SpaceX News

[WLJ]

Well thanks China

Slingshot Aerospace
@sling_shot_aero
🚨 Slingshot Orbital Alert 🚨

Following China's launch of 18 G60 satellites on August 6th, Slingshot is tracking over 50 pieces of space debris that pose a significant hazard to LEO constellations below 800 km altitude.

Chris Bergin - NSF reposted
Alejandro Alcantarilla Romera (Alex)
@Alexphysics13
This is definitely not the ideal time to have over 50 pieces of uncontrolled debris - and probably more still to be tracked. At such high altitude it will take years and years for those to come down and, as they do so, they will cross the orbits of thousands of Starlinks

Alejandro Alcantarilla Romera (Alex)
@Alexphysics13
·
2h
Upper stage blew up after deploying the satellites

 

https://x.com/Alexphysics13/status/1821328205787070484

[WLJ]

Scott Manley raises an interesting point that politics could be at play here in the decision making considering K. Harris is head of the National Space Council.
He doesn't mention it but as I brought up in a previous post remember SpX is owned by an open Trump supporter so keep that in mind.
Maybe they want to push any decision to after the election.

Will Astronaut's 8 Day Mission Turn into an 8 Month Mission? Starliner Answers Slowly Emerge.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKbDApzT1iw

[AZRedhawk44]

Scott Manley raises an interesting point that politics could be at play here in the decision making considering K. Harris is head of the National Space Council.
He doesn't mention it but as I brought up in a previous post SpX is owned by an open Trump supporter.

Will Astronaut's 8 Day Mission Turn into an 8 Month Mission? Starliner Answers Slowly Emerge.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKbDApzT1iw

America HATES dead astronauts.  If Harris or Nelson turn it political and those astronauts die, it will cost them the election and their positions.

[Ben]

Well thanks China

Interestingly and coincidently, Jack Carr's latest Terminal List book has China and a "Soros" character plotting to destroy hundreds of LEO satellites, sending the rest of the world into Chaos, since most critical sats are LEO. The book said that most of China's sats are in higher orbits. I don't know if that's true in the real world as well.

[MillCreek]

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg4yqepr469o.amp

Up until now, I had not realized that the Crew Dragon with two empty seats for Butch and Suni will be at the ISS until February 2025.  A very long mission for them if they return on Crew Dragon.

[RocketMan]

Bad optics for Harris the Space Czar if Butch and Suni get croaked during their return.  Better to wait until after the election.

[WLJ]

This keeps getting better and better
But do you expect from people who seem to think nothing of launching over and dropping expended boosters into populated areas

https://x.com/Starlink/status/1821689687788155072

Square profile picture
Starlink
@Starlink
The Starlink team is closely monitoring the debris created by a mishap of the upper stage of the Long March 6A rocket. The debris does not pose a significant immediate risk to the Starlink constellation, but most is likely to remain in space for decades due to the incident occurring at a high altitude (~800km).
 
Space safety and sustainability are technical challenges but they can be managed with transparent communication on asset locations (current and planned), proactive mitigations like deorbiting upper stages after payload dispense, and passive safety measures such as inserting at lower altitudes and raising to an operational orbit.

SpaceX recently suffered a launch mishap of our own, however our strategy to drop off Starlink satellites below 300km (and operating at low altitudes in general) helped ensure that any debris released from that event re-entered within days. And by design, Starlink satellites fully demise upon reentry, posing no threat to public safety.
 
We, acting as a community, should implement best practices to keep space safe and sustainable → https://api.starlink.com/public-files/G

[WLJ]

Interestingly and coincidently, Jack Carr's latest Terminal List book has China and a "Soros" character plotting to destroy hundreds of LEO satellites, sending the rest of the world into Chaos, since most critical sats are LEO. The book said that most of China's sats are in higher orbits. I don't know if that's true in the real world as well.

Someone on X brought up the point that Starlink bypasses the "The Great Firewall" assuming someone they can get an antenna of cause or maybe make one..
But then someone countered with with "but they're launching their own". Yeah but they have control over their system not Elon's.

Just stuff so far and I think it's more of case the Chinese don't give a *expletive deleted*it as usual but we'll see

[Ben]

Someone on X brought up the point that Starlink bypasses the "The Great Firewall" assuming someone they can get an antenna of cause or maybe make one..
But then someone countered with with "but they're launching their own". Yeah but they have control over their system not Elon's.

Just stuff so far and I think it's more of case the Chinese don't give a *expletive deleted*it as usual but we'll see

And I was (as usual) unclear in my first post. I brought that up because the premise in the book was that destroying enough LEO stuff would keep everybody else from even launching replacements or anything else, and only high orbit stuff that's already up would be operational until the debris field cleared, which could be decades. Carr usually does extensive real world research into that stuff. I'm going to have to look up whichever books or research reports he read  to see what the background on that is.

[dogmush]

I don't have the twitter links handy on this computer, but SpaceX posted a picture of their very elegant Raptor 3 design.

The head of ULA posted that there was no need to post pictures of partially assembled engines to brag, as it was very obviously missing parts.

Then the COO of SpaceX posted a picture of the engine running on a test stand.

a X.com "burn" if you will.

[WLJ]

Posted these comparison photos a couple of pages back.
The difference between 1 & 2 was massive but between 1 and 2 and then 3...Woah!



Here's the "partially assembled engine" running

[WLJ]

Here's Elon's thread on the matter
There's a couple of people in the comments calling it fake.

https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1821700452930515321

[WLJ]

Someone posted this and I will note there are a few more parts on the one on the test stand vs  the one on the pallet but nothing major as I'm thinking fuel lines among a few other items not fitted until installation

[WLJ]

Boeing Compensates Stranded Astronauts With $50 Red Lobster Gift Cards
https://babylonbee.com/news/boeing-compensates-stranded-astronauts-with-50-red-lobster-gift-cards

[WLJ]

More Boeing

The NASA program to develop a new upper stage for the Space Launch System rocket is seven years behind schedule and significantly over budget, a new report from the space agency's inspector general finds. However, beyond these headline numbers, there is also some eye-opening information about the project's prime contractor, Boeing, and its poor quality control practices.

Way over costs and 7 years behind schedule and counting
Hmm, wonder if DEI hiring had anything to do with this?

"According to Safety and Mission Assurance officials at NASA and DCMA officials at Michoud, Boeing’s quality control issues are largely caused by its workforce having insufficient aerospace production experience," the report states. "The lack of a trained and qualified workforce increases the risk that the contractor will continue to manufacture parts and components that do not adhere to NASA requirements and industry standards."

This lack of a qualified workforce has resulted in significant program delays and increased costs. According to the new report, "unsatisfactory" welding operations resulted in propellant tanks that did not meet specifications, which directly led to a seven-month delay in the program.

I'll take that as a definite maybe

A new report finds Boeing’s rockets are built with an unqualified work force
https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/08/a-new-report-finds-boeings-rockets-are-built-with-an-unqualified-work-force/

[WLJ]

Here's Marcus House with his weekly update

What SpaceX Just Revealed is a Massive Breakthrough
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFBWeyIXjO0

The Tower B flame trench is starting to take shape.
Oh did I mention T-B is getting a flame trench?
I think maybe the government's concern about the amount of water used and dumped may have as much to do with it as anything and a flame trench would probably cut down on the amount of water used...maybe.

[AZRedhawk44]

Here's Marcus House with his weekly update

What SpaceX Just Revealed is a Massive Breakthrough
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFBWeyIXjO0

The Tower B flame trench is starting to take shape.
Oh did I mention T-B is getting a flame trench?
I think maybe the government's concern about the amount of water used and dumped may have as much to do with it as anything and a flame trench would probably cut down on the amount of water used...maybe.

That was something the enviros were pushing, more than the government.  It turned out to be a non issue compared to rainfall unless they started launching weekly to daily.  They did some serious number crunching on the water quantity and delivery pressure and most of it turns to vapor, which is seriously impressive.

[WLJ]

That was something the enviros were pushing, more than the government.  It turned out to be a non issue compared to rainfall unless they started launching weekly to daily.  They did some serious number crunching on the water quantity and delivery pressure and most of it turns to vapor, which is seriously impressive.

Enviros or not concerns and limits placed on the amount of water was in the FAA docs so until the government enforced the limit the enviros could go pound sand.

[Ben]

Holy crap, what a *expletive deleted*ck up. No automated undocking, and if it's done manually, the astronaut can't spacewalk out because the hatch is too small to fit an EVA suit. This can't be real?!?

Boeing Starliner could be junk and stuck at the Space Station permanently.

NASA has lost confidence in the safety of the Starliner due to leaks and won't allow astronauts to return on it.

But Boeing installed software on Starliner that does not provide for automated undocking. They need a human inside of the Starliner to undock. But the problem is, there would be no way to get the astronaut back on the Space Station, the space suits are too bulky to fit thru the port.

Boeing wants to upload new software while Starliner is in space, but NASA is worried it will fail and then brick Starliner forever, thus blocking one of only two ports where Dragon and others arrive and leave from.

The two astronauts were only supposed to be on the space station for 8 days for this Starliner test flight and have now been there for 2 months. The most likely plan is for their return in February 2025 aboard a Dragon Crew capsule.

https://twitchy.com/amy-curtis/2024/08/11/nasa-astronauts-stuck-in-space-until-feb-kamala-chairs-national-space-council-n2399487

[WLJ]

Yeah we keep hearing SL is currently incapable of automated undocking but the first test flight obviously could do it. If this flight doesn't has the software installed to do it why the heck was it removed?

[Doggy Daddy]

Boeing Starliner could be junk and stuck at the Space Station permanently.

Charge Boeing rent for use of that port.

[BobR]

Charge Boeing rent for use of that port.

They would just tack the cost onto the price they are charging to get the Air Force E7A Wedgetail up and running. Although I was of the belief the Australians and others were already flying/using that platform.

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/boeing-gets-256-billion-contract-us-air-force-e-7a-wedgetail-aircraft-2024-08-09/

The Brits only paid L630 million (800Mish US dollars) each for theirs. The must be stripped down models.

https://www.airforce-technology.com/features/latest-figures-show-uk-e7-wedgetails-will-cost-630m-apiece/#:~:text=The%20three%20E%2D7%20Wedgetail,from%20an%20initial%20five%20platforms.

bob

[WLJ]

I fully expect hit piece articles like this to increase

Mario Nawfal
@MarioNawfal
🇺🇸SPACEX HITS BACK AT INACCURATE CNBC STORY

In a lengthy article, CNBC claimed that SpaceX was using a water cooling system, known as a deluge system, during its launches of Starship that was unauthorized.

Despite updating the article following SpaceX’s rebuttal, they still claim the system was unauthorized:

“SpaceX pressed ahead with its third test flight of Starship, again using its unauthorized water deluge system at the launch site.”

SpaceX categorically refuted that they had ever used the deluge system without prior approval from regulators:

“Throughout our ongoing coordination with both TCEQ and the EPA, we have explicitly asked if operation of the deluge system needed to stop and we were informed that operations could continue.”
Mario Nawfal
@MarioNawfal
🇺🇸SPACEX HITS BACK AT INACCURATE CNBC STORY

In a lengthy article, CNBC claimed that SpaceX was using a water cooling system, known as a deluge system, during its launches of Starship that was unauthorized.

Despite updating the article following SpaceX’s rebuttal, they still claim the system was unauthorized:

“SpaceX pressed ahead with its third test flight of Starship, again using its unauthorized water deluge system at the launch site.”

SpaceX categorically refuted that they had ever used the deluge system without prior approval from regulators:

“Throughout our ongoing coordination with both TCEQ and the EPA, we have explicitly asked if operation of the deluge system needed to stop and we were informed that operations could continue.”

https://x.com/MarioNawfal/status/1823236645212049494

[WLJ]

Full SpX rebuttal to CNBC's article

https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1823080774012481862

[MillCreek]

^^^I have to say that was a very good explanation of the deluge system that even I could follow.  I now more or less think BFD about concerns of expanding the deluge system.  It also answered something I had wondered for a while: they are using fresh water instead of salt.  Which I wonder about given how the ocean is right there in both Texas and Florida.  Maybe they are concerned about corrosion of the launchpad infrastructure.