• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

SpaceX appreciation thread

By not mentioning the capsule specifically your sentence implied that it was lumped in with the rocket not being reusable. Then you say

I say presently because I think they eventually want them to be reusable

which reinforces the implication that you are referring to both capsule and rocket.

As for the engines, I would better categorize them as not recoverable. Extensive testing in Texas has shown them to be quite capable of reuse.
 
^ Recovering the engines from spent rocket stages is one of their benchmark goals for making the entire stage reusable. They just haven't figured out how to efficiently recover those stages, though.

If they can get around to conducting a few dozen more launches, they will probably figure it out.
 
I'm amazed at the way their second stage engines get visibly red hot during operation. Does anyone know if other liquid fuel rockets do that (considering many of them use cryogenic propellants in the exhaust cone for cooling)?
 
Theoretically, ANY nozzle that is ablative cooled will do the same thing. It's just that few people ever bother to mount cameras on the upper stages of rockets where we would be able to see this happen.

FYI, the Draco thrusters that power the Dragon are radiatively cooled, and they also glow red hot after extended firing.
 
Elon Musk wants to send scientific payload to Mars with Falcon Heavy and Dragon in 5-6 years.

http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/07/13/7078446-spacex-chief-sets-his-sights-on-mars

"One of the ideas we're talking to NASA about is ... using Dragon as a science delivery platform for Mars and a few other locations," he told me. "This would be possibly be several tons of payload — actually, a single Dragon mission could land with more payload than has been delivered to Mars cumulatively in history."

Am I the only one who feels extremely excited at the actual figures? I hope NASA put that to good use. I'm not sure if a probe that's 20 times more massive can do 20 times more science, but I'm certain it could be very useful. At the very least, you can start sending hardware for a future manned landing.
 
Now the news is that a test ISS flyby flight probably will be skipped, and docking with the station will be performed early, in December: http://spacenews.com/civil/110722-nasa-combining-spacex-flights.html

But that got me wondering about other things: When will the Dragon Crew Capsule be ready to fly with people on board and how much is done already? I couldn't find anything about it, and I can't find any plans for manned flights.

And another thing, the Falcon Heavy test flight is next year, is there some information whether they have enough capability to pull a stunt, for example, waste a modified Dragon spacecraft on a Mars trajectory without announcing it, and then landing it on Mars and communicating with it to boost their profile? I doubt it, but their previous announcement makes me wonder if they could.
 
Sounds like SpaceX has their shit together. Unlike NASA. I'm expecting great things from them in the near future.
 
Cots-2 is not being "skipped". They are just combining Cots-2 and Cots-3 into one mission.

The long development item on manned dragon is the launch abort system. NASA recently awarded SpaceX a contract to develop this system and a demonstrator unit is supposed to be ready early next year. No word yet on when a flight of the manned version (most likely flying uncrewed) of the capsule will take place.
 
But that got me wondering about other things: When will the Dragon Crew Capsule be ready to fly with people on board and how much is done already? I couldn't find anything about it, and I can't find any plans for manned flights.
They have to develop the abort system for the Dragon first (already well underway) and finish man-rating the Falcon-9 first. That's part of the CCDev program, which NASA has once again decided to micromanage like all their other programs... but if SpaceX sticks to their private agenda, and I see no reason why they would not, then the crewed Dragon will probably start trials between 2015 and 2017 after the system has completed about a dozen or so cargo flights to the ISS.

And another thing, the Falcon Heavy test flight is next year, is there some information whether they have enough capability to pull a stunt, for example, waste a modified Dragon spacecraft on a Mars trajectory without announcing it
Given the specs they've posted, they certainly could. But they would have to equip the Dragon with some high-gain antennas and other equipment first, and that would not go unnoticed.

OTOH...
and then landing it on Mars and communicating with it to boost their profile?
Landing would require the abort system to be installed and operational first. IF they pulled that sort of stunt and succeded, it would definitely raise their profile quite a bit, but it would be a huge risk and I don't see them taking that kind of gamble until WELL into the Dragon's operational run.

Moreover, I don't see them doing that on the sly either. If Elon Musk is planning to send anything to Mars, you can be CERTAIN he'll announce it ahead of time. He'll probably try to attract investors too, and he'll solicit a bunch of different sources to see who wants to try and put some equipment on the Mars Dragon, for a nominal fee of course.

But again, it's perfectly feasible once the landing/abort system is operational and once Falcon Heavy goes online. Given some of the strangeness going on at NASA lately it wouldn't surprise me if Musk hadn't considered this himself, eventually, as a way of attracting private investment in commercial crew and bypassing NASA altogether.
 
Mars?..No Elon will probably send a Dragon to Lunar Orbit and return it..

Much easier...and still quite spectacular with far less modification to the Dragon..
 
SpaceX is looking to build its own commercial only space launch facility.

http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/08/18/7409909-spacex-looks-for-an-extra-base

"We have our main launch facility, which is Cape Canaveral in Florida. Then we are in the process of developing our second launch facility, which is Vandenberg in California. And we do intend to develop a third launch facility. Texas is one of the possible states. But we're also looking at a number of other locations: Puerto Rico, potentially another location in Florida, potentially Hawaii. And there are a few other locations that could work. So we're trying to make the right decision for the long term.

"The third launch site would open early, in perhaps three or four years. So we want to make sure we make the right decision. But we do think we need three launch sites in order to handle all of the launch demand that we have been able to get. ...

"It would be a purely commercial launch site, whereas Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg are actually Air Force bases — in the case of Cape Canaveral, it's sort of a joint NASA-Air Force activity. So it makes sense to have NASA and Defense Department launches occur from Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg, but then probably shift most of our commercial launches to a purely commercial launch site that's really aimed at being the best customer for a commercial launch provider. Just as there are Air Force bases and commercial airports ... there's some logic to separation."
 
I interpreted these comments to mean they were planning on buying space at one of the commercial spaceports now under construction. Spaceport America, for example.

Otherwise, I've always thought that Corpus Cristi would make a fantastic location for a civilian spaceport. Southern latitude, big body of water for recovery of rockets and/or capsules that have to splash down. But more than likely they'll pick some obscure Pacific island like Kawajelein Atoll or something.
 
I interpreted these comments to mean they were planning on buying space at one of the commercial spaceports now under construction. Spaceport America, for example.

I don't know what you mean by interpreting these comments?

From my understanding they plan to build a whole new facility. Southern Texas would be a good place.
 
Sounds to me like they have decided to stop using Kawajelein, otherwise why would they say they are "looking" for a third site? Technically they already have 3.
 
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top