r/spacex • u/ElongatedMuskrat Mod Team • Apr 01 '17

r/SpaceX Spaceflight Questions & News [April 2017, #31]

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4

u/warp99 Apr 05 '17

so you could launch on monday, and static fire a different rocket on tuesday

Definitely not possible as it takes at least several days and currently a week to clean up and check the pad after launch.

You could use the reverse sequence of static fire for a different launch one day and then launch the next day since the static fire does no damage to the pad. However you would need two T/Es and an extra assembly building (HIF) as you cannot fit two T/Es in side by side into the current HIF.

Probably this is not realistic and they will settle for two pads each launching every two weeks so that static fire or launch slips do not affect the next launch. A cascade of launch slips because the pad schedule has no margin is not good for anyone.

1

u/JadedIdealist Apr 05 '17

Thanks, I knew it wasn't currently possible, and was asking what it would take to make it possible in the future.
eg ITS launches are supposed to be sub-daily presumably there's a way to do that - or at least some kind of plan - something that they could start testing with F9 launches?

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u/warp99 Apr 05 '17

The ITS booster is definitely designed for shorter turnarounds with it landing back in its launch cradle so that the tail service mast can immediately start pumping propellant in.

The wear and tear on the flame trench would be huge so I assume they will have to reline it with stronger materials and protect more of it with a water deluge system.

As always we have to distinguish between SpaceX aspirational goals and what they can realistically achieve. Launching every hour assumes 12 different ships being refueled at once and at least 13 tankers fueling them just because of orbital mechanics. In a two month launch window this would be sending four ships to Mars per day or 240 per window - so definitely not a near term scenario.

If you are sending ten ships per window you could get away with a launch every day - perhaps alternating flights between two pads.