SpaceX News

[WLJ]

[WLJ]

Watching Marcus House's update and some things of note

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

- The OLM water cooled defector plate has now taken on a bright golden color due to heat. Can be seen at 0:48
- Elon said SS despite the damage had landed to within 6km of the target
- S30 is having it's tiles removed to be replaced by newer tiles which are "2x" stronger plus a ablative shield is being installed underneath as a just in case measure.
- The other forward flap (left) did suffer damage but not as severe. The lower two may have lost some tiles.
- Elon has discussed the new flap design and the forward flaps will be shifting leeward. Image of what that may look like at 12:58
- According to FAA docs possibility of a tower devoted strictly to catching* at The Cape
- They may also be looking at drone ship landings

* Having a tower devoted strictly to catching without OLM and all the plumbing and whatnot make sense to me being less prone to catastrophe damage in case of a whoopsie

[BobR]

Is it about time to jettison the Boeing Starliner to burn up on re-entry and figure out another way to get the test crew home?

https://scitechdaily.com/starliners-return-delayed-yet-again-what-lies-ahead-for-the-spacecraft/


bob

[WLJ]

Is it about time to jettison the Boeing Starliner to burn up on re-entry and figure out another way to get the test crew home?

https://scitechdaily.com/starliners-return-delayed-yet-again-what-lies-ahead-for-the-spacecraft/


bob

Saw something a couple of days about the possibility of them coming back on a SpX Dragon. Dismissed it at the time as the usual "oh no, this is the end of..." internet doom chatter but more is coming out.
I'm sure calling Elon for a rescue is the last thing both NASA and Boeing want to do right now but they may have to.

I'm also seeing it's for extra testing so could be nothing, we'll see

[WLJ]

Chris Bergin - NSF reposted
Tyler Gray
@TylerG1998
#Boeing’s #Starliner #CFT spacecraft is now set to undock from the #ISS on Tue., June 25, followed by a return to Earth on Wed., June 26, according to #NASA & Boeing.

The new date gives mission teams extra time to perform data analysis.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=4TXDed

https://x.com/TylerG1998/status/1803104577862115590

[RocketMan]

From what I've read, most of the thruster problems are with the service module.  That module is jettisoned before the crew capsule returns to earth.  Because the service module is destroyed on re-entry, there will be no hardware that can be examined to determine what is causing the thruster faults.  The extra time on orbit is being used to collect as much data as possible so that the service module thruster problems can be resolved.
Six thrusters on the service module failed, but NASA and Boeing have been able to recover five of them.  Only one remains in a failed state.  The helium manifold leakage they are worried about only occurs when the thruster system is active.  When the system is not enabled, there is no helium leakage.  NASA claims there is more than enough helium to pressurize the thruster propellant to get the capsule safely back to Earth, even with the leakage.
Of course, all of this is predicated on NASA and Boeing being truthful.

[WLJ]

Stuckliner 

[WLJ]

Now they're talking about some time in July...maybe

NASA, Boeing Adjust Timeline for Starliner Return
https://blogs.nasa.gov/boeing-crew-flight-test/2024/06/21/nasa-boeing-adjust-timeline-for-starliner-return/

[WLJ]

Marcus House with his weekly update

Of note
-Elon said they are indeed aiming for a booster catch in F5 maybe as early as late July (FAA may have something to say about that, catch? and remember this is Elon time)
- Base of tower 2 is coming together

SpaceX Starship Critical Upgrade and a New Crazy Test Unveiled!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0jhoC0JU2w

[WLJ]

Chris Bergin - NSF
@NASASpaceflight
The B14.1 test tank has been installed on the Orbital Launch Mount (OLM) and released from its loadspreader.

https://x.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1804500762917040427

Some are saying they may do chop stick tests if so that will be most interesting.. I'm thinking crane assist catches as I'm not seeing any Raptors installed.

[WLJ]

And this weeks winner of Chinese booster bingo is......
And that thing uses hypergolic fuel. Can you say extremely toxic? I knew you could

China 'N Asia Spaceflight 🚀𝕏 🛰️
@CNSpaceflight
🙀 Behind the scenes of SVOM launch

https://x.com/CNSpaceflight/status/1804542638034661522

 Why you don't launch over populated areas but they don't flipping care.
sigh

This was the launch https://www.spacelaunchschedule.com/launch/long-march-2c-space-variable-objects-monitor-svom/

[WLJ]

Helium is not the only thing leaking

NASA
@NASA
Today's spacewalk has been cancelled due to a water leak in the service and cooling umbilical unit on NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson's spacesuit. Stay tuned to the broadcast and follow the @Space_Station
 blog for mission updates: https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

https://x.com/NASA/status/1805234099960893710

[WLJ]

And for Falcon Heavy fans

 SpaceX Falcon Heavy Launches GOES-U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kMlfbo1lts

GOES-U will provide advanced imagery and atmospheric measurements of Earth’s weather, oceans, and environment, as well as real-time mapping of total lightning activity and improved monitoring of solar activity and space weather.

Window opens on June 25th at 5:16PM EDT (21:16 UTC) and lasts for 2 hours)

Mission: Falcon Heavy launch of NOAA's GOES-U
Launch location: Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, Earth.
Target orbit: High Perigee Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit
Boosters: B1072-1 and B1086-1 as side boosters, B1087 as center core.
Booster histories: All three boosters are brand-new.
Booster recovery: Side boosters will land at SpaceX's Landing Zone 1 and Landing Zone 2. Center core will be expended.
Fairing recovery: Doug
Rocket trajectory: Straight East out of the Cape
Payload mass: About 5 tonnes
Stubby nozzle: NO (thankfully)
Stats:
  · SpaceX's 67th launch of the year and the 10th launch of the month.
  · 330th Falcon orbital launch since Amos 6.
  · Falcon Heavy's 10th flight.
  · SpaceX's 85th launch from LC-39A
  · 41st landing on LZ-1 out of 42 attempts.
  · 11th landing on LZ-2 out of 11 attempts
  · 249th and 250th successful landing since the last failed one.

[WLJ]

SpX reporting weather 30%

[WLJ]

[WLJ]

[WLJ]

They're doing chopstick tests with B14.1 and they whacked it hard at 11:34:50 CDT.
Pretty sure it was on purpose.

Live feed

SpaceX Tests Chopstick System for Catch Using B14.1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8jkRfGA6XE

[WLJ]

Chris Bergin - NSF
@NASASpaceflight
Falcon 9 B1062 completes 22 launches and landings - a new SpaceX record.

https://x.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1806287075173376490

[WLJ]

[WLJ]

SMX 🇺🇸
@iam_smx
How SpaceX made Sci-Fi a Reality through the Battle with Blue Origin.

In 2010, Blue Origin patented using drone ships to reuse rocket boosters. Elon Musk's SpaceX, needing similar technology, challenged this in court, arguing the idea was already known by 2009.

The judge found SpaceX's argument reasonable, noting that the concept of drone ships was even featured in a 1959 Soviet sci-fi film, "The Sky Beckons." This led Blue Origin to drop most of its patent claims.

https://x.com/iam_smx/status/1805333590927876320

[MillCreek]

WLJ, as our local expert, do you think that the Starliner will be used for crew return, or is someone going to have to mount a rescue mission?

[WLJ]

WLJ, as our local expert, do you think that the Starliner will be used for crew return, or is someone going to have to mount a rescue mission?

Don't call me an expert
X = Unknown quantity
Spurt =  Well, use your imagination
Joke works better vocally than in a written format 

Anyhow

Honestly I don't know. See a lot of doom and gloom talk but the official word from NASA is that it's fine and they're taking the time to test systems in a way that can only be done in orbit. The leaks are in the service module which will be jettisoned before reentry so they want to get a handle on what's going on while Starliner is still in orbit. The leaks supposedly only occur when the thrusters are in active mode and they're keeping the effected thrusters off until needed and there's plenty of helium for a return.
We'll see. If SpX starts rolling a previously unscheduled Crew Dragon to the pad I would say that would be a good sign something they're not telling us is going on.

And I'm still not a expert just an interested amateur. Pretty sure there are people on here who know far more about some of this than I do.

[WLJ]

SpX has been selected by NASA to develop and deliver the vehicle to deorbit the ISS. Contract has a reported potential value of $843 million.
Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if they just mod a Cargo Dragon and call it a day

NASA Selects International Space Station US Deorbit Vehicle
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-selects-international-space-station-us-deorbit-vehicle/

[WLJ]

Unplanned Chinese rocket booster bingo
Whoops

In China Space Pioneer was performing a static fire test of the Booster for their Tianlong 3 rocket, a design which is a close copy of SpaceX's Falcon 9.
Due to an engineering failure the rocket broke free of the test stand, flew under power for about 30 seconds before crashing back to Earth in a spectacular fireball.

You can hear glass breaking after it crashed so it broke some windows. But it could have been a lot worse considering it was in the middle of a populated area.

China's SpaceX Copy Destroyed in Bizarre Test Failure - Booster Static Fire Becomes Flight Test
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3-Kw9u37I0

[WLJ]

JWST looks at Jupiter and finds something unexpected

Webb finds never-before-seen structures above Jupiter’s Great Red Spot
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2024/06/webb-jupiter/