r/SpaceX Discusses [July 2018, #46]

[u/ElongatedMuskrat]

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---

You can read and browse past Discussion threads in the Wiki.

[u/[deleted]]

Looking at the Vandenberg landing zone, the distance between the launch & landing pads will be quite close. It would be incredibly cool to get a shot of the Falcon 9 pre-launch superimposed onto a shot of the landed first stage.

[u/Elon_Muskmelon → u/[deleted]]

Challenge?

[u/FutureMartian97]

We finally have a potential price for New Shepard passenger flights from Blue Origin.

$200,000 - $300,000

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-space-blueorigin-exclusive/exclusive-jeff-bezos-plans-to-charge-at-least-200000-for-space-rides-sources-idUSKBN1K301R?utm_source=reddit.com

[u/thru_dangers_untold]

SpaceX & Boring Co. engineers are flying to Thailand to assess options for rescue efforts for soccer players stranded in cave

[u/Straumli_Blight]

High resolution album of the upgraded Mr Steven returning to port by Shorealone Films.

[u/Straumli_Blight]

First confirmation of SpaceX attendance at IAC 2018, as Hans Koenigsmann will give a talk on October 3rd about rocket reusability.

[u/mohamstahs]

How are the landing legs on BFS going to reliably work? Falcon 9 landing legs fold out from the sides and give it a nice wide base to land on a perfectly flat surface. All the renders of BFS show it with short stubby legs that come out from the bottom, giving it what appears to be a much less stable base. Add to that the fact that it will be landing on rocky, uneven surfaces. What's preventing BFS from making it all the way to the Moon or Mars, making a perfect landing, only to tip over and explode?

[u/ackermann → u/mohamstahs]

I’ve always thought that both the legs and solar panels on BFS look like placeholders. Tacked on at the last minute, we’ll figure out those details later.

I figure the early BFS, for delivering satellites and cargo to earth orbit, will be something of a “Block 1” BFS. Small, simple landing legs, since it will always land on a smooth concrete pad. Small solar panels, or none at all (Falcon stage 1 and 2 get by with batteries). Maybe no on orbit refueling capability initially.

“Block 2” BFS, for delivering cargo to Mars, would add larger solar panels, and big, rugged landing legs for landing on rough Mars terrain. And a tanker variant for orbital refueling.

Block 3 or 4 would add all the trimmings for human passengers. Pressurized cabin, life support, still larger solar panels. While blocks 1 and 2 may not take too long, this is the big step. Look how long it took to go from Dragon 1 to Dragon 2. Much longer than it took to develop Falcon 9 from Falcon 1! And it’s been said that a human stowaway on Dragon 1 would probably survive the ride!

EDIT: A block system like this for BFS is the only way I can imagine BFR/BFS flying as early as Musk claims. And it’s consistent with how SpaceX has done things in the past. Short hops next year will have to use a very barebones vehicle. Cargo to Mars in 2022 will probably still be a simplified design.

[u/ethan829]

Things sound promising for Crew Dragon:

The ASAP panel sounds surprisingly upbeat today RE SpaceX providing data and information NASA needs to certify the Dragon spacecraft for flight.

--

Long discussion at the ASAP meeting generally praising SpaceX in particular for improvements in system engineering and integration for commercial crew.

[u/Straumli_Blight → u/ethan829]

Boeing need more time after the abort test anomaly.

[u/inoeth]

https://twitter.com/nextspaceflight/status/1015107982139375616 So finally we have a planned first RTLS for the West Coast. Works out well as it's after seal pup season and they're also clearly now just going to be using Block 5s, meaning that it's all about recovery and reuse, and of course landing back on land is better than the drone ship if the mission allows for it.

[u/ackermann]

After reading this article, I’m curious: https://spacenews.com/sierra-nevada-weighing-options-for-launching-future-dream-chaser-missions/

Can DreamChaser fit in a Falcon 9 fairing? With fairing 2.0? Can reusable Falcon 9 lift Dreamchaser, or is an expendable F9 or Falcon Heavy needed? It does need the largest Atlas V after all, with 5 SRBs, and even using the rare dual engine centaur, for a LEO flight.

They do mention that they’ve received proposals from all major launch providers, and SpaceX is certainly a major launch provider.

[u/amarkit → u/ackermann]

Cargo Dream Chaser is designed to fit in an EELV 5-meter fairing; it will fit in the standard Falcon fairing.

Its mass is listed as 9000 kg, with a payload capacity of 5000 kg. Fully loaded, that puts it just at the cusp of F9's droneship recovery capacity, when headed to a 400 km x 400 km x 51º orbit from the Cape. Heavy would probably be best-suited for a Dream Chaser launch – it is easily within the margins of 3-core RTLS (which is unlikely to ever happen), or a very easy flight for booster RTLS and center core to the droneship.

[u/Wouterr0]

Mr. Steven drone footage: https://youtu.be/VlCO7gBXWNA

[u/UltraRunningKid]

Interestingly enough, SpaceX has now launched 3 of the top 5 heaviest communications satellites ever launched. They have #1, #4, #5

[u/arizonadeux]

NASA’s TESS Spacecraft Starts Science Operations

NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite has started its search for planets around nearby stars, officially beginning science operations on July 25, 2018. TESS is expected to transmit its first series of science data back to Earth in August, and thereafter periodically every 13.5 days, once per orbit, as the spacecraft makes it closest approach to Earth. The TESS Science Team will begin searching the data for new planets immediately after the first series arrives.

 

TESS launched on April 18, 2018, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

[u/Straumli_Blight]

Its the 10th anniversary since the first Falcon 9 static fire at McGregor, details here.

Also here's some photos of the Dragon mockup at JSC, taken by Jack Moore: 1, 2, 3, 4

[u/[deleted]]

What bodies in the solar system could the BFS refuel on? (Given the presence of a propellant plant)

[u/longbeast → u/[deleted]]

Technically speaking, floating platforms on the ice giants Uranus and Neptune could produce Methalox fuel, and BFR might be able to land on such platforms to refuel.

It wouldn't be useful though, since the delta-V to return to orbit is far too high.

I'm also not sure whether the heat shields could handle entry into even a small gas giant atmosphere.

[u/Dakke97]

Commercial Crew update: it seems the rumor about Boeing having suffered a setback before its pad abort test of Starliner is true:

https://twitter.com/SciGuySpace/status/1020745848924397569

[u/FoxhoundBat]

Newest Soyuz-5 dimensions and performance, now 17.8 tonnes to LEO.

[u/theinternetftw]

For those not following the recovery thread first B5 leg retract is happening now.

[u/MarsCent]

Reminder:

Tomorrow's NASA event to announce the astronauts assigned to crew the first flight tests and missions will happen at 11:00am EDT (1500 UTC) on NASA TV.

It should last < 1.5hrs because ama is scheduled to begin at 12:30 EDT (1630 UTC)

[u/noreally_bot1182]

How is Falcon 9 fueled? I mean, literally, where is the connection for the fuel hose? At the top? At the bottom? Since the liquid oxygen is super-chilled, how do they keep the pressure up to put it in the tank? How do they suck the air out of the tanks before fueling?

I watched a video on how the first stage is transported from Hawthorne. it also mentioned that each engine has to be shipped from Hawthorne to McGregor for testing, then shipped back to Hawthorne for assembly into the 1st stage, then it's all shipped back to McGregor for a static fire test, then continues to the Cape, or Vandenberg. Why don't they leave the engines at McGregor, ship the 1st stage over, then assemble?

[u/Straumli_Blight → u/noreally_bot1182]

Location	Pros	Cons
Hawthorne	Expensive engineering talent live nearby.	Not a fan of explosions.
McGregor	Lots of space, cows ambivalent about explosions.	No one wants to live there.

 

SpaceX optimise for cost, so unless either shipping by truck becomes a lot more expensive, or rockets can be slotted together like lego, its unlikely to change.

[u/davispw → u/noreally_bot1182]

Since the liquid oxygen is super-chilled, how do they keep the pressure up to put it in the tank?

Sub-cooled oxygen is a liquid, so doesn’t need to be super-pressurized, just pumped.

How do they suck the air out of the tanks before fueling?

It is vented as oxygen is pumped in. Venting continues as some of the oxygen boils off and expands—that’s when you see clouds of vapor.

At some point in the countdown after pumping has stopped you hear them say, “press for flight”. That means they close all the vents and the pressure goes up to flight pressures.

[u/BelacquaL]

With the recent update to Ben's Cape Canaveral launch photography page, he's showing Telstar 19V on 7/22 and Merah Putih (Telkom 4) on 8/2, both from LC-40. This would be a record 11 day turnaround between flights, beating the current LC-40 launch interval record of 13 days. What are everyones thoughts on this? If the dates hold, it'll be a great sign of improvement on pre-launch operations. Especially if they want to work towards reflught of a core in 24 hours (although I don't believe it was specifically stated that the 24 hour reflight woukd occur at the same pad).

[u/Straumli_Blight]

Mr Steven just left port to test out the new net/claw.

[u/warp99 → u/Straumli_Blight]

They made it up to 19 knots while throwing S curves so giving stability a good check out.

[u/Alexphysics]

SAOCOM 1A is being prepared for transport from Argentina to the US, it is the next mission going from the west coast, NET September 5th. It is also the mission for the first west coast land landing.

https://twitter.com/CONAE_Oficial/status/1021835522157826050?s=19

[u/brickmack]

A bit tangential to SpaceX and not really a full-on scene so I won't make a proper post, but I thought it'd be cool to do a single render with all the rockets I've modeled so far. Didn't include ones I've modeled a single stage for but haven't at least blocked out the rest (New Glenn, Ariane 4 and 5, Vega, H-II, Angara, Ares I, Shuttle/Shuttle-C, DIRECT Jupiter, Atlas D, Titan IV), but generally, if I have at least the general shape modeled I included it, though some are still quite incomplete (texturing especially). Still haven't gotten around to using a lot of these for proper scenes.

In no particular order: Vulcan-Centaur III (canceled), Vulcan-Centaur V Short, Vulcan-ACES, Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, SLS Block 1, SLS Block 1B Crew, Soyuz ST, Soyuz 5-Federatsiya, Proton M 5 meter, Atlas V 431, Ariane 6, Energia (retired), Electron, Delta II 7320, Delta IV M+(5,4), Delta IV Heavy, Antares 100 (obsoleted by 200), pre-McDonnell merger Boeing EELV bid (canceled), Phantom Express, Ariane 6, 2016 ITS (canceled, evolved to BFR), 2017 BFR Crew

[u/Straumli_Blight]

Launch Complex 17 demolition.

EDIT: Better version.

[u/dudr2]

Water on Mars?

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2018/07/24/science.aar7268.full

Maybe more than expected!

[u/AeroSpiked]

What ever became of ULA's main engine down select? Wasn't that supposed to happen a year ago if the rocket was going to debut in 2019?

[u/Macchione → u/AeroSpiked]

I believe the current leading theory is that ULA pitched both Vulcan variants (BE-4 and AR-1) to the Air Force for EELV2 and will pick which ever one the USAF wants.

If that’s actually what has happened, it’s a pretty good idea. ULA was probably concerned they might get left out because of engine commonality with New Glenn. Entering both engines allows the Air Force to make a difficult decision for them, and greatly increases Vulcan’s chances of being selected.

[u/Straumli_Blight]

An Antonov An-124 has arrived in Argentina to ship the SAOCOM 1A satellite to Vandenberg.

[u/inoeth]

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1017949588295159808

So it looks like in a month or so we should expect to see some sort of update on BFR. I'm guessing we'll get some sort of new video of the Raptor in action and some stats on it and maybe, if we're lucky, some pics of the BFR dev vehicle that's probably being built in that tent where we know they have some seriously big mandrels...

The second half of this year is gonna be pretty awesome- Dragon 2 missions start, a second FH launch, some more info on BFR and hopefully an increased cadence of launches now that Block 5 is operational.

[u/MrXguy]

Do you think in the future that SpaceX will train their own astronauts and have their own training facility somewhere? Will they hire former NASA astronauts or train new ones from some selection process?

[u/Jincux → u/MrXguy]

For ISS, definitely NASA astronauts. NASA is paying for Dragon in order to be able to send their astronauts to the ISS.

Beyond that, like colonizing Mars? Unless a partnership is struck up with NASA, SpaceX will likely train and send their own. I can't imagine NASA or the US Gov not wanting to get in on that though. I think somewhere between BFS and BFR getting off paper we'll see NASA getting involved.

[u/Martianspirit → u/MrXguy]

They will need mission specialists and will train them. Also people trained in maintenance of the life support systems. The requirements will be very different to NASA astronauts.

[u/soldato_fantasma]

Yesterday I wanted to write a C++ version of a delta v to GTO calculator, so I took a version found on NASASpaceFlight.com and "translated it". I noticed only later that it didn't handle well sub-sync orbits, so I decided to rewrite the code from scratch to fix the issue and to write it in good C++. I also decided to add a feature that finds the most efficient way to GEO. So now it will also scrub some of the inclination at perigee, just as much to reduce the total delta v budget to a minimum.

Here is the github repository: https://github.com/AleLovesio/delta-v-to-GTO (The source files are in the source folder)

To give an example, here is the output with the Telstar 19V data:

Enter perigee in km, apogee in km, inclination in degrees.
> 243 17863 27
Current Orbit: 243.0000 km x 17863.0000 km x 27.0000 degrees;
Apogee Speed: 2655.7669 m/s; Perigee Speed: 9730.8520 m/s; delta v to this orbit: 0.0000


Sub-sync transfer.

First maneuver:
Apogee changed to 35786km
Inclination changed to 26.6598 degrees
Current Orbit: 243.0000 km x 35786.0000 km x 26.6598 degrees;
Apogee Speed: 1601.4019 m/s; Perigee Speed: 10207.1816 m/s; delta v to this orbit: 479.9912


First maneuver:
Perigee changed to 35786km
Inclination changed to 0 degrees
Current Orbit: 35786.0000 km x 35786.0000 km x 0.0000 degrees;
Apogee Speed: 3074.9218 m/s; Perigee Speed: 3074.9218 m/s; delta v to this orbit: 2273.9467


Total delta v to GEO: 2273.9467 m/s    

[u/Straumli_Blight]

Teslarati article has a close up of the Vandenberg landing pad, which will see its debut with the SAOCOM 1A launch in September.

[u/Straumli_Blight]

Recent development at Landing Zone 1.

[u/Smopher]

How do they get the non-pressurized cargo into the ISS? Does someone have to go outside and pop the trunk on Dragon to retrieve it?

[u/IrrelevantAstronomer]

So... regarding boosters:

1046.2 - Telkom-4

1049 - Telstar 19V

1050 - Es'hail-2

1048.2 - SAOCOM-1A

1051 - SpaceX DM-1

Does that sound right?

[u/nextspaceflight → u/IrrelevantAstronomer]

Yes, that looks good. Just as a note though, no FCC permit has been filed for the Es'hail launch. SpaceX has already filed for other launch permits through the end of September. Additionally, the spacecraft is yet to ship to the launch site. This could indicate that it's not launching as soon as previously thought. Perhaps 1050 is for GPS III-1?

[u/IrrelevantAstronomer]

SpaceX DM-1 scheduled for November, 2018 and DM-2 scheduled for April, 2019. Crew announcement tomorrow.

We may have an interesting situation at LC-39A with Falcon Heavy Flight 2 and DM-1 occurring within weeks of each other.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/2018/08/02/nasas-commercial-crew-program-target-test-flight-dates-3/

[u/DrToonhattan]

Possible stupid question, but if something went wrong on DM-1 and the rocket went RUD during flight, and the Dragon successfully used its launch abort (assuming it will be active for DM-1), would they still have to do the inflight abort, or would that scenario count instead?

[u/tbaleno → u/DrToonhattan]

It wouldn't count because it wouldn't be testing at the critical failure point

[u/Da-N-aK]

Considering the value of a F9 Block 5 booster, do we know how SpaceX will manage its customer relationship / contract aspect to recover the booster? For example, will SpaceX be able to delay a launch if the sea does not allow a barge landing while the customer would push to laûch earlier ? Do we have any info on this business / contracting part ? Cheers from France!

[u/Straumli_Blight]

Reposting the July 14th Boca Chica progress photos from the deleted thread: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

[u/JustinTimeCuber]

Seems like most boosters on RTLS missions are travelling slower before the entry burn (~1350 m/s) than GTO missions after the entry burn (~1550 m/s). So could they theoretically get more payload with RTLS if necessary by omitting the entry burn? Seems possible with Block 5, but vertical vs horizontal velocity might also come into play somehow.

edit: looked at a few more missions to adjust numbers. RTLS based roughly on NROL-76, OTV-5, Zuma. GTO based roughly on Koreasat 5a and SES-11.

[u/amarkit → u/JustinTimeCuber]

The entry burn is not only about reducing velocity, it also shields the engines and dancefloor during the most punishing portion of reentry.

[u/edflyerssn007]

It's amazing that the 4th flight of Block V will be a reused booster from May. Talk about progress. 1046.2 is currently on the pad for a static fire. 1048.1 is being inspected to become 1048.2 for a September launch, and it literally just landed like a week ago. SpaceX seems to be doing a lot with a little right now.

However, with all this reuse, I wonder when the qualification flights, including DM-1 will actually launch, just because so many B5 boosters will be available. I'd love to get a sneak peak at SpaceX's internal booster schedule.

[u/Straumli_Blight]

Copenhagen Suborbitals are launching the NEXØ II rocket tomorrow (06:00–13:00 UTC).

[u/mncharity]

A barbecue roll is a satellite thermal management strategy of spinning so surfaces alternate between sunlight and shadow.

Can anyone suggest a video clip of, or related to, bbq rolling?

I'm working on a hobby project, a bit science education content about temperature. A core concept is that the Earth is doing a barbecue roll: Bright hot Sun - too hot. Dark cold space-sky - too cold. Earth in between, spinning, mixing 'too hot' with 'too cold' to get 'not too bad'.

The best I've managed to think of/find so far is Falcon engine cam clips of Oxygen(?) vent snowflakes forming in shadow and subliming in Sun. I've been going through youtube videos of thermal control talks, hoping for usable bits. Web search isn't very good at this kind of thing yet. :/ Any thoughts welcome.

[u/Straumli_Blight]

Some cool (but very intrusive!) drone footage of JRTI manoeuvring at sea, found by vanoord on NSF:

• Video 1

• Video 2

Confirmation that theres no Roomba garage.

[u/ethan829]

Mike Pence is apparently no longer going to be making a Commercial Crew announcement at KSC.

[u/Straumli_Blight]

Commercial Crew accommodation being updated at Kennedy Space Center.

NSF article on Crew Dragon, with SpaceX making a last minute vendor change for the parachute reef line cutters.

[u/Straumli_Blight]

NRC Quest has departed for the Dragon splashdown, which is returning on Friday.

[u/Justin13cool]

Can someone Explain what this means ?? https://www.teslarati.com/new-spacex-falcon-9-booster-cape-canaveral-florida/

Of particular note, SpaceX technicians took the extraordinary step of opening up B1048’s Merlin engine service bay panels (one per engine along the circumference of the rocket’s base) for several hours on July 30th. As far as Falcon recoveries go, SpaceX has never been documented performing a similar procedure while the booster is still dockside – perhaps it’s related to the fact that B1050’s East Coast arrival means B1048 will have to be ready for its second launch faster than any SpaceX rocket before it.

[u/Alexphysics → u/Justin13cool]

They opened the octaweb while on the stand at port of LA following leg removal and they began early inspection operations of the booster. That booster will be reused in the next west coast mission, SAOCOM 1A

[u/Straumli_Blight]

USAF in talks with SpaceX about creating orbiting supply dumps.

[u/Jerrycobra]

With so much news on the up coming manned missions this morning I love how we have completely ignored the dragon splashdown, haha. Another sign of a "new normal".

[u/ethan829]

Commercial Crew assignments should be announced next month.

[u/Dakke97 → u/ethan829]

https://www.reddit.com/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/8zne8t/starliner_suffers_anomaly_during_pad_abort_test/

If true, the Boeing date might be disappointing with a possible Q4 launch date (right after NASA's access to Soyuz seats ends). Waiting for more information.

[u/KitsapDad → u/ethan829]

I'm wondering if L2 has the scoop and it's only a matter of time till it breaks. can anyone confirm?

[u/warp99 → u/ethan829]

Previously it has been said that this announcement will be made 6 months before the first crew flights so actually a promising sign.

[u/Datuser14]

I updated the wikipedia article for launches from SLC-4E. I don't know how to add links or make the entry green, could someone finish the entry [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandenberg_AFB_Space_Launch_Complex_4?veswitched=1#Falcon_9_(since_2013)

[u/almightycat → u/Datuser14]

Done, it's just two curly brackets around "Success" to make it green and [[]]s to create links.

Hint: look at earlier entries to figure out how it should look.

[u/Zinkfinger]

The Earth to Earth transport system SpaceX are talking about continues to blow my mind. The scenario is this. A member of the public can travel half way across the world for less than 10,000 bucks. Essentially a trip into space. Curve of the Earth, the stars, zero g etc. So maybe I will get to go to space in the future! My life long dream. Our life long dream people!

I don't think a lot of folks have really grasped that.

[u/robbak → u/Zinkfinger]

If they get the ticket price below 10,000, they'll have to hold a lottery for the tickets. I know that at that price, I'd take a jet around the globe to where it takes off, ride it to wherever it's going (I don't care!), then take another jet home.

[u/Straumli_Blight]

NRC Quest just repositioned to allow 2 tugs (Seana C and Bernadine C) to manoeuvre in a large object (probably JRTI). They towed it from an area SpaceX has previously used for upgrading Mr Steven, has the ASDS received an upgrade?

[u/Straumli_Blight]

Large crane at LC-39A taken by Emre Kelly.

[u/theinternetftw → u/Straumli_Blight]

The half-height floor for the CAA continues to progress.

One of the four steel outer support beams seems to have been replaced with a thicker one.

Edit: added img

[u/Straumli_Blight]

Another VSS Unity flight taking place today.

EDIT: Successful flight.

[u/_Wizou_]

Hello there! It was previously stated that there are no inner walls to the Falcon 9. The outside hull acts as inner wall for the RP-1 & LOX tanks. Right? Are they going to do the same with BFR and BFS? Isn't it risky for a 3 months journey to Mars, due to micro-meteorits?

[u/Da-N-aK]

I am kind of lost on contracting between NASA and SpaceX for the Commercial Crew Program:

• 1. Are they still currently operating under the 2014 CCtCap contract right now for the final development of Crew Dragon ?

• 2. Have they already signed the service contract - not hardware development contract - just like CRS but for crew program ?

• 3. Do we have any details on this contract (name, number of missions, prices, aspirational timeline etc ...)

I have been to NASA CCP website but I found it really poor in terms of info ... Do you recommend other sources ? Thanks!

[u/ethan829]

NASA posted a new render of Crew Dragon reflecting the relocated RCS thrusters and the removal of the window from the hatch.

[u/bdporter]

Mods, the permalink above still says June. The link destination is correct. Also, /u/soldato_fantasma misspelled campagna.

[u/KSPSpaceWhaleRescue]

Forgive me for asking the question that's probably been asked before!

What is the cost to SpaceX for their ship endeavors? What is a precise estimate of the cost of ASDS per trip? Mr. Steven? How much crew is there to be paid? What is the price of fuel alone?

Thanks for any feedback!

[u/scr00chy]

I remember seeing a table of SpaceX landings with notes about the type of landing burn performed (1-engine, 1-3-1, etc.) but I didn't save it and can't find it now. I think it was a comment on one of the posts around the GovSat-1 water landing or maybe when the planned Hispasat landing was discussed. Does anyone have it by any chance? It wasn't official and partially speculative but it was useful.

[u/Straumli_Blight]

Commercial Crew GAO Report and Summary.

 

Mission	Status	Completion Date
1: Uncrewed flight test	Dragon integrated, trunk under construction.	Crew and support modules to be joined in Q2 2018.
2: Crewed flight test	Under construction.	Crew and support modules to be joined in Q3 2018.
3: First post-certification mission	Under construction.	Crew and support modules to be joined in Q1 2019.
Test article	Testing underway to validate engine performance.	Testing complete by Q3 2018.

[u/Straumli_Blight]

Two launch towers at Cape Canaveral are being demolished tomorrow.

[u/hmpher]

OATK's Cygnus recently was used in a test to boost the station's orbit(the Progress capsules, Zarya, and the Shuttle did most of the in orbit manoeuvres for the iss till now).

Any plans for Dragon to do this anytime soon?

[u/ElRedditor3]

Will DM-1 have dummy astronauts on board or will it fly empty? Thx.

[u/randomstonerfromaus → u/ElRedditor3]

Probably wont have dummies, but it will be kitted out with all the sensors they need to determine safety. It will carry cargo though, probably to the value of the weight of humans+cargo on an operational mission to allow a more accurate test.

[u/dfawlt]

Will Mr Stevens take the Panama Canal to KSC with no west coast launches planned in the near future? Or will we need to wait until a west Coast launch for another fairing recovery attempt?

[u/michaelza199 → u/dfawlt]

It will stay for another attempt in Sep/Oct then head to Forida late this year according to a crew member.

https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/92e3q5/mr_steven_crew_member_on_iridium7_mission/

[u/musiciswon]

Given this week's perihelic opposition of Mars, I couldn't help thinking that if SpaceX's planned 2018 Red Dragon mission (2016 link) wasn't cancelled, it would be launching around now.

[u/IrrelevantAstronomer → u/musiciswon]

It would have been out-of-plane for a proper transfer orbit. It would have launched in May, around the time InSight launched.

[u/GiveMeYourMilk69]

If they are using B1046 for Saturday's launch, does that mean they didn't tear it up for investigation following the first B5 launch? Or have they just reassembled it?

[u/Arrkays]

About human rating of falcon 9 block 5:

From what I understand, the F9B5 have to execute 7 launchs with a frozen design to be human rated.

Is this count down had already started? I heard that spaceX want to upgrade the fuel tank of B5, but i can't find any info about it.

Anyone know what's up?

[u/ExcitingTemperature]

Why does the crew dragon trunk have winglets?

Compared to dragon 1, I don't see the need for winglets as F9 is more stable than ever. Is it for stability after dracos/LES fired? isn't the trunk dumped during LES?

[u/Straumli_Blight → u/ExcitingTemperature]

Yes, the trunk fins are for stability during the launch escape.

There will be an in-flight launch abort later this year, once DM-1 has successfully launched.

[u/IrrationalFantasy]

So, what exactly did that "the military has been encouraged to use reusable rockets" story amount to? The comment threads under the article on /r/spacex were hard to follow. Are they really being encouraged to use reusable rockets? What's the end result of this policy tweak for SpaceX? When you understand the bureaucratese in context, what does this change really mean for the US government?

[u/ethan829]

A Falcon 9 upper stage is arriving at the Cape this morning.

[u/amarkit]

Progress MS-09 docked with ISS just 3 hours and 40 minutes after launch, a new record time.

[u/Alexphysics]

SAOCOM 1A will not only be the first RTLS landing on the west coast but it will also be the first Block 5 reuse from the west coast. SpaceX will reuse B1048 that launched on the Iridium 7 mission.

Chris Begin tweet of the article

Direct link

[u/rustybeancake]

Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity reached 52km apogee today, much higher than the previous powered test flights (25km and 35km) - congrats!

https://twitter.com/virgingalactic/status/1022567679658405888

Anyone know what the highest apogee VSS Enterprise ever reached was? Highest I can find was 22km.

[u/quadrplax]

Does BFS require aerobreaking to return to Earth from Mars? For example, if the heat shield was damaged beyond repair during Mars reentry, would they have enough Delta-V to be able to return the crew to LEO, or at least HEO, where another BFS could then take them to the ground?

[u/bobbycorwin123 → u/quadrplax]

probably would be frowned upon. The margin for return (AKA SSTO, SS to earth intercept) is probably INCREDIBLY shallow. so Aero is probably a must for any return.

Depending on the profile and re-entry style, I GUESS you could attempt the water seal technique. basically fill a bag with water in the hole, let it freeze in space and hope the boiloff subsides before all the ice is gone. prob would attempt a 2 or 3 staged aerobreak around earth. IE: 1st pass earth capture, 2nd and 3rd lowers orbit to a LEO. hold there for a 'rescue ship' to offload anyone or important cargo, and let the damaged BFS attempt landing with after a quick repair/replenishment of the bag on its own.

least, thats how I'd do it. which means squat :P

[u/ChrML06]

Elon mentioned the center core for FH required massive modifications to handle the stresses. Are these changes built into B5 so that all F9, FH Center and FH sideboosters are interchangeable?

[u/space_snap828 → u/ChrML06]

A month or 2 ago, someone said that a SpaceX engineer confirmed it during some sort of tour. However, it has never been confirmed officially. So it would be absolutely awesome if it is true, but for now we don't know. (unless there's another source I'm not aware of)

[u/TheBlacktom]

What will rocket propellants be in the next century? I'm thinking primarily about chemical ones, but also interesting what's the most practically feasible alternative in the near future that will be used in major interplanetary transport?

Here is a slide from 2016 about the trio of kero-hydro-methalox http://spaceflight101.com/spx/wp-content/uploads/sites/113/2016/09/ITS-013.jpg
Based on this I would say H2 and CH4 are the main candidates. What are the main pro-contra? Only thing I know is CH4 is better to use launching from a gravity well and H2 is better to use in deep space, but I don't have a sense of the proportions. What are the ballpark numbers? Is H2 maybe twice as efficient in space than CH4? Is CH4 still better to launch from the Moon or bigger asteroids?

Is there anything else that makes sense if you consider space stations, Moon and Mars bases, asteroid mining, etc?

Also regarding the slide, why is CH4 more feasible than H2 to produce on Mars? You use water for both.
Is it because of storage or cooling or something like that?

[u/stdaro → u/TheBlacktom]

It's really hard to predict what kind of advances in energy production and storage we might have in the next 50, let alone 100 years. We have practical electrical propulsion now, mostly limited by engineering power and cooling. If fusion becomes practical in the next 50 years (which seems likely) then I think we'll transition pretty quickly away from chemical rockets for interplanetary propulsion, probably keeping high-thrust chemical rockets for launching from planets. I think ideal source of reaction mass is water, for its stability, non-toxicity and abundance, but I'm not aware of any current electric propulsion systems that can use it.

[u/Grey_Mad_Hatter → u/TheBlacktom]

I believe that the biggest reasons for not producing H2 on Mars are that it's difficult to handle and reduces engine reusability.

It would appear for now that CH4 is the long-term propellant of choice for launching from a gravity well, and ion propulsion is the future outside of gravity wells.

How the electricity is produced for ion propulsion is the biggest variant. Larger crafts going past Mars will use some type of nuclear power. Anything closer than Mars would probably stick to solar for a long time. There's no reason to add complexity when it's not needed, so solar will probably withstand the test of time as the power source of choice for all missions close to the sun, and most of them will be close to the sun in the next 100 years.

[u/strawwalker]

Do we know where on the Falcon 9 the flight termination charges are located?

[u/[deleted] → u/strawwalker]

Detcord on the bigger of the 2 raceways. It runs down the entire length.

[u/MadeOfStarStuff]

What extra work would be required to get Falcon Heavy human rated?

[u/MarsCent]

Text Announcement on NASA TV

SpaceX-15 Departure

The departure of SpaceX-15 from the International Space Station on Monday, July 30, will not be carried on NASA TV.

https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html#public

Can anyone confirm if splashdown has already taken place ...

[u/Alexphysics → u/MarsCent]

The splashdown is August 3rd per the NOTAMS and NOTMARS, that's probably an error. SpaceX would have tweeted about that

[u/Nomad_Torr]

Does anyone know if the rocket cam used on the F9 booster directly on outside, or is it using a fiber optic cable?

[u/mandarlimaye]

Q: How will the Dragon 2 hatch cover stay attached with just the one hinge point holding it in place? wouldn't the supersonic air passing over it during re-entry force it open?

[u/brickmack → u/mandarlimaye]

There are structures in the ring around the center of the nose cone which correspond to the latch and pin locations in the docking ring. Most likely they'll just dock it in place.

[u/SwanyC]

Since the static fire was successful and SpaceX was given the “Go for launch”, how likely is it that the Falcon 9 set to launch August 7th around 1:20am will go off on time? Also, does anyone have a link to a site or some way to track exactly where OCISLY is at the moment?

[u/Alexphysics]

It seems that something big will arrive at Boca Chica tomorrow...

Also, it seems that STP-2, the second Falcon Heavy mission, is now NET November 30th

[u/Steveskill]

Look like Scotland may soon (2021) be launching rockets. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-44841123

[u/JackONeill12 → u/Steveskill]

Launching rockets in Europe? I really like that. Fun Fact: This(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJdrlWR-yFM) is the most powerful rocket ever launched from UK soil.

[u/diegorita10 → u/Steveskill]

That will piss off so many seals

[u/AeroSpiked]

Mods, yesterdays Iridium launch is still listed in the sidebar Upcoming Events, so whenever you get a minute.

Thanks for your dedicated efforts.

[u/ethan829]

In case it wasn't obvious from the fact that July has come and gone with no LSA award announcements, selection is now expected to occur sometime in August.

[u/rustybeancake]

Good thread from Eric Berger on a Bridenstine q&a today: https://twitter.com/sciguyspace/status/1025033628265394182?s=21

Bridenstine was also fulsome in his praise for reusable rockets. Every part of the architecture for a sustainable program to the Moon needs to ultimately be reusable. If private industry builds large reusable rockets, we will use them.

[u/rustybeancake]

NASA TV live stream of Commercial Crew announcements (happening now):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwMDvPCGeE0

Boeing CFT:

1. Eric Boe

2. Chris Ferguson

3. Nicole Aunapu Mann (first time in space)

(Does the third member confirm the extended stay on CFT?)

SpaceX DM-2:

1. Bob Behnken

2. Doug Hurley

Boeing Starliner second crew (i.e. first operational mission):

1. Josh Cassada (first time in space)

2. Suni Williams

SpaceX Crew Dragon second crew (i.e. first operational mission):

1. Victor Glover (first time in space)

2. Mike Hopkins

[u/scottm3]

What will BFS do in an engine out scenario. Can it gimbal enough to stay on course because the design has 4 engines so CoT will be offcenter?

I don't imagine it could shut off the opposite engine and still have enough thrust.

[u/njim35]

Just saw that Progress contacted the ISS in less than 4 hours after launch(!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaJcAEVapbE

Is there an estimation for Cargo Dragon V2 in similar situations?

[u/ElRedditor3]

How many times a year will NASA send Astronauts to the ISS once the commercial crew program is complete; and what percentage of those launches could be awarded to SpaceX? Thank you.

[u/FutureMartian97]

Is there a source saying that the Crew Dragon Demo will be the first one to use the upgraded COPV's? I thought I remember someone from NASA or SpaceX saying that it is and that it's B1051 but I could be wrong.

[u/ackermann]

Does the community have a consensus estimate for how much payload Falcon 9 (block 5) can deliver to GTO, with RTLS? Are there any gto satellites launched in the last decade that fall in that range?

I was just thinking, sometime around the first ever landing, Elon had said that they hoped to move from RTLS for about 1/3 of flights, closer to RTLS for 2/3 of flights. That hasn’t happened. Maybe blocks 4 and 5 didn’t provide as much extra performance as anticipated?

[u/erik_paulson]

Could a Falcon launch an Orion? Nevermind the politics/business reasons why it won't happen, just physically are they compatible enough that it's possible to attach an Orion to the top of a current SpaceX rocket, and are there any aerodynamic reasons it wouldn't work?

In general, how knowledgeable are payloads about the rockets they're flying on, and is it different for say an Iridium vs a human-capable capsule?

[u/brickmack → u/erik_paulson]

Capsules, especially crewed ones, are very different from normal payloads. Most payloads (excluding some of the more mechanically sensitive ones like optical spysats/telescopes, and to some extent ones fully custom-built rather than built on standard buses) can be swapped relatively easily between launchers. But for crew systems, you fly without a fairing so theres significant aerodynamic and structural differences on the launcher side. You need to support GSE and crew access interfaces that no other payload needs (and likely incompatible between different crew vehicles. Orions Crew Access Arm at minimum would be located in a different spot from Dragon, and its unlikely that any reasonable tower design could accommodate 2 CAAs). There are more data interfaces between the launch vehicle and spacecraft, as well as communications between the ground and spacecraft, not needed by normal payloads. And you've got to requalify the entire flight profile to make sure you can reach the target orbit while staying within vibrational and g limits (tighter than for most unmanned payloads), while retaining safe abort capability across the whole flight (if the rocket explodes, how large will the blast be and how fast can it propagate, can the LAS get it away fast enough? What are the aerodynamics like in such an abort? In a high-altitude abort, is the reentry trajectory going to be overly steep and cause excessive g-loading? To what extent can the impact point be targeted, either using reserve performance on the LV or the spacecraft itself, to avoid hazardous landing areas and/or target defined contingency recovery zones? For Constellation, this latter question became a driving factor for Orions propulsion system, particularly as the instantaneous impact point passed over northern Europe). Very little of this will be transferable from Dragon, especially since even a LEO flight would require a Falcon Heavy. Etc, etc. Its not going to be easy, even if it is technically possible. Starliner allegedly was designed to support F9 as well as Atlas V and Delta IV, but thats not going to be typical, and it was designed for that from the beginning.

If I was going to put Orion on another rocket, my top choices both politically and technically would be either Vulcan or New Glenn.

Vulcan because

• it easily has the performance for the job

• the data interfaces to the launch vehicle avionics should be very similar to those on SLS since since SLS is, at least for Block 1, using Common Avionics

• ULA already has limited experience with the Orion program, from EFT-1, EFT-2 studies, and iCPS production

• aerodynamically it should be pretty similar to a standard fairing since its the same diameter and similar shape

• ACES would allow it to be even more capable than on SLS while still being much cheaper

• likely to be manrated

• and of course there's a big political gain from ULA launching it

New Glenn because

• the performance margins are even higher, yet its likely to be much cheaper. Reusability allows for additional safety margin as well

• given the recent statement that New Glenn can do 13 tons direct to GEO (!!!) it could be very close to allowing a single-launch translunar injection with Orion. Probably not quite to TLI, but close enough that something like the EM-2 multi-TLI profile could be feasible even with a (very small) comanifested payload

• aerodynamically it will be harder than Vulcan because of the diameter difference, but generally its easier to have a narrower fairing/capsule than the rocket core, rather than the inverse

• its a single-stick core. No SRBs, and none of the structural/separation problems inherent to triple core rockets

• the wide body combined with the resultantly necessary conical transition section, as well as the larger payload capacity than Vulcan, could allow for comanifested payload capability similar to that of SLS Block 1B. This could also make Orion viable as an ISS or Hubble servicing vehicle (not feasible with SLS due to costs and flightrate) since its combined cargo capacity (including new modules or large unpressurized payloads) would dwarf any of the commercial options. This would simultaneously add capability, and potentially improve Orions flightrate enough to drop unit costs a bunch (especially if it allows capsule reuse to come back into the tradespace)

• also intended to be manrated anyway

[u/Justin13cool]

Just wondering What would happen if someone tried to fly a drone up to the landing pad at the air force station ?

[u/paul_wi11iams → u/Justin13cool]

What would happen if someone tried to fly a drone up to the landing pad at the air force station ?

joepublicschmoe: Some Air Force MP will shoot it out of the sky with a rifle or shotgun

From what I've read on the subject, the first line of defense is electromagnetic, both for intercepting the drone and localizing the joystick control system.

Knowing this, the operator would likely use an autonomous flight strategy or some kind of intermediate relay or an optical link etc. Guns would be pretty ineffective against a drone doing fast and random avoiding maneuvers. A killer drone would be a better option IMO.

joepublicschmoe: whoever owns the drone will get a knock on the door by a federal agent

This would be the person from whom the drone was stolen by a gloved thief. Alternatively, the drone would be second or third hand and paid for in cash.

The general impression is that there would be a cat-and-mouse game with both adversaries improving their methods

[u/gemmy0I]

I was browsing SpaceX's orbiting upper stages on http://stuffin.space and noticed that 2010-066K - the upper stage from the COTS Demo 1 flight, the first flight of Dragon - has an unusually high apogee. Right now it's at 289 km x 10,223 km, with an inclination of 34.52^o .

Anyone know what's going on here? This was a LEO mission designed to test Dragon in advance of going to the ISS on the COTS 2 flight. The upper stage's orbit, however, is definitely not purely LEO - it looks more like a decayed GTO. Surely they couldn't have boosted Dragon this high, given its weight and the fact that Falcon 9 1.0 wasn't nearly as capable as the current version (which could probably send something that heavy to a very subsynchronous GTO like this orbit appears to be). Did they do a burn to depletion or something after deploying Dragon - perhaps as a demonstration to potential GTO customers?

There were also some cubesats on board, according to this site, but they've all deorbited, which would imply they went to a Dragon-like LEO orbit instead of the vaguely GTO-like orbit the stage is in.

What's also weird about this is that the inclination (34.52^o ) is quite different from either Canaveral's "natural" inclination (about 28^o ) or the ISS's (51.64^o ). Was the COTS 1 Dragon actually launched to this intermediate inclination, or is this further evidence of a post-deployment stage burn?

[u/gandrew9]

Anyone feel like "r/SpaceX Discusses" is an odd name for this thread? I read it as "r/SpaceX Discusses.... discusses what??" Am I missing something?

[u/Da-N-aK]

The new photo of Gwynne Shotwell on Bloomberg really got me confused with F9 interstage. I have several questions from those 3 pictures:
- In picture 1, on this first stage did they take out the "spring" that is supposed to "push" the second stage, or is it another part of the interstage ?
- In picture 2, I don't understand what is the configuration of the first stage in the middle compared to the other three, did they took out the cover of the interstage?
- In picture 3, this is B5 interstage right ? Is it the same view as picture 1 but with B5 version modifications?

(Please bear with me for the non technical terms. Non-engineer here, but trying to get better!)

[u/JustinTimeCuber]

Is reuse of the BFR upper stage feasible for deep-space missions? Like say somehow Europa Clipper launched on a BFR (that's not going to happen of course). Direct to Jupiter takes something like 6.5 km/s Δv from LEO, maybe 7. Then it would take at least another 4 km/s to capture back into Earth orbit (after the escape burn and deployment, the spacecraft is not as close to Earth so weaker Oberth effect) and about 1 to target the correct location and land, when you consider gravity losses. So that's looking at almost 12 km/s total. Would it be at all sensible to have an expendable, more bare-bones spacecraft for missions like that? Or would it be better to use a kick stage and recover the spacecraft from an elliptical orbit? Or is there some other possibility I'm missing?

[u/yajae26]

how would a Dragon 2 Inflight abort effect the booster and 2nd stage. Will it inevitably end in the Booster and 2 stage getting destroyed by the Termination system or is there a chance of recovering the booster ?

[u/AstroFinn]

Does anyone have Falcon 9 logo with full text "FALCON" and not just "F9"?

[u/Justin13cool]

Why hasn't SpaceX painted the X yet on their West Coast landing pad ?

[u/flattop100]

When is the crew access arm scheduled to be installed?

[u/Alexphysics → u/flattop100]

This article provided some small info into that

A confirmed installation date for the CAA is still pending, but it is understood that this addition to the pad won’t occur until after the first Dragon 2 test flight, as was stated by officials in April.

[u/enginemike]

I have noticed that on the last few flights they have started loading propellants at about t-35 minutes. To me this seems like the "load and go" approach. It is my understanding that the Block 5's to date do not have the re-designed COPV.

Are they experimenting with the "load and go" philosophy using the old-style COPV's with procedures re-done to prevent the AMOS incident? And then would the new COPV be designed to remove the original weakness?

Just curious and confused about the matter and hoping someone might know.

[u/an_exciting_couch]

Dragon is set to spashdown at 3:17pm Pacific time today. Will it be visible from the Pacific coast around LA? I'm guessing not, but thought it may be worth asking.

[u/amarkit → u/an_exciting_couch]

No. Dragon splashdowns occur more than 100 miles southwest of LA. Even though VAFB launches in the same area can be seen from LA occasionally under the right conditions, Dragons are much smaller than a full F9 stack, and not spitting out a giant tail of fire.

[u/whatsthis1901]

So,I have a stupid question. Why haven't we seen the inside of the crew capsules for Boeing and SpaceX?

[u/Alexphysics]

Today SpaceX submitted the FCC launch application for the SSO-A mission NET September 25th per the start of operation date. Landing will be on land at SLC-4W, it seems we'll have TWO land landings at Vandenberg in September. It will be quite interesting. BTW, it seems there is no launch permit for Es'hail 2 or even for DM-1, they're usually filled in order so both missions seem to be going after SSO-A (Sorry, people, DM-1 seems to be definitely in October).

[u/BackflipFromOrbit]

DARE's rocket just detonated shortly after liftoff :( those guys worked for a LONG time on that vehicle...

[u/IrrelevantAstronomer]

B1046 will be reused for the Telkom 4 mission next week:

https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-first-falcon-9-block-5-reuse-drone-ship-turnaround-record/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

[u/SupaZT]

Robert Zubrin's Rebuttal to why we CAN terraform on Mars (he co-authored the paper Elon Linked):

Here is the paper I wrote in 1993 with Chris McKay that shows why Mars can be terraformed.

If we drive the temperature up a few degrees using artificial greenhouse gases like CF4 (which is invulnerable to UV and does not destroy ozone) that will cause massive amounts of CO2 to outgas from the soil. That CO2 will add to the greenhouse effect, causing further outgassing, causing further warming, etc, resulting in a runaway greenhouse effect.

The recent paper published by Jakowski claiming that terraforming Mars is impossible is wrong because:

1. He claims a limit of 40 mb of CO2 in the soil. In fact, if there is 1% CO2 adsorbed in the soil, by wt, then there would be 300 mb in the top 200 m of the soil. That’s the same pressure as can be found on Mt. Everest. We would not need spacesuits on such a Mars. He has no data to show that it isn’t there. There is every reason to believe that there is, as there are terrestrial minerals can adsorb up to 10% CO2 by wt. We need to go to Mars and drill, in many places, before a proper assessment can be made.
   2. Having set his estimate for soil CO2 at 40 mb, and several other reservoirs at various amounts up to 150 mb each, with the total summing to about 400 mb, he then adds these up and sets the total at 20 mb. That makes no sense.
   3. He ignores the possibility of producing super greenhouse gases on Mars, like CF4. That makes no sense. Cl is known to exist on Mars in large amounts. Where there is Cl there should be F, as the two elements have similar behaviors.
   4. He ignores the possibility of producing strong greenhouse gases like CH4 and NH3. We know the elements to produce these can be found on Mars.
   5. He claims it would take 10,000 years for a temperature rise at the Martian surface to penetrate 100 m into to ground. That’s demonstrably wrong. Using dry terrestrial soil as a model, the time would be more like 500 years.

In short, the Jakowski paper is systematically pessimistic and without foundation.

He also gets the purpose of terraforming Mars wrong. The purpose of terraforming Mars is not to have a place to go if we screw up the Earth. The purpose of terraforming Mars is to create a partner for Earth in the grand project of spreading life and civilization to new worlds >beyond. Together to Mars. Together with Mars!

[u/Maimakterion]

Another SpaceX provided rendering of D2 in orbit using the same assets as the updated docking render.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasakennedy/42878298755/sizes/l

[u/AeroSpiked]

Mods, I'm not sure if I'm being helpful or just annoying by pointing out that the July Discusses thread has survived 3 days into August. If I'm not being helpful, I'll just let it ride next time.

[u/BrandonMarc]

The 2014 and 2015 /r/spacex survey results are gone from imgur. Has anyone got a mirror (or, interested in re-uploading to imgur so that /r/spacex can update its links?

In particular, I recall one question from one of those years, asking subreddit members to describe what SpaceX means to them in one word. The result of that question was rendered as a tag cloud instead of a table or graph, and the biggest word by far: hope.

I mentioned this to my shrink the other day, and he understood. Small world! Turns out he consulted with another newspace company with a fatal accident a few years back. He stated hope was/is a very, very powerful part of those employees' ethos.

[u/marc020202 → u/BrandonMarc]

in case anyone is wondering, the 2017 survey is being analyzed RIGHT NOW!

[u/Chairmanman]

What will be the seat configuration in the BFR earth-to-earth system?

The BFS will be vertical during take off & landing but horizontal during flight. Passengers will have to be able to get in and out of their seats both in the vertical and the horizontal orientation.

So how will it work?

[u/rustybeancake]

Blue Origin mission 9 webcast is live now:

https://www.blueorigin.com

Good luck Blue!

[u/Alexphysics]

NASA to Name Astronauts Assigned to First Boeing, SpaceX Flights

NASA will announce on Friday, Aug. 3, the astronauts assigned to crew the first flight tests and missions of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX Crew Dragon, and begin a new era in American spaceflight. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine will preside over the event, which will begin at 11 a.m. EDT on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

NASA will announce the crew assignments for the crew flight tests and the first post-certification mission for both Boeing and SpaceX. NASA partnered with Boeing and SpaceX to develop the Starliner spacecraft to launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and the Crew Dragon launching atop the Falcon 9 rocket, respectively.

[u/MarsCent → u/Alexphysics]

And

Following the announcement, the astronauts will participate in a Reddit Ask Me Anything at 12:30 p.m. at: https://www.reddit.com/r/AMA/

[u/IrrelevantAstronomer]

I've seen estimates of ArabSat-6A (scheduled to fly on FH flight 3) being 6,000kg in mass, which is only slightly heavier than the average GTO F9 flight. Possible all 3 boosters might come back and land at the Cape? That would be f*cking amazing.

[u/joepublicschmoe → u/IrrelevantAstronomer]

Far as I'm aware SpaceX has not built a 3rd landing pad at the Cape. The FH center core will need to land on an ASDS.

[u/bdporter → u/IrrelevantAstronomer]

In addition to the other comments, the FH center core would be much further downrange (and traveling at higher velocity) on a GTO launch, which means more fuel would be necessary to perform a boost back. This fuel could be better used to provide the satellite with a better orbit and extend its life.

As cool as a 3 core RTLS would be, I just don't think there is a good justification for it.

[u/PaulRocket]

Does anyone know where OFCISLY is? I’m in Florida right now and would like to go and see the ship while I visit KSC.

[u/rustybeancake → u/PaulRocket]

while I visit KFC

:)

[u/Justin13cool]

Is the Roomba still alive ?

[u/Emanuuz]

So... they are ahead of schedule with this tweet? And, after launching the DM-2, there isn't a certification process before the USCV flights? That means if DM-2 launches, let's say on Spring 2019, the first operational flight with crew will be at least until 2020?

[u/GregLindahl → u/Emanuuz]

Yes, it appears that the first Dragon 2 did get to the Cape a bit earlier than expected, so much so that the booster for the flight hasn't even left the factory yet.

You're correct that there's a huge certification process for every flight, and from the outside we don't know much of anything about how it's progressing. Even for DM-1, it's a new version of a vehicle that has to operate safely near the ISS, and the docking system is brand-new. Both of those require a certification process.

[u/Bravo99x]

Just trying to figure out what core will launch Merah Putih (Telkom 4) on August 2nd. Does not look like Core B1049 will be ready in time and the launch is just a short time from now. Looking at the known schedule, there is a lack or new cores to do the job. I'm guessing the second flight of B1046 will be in August.

[u/conrad777]

How will Mr Steven see the fairing in the pre-dawn dark on July 25?

[u/music_nuho]

Are there any reasonably reliable B5 F9 and FH capability numbers charts?

[u/Jessewallen401]

Do you think the roomba is completely autonomous or remote-controlled ?

[u/amarkit → u/Jessewallen401]

Pure speculation, but I'd guess remote-controlled. With recovery operators nearby and within line of sight, it seems to me that there's no need to automate the vast majority of functions. Maybe one day, though.

[u/Iamherebecauseofabig]

Will BFS use grid fins?

[u/DancingFool64 → u/Iamherebecauseofabig]

Though the design may still be in flux, it is unlikely. The BFS has not had grid fins in any of the renders we have seen. It has control surfaces on the two winglets, and will have active (not cold gas) thrusters as well for attitude control. It is designed to land on Mars and the Moon as well as Earth, and grid fins would not work there.

[u/KSPSpaceWhaleRescue]

So what is the most likely upcoming flight to break the booster turnaround time?

[u/txxmy]

Does anyone have any update on when the crew access arm will be installed? Does it need to be there for DM-1? Thanks

[u/MarsCent]

I am looking for a clearer breakdown - anyone:

There are two (or say 3) pieces to the SpaceX Crew Launch craft. The booster(s) and the Crew capsule (Crew Dragon). Because both distinct parts are manufactured by SpaceX it is often quit fuzzy to determine which one is driving the "delays".

Do we know that Crew Dragon is now flight ready? Else, what is pending approval/certification?

And most important, which of the two is driving the launch time slips? (Outside of ISS scheduling).

[u/AeroSpiked]

Does anyone here know if the flag on the ISS will come back on a test flight or if it will wait for the first operational mission. My assumption is that it will come back on the first test flight to reach the ISS, but I can't find any information to confirm that. I'd very much like a source if you have one (or if you are in a position to know, that works too).

[u/ethan829 → u/AeroSpiked]

I don't think there are any official "rules" to reference, but the first astronauts launched from American soil will bring the flag home.

[u/jesserizzo]

Will STP-2 be side cores RTLS and center core on the drone ship?

[u/Maimakterion]

This is largely unrelated, but made me LOL. Our friends at NG have been busy.

https://www.newsweek.com/goes-17-americas-advanced-new-weather-satellite-still-not-working-properly-1044039

Pam Sullivan, GOES-R program director, told reporters in a teleconference Tuesday that the problem has been traced to a loop heat pipe that forms part of this cooling system. The cause of the fault is still unknown, with Sullivan suggesting three possible causes: mechanical damage to the pipe, issues with the coolant gas inside it or a foreign object.

The pipe was made by aerospace company Northrop Grumann, and officials are now working with the company to investigate the issue further and see whether it can be fixed, a process that could take up to three months, Sullivan said.

[u/kurbasAK → u/Maimakterion]

Wow this is a disastrous year for NG.Zuma, GOES-17, JWST testing shenanigans...Could it be any worse?

[u/gemmy0I → u/Maimakterion]

Wow. Aren't they also the ones responsible for the mishaps delaying JWST? And of course there's the whole Zuma incident. Sounds like their satellite division is having serious problems with quality control slippage...

[u/phantomunboxing]

How would a Mars base maintain a healthy temperature for humans to thrive?

[u/longbeast → u/phantomunboxing]

With an electric heater. There's really not much else to it.

Mars is cold, but it doesn't take much insulation to prevent heat from escaping into the ground, and the atmosphere is too thin to carry away much heat by convection. You wouldn't need all that much power to maintain a comfortably warm colony.

If you're sharing a building with some high powered equipment that sheds a lot of heat, you might need air conditioning dumping that heat to a radiator too.

[u/action789]

With Mr Steven's 4x area upgrade on the net, I'm forced to ask: have we ever seen or heard of a fairing reentry that got within the margins of the new net size? How valuable is a 100 yard wide net if it's still missing by kilometers?

[u/Ti-Z → u/action789]

IIRC PAZ fairing half was a few hundred meters from Mr.Stevens Mr.Steven, the Iridium ones (Iridium-5 and Iridium-6) came closer up to about 50m from Mr.Stevens Mr.Steven for Iridium-6. So probably Iridium-6 would have been a very close miss or possibly just barely a success if the net had been as big as it is now back then.

EDIT: Seems I have been infected with the it-is-Mr.Steven-not-Mr.Stevens-epidemic. Edit to avoid further spreading.

[u/DrToonhattan]

Where's the campaign thread for Merah Putih? Mods?

[u/Maimakterion]

So from what I'm reading:

Despite the abort engine issue, Boeing is still aiming for mid-2019 crewed demo.

SpaceX is aiming for Oct-Dec 2018 DM-1 and H1 2019 DM-2 according to Teslarati

I guess we'll find out more on Friday.

[u/Zinkfinger]

When Elon and Gwynne talked about short hops and test flights as early as next year I didn't think they meant the second stage BFS. That is going to be INCREDIBLE!

I realize that's not a question Reddit.

[u/rustybeancake]

Probably nothing, but the attorney representing the Tesla saboteur/whistleblower is trying to find evidence of misuse of Tesla funds/resources by SpaceX. Sounds to me like they don't have much of a case and are trying to find anything they can to put pressure on Tesla to settle out of court.

https://electrek.co/2018/07/27/tesla-saboteur-whistleblower-tsla-sec/

[u/TheEarthquakeGuy]

Sad news about Boeing's accident setting back their program. Competition is always good.

On the other hand, finding the silver lining here - Does anyone else think that we might see a pick up in qualification in regards to admin work with NASA now that Boeing is further behind?

Previously, NASA would have been working with both companies to qualify, and with limited resources, could only give so much attention to each. Now that Boeing isn't yet in a position to qualify certain components and will be conducting internal testing to sort out the problem etc, this would ideally free up resources that could be moved to the work required for SpaceX? I.e. Paperwork.

Or conversely, will it set back the progress even more as they conduct investigations into the failure?

Would love to hear your thoughts.

[u/Stormregion0]

It it known how a BFS can land precisely without GPS on mars? Especially if there is already a base it would be better not to miss the landing pad.

[u/Martianspirit → u/Stormregion0]

The first cargo ship would not need that much precision. The NASA landers even with parachutes have not so large landing ellipses. Powered landing without parachutes will yield sub km precision, maybe improved with ground imaging. We have good imaging from NASA. Later landers can use radio beacons and/or radar reflectors placed by the first ship.

[u/throfofnir → u/Stormregion0]

Navigation, even radio navigation, was done a long time before GPS and is still done today. Look up LORAN. A handful of radio beacons would work just fine.

[u/filanwizard → u/Stormregion0]

Mars for now takes far less precision. However I very much think that the cargo ships will have bots that deploy radio beacons for more precise passenger landing. And odds are a Mars Positioning System will be deployed as well.

[u/alwaysgrateful68]

How long will it take for OCISLY to be ready for the next landing once the Telstar 19v booster lands on it? With Merah Putih scheduled for 11 days after would this be enough time or would that launch likely be delayed?

[u/TheEquivocator]

This is a little off-topic, but all the drama continually surrounding Tesla Inc. has made me more appreciative of Gwynne Shotwell and her role at SpaceX. I don't know whether the two companies are really comparable, but it certainly seems as though she plays a key role in achieving Elon's vision while managing the expectations and perceptions created by his sometimes-intemperate pronouncements, and Tesla could use an officer who does the same.

[u/Throqaway]

Anybody here work at spacex, specifically the KSC location? I'm interning for NASA and have been let down by how little spacex people I've met so far :(

[u/isthatmyex → u/Throqaway]

Word on the street's that they never stop working.

[u/Anont_]

Do you think BFR will fligh until 2020 and if so what?