The patent uses the exact phrase "prior art" in many places, but I think for flat-edged grid fins, rather than pokies. But I'm not a lawyer, and certainly not for the european patent agency, which I think is for EU (and maybe UK, too?)
The SpaceX Thread
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The patent uses the exact phrase "prior art" in many places, but I think for flat-edged grid fins, rather than pokies. But I'm not a lawyer, and certainly not for the european patent agency, which I think is for EU (and maybe UK, too?)
They make one every other day. There are batches already being test fired at McGregor. They have plenty. Besides, these are v1.0. V2 is mostly validated and coming soon. SX views them as commodities.
If you saw the recent Everyday Astronaut video, Elon spoke for awhile about why he prefers to do all-up final qualification testing rather than a bunch in-production validation (once you get production up to speed anyway). He's also big on eliminating un-necessary parts or process steps to the point where he wants to see ~10% of eliminated parts/processes end up being added back in to make sure they are aggressive enough at getting rid of things.
With that philosophy, I don't see any big hurdle to keeping the engines in place to pressure test.
Wow:
Somehow my brain never quite grasps how big this thing is, such that I'm surprised by every image that provides a clear scale reference. Like, I was a bit surprised to hear the grid fins weighed 2.5 tons each, but when you see them here, well, of course they do.
Somehow my brain never quite grasps how big this thing is, such that I'm surprised by every image that provides a clear scale reference. Like, I was a bit surprised to hear the grid fins weighed 2.5 tons each, but when you see them here, well, of course they do.
Here's an article with some nice pictures of the hoisting operation. As Znu said they don't really let you appreciate the shear size of everything like the closeup he posted does.
In black and white, that photo gives some serious vibes of the classic Lunch atop a skyscraper.
I was just thinking the same thing. It would be a neat publicity image (just like the original) to get a bunch of SpaceX workers to sit on the edge of a grid fin in the same poses. Have to have a safety net out of sight just below, but it's also surmised that the original photo might have a finished floor right below it. Amazingly little information about that photo specifically and construction of the building in general exists (there are virtually no records of the estimated 40,000 people that worked on it.)
Part 2 of the interview with Musk
1. Raptor 2 he rates as a B Plus engine. Also, it will look much differently. Very clean. None of the tube tangle around it.
2. Goal of first launch: not blow up the infrastructure. Secondary: the starship separates and flies. Pretty low bar for the first attempt.
3. About the tiles, made in a Florida factory. Predicted failure point is the fin hinges. Metal and can't be tiled. Might consider cooling them with methane flowing over them.
And more. Walking through the tents is a kick. Check out the new nosecone.
1. Raptor 2 he rates as a B Plus engine. Also, it will look much differently. Very clean. None of the tube tangle around it.
2. Goal of first launch: not blow up the infrastructure. Secondary: the starship separates and flies. Pretty low bar for the first attempt.
3. About the tiles, made in a Florida factory. Predicted failure point is the fin hinges. Metal and can't be tiled. Might consider cooling them with methane flowing over them.
And more. Walking through the tents is a kick. Check out the new nosecone.
I am super impressed with how Elon opened up to Tim Dodd. The impression I got: He wasn't trying to pass as neurotypical, he was being himself.
I also get the feeling from him that what you're hearing is plain truth, as he understands it at the time. (he made the remark that he's often wrong on things just like everyone else)
No matter the company, and whether or not you're hearing from the CEO or from a media specialist, you get a version of truth that is carefully crafted to be in the company's best interest. Elon isn't being cagey in those Tim Dodd videos. Tim asks a question, Elon either has a direct answer, or thinks about it and then answers - not because he's finding a way to frame something in a special light, but because he's got 100,000 things on his mind and he need to recall it and figure out how to translate that to useful information. It's so different from the way any other company communicates; and I love it.
Watch some old Commando Cody TV series reels. And when his ship goes flying across the sky you have to wonder who else besides me has watched those clips, glued to the screen.
It is just amazing to watch them do their thing.
edited for: fixed and an. Eyes glazed over with science.
It is just amazing to watch them do their thing.
edited for: fixed and an. Eyes glazed over with science.
I knew that the scale of this was huge, but seeing that launchpad in a video puts it into an entirely new perspective. That crane is enormous.
Pretty sure that's the level of enthusiasm you basically have to have all the time to work under Musk on whatever he's currently focused on. There's simply no way they could be moving as fast as they are if the majority of management and engineering weren't 120% bought into the project.
One other thing that I hope Musk changes-- he really needs to put on a hard hat when doing those site walkthroughs. Being the CEO doesn't give you immunity from a falling bolt.
Back pain/degradation sucks. My Dad had to have spinal fusion a few years ago (which had its own adventures) - now we find out he's having accelerated degradation of the vertebrae/discs adjacent to the fusion because they're taking more of the load.
Stupid bodies with backs that break down due to shitty evolutionary design. I fear the day my time comes when fusion is the only option for my DDD.
I'm pretty sure Musk doesn't actually care much for going to Mars himself. He just wants humans to be multi-planetary. He's already said he's not going to go until he's sure the Mars colony will keep going without his direction if there's an accident. It's the same reason he hasn't done a stunt like Bezos and Branson. Unlike them he could actually go up to orbit if he wanted.
Probably trying to show support for their efforts.
He recently offered Tory some spare engines since the BE-4 is delayed 4+ years...
Not sure if serious...
I mean, the engine offer isn't good-guy Musk, it's twisting-the-god-damn-knife Musk.
Especially since his new engines use the same fuel, have almost the same thrust and better efficiency than the BE-4.
Why not both? ULA might not like the price - which would be ceding the launch market to Spacex for years to redesign and qualify Vulcan-Raptor
I don't think doing the switch would add years compared to qualifying BE-4. Raptor has a lot more hours of engine burn time under its belt.
They would have to discard mountains of studies and simulations of the Vulcan-BE4 design and start over