SpaceX Updates  (Thread 9)

By DocM
in Science News & Discussion

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Grand Master

Blue-Vision

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..... aaaand he broke the embargo .... did they not tell people not to publicise their attendance there?! Yeesh ....

 

I'd been invited but couldn't get clearance due to the .. [ahem] "thing" ... that cost me my cushy Apprenticeship job a year ago. I'm still kicking myself in the rear over that one. :no: Gonna cause me problems later on, darn it.

Mentor

Beittil

Posted
Posted (edited)

Keith Cowing has a list of attendees. Of course all the usual suspects are there, universities, NASA, etc. 

 

But when I saw Caterpillar in that list my heart jumped a bit... I can't wait to see the day when they would unveil some outlandish line of Mars hardened dirt movers and shovels. Omg omg

 

Fully robotic or maybe even with pressure canbins for human operation. Rrrrrrrrr

 

http://nasawatch.com/archives/2018/08/update-on-that.html

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Grand Master

Blue-Vision

Posted
Posted (edited)

Cat have been part of the plans since the beginning. Their regolith- and soil-moving equipment expertise is needed. Nobody builds dozers-n-stuff like they do.

 

And these aren't gonna be small-time, either. A good portion of the upmass heading to Mars will be a regolith-mover designed for that environment.

 

[EDIT] *At least on that first one or two ships ... more as needed.

Grand Master

DocM

Posted
  • Author
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Yup, Caterpillar worked with NASA on early lunar excavating machines for the Constellation program. Doing Mars should be easier.

 

https://www.caterpillar.com/en/news/caterpillarNews/innovation/nasa-caterpillar-collaboration-for-technology-advancement.html

 

robototizirovanij_pogruz4ik_cat.thumb.jpg.f6f7dc280ec8233feb0dc1a8f3d9b726.jpg

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Grand Master

DocM

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The US will be launching the LOP-G Power and Propulsion Element on a "commercial launcher."  PPE was originally manifested on the NASA Space Launch System (SLS.)

 

https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-falcon-heavy-eyed-europe-japan-ula-spectacular-delta-heavy-launch/

 

Quote

SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy eyed by Europe/Japan as ULA nails spectacular Delta Heavy launch

 

The first payload considering Falcon Heavy for launch services is the Japanese Space Agency’s (JAXA) HTV-X, and upgraded version of a spacecraft the country developed to assist in resupplying the International Space Station (ISS). HTV-X is primarily being designed with an ISS-resupply role still at the forefront, but Russianspaceweb recently reported that JAXA is seriously considering the development of a variant of the robotic spacecraft dedicated to resupplying the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway (LOPG)
>
>
That impressive performance would also be needed for another LOPG payload, this time for ESA’s 5-6 ton European System Providing Refueling Infrastructure and Telecommunications (ESPRIT) lunar station module. That component is unlikely to reach launch readiness before 2024, but ESA is already considering Falcon Heavy (over its own Ariane 6 rocket) in order to save some of the module’s propellant. Weighing 6 metric tons at most, Falcon Heavy could most likely launch ESPRIT while still recovering all three of its booster stages.
>

 

Edited by DocM
  • 2 weeks later...
Grand Master

Draggendrop Veteran

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Here is a link for acronym/decronyms, not secured...but the can be saved as a pdf or copied to a txt for reference.

 

This is where a pdf creation extension for your browser will come in handy...ie   "save as pdf" for Chrome Browser. 

 

http://decronym.xyz/acronyms/SpaceX

Grand Master

Draggendrop Veteran

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I think SpaceX may have a launch or two coming their way....

 

Telesat says ideal LEO constellation is 292 satellites, but could be 512

 

Quote

PARIS — Satellite fleet operator Telesat says the desired size of its future low Earth orbit broadband constellation is more than twice the number of satellites authorized by U.S. regulators, and could ultimately scale to 512 spacecraft.

Canada-based Telesat received approval for a 117-satellite network from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission in November, triggering a regulatory deadline to have at least half that number in orbit within six years and the total in nine.

Speaking at the World Satellite Business Week conference here, Erwin Hudson, Telesat LEO vice president, said the operator’s true ambitions are much larger.

“Our business plan is largely based around 292 [satellites], but the system is designed to scale to 512, and we can scale to 512 if … once we get fully underway, we can justify that on a business and economic basis,” he said.

more at...

 

https://spacenews.com/telesat-says-ideal-leo-constellation-is-292-satellites-but-could-be-512/

Grand Master

Draggendrop Veteran

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SpaceX has signed the world’s first private passenger to fly around the Moon aboard our BFR launch vehicle—an important step toward enabling access for everyday people who dream of traveling to space. Find out who’s flying and why on Monday, September 17.

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1040397262248005632

 

DnA7hZgU8AAxfxC.thumb.jpg.4fe2740812f3cf4488582da5dd5da841.jpg

Grand Master

Draggendrop Veteran

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Dragon 2 trip was cancelled sometime last year...all resources going to BFR/BFS instead.

 

I would have to look it up, but it made sense when I read the announcement. It was due to cost of modifications and the CC delays.

 

//

 

Quote

Find out who’s flying and why on Monday, September 17 at 6pm PT.

https://www.spacex.com/webcast

 

The stream will begin on the above date...stream below.

 

[utube]

 

 

// notice the "fins" in the upper BFS render....could be interesting....

Edited by Draggendrop
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Grand Master

DocM

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Looks like leg pods at the tip of each fin. Sounds like they're taking cues from Robert A. Heinlein, the Luna spaceship in the film Destination Moon.  

 

Canard winglets at the front?

 

Passenger may be Japanese 

 

BFS_2.0_crop-3.thumb.jpg.ac257f6676d3740c793cfd5648c25a25.jpg

 

BFS-2.0-crop-1.thumb.jpg.85737d0a349e3d1b94971205657fb326.jpg

 

Luna

 

1544525511_DestinationMoonLuna_RAH.thumb.jpg.d7464bf0940dd9883c893af0826cf0c8.jpg

Edited by DocM
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