@elonmusk: Exactly. We’ve had good discussions with leading astronomers. One way or another, we’ll make sure Starlink doesn’t inhibit new discoveries or change the character of the night sky.
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1217175688228159488?s=19

Submitted January 15, 2020 at 12:22AM by Alvian_11
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@ElonMusk: "Advancing humanity’s understanding of the Universe is a fundamental motivator for SpaceX! Starship can put giant 🔭 in orbit & on moon. With an occluder, could image 🌏 in other star systems."
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1217178315540140032

Submitted January 14, 2020 at 09:58PM by ChristianM
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NASA to Provide Coverage of SpaceX Crew Dragon Launch Escape Test
https://ift.tt/36Pfa2l

Submitted January 14, 2020 at 10:14PM by jamesgalb
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NASA to Provide Coverage of SpaceX Crew Dragon Launch Escape Test (includes pre/post launch briefings)
https://ift.tt/2uOZb6m

Submitted January 14, 2020 at 10:15PM by CProphet
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Falcon 9 Stage One: Under the Skin
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Submitted January 15, 2020 at 09:29PM by Reeceeboii_
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Elon Musk on Twitter: Starship orbital vehicle SN1, liquid oxygen header tank & nosecone
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1217742268393607168

Submitted January 16, 2020 at 10:36AM by OccupyMarsNow
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Starlink might face a big problem...
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Submitted January 16, 2020 at 03:59PM by RaphTheSwissDude
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Starship design goal is 3 flights/day avg rate, so ~1000 flights/year at >100 tons/flight, so every 10 ships yield 1 megaton per year to orbit
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1217989066181898240

Submitted January 17, 2020 at 03:08AM by vinodjetley
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SpaceX abort test serves as practice run for astronauts, rescue teams
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Submitted January 17, 2020 at 01:07PM by yoweigh
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In-Flight Abort Test Press Kit
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Submitted January 17, 2020 at 02:10PM by Straumli_Blight
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SpaceX on Twitter: Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon vertical ahead of tomorrow’s in-flight demonstration
https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1218153687429705730

Submitted January 17, 2020 at 02:09PM by xDeeKay
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<b>r/SpaceX In-Flight Abort Test Official Launch Discussion & Updates Thread</b>
<a href="/#%20MC%20//%20section%20intro">IntroductionWelcome, all the people of the subreddit! It is the mod team that is going to bring you live updates on the long awaited In-Flight Abort Test.Your host teamReddit usernameTwitter accountResponsibilitiesNumber of hosts<a href="/u/hitura-nobad">u/hitura-nobad<a href="https://twitter.com/HituraNobad">@HituraNobadMission updates, Community? Hostu/Nsooo<a href="https://twitter.com/TheRealNsooo">@TheRealNsoooThread format, Mission updates? HostAbout the missionSpaceX is going to simulate an abort around Max-Q, when Crew Dragon will use it's Superdraco engines to escape from the failing booster.The triple flown booster is going to be destroyed by aerodynamics.Scrub counterScrub dateCauseCountdown stoppedBackup dateNo scrubs!n/an/an/aLot of facts&#9745;&#65039; This will be the <strong>87th</strong> SpaceX launch.&#9745;&#65039; This will be the <strong>79th</strong> Falcon 9 launch.&#9745;&#65039; This will be the <strong>23rd</strong> Falcon 9 Block 5 launch.&#9745;&#65039; This will be the <strong>2nd</strong> SpaceX launch this year.&#9745;&#65039; This will be the <strong>2nd</strong> Falcon 9 launch this year.&#9745;&#65039; This will be the <strong>4th</strong> and last flight of the flight-proven Block 5 core B1046.&#9745;&#65039; This will be the heaviest payload launched on a <strong>suborbital trajectory</strong> by SpaceXVehicles usedTypeNameLocationFirst stageFalcon 9 v1.2 - Block 5 (Full Thrust) - B1056KSC, LC-39ASecond stageFalcon 9 v1.2 Block 5 (<em>No thrust this time</em>)KSC, LC-39A<em>Core data source: Core wiki by r/SpaceX</em><em>Ship data source: SpaceXFleet by u/Gavalar_</em>Live updates<a href="/#%20MC%20//%20section%20events">TimelineTimeUpdate<a href="/#%20MC%20//%20row%2029"> T-21:00:00Welcome everyone! Falcon 9 went vertical ahead of tomorrows launch attempt. Currently GO for launch!<a href="/#%20MC%20//%20section%20viewing">Mission's state&#9989; Currently <strong>GO</strong> for the launch attempt.Weather - Cape Canaveral, FloridaLaunch windowWeatherTemperatureProb. of rainProb. of weather scrubMain concernPrimary launch window<strong>&#127780;&#65039;</strong> <em>Partly Cloudy</em><strong>&#127777;&#65039;</strong> <em>No data</em><strong>&#128167;</strong> <em>No data</em><strong>&#128721;</strong> <em>10%</em><em>No data</em><em>Weather data source: Google Weather & 45th Space Wing.</em> <em>- The probability of a scrub due to weather does not includes the chance due to upper level winds, which are monitored by the SpaceX launch team itself using sounding balloons before launch.</em><a href="/#%20MC%20//%20section%20stats">Watching the launch liveLinkNote<a href="https://www.spacex.com/webcast">Official SpaceX Launch Webcast - embeddedstarting ~20 minutes before liftoff<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbXgZg9JmkI">Official SpaceX Launch Webcast - directstarting ~20 minutes before liftoff<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/ebfr9t/rspacex_jcsat18kacific1_official_launch/fb4kdie/">Webcast - relay<a href="/u/codav">u/codav<a href="/#%20MC%20//%20section%20mission">Useful Resources, Data, &#9835;, & FAQEssentialsLinkSource<a href="http://www.spacex.com/sites/spacex/files/in-flight_abort_test_press_kit.pdf">Press kit<a href="http://www.spacex.com">SpaceXLaunch weather forecast<a href="http://www.patrick.af.mil/About-Us/Weather/">45th Space Wing<a href="https://www.spacexfleet.com/next">SpaceX Fleet StatusSpaceXFleet.comSocial mediaLinkSource<a href="https://reddit.com/r/SpaceX">Reddit launch campaign thread<a href="/r/SpaceX">r/SpaceX<a href="https://twitter.com/rSpaceX">Subreddit Twitter<a href="/r/SpaceX">r/SpaceX<a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX">SpaceX Twitter<a href="/r/SpaceX">r/SpaceX<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/spacex/">SpaceX Flickr<a href="/r/SpaceX">r/SpaceX<a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk">Elon Twitter<a href="/r/SpaceX">r/SpaceX<a…

<b>[Sources Required] What's preventing SpaceX from recovering B1046 in the In Flight Abort Test</b>
Elon <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1216148212085428224">said</a> that they've tried to find a way to recover the first stage but couldn't find any way to do it. Let's see why by trying to design a recovery trajectory.On T+1:33 Dragon aborts. The abort itself won't affect the Falcon 9 because Dragon will be lifted by the SuperDraco engines.But it exposes the second stage to the supersonic flow of air.Can the stack survive the supersonic flow or air?The force on the second stage before the abort:<code>Drag with Dragon = 0.5 * p * v^2 * Cd * Area = 0.5 * 0.04 * 666^2 * 0.25 * 10.8 = 24,000 N</code>[1] [2]<code>Dragon's weight = 9.8 * 9,525 = 152145 N</code> [3]=> Total force on stage 2 = drag + dragon's weight = <code>24000 N + 152145 N = 176,145 N</code><code>Drag without Dragon = 0.5 * p * v^2 * Cd * Area = 0.5 * 0.04008 * 666^2 * 0.8 * 10.8 = 76,800 N</code> [4]This means the total force on stage 2 after the abort will be half as much as it will with Dragon. This doesn't prove Falcon 9 will not be torn due to aerodynamic forces as the situation is FAR more complex than this simple force calculation. But what I can say is that <strong>Falcon 9 won't be crushed due to drag</strong>.Separation from Stage 2In order to simulate loss of thrust in case of a RUD, Stage 1 will shut off its engines. And only 3 engines are re ignitable, so it can't continue a normal ascent up to MECO like every flight (see "Trajectory after the abort" section). It also can't coast and do a normal landing burn because it has too much fuel (too heavy for the landing legs, wrong CoG) and has a second stage on top of it.Stage 1 has to separate from Stage 2 because it can't land with it (too heavy, ruins aerodynamics and moves the GoG too high), Stage 2 can't be separated on ascent because drag will cause it to slow down faster than stage 1.For example: If stage 1 were to separate from stage 2 right after Dragon's abort, it will headbutt the second stage <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0w9p3U8860&t=2m51s">Falcon 1 Flight 3 style</a> as the second stage decelerates 2.5 m/s2 faster than it.That means <strong>separation has to occur at, or close, to apogee</strong>. This is in addition to the fact the first stage is normally never exposed on ascent. And would probably require a nose cone if it were to be exposed.Trajectory after the abortAccording to FlightClub[2], on abort the first stage will contain 175 tons of propellant. An average landing burn requires ~15 tons of propellant. That means the booster needs to burn 150 tons of propellant in order to land.The Merlin 1D engine has a MFR of 279 kg/s. x3 engines = 837 kg/s.Total burn time = <code>150,000 [kg] / 873 [kg/s] = 171 seconds</code>Upper bound of gravity losses = <code>9.8 * 171 = 1675 m/s</code>Total burn delta v (with S2) = <code>282 * 9.8 * ln([22 + 116 + 150]/[116 + 22]) = 2033 m/s</code> [5]TWR = <code>3*845 [kN] / [9.8*(22,000 + 175,000 + 116,000)] = 0.82</code>This <strong>rules out any attempt to raise apogee</strong> in any major way. It's doubtful the booster can reorient itself engines first in the relatively dense atmosphere at ~50 km.The best approach seems to be a coast to apogee, stage separation the second stage and a continuous burn for the rest of the way.FlightClub[2] shows an apogee of 48 km.delta v (without stage 2) = <code>282 * 9.8 * ln([22 + 150]/22) = 5683 m/s</code>while it seems like the stage has enough performance to land, it would require major software and possible hardware changes. The stage would have to do an almost continuous burn from apogee to landing. The grid fins would have very limited control on the low speed flow, very high center of gravity and fuel sloshing. <strong>It's probably too much effort for SpaceX to try to recover B1046, even though it might be physically possible.</strong>[1] Density of air from: <a href="https://www.enginee…

@elonmusk: Needs to be such that anyone can go [to Mars] if they want, with loans available for those who don’t have money
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1217991853615677440

Submitted January 17, 2020 at 05:43PM by CProphet
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Updated 2019 SLS & Falcon 9 Cost Infographic
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Submitted January 17, 2020 at 06:45PM by DoYouWonda
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[German] "Raumzeit" Podcast with Hans Koenigsmann
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Submitted January 17, 2020 at 12:42PM by toothstone64
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r/SpaceX In-Flight Abort Test Media Thread [Videos, Images, GIFs, Articles go here!]
It's that time again, as per usual, we like to keep things as tight as possible, so if you have content you created to share, whether that be images of the launch, videos, GIF's, etc, they go here.Hosted ThreadIf you want your submission to be added to the table make sure to ping us!ImagesPhotographLinkSpaceXhttps://www.spacex.com/sites/spacex/files/ifa_vertnight0116_dsc_0044.jpgNASAWill be available at https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto/VideosCreatorLinkSpaceXhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhrkdHshb3ENASAhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARIZnaMXTEUArticlesSourceLinkAs usual, our standard media thread rules apply:All top level comments must consist of an image, video, GIF, tweet or article.If you're an amateur photographer, submit your content here. Professional photographers with subreddit accreditation can continue to submit to the front page, we also make exceptions for outstanding amateur content!Those in the aerospace industry (with subreddit accreditation) can likewise continue to post content on the front page.Mainstream media articles should be submitted here. Quality articles from dedicated spaceflight outlets may be submitted to the front page.Direct all questions to the live launch thread.

Submitted January 17, 2020 at 11:35PM by ElongatedMuskrat
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@jeff_foust: SpaceX’s Benji Reed - the Crew Dragon for the Demo-2 crewed test flight should be completed and delivered to Cape Canaveral by the end of this month.
https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/1218244571353710594

Submitted January 17, 2020 at 10:10PM by CProphet
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SpaceX standing down for today’s IFA test launch due to sustained winds and rough seas in recovery area. Window reopens tomorrow 1/19/2020 for a six-hour window starting at 8am.
https://twitter.com/spacex/status/1218473546772430848?s=21

Submitted January 18, 2020 at 11:13AM by tbcheese
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