Would be cool to track the separate Falcon and Dragon launches and maybe speculate on their payloads...so yeah, color me interested!
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Would be cool to track the separate Falcon and Dragon launches and maybe speculate on their payloads...so yeah, color me interested!
Orbital's Cygnus is having problems:
Orbital Sciences Corp Stock up but Mission Stands Still
SpaceX has had a few problems too. They have luckily beat almost all of them. I really hope this latest venture is a home run for SpaceX. I'm sure Elon is being very conservative in his 10% chance of success.
Orbital Sciences Corp Stock up but Mission Stands Still
SpaceX has had a few problems too. They have luckily beat almost all of them. I really hope this latest venture is a home run for SpaceX. I'm sure Elon is being very conservative in his 10% chance of success.
Hopefully they had some drones or chase boats in the expected landing area for the 1st stage.
Video of a rocket hovering right above the water would be amazing.
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Just saw this article on SpaceX about the launch pad competition.
http://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-accuses-blue-origin-of-blocking-spacex-2013-9
Elon quote,
Full email...
From a SpaceX standpoint, we view [Blue Origin] and [United Launch Alliance’s] action as a phony blocking tactic and an obvious one at that. BO has not yet succeeded in creating a reliable suborbital spacecraft, despite spending over 10 years in development. It is therefore unlikely that they will succeed in developing an orbital vehicle that will meet NASA’s exacting standards in the next 5 years, which is the length of the lease. That said, I can’t say for sure whether [Blue Origin’s] action stems from malice. No such doubt exists about ULA’s motivation.
However, rather than fight this issue, there is an easy way to determine the truth, which is simply to call their bluff. If they do somehow show up in the next 5 years with a vehicle qualified to NASA’s human rating standards that can dock with the Space Station, which is what Pad 39A is meant to do, we will gladly accommodate their needs. Frankly, I think we are more likely to discover unicorns dancing in the flame duct.
Video of a rocket hovering right above the water would be amazing.
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Just saw this article on SpaceX about the launch pad competition.
http://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-accuses-blue-origin-of-blocking-spacex-2013-9
Elon quote,
Full email...
From a SpaceX standpoint, we view [Blue Origin] and [United Launch Alliance’s] action as a phony blocking tactic and an obvious one at that. BO has not yet succeeded in creating a reliable suborbital spacecraft, despite spending over 10 years in development. It is therefore unlikely that they will succeed in developing an orbital vehicle that will meet NASA’s exacting standards in the next 5 years, which is the length of the lease. That said, I can’t say for sure whether [Blue Origin’s] action stems from malice. No such doubt exists about ULA’s motivation.
However, rather than fight this issue, there is an easy way to determine the truth, which is simply to call their bluff. If they do somehow show up in the next 5 years with a vehicle qualified to NASA’s human rating standards that can dock with the Space Station, which is what Pad 39A is meant to do, we will gladly accommodate their needs. Frankly, I think we are more likely to discover unicorns dancing in the flame duct.
Krugerrand
Meow
That's it! My new measuring metric when discussing anything which has virtually no chance of happening during my lifetime will from now on be referenced against the likelihood of finding 'unicorns dancing in the flame duct'. :biggrin:
More articles about the Elon Musk smackdown on Jeff Bezos...
Elon Musk: Unicorns will dance before Bezos reaches space
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2013/09/26/elon-musk-unicorns-will-dance-before.htmlMusk Calls Out Blue Origin, ULA for ‘Phony Blocking Tactic’ on Shuttle Pad Lease
http://www.spacenews.com/article/la...la-for-‘phony-blocking-tactic’-on-shuttle-pad
SpaceX’s next Dragon mission moved to February 11 but will have larger payload.
"The SpX-3 flight will carry a full launch and return complement of 1,580kg/3,476lb of payload, an increase from the previous limit of 800kg, afforded by the increased upmass capabilities of the Falcon 9 v1.1."
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2013/10/spacexs-dragon-moved-february-11/
"The SpX-3 flight will carry a full launch and return complement of 1,580kg/3,476lb of payload, an increase from the previous limit of 800kg, afforded by the increased upmass capabilities of the Falcon 9 v1.1."
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2013/10/spacexs-dragon-moved-february-11/
A little nostalgia for you: Amazing how far SpaceX has come since 2005!
""As I warned, the likelihood of an all new rocket launching from an all-new launch pad on its first attempt is low," Musk said."
SpaceX’s first launch delayed again
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/10218220/
""As I warned, the likelihood of an all new rocket launching from an all-new launch pad on its first attempt is low," Musk said."
SpaceX’s first launch delayed again
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/10218220/
Zzzz...
Member
And the first attempt did not worked out because they delayed too much... One titanium bolt rusted and failed during attempt. They replaced bolts with stainless steel version for consequent launches.
Excellent keynote address by SpaceX COO and President Gwynne Shotwell. Very articulate and covered SpaceX's history very nicely if you're not familiar with it.
She also includes a couple of videos. Nothing really new but nice nonetheless.
Some highlights:
-New version of Grasshopper "F9R" should fly/hop in December.
-Crew transport in 3 years. Will probably have NASA astronauts but that is still to be decided
-Falco Heavy moves SpaceX cloer to the goal of $1,000/pound
-When asked if their was a business case to go to the Mars she answered very emphatically- NO
-2002, 14 employees
-2013, 3200 employees
-Plan to hire 600 employees in the next few months
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You are correct. Not sure why I did that since I know Elon is CEO. I've fixed the post.
That would be amazing. Cranking out a rocket every couple months combined with reusability. SpaceX could have a launch every week, then maybe down to one a day.
That would really begin getting stuff into orbit. Then building larger orbital platforms which could become refueling stations for moving ships around the solar system. I sure hope that Elon is secretly planning on mining the asteroid belt.
It still astounds me that SpaceX is doing this with conventional rockets.
I was really beginning to think this wouldn't happen in my lifetime.
What's really exciting about this is that incremental success accelerates progress. Sure, if SpaceX can get just a reasonable rate of success with Stage 1 they'll be able to get more custom and make more money. But, also consider that reuse makes their own test launches cheaper. The better they get, the more launches they can do. If they get Stage 1 highly-reusable, I'd expect Stage 2 to follow quite quickly.
Fully reusable rockets would make launches a lot cheaper and I'd then expect some radical changes in TV and satellite Internet.
If they have "cheap" launches the next task would be to get the Swiss group's debris-cleaning machine into orbit to clean up space.
Oof, yeah, I guess both cars and rockets need to be concerned about running into random debris.
(Reminding me of the "Gravity" movie...)
Non-sequitur SpaceX related information.
I just read "The Long War" by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter, which is the second book in the "The Long Earth" series. SpaceX was mentioned in the book and some characters were using Dragon capsules for trips into space. It's interesting that SpaceX has moved into the public's consciousness enough to be used in a science fiction book. The authors are British.
I just read "The Long War" by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter, which is the second book in the "The Long Earth" series. SpaceX was mentioned in the book and some characters were using Dragon capsules for trips into space. It's interesting that SpaceX has moved into the public's consciousness enough to be used in a science fiction book. The authors are British.
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