Recommended Posts

All that needs to happen now is Dragon 2 success and BFR Dev to go by-the-numbers.

 

Imagine, ten years from now, how hot SpaceX's value is going to be. Starlink is gonna be up and running, BFR/BFS is going to be THE platform of choice for literally everything ... and that's just SpaceX's stuff. :yes: 

 

The 2020's are gonna be great.

4 hours ago, DocM said:

The BFR factory site is cleared & needs filling, StarLink's VLEO constellation getting approved, Boca Chica is being built, etc. etc.

This is a $500 million funding.

 

Just my opinion but Boca Chica will be pocket change for another "grasshopper" . BFR/BFS was envisioned to be done via SpaceX profits as is...Starlink is on another level and will command more than 90% of this. 

 

See my post 5 minutes ago in Starlink...Starlink is bigger than BFS/BFR at this moment.

Quote

The team at our rocket development facility in McGregor, Texas completed a static fire test last night of the Falcon 9 booster that will launch SpaceX’s first demonstration mission for @NASA’s Commercial Crew Program – one step closer to flying astronauts to the @Space_Station!

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1055978878043181056

 

DqeW9mtX0AASXaC.thumb.jpg.ec77fcdfbf50817ac3f366076913c6db.jpg

 

//   I also put this in CC...this is huge..this puppy has the new COPV's and it's eventual static fire coming up at 39A will begin the "fueling 5 count". 

 

 

Quote

That's Falcon 9 Block 5 B1051.1. A normal flow would mean this could be processed for a December mission, based on the timeline of SF at McGregor-to-Launch. DM-1 is, however, also pending Dragon 2 preparation status and the recently noted "Paperwork" on the NASA side.

https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1055980118194171907

 

 

  • Like 2
Quote

"NASA Invites Media to 16th SpaceX Cargo Launch to Space Station" - which firms up the launch date target of *December 4*, T-0 at 1:38pm EST. Booster will be landing at LZ-1.

https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1057651378523435013

 

 

  • Like 1

in reference to this...

 

DrCdc7fU8AADFn_.thumb.jpg.c67bdc7dbac4a690db5f73d0ed6bec21.jpg

 

had a laugh at this...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0Jv9K4KAgU&feature=youtu.be

 

..will have to use the link....posting is fussy today...30 sec Starman gif

 

  • Like 1

Bloomberg..

 

Quote

SpaceX Seeks $750 Million Loan Via New Arranger BofA


Elon Musk’s rocket company SpaceX is planning to launch a $750 million leveraged loan this week, which will now be led by Bank of America Corp. instead of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Bank of America has scheduled a Nov. 7 presentation for potential investors, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the transaction is private.
>

 

Quote

r/SpaceX is too talented. Render of Falcon 9 with mini-BFS upper stage by u/purpleefilthh

 

https://twitter.com/TGMetsFan98/status/1060315564646821898

 

Drb_YVCVAAEw1o8.thumb.jpg.2b0ad051668b30e70f8a6730137df849.jpg

 

larger image...

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Drb_YVCVAAEw1o8.jpg:large

 

 

  • Like 2
Quote

SpaceX circulates price guidance on $750 million term loan https://reut.rs/2Qs4cHU

 

https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1060308517075255297

 

SpaceX circulates price guidance on $750 million term loan

 

Quote

NEW YORK (LPC) - Elon Musk’s rocket and spacecraft company SpaceX on Wednesday circulated pricing on a proposed $750 million term loan that will put cash on the company’s balance sheet, two sources said.

 

The company floated pricing in the 400bp-425bp over Libor range with a 0% floor and a discount of 99. The loan will have six months of soft call protection at 101.

 

Bank of America Merrill Lynch is leading. Commitments are due November 16.

 

As it markets the deal among potential investors, SpaceX is keeping close tabs on the company’s financials, according to sources.

 

However, this secrecy has not deterred interest from the investment community.

 

“It’s a brave new world,” said one loan investor. “I think there are some companies in this new economy space that are really interesting and this is why you’re seeing Uber and WeWork and even Tesla to some extent able to line up debt.”

 

SpaceX is based in Hawthorne, California, and employs more than 6,000 people. Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla, founded the company in 2002 with the goal of assisting humans in living on other planets.

 

SpaceX declined comment. BAML did not immediately return a request for comment.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-spacex-pricing-idUSKCN1NC2WR?utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_content=5be370d204d3015cddbb1ab4&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter

 

  • Thanks 1

It's a really, really smart move. Having a sub-scale article like this lets them do all sorts of real-world testing on the materials and aero surfaces that the simulations can't possibly predict. The "kitchen sink" testing methodology. I'm a strong proponent of it. :yes: 

  • Like 2

Can someone explain to me how they are landing the second stage in layman's terms?  I can make some assumptions but aerosurfaces and high mach control surfaces are a couple new word I haven't seen much here.  I assume high mach control surfaces are new ways of directing stage 2 on the way down?  I did a little looking up on Aerosurfaces and it talks about gliding down, but I don't see stage 2 or BFS having wheels and landing like the shuttle did so what are they going to do?  I've also seen the Mars simulation but they can't fire the mVac engines up for a propulsive landing.

You guys know what everyone else does from the tweets.

 

My guess...

 

Boca Chica for the sub orbital test vehicle, which includes propulsive landing.

 

F9 second stage mod for LEO ED and not L....but they will want to look over the goodies in addition to telemetry...non reusable.

 

Aerobrake, lifting body to "skydive mode" and then chute/parafoil into the drink with bouyancy ring, bouncy castle or questionable Mr Steven but the size bothers me and damage to ship is too risky for my liking.

 

My guess is that they will "claim" a previously enjoyed S1, also use it for analysis as it gets pushed past 3 to 5 uses.

 

I would think 2 or maybe 3 modified stages in quick order...approx 8 months...costs being fuel, handling and mod S2 

 

What do I know, I'm just an internet troll.

  • Like 1

My now evolved guess is a dedicated test vehicle with a close to full fidelity outer mold line. F9 S2 subs for the BFS propulsion module/tanks. May not use the MVac nozzle extension. The rest is a CF layup & ballast.
 
Validates the aerodynamics up and down, and tests the fins during a Skydiver descent.

 

A landing must be done to evaluate the thermal protection system(s) so it needs a basic guidance system,  a return mechanism, and an RCS.

 

ISTM all these can be done using items already tested for fairing recovery; cold gas thruster RCS, a riff of the fairing guidance system, and the GPS guided parafoil (but larger.)

 

Dedicated test flights using a high mileage Flight Proven™ booster.

Edited by DocM
  • Like 3

Mr Steven will be a shocker to the folks at Fish Lips :)

 

That new drone ship will be ASDS A Shortfall of Gravitas 

 

Having two drone ships means they can catch both Falcon Heavy boosters at sea for expended center-core  launches to high energy destinations. Mars, asteroid belt, the outer planets, super-heavy payloads etc.

 

Falcon Heavy will be open for business 👽

Edited by DocM
  • Like 1

Scott Manley, as usual, brings up great points...

 

This whole situation is a very tough call...

 

We have seen SpaceX perform most of their iterative testing while flying customer payloads...this is very smart for resource utilization.

 

At this juncture in time, a reliability reputation is being cemented, further enhanced by the latest NASA payload certification and customers are evolving to first stage reusability. I feel that this can not be interfered with...this pays the bills for 7000 employees.

 

Again though, SpaceX has been consistent... in stunning us with how far they will go...but at this point, in development, we have time as an enemy. BFS testing is very important...but the constellation, in my opinion, is more important....the "chicken or the egg""...well, maybe a bit of both. (BFS context for constellation launches)

 

First mini BFS hops from Boca Chica by end of 2019.....and constellation initial launches around the same time. It appears the biggest data venues are Entry/Descent characteristics with control surfaces and of course TPS.

 

For this, the Mvac bell bothers me less as telemetry will be indicative of a more turbulent environment and still represent force/actions for interpretation. The TPS can be monitored via telemetry sensors for heat displacement, even better if IR equipment used for observation as the S2 can be brought down over a telemetry receptive area and observational equipment can be made available. If they can recover bits of stage 2 for inspection, that would be great but I am less convinced of the importance of this action. I think telemetry, few extra heat transducers and IR observation will supply what they need.

 

This can be carried out many times before the end of 2019, leaving customer payloads alone but utilizing S2 after payload deployment to gather the required data. We don't really need a recovery and this really saves money and a lot of hassle.

 

I like this approach with the addition of observational surface equipment and telemetry acquisition by controlled stage re-entry.

 

In the end, we all want to see futuristic eye candy but I feel here we need to run the business and acquire what is needed in an affordable and "timely" fashion.

 

// This is my approach for today...till someone else throws a wrench at it, like ^^^.

 

😎

 

 

 

Falcon 1 Flight 1 at distance

 

From National Geographic "Mars" primer....new footage?

 

 

video is 32 seconds

 

//   Remember kids, the only difference between messing around and scientific experimentation is...writing it down somewhere.......and sometimes youtube

 

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Posts

    • Dude, im talking about simply disable it from settings app. Because of the eu regulation, you could disable it here for years.
    • One big question about Mars was answered thanks to Einstein's 100 year old theory by Sayan Sen Image via DepositPhotos Scientists at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have calculated how time passes on Mars compared with Earth, adding detail to how timekeeping would need to work beyond Earth’s orbit. The study, published in The Astronomical Journal, found that clocks on Mars run an average of 477 microseconds, or millionths of a second, faster per day than clocks on Earth. A microsecond is one millionth of a second, a very small unit used in precise scientific timing systems such as atomic clocks, which measure time using consistent atomic behavior. This difference is not constant. Because Mars moves around the Sun in a non-circular path (an eccentric orbit, meaning its distance from the Sun changes over time instead of staying fixed) and is affected by gravity from other bodies, the daily difference can vary by as much as 226 microseconds over a Martian year. The study also identifies smaller repeating changes of about 40 microseconds per day linked to synodic cycles (repeating periods that describe how planets line up with each other as they orbit the Sun from different positions). These longer patterns affect how time differences slowly rise and fall. To make these estimates, researchers compared Mars with Earth and the Moon. The work looks at relativistic proper time (the time actually measured by a clock depending on its speed and the strength of gravity where it is located, as described in Einstein’s relativity). This shows that each world has its own slightly different “rate” of time. This becomes more important as space missions expand into cislunar space (the region between Earth and the Moon) and toward Mars. On Earth, time systems rely on atomic clocks and satellites, which stay closely synchronized for navigation and communication. The study is based on Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity, which shows that time is affected by gravity and motion. Stronger gravity makes clocks run slower, while weaker gravity makes them run faster. “The time is just right for the Moon and Mars,” said NIST physicist Bijunath Patla. “This is the closest we have been to realizing the science fiction vision of expanding across the solar system.” A day on Mars is about 40 minutes longer than on Earth, and a Martian year lasts 687 Earth days. But the main question is not just about days and years, but how fast time itself passes. An atomic clock placed on Mars would function normally, but compared with one on Earth, the two would slowly drift apart due to differences in gravity and motion. This requires careful calculation of what is similar to a time-zone difference across planets. Researchers modeled Mars using a reference surface and included gravitational effects from the Sun, Earth, the Moon, and other planets. This includes a multi-body gravitational system (often described as a three-body or four-body problem, where predicting motion becomes difficult because multiple large objects all pull on each other at the same time through gravity). Mars also follows a Keplerian orbit (an idealized elliptical orbit based on simple gravitational laws that assume smooth motion, before adding real-world disturbances from other bodies). In addition, the researchers accounted for solar tides (small changes in gravitational force caused by the Sun that slightly distort planetary motion and timing, especially in systems involving Earth and the Moon). These combined effects are described as relativistic proper-time offsets (small but measurable differences in elapsed time between locations caused by gravity and motion), which must be included when comparing clocks across planets. “But for Mars, that’s not the case. Its distance from the Sun and its eccentric orbit make the variations in time larger. A three-body problem is extremely complicated. Now we’re dealing with four: the Sun, Earth, the Moon and Mars,” Patla explained. “The heavy lifting was more challenging than I initially thought.” Although the differences are extremely small, they matter for navigation and communication systems that depend on precise timing. Even modern networks on Earth, such as mobile systems, rely on timing accuracy at very small fractions of a second. Communication between Earth and Mars currently takes about four to 24 minutes or more depending on planetary positions, meaning signals are not real-time. A shared and accurate time system could help future missions reduce confusion in navigation and data exchange. “If you get synchronization, it will be almost like real-time communication without any loss of information. You don’t have to wait to see what happens,” Patla said. Researchers note that fully developed interplanetary communication networks are still far in the future. However, understanding how time behaves across planets helps prepare for those systems. “It may be decades before the surface of Mars is covered by the tracks of wandering rovers, but it is useful now to study the issues involved in establishing navigation systems on other planets and moons,” said Neil Ashby. “Like current global navigation systems like GPS, these systems will depend on accurate clocks, and the effects on clock rates can be analyzed with the help of Einstein’s general theory of relativity.” Patla added that the results also help improve understanding of time itself under relativity. “It's good to know for the first time what is happening on Mars timewise. Nobody knew that before. It improves our knowledge of the theory itself, the theory of how clocks tick and relativity,” he said. Source: NIST, IOPscience This article was generated with some help from AI and reviewed by an editor. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, this material is used for the purpose of news reporting. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.
    • TeraCopy 4.0 Build 26 by Razvan Serea TeraCopy is a compact program designed to copy and move files at the maximum possible speed, also providing you with a lot of features. Copy files faster. TeraCopy uses dynamically adjusted buffers to reduce seek times. Asynchronous copy speeds up file transfer between two physical hard drives. Pause and resume transfers. Pause copy process at any time to free up system resources and continue with a single click. Error recovery. In case of copy error, TeraCopy will try several times and in the worse case just skips the file, not terminating the entire transfer. Interactive file list. TeraCopy shows failed file transfers and lets you fix the problem and recopy only problem files. Shell integration. TeraCopy can completely replace Explorer copy and move functions, allowing you work with files as usual. TeraCopy is free for non-commercial use only. For commercial use you need to buy a license. The paid version of the program includes the following features: Copy/move to your favorite folders. Save reports as HTML and CSV files. Select files with the same extension/folder. Remove the selected files from the copy queue. TeraCopy 4.0 Build 26 changelog: Added support for receiving files via the LocalSend protocol. Improved exception handling and automated bug report upload. Fixed several minor bugs and small memory leaks. Build 26 (June 24) Fixed a rare exception when a transfer completed. Features added since version 3.17: Enhanced speed graph. New multi-threaded copy engine. Support for copying to multiple targets. Queue system for managing multiple copy operations. Support for receiving files via the LocalSend protocol. TeraCopy entry in the modern Windows Explorer context menu. Integrated toolbar in the title bar. Why receive LocalSend transfers with TeraCopy? Handle file conflicts: Skip, overwrite, or rename files when a file with the same name already exists. LocalSend always creates another copy, which can waste time and disk space, especially when resuming an interrupted transfer. Filter unwanted files: Apply ignore lists or remove files manually before accepting a transfer, so unnecessary files are not downloaded. Better performance on fast networks: In tests over a 10 Gbps connection, TeraCopy received files several times faster than the standard LocalSend app on Windows. Download: TeraCopy 4.0 Build 26 | 14.5 MB (Freeware, paid upgrade available) View: TeraCopy Website | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • Briefly used Turbo Pascal (and Turbo C++) in 97 and soon after that I bought PC magazine that included a full version of Delphi 2. I still use Delphi today, some 29 years later.
    • Age of Empires Mobile comes to PC, here's how to carry over progress from your phone by Ivan Jenic Image: YouTube/Microsoft Microsoft just released Age of Empires Mobile for PC. The game, officially called Age of Empires Mobile: PC Edition, is available for free on Steam and Microsoft Store, almost two years after its initial release for handheld devices. Age of Empires is one of those franchises that entire generations grew up with. The original came out in 1997, and immediately got people hooked to building civilizations and crushing their enemies on the battlefield. However, the franchise today is a far cry from its roots, as Age of Empires Mobile is, well, a game optimized for handheld devices, and not a classic RTS title we’ve all loved for years. And, of course, it includes in-game purchases. The PC version is still a mobile game at its core, but it’s been optimized for desktop play. There’s mouse control, full keyboard compatibility, and a refined UI. Microsoft also refreshed the visuals with some 4k textures, so the game should look better on larger screens. The game supports Crossplay, so you can switch between your phone, tablet, and PC without losing anything. But linked progress doesn’t come out of the box, as you have to enable it first. Here’s how to link your progress: On your mobile device, open Age of Empires Mobile. Go to Settings (Gear icon) > Account. Select Bind Account and choose a sign-in option. Once you enable account binding, sign in on PC using the same method, and your progress will be accessible across all your devices. Xbox Game Pass subscribers also get a bonus reward pack on PC, which includes: 1 Monthly Pass Token 1 Custom Resource Chest 10 Universal 60-Minute Speed-Ups 1,000 Empire Coins Exclusive Player Portrait Frame You can find more info about Age of Empires Mobile: PC Edition, as well as download links, on the Age of Empires official website.
  • Recent Achievements

    • One Year In
      Philsl earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Dedicated
      Scoobystu earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • First Post
      Tom Schmidt earned a badge
      First Post
    • One Month Later
      D0nn13 earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Rookie
      +ChiefOfNeo went up a rank
      Rookie
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      458
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      177
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      124
    4. 4
      Michael Scrip
      79
    5. 5
      Xenon
      76
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!