Plan 8: Mars Opposition Class Civilian Missions
https://ift.tt/2IDLefp

Submitted October 09, 2019 at 07:35PM by EphDotEh
via reddit https://ift.tt/2IDLg71

Should SpaceX Hold Off Mars Missions for "Planetary Protection"?
The article published on Space Flight Now: https://www.space.com/elon-musk-starship-threatens-alien-life.html advocates holding off human mars missions to protect possible microbiological life on Mars....The author concludes in the closing paragraph " Regardless of the thrill and feelings of hope this kind of adventure brings, just because we can do something, doesn't mean we necessarily should, now or in the future. "While the article has valid points, I think the article misses the main point in going to Mars....it is not the "thrill and feelings of hope".....it is for "human spices protection"....in case Earth ....runs into big trouble.Yes human migration has caused death and environmental disruption over thousands of years of human existence. Yes reasonable precautions make sense but to think freezing things as they are now is the answer .... falls way short.Thoughts

Submitted October 09, 2019 at 07:10PM by WindWatcherX
via reddit https://ift.tt/2AXeOs3

@bluemoondance74 [Reagan Beck]: Road and beach closures Oct 23-25 (*primary and 2 alternative days), “...due to anticipated test launch activities for SpaceX” [Boca Chica]
https://twitter.com/bluemoondance74/status/1182067627998535682

Submitted October 10, 2019 at 01:43PM by CProphet
via reddit https://ift.tt/311p2SQ

Jim Bridenstine to visit SpaceX at 5pm EDT today.
https://twitter.com/JimBridenstine/status/1182087280833335296?s=20

Submitted October 10, 2019 at 04:12PM by mintotsai
via reddit https://ift.tt/2oluJ0U

Crew Dragon Media Availability Official Discussion & Updates Thread
Welcome to the r/SpaceX Crew Dragon Media Availability Official Discussion & Updates ThreadThis is u/hitura-nobad hosting the Crew Dragon Briefing with NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine , SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and NASA Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Harley for you.IFA Dragon at KSCQuickFactsDate10th October 2019TimeThursday 5:00 PM CDT , 21:00 UTCLocationSpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, CaliforniaSpeakersElon Musk, Jim Bridenstine, Bob Behnken, Doug HarleyTimelineTimeUpdate T-4h 36mThread postedWhat do we know yet?After touring the SpaceX headquarter in Hawthorne California, SpaceX and Jim Bridenstine are going to host a media availability together with the Demo-2 Crew.WebcastsBridenstine's TwitterLinks & ResourcesNASA PageParticipate in the discussion!Real-time chat on our official Internet Relay Chat (IRC) #SpaceX on SnoonetPlease post small launch updates, discussions, and questions here, rather than as a separate post. Thanks!Wanna talk about other SpaceX stuff in a more relaxed atmosphere? Head over to r/SpaceXLounge

Submitted October 10, 2019 at 06:21PM by hitura-nobad
via reddit https://ift.tt/324YHVo

As NASA tries to land on the Moon, it has plenty of rockets to choose from
https://ift.tt/2otk8kg

Submitted October 10, 2019 at 02:16PM by CProphet
via reddit https://ift.tt/2OCZ19S

Elon Musk and NASA chief give an update on SpaceX's astronaut spacecraft – 10/10/2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaJ0n0j-UB8

Submitted October 11, 2019 at 12:04AM by BoryTruno
via reddit https://ift.tt/33oJv5w

SpaceX has spent 'hundreds of millions' extra in building astronaut capsule for NASA, Elon Musk says
https://ift.tt/35sgJCX

Submitted October 11, 2019 at 03:34AM by leonx81
via reddit https://ift.tt/2VyiutL

Air Force selects eight launch providers to compete for $986 million worth of orders
https://ift.tt/2B6MSC1

Submitted October 11, 2019 at 10:35AM by soldato_fantasma
via reddit https://ift.tt/316Cx3y

SpaceX says rideshare missions will launch on time, even if partly empty
https://ift.tt/30Um42F

Submitted October 11, 2019 at 10:33AM by soldato_fantasma
via reddit https://ift.tt/2Vz8GQm

A conversation with Jim Bridenstine inside SpaceX HQ Mission Control about the Commercial Crew Program
https://youtu.be/TU_vOt3wSDg

Submitted October 11, 2019 at 06:43PM by everydayastronaut
via reddit https://ift.tt/2MBoder

2nd Starlink Mission Launch Campaign Thread
OverviewSpaceX will launch the first batch of Starlink version 1 satellites into orbit aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. It will be the second Starlink mission overall. This launch is expected to be similar to the previous launch in May of this year, which saw 60 Starlink v0.9 satellites delivered to a single plane at a 440 km altitude. Those satellites were considered by SpaceX to be test vehicles, and that mission was referred to as the 'first operational launch'. The satellites on this flight will eventually join the v0.9 batch in the 550 km x 53° shell via their onboard ion thrusters. Details on how the design and mass of these satellites differ from those of the first launch are not known at this time.Due to the high mass of several dozen satellites, the booster will land on a drone ship at a similar downrange distance to a GTO launch. Based on a tweet from Elon Musk in April, the first reuse of a fairing is expected on a Starlink launch this year. It is not yet known if this mission will get any preflown fairing halves. This will be the first launch since SpaceX has had two fairing catcher ships and a dual catch attempt is a possibility.This will be the 9th Falcon 9 launch and the 11th SpaceX launch of 2019. At four flights, it will set the record for greatest number of launches with a single Falcon 9 core. The most recent SpaceX launch previous to this one was Amos-17 on August 6th of this year.Liftoff currently scheduled for:Late October or early November, TBDStatic Fire expected:TBDPayload:(60?) Starlink version 1 satellitesPayload mass:unknownDestination orbit:Low Earth OrbitVehicle:Falcon 9 v1.2 Block 5Core:B1048 or B1049Past flights of this core:3Fairing reuseunknownLaunch site:SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FloridaLanding:OCISLY: 32.54722 N, 75.92306 W (628 km downrange)Mission success criteria:Successful separation & deployment of the Starlink Satellites.Links & Resources:Starlink.com - Official Starlink OverviewLaunch Execution Forecasts - 45th Weather SquadronWatching a Launch - r/SpaceX WikiLaunch Viewing Guide for Cape Canaveral - Ben CooperSpaceX Fleet Status - SpaceXFleet.comFCC Experimental STAs - r/SpaceX wikiWe 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 October 12, 2019 at 06:23AM by ElongatedMuskrat
via reddit https://ift.tt/2MwXjUU

Timelapse of SpaceX employees working on the Crew Dragon for Demo-2 during yesterday’s Commercial Crew update.
https://twitter.com/thejackbeyer/status/1182724084108390400?s=21

Submitted October 11, 2019 at 10:24PM by thesheetztweetz
via reddit https://ift.tt/33piuyW

Elon Musk says that NASA is free to share all SpaceX IP with ‘anyone it wants’
https://ift.tt/2IDQ7W3

Submitted October 12, 2019 at 04:14AM by lardieb
via reddit https://ift.tt/33t3qka

<b>A Proposed Mars Sabatier Fuel Plant for Starship: Community Content</b>
&#8203;<a href="https://i.redd.it/d3ciqotaobs31.png">https://i.redd.it/d3ciqotaobs31.png</a><strong>Intro</strong>Hi everyone, here is my rendition of a Sabatier Fuel Plant that could be implemented after SpaceX starts landing on Mars. This is full of information, so I wanted to give a rundown of the systems here, and answer some FAQ so the same questions don’t keep getting asked. It goes without saying, but I would like your thoughts and feedback on how to improve this or implement it in the future.This is part of a project I am working on with my old engineering student team at the University of British Columbia. They are called UBC Mars Colony, and you can check them out here. <a href="https://ubcmarscolony.ca/">https://ubcmarscolony.ca</a>The team is working on developing the modular reactor units, as well as coming up with the total mass, power, and cost estimates, as well as a realistic timeline for implementation and creation of the entire system. Right now, they are in the early research and development phase, starting with a smaller scale lab size reactor, and working upwards to the full scale design. As well, the team will be exploring the resilience of the catalyst in response to day and night thermal cycles.&#8203;<strong>Why</strong>Earth based space travel limits possibilities since it has a large gravity well. Mars has one-third the gravity of Earth, and comparing escape velocities, Earth’s is 11 km/s and Mars’ is 5 km/s. If we look at the ratio of energy that it would take to reach the escape velocity from Earth, and divide it by the Energy it would take to get to Mars, (121 / 25) &#8771; 5, so that means it takes 5 times as much energy to leave Earth’s influence as it takes to leave Mars’ influence, and that doesn’t even include air resistance (of which Earth has lots). Thus, if people want to explore space, a cheaper way would be to launch rockets from the surface of Mars.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escape_velocity#List_of_escape_velocities">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escape_velocity#List_of_escape_velocities</a>Furthermore, colonists on Mars could conceivably want to return to Earth someday. Bringing fuel for a return trip back to Earth would be extremely costly: taking many launches and orbital refuellings to make that possible. Thus, production of fuel on the surface of Mars is a no-brainer, yet I have not seen concrete plans as to how to achieve this, in terms of mass, power, cost, and launches, etc. Accordingly, designs for a sabatier fuel plant should be discussed and evaluated now that a feasible plan to send highly capable rockets to Mars is happening (see Elon Musk for details).&#8203;<strong>Basics</strong>Sabatier Reaction CO2 + 4H2 &rarr; CH4 + 2H2O <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabatier%5C_reaction">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabatier\_reaction</a>Exothermic reaction &#8710;H = &minus;165.0 kJ/molRequires temperature between 300-400 deg Celcius. Mars averages -60 °C and goes from 20 to -153 °C [<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate%5C_of%5C_Mars%5C%5C%5D(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Mars%5C)">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate\_of\_Mars\\](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Mars\)</a>Uses catalysts, either nickel or ruthenium&#8203;<strong>Rationale</strong>I wanted to create a feasible system that can be transported by a rocket, set up by astronauts, and then operate semi-autonomously with no physical contact until at least the next 2-year launch window. The goal is to produce enough fuel to return a rocket such as Starship back to Earth within this timeframe.For this reason, I wanted to create a system of modular reactors, considering that a single large plant could fail, and probably couldn’t fit through the bay doors in the first place.Furthermore, a modular design could allow for upgrades, and an increase in capacity if more launches wanted to happen.The intent was…

30k new Starlink satellites positions filed by FCC to the ITU. All starting with "USASAT-NGSO-3"
https://ift.tt/31efR1F

Submitted October 13, 2019 at 11:41PM by hackz
via reddit https://ift.tt/2IOksRT

Tim Dodd: "How big of a solar field will it take to run an ISRU plant on Mars?" Elon Musk: "Depends on total system efficiency & how long the propellant plant can run to refill Starship, so 1 to 10MW as a rough guess"
https://twitter.com/Erdayastronaut/status/1183119630061178883

Submitted October 14, 2019 at 06:34AM by PhysicsBus
via reddit https://ift.tt/2OMTGwS

Starship Launch Animation
https://youtu.be/C8JyvzU0CXU

Submitted October 14, 2019 at 08:26PM by fissionforatoms
via reddit https://ift.tt/2nKiZoa

NASASpaceFlight.com Article: SpaceX renovating former Falcon 9 test stand at McGregor
https://ift.tt/32guhj8

Submitted October 14, 2019 at 11:15PM by IanAtkinson_NSF
via reddit https://ift.tt/2ISfvHx

SpaceX filing with the FCC: "Authorize Starship suborbital test vehicle communications for SpaceX Mission 1569 from the Boca Chica launch pad."
https://ift.tt/33xQ06b

Submitted October 15, 2019 at 06:13PM by MingerOne
via reddit https://ift.tt/35CsS8v

Watch Paul Wooster, Principal Mars Development Engineer, SpaceX, speech on October 19th, 7:00pm Pacific Daylight Time live via webcast!
https://ift.tt/32up3A8

Submitted October 15, 2019 at 06:31PM by EdwardHeisler
via reddit https://ift.tt/35BBsEp