The Arstechnica article may say to save mass, but I thought it was to avoid having to get landing precision down from feet to inches and to reduce exhaust impingement on the launch stand. Hovering over a spot +/- the spread of the grids vs directly setting back down on the launch stand.
Mass savings probably depend on what kind of legs they are intending to install. They probably would be more like the New Shepard legs, since the booster can hover and wouldn't need to set down from a foot or five above the pad. I would actually think that they'll need legs along those lines anyway for handling/storing the rocket.You're probably right. Concrete doesn't really like having a blowtorch applied. It's a little different with a steel boat deck.
Is this some sort of meme saying in the Muskiverse? I googled it and seriously didn't learn much other than it seems to be a saying among people deeply into all things Musk.WEN HOP
I believe I read they are changing out two of the engines. Perhaps later net week, or the following week.WEN HOP
It's a reddit thing. Was curious if anyone here was going to understand it or have seen it before. Makes me chuckle every time I see it.Is this some sort of meme saying in the Muskiverse? I googled it and seriously didn't learn much other than it seems to be a saying among people deeply into all things Musk.
Plausible. Not entirely sure though.Isnt it from Everyday Astronaut? Like when he gets all fanboy giddy and loses grasp of the English language?
Where does everyone get info on when SN9 launches? I'm trying not to miss it?!
What obligation are they under to do so?It just seems to me to be pretty effed up that SpaceX rarely does any launch announcements for Boca Chica testing.
On the one hand, none at all.What obligation are they under to do so?
Well, here's one. They are imposing on a PUBLIC highway, and PUBLIC airspace, by carving out a whole week's worth of road closures and airspace closures.What obligation are they under to do so?
It makes you think. Some space companies use mobile spaceports. This, of course, hardly applies to large rockets. But given the size of the company, why not build your own cosmodrome somewhere far from the settlement? And taking into account the capabilities of the company, they could come up with a cosmodrome deployed in a few days.Well, here's one. They are imposing on a PUBLIC highway, and PUBLIC airspace, by carving out a whole week's worth of road closures and airspace closures.
So, nobody could plan on traveling that road to the beach, or fly near it, or heck even travel in a boat nearby, for that whole week.
So, I do think they have an obligation to indicate whether or not they actually intend to test or fly anything, or not, on those days they took away from the public to travel freely on a public road, public airspace, and public waters.
And then of course there's also the nearby residents that have to get evacuated every time (although I had thought by now they had all moved out since SpaceX pretty much forced them to sell their homes to SpaceX some time ago).
BTW - saw another source indicate that SN-9 may fly Thursday.
And before closing out, I saw this and thought it would be neat to post:
"The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, with its two lit crew windows, is pictured docked to the Harmony module's international docking adapter." (That's the second Crew Dragon mission, Crew-1, launched last November, during a planned 180 day mission)
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That seems to be what they have in mind as they recently (reportedly) purchased a couple of offshore oil rigs. The rumor/speculation/scuttlebutt is that they plan on launching/landing from one or more of those rigs.It makes you think. Some space companies use mobile spaceports. This, of course, hardly applies to large rockets. But given the size of the company, why not build your own cosmodrome somewhere far from the settlement? And taking into account the capabilities of the company, they could come up with a cosmodrome deployed in a few days.
Hmmm. Not rumor/speculation/scuttlebutt, SpaceX has for years shown launches using off-shore platforms. For example:That seems to be what they have in mind as they recently (reportedly) purchased a couple of offshore oil rigs. The rumor/speculation/scuttlebutt is that they plan on launching/landing from one or more of those rigs.
They do have a large and info-hungry fan-base. Musk's social media presence keeps them stoked. The fan base provides free publicity for relative breadcrumbs of informationOn the other hand, they have a large fan base that would like to be able to tune in when it’s ready to launch, and it would be nice to serve that base.
On the third hand, their schedule is probably pretty loose so it might be hard to give a countdown. Why risk bad press about delays when Everyday Astronaut can be your press office and give the schedule?
Well, here's one. They are imposing on a PUBLIC highway, and PUBLIC airspace, by carving out a whole week's worth of road closures and airspace closures.
That's their testing timeframe. They believe they can be ready, so they carve out the time, but they also allow for tech issues or weather delays.So, I do think they have an obligation to indicate whether or not they actually intend to test or fly anything, or not, on those days they took away from the public to travel freely on a public road, public airspace, and public waters.
No worries. I was just trying not to say more than the article said and make someone think that I had more facts than I did. What I read was that they had actually *purchased* several oil rigs recently and it was *assumed* that they would, eventually, use them to launch Starship even though SpaceX had not explicitly said so at the time, or in that article.Hmmm. Not rumor/speculation/scuttlebutt, SpaceX has for years shown launches using off-shore platforms. For example:
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SpaceX wants to build an offshore spaceport near Texas for Starship Mars rocket
The company is hiring "offshore operations engineers" to develop the launch and landing platforms.www.space.com
That article from a few days ago that recaps their plans and mentions that as far back as 2017 they showed animations using off-shore platforms. Not trying to be snarky, but it's been common/public knowledge for years.
Tony
Christian Davenport
@wapodavenport
Statement from the FAA just now re the SpaceX SN9 flight: “We will continue working with SpaceX to resolve outstanding safety issues before we approve the next test flight.”