SpaceX
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News and updates about the amazing space company that's leading humanity to the stars

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Updated @SpaceX Starlink orbital height plot. Three more sats now removed from the constellation. 50 of the 60 satellites are in the operational orbit.
https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/1155150353119293443

Submitted July 27, 2019 at 09:42PM by annerajb
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I synchronized as many shots of the CRS-18 landing into one grid view. The result: a pretty cool view of the landing.
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Submitted July 27, 2019 at 04:21PM by MaximumPollution
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Satellite images of the wildfire ignited by Starhopper; infrared with hotspots and true color after/prior the event - data acquired from Sentinel Hub
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Submitted July 28, 2019 at 12:31AM by peskyjack
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Elon Musk on Twitter: "Now that Hopper has flown, Starship update probably in two weeks or so."
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1155415096387969024?s=19

Submitted July 28, 2019 at 11:50AM by roncapat
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Gorgeous pic of the Falcon 9 on CRS-18 breaking the sound-barrier
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1155414118574067713?s=09

Submitted July 28, 2019 at 03:41PM by kaffarell
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Amos-17 Launch Campaign Thread
Amos-17 Launch Campaign ThreadLiftoff currently scheduled for:3rd August 2019Static fire scheduled for:TBDVehicle component locations:First stage: at the Cape// Second stage: at the Cape // Sat: at the CapePayload:Amos-17Payload mass:? KgDestination orbit:GTOVehicle:Falcon 9 v1.2 Block 5Core:(B1047.3)Flights of this core:(2)Launch site:LC-39A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FloridaLanding:ExpendableMission success criteria:Successful separation & deployment of the Amos-17 Satellite to GTO.Links & Resources:We may keep this self-post occasionally updated with links and relevant news articles, but for the most part, we expect the community to supply the information. This is a great place to discuss the launch, ask mission-specific questions, and track the minor movements of the vehicle, payload, weather and more as we progress towards launch. Sometime after the static fire is complete, the launch thread will be posted. Campaign threads are not launch threads. Normal subreddit rules still apply.

Submitted July 29, 2019 at 02:01PM by ElongatedMuskrat
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Passed this beauty on I-10 east today & became curious about the challenges of transporting these things at desert temperatures (100 degrees today)
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Submitted July 29, 2019 at 11:42PM by juicyjay95
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Land clearing has begun for the SpaceX Operations Complex at Kennedy Space Center
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Submitted July 30, 2019 at 07:23PM by Nehkara
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<b>Starship Plan Coming Together</b>
SpaceX have overcome many daunting technical hurdles in the past 17 years since their inception, culminating in mastery of reusable boosters. However, that is only the beginning of the big plan to bring about space colonization using their colossus rocket, which they call the Starship launch system. Given the world spanning importance of this work, it should be interesting to explore how they intend to overcome the remaining technical challenges, including the timeline to meet these ambitious goals. <strong>2020 - Second Stage Reuse</strong><a href="https://youtu.be/yzbFqLOjP4E?t=1513">“Most likely it [Starship hopper tests] will happen at our Brownsville location…by hopper tests I mean it will go up several miles and come down, the ship is capable of single stage to orbit if we fully load the tanks, so we’ll do flights of increasing complexity. We will want to test the heat shield material, fly out, turn around, accelerate back real hard and come in hot, to test the heat shield. We want to have a highly reusable heatshield that’s capable of absorbing the heat from interplanetary entry velocities”</a>So first up, they have chosen to tackle possibly the toughest challenge, i.e. recovery and reuse of their Starship upper stage. This has already begun with Starhopper test flights, which are designed to practise take-off and landing, at Boca Chica Beach Texas. All being well, they should progress to test flights with their orbital Starship prototype, again likely at their development facility in Boca Chica. By early next year, they intend to drive the Starship prototype hard through the atmosphere, reaching ever increasing velocities, to simulate orbital re-entry conditions and prove their new heatshield material. Again, all being well, they should progress to a full stack test launch by year’s end, enabling them to continue re-entry tests from full orbital velocities. <strong>2021 - Orbital Refuelling</strong><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-announces-us-industry-partnerships-to-advance-moon-mars-technology">SpaceX will work with Glenn and Marshall to advance technology needed to transfer propellant in orbit, an important step in the development of the company’s Starship space vehicle.</a>Another big one: transfer of cryogenic propellant in micro-gravity. Originally, it seemed slightly extravagant of SpaceX to build two Starship prototypes in different locations but it seems that's the fastest way to perform orbital refuelling test flights. First the target Starship will launch to orbit, typically from the Cape, then a second Starship tanker will launch from Boca Chica to rendezvous with the target vehicle. If they relied solely on one launch site it could take months to refurbish the launch site and reusable booster, before being able to perform the follow-up tanker launch. Whereas using two sites, they could potentially launch both test vehicles the same day, trimming months off development time for the orbital refuelling test. In addition, this parallel launch strategy should greatly reduce any propellant boil-off, making it more likely to recover both vehicles, again saving the time needed to fabricate any replacements. <strong>2021 - Surface habitats/In Situ Propellant Production</strong><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/590wi9/i_am_elon_musk_ask_me_anything_about_becoming_a/d94t2bv/?context=3">“Initially, [we’ll use] glass panes with carbon fiber frames to build geodesic domes on the surface [of Mars], plus a lot of miner/tunnelling droids. With the latter, you can build out a huge amount of pressurized space for industrial operations and leave the glass domes for green living space.”</a>Hopefully by 2021 SpaceX will have completed their architectural design for pressurized domes, which couldn’t class as easy – but frankly doesn't approach rocket science. Likely too, Boring Company will have produced high speed boring equipment by this time, which SpaceX can…
So, Musk is pushing for nuclear rockets now?
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Submitted July 31, 2019 at 09:54AM by Northstar1989
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Static fire test of Falcon 9 complete and team is assessing data—targeting August 3 for launch of AMOS-17 from Pad 40 in Florida
https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1156741958229905409

Submitted August 01, 2019 at 03:49AM by CAM-Gerlach
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JRTI is reserved for the Panama Canal August 15 6am
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Submitted August 01, 2019 at 11:42PM by Vedaprime
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SpaceX on Twitter - "Team is setting up an additional static fire test of Falcon 9 after replacing a suspect valve. Will confirm updated target launch date for AMOS-17 once complete. "
https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1157049942113865728

Submitted August 02, 2019 at 12:06AM by jclishman
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