The tone of that article and the comments by the FAA folks sound like they and SpaceX have a good working relationship and are working towards common goals... nice to see given the concern regarding approval times, etc...
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The tone of that article and the comments by the FAA folks sound like they and SpaceX have a good working relationship and are working towards common goals... nice to see given the concern regarding approval times, etc...
As early as SN4, they were using the white insulation material on small test patches of tiles. I assume they were on pins and not glued to the white which was glued to the ship.
Here's SN20 sporting pins, white insulation and mounted tiles.
At some point, they went to a combination of glue and pin mounting. If you look at Ship 28, you'll see that the fuselage tiles have black between the tiles while the tiles on the tightly-curved parts have white between the tiles. The former are on pins over white insulation, but the latter are glued directly onto the structure. Because they're physically in contact with the ship skin, SpaceX needed the gaps between the tiles filled. That's the white between those tiles. It's apparently the same sort of insulation behind the pin-mounted tiles, but sealed with something. That's the Space Shuttle solution.
I'd compose the image sizes for the post, but the forum software isn't resolving the image links for now. My apologies to future readers who might see humongous images.
And they are much thicker than the flat tiles with insulation behind them, presumably to compensate for their lack of backing insulation.
It is going to be very interesting to see how the tiles hold up during IFT-3.
Yes. Fundamentally, SpaceX needs the tiles to survive the launch and landing every time if they want to treat Starship like an airplane. I would expect they would want them to survive at least a dozen launches and landings before any refurbishment or replacement. Eventually they would need to test them under a high energy entry situation (Mars). I'm sure that once they successfully recover a Starship that was in orbit they will have what they need.
Looks like potentiallly positive stuf in regards to FAA approval processing.:
FAA to establish committee to refine launch licensing regulations
An FAA committee will seek industry input on ways to improve a new launch licensing process, two years before all companies switch to those rules.
spacenews.com
Docking test for Orion/HLS connection.
www.nasa.gov
It doesn't appear to use the NASA Docking System. That, or the flanges are on the lower section. Here's a GIF from an unrelated test, and it looks like the same test rig that is used for the NASA system.
NASA, SpaceX Test Starship Lunar Lander Docking System - NASA
As part of NASA’s Artemis campaign that will establish the foundation for long-term scientific exploration at the Moon, crew will need to move between
www.nasa.gov
It doesn't appear to use the NASA Docking System. That, or the flanges are on the lower section. Here's a GIF from an unrelated test, and it looks like the same test rig that is used for the NASA system.
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It looks like the photo matches the gif after first stage mating. The photo angle shortens the apparent size of the grey ring.Docking test for Orion/HLS connection.
NASA, SpaceX Test Starship Lunar Lander Docking System - NASA
As part of NASA’s Artemis campaign that will establish the foundation for long-term scientific exploration at the Moon, crew will need to move between
It doesn't appear to use the NASA Docking System. That, or the flanges are on the lower section. Here's a GIF from an unrelated test, and it looks like the same test rig that is used for the NASA system.
Interesting. From the caption for that photo:
What do they mean by “active or passive” in this context?
Whether you're docking or being docked to.
S29 was moved to the launch site, it’s now next to the suborbital test stand, presumably for testing including a static fire. NSF speculates that it may be the last ship tested at that location, as Massey’s is being prepared for ship static fire capability. But based on the most recent RGV flyover video it looks like Massey’s is months away from having a functional static fire test stand.
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Now we know what the payload for S28 is.
S29.
Taken from Wikipedia, you can see the launch site at top right, the build site in the middle, and the Massey test site at the bottom left. It used to be Massey's Gun Range, thus the name. Massey sold the property and moved his gun range closer to Brownsville.
Ninja'd. Curse you, @mongo.
S29.
Taken from Wikipedia, you can see the launch site at top right, the build site in the middle, and the Massey test site at the bottom left. It used to be Massey's Gun Range, thus the name. Massey sold the property and moved his gun range closer to Brownsville.
Ninja'd. Curse you, @mongo.
Yes. It was a joke. The lack of a smiley face reflects my normally dry sense of humor.
Speaking of payloads, it occurs to me that they could take up a 100 ton tank of liquid Nitrogen in the cargo area. Vent that once you've reached apogee, then reenter at the appropriate mass after deploying a payload.
If you're going to reenter with your payload simulator intact, take up a 100 ton tank of seawater. Though it better be filtered for organics if it's taking water from the Gulf and dumping it into the Pacific.
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