830 replies to this topic

[Matt R.]

For the first time in more than three years, SpaceX lost one of its reusable Falcon 9 boosters during a landing attempt amid the Starlink 8-6 mission on Wednesday morning. As it was touching down on the droneship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas,’ a green flash could be seen around the Merlin engines before the engine section was engulfed in flames and the booster toppled over and exploded.
 
While recovering the booster is a secondary part of the mission compared to the deployment of the 21 Starlink satellites, SpaceX’s business model is based on the reusability of its rockets’ first stage boosters. Whatever issue ultimately led to the demise of the booster, tail number B1062, snapped a streak of 267 successful booster landings.

This could be from a Heinlein novel from 1968.

[Victoria Watcher]

Weather conditions are anticipated to be clear for a projected launch date of Polaris Dawn, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket that will launch Crew Dragon spacecraft on September 1 at 3:38 a.m. EDT (0738

 

 

https://news.satnews...nce-the-apollo/

UTC) from LC-39A, Kennedy Spac

e Center, Florida. 

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 30 August 2024 - 03:00 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket vaulted into space early Tuesday, boosting billionaire Jared Isaacman and three crewmates toward orbit for a daring attempt to set a post-Apollo astronaut altitude record and to carry out the first non-government spacewalk.

 

Wearing air-cooled SpaceX-designed suits and connected to their Crew Dragon spacecraft by umbilicals and safety tethers, Isaacman and SpaceX crew trainer Sarah Gillis plan to take turns spending about 15 minutes each just outside the ship's forward hatch early Thursday to put the suits to the test.

 

"My desire in human spaceflight is to move the needle," Isaacman, who chartered the first fully commercial Crew Dragon flight in 2021, said in an interview with CBS News. "It is not without risk, and you're taking that risk because you want to advance the ball forward, things that help SpaceX open up this frontier for everyone, for lots of people."

 

 

https://www.cbsnews....ission-weather/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The mission's second major objective — the first non-government spacewalk — is planned for flight Day 3 when Isaacman and Gillis, attached to the Crew Dragon by umbilicals and safety tethers, will take turns floating in open space just above the Crew Dragon's open hatch.

 

Because the ship does not have an airlock, its cabin will be vented to vacuum before the hatch is opened. Poteet and Menon will also be wearing SpaceX-designed pressure suits, and even though they will not get to stick their helmeted heads outside, they will be counted among the world's spacewalkers.

 

The primary goals of the demonstration are to test the new suit's joints, mobility and comfort to help SpaceX engineers develop lower-cost, easier-to-produce spacesuits for large numbers of people who SpaceX says will one day be venturing to the moon and Mars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If I was a billionaire, I would not be going to space.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 10 September 2024 - 02:14 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

 

 

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 10 September 2024 - 03:54 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

[Victoria Watcher]

SpaceX crew returns to Earth after historic mission

 

https://www.bbc.com/...es/cn5zrv1xrego

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 15 September 2024 - 04:13 AM.

[LJ]

Super moon Tuesday evening....

 

[Victoria Watcher]

[Victoria Watcher]

[Mike K.]

I guess a tough part is weaving between airliner traffic.

[Mike K.]

Lots of people seeing the northern lights tonight. Head over to the VV Facebook page to see photos!

[Matt R.]

I’d be lying if I said sitting in the hot tub tonight wasn’t extra nice.

[Victoria Watcher]

[Victoria Watcher]

[Victoria Watcher]

https://x.com/Rainma...979658012639271

 

[Victoria Watcher]

[Victoria Watcher]

[Victoria Watcher]

 

 

 

 

 

SpaceX targets Starship Flight 6 launch on November 18

 

https://spaceflightn...on-november-18/

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 09 November 2024 - 12:06 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

[Victoria Watcher]

Starlink has been busy in 2024, sending more than 30 payloads into the sky including a recent launch in August, carrying 23 new satellites. The total fleet now sits at roughly 6,000 functional satellites, but there's still a way to go. Starlink will likely need at least 10,000 satellites in orbit before it can claim to offer full service to most of the globe, and SpaceX has shown signs that it wants as many as 42,000 satellites in its constellation.

 

https://www.cnet.com...nternet-review/