Space and Science BS Thread

Given that it’s tied down to footings I doubt there will be the wholesale failure we saw with OFT-1 but it’s still a new design that also hasn’t been subjected to full thrust yet so it’s premature to declare it fully tested and capable. A few seconds at half thrust is still causing some damage though much less than before. It’s a long way from this point to the high cadence launch cycle they’ll eventually need to reach and maintain without stopping for repairs so the iterative process is just as much a thing here as it is with any of the other completely new designs and processes Spacex is using. I suspect it’s one of the two main sticking points with the FAA, the other being the FTS. Ground debris shouldn’t be a focal point for the FAA but given that it’s the subject of a lawsuit it wouldn’t be surprising to find out it’s become a critical concern. I think the philosophy of Spacex might be at odds with the FAA since Spacex wants to try things to see if they work but the FAA would prefer more proof of concept. In particular they don’t want large uncontrolled RUD’s flying around with FTS’s that don’t work as intended. A 40 second delay closer to the ground could turn an iterative failure into a massive tragedy. The FAA isn’t responsible for the success of Spacex, they are responsible for flight safety. Musk wants them out of his way which is a profoundly bad idea.

 

Looks to be a more from the south trajectory across Central/Northern Florida:
https://x.com/derekdotspace/status/1698367669378994179?s=46

 

https://x.com/nasaspaceflight/status/1698555253904330917?s=46
https://x.com/nasa_johnson/status/1698572581899534544?s=4
https://x.com/trevormahlmann/status/1698702056939303010?s=46

 

https://x.com/_rykllan/status/1698651791485767933?s=46
https://x.com/_rykllan/status/1698651802193793217?s=46
https://x.com/_rykllan/status/1698651805645689132?s=46

https://x.com/_rykllan/status/1698651798989390163?s=46
https://x.com/_rykllan/status/1698651795156083050?s=46

 

https://x.com/harry__stranger/status/1698659379179147410?s=46

Manned flights from SLC-40 getting closer….

 

Could this be from the earth rotating during exposure?

 

I was wondering that too, but I don’t think so. You can see some of the stars are lines instead of dots, showing the rotation, and I think there’s more cross-track travel than the star lines would account for.

 

I do not think so. If it were, it would be a consistent arc. This pic reminded me of the maneuvers Orion did to bleed off sppeed during the Artemis I mission. Highly maneuverable it was!

Sound on for this one!
https://x.com/johnkrausphotos/status/1698549822087733259?s=46

 

I would think the arc would increase as it slows rather than stay the same but I’m not insisting on that as cause. The star arcs aren’t a contradiction to me unless the movement is opposite the curve. Orion needed to bleed off about twice as much velocity on reentry so it did some crazy stuff.

 

It’s hard to believe looking at the full stack that the hot staging ring will support the weight of S25 fully fueled and under thrust. It looks so flimsy. I’m sure it’s deceptive given the actual size of the pieces but still…

 

https://x.com/cnunezimages/status/1699183357899210877?s=46
https://x.com/spacex/status/1699229958064005624?s=46
https://x.com/thejackbeyer/status/1699142238175973599?s=46
https://x.com/alexphysics13/status/1699433131281973591?s=46



https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1699233677979390280?s=46

 

One thing to point out, is that this is still in the "SpaceX thinks this would be cool" phase and the actual decision date on whether or not they are going to do this is out to 2028 right now.

 

https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1699551208715816996?s=20
https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1699553307088261596?s=20

 

https://twitter.com/SciGuySpace/status/1699545383326695517?s=20

 

I wonder how long it would’ve taken old space to come up with this:
https://x.com/cnunezimages/status/1699468350844244318?s=46

 

https://x.com/esaoperations/status/1699773266447970680?s=46

 

Given that Spacex only recently produced their accident report I’d be very surprised if the FAA took less than a month and probably more to review it and come up with a honey-do list. It’s not a very transparent process but I don’t recall any instances offhand where it’s been fast tracked. To me this smacks of Spacex posturing “see we’re ready and it’s the FAA that’s causing the delay”. Just destack and continue the process with B10/S28 and let the FAA do its job while you get on with yours. If the necessary cadence is to happen they’ll need several flight ready SB’s prepped with newer and hopefully more reliable engines installed and that process needs to quicken rapidly. If by the time they do get approval a later iteration with a better chance of success is ready or they have time to swap engines for more reliable ones so much the better. I think they can do better than 60% if they use the time wisely. The delay doesn’t need to be a bad thing.

 

To me this is one of the primary reasons for increasing our presence and reach further from earth both to see what’s coming sooner and have time to do something about it. It’s so much more than commercial opportunities or pure science although those are hopefully the most prominent endeavors.

 

https://x.com/rgvaerialphotos/status/1699865054064017472?s=46

 

https://x.com/faanews/status/1700150312764375383?s=46
https://x.com/spacex/status/1700159700573057528?s=46