SpaceX

[FredTMC]

Great. Members of a dying 4th estate, who forgot to innovate and ended up like Xerox/Kodak sit around clutching their coffee mugs with ink stained hands while taking pennies from the spinmeister media moguls to which they owe their meager existence and rail against the same kind of dynamic change that relegated them to the dustbin of history.

As Count Rugen would say, "I think that's the worst thing I've ever heard. How marvelous."

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All construction now...no operations. Low uptake in the rolling coal construction trades for electric love.

yeah, article should've been titled that spacex saves the American tax payer $110m per flight compared to using other countries.

 

[Grendal]

SpaceXs New Hangar Is Looking Good

Moving along. I hope they get flying again soon. I need me some SpaceX flights.

 

[hockeythug]

SpaceXs New Hangar Is Looking Good

Moving along. I hope they get flying again soon. I need me some SpaceX flights.

All I can say is before the end of the year.

Edit: Actually the info is out in the open. End of September is what they are targeting for. Not sure if it will be another version 1.1 or they will go to 1.2.

 

[Grendal]

All I can say is before the end of the year.

Edit: Actually the info is out in the open. End of September is what they are targeting for. Not sure if it will be another version 1.1 or they will go to 1.2.

Thanks. I wonder, since they didn't shut down the factory, whether they will have a bunch of rockets ready to go. They just have to get them on the manifest for launching. Do a launch every two weeks and they could get back on track. I'm expecting a slow and steady build up though.

 

[Zaxxon]

The SpaceX article from Wait But Why is up. Well worth the rather lengthy read.

 

[rabar10]

The SpaceX article from Wait But Why is up. Well worth the rather lengthy read.

Thanks for the link! It was a long read, but still very accessible and enjoyable.

 

[hockeythug]

Prelim schedule is out over on the L2 SpaceX section at NSF if you have access to that.

 

[hockeythug]

Looks like *maybe* November for return to flight.

Musk has also said SpaceX could resume launching as soon as September, but an industry source said Aug. 19 the company is now planning a November return to flight. That launch would be a commercial mission for SES of Luxembourg using the newly upgraded Falcon 9 rocket.

SpaceX’s next cargo run for NASA, its eighth, would also happen in November, this person said.

http://spacenews.com/nasa-considering-more-cargo-orders-from-orbital-atk-spacex/

 

[Grendal]

Looks like *maybe* November for return to flight.



http://spacenews.com/nasa-considering-more-cargo-orders-from-orbital-atk-spacex/

Boo! I need my fix.

 

[Grendal]

SpaceX news:

U.S. Air Force To Award Integration Studies to SpaceX - SpaceNews.com

$1 million from the AF.

 

[hockeythug]

Return to flight mission will use the upgraded v1.2 rocket.

Still a "couple months" away.

http://spacenews.com/spacex-to-debut-upgraded-falcon-9-on-return-to-flight-mission/

 

[aronth5]

First Falcon Heavy Launch Scheduled for Spring

http://spacenews.com/first-falcon-heavy-launch-scheduled-for-spring/

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

First Falcon Heavy Launch Scheduled for Spring

http://spacenews.com/first-falcon-heavy-launch-scheduled-for-spring/

View attachment 93000

It's going to be a spectacular sight when that beast takes flight. 37 satellites; wow!

 

[JRod0802]

Current status of the Return To Flight efforts:

SpaceX conducts additional Falcon 9 improvements ahead of busy schedule | NASASpaceFlight.com

 

[Grendal]

SpaceX just released footage of its new Crew Dragon manned spaceship and it looks incredible - Quartz

A nice article discussing the dragon 2.0 with an embedded video.

I love all the carbon fiber. SpaceX is focused on weight and willing to spend a few bucks to bring the weight down.

 

[ggies07]

And soon after we start traveling in space, we can have a celebratory drink in an actual glass!

Ballantine's Space Glass Lets You Drink Whiskey In Microgravity | Co.Design | business + design

Creating/testing the glass:

 

[physicsfita]

I love all the carbon fiber. SpaceX is focused on weight and willing to spend a few bucks to bring the weight down.

It would be a false economy not to. I used to work in a lab that had teams that fabricated satellite instruments (and the odd satellite). When the engineers discussed "budget" they were talking mass, not money. Launch vehicles are so expensive that the satellite often looks cheap in comparison. If every instrument team could save a few grams here and there, you could get another instrument on the satellite. Using exotic materials to get the weight savings is often a bargain compared to having to use a bigger launch vehicle. Save some mass on the seats -- that's one more cargo item that can be brought up.

It it will be interesting to see how much reusability of vehicles changes this upside-down economics...

 

[ecarfan]

SpaceX just released footage of its new Crew Dragon manned spaceship and it looks incredible - Quartz
A nice article discussing the dragon 2.0 with an embedded video.

It does look awesome.
From the article, quote: "According to SpaceX, the ship will have a climate-control system that will allow astronauts to set the temperature in the Crew Dragon between a very comfortable 65 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. No word on whether there will be a tape deck."
Seriously, a "tape deck"?

 

[doug]

It does look awesome.
From the article, quote: "According to SpaceX, the ship will have a climate-control system that will allow astronauts to set the temperature in the Crew Dragon between a very comfortable 65 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. No word on whether there will be a tape deck."
Seriously, a "tape deck"?

Probably a reference to Guardians of the Galaxy, or simply one of the options you'd expect in your ride when having AC was a selling point.

 

[dpeilow]

SpaceX is focused on weight and willing to spend a few bucks to bring the weight down.

This statement is probably *the* guiding mantra of the entire space industry...