SpaceX Updates  (Thread 9)

By DocM
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Grand Master

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Btw, SpaceX is no longer planning to upgrade Falcon 9 second stage for reusability. Accelerating BFR instead. New design is very exciting! Delightfully counter-intuitive.

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1063865779156729857

 

 

This is what was assumed anyway...only "change" was a temporary mod for ED testing purpose flights only. The testing design and/or requirement may have changed also...will see shortly....quick iteration on the fly is the way forward.

Grand Master

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44 minutes ago, DocM said:

More than that, he tweeted about a "Racical change" to BFR/S. See that thread.

Yes...I saw that awhile ago...got around the net fast.

 

I was probably not expressing myself well. The post was an implication to what the next design will entail for ED testing. I imagine this aspect will still require analysis via F9...just a different shape now for a different concept.

 

Elon keeps one guessing...bit of fun though. The "entry" will not change much, The "descent" may have a different profile now but this may still benefit from a sub-scale control model on F9 .

 

I assume major structure still the same for the "jigs"....control authority changes perhaps...could end up looking like the Vulcan bomber or "Rocky" the flying squirrel....going to get more popcorn.. 

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Grand Master

DocM

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Cider hell, a keg of craft  IPA.

 

I'm thinking the changes will be aerodynamic, and perhaps changing the nose from an ogive to spherical. Simpler to build with existing tooling (cylinder & dome.)

 

Tonight an NSFer  postilated adding SR-71 style chines to increase the surface area for entry and the parachute descent. It'd be a shame to leave such high-volume structures empty.

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Grand Master

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SpaceX announces their launch of the first GPS 3 satellite on a Falcon 9 is scheduled for no earlier than Dec. 18 from Cape Canaveral (SLC-40). That would be the third of four remaining F9 launches on the company’s manifest for 2018.

https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/1064663583257214976

 

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Booster B1054 is set to be invovled with this mission. It's currently classed as "Expendable" meaning no recovery on the Eastern Range. This is the passenger:

https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1064663265190600704

 

DsZxeflX4AIK8qp.thumb.jpg.a115ee10c2ea3b8a9ddda4ec7b821eca.jpg

 

And the new era will begin....will be an awesome system.

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Grand Master

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SpaceX fairing recovery vessel Mr. Steven’s owner abruptly files for bankruptcy

 

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The legal owners of SpaceX’s sole fairing recovery vessel are in dire financial straits, signaled by business owner Steven Miguez’s decision to file for bankruptcy as a last chance of protecting Seatran Marine, a company which owns and leases eight utility vessels known as crew boats.

 

Mr. Steven, leased by SpaceX in late 2017, is one of those crew boats, although he has since been dramatically modified to support a series of consecutively larger arms, nets, and other various components in hopes of eventually catching Falcon 9 payload fairings out of the air. While there is most likely no serious risk of SpaceX actually losing access to Mr. Steven, this development still raises the question of what will happen to the ship in the near and more distant future.

 

snip

 

As indicated in the tweet above, the ultimate outcome – at least for the time being – is simple uncertainty, as Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings will prevent Miguez from having to foreclose on Mr. Steven in the short term. If the Miguez family can rapidly find a solution for its money troubles, all could proceed unchanged. However, with all due respect to the owners and to Seatran Marine’s employees, Chapter 11 bankruptcy simply is not easily undone and is generally a last resort to be used only after all alternative solutions have been exhausted. Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings can take anywhere from a few months to several years to complete, tending to take longer as the scale and complexity of the filing party grows.

 

MAKING THE BEST OF A BAD SITUATION

 

Leased by Seatran to operator Guice Offshore (GO), SpaceX’s primary fleet manager on both coasts, GO (and thus SpaceX) had contracted to pay at least $3300 a day to use Mr. Steven, although that contract expired in October 2018. The new terms are unclear and it’s unknown if a replacement contract has yet to be signed.

 

Given the situation at hand and despite the sad financial circumstances facing the vessel’s owners, SpaceX may be in the best position yet to purchase Mr. Steven outright, assuming the company expects to continue attempting Falcon fairing recoveries for the indefinite future. In 2015, namesake Steven Miguez took out a $22.5M loan to cover Mr. Steven’s construction costs, offering a rough price ceiling for the modern, high-performance Fast Supply Vessel (FSV). While the most obvious interested buyer would be GO itself, it’s unlikely that the company has a sum of that size to offer, meaning that GO would need to take out its own loan to acquire the ship.

 

snip

 

BUSINESS AS USUAL?

 

In the meantime, it does not appear that these unfortunate legal issues have had a tangible impact on GO and SpaceX’s near-term ability to operate Mr. Steven. Around November 20th, SpaceX and GO crew performed the most recent of a series of Falcon fairing recovery tests, dropping a half from a helicopter to provide Mr. Steven a comparatively controlled environment to practice catches. Earlier this month, CEO Elon Musk appeared to imply that Mr. Steven would not attempt to catch Falcon 9’s fairing halves following the West Coast launch of SSO-A, at the time scheduled for November 19th.

 

Since then, SSO-A’s flight-proven Falcon 9 launch has slipped a full two weeks thanks to a combination of additional inspections and bad weather, now targeting launch NET December 2. It’s a stretch, but there is at least a slight chance that SSO-A’s excessive launch slips could mean that Mr. Steven will be able to attempt fairing recovery after all, at least per Musk’s suggestion that SpaceX would “try again next month”.

https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-fairing-recovery-vessel-mr-steven-legal-owner-bankrupt/

 

While some see this as an opportunity for a SpaceX purchase....caution dictates as leasing does have advantages..

 

Mr-Steven-Berth-240-111018-Pauline-Acali

An overview of Mr. Steven on November 10th, shortly after his new arm’s cables were attached. (Pauline Acalin)

 

 

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Grand Master

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SeaTran Marine has 18 vessels of which only Mr Steven is in use for SpaceX. Being somewhat protected for now, Mr Steven will probably be catching fairings for a while to come.

 

SeaTran Marine

 

25315761_SeaTranvessels.thumb.jpg.daab4d8853077fc40ea4d2f20c7fdbe8.jpg

 

top line is Mr Steven...larger context in the link...

 

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Guice Offshore (GO)

 

1468830972_GuiceOffshore.thumb.jpg.7fc22024dc6596e63c894088be3551e2.jpg

 

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East Coast tug is Hawk

154354691_HAWKEasttug.thumb.jpg.4ea1665176fab6c5224590f4707dd13e.jpg

 

West Coast tug is Pacific Freedom

700888174_PACIFIC_FREEDOMwesttug.thumb.jpg.3a82824184322de064cd231c8648dca0.jpg

 

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Grand Master

DocM

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A trip in Mr. Peabody's WAYBAC Machine gives us this tidbit of SpaceX lore....

 

Smithsonian Air & Space...

 

Part of the Merlin’s qualification testing involves feeding a stainless steel nut into the fuel and oxidizer lines while the engine is running—a test that would destroy most engines but leaves the Merlin running basically unhindered.

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