SpaceX

[profloater]

The flaps can adjust pitch, yaw, and roll. and to a degree fore and aft position. Just don't think of them as traditional airfoils because they have no lift
producing profilee - flat as a board.

https://youtu.be/fRdoP1sJP_s

Just as a detail, flat boards can generate lift both sub sonic and super sonic, it’s just a limited range of incidence angles. But of course the forces need to be transferred to the body. As drag boards the cop is at mid point, if used for aerofoil lift the cop is at quarter chord subsonic.
It moves back supersonic. So I can see the current design is just for drag based attitude control. As soon as the incidence is not 90 degrees there is what we would call lift as a vector. As well as reduced drag. That is how they work! The normal convention for naming lift has to be reversed when used like that.

[Roger E. Moore]

(many photos/videos) Half a day after Starship serial number 10 (SN10) became the first prototype to land in one piece, SpaceX has begun clearing its remains and preparing to roll the next rocket to the launch pad. Never one to rest on its laurels, SpaceX appears to be wasting no time moving forward from Starship SN10’s successful landing and subsequent explosion. Almost a month ago, SpaceX stacked SN10’s successor – Starship SN11 – to its full height and has spent the last four weeks closing out the virtually identical rocket. As of SN10’s launch debut, Starship SN11 has been more or less finished and ready to roll to the launch pad for at least a week.

https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-sta...ing-explosion/

[Trebuchet]

Am I correct in thinking that the landing legs are just latched in the folded position, unlatched, and are expected to deploy by gravity and latch in the landing position, with no positive actuation?

[Van Rijn]

I have no real answer, but I would think they would need to lock to be effective.

Different question if anyone knows: What are these “boots” they keep mentioning in regards to the Falcon 9 landing failure? I haven’t seen a good answer in articles, and Google searches have been useless because the terms are too generic. Oh, and there are literal rocket boots, as in boots with rockets out there.

[Nicolas]

The "boots" are covers to keep heat (gas) from climbing up the rocket between the engines. Unless I'm mistaken, they are the cloth like material you can see sealing between the engines and the metal bottom of the rocket:

https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-conte...ED-800x490.jpg

[docmordrid]

SpaceX has been cleared to use Starlink on their droneships

https://apps.fcc.gov/els/GetAtt.html?id=267270

and they're hiring for droneship, fairing recovery and refurb operations at Vandenberg, so operations there will be restarting. This can only mean their new droneship,*A Shortfall of Gravitas, is nearing completion.

https://twitter.com/SpaceXFleet/stat...73205592014852

[docmordrid]

Well, well...

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/n...s-capabilities

SpaceX will partner with NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, to capture imagery and thermal measurements of its Starship vehicle during orbital re-entry over the Pacific Ocean. With the data, the company plans to advance a reusable thermal protection system, which protects the vehicle from aerodynamic heating, for missions returning from low-Earth orbit, the Moon, and Mars.

[Van Rijn]

The "boots" are covers to keep heat (gas) from climbing up the rocket between the engines. Unless I'm mistaken, they are the cloth like material you can see sealing between the engines and the metal bottom of the rocket:

https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-conte...ED-800x490.jpg

Thanks, that makes sense.

[Van Rijn]

Well, well...

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/n...s-capabilities

There are some other cool things there, like work on developing a simple dust removal system for solar panels (would be really useful on Mars) and a 3D automated habitat printer for the Artemis program. I know there has been some proof of concept work done on a hab printer, but it sounds like NASA is getting serious about it. Having robots doing a lot of the habitat construction/printing on the Moon and eventually Mars could be extremely helpful.

[docmordrid]

Starlink v1.0 Launch 20

Date: March 9, 2021
Time: 2158 Eastern (0258 UT)
Pad: LC-40
Booster: 1058.6
​​​Recovery: ASDS
Fairing recovery: yes

[Jerry]

Just as a detail, flat boards can generate lift both sub sonic and super sonic, it’s just a limited range of incidence angles. But of course the forces need to be transferred to the body. As drag boards the cop is at mid point, if used for aerofoil lift the cop is at quarter chord subsonic.
It moves back supersonic. So I can see the current design is just for drag based attitude control. As soon as the incidence is not 90 degrees there is what we would call lift as a vector. As well as reduced drag. That is how they work! The normal convention for naming lift has to be reversed when used like that.

The entire bottom surface of a 777 is calculated as wing cross section, curved or otherwise a solid surface provides lift if canted into a gas flow. All you need to fly is a barn door and a way to keep it facing into the wind. The Adama maneuver was sweet, and the whole thing looked like an out-take from a Flash Gordon movie in the 1920s.

[Noclevername]

The good thing about a private concern, unlike national space programs, is that they can weather a big public explosion, gather themselves up, and move on to continue the work. It's a lot safer to test a rocket to destruction before it's used for crewed missions.

[docmordrid]

Updated SpaceX Boca Chica site plans were found on an Army Corps of Engineers site, about 29 mb.

https://www.swg.usace.army.mil/Media...cameron-count/

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: SpaceX proposed to modify the existing permit for the continued development of the SpaceX vertical launch area with the expansion and addition of test, orbital, and landing pads, integration towers, associated infrastructure, stormwater management features and vehicle parking. The proposed expansion will impact 10.94 acres of mud flats, 5.94 acres of estuarine wetlands, and 0.28 acres of non-tidal wetlands.

PDF
https://www.swg.usace.army.mil/Porta...cHf1LGzw%3D%3D

[Roger E. Moore]

Want a Job with SpaceX? SpaceX Plans To Catch Starship's Super Heavy Rocket Booster & Is Hiring To Develop It.

https://www.tesmanian.com/blogs/tesm...g/starshipsn10

[Extravoice]

Want a Job with SpaceX? SpaceX Plans To Catch Starship's Super Heavy Rocket Booster & Is Hiring To Develop It.

https://www.tesmanian.com/blogs/tesm...g/starshipsn10

Be prepared to work like a dog. My nephew interned at their Hawthorne facility and said the pace was quite intense.

Which should surprise no one, given the highly visible pace at their Boca Chica facility.

[docmordrid]

Leo 🚀 @TerminalCount
Mar 6, 2021
A very interesting job posting for @SpaceX!

Looking for a Software Engineer who can help develop the “Super Heavy launch/catch tower.”

So... the whole catching concept is more than just an idea 🤯

#SpaceX #Starship @elonmusk
20210307_145705.jpg
|
Calen Gray @calengray
Just develop software to control a 450 foot tower to catch the worlds most advanced rocket booster. No pressure 🥲.

https://twitter.com/calengray/status...21834529959942

[docmordrid]

New assembly stand for Super Heavy, and they've stacked a segment on it...

https://twitter.com/BocaChicaGal/sta...93052503236610

https://twitter.com/BocaChicaGal/sta...98140144779266

[Roger E. Moore]

Starship SN11 prepares for rollout as SpaceX plans for the future.

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2021...-plans-future/

[docmordrid]

SN-11 Roll-Out livestream

Screenshot_2021-03-08-10-06-57-859.jpeg

https://youtu.be/UynhUVEkpg0

[Roger E. Moore]

SN-11 Roll-Out livestream

Screenshot_2021-03-08-10-06-57-859.jpeg

https://youtu.be/UynhUVEkpg0

Lookin' good! Comments section is amusing ("They see me rollin'...").

[Roger E. Moore]

SpaceX reveals the grand extent of its starport plans in South Texas. The company will have two orbital, and two suborbital launch pads.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2021...n-south-texas/

[Swift]

SpaceX reveals the grand extent of its starport plans in South Texas. The company will have two orbital, and two suborbital launch pads.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2021...n-south-texas/

I don't know if it is buried in this thread among the 4500+ posts, but I'd find it interesting to know the pros and cons of this launch site. I assume some of the pros were closer to the equator, close to the ocean (either bad launches crashing in the ocean or landing on drone ships), and low population density. I would think one of the cons would be hurricanes, though I might also imagine that recruiting staff to live in the area could be a challenge.

[cjameshuff]

I don't know if it is buried in this thread among the 4500+ posts, but I'd find it interesting to know the pros and cons of this launch site. I assume some of the pros were closer to the equator, close to the ocean (either bad launches crashing in the ocean or landing on drone ships), and low population density. I would think one of the cons would be hurricanes, though I might also imagine that recruiting staff to live in the area could be a challenge.

Close to the ocean and low population density would be the two really big pros. I've seen people (non-residents) complaining about them buying up Boca Chica properties, saying that SpaceX could just go somewhere else...well, no, they can't. There's a very limited number of suitable sites.

Hurricanes are definitely a con. Most of Boca Chica's plots are actually under water since a hurricane changed the topography shortly after it was established. SpaceX had to go to fairly heroic efforts to prepare the ground to handle heavy buildings and machinery, piling up dirt and draining out water from soggy ground over the course of several years. Also, there's limited inclinations that can be reached without overflying populated areas downrange. Perhaps these restrictions could be relaxed after they've built a sufficient safety record.

[docmordrid]

I don't know if it is buried in this thread among the 4500+ posts, but I'd find it interesting to know the pros and cons of this launch site. I assume some of the pros were closer to the equator, close to the ocean (either bad launches crashing in the ocean or landing on drone ships), and low population density. I would think one of the cons would be hurricanes, though I might also imagine that recruiting staff to live in the area could be a challenge.

Hurricanes are a risk, but an infrequent one. Most hit the Yucatan or swerve north to hit Galveston to New Orleans. They've also built much of the sensitive infrastructure above the historic surge levels. They started by hauling in soil for a gigantic surcharge mound. That's where the suborbital pads and tank farm are now. The orbital pads will be atop extremely deep pilings and massive. Ditto the 450 foot tall launch towers.

SN-11 Roll-Out...

Sped up
https://youtu.be/Fqj_cWTJf4I

For scale - like a 16 story building driving by.
https://twitter.com/cnunezimages/sta...30578092277763

[CJSF]

Hurricanes are a risk, but an infrequent one. Most hit the Yucatan or swerve north to hit Galveston to New Orleans.

...or, not so much.

https://i.gyazo.com/e3cbe1aa255bb1ee...6e40244fb7.png

CJSF

[docmordrid]

SN-10 issues...

Austin Barnard🚀 @austinbarnard45
Mar 9, 2021
Just prior to SN11 being placed onto the launch mount, SpaceX employees lowered down each and every landing leg. Testing them, so unlike during the SN10 flight; they will hopefully deploy properly this time.
|
Elon Musk ✓ @elonmusk
SN10 engine was low on thrust due (probably) to partial helium ingestion from fuel header tank. Impact of 10m/s crushed legs & part of skirt. Multiple fixes in work for SN11.
3:09 PM · Mar 9, 2021

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1369379914139451406

[bknight]

SN-10 issues...

Austin Barnard�� @austinbarnard45
Mar 9, 2021
Just prior to SN11 being placed onto the launch mount, SpaceX employees lowered down each and every landing leg. Testing them, so unlike during the SN10 flight; they will hopefully deploy properly this time.
|
Elon Musk ✓ @elonmusk
SN10 engine was low on thrust due (probably) to partial helium ingestion from fuel header tank. Impact of 10m/s crushed legs & part of skirt. Multiple fixes in work for SN11.
3:09 PM · Mar 9, 2021

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1369379914139451406

Those kind of problems likely stem from the engine restart in the horizontal position.

[Trebuchet]

Those kind of problems likely stem from the engine restart in the horizontal position.

Yes, that sounds quite possible. Although they got all three going in that position then transitioned to vertical with upward acceleration, so I dunno.

[Nicolas]

I assume the fixes they're working on will not be too involved as far as the legs are concerned, given that SN15 and beyond will have a totally different design anyway.

The helium ingestion also is something to look into, but as far as I know the ultimate goal is to restart without using helium in the header tanks.

[Roger E. Moore]

SpaceX Should Build NASA's Rockets Amid $20bn SLS Cost: Ex-NASA Administrator Lori Garver.

https://www.newsweek.com/nasa-sls-co...garver-1574406

QUOTE: Garver told host Bill Whitaker: "I would not have recommended the government build a $27 billion rocket when the private sector is building rockets nearly as large for no cost to the taxpayer."