Space and Science BS Thread

New Shephard is their tourist hop to the Karman line booster. It jettisons the capsule and performs an rtls. The capsule descends on parachutes and lands on inflatable cushions wherever the breeze takes it. Both are completely reusable unlike crew dragon which only gets used for cargo after a single crewed mission. If they can ever get approved for a powered descent that might change. It’s New Glenn(among others) that’s waiting on the BE-4. This fall could be make or break time for it, we’ll see. Raptor II seems to be making more progress but that could be because we get to see so much more of its testing, neither one has yet flown. We also don’t see much of the NG rocket but it could be that they’re also waiting on BE-4’s success before expending any more capital on it. Not a very optimistic approach and not good for keeping your people or maintaining momentum.

 

I’ve been mistaken so many times in so many ways I’ve lost track. Learning the language, the different companies, their ships and all of the many programs is never ending. I’m only just now learning about cycle types and their trade offs and why it’s soooo hard. No matter how much you spend there’s no guarantee of success until you fly. Spacex is doing it right according to their model but this part of the program is still a fledgling.

 

Crew Dragon is reusable.

 

This is the rough part for sure. I've been watching a bunch of Scott Manley's videos because he explains it well. Except there are SSOOO many acronyms! And don't even go looking at the Russian stuff yet!

 

Like I said, I get stuff wrong. In this case NASA went from no to yes. It was built to be reusable but originally NASA said they wouldn’t approve it as such. The order in which articles are read really messes me up.

 

I'm also dyslexic. I hate ti.

 

Starlink 4-2 at 39A.

 

So is the cargo version

 

I think the turnaround time for both is supposed to be much longer than for Starliner but since the later has yet to be certified it’s still moot as well as unproven. CD has more cargo capacity than Starliner (almost double) so I wonder how much payload the trunk would lose to accommodate landing capabilities and eliminate the dunking. I think some time ago I read (but had forgotten) that Spacex discontinued production of CD in order to focus more effort and resources on Starship which will ultimately take its place unless demand for CD increases. Even if it did I’d expect a new iteration of CD.

 

In jest...

 

At some point the next disaster in space flight will happen, Murphy will always have the last word. I just hope it’s not during Artemis. If they’re going to short cut safety protocols they better be damn sure the rewards outweigh the risks.

 

If by CD you mean Cargo Dragon, there’s the Dragon XL being developed for cislunar operations.

I doubt, with the planned obsolescence of the ISS in a decade or so, they’d be developing anything else outside of a Starship based model.

 

Good for SpX:
https://twitter.com/nextspaceflight/status/1568352934886543360?s=46&t=pdYNkV44-W2OJefHwTyoNw

 

Sorry about the ambiguity, I actually did mean crew dragon. The trunk section has more cargo capacity in it than Starliner’s service module. It could well be that after the hatch closes on the ISS for the last time there won’t be any more use of dragon capsules but it’s not very difficult to imagine where they could be used in situations where an all up Starship and SH booster aren’t called for. They said they weren’t planning any such uses but also that any future production could still happen if the need arises.

 

Don't forget the various successor space stations, from the Axiom segment to orbital reef.

 

Exactly. I don’t think Spacex would be shy about taking contracts, especially for a proven ship and booster combo ready to fly now. Not everyone will want a semi when they only need a taxi.

 

14 times.

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1568770168716951553

 

Launched and landed

 

About that fire…
http://www.krgv.com/news/spacex-fire-burns-68-acres-of-protected-refuge/

 

https://twitter.com/spacex/status/1568773631211360257?s=46&t=pi0GYeInaZ1c55eqh6uycw