A deep dive on why exactly Starship bellyflops (and why so close to the ground)
https://youtu.be/BqJ5bKuApbs

Submitted April 23, 2021 at 07:10PM by everydayastronaut
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Another fine launch from LC-39A is in the books following the liftoff of Crew-2 on April 23
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Submitted April 23, 2021 at 11:22PM by adambernnyc
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Starbase Production Diagram - 24th April 2021 https://t.co/tgie4czJrw
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Submitted April 24, 2021 at 02:25AM by brendan290803
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Beam me up to the Space Station [OC]
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Submitted April 24, 2021 at 05:42AM by mdcainjr
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@SpaceX on Twitter: Docking confirmed – second time at the Space Station for this Dragon
https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1385886051793735682

Submitted April 24, 2021 at 11:29AM by hitura-nobad
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The Inspiration4 crew watches as Crew-2 launches to the ISS. The next human spaceflight from U.S. soil will be these four launching on Dragon.
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Submitted April 24, 2021 at 02:39PM by johnkphotos
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<b>Would there be a significant downside to using a drag producing device to initiate/perform the belly-to-tail flip instead of using engine thrust?</b>
I am <strong>NOT</strong> suggesting using any kind of parachute or other drag device to substantially arrest Starship's descent. A parachute big enough to substantially arrest a spacecraft the size of Starship would be heavy, expensive, and would likely open up a large chunk of new issues to deal with.But I have often wondered why you couldn't deploy a small drogue chute or drag ribbon as a 'pivot assist' in the moments before landing. SpaceX obviously has the 'falling with style' portion of the re-entry nailed - they have proven that they can descend belly first, using the movable fins with excellent control, and position themselves as required right over the landing zone. They have also proven that they know how to calculate needed thrust settings in order to make an accurate and reasonably soft pinpoint landing at close proximity to the ground . Vast simplification here, but most of the trouble they seem to have had landing Starship has been in the transition from belly-first to tail-first: pressurizing the header tanks in various ways in order to get an initial Raptor ignition that will provide enough thrust so that the fuel will settle in the tanks, ensuring that no vapor bubbles get passed through the turbo-pumps, when the rest of the engines ignite.If they could fire a small drogue chute or other drag producing device from the nose at - say 500-800 meters AGL - as soon as that device deployed, it would produce a pull on the nose that would simultaneously start the desired pivot from horizontal to vertical in a gentle and controlled manner while also providing enough deceleration that the fuel would rather quickly settle to the 'bottom' of the tanks, allowing the Raptor(s) to be ignited with much lower risk of vapor ingestion. Once Starship is within 20 degrees or so of vertical with a Raptor or two lit, SpaceX has all of their experience and code at the ready to either softly land on its own legs, or maneuver to be caught by a tower, with excellent efficiency and accuracy.&#8203;Pro's:I think it would be fairly fuel neutral, or even fuel positive. You wouldn't need to ignite the engines in order to start the pivot - you could wait a couple of seconds until the fuel settles due to the pull from the drag device. It wouldn't take much pull from the drag device to settle the fuel - IiRC the fuel settling operation when in orbit is done with small cold-gas thruster.It would be either neutral or a net positive for systems complexity. Drogue chutes, deployment pyrotechnics, and their associated controls are well understood devices that would likely not introduce significant new complications. And using such a device might allow for removal or scaling down of some of the current equipment installed, such as the CPOVs and header tank system.I don't think that it would be a significant weight penalty. I am talking about a small chute of maybe 3-4 meters in diameter as a SWAG, along with a small launching charge/tube and a cable/attachment hardware.150KG's? 200KG's? And if this system allowed for other more complex hardware to be removed, it might be fully weight neutral. I am -not directly comparing the two systems, but there are existing whole-airframe parachute systems for small aircraft such as the Cessna 172 and Cirrus: such systems contain activation hardware, a rocket-assisted launch system to rapidly move the chute away from the airframe to avoid entanglement, the parachute itself, and of course an attachment harness. The manufacturer, BRS states the weight of such a system at around 85 lbs/38KGThe same process, obviously with a larger drag device tailored to the less dense atmosphere, could be used for landing on Mars. It has (more or less) already been done successfully twice for the last two Mars rovers.&#8203;Con's:- The only one I can immediately think of is the chance…

Suit upgrades between Crew 1 and 2
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Submitted April 23, 2021 at 08:56PM by idblue
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Is it just me or does this look like a guy parachuting into a castle
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Submitted April 24, 2021 at 10:51AM by Kuentai
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Thomas Pesquet on Twitter: I happened to spot our 2nd stage of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, flying in formation with us on a perfectly parallel track, but lower... two tiny objects 200 km above Earth!
https://twitter.com/Thom_astro/status/1386286404745916418

Submitted April 25, 2021 at 02:07PM by Jump3r97
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[Thomas Pesquet] Here's one of the most secret yet useful systems on the spacecraft... our toilet! There's a curtain for privacy, and the rest is really just technicalities... let's just say that the only advantage is the view. Shoutout to its designer SpaceX!
https://twitter.com/thom_astro/status/1386331928031334409?s=21

Submitted April 25, 2021 at 05:10PM by tonybinky20
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Astronaut's signatures on returned Crew 2 booster
https://twitter.com/Kyle_M_Photo/status/1386497125270368259?s=20

Submitted April 26, 2021 at 04:21AM by Kyle_M_Photo
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Akihito Hoshide and Souichi Noguchi have a quick chat and pass a rugby ball from one Crew Dragon Endeavour to Crew Dragon Resilience
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IIATU5zy30

Submitted April 26, 2021 at 03:07AM by ergzay
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China’s state rocket company unveils rendering of a Starship look-alike
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Submitted April 26, 2021 at 04:26PM by SliceofNow
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🔥 SN15 Static Fire Attempt

The road is closed and final preparations are underway.

Update: Static fire imminent!

ℹ️ View status

@SpaceX

STATIC FIRE! Starship SN15 fires up for the first time. There will be a data review to check performance.

Status Article:
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2021/04/starship-sn15-tests-mcgregor-raptor-testing/

LIVE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u0-0TiDkQU
Source: @NASASpaceflight

Starship SN15 conducts a Static Fire test – McGregor readies increased Raptor testing capacity
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Submitted April 27, 2021 at 12:34AM by Fizrock
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SpaceX moving into 6.5 acre facility in Long Beach, CA
https://twitter.com/RobertGarcia/status/1386804908687388672

Submitted April 27, 2021 at 12:24AM by TheChenger
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Blue Origin Challenges NASA Over SpaceX Moon Lander Deal
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Submitted April 26, 2021 at 11:40PM by newtopia_rising42
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[Elon Musk] Starship SN15 static fire completed, preparing for flight later this week
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1386836238771105793

Submitted April 27, 2021 at 02:21AM by matlynar
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