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

[sneakypete]

@Kamaji

I gotta admit,you had me going for a minute.

[Elderberry]

Space Force opens door to Blue Origin with new cooperative agreement

Space News by Sandra Erwin — November 20, 2022

With this new CRADA, the Space Force is signaling it wants to see Blue Origin challenge ULA and SpaceX

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Systems Command announced Nov. 18 it signed an agreement with Blue Origin that “paves the way” for the company’s New Glenn rocket to compete for national security launch contracts once it completes the required flight certification.

The cooperative research and development (CRADA) agreement does not include any government funding and is largely symbolic, as New Glenn is still in development and Blue Origin has no target date for the first launch.

The National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program requires new entrants to perform at least two successful orbital launches to get certification. 

The agreement was signed by Brig. Gen. Stephen Purdy, program executive officer for assured access to space; and Jarrett Jones, senior vice president for New Glenn at Blue Origin.

Purdy said the CRADA “marks the restart of certification activities for Blue Origin’s New Glenn that began in 2018 when Blue Origin won a Launch Service Agreement.”

More: https://spacenews.com/space-force-opens-door-to-blue-origin-with-new-cooperative-agreement/

[GtHawk]

Space Force opens door to Blue Origin with new cooperative agreement

Space News by Sandra Erwin — November 20, 2022

With this new CRADA, the Space Force is signaling it wants to see Blue Origin challenge ULA and SpaceX

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Systems Command announced Nov. 18 it signed an agreement with Blue Origin that “paves the way” for the company’s New Glenn rocket to compete for national security launch contracts once it completes the required flight certification.

The cooperative research and development (CRADA) agreement does not include any government funding and is largely symbolic, as New Glenn is still in development and Blue Origin has no target date for the first launch.

The National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program requires new entrants to perform at least two successful orbital launches to get certification. 

The agreement was signed by Brig. Gen. Stephen Purdy, program executive officer for assured access to space; and Jarrett Jones, senior vice president for New Glenn at Blue Origin.

Purdy said the CRADA “marks the restart of certification activities for Blue Origin’s New Glenn that began in 2018 when Blue Origin won a Launch Service Agreement.”

More: https://spacenews.com/space-force-opens-door-to-blue-origin-with-new-cooperative-agreement/

How is Bezos's Blue Origin going to challenge anyone, he can't even get his own damn satellites into orbit without paying others to do it.

[Idiot]

How is Bezos's Blue Origin going to challenge anyone, he can't even get his own damn satellites into orbit without paying others to do it.

[Elderberry]

Blue Orgin hopelessly behind! New Glenn may not be able to compete with SpaceX or ULA!

The Angry Astronaut  Nov 29, 2022

Last decade, Blue Origin was confident about launching New Glenn in 2020!  Obviously, that didn't happen, and we still don't even have a working pathfinder!  And even when New Glenn does finally get into service, will it really be competitive?  Maybe not...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCk3KTd3dGs

[Elderberry]

NASA Chief just revealed NEW TIMELINE for SpaceX Starship & what he really think of Elon...

GREAT SPACEX 12/14/2022


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_tsiFc4MNU

[Elderberry]

Jeff Bezos On The Run As BE 4 Explosion Bankrupts Blue Origin

Tech SpaceX 12/14/2022

Blue Origin's continuous failures will finally be exposed today. Jeff Bezos, the company's founder, had the ambition to transport humans to the moon and probably dominate it. But after the company faced severe failures that became very consistent, Jeff at some point got confused about where the company is heading.

He may have lost focus and decided to step down as CEO and hand over to Andy Jassy. The question now is that; Is Jeff Bezos giving up on landing the New Glenn rocket on the moon? Bezos has been mute on activities that are going on in Blue Origin, contrary to how Elon behaves toward SpaceX. Is Jeff Bezos escaping from all the challenges in Blue Origin?

In today's video we look at Jeff Bezos On The Run As BE 4 Explosion Bankrupts Blue Origin...Keep watching to see jeff bezos,blue origin jeff bezos,jeff bezos blue origin,blue origin,elon musk blue origin,blue origin space plans,blue origin launch,elon musk jeff bezos,starship explosion,blue origin blue moon,the state of blue origin,blue origin new shepard,explosions of spacex,blue origin space,what is blue origin,blue origin space x,story of blue origin,blue origin new glenn,blue origin progress,blue origin vs spacex,spacex vs blue origin

Subscribe for elon musk jeff bezos, starship explosion, blue origin blue moon. Inspired by ALPHA TECH , CNET Highlights, and (competitor).

Inspired by Announcer speechless for 60 seconds after another Blue Origin rocket launch fail...

Inspired by Watch Jeff Bezos and Wally Funk in zero gravity during Blue Origin spaceflight

Inspired by Somehow Jeff Bezos realizes that the BE-4 engine is better than others but NO WAY TO BEAT SpaceX

Inspired by Blue Origin's Ex-employees just humiliated Jeff Bezos - Relativity Space!


On Tech SpaceX we will go through explosions of spacex, blue origin space, what is blue origin.  Stay tuned for the latest blue origin new glenn, blue origin progress, blue origin vs spacex.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP05SrEfcOg

[Idiot]

NASA Chief just revealed NEW TIMELINE for SpaceX Starship & what he really think of Elon...

GREAT SPACEX 12/14/2022


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_tsiFc4MNU

Didn't he say the first starship flight in LATE 2023???

[Elderberry]

Biden administration drafting executive order to simplify space rules

Reuters By Joey Roulette 12/9/2022

U.S. President Joe Biden's administration is drafting an executive order intended to streamline approval for private rocket launches amid a broader effort to bring legal and regulatory clarity for American companies on everything from space travel to private space stations, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the effort.

The order would be part of a push by the White House's National Space Council to modernize U.S. space regulation, which has failed to keep up with the increasingly ambitious pace of private-sector investment and development.

The order, slated to be ready for Biden to sign by early 2023, is meant to simplify licensing procedures under existing laws for more routine space activities like launching rockets and deploying satellites, said one of the sources, who asked not to be named.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who chairs the National Space Council, has signaled her intention to codify new rules for private space activities, but the plan for the executive order has not been reported.

A spokeswoman for Harris did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

While past administrations have made little progress revamping U.S. space laws, the Biden administration's broader effort to spur new rules, in addition to those targeted in the executive order, comes with greater urgency because of the pace of private investment in space. NASA also is pushing to privatize much of its low-Earth orbit activities.

More: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-administration-drafting-executive-order-simplify-space-rules-sources-2022-12-09/

[Elderberry]

What Rocket Lab just did is totally humiliated Blue Origin after SpaceX...

ALPHA TECH  12/20/2022

What Rocket Lab just did is totally humiliated Blue Origin after SpaceX...
In the space race, no doubt SpaceX is the leader, miles ahead. However, in distant 2nd place is Rocket Lab, even beating out Bezos Blue Origin.

Blue Origin has yet to orbit. Jeff Bezos' Rocket went to space—But not to orbit. They were planning to launch New Glenn by 2020 but the current schedule is first to launch no earlier than the fourth quarter of 2023.

Meanwhile, Rocket Labs has 32 launches under its belt, 29 of which were successful. The Electron rocket can place 150-300 kilograms into orbit. The lower payload for a sun-synchronous orbit and the higher payload for a low earth orbit. Rocket Labs plans a Falcon 9 class rocket with a new Neutron rocket. Rocket Labs plans to launch the Neutron by 2024.

Well, I’m talking about getting to "space" vs. orbit. This is how Elon Musk describes it:
"One of the toughest things that are really hard to explain to people is orbit versus space. Getting to space is easy. Getting into orbit is hard. It’s 100 times harder to get to orbit than to get to what you’d call, in quotes, "space." Which is, say, the Karman line at 100 kilometers, which is an arbitrary point at which the atmosphere is fairly thin."

Neil deGrasse Tyson also said that Blue is not really going to "space" they're flying to slightly higher than where planes go.  They experience some weightless less but that is all. 
The difference is so obvious!
More seriously, what Rocket Lab just did is totally humiliated Blue Origin after SpaceX...
Find out everything about this in today's episode of Alpha Tech:

Like Elon Musk, Peter Beck – the founder of Rocket Lab – doesn’t have the academic pedigree one would expect. Elon only has bachelor's degrees in economics and physics, not aerospace engineering. Peter is even more unconventional, as he is a rocket scientist with no college degree whatsoever!

In 1995, he worked as a tool-and-die-maker apprentice at Fisher & Paykel. He used his employer’s workshop to tinker on the side with rockets, making everything from rocket bikes to jet packs. From there he was able to purvey his career in product design and engineering, raking up a cornucopia of knowledge on smart materials, composites, and propulsion systems.

This New Zealand native then founded Rocket Lab in 2006. He secured a crucial seed investment from the aptly named Mark Rocket, a fellow New Zealander who had made his riches online. Within just 3 years, the company successfully reached the Karman line of space with their multi-stage rocket, Ātea-1. So yeah, the next time someone tells you college is a necessity, tell them about this guy who got to space in 3 years with just a high school education.
What Rocket Lab just did is totally humiliated Blue Origin after SpaceX...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jk8tYN03HNs

[Elderberry]

Blue Origin offers new bobbleheads of first New Shepard female fliers

http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-122022a-blue-origin-new-shepard-bobbleheads.html

December 20, 2022

— The first three women to fly into space on Blue Origin's New Shepard spacecraft have been honored with their very own bobbleheads.

The limited edition figurines, which feature the spring-loaded nodding heads of commercial astronauts Wally Funk, Audrey Powers and Laura Shepard Churchley, are now available from Blue Origin's online shop. The bobbleheads are boxed in mission-specific packaging and retail for $34.95 each.

In addition to capturing the likeness of each woman, the Funk, Powers and Churchley bobbleheads depict their subject in the blue flight suit that they wore for their 10-minute-long suborbital spaceflights, complete with name tag and miniature mission patch. Each 7-inch (18-cm) statuette is mounted to a black base that also displays the astronaut's name.

Funk is modeled with her arms outstretched, recreating the pose she struck after her NS-16 flight. One of the so-called "Mercury 13" female pilots who privately underwent the same medical tests as NASA's "Original 7" Mercury astronauts in the 1960s, Funk finally reached space in July 2021. She flew with three others, including Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos, on the company's first crewed launch. Funk, who was 82 at the time of her flight, holds the record for the oldest woman to fly into space.

[Elderberry]

SpaceX outlines Starship's next series of tests prior to first orbital flight

https://www.tesmanian.com/blogs/tesmanian-blog/starship-test-campaign

On January 12, SpaceX shared a collection of incredible new photos of a fully-stacked Starship at the Starbase launch site in South Texas. The company briefly outlined the next series of tests engineers will conduct before performing the long-awaited uncrewed orbital flight attempt. “Team are stepping into a series of tests prior to Starship's first flight test in the weeks ahead, including full stack wet dress rehearsals [WDR] and hold down firing of Booster 7's 33 Raptor engines,” announced SpaceX.

The majestic stainless-steel prototypes that will conduct the orbital flight are identified as Starship SN24 and Super Heavy Booster 7. The vehicles have been undergoing preflight preparations for over a year. The flight was delayed mostly due to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) conducting an extensive Environmental Assessment of the Starbase launch site, which is situated next to a U.S. National Wildlife Refuge, the public Boca Chica Beach access, and multiple historic landmarks. The FAA took a year to complete the assessment and now it must issue a spaceflight license so that SpaceX can finally launch Starship to orbit. During the orbital flight, Super Heavy Booster 7 will propel Starship SN24 to orbit, the booster is expected to land in the Gulf of Mexico ocean as SN24 continues its voyage to space. Starship SN24 will reach an altitude of around 100 kilometers above Earth before conducting a propulsive landing in the ocean off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii, near a U.S. military base. “Starship launch attempt soon,” Tweeted Musk. “We have a real shot at late February. March launch attempt appears highly likely,” he stated on January 7.

This week, Musk confirmed the timeline in response to a NASASpaceflight reporter. –“Does this sound about right, Elon? Cryo[genic proof] test today, then WDR next week. Destack for 33 engine Static Fire. Final TPS [Thermal Protection System] work on [Star]Ship 24. Re-stack. Launch License. Possible end of Feb[ruary]/Early March if all goes well (per your previous timeline)?” asked NASASpaceflight. –“That’s a good guess,” replied Musk. The 33 Raptor V2 engine test is perhaps the most risky test. The methane-fueled engines each produce over 230 tons of force, which has the potential of destroying surrounding infrastructure if something goes wrong. Musk previously said that engineers will proceed carefully. When the 33 engines are ignited for a few seconds, the vehicle will be held down by giant clamps on the launch mount as engineers collect data to assess the rocket’s performance. As of today, SpaceX has only ever test-ignited 14 Raptor V2 engines simultaneously during a long-duration static-firing which took place in November 2022. Each test brings SpaceX closer to returning NASA astronauts to the lunar surface as part of the Artemis program, and sending the first humans to Mars. The company will also send a group of dearMoon artists on a circumlunar voyage as soon as the rocketship is operational.

More at link.

[Elderberry]

FALCON HEAVY - SpaceX Launches USSF-67

NASASpaceflight

Falcon Heavy is launching the classified USSF-67 mission to geostationary orbit for the US Space Force. Liftoff is scheduled for 5:55 PM EST (22:55 UTC) from LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The side boosters, B1064-2 and B1065-2, will attempt landings at Landing Zones 1 and 2. The center core, B1070-1, will be expended.

https://youtu.be/PCitZJD_nn4?t=5040

[Elderberry]

SpaceX launches U.S. Space Force’s first mission of 2023 on Falcon Heavy

Space News by Sandra Erwin — January 15, 2023

USSF-67 was Falcon Heavy's second national security space launch

WASHINGTON — A SpaceX Falcon Heavy lifted off Jan. 15 at 5:56 p.m. Eastern from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, carrying the U.S. Space Force USSF-67 mission to geostationary Earth orbit.

USSF-67 was the Space Force’s first national security mission of 2023 and marked Falcon Heavy’s fifth flight since its 2018 debut, as well as its second national security space launch following the Nov. 1 launch of USSF-44.

The Falcon Heavy’s first stage is made up of three Falcon 9 rockets strapped together, with 27 engines powering the first stage and one engine in the second stage.

About two and a half minutes after liftoff, both side boosters separated. The second stage separated from the core stage just over four minutes after liftoff.

Both side boosters landed back at SpaceX’s Landing Zones 1 and 2 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, about eight and a half minutes after liftoff. These landings marked SpaceX’s 163rd and 164th successful booster recoveries. They will be refurbished for future national security space missions.

The expendable center core was jettisoned into the Atlantic Ocean and was not recovered as the mission’s performance requirements did not allow enough fuel to return the stage back to Earth.

More: https://spacenews.com/spacex-launches-u-s-space-forces-first-mission-of-2023-on-falcon-heavy/

[Elderberry]

Ep248 SpaceX's secret Starship Plan & Falcon Heavy as close as you've never seen it!

What about it!?

SpaceX is working full speed towards the orbital Starship launch! We're taking a close look at some Ground Systems you have never seen like this before & we're uncovering SpaceX's secret Starship launch tower plans! Finally, we're walking outside my front door as Falcon Heavy USSF-67 ascends toward orbit!


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

[Elderberry]

SpaceX performs a cryogenic proof test of a fully-stacked Starship in Texas

TESMANIAN by  Evelyn Janeidy Arevalo 1/18/2023

On January 18, SpaceX performed a cryogenic proof test of a fully-stacked Starship at Starbase in South Texas. Engineers are preparing prototypes - Starship SN24 and Super Heavy Booster 7 - for the first-ever orbital flight test. During the orbital flight, Booster 7 will propel SN24 to orbit with 33 powerful Raptor V2 engines. The booster will drop off Starship SN24 into the edge of space, which begins at the Karman Line at approximately 100 kilometers (km) above Earth’s surface. Booster 7 will return with an ocean landing in the Gulf of Mexico near Boca Chica Beach. SN24 will continue its voyage half-way around Earth to make a soft ocean landing off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii, near a U.S. military base. The flight will enable engineers to practice the concept of operations and test the new spacecraft technologies. The data they gather from the flight will serve to speed up the rocket-ship’s development. SpaceX has not announced a specific date of when the orbital flight attempt will take place, just an approximate timeline. “We have a real shot at late February. March launch attempt appears highly likely,” said SpaceX founder Elon Musk on January 7.

Before Starship takes flight it must pass a series of tests to ensure it has what it takes to support the stresses of spaceflight. During the cryogenic (cryo) proof test on Wednesday, SpaceX engineers fueled the fully-stacked vehicle with subcooled liquid nitrogen to pressurize the stainless-steel tanks to test its overall structural integrity. Booster 7 must withstand Starship SN24’s mass when loaded with propellant. The test also serves to test the propellant loading infrastructure that is integrated to the orbital launch tower, referred to as ‘Quick Disconnect’ (QD) arms. According to NASASpaceflight on Twitter, this was the ‘second partial cryo test’ of the fully-stacked launch vehicle. They shared a video of the test; the stainless-steel structure has a frost layer indicating the cryogenic test operation, linked below.

More: https://www.tesmanian.com/blogs/tesmanian-blog/fully-stack-cryo

[Idiot]

SpaceX performs a cryogenic proof test of a fully-stacked Starship in Texas

TESMANIAN by  Evelyn Janeidy Arevalo 1/18/2023

On January 18, SpaceX performed a cryogenic proof test of a fully-stacked Starship at Starbase in South Texas. Engineers are preparing prototypes - Starship SN24 and Super Heavy Booster 7 - for the first-ever orbital flight test. During the orbital flight, Booster 7 will propel SN24 to orbit with 33 powerful Raptor V2 engines. The booster will drop off Starship SN24 into the edge of space, which begins at the Karman Line at approximately 100 kilometers (km) above Earth’s surface. Booster 7 will return with an ocean landing in the Gulf of Mexico near Boca Chica Beach. SN24 will continue its voyage half-way around Earth to make a soft ocean landing off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii, near a U.S. military base. The flight will enable engineers to practice the concept of operations and test the new spacecraft technologies. The data they gather from the flight will serve to speed up the rocket-ship’s development. SpaceX has not announced a specific date of when the orbital flight attempt will take place, just an approximate timeline. “We have a real shot at late February. March launch attempt appears highly likely,” said SpaceX founder Elon Musk on January 7.

Before Starship takes flight it must pass a series of tests to ensure it has what it takes to support the stresses of spaceflight. During the cryogenic (cryo) proof test on Wednesday, SpaceX engineers fueled the fully-stacked vehicle with subcooled liquid nitrogen to pressurize the stainless-steel tanks to test its overall structural integrity. Booster 7 must withstand Starship SN24’s mass when loaded with propellant. The test also serves to test the propellant loading infrastructure that is integrated to the orbital launch tower, referred to as ‘Quick Disconnect’ (QD) arms. According to NASASpaceflight on Twitter, this was the ‘second partial cryo test’ of the fully-stacked launch vehicle. They shared a video of the test; the stainless-steel structure has a frost layer indicating the cryogenic test operation, linked below.

More: https://www.tesmanian.com/blogs/tesmanian-blog/fully-stack-cryo

Spacex Pink on youtube seems to think something went wrong today and that's why the cancelled closures.  Thoughts?

[Elderberry]

Spacex Pink on youtube seems to think something went wrong today and that's why the cancelled closures.  Thoughts?

He's just guessing. After yesterday's successful test, no more road closures were needed for this week.

Please give us a link next time. https://youtu.be/3uZufbWN4wU?t=79

[Idiot]

He's just guessing. After yesterday's successful test, no more road closures were needed for this week.

Please give us a link next time. https://youtu.be/3uZufbWN4wU?t=79

You are probably right.  You'd think they'd destack today if there was an issue and haul it back to the wide bay.  You going down for the first flight?  I'm sure thinking about it.

[Elderberry]

You are probably right.  You'd think they'd destack today if there was an issue and haul it back to the wide bay.  You going down for the first flight?  I'm sure thinking about it.

It'll be a madhouse for the first flight. If I go, I'll just watch it from my son's house in Brownsville. He says I'll even be able to see it from my house in South Houston.

[Elderberry]

What about it!? just shared 74 new images: "WAI Cam Chief 2023-01-17"

Hello Everyone!

Here's gallery #2 for today! 74 images from Chief's Starbase WAI Cam.

This time for everyone and not just supporters as there are two galleries today!

Enjoy your day and thank you so much for all your support!

https://www.patreon.com/posts/wai-cam-chief-01-77465221

[Elderberry]

Ep249 Is SpaceX's Starship ever going to launch? Let's find out!

What about it!?  SpaceX is cryo-testing the Starship 24 and Booster 7 full stack. Meanwhile, many new improvements for Starship construction are spotted at Starbase. I explain how they work and why this is done. We got a new plan update from Elon Musk, and we look at Falcon 9 GPSIII SV06!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II4Nm0LjM6E

[Elderberry]

SpaceX Crazy Idea To Land Super Heavy Booster Onto The Launchpad!

Science Of Space  Jan 21, 2023

SpaceX Try To Landing Starship Booster Onto The Droneship.

Spacex has long term plan, to catch super heavy booster in air with the help of launch tower catching arm. But in case, spacex face problem with launch tower catching mechanism, then spacex needs to thinking about the another option to land super heavy booster successfully.

SpaceX has hinted at an unexpected desire to develop “marine recovery systems for the Starship program.” Since SpaceX first began bending metal for its steel Starship development program in late 2018.

CEO Elon Musk, executives, and the company itself have long maintained, that both Super Heavy boosters and Starship upper stages, would perform what are known as return-to-launch-site landings. Since 2016, SpaceX has been making controlled landings of its Falcon 9 boosters, to allow them to be reused for a number of years now.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRBpnEqn-lg

[Elderberry]

1000 TESTS! No Brakes at SpaceX McGregor

NASASpaceflight

Since April 28, 2022, NASASpaceflight has been livestreaming engine tests from SpaceX's Rocket Development and Test Facility in McGregor, TX. This past week, SpaceX passed 1,000 engine tests.

A mix of Rapid Unscheduled Disassembles, Pre-Burners, and successful tests, here's the best of the past 1,000 tests.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1erTAgWreVs

[Elderberry]

 Blue Origin Upgrade Update 2023 is here…!!! Any chance to beat SpaceX & Elon?

GREAT SPACEX


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

[Elderberry]

SpaceX fuels up fully stacked Starship vehicle for 1st time ever

Space.com By Mike Wall 1/23/23

The Jan. 23 "wet dress rehearsal" was a huge step toward Starship's upcoming orbital test flight.

SpaceX fueled up a fully stacked Starship for the first time ever on Monday (Jan. 23), notching a huge milestone on the path toward the vehicle's debut orbital flight.

Elon Musk's company conducted a "wet dress rehearsal" with the 395-foot-tall (120 meters) Starship Monday at its Starbase facility in South Texas, running through many of the procedures it will perform on launch day.

The to-do list included loading liquid oxygen and liquid methane propellant into the vehicle's Super Heavy first stage and Starship upper stage, which SpaceX stacked together on Starbase's orbital launch mount earlier this month. This action was captured by NASASpaceflight.com, which live-streamed the lengthy test (opens in new tab), and Rocket Ranch Boca Chica (opens in new tab), whose video is featured below (footage provided by Rocket Ranch's Anthony Gomez).

More: https://www.space.com/spacex-stacked-starship-first-fueling-test

[Idiot]

SpaceX fuels up fully stacked Starship vehicle for 1st time ever

Space.com By Mike Wall 1/23/23

The Jan. 23 "wet dress rehearsal" was a huge step toward Starship's upcoming orbital test flight.

SpaceX fueled up a fully stacked Starship for the first time ever on Monday (Jan. 23), notching a huge milestone on the path toward the vehicle's debut orbital flight.

Elon Musk's company conducted a "wet dress rehearsal" with the 395-foot-tall (120 meters) Starship Monday at its Starbase facility in South Texas, running through many of the procedures it will perform on launch day.

The to-do list included loading liquid oxygen and liquid methane propellant into the vehicle's Super Heavy first stage and Starship upper stage, which SpaceX stacked together on Starbase's orbital launch mount earlier this month. This action was captured by NASASpaceflight.com, which live-streamed the lengthy test (opens in new tab), and Rocket Ranch Boca Chica (opens in new tab), whose video is featured below (footage provided by Rocket Ranch's Anthony Gomez).

More: https://www.space.com/spacex-stacked-starship-first-fueling-test

That was an incredible sight seeing her loaded up with propellant and oxygen.  She's getting closer to the big day.

[Elderberry]

SpaceX preparing for Super Heavy static-fire test

Space News by Jeff Foust — January 27, 2023

SpaceX could attempt a long-awaited static-fire test of all 33 Raptor engines in its Super Heavy booster as soon as next week, one of the final technical milestones before an orbital launch attempt, a company executive said Jan. 27.

Speaking on a panel at the AIAA SciTech Forum, Bill Gerstenmaier, vice president of build and flight reliability, said the company was preparing for the test at its Starbase test site at Boca Chica, Texas.

“If things go well, maybe next week we’ll have a 33-engine static fire,” he said. “We still have a lot of work in front of us to get there and it’s not easy.”

He didn’t elaborate on the work remaining before the test and the panel, devoted to examining the relationship of science fiction with aerospace, did not return to the topic. However, the company was starting to get ready for the static fire after a Jan. 23 test called a wet dress rehearsal where both the Super Heavy booster, called Booster 7, and the Starship upper stage, named Ship 24, were loaded with propellants and taken through a practice countdown.

More: https://spacenews.com/spacex-preparing-for-super-heavy-static-fire-test/

[Elderberry]

After a failure 4 months ago, the New Shepard spacecraft remains in limbo

ars TECHNICA by Eric Berger - 1/30/2023

More than four months have passed since the launch of Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket ended in failure. No humans were onboard the vehicle because it was conducting a suborbital scientific research mission, but the failure has grounded the New Shepard fleet ever since.

The rocket's single main engine failed about one minute into the flight, at an altitude of around 9 km, as it was throttling back up after passing through the period of maximum dynamic pressure. At that point a large fire erupted in the BE-3 engine, and the New Shepard capsule's solid rocket motor-powered escape system fired as intended, pulling the capsule away from the exploding rocket. The capsule experienced high G-forces during this return but appeared to make a safe landing.

Three days after this accident with the New Shepard-23 mission, the bipartisan leadership of the House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics sent a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration, calling for a thorough investigation. In an interview with Ars later that month, the chair of the subcommittee, US Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), urged Blue Origin to be transparent.

More: https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/01/blue-origin-may-restart-new-shepard-flights-in-april-or-may-or-not/

[Elderberry]

SpaceX prepares for a massive test this week: Firing all 33 Starship engines at once

CNBC by Michael Sheetz 2/8/2023

Key Points

•   SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said the company plans to attempt a major Starship milestone: firing all 33 engines at once, a key test before the first orbital launch attempt.

•   “Tomorrow is a big day for SpaceX,” Shotwell said in Washington, D.C.

•   SpaceX had hoped to get Starship to space as early as summer 2021.

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said Wednesday the company plans to attempt a major Starship milestone this week.

SpaceX on Thursday will attempt a “static fire,” simultaneously testing all 33 engines that sit at the base of Starship’s rocket booster. The company conducted a test firing of 14 of those engines in November, as it pushes to make an orbital launch attempt with a Starship prototype.

“Tomorrow is a big day for SpaceX,” Shotwell said, speaking at the FAA’s annual Commercial Space Transportation conference in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday.

Starship is a nearly 400-foot-tall rocket, designed to carry cargo and people beyond Earth. It is also critical to NASA’s plan to return astronauts to the moon, with SpaceX having won a nearly $3 billion contract from the agency in 2021.

Last month the company completed a “wet dress rehearsal,” with Starship prototype 24 stacked on Super Heavy booster prototype 7, in the most recent crucial test.

More: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/08/spacex-prepares-test-fire-all-starship-engines-at-once.html

[Idiot]

SpaceX prepares for a massive test this week: Firing all 33 Starship engines at once

CNBC by Michael Sheetz 2/8/2023

Key Points

•   SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said the company plans to attempt a major Starship milestone: firing all 33 engines at once, a key test before the first orbital launch attempt.

•   “Tomorrow is a big day for SpaceX,” Shotwell said in Washington, D.C.

•   SpaceX had hoped to get Starship to space as early as summer 2021.

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said Wednesday the company plans to attempt a major Starship milestone this week.

SpaceX on Thursday will attempt a “static fire,” simultaneously testing all 33 engines that sit at the base of Starship’s rocket booster. The company conducted a test firing of 14 of those engines in November, as it pushes to make an orbital launch attempt with a Starship prototype.

“Tomorrow is a big day for SpaceX,” Shotwell said, speaking at the FAA’s annual Commercial Space Transportation conference in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday.

Starship is a nearly 400-foot-tall rocket, designed to carry cargo and people beyond Earth. It is also critical to NASA’s plan to return astronauts to the moon, with SpaceX having won a nearly $3 billion contract from the agency in 2021.

Last month the company completed a “wet dress rehearsal,” with Starship prototype 24 stacked on Super Heavy booster prototype 7, in the most recent crucial test.

More: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/08/spacex-prepares-test-fire-all-starship-engines-at-once.html

OH BOY!!!  I'll be watching at work.  Thanks for the heads up!

[Elderberry]

SpaceX 33-Engine Static Fire of Booster 7

NASASpaceflight

  STARBASE

SpaceX is attempting a 33-engine static fire of its Super Heavy Booster 7 at Starbase in Texas. A road closure is scheduled from 8am CST to 8pm CST and an overpressure notice has been delivered.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kG4AbAcia0

[Elderberry]

Waiting for confirmation that all 33 engines ignited.

[Elderberry]

31 engines fired overall.  One engine was shut down by the team and one engine shut itself down.

[Elderberry]

Starship 33 Engine Static Fire
https://youtu.be/6ghTUwwgZPE?t=574

[Elderberry]

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

[Idiot]

Epic!!!

[Elderberry]

NASA will launch a Mars mission on Blue Origin’s New Glenn

TechCrunch by Devin Coldewey 2/9/2023

NASA is planning a science mission to Mars that will ride up aboard a New Glenn — Blue Origin’s first big government contract for the as-yet-untested launch vehicle.

New Glenn is the much, much larger sibling of the suborbital New Shepard rocket that so many celebrities and rich folks have gone to the edge of space in. Announced in 2016, the launch vehicle would compete with SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy and other heavy-lift options. But 6 years later, we have yet to see a New Glenn in one piece, let alone ready to launch a Mars mission.

The first flight for New Glenn was scheduled for late 2021, but that date was “refined” earlier that year, purportedly because a contract with the Pentagon had fallen through. Q4 of 2022 was the next window, but obviously that’s come and gone. I’ve asked for updated timing.

The launch contract is through the Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) program at NASA, which early last year assigned a maximum of $300 million to be split among 13 companies for launch services of various kinds. Everyone who’s anyone is on the list there, essentially providing a low-cost option for noncritical missions.

More: https://techcrunch.com/2023/02/09/nasa-will-launch-a-mars-mission-on-blue-origins-new-glenn/

[Elderberry]

Shaquille O'Neal-Owned Big Chicken and Blue Origin Team Up to Inspire Future Generations for the Benefit of Earth and Chicken

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/shaquille-oneal-owned-big-chicken-and-blue-origin-team-up-to-inspire-future-generations-for-the-benefit-of-earth-and-chicken-301743042.html

Big Chicken to Collaborate with Blue Origin on Dream to Pursue Restaurant in Space

The countdown is on for a new era in restaurant operations. Shaquille O'Neal-Owned Big Chicken and Blue Origin are teaming up to feed the imaginations of the next generation of explorers for the benefit of Earth and space chicken.

"We've always said "Go BIG' when asked about growth plans for Big Chicken. Now, with Blue Origin, we're going as BIG as we can by advancing the dream of running restaurants in space," said Josh Halpern, CEO of Big Chicken and the architect of the company's franchise growth strategy launched a year and a half ago, which has resulted in 200-plus planned U.S. locations. "When I think about what Shaquille stands for – BIG fun and pursuing BIG dreams – this relationship aligns perfectly with Blue Origin's vision to enable millions of people to live and work in space for the benefit of Earth."

Blue Origin's nonprofit, Club for the Future, will partner with Big Chicken's leadership team and founder Shaquille O'Neal as Club Ambassadors to inspire and engage students. Club for the Future will launch new community outreach programs at Big Chicken restaurants, including inviting patrons to draw their vision of the future on Postcards to Space. Blue Origin will fly the postcards on a future New Shepard mission, stamp them "flown to space," and return them to the creators.

More at link.

[Elderberry]

SpaceX
@SpaceX

Views from drone of Booster 7's static fire test

https://twitter.com/i/status/1623812763415093249

[Elderberry]

SpaceX breaks launch pad turnaround record with midnight mission

https://spaceflightnow.com/2023/02/11/falcon-9-starlink-5-4-coverage/

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket hauled 55 more Starlink internet satellites into orbit just after midnight Sunday from Cape Canaveral, breaking a record for the shortest time between missions — five days — from the same SpaceX launch pad.

The mission was SpaceX’s 10th launch of the year, a pace of one launch every four days since Jan. 1. SpaceX is aiming to launch up to 100 Falcon rocket missions this year from launch pads in Florida and California, while teams in Texas ready for the first orbital test flight of the company’s giant new Starship launch vehicle.

SpaceX fired up the Starship rocket’s Super Heavy booster for a major ground test Thursday at the Starbase facility in South Texas. The booster ignited 31 of its 33 Raptor engines for a hold-down test-firing, as SpaceX hopes to ready the nearly 40-story-tall rocket for its inaugural launch later this spring.

For Sunday’s overnight mission from Florida, SpaceX employed its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket for another flight to deploy satellites for the Starlink internet network. With the 55 new satellites that traveled to space on Sunday’s mission, SpaceX has now launched 3,930 Starlink spacecraft since the first prototypes in 2018. That number includes test satellites no longer in service, and satellites that have already re-enter the atmosphere.

Liftoff of the 229-foot-tall (70-meter) Falcon 9 rocket from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station occurred at 12:10:10 a.m. EST (0510:10 GMT) Sunday, defying a poor weather forecast to get off the ground before rain showers and brisk winds moved through the spaceport with the passage of a frontal boundary.

The 55 Starlink internet satellites mounted on top of the Falcon 9 rocket headed into an orbital plane that is part of SpaceX’s second-generation Starlink network, called Gen2. Sunday’s mission, known as Starlink 5-4, followed the first three Starlink launches  into the Gen2 network in December and January.

The launch occurred five days, three hours, and 38 minutes after SpaceX’s previous mission from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral, which carried a Spanish-owned communications satellite into orbit. That set a record for the shortest turnaround time between SpaceX launches from the same pad as the company continues to ramp up its blistering launch cadence.

SpaceX plans to eventually launch second-generation Starlink satellites on the new Starship mega-rocket. Those satellites will be larger and more capable than SpaceX’s current fleet of Starlink spacecraft, and will be capable of transmitting signals directly to cell phones. But with the Starship rocket still undergoing preparations for its first orbital test flight, SpaceX officials signaled they will start launching the Gen2 satellites on Falcon 9 rockets.

Elon Musk, SpaceX’s founder and CEO, suggested in August that the company could develop a miniature version of the Gen2 satellites to fit on the Falcon 9 rocket.

The satellites on the first three Gen2 launches appeared similar, or identical, to Starlink spacecraft SpaceX is already launching to complete its first-generation network, and not the larger Gen2 satellites destined to fly on the huge new Starship rocket, or even the mini Gen2 satellites Musk mentioned last year.

More at link.

[Elderberry]

SpaceX Starship Launch Date Potentially Revealed In NASA Calendar

wccftech by Ramish Zafar Feb 12, 2023

SpaceX's highly anticipated Starship orbital flight test just got tentative launch data courtesy of a NASA calendar. The company has picked up the pace on conducting full scale tests this year, and January saw it fill the vehicle up with propellant as part of a wet dress rehearsal. After this, earlier this week, SpaceX finally attempted to fire up all 33 engines on the 230 feet tall Super Heavy booster. The test was almost a complete success since it met the time duration and saw 31 engines fully light up. It came a day after SpaceX president Ms. Gwynne Shotwell announced that her firm would not only conduct the hot fire test but also make an orbital flight attempt next month. SpaceX chief Mr. Elon Musk later reiterated Ms. Shotwell's timeline, and now we have a tentative date courtesy of NASA's WB-57 plane.

SpaceX's Starship Rocket Can Take To The Skies On March 11 Shows NASA Calendar

NASA's WB-57 is a vital agency asset that has made several appearances on its space live streams. The aircraft regularly tracks high-flying objects and is the first to get visuals of crewed spacecraft returning from the ISS. During atmospheric reentry, a spaceship encounters high temperatures, which leads to a communications blackout for a short duration. During the mission, this period is often one of the more stressful ones, as ground control teams cannot contact the astronauts to check up on their well-being. However, sometimes even before the communication link is established, the WB-57 provides important visual confirmation of reentry to the teams.

NASA also uses the aircraft to gain visual information about test launches, and now, the space agency has reserved a time slot for aircraft to cover the Starship orbital flight test. Its calendar marks March 11 as 'SpaceX Starship Launch (placeholder),' providing a tentative launch date for the rocket and indicating the assignment's arbitrary nature.

More: https://wccftech.com/spacex-starship-launch-date-potentially-revealed-in-nasa-calendar/

[Idiot]

SpaceX Starship Launch Date Potentially Revealed In NASA Calendar

wccftech by Ramish Zafar Feb 12, 2023

SpaceX's highly anticipated Starship orbital flight test just got tentative launch data courtesy of a NASA calendar. The company has picked up the pace on conducting full scale tests this year, and January saw it fill the vehicle up with propellant as part of a wet dress rehearsal. After this, earlier this week, SpaceX finally attempted to fire up all 33 engines on the 230 feet tall Super Heavy booster. The test was almost a complete success since it met the time duration and saw 31 engines fully light up. It came a day after SpaceX president Ms. Gwynne Shotwell announced that her firm would not only conduct the hot fire test but also make an orbital flight attempt next month. SpaceX chief Mr. Elon Musk later reiterated Ms. Shotwell's timeline, and now we have a tentative date courtesy of NASA's WB-57 plane.

SpaceX's Starship Rocket Can Take To The Skies On March 11 Shows NASA Calendar

NASA's WB-57 is a vital agency asset that has made several appearances on its space live streams. The aircraft regularly tracks high-flying objects and is the first to get visuals of crewed spacecraft returning from the ISS. During atmospheric reentry, a spaceship encounters high temperatures, which leads to a communications blackout for a short duration. During the mission, this period is often one of the more stressful ones, as ground control teams cannot contact the astronauts to check up on their well-being. However, sometimes even before the communication link is established, the WB-57 provides important visual confirmation of reentry to the teams.

NASA also uses the aircraft to gain visual information about test launches, and now, the space agency has reserved a time slot for aircraft to cover the Starship orbital flight test. Its calendar marks March 11 as 'SpaceX Starship Launch (placeholder),' providing a tentative launch date for the rocket and indicating the assignment's arbitrary nature.

More: https://wccftech.com/spacex-starship-launch-date-potentially-revealed-in-nasa-calendar/

I hope that occurs.

I saw on youtube spacex was adding more cladding to the OLP and it is quite massive.  Not to mention adding a more robust water deluge system.  These 2 items will take a while to complete.  4 weeks?  Probably longer, but who knows.

[Elderberry]

Relativity Space Looks to Take On SpaceX With 3-D Printed Rockets

Startup Relativity Space is developing the world's first 3-D printed rocket, which it says is cheaper and quicker to manufacture than conventional rockets. Ahead of the company’s first orbital launch attempt, WSJ visited its California facility to meet founder Tim Ellis.

https://finance.yahoo.com/video/relativity-space-looks-spacex-3-120000675.html

[Elderberry]

Blue Origin Claims It Can Make Solar Cells From Lunar Dust

https://www.iflscience.com/blue-origin-claims-it-can-make-solar-cells-from-lunar-dust-67526

The more things we can make on the Moon the more viable an ongoing presence will be, and few things are more important than a power source.

Last week a blog post on Blue Origin’s website made a claim that, if verified, could dramatically increase the prospects for establishing ongoing bases on the Moon. However, the curious lack of promotion the company – not usually known for avoiding publicity  – has so far given the announcement suggests they may still have some doubts about the technology.

The claim is that Blue Origin’s engineers have worked out how to make working solar cells and electricity cables out of the dust and rubble found on the lunar surface, known as regolith. If you want to see humanity establish a permanent presence beyond low Earth orbit, or even just put some fancy telescopes on the far side of the Moon, this falls into the “huge if true” category.

Lunar bases will need a lot of power, including for heating and cooling given the enormous range of temperatures the Moon experiences in the course of one of its month-long “days”. With no fossil fuels to mine or winds to tap, that can come from only two sources: solar or nuclear.

Although NASA’s plans currently revolve around nuclear power stations, some recent modeling suggests a series of solar farms located near the lunar poles would be cheaper. Cables could connect the farms so that at all times at least one was providing sufficient power.

More at link.

[Elderberry]

SpaceX prioritizes Starship test flights, pauses plans for floating launch pads

TESLARATI by Eric Ralph 2/14/2023

President and COO Gwynne Shotwell says that SpaceX has temporarily abandoned plans for floating Starship launch platforms to ensure it’s fully focused on gaining flight experience with the next-generation rocket.

On February 13th, a NASASpaceflight.com forum member reported that a pair of oil rigs were scheduled to leave a Mississippi port for an unknown destination. At one point, those oil rigs – christened Deimos and Phobos after Mars’ moons – were owned by SpaceX. In mid-2020, SpaceX bought the former half-billion-dollar oil rigs for just $7 million. Around the same time, CEO Elon Musk tweeted that SpaceX was “building floating, superheavy-class spaceports for Mars, moon & hypersonic travel around Earth.”

SpaceX’s oil rig purchase was publicly uncovered in January 2021. Since then, however, the company has done very little to Phobos or Deimos. Phobos’ deck was half-cleared in fitful bursts of work, but Deimos was left almost untouched. Now, according to SpaceNews, SpaceX’s second in command says the company sold Phobos and Deimos and has paused work on offshore Starship launch platforms.

More: https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-halts-starship-offshore-launch-pad-development/

[Elderberry]

Blue Origin To Fly Two NASA Cubesats To Mars

Aviation Week by Irene Klotz February 10, 2023

A pair of 6U science satellites originally slated to piggyback a ride to Mars with NASA’s Psyche asteroid probe will instead launch aboard Blue Origin’s New Glenn, a two stage heavy-lift reusable booster still in development.

Terms of the contract, awarded on Feb. 9, were not disclosed, but U.S. government procurement data show NASA committing $20 million for launch support for the Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (Escapade) mission.

Blue Origin is among 13 companies eligible to compete to provide launch services for low-budget NASA science missions under the agency’s Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) program. NASA plans to spend up to $300 million on all its VADR contracts during a five-year ordering period.

NASA declined to say how many of the eligible VADR suppliers submitted proposals to launch Escapade under the program’s indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contract.

More: https://aviationweek.com/aerospace/commercial-space/blue-origin-fly-two-nasa-cubesats-mars

[Cyber Liberty]

I like that there's competition!  Without it, SpaceX will be just like NASA in 20 years.

[Elderberry]

I like that there's competition!  Without it, SpaceX will be just like NASA in 20 years.

Competition?

Possibly for CubeSat launches. Time will tell.

[Elderberry]

SpaceX's Solution For 33 Raptor Engines Thrilled NASA Scientists!

Space Trends   Feb 18, 2023

The SpaceX starship is a technological marvel, capable of reaching heights and speeds previously thought impossible. With its ability to produce nearly 16.7 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, it has easily surpassed the previous record holder, the Soviet N1 rocket, by a significant margin of nearly 60 percent. This level of power however, comes with its own set of challenges. The intense heat generated during launch, as well as the acoustic energy produced, which is nearly double that experienced during an Artemis one launch, make it imperative that the safety of the crew and equipment be a top priority. SpaceX, under the leadership of Elon Musk, has risen to this challenge by implementing a water Deluge system. This system uses a shower of water to control and absorb the energy generated during launch, providing an extra layer of protection for both the crew and the equipment. The water Deluge system is just one example of the innovative and forward-thinking approach that sets SpaceX apart from other space flight companies


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CB6RhtfHNGM