it will have a budget, and if they want X number moon landings at a cost of $Y per moon landing, then Blue Origin swan in saying "we can do it, but it will be 2x$Y", then they will be laughed out of the project, unless they can demonstrate that it is not possible to deliver the mission parameters without 2x$Y per landing. And if their argument is sound, and no one offers a cheaper alternative for the mission parameters then the project was doomed before it started because of unrealistic budget expectations, or they will find the money. My guess is that in the immediate term, politically there is no more public money forthcoming from any national space agencies, NASA or otherwise. But he does seem genuinely concerned about the safety risks of the ladder, not just annoyed. And not without reason. That latter is scary high, even in a low grav environment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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