Space and Science BS Thread

https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1771520797590327743?s=46

 

https://x.com/rookisaacman/status/1771612990455824767?s=46

 

“It seemed like a fun idea at the time.”
https://x.com/airandspace/status/1771577824626823193?s=46
https://x.com/airandspace/status/1771714801435119713?s=46

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VVo5DT1k9LM
So Starliner has 7 of the remaining Atlas V launch vehicles reserved. It’s also compatible with both F9 and Centaur but Vulcan/Centaur has a pretty full dance card because of backlog so what I’m wondering is if:
Boeing drops Starliner after they complete the NASA contract.
Boeing picks up more CST missions and rides on Centaur once that system gets crew rated.
Boeing picks up more CST missions and rides on F9.
Boeing doesn’t get any more CST missions because by the time they’ve satisfied the contract the ISS will be on its way down.
Boeing gets a contract with Axiom, BO/SS, or possibly another player in the orbital station market. I left out VAST Haven-1 since they already have a contract with a certified Spacex crew vehicle whereas I’m not sure who Axiom will use after separating and Sierra Space is at least a few years away from having a crew certified version(assuming Dream Chaser is successful).

As slow and costly as it has been I still would think NASA would prefer to extend Starliner unless it proves to be an abject failure in which case they might be inclined to promote acceleration of Dream Chaser production/testing and its crewed follow up. ESA seems to be a mess and while cooperating with them is politically sound I can’t imagine counting on them for a crew service program.
Would we look across the Pacific for possible partners from Australia, Japan, India, or even China?

The farther we go the more likely, complicated, and needful, multinational support for rescue missions will become. It would be tragic for lives to be lost because of hardware incompatibility.

 

https://x.com/alanstern/status/1772011486371528827?s=46

 

How much has Boeing lost on Starliner at this point? They might keep it going for the write off and with Blue Oasis or whatever it’s called, who knows who’s gonna come knocking.

 

According to the video I just posted ~1.5 B but it’s anyone’s guess how they come up with that and what bookkeeping shenanigans might be involved to either inflate or shrink the number.

 

Here’s a decent breakdown from NSF of what might be ahead for the SH program along with an appraisal of this years goals and their chances of meeting them.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3-nolbBZvw4
I’m curious what will become of the OLIT2 at KSC and whether HunterDC’s speculation re not using 39A in the near future might mean that launch mount ring gets sent to BC since the columns for it are coming down.
They wondered about Spacex not utilize all the tower construction embeds at Sanchez but my thought is it’s due to the lack of parking so they are just using the space at the harbor and back at KSC Robert’s Rd to work on some of the tower segments and they only get brought to Sanchez when either the work on them is complete or the parking garage is done.

 

Flight 4 Starship
https://x.com/spacex/status/1772372482214801754?s=46

 

I wonder what a “full duration burn” will look like when the flame trench and test stand are ready at Massey’s.

 

I bet something as long as what it would take to fully insert Starship into orbit. Basically hot staging to SECO.

 

Wild stuff:
https://x.com/ehtelescope/status/1772971844271812874?s=46

 

I would be flabbergasted to hear of a star of any size not having a matching magnetic field. All that spinning, high energy shit can’t really do otherwise.

 

https://x.com/spacex/status/1773081429783564394?s=46

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9UYj6jOXDV8

I wonder why they didn’t just use a B-52 instead of designing and building a rather bizarre one-of-a-kind launch vehicle. Does Boeing no longer make the airframe and the DOD jealousy guards those remaining? Not a high enough altitude capability? Nope, this one has only reached 27,000ft while the B-52 could reach 50,000. The payload is much higher but the TA is only a fraction of a B-52’s lift capacity. They require a heavy lift, high wing plane but the Roc seems like an underperforming ego trip by Rutan.

 

I also thought it was a rather large waist of money to build a custom launch platform. But I would suspect not getting a B-52 would have something to do with the various peace treaties and the AF letting go of a strategic military asset. They'd probably have better luck getting a C-5 or a C-17, though I have no idea how those would best be modified to launch AC. Maybe possible to use a drag chute out the back?

 

Vid is old but I read a recent article about this tech....speeds greater than Mach 5 is nuts.

 

It just seemed odd to me given that the plane that launched the X-15 is still in use and getting engine upgrades. It’s not like they need it to have an entire suite of avionics or the electronic warfare package. They borrowed what they needed for the flight deck and engines from another plane anyway, all they really needed was a high enough wing for the pylon and test vehicles. A retired C-141 Starlifter might have served with an operational altitude of 40,000 ft and plenty of lift capacity. The Roc just looks like a mishap waiting to happen and not a reliable airframe to hang a business from.

 

https://x.com/roughridersshow/status/1773493384113455388?s=46

I lost track of what’s happening.. No SS tower for 39a? Makes sense if they’re shifting down the coast a bit.

 

Keep in mind that the Roc wasn't built specifically for this type of testing. It was built by Rutan for Paul Allen and his plans of air launching big rockets with satellites into orbit. That's why it's payload is more than the max take off weight of a B-52. As to why they're using the Roc for the TA instead of a B-52? Easy. The company that is developing the TA, Stratolaunch, owns the Roc. They don't own a B-52. Someone likely did the math and realized that it would be cheaper to operate the Roc than to buy something else that would need to be modified to do the job. The initial goal of launching rockets into space with Roc pretty much died with the death of Allen and the success of SpaceX.