SpaceX Interplanetary Transport System (updates)

[DocM]

P2P got Zubrin's attention...

 

 

[Unobscured Vision]

In the past I haven't subscribed to Zubrin's point of view, but in the last decade or so he's become much more moderate in his thinking and less prone to flights of fancy that are unattainable. He sees SpaceX as the way to get where he wants to go and genuinely wants to help in that endeavour -- and Zubrin is actually somewhat useful.

 

Sure, he's fine. I've got no issue with the guy currently.

[DocM]

Copied in because the link didn't embed.

 

Joshua Brost: SpaceX's Senior Director of US Government Business Development

 

https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/994240069744676864?s=19

 

@jeff_foust (Space News)

Brost: as early as the first half of next year we’ll start doing vertical takeoff and landing tests of our first BFR upper stage. #HumansToMars

 

 

 

 

[Unobscured Vision]

?Awww yeah.

[DocM]

Brost also said they've fired Raptor for "several thousand seconds" ?

[DocM]

From the Bangabandhu 1 pre-flight phone presser comes confirmation of what we've deduced,

 

Quote

[Elon Musk]: ...So we've decided we're going to have a lot of rockets at the Cape (audio cutout) and a smaller number at Vandenberg because -- (audio cutout) [??%] of our launch  (audio cutout) out at the Cape and maybe 25% out at Vandenberg (audio cutout) of vehicles at Vandenberg and the Cape. Our South Texas launch site will be dedicated to BFR, because we get enough capacity with two launch complexes at Cape Canaveral and one at Vandenberg to handle all of the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy missions....

 

[Unobscured Vision]

Yep, we called it. Dogleg over the Gulf/Caribbean during and after the gravity turn ESE until clear of land masses (Cuba, etc), then course correction as needed after to get the orbit they're after.

 

I thought, however, that they'd consider building a LF at the Cape for BFR possibly using the area designated at 39-C or a new one for those flight profiles that needed a higher inclination than was appropriate at South Texas. Eh, whatever. BFR's got tons of spare dV for doglegging, however sharply.

[DocM]

http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=55128

Abstract:

Tom Mueller, a founding SpaceX employee, and designer of the Merlin and Raptor engines, is one of the world's foremost spacecraft propulsion experts. Mueller will be providing the Thursday, May 24th Plenary Address at the ISDC in Los Angeles, CA. If you attend, you have a chance to hear the latest information on SpaceX's Mars plans.

SpaceX Founding Employee Tom Mueller to Speak at International Space Development Conference

Washington, DC | Posted on May 15th, 2018

Mueller holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Idaho, and a Masters degree in the same area from Loyola Marymount University. He worked at TRW for 15 years, serving as the lead engineer for the TR-106 engine, which provided 650,000 lbf of thrust using liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The TR-106 was notable for the usage of pintle injectors which allowed for a wide range of throttling. Mueller rose to become the TRW Vice President of Propulsion during his time there.

Mueller began developing rocket engines in his garage, including the largest amateur liquid rocket engine ever built producing 13,000 lbf of thrust. In 2002 Mueller joined SpaceX as a founding employee.

At SpaceX Mueller became the CTO of Propulsion development, and led the work on the Merlin 1A, Kestrel, Merlin 1C, Merlin 1D, Superdraco, and Raptor engines. The reliable, highly throttle-able Merlin engine has been the foundation of the successful SpaceX effort to create a fully reusable first stage. Currently Mueller is leading the development of the liquid oxygen/liquid methane Raptor engine that will power the SpaceX Big Falcon Rocket (BFR) to Mars.

####

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For more information, please click here

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[DocM]

At the International Space Development Conference in LA,

 

https://www.geekwire.com/2018/spacex-propulsion-guru-tom-mueller-looks-ahead-rocket-engines-mars/

 

Quote

SpaceX propulsion guru Tom Mueller looks ahead to Raptor rocket engines for Mars

 

LOS ANGELES — SpaceX’s success owes a lot to the tenacity of the company’s billionaire founder, Elon Musk, but some of the credit has to go to the guy who designed the engines that make the rockets go.
>
Before signing on with SpaceX, Mueller spent 15 years at TRW, where he was in charge of propulsion and combustion products and liquid rocket engine development.
>
The methane-fueled Raptor is expected to be twice as powerful as the Merlin 1D, with liftoff thrust of 380,000 pounds. The BFR’s first-stage booster will use 31 of the engines to pack more punch than the Saturn V did during the Apollo era.

Mueller told GeekWire that he’s been mulling over the Raptor for about a decade. The engine doesn’t make use of the Merlin design, but goes instead with a full-flow, staged-combustion system that requires a clean-sheet design.

Engine development is on track for next year’s anticipated start of short-hop flight tests of the BFR upper-stage spaceship.

“I don’t want to say too much. We’re building up the test stand right now. We’ve got the first flight version of that engine in work. We’ve been running the development engine quite a bit. It’s running great,” Mueller told the audience.

“The Merlin holds the thrust-to-weight record for now,” he said. “But the Raptor’s coming.”

 

 

Raptor development engine test stand (Teslarati.com)

 

Raptor full engine test stand, under construction (Teslarati.com)

 

Development engine test fire (2017)

 

[Beittil]

Man, it is going to be so awesome to see images about a year from now with the ground being scorched in all three directions from that testing bay! With 31 engine's per booster that stand is going to see a flipping LOT of activity

[Beittil]

Love this quote from Mueller!

 

Quote

“I’ve been working on Mars for the last four years, so I’m not going to take any credit for the Block 5 engine and all the upgrades that have happened,” he said. “I’ll take credit for developing the team that developed the Merlin 1D engine.”

Must be friggin great to see the teams at SpaceX build upon your legacy while you get to move on the next fun project

[Unobscured Vision]

Yeah ... 

 

As much as we dig the Merlins, it's high time to go with an easier-to-produce fuel that can be made using ISRU techniques. HydroLOX is a clear dead-end (no pun intended), KeroLOX is dirty as hell and SpaceX have pushed the efficiency as high as it'll go. CH4+LO2 is much cheaper, can be made just about everywhere using pretty much anything and the engines can likewise handle a ton of abuse (way more than the Merlins can tolerate -- and those are already robust as hell).

 

I agree. Can't wait either.

[Unobscured Vision]

Oh, and the Methanol-burning engines (of which the Raptors are a subset) can burn literally anything in that category as fuel. Adjust mixture ratios accordingly, expect efficiencies to wax or wane too. Doubtful on some of those fuel sources actually being that useful, but you won't detonate your engine in doing so. It just won't be very happy about it either. That's the other benefit -- being able to char-broil a dinosaur if the need arose. 

[DocM]

 

 

 

[DocM]

 

Attached video in the first post didn't render, so I attached the YouTube  version.

 

 

Edited June 8, 2018 by DocM

[Unobscured Vision]

That's a good way to help mitigate a lot of the zero-G physiology problems during the trip ... and a simple fix too. Plus it'll help keep the tanks somewhat stirred up too. They'll still have to do the usual cryo stirring occasionally, but not as often.

[DocM]

2 items,

 

Propulsion on the upcoming Tesla Roadster 2: it will get  a 'SpaceX Performance Package' with 10 cold air thrusters for enhanced acceleration, deceleration, cornering and stability.

 

Sounds like a candidate for the next Batmobile

 

Clearly, the BFS & Mars base ISRU factory is coming along. 

 

 

[Unobscured Vision]

 

Yessir! This is some gear and techniques that a lot of people in NASA, SpaceX and Academia all over the world have been working on. With efficiency improvements to the Sabatier and other conversion processes (I only mention it because it's the most well-known), as well as success in actually automating a few of the more "touchy" ones, then combining and compacting the gear efficiently, then improving that gear, it's been quite a ride.

 

Forget whatever you've known before about CO2 conversion, folks. We're light years beyond what we were doing five years ago. Remember the recent headline "It is now cheaper and easier to convert CO2 out of the atmosphere of Earth than ever" (citation)? This was impossible before, at least on a large scale, up until these breakthroughs were made. @DocM and I both called it -- when a lot of people were screaming about the excess CO2 levels in the atmosphere, we stated that ISRU technologies were going to be implemented to stop whatever climate change was occurring as a result of greenhouse effects. Now here we are, and those technologies are being implemented ahead of any timetables I personally thought would be possible.

 

Yep ... these are working out way better than people hoped. And I friggin' love it.

[DocM]

Tie to design/build the BFR/BFS production lines

 

http://www.spacex.com/careers/position/217464

 

BFR Build Engineer

The BFR (Big Falcon Rocket) is a massive next generation launch vehicle and spacecraft designed to carry mankind to the moon, Mars, and beyond. Also capable of flying humans from Los Angeles to New York in 25 minutes, the BFR will eventually replace the current Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, and Dragon programs as the primary vehicle for all SpaceX missions. Working directly in the Vehicle Engineering group, the goal of this team is to investigate, test, and develop new hardware, software, and automation efforts capable of supporting advanced metallic and composite joining methods for the BFR. The team works directly with design and analysis engineers in delivering the development and selection of technologies, specifications and methods needed to manufacture critical structures. Focusing on friction stir welding, EB welding and composite tank lamination, the BFR Build Engineer is responsible for delivering results on critical projects with a highly demanding and fast-paced schedule.  

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Drive the technology development for manufacturing cryogenic composite tanks through research, mechanical/destructive testing and sub-scale manufacturing

Work closely with vehicle analysts and manufacturing team to ensure solutions meet the requirements for vehicle design as well as the manufacturing processes

Coordinate and execute development, qualification, and acceptance testing of systems and tooling needed to meet hardware deadlines

Design and produce engineering drawings for tooling and test fixture hardware

Participate in design reviews internally and with suppliers and customers

Partner with engineering & production teams to generate ideas, designs, and improvements for current and next-generation vehicles 

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

Bachelor's degree in engineering (mechanical, aerospace, or material science)

Hands-on project experience with complex mechanical systems, preferably as a team or sub-team lead

CAD and drafting experience with NX or other CAD software packages

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

2+ years professional experience in the field of aerospace/mechanical engineering

Excellent grasp of mechanical engineering fundamentals

Experience with fracture-critical component design/analysis 

Background in material science, with a focus on aerospace alloys, composite and/or pressurized structures 

Experience with finite element analysis (FEA) software packages

Experience with welding processes such as fusion, electron beam and friction-stir

Strong background in composite structures with knowledge of automated fiber placement, autoclaves and composite design criteria

Exposure to advanced NDE methods such as phased array ultrasonics, eddy current arrays and digital radiography

Strong interpersonal and organizational skills

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

Must be available to work long hours and weekends as needed

[DocM]

Whoa....

 

 

 

[Unobscured Vision]

NDA zone for me.

[DocM]

In this case "SX" may not stand for SpaceX but single crystal - superalloys whose structure doesn't have grain boundaries. They can be prefixed with either SC or SX.

[Unobscured Vision]

Well, as Elon said it's very, very good and very, very strong even at high temperatures. And durable ... Ti really has nothing on this metal. And it barely expands like Ti is known to do, so there ya go. Essentially perfect for the job it needs to do.

[DocM]

Also sounds good for metallic TPS tiles.

[DocM]

GULP!!!