Incremental improvements though, which is good.
News SpaceX heavy-lift vehicles: Launch Thread
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Massive amounts of progress. The attitude problems feel minor, but the prevented the raptor starting in space which is a pain.
Looks like the fuel transfer demo worked well, which is great news.
the live shots of reentey were amazing.
Looks like the fuel transfer demo worked well, which is great news.
the live shots of reentey were amazing.
The whole thing still feels very KSP though. Thankfully, no Kerbals were harmed.
With AGI on the horizon and the recent demos of very capable, dextrous, autonomous robots controlled by AI, there'll probably be no need to send humans into the wide blue wonder any longer. I'd do the AIs the courtesy of asking whether they're happy to take on the role, however. We don't want them dropping rocks on us.
With AGI on the horizon and the recent demos of very capable, dextrous, autonomous robots controlled by AI, there'll probably be no need to send humans into the wide blue wonder any longer. I'd do the AIs the courtesy of asking whether they're happy to take on the role, however. We don't want them dropping rocks on us.
This is pretty much what I think aliens have been doing sending their probes and automation to observe other worlds
Went quite well, I was Squeeeing with joy watching it.
And, again, most media is like.. SpaceX Failed Again. Ugh..
And, again, most media is like.. SpaceX Failed Again. Ugh..
I can understand why they chose not to go to orbit for safety reasons, but demonstrating the ability to place between 100 and 150 tons in LEO should impress even the Musk adverse. There are a few problems to iron out such as the cargo bay door mechanism, RCS, engine relighting, and tile adhesion, but I think the significant improvement is apparent.
SuperHeavy descending
Test model
phys.org
Eyes Turned Skywards
Test model
Starship Super Heavy breezes through wind tunnel testing at NASA Ames
NASA and its industry partners continue to make progress toward Artemis III and beyond, the first crewed lunar landing missions under the agency's Artemis campaign.
Eyes Turned Skywards
Eyes Turned Skywards
"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return." --Commonly attributed to Leonardo da Vinci Truth is Life and I have been working on this for a while, and we're finally ready to...
www.alternatehistory.com
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I agree it was fucking cool. Nice that Elon found to time to even be nice to the other ship that took off.
I'm curious to see the changes to the TPS after this mission - clearly they've got a ways to go on that score. I'm aware that there are other tile attachment fittings being tested out, but I've also read they're going to try adding an ablator backup behind the tiles because they keep falling off. Makes me wonder what the weight penalty will be. Also, because of the thermal expansion and contraction of the tanks they're attached to, any ablator would have to be broken up into small pieces, much like the tiles... Which runs into the TPS attachment problem again.
Very eager to see what they come up with on the next flight!
Very eager to see what they come up with on the next flight!
I wonder if the time might be right to look at water/transpiration cooling.
If you can print a rocket nozzle out of aluminum…
phys.org
Couldn’t you turn that inside out as a TPS?
I wonder if Raptor 3 is a larger version of what this individual bodged together:
Tougher metals now possible
techxplore.com
techxplore.com
phys.org
If you can print a rocket nozzle out of aluminum…
Printed engines propel the next industrial revolution
In the fall of 2023, NASA hot fire tested an aluminum 3D printed rocket engine nozzle. Aluminum is not typically used for 3D printing because the process causes it to crack, and its low melting point makes it a challenging material for rocket engines. Yet the test was a success.
Couldn’t you turn that inside out as a TPS?
I wonder if Raptor 3 is a larger version of what this individual bodged together:
Tougher metals now possible
Stainless steel strengthened: Twisting technique creates submicron 'anti-crash wall'
A combined team of metallurgists, materials scientists and engineers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shandong University and the Georgia Institute of Technology has developed a way to make stainless steel more resistant to metal fatigue. In their study published in the journal Science, the...
Rare crystal shape found to increase the strength of 3D-printed metal
Andrew Iams saw something strange while looking through his electron microscope. He was examining a sliver of a new aluminum alloy at the atomic scale, searching for the key to its strength, when he noticed that the atoms were arranged in an extremely unusual pattern.
Nacre-like ceramic-metal composite achieves superior strength and mass-production potential
Mollusks possess sturdy protective shells, thanks to their internal nacre structure. Nacre, the natural nanocomposite, demonstrates outstanding mechanical properties through both high strength and high toughness. Nacre, therefore, is expected to be applied in fields such as lightweight...
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It was impressive. I think my confidence in this project will increase when orbital refueling has been mastered, but that seems a long way off.
I can't quite get over the fact that Starship will need to be refuelled a dozen times before it can even go to the moon.
I can't quite get over the fact that Starship will need to be refuelled a dozen times before it can even go to the moon.
That capture was bloody amazing.
Ok now can we build a rocket
and fake volcano to launch the rocket? 
Ok now can we build a rocket
and fake volcano to launch the rocket?
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As odd as it sounds to say—the hoverslams of the smaller Falcons are more impressive.
SuperHeavy (waggle notwithstanding) had a more leisurely descent in comparison.
Falcon cores reach zero-altitude/zero-speed and zero-propellant almost all at once.
The Martian skycranes and the SDI kinetic kill vehicles hovering rock steady over nets—that’s actually more impressive.
Large, fuel-fat rockets can take their time.
What astounds me is why it took this long.
Penny-pinchers in the corporate world can get in the way just like regulators.
Long ago, Boeing had a winged SS/SH concept called Space Freighter. But we saw what happened with them…sigh.
And now, haters
SuperHeavy (waggle notwithstanding) had a more leisurely descent in comparison.
Falcon cores reach zero-altitude/zero-speed and zero-propellant almost all at once.
The Martian skycranes and the SDI kinetic kill vehicles hovering rock steady over nets—that’s actually more impressive.
Large, fuel-fat rockets can take their time.
What astounds me is why it took this long.
Penny-pinchers in the corporate world can get in the way just like regulators.
Long ago, Boeing had a winged SS/SH concept called Space Freighter. But we saw what happened with them…sigh.
And now, haters
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Ah Boeing. They used to make planes that didn't lose parts
