SpaceX, Blue Origin, Virigin Galactic and other Private Space Companies Thread

[Elderberry]

Branson wants to shoot tourists into space.  I don't think the 10s of Gs produced from being shot out of a cannon is conducive to Branson's objective.

You're right. I don't think he even has plans, at least in the near term to even achieve low earth orbit. Only sub-orbital flights into space and then down again with passengers.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/virgin-galactics-plan-to-revolutionize-travel-on-earth-113934966.html

Virgin Galactic’s plan to monetize space tourism includes using its “proprietary technologies and capabilities for other commercial and governmental uses,” according to the company’s first earnings report released last week. Its growth strategy also envisions the development of “high speed global mobility vehicles that drastically reduce travel time from point to point,” for instance from Los Angeles to Tokyo in just two hours.

[Elderberry]

Starship SN4 LIVE Static Fire Attempt From SpaceX's Boca Chica Launch Site

SpaceX is set to conduct a static fire attempt of the Starship SN4 prototype from their Boca Chica, Texas launch site. This will be the first static fire of a Raptor engine on a Starship vehicle.


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[Elderberry]

Well it didn't blow up. It was hard to see through all the fog.

[sneakypete]

You're right. I don't think he even has plans, at least in the near term to even achieve low earth orbit. Only sub-orbital flights into space and then down again with passengers.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/virgin-galactics-plan-to-revolutionize-travel-on-earth-113934966.html

@Elderberry

That boy is going to end up making,AND EARNING,"stoopid money".

[kevindavis007]

Starship SN4 Static Fire Test

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cp2oaguCzN8

[Elderberry]

SpaceX Boca Chica - Starship SN6 build-up begins amid SN4 testing and SN5 stacking


NASASpaceflight

Ahead of another test of Starship SN4 tonight, SN5 stacking ops continue around the VAB and sections of SN6 have been spotted out in the wild near the big tents!


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[Elderberry]

SpaceX fires up Starship rocket twice in 30 hours ahead of next big tests

TESLARATI by Eric Ralph 5/8/2020

SpaceX has successfully fired up a full-scale Starship rocket for the second time in barely 30 hours and removed the ship’s Raptor engine to perform an additional suite of “cryo testing”.

Around 7pm CDT on May 6th, SpaceX technicians began loading the fourth full-scale Starship with liquid oxygen and methane, filling up a large portion of its massive propellant tanks. Just the latest in a line of several tests involving wet dress rehearsals (WDR) completed in the days prior, this test would soon become exceptional. About an hour and a half after work began, Starship SN4’s lone Raptor engine ignited and burned for ~3 seconds, marking the first time in history a next-generation SpaceX rocket truly came alive with one of the engines designed to take it all the way to orbit.

In line with tests performed with Starhopper – a low-fidelity, subscale tested that flew twice with Raptor – last year, it would have been business as usual if SpaceX had called it a day and moved on to something else with Starship SN4. Instead, Starship performed another WDR and fired up its Raptor engine for a second time in just 30 hours after SpaceX teams inspected the rocket and cleared it for another round. It’s unknown why two back-to-back static fires were performed but, to be clear, every step Starship SN4 takes forward is a step into uncharted territory. Already, the ship’s next steps could come as soon as Friday, May 8th.

According to CEO Elon Musk, SpaceX’s second Starship SN4 static fire test was completed successfully and actually marked the operational debut of a critical aspect of the next-generation launch vehicle and spacecraft. Known as header tanks, Starship needs two smaller secondary propellant tanks to complement its main tanks, a need driven mainly by the challenges of landing such a large and mobile spacecraft. Smaller header tanks will also make it dramatically easier for SpaceX to insulate cryogenic propellant and ensure it remains liquid over long-duration cruises in space, but safe and reliable landings are a more pressing concern for these early prototypes.

Yes. Static fire feeding from fuel header vs main tank.

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[sneakypete]

@Elderberry

EXCITING STUFF!

Thank you for keeping us up to date on the progress!

[Cyber Liberty]

@Elderberry

EXCITING STUFF!

Thank you for keeping us up to date on the progress!

Dittos that!  And thanks to @kevindavis, too!

[Elderberry]

Blue Origin preparing to enter the orbital arena

Spaceflight.com by Colin Fletcher May 4, 2020

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2020/05/blue-origin-orbital-arena/

Blue Origin has been making significant progress on the structures, systems, propulsion, and infrastructure supporting their New Glenn heavy lift rocket. Though the company is traditionally quite secretive about most of their operations, they have recently been revealing more and more information as they work towards a first flight date of no earlier than 2021. They also won through as part of the Human Landing System (HLS) award winners as its goals move from the suborbital, through to Low Earth Orbit and beyond.

Engine Development

At their facility in West Texas, Blue Origin has been conducting test fires of both its BE-4 first stage engine and BE-3U upper stage engine. BE-3U is a variant of the BE-3PM engine that has powered the suborbital, reusable New Shepard vehicle on 12 flights. Unlike the tap-off cycle PM variant, BE-3U operates on an open expander cycle, which in turn with a vacuum optimized nozzle creates higher thrust, efficiency, and provides for multiple restarts in space.

On February 14, 2020, Blue Origin opened a “high-rate engine production facility” in Huntsville, Alabama for both the BE-4 and BE-3U engine. Nearby, the company is currently in the process of renovating test stand 4670 at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.

More at link.

[Elderberry]

SpaceX Boca Chica - Full Drive-Past Entire Facility Video from Mary (@BocaChicaGal)

Mary takes you on an updated drive past the growing facility at SpaceX Boca Chica, from the launch site to the production facility. Very useful to get one's bearings. No fancy editing or timelapse, just a fateful of Boca Chica, which most of you will appreciate!


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[kevindavis007]

SpaceX Starship SN4 Passes Cryo Test!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiAU3_DKFLg&t=363s

[Elderberry]

SpaceX’s Starship rocket just took a big leap towards orbit with latest test success

TESLARATI by  By Eric Ralph 5/10/2020

https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-starship-leap-towards-orbit-test-success/

A full-scale Starship rocket has passed a critical test for the first time ever, strongly suggesting that the next-generation launch vehicle could be much closer to orbital readiness than most would imagine.

To be clear, a huge amount of work remains before Starship can be deemed anywhere close to its first orbital flight tests, not the least of which is the fabrication and assembly of the first massive Super Heavy booster(s). However, after Starship SN4’s latest successful May 9th test, it’s hard to see any apparent showstoppers that can’t be handled with a combination of fairly routine testing and iterative progress, as well as time and money. There is certainly room for improvement throughout the program but SpaceX has effectively demonstrated that the biggest practical concerns about its approach to Starship are moot.

This time, SpaceX – having successfully gathered data from two static fire tests and several wet dress rehearsals – was ready to risk Starship SN4 and pressurized it all the way to 7.5 bar (~110 psi). While ~12% shy of minimum human spaceflight standards, Starship SN4 successfully reached and maintained 7.5 bar while the ship stressed with hydraulic rams to simulate the thrust of three Raptor engines, all of which it survived fully intact. What 7.5 bar does offer, however, is a 1.25x safety factor – on the higher end of aerospace industry standards for uncrewed orbital spaceflight (i.e. cargo/satellite launches).

Perhaps the most important unknown is whether SpaceX’s recent May 2020 WDRs and static fires have used autogenous pressurization, a more efficient method of pressurizing rockets by using hot gas generated by their own engines. It’s extremely likely that SpaceX has been autogenously pressurizing Starship SN4 for its recent tests, but if that weren’t the case, it would be a big source of schedule uncertainty without significant redesign work.

More at link.

[Elderberry]

Why SpaceX Bought An Entire Village


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[kevindavis007]

Why SpaceX Bought An Entire Village


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I don't blame SpaceX...

[Elderberry]

SpaceX’s first high-flying, triple-Raptor Starship is almost finished

TESLARATI by Eric Ralph 5/12/2020

https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-starship-first-triple-raptor-prototype/

SpaceX’s first high-flying, triple-engine Starship prototype is rapidly approaching completion at the same time as the company is preparing for the rocket’s predecessor to lift off on its inaugural test flight.

Known as serial number 5 (SN5), it will be the fifth full-scale Starship prototype completed by SpaceX since November 2019 and the fourth since late-January 2020. Following in the footsteps of Mk1, SN1, SN3, and SN4, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has recently stated that Starship SN5 will be the first prototype to have three Raptor engines and a nosecone installed and could be the first to be outfitted with new and improved aerodynamic control surfaces.

In the meantime, Starship SN4 is perhaps less than 30 hours away from performing a third Raptor static fire test, potentially paving the way for the biggest challenge yet for a full-scale Starship prototype: powered flight. Scheduled no earlier than 9am CDT (14:00 UTC), May 13th, Starship SN4’s next static fire is meant to ensure that a replacement Raptor engine is functioning properly. If successful, the building-sized rocket will effectively be ready to attempt its first launch – also a first for the Starship program overall – pending FAA approval.

Currently, SpaceX has been focused on testing just the tank section of Starship prototypes, representing the vast majority of the technical challenges that must be solved to fully realize the next-generation launch vehicle’s ambitions. Excluding a smaller secondary liquid oxygen tank situated in the tip of Starship nosecones, the nose section is effectively irrelevant – putting the cart before the horse – until Starship tank sections are more of a known quantity.

When that would be the case was entirely up in the air until just the last week or so, when Starship SN4 became the first full-scale prototype to pass a cryogenic proof test, perform a wet dress rehearsal (WDR) with real propellant, complete static fire(s) with a Raptor engine installed, and – finally – pass a more challenging cryogenic pressure test in quick succession. With those milestones passed for the first time ever, SpaceX has effectively proven that it’s solved the what is arguably the most unprecedented aspect of its Starship program: building orbital-class pressure vessels for pennies on the dollar on the South Texas coast.

More at link.

[Elderberry]

SpaceX Starship: Elon Musk praises render that shows its incredible size

https://www.inverse.com/innovation/spacex-starship-render-size

SpaceX's Starship, the giant stainless steel rocket under construction at a facility in Texas, is shaping up to be one giant machine. A concept render highlighted by CEO Elon Musk Tuesday has captured the sheer scale of this machine in new detail.

The fully-reusable rocket is designed to send humans to Mars and beyond, with the impressive ability to send up to 100 people into space at once. When paired with the Super Heavy booster that enables it to leave the Earth, the whole construction is set to measure nearly 400 feet – the exact figure being in flux as development continues. On Tuesday, Musk praised on Twitter a rendering of the full construction completed by South Australia-based Alex Delderfield:

I don't think enough people fully appreciate exactly how massive this vehicle is," Delderfield wrote in response. "Both in terms of scale and what it will go on to achieve for humankind."

The images demonstrate just how massive the full ship will look in reality. Musk first unveiled the predecessor to the Starship, dubbed BFR at the time, back in September 2017. The goal was to create a ship that could replace older rockets like Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy while also powering ambitious ideas like a manned mission to Mars. This all-purpose rocket would prove more economical as it could take on more of SpaceX's day-to-day tasks. It could take on its first commercial mission in 2021.

The Inverse analysis – The Starship is one huge machine, and Musk's tweet demonstrates its incredible size. The ship is expected to have around 1,000 cubic meters of cabin space, enough to send up to 100 humans into space with around two or three people per cabin. It's also designed to send over 150 tons of cargo into space with its alternate configuration. A more restricted 1,000-person version is expected to send people around the Earth within an hour. But while these numbers sound huge on paper, Monday's post brings home just how huge this ship is expected to be.

More at link.

[kevindavis007]

NASA estimates having SpaceX and Boeing build spacecraft for astronauts saved $20 billion to $30 billion
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/13/nasa-estimates-having-spacex-and-boeing-build-spacecraft-for-astronauts-saved-up-to-30-billion.html

[Elderberry]

SpaceX Will Have Two Functional Starship Prototypes Within Days – Orbital Flight Is Now in Sight

WCCFtech by Rohail Saleem 5/13/2020

https://wccftech.com/spacex-will-have-two-functional-starship-prototypes-within-days-orbital-flight-is-now-in-sight/

SpaceX has consistently demonstrated its honed logistics and engineering prowess over the course of 2020. Up till now, the company has constructed four starship prototypes, with the fourth iteration – known as the SN4 – currently undergoing extensive testing. Now, however, the company seems to be on the verge of another historic milestone.

Prior to the SN4, each previous Starship prototype could not graduate beyond the initial testing phase and was quickly destroyed. Consequently, SpaceX could only have a single prototype at any given time. This modus operandi now appears to be on the verge of a dramatic change. As per the pertinent reporting, SpaceX is now only a week away – at the longest – from completing its fifth Starship prototype, the SN5. This means that, for the first time ever, the company will have two functioning Starship prototypes concurrently.

So, why is SpaceX working on SN5 while the SN4 is undergoing testing? This question has a one-word answer: contingency. SN4’s approaching maiden flight test will be a risky endeavor, to say the least. For undisclosed reasons, the company has scrapped SN4’s Raptor engine – purportedly the SN18 – following extensive initial testing that included two static fire tests, one of which was publicly declared a success by Elon Musk himself. On the 10th of May, SpaceX installed a new Raptor engine – the SN20 – on the fourth Starship prototype. Now, the SN20 engine is slated to undergo several preliminary tests, including wet dress rehearsals and static fire testing, in order to gauge its operational readiness. Should these tests prove successful, the SN4 will undergo its first live flight test, comprising of a 500ft hop test – a first for any Starship prototype.

More at link.

[sneakypete]

SpaceX Will Have Two Functional Starship Prototypes Within Days – Orbital Flight Is Now in Sight

WCCFtech by Rohail Saleem 5/13/2020

https://wccftech.com/spacex-will-have-two-functional-starship-prototypes-within-days-orbital-flight-is-now-in-sight/

@Elderberry

WOW! Does that thing look like some sort of Rube Goldberg rocket ship from a cheesy 50's sci-fi movie,or what?

[Elderberry]

@Elderberry

WOW! Does that thing look like some sort of Rube Goldberg rocket ship from a cheesy 50's sci-fi movie,or what?

@sneakypete

Just what I was thinkin'.

And he has Grandiose plans for them:

Elon Musk shares details about SpaceX’s Starship, including estimated 20 to 30-year service life

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-e&q=grandiose

He has discussed some of this before, but Musk reiterated that Starship will need to operate on a brisk schedule, ferrying many megatons per year of cargo to the Red Planet in order to establish and maintain a human presence there. Musk said that the spacecraft is being designed with the plan of flying it for an average of three flights per day, each carrying over 100 tons per flight, for a total of mor than 1,000 flights per year, per vehicle.

Ultimately, Musk says that he hopes to achieve a construction rate of 100 Starships being produced per year, with a goal of hitting 1,000 in total in service over the course of the next decade, which can transport as much as 100 megatons per year in cargo, or about 100,000 people “per Earth-Mars orbital sync” in terms of human passengers. That translates to a schedule of roughly once every two years, when Earth and Mars are closest to one another because of the coincidence of their respective orbits around the Sun.

Musk clarified in response to another question that the way this will work will be getting the Mars fleet into a staging orbit above Earth, where they can be refueled in space prior to their synchronized departure. Then, once every 26 months approximately 1,000 ships will all depart over the course of 30 days for their Mars transit. While Starship will require an in-orbit refuel to make the trip to Mars leaving from Earth, because of how much boost is needed to exit Earth’s atmosphere, the same is not true for the reverse trip, Musk pointed out.

SpaceX’s goal, according to Musk, is to ultimately send one million people to Mars by 2050, something Musk also confirmed in another reply to a Twitter user. The goal is to make it common enough and affordable enough that “anyone can go if they want, with loans available for those who don’t have money.” Plus, Musk also noted that there “will be lots of jobs on Mars” for potential colonists.

[sneakypete]

@sneakypete

Just what I was thinkin'.

And he has Grandiose plans for them:

@Elderberry

Well,to be fair to him and the "ship" shown in the photo,it is just for test purposes and is never going to fly,anyhow.

Hell,it was probably banged together from parts of crashed test models. That would help explain all the dents.

Still,you would THINK a guy like Musk with all his bucks,all his ego,and all his understanding of PR would have insisted a more attractive model be put on display,wouldn't you?

[Elderberry]

@sneakypete

Its going to be used for a 150 meter test hop very soon. And if it survives it will be used for the following 20 km launch. Otherwise SN5 will be used. They are already building SN5, 6 and 7.

They are not built for looks.

[sneakypete]

@sneakypete

Its going to be used for a 150 meter test hop very soon. And if it survives it will be used for the following 20 km launch. Otherwise SN5 will be used. They are already building SN5, 6 and 7.

They are not built for looks.

@Elderberry

True,but the ones build for actual launches are going to have to be a lot "smoother" than that. Aerodynamics is a demanding bitch.

[Cyber Liberty]

SpaceX Will Have Two Functional Starship Prototypes Within Days – Orbital Flight Is Now in Sight

WCCFtech by Rohail Saleem 5/13/2020

https://wccftech.com/spacex-will-have-two-functional-starship-prototypes-within-days-orbital-flight-is-now-in-sight/

This is just the top stage, minus the core stage and/or boosters?