Space and Science BS Thread

Single launch to get it up and running? It’s a way station meant for temporary habitation of a few weeks at a time by a few rather than permanently with months long rotations by many. Still, claustrophobia is going to be a concern.

 

I guess maybe they could use HLS, when docked, as the main living quarters?

 

It’s the poor saps stuck in that sardine can while the others are enjoying all that Starship luxury I was thinking of.

 

I’d think the HLS itself would make a better Gateway platform than anything else that could get there.

 

If Gateway could just be the size of a Starship payload bay, even if it had to go up in pieces, would be better.

 

I just watched this and found it very fascinating: https://youtu.be/pMdysmpDSsk

 

If it ended up just being a dedicated gateway Starship it would also have tank space for refueling descent craft and if it were sent there direct from refueling in earth orbit on a low thrust fuel efficient flight path similar to the gateway test satellite(Capstone, thank you PzTank) it could arrive with most of its fuel still available. As an upside it has built in return/rescue capability, a measure of redundancy another module would lack and something to consider. A solar panel parasol (a la James Webb) would keep the fuel plenty cold enough. Any satellite that fit in the payload bay would by definition have less capacity.

 

CAPSTONE

 

Often overlooked…
https://twitter.com/nasahistory/status/1659197160834105344?s=46
https://twitter.com/airandspace/status/1659269618370846741?s=46

 

Yeah, that one, thank you.

To go so far and stop so close.

 

Basically Artemis 2.

 

Yes, except for no one ever being there before. Artemis 2 will be more like being the party to almost summit Mt Everest after Sir Edmund Hillary. However unfairly there’s a reason close but no cigar isn’t a thing.

 

Regarding the OLM and GSE I have to wonder what will happen when the water deluge hits it instead of concrete debris. It’s still going to be a lot of stuff moving at a fast clip in every direction save for the shadows of the OLM pillars. Have they made a test article and put any equipment in the exhaust plume ? You generally don’t put equipment at the outlet of a flame trench but at Starbase it’s all there, 5 plumes each with 3-1/2 million pounds of thrust driving them.

 

More like Apollo 8.

No lander, just a ride around the moon but without even 1 orbit.

 

The vast majority of the water should be turned to steam pretty much instantaneously. Last I heard they were adding piles under the pad for support, because apparently the concrete didn't fail. The earth underneath the concrete couldn't support the weight of the thrust, compacted, and then the concrete broken apart since it isn't very flexible and couldn't contour to the new shape of the dirt below.

 

I’m assuming the issues under the OLM get resolved by the current modifications. And I realize the long term plan is to eliminate the vertical storage tanks in favor of horizontal tanks but My innate skepticism just has me thinking this won’t be the end of dealing with the colossal thrust and what remains in its path. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to see just a different kind of damage from the next launch. I’m sure they’ll figure it out but I don’t think they’ll be able to rapidly turn around launches until they do.

 

Visual representation of market dominance:
https://twitter.com/spacex/status/1659372250284572674?s=46

 

The F9 Iridium/One Web launch from Vandenberg has been scrubbed for today.

Aborted the countdown at just under a minute - no cause given.

 

So, if things go as planned, Art III & IV are HLS and Art V still s the soon to be announced
https://twitter.com/jimfree/status/1659547235741212672?s=46
https://twitter.com/sciguyspace/status/1659556473372811265?s=46