News SpaceX heavy-lift vehicles: Launch Thread
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The old Boeing Space Freighter was closest to Starship/SuperHeavy…but wings bog you down.
There are three heavy items LVs hate:
Wings
Solids
Landing wheels—which can punch through spaceplanes.
Has anyone thought to combine them all as a sled?
No pad….the thrust of solids get you rolling…no debris, no powerslide.
The LV stack pulls up, then the sled detaches and it is the Starship SuperHeavy flight profile from then on.
No pad, no powerslide.
Straighten her up then turn loose.
N-1 compared
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=58984.0
Roar
https://twitter.com/anthonyfgomez/status/1740809127260291155
scopes
https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2024/...pe-mirror-with-spacex-starship-telescope.html
This is rich:
https://spacenews.com/space-investors-question-the-merits-of-vertical-integration/
There are three heavy items LVs hate:
Wings
Solids
Landing wheels—which can punch through spaceplanes.
Has anyone thought to combine them all as a sled?
No pad….the thrust of solids get you rolling…no debris, no powerslide.
The LV stack pulls up, then the sled detaches and it is the Starship SuperHeavy flight profile from then on.
No pad, no powerslide.
Straighten her up then turn loose.
N-1 compared
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=58984.0
Roar
https://twitter.com/anthonyfgomez/status/1740809127260291155
scopes
https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2024/...pe-mirror-with-spacex-starship-telescope.html
This is rich:
https://spacenews.com/space-investors-question-the-merits-of-vertical-integration/
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Good News…could Lunar Starship be under construction next?
Falcon fairings
https://twitter.com/thePrimalSpace/status/1662915786166394882?t=yFtmTvgn124kMxkpiNmkSg&s=19
tiles
Falcon fairings
https://twitter.com/thePrimalSpace/status/1662915786166394882?t=yFtmTvgn124kMxkpiNmkSg&s=19
tiles
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Why not just mount the ship on a sled on a linear accelerator track that curves up for a distance then hit the engines?
That would be quite the mega project.
It just takes awhile to get things dialed in.
Yesteryear
https://media.defense.gov/2021/Apr/06/2002615086/-1/-1/1/RECOVERABLE BOOSTERS.PDF
Starship SuperHeavy stacks look to go to 500 feet tall.
Meanwhile, space professionals are obsessed with more important things:
https://spacenews.com/star-trek-vs-star-wars-debate-at-39th-space-symposium-who-won/
It just takes awhile to get things dialed in.
Yesteryear
https://media.defense.gov/2021/Apr/06/2002615086/-1/-1/1/RECOVERABLE BOOSTERS.PDF
Starship SuperHeavy stacks look to go to 500 feet tall.
Meanwhile, space professionals are obsessed with more important things:
https://spacenews.com/star-trek-vs-star-wars-debate-at-39th-space-symposium-who-won/
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As far as wingless reentry goes, I heard rumors at Blue Origin's New Glenn first stage may do something of the equivalent of a guided bellyflop at sea. Not sure though. If the structure could handle that, it might be cheaper than legs, provided it flopped close enough to a recovery vessel to be picked up.
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The Hot-Staging ring emerges
Starship asteroid mission
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20230003852/downloads/NEA_HSF_2023_PDC.pdf
Starship asteroid mission
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20230003852/downloads/NEA_HSF_2023_PDC.pdf
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https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/...y-successful-test-of-its-super-heavy-booster/
Big static fire/deluge test, nice to see that deluge plate doing its job!
I don't really know what to think seeing the Raptors still failing at the rate that they are, though. They keep upping the chamber pressure, but the performance of the engine is already great, they need to get the reliably up higher now. Even Eric Berger, who is arguably fairly pro-spacex in his reporting and tweets, is starting to ask questions about Raptor in the above article. I'm reminded of what Peter Beck said about engine development for Neutron, paraphrasing - keep the combustion cycle simple, lots of margin, don't over stress the components'.
I'm sure they're still improving the Raptor engine of course, but it's getting towards crunch time vis a vis moon missions.
Big static fire/deluge test, nice to see that deluge plate doing its job!
I don't really know what to think seeing the Raptors still failing at the rate that they are, though. They keep upping the chamber pressure, but the performance of the engine is already great, they need to get the reliably up higher now. Even Eric Berger, who is arguably fairly pro-spacex in his reporting and tweets, is starting to ask questions about Raptor in the above article. I'm reminded of what Peter Beck said about engine development for Neutron, paraphrasing - keep the combustion cycle simple, lots of margin, don't over stress the components'.
I'm sure they're still improving the Raptor engine of course, but it's getting towards crunch time vis a vis moon missions.
This is the best footage of a Falcon Heavy strap-on yet:
Waiting for F&W to HTFU
oops
https://twitter.com/realhomerhickam/status/1725978527885881401?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^tweet
On fluid handling
https://phys.org/news/2023-12-quantify-onset-turbulence-pipe-bent.html
phys.org
www.nature.com
Metals
phys.org
Waiting for F&W to HTFU
oops
https://twitter.com/realhomerhickam/status/1725978527885881401?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^tweet
On fluid handling
https://phys.org/news/2023-12-quantify-onset-turbulence-pipe-bent.html
Science fair project leads to new research explaining the glugging effect
As Rohit Velankar, now a senior at Fox Chapel Area High School, poured juice into a glass, he could feel that the rhythmic "glug, glug, glug" was flexing the walls of the carton.
Cryogenic propellant management in space: open challenges and perspectives - npj Microgravity
This paper presents open challenges and perspectives of propellant management for crewed deep space exploration. The most promising propellants are liquid hydrogen and liquid methane, together with liquid oxygen as an oxidizer. These fluids remain liquid only at cryogenic conditions, that is, at...
www.nature.com
Metals
Researchers uncover kinky metal alloy that won't crack at extreme temperatures at the atomic level
A metal alloy composed of niobium, tantalum, titanium, and hafnium has shocked materials scientists with its impressive strength and toughness at both extremely hot and cold temperatures, a combination of properties that seemed so far to be nearly impossible to achieve.
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Oooh matron!
Looks like they're getting approval for the next flight to be this Friday.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/com...-second-starship-launch-this-week/ar-AA1jURJs
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/com...-second-starship-launch-this-week/ar-AA1jURJs
Sigh…
-better than last time…
I wonder if all the stacking, destacking and restacking led to this:
https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/spacex-general-discussion.13774/page-165#post-635517
-better than last time…
I wonder if all the stacking, destacking and restacking led to this:
https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/spacex-general-discussion.13774/page-165#post-635517
I love their terminology RUD
Rapid
Unexpected
Disassembly
Rapid
Unexpected
Disassembly
Their official take
https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=starship-flight-2
The future?
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1732459891434852649
Starship scale
https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2024/01/human-worker-beside-spacex-starship.html
um…
https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=starship-flight-2
The future?
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1732459891434852649
Starship scale
https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2024/01/human-worker-beside-spacex-starship.html
um…
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Starship failure;
https://spacenews.com/spacex-says-propellant-venting-caused-loss-of-second-starship/
B9 LOX tank render
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=59871.msg2554081#msg2554081
Falcon returns
https://spacenews.com/spacex-says-propellant-venting-caused-loss-of-second-starship/
B9 LOX tank render
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=59871.msg2554081#msg2554081
Falcon returns
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Seen that.. bummer
Had another launch today, went significantly better than the last one. Booster had issues with firing its rockets to slow down its descent, Starship looked to have control or stabilization issues while trying to re-enter atmosphere. Some incredible footage from starship cameras on external and internal of vehicle.
