SpaceX and other space news updates

1,318,148 Views | 15043 Replies | Last: 21 hrs ago by OnlyForNow
Ag_of_08
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badharambe said:

Does no one worry about Musk's/Tesla's ties to the CCP and how that could influence SpaceX?

Musk's primary net worth is tied up in Tesla. Without it his empire would collapse. Tesla's factory in China is financed through China banks and China has the ability in the contract to take over the factory at any point based on extenuating circumstances or if they are concerned.


Not particularly. The only real link between tesla and spacex are the motor being used on starship and who owns them. There's no real "Musk to ccp" link....
nortex97
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LOL.



More seriously;

Quote:

SpaceX is looking forward to providing Starlink satellite broadband internet service globally. The company aims to initially offer connection in rural areas of the northern United States and Canada before this year ends. A total of 4,409 internet-beaming satellites will initially make up the Starlink constellation; there are around 708 satellites already in low Earth orbit. SpaceX is Private Beta Testing the network among employees. Starlink users receive broadband service from the satellites in space via a user dish terminal that is easy to install. "The instructions are super-easy. You plug it in, and you point it at the sky, and a few seconds later you have internet. It's truly remarkable," Jonathan Hofeller SpaceX Vice-President of Starlink and Commercial Sales said in July.

SpaceX's Starlink network is also undergoing real world use with Washington state's unit of first responders, who are helping rebuild after wildfires destroyed the small town of Malden early September. The emergency telecommunications leader of the Washington State Military Department's IT division, Richard Hall, told reporters he set up Starlink user terminals in locations that are severely devastated by the fires, to provide families broadband access that enables them to perform wireless calls and connect online. In his job profession Hall has set up a variety of satellite services, he stated that "there's really no comparison" between Starlink and other networks. "Starlink easily doubles the bandwidth" in comparison, "I've seen lower than 30 millisecond latency consistently," he told CNBC news last week. --- "Starlink will be a revolution in connectivity, especially for remote regions or for emergency services when landlines are damaged," the founder of SpaceX Elon Musk said.
https://www.tesmanian.com/blogs/tesmanian-blog/s

He says Brownsville is a few months out, so presumably toward the end of the year for all of Texas:

Ag_of_08
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Some crew 1 discussions, a discussion of the tweaks they've made etc.

Interesting that Mr Trump flag ruined it for everyone else on meeting the capsule. If people had kept a realistic distance from the thing, they'd have probably let folks get away with getting a helluva lot closer than 10 miles, but noooooo, some hillbilly had to get so close they actually interfered with the recovery operation so he could "hell yeah brother " himself on tv..... I hate people like that.
nortex97
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Another 60 starlink satellites launched today. Successful recovery.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/10/06/spacex-breaks-cycle-of-scrubs-with-successful-falcon-9-launch/

https://www.spacex.com/launches/

TexAgs91
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nortex97 said:

Another 60 starlink satellites launched today. Successful recovery.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/10/06/spacex-breaks-cycle-of-scrubs-with-successful-falcon-9-launch/

https://www.spacex.com/launches/
I saw them after the 2nd launch. It was a really cool sight. (Not quite as cool as the oscillating tether I saw years ago though). I've never been able to catch sight of them again though.
nortex97
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Apparently (rumor alert), SpaceX has been de orbiting a bunch of its early Starlink satellites (v0.9) quietly/without press releases

https://spacenews.com/spacex-launches-s ... inal-ones/

Viasat launched onto some piece of that to attack SpaceX claiming to the FCC that their reliability is crappy.

The drama could be funny to observe over the next year. If Dems do tragically take over the FCC I could see it pushing to harm Starlink (not to mention the various NASA programs).

It's not too surprising to me that they'd be de-orbiting a bunch as they're obviously still making iterative changes/improvements.

I've read that their actual 'failure rate' (meaning a satellite without any communication/control) is under 1 percent which isn't a big deal really for a new design but, hey, politics is everything for space folks and telecommunications folks alike; run to the FCC to claim the other guys with a new product are cheating. ATT etc. will not go quietly into the night, to be sure.
Spyderman
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Goose61 said:

Everything old is new again:


LOL..I proudly wore the Fireball XL5 t-shirt last week.

What do you guys think about the secret space program?
Grab some popcorn...why the ongoing cover-up? The Phenomenon: FF to 1:22:35 https://tubitv.com/movies/632920/the-phenomenon

An est. 68 MILLION Americans, including 19 MILLION Black Children, have been killed in the WOMB since 1973-act, pray and vote accordingly.

TAMU purpose statement: To develop leaders of character dedicated to serving the greater good. Team entrance song at KYLE FIELD is laced with profanity including THE Nword..
The greater good?
scottimus
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Elon is in South Texas today...
TexAgs91
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Good to know, thanks
nortex97
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A bit of a different project; their launch schedule though is pretty full/booked for the next 5 years I think.

Quote:

The US Department of Defense's Space Development Agency (SDA) has selected L3Harris and Space Exploration Technologies Corp., also known as SpaceX, to receive a pair of multimillion dollar development deals to construct low Earth orbit satellites that will form the critical element for the agency's new, low Earth orbit (LEO) communications and networking programme.

L3Harris won the slightly larger of the two contracts, which totalled USD342.7 million, to develop the Tranche 0 variants of the LEO satellites that will make up the Tracking Layer of the SDA's National Defense Space Architecture (NDSA) programme. SpaceX netted USD149.1 million under its portion of the SDA development deal, with both companies being tasked to produce "on-time delivery of space vehicles and optical wide field-of-view [FOV] payloads," for the Transport Layer, according to the contract announcements that were issued on 5 October.

Specifically, both companies will develop four overhead persistent infrared imaging (OPIR) satellites for Tranche 0 of the Tracking Layer subsystem of the programme, which are tentatively slated for deployment by the end of fiscal year 2022 (FY 2022). The satellites and Tracking Layer in general are the lynchpin for the NDSA programme, whose primary mission is to detect, identify, and deter potential terrestrial and space-based threats including hypersonic weapons.

The satellites will be able to provide missile tracking data for hypersonic glide vehicles and the next generation of advanced missile threats, Derek Tournear, Space Development Agency director, said in a 5 October statement. With Tranche 0 in 2022, we will provide enough capability to where people can start to experiment with what those data could do and figure out how they could put that into their operational plans for battle, he added.
Mordred
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nortex97 said:

Apparently (rumor alert), SpaceX has been de orbiting a bunch of its early Starlink satellites (v0.9) quietly/without press releases

https://spacenews.com/spacex-launches-s ... inal-ones/

Viasat launched onto some piece of that to attack SpaceX claiming to the FCC that their reliability is crappy.

The drama could be funny to observe over the next year. If Dems do tragically take over the FCC I could see it pushing to harm Starlink (not to mention the various NASA programs).

It's not too surprising to me that they'd be de-orbiting a bunch as they're obviously still making iterative changes/improvements.

I've read that their actual 'failure rate' (meaning a satellite without any communication/control) is under 1 percent which isn't a big deal really for a new design but, hey, politics is everything for space folks and telecommunications folks alike; run to the FCC to claim the other guys with a new product are cheating. ATT etc. will not go quietly into the night, to be sure.
Hey your link got copied bad and links to a different story. Do you have one to the story you're talking about? Curious to read this stuff.

Thanks!
nortex97
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Sorry, not sure if this is the original but here is a good link;

https://spacenews.com/spacex-launches-starlink-satellites-as-it-deorbits-original-ones/

Quote:

With this launch, SpaceX has now launched 775 Starlink satellites, counting two prototypes launched in early 2018. However, 47 of those satellites have since reentered, either through deliberate maneuvers or natural decay, according to data maintained by astronomer and spaceflight analyst Jonathan McDowell.

The bulk of those deorbited satellites are from the initial group of 60 "v0.9" Starlink satellites launched in May 2019. Through Oct. 4, 39 of those satellites have deorbited, all but two of which since early August.

The rate of deorbiting picked up in late August, with 32 satellites deorbiting since Aug. 29.
SpaceX has not publicly disclosed why it is deorbiting the v0.9 Starlink satellites. The company said in January it would carry out a "controlled de-orbit of several first iteration Starlink satellites," citing improvements in the communications payload in subsequent Starlink satellites.

Critics of Starlink, though, have claimed the deorbiting satellites are evidence of reliability problems. In a Sept. 17 filing with the Federal Communications Commission, Viasat claimed that Starlink satellites had an in-orbit failure rate of 7%, far higher than SpaceX's claims of a failure rate of less than 1%. "And an actual failure rate this high, manifesting after such a small fraction of a Starlink satellite's design life has passed, optimistically implies a staggering 22% failure rate over the duration of the Starlink mission," the company argued (emphasis in original.)

Viasat based that conclusion in part on McDowell's data, prompting a rebuttal from him in a Sept. 21 FCC filing. He argued Viasat inflated the estimated failure rate of Starlink satellites by including the deorbited v0.9 satellites. "To include the deliberate retirement of the V0.9 satellites as failures, which Viasat appear to be doing, does not seem remotely justifiable to me," he wrote.

"Viasat believes that data about all Starlink failures are relevant," the company said in a Sept. 24 filing responding to McDowell. That includes, the company said, the v0.9 Starlink satellites being deorbited.

"Viasat is not aware of any valid basis for treating the v0.9 Starlink satellites (the first 60) as 'early prototypes' and thus somehow 'unrepresentative' of the Starlink system."
(Most) Comments there are pretty informative/correct, imho.
Ag_of_08
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Some eyebrow raising news today, Chris Ferguson left the Boeing test flight.



The artemis news jives with the rumors I've been hearing, and the general tone coming from the artemis program in general. Boeing/Lockheed/ et al are really not making themselves popular right now, it will be interesting to see what happens.

I maintain my previous speculation, a starship will orbit the earth before SLS makes orbit.

**edit for wrong link
hph6203
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nortex97 said:

Sorry, not sure if this is the original but here is a good link;

https://spacenews.com/spacex-launches-starlink-satellites-as-it-deorbits-original-ones/

Quote:

With this launch, SpaceX has now launched 775 Starlink satellites, counting two prototypes launched in early 2018. However, 47 of those satellites have since reentered, either through deliberate maneuvers or natural decay, according to data maintained by astronomer and spaceflight analyst Jonathan McDowell.

The bulk of those deorbited satellites are from the initial group of 60 "v0.9" Starlink satellites launched in May 2019. Through Oct. 4, 39 of those satellites have deorbited, all but two of which since early August.

The rate of deorbiting picked up in late August, with 32 satellites deorbiting since Aug. 29.
SpaceX has not publicly disclosed why it is deorbiting the v0.9 Starlink satellites. The company said in January it would carry out a "controlled de-orbit of several first iteration Starlink satellites," citing improvements in the communications payload in subsequent Starlink satellites.

Critics of Starlink, though, have claimed the deorbiting satellites are evidence of reliability problems. In a Sept. 17 filing with the Federal Communications Commission, Viasat claimed that Starlink satellites had an in-orbit failure rate of 7%, far higher than SpaceX's claims of a failure rate of less than 1%. "And an actual failure rate this high, manifesting after such a small fraction of a Starlink satellite's design life has passed, optimistically implies a staggering 22% failure rate over the duration of the Starlink mission," the company argued (emphasis in original.)

Viasat based that conclusion in part on McDowell's data, prompting a rebuttal from him in a Sept. 21 FCC filing. He argued Viasat inflated the estimated failure rate of Starlink satellites by including the deorbited v0.9 satellites. "To include the deliberate retirement of the V0.9 satellites as failures, which Viasat appear to be doing, does not seem remotely justifiable to me," he wrote.

"Viasat believes that data about all Starlink failures are relevant," the company said in a Sept. 24 filing responding to McDowell. That includes, the company said, the v0.9 Starlink satellites being deorbited.

"Viasat is not aware of any valid basis for treating the v0.9 Starlink satellites (the first 60) as 'early prototypes' and thus somehow 'unrepresentative' of the Starlink system."
(Most) Comments there are pretty informative/correct, imho.
I may be misremembering and it was actually the initial two Starlink prototypes, but my recollection was that the first batch of 60 satellites lacked the total interoperability between satellites to fully function in the final array.

In other words the satellites could do ground to satellite back to ground, but part of the operation of the satellites is ground to satellites to satellite to ground to reduce worldwide latency. I just recall being disappointed in hearing that the initial batch of 60 would not count towards the necessary 1200 satellites for full coverage.


I wouldn't trust Viasat about anything to do with Starlink. They're going to be in bankruptcy if Starlink succeeds and there's no avoiding that for them. The only survival outcome for them is if Starlink fails.

Musk has said once the most recent batch of satellites has reached their final orbit/altitude they'll be able to begin a public beta for the northern United States and southern Canada. Also said that Texas/Brownsville area would follow 3 months after that. To reach final orbit is going to take 3 months.

Should be Q1 2021 for public betas in Texas and fingers crossed they'll have full coverage by middle of next year. At that point it's just building out the array to maximize bandwidth.
lb3
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The laser links aren't operational yet which is why the beta is limited to North America. SpaceX had built ground stations all over the place:
hph6203
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Ah, wasn't aware of that fact. I guess it was the addition of Ka band on the v1.0 satellites that was the main functional differentiator. For some reason I had recalled that the original 60 v0.9 satellites weren't going to be utilized, but it might've been that they didn't count towards the quoted number of satellites necessary to begin a public beta/operations of the system.

Been watching (though not rabid or deep into the technicals) this system build out since Musk initially mentioned it as a conceptual idea and hoped he'd actually pursue it. Then the FCC filings came and it's pretty impressive how quickly it's come together from concept to nearing service now.

In looking for the differences in satellites I guess they just recently tested the satellite interoperability, so I guess that's going to be a buildout for 2021 and global coverage won't be until late next year/early 2022?
nortex97
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Next crewed mission put off into November. Interesting/good that NASA/astronaut safety benefits from full data share from non-NASA missions.
Quote:

NASA announced that it was delaying the launch of its SpaceX Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station until early to mid-November because of issues with the spaceflight company's Falcon 9 rocket. The launch was originally scheduled for Oct. 31 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

In a statement posted Saturday, the agency said that there had been "off-nominal behavior" of the Falcon 9 first stage engine gas generators during a recent non-NASA mission launch attempt. NASA stated that the additional time would allow SpaceX to complete hardware testing and data reviews.

It also highlighted the fact that it had full insight into SpaceX's launch and testing data as part of its Commercial Crew and Launch Services Programs partnership, an important detail considering that the issue occurred during a non-NASA launch.

Kathy Lueders, associate administrator of NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, said the partnership helped the agency make informed decisions about its missions.

"We have a strong working relationship with our SpaceX partner," Lueders said."With the high cadence of missions SpaceX performs, it really gives us incredible insight into this commercial system and helps us make informed decisions about the status of our missions. The teams are actively working this finding on the engines, and we should be a lot smarter within the coming week."
https://gizmodo.com/nasa-announces-delay-of-spacex-crew-1-launch-to-iss-ci-1845337000

nortex97
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On Starlink public beta, I think they now have the capability to launch it with what's already up, but won't do so in Texas until at least two more launches (and positioning) are completed. They're now making 120 per month of the little sats.

Starlink 14 and 15 (the launches) are to happen within the next 45 or so days. Getting the coverage to Boca Chica (meaning all of Texas) needs more birds in the sky Musk has said (he uses it there at his rental house but said it's relatively poor at this time due to the coverage gaps etc.)
Ag_of_08
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I'm not surprised it slipped, it will move into a daytime launch slot as well.... which certainly isn't hurting NASA or SpaceX feelings. The off nominal was on a booster on it's third re-flight, and it still landed and will be reflown. I'm not concerned about the engines or the Falcon, but NASA is flexing a bit, for safety but also PR concerns IMO.
hph6203
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This tweet is why I said 3 months for a public beta:


He kind of contradicts it with this one:


My understanding is it takes 3 months for the satellites to reach final orbit. He kind of contradicts himself, so it's hard to say when Texas coverage would occur.
Faustus
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nortex97 said:

LOL.


. . .



Nice. Musk or one of his employees is a fan of Banks' The Culture series of novels.


https://theculture.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_spacecraft_in_the_Culture_series
Kenneth_2003
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My guess is it's not so much a contradiction as it is Musk just getting to play with the new toys.
aTmAg
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Pretty cool picture released today:

nortex97
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They're trying to catch both fairings and the falcon 9 today. More starlinks are in orbit now.

nortex97
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Update, because I'm still getting coffee.




nortex97
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SpaceX has made the bidder list for FCC Rural Development Opp. Fund. Possibly looking to launch 240 starlinks at a time on starship.

nortex97
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Musk predicts (unmanned) trip will be possible by 2024 window (to mars):

Quote:

The spacecraft's first trip will be unmanned.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk this week said he anticipates that his spacefaring company SpaceX will send its standard-bearing Starship to Mars in as little as four years as part of the first step in a planned colonization of the planet.

Musk, in a virtual talk during the International Mars Society Convention, estimated that SpaceX would be able to make the 2024 "transfer window," a periodic alignment of the orbits of Earth and Mars that allow astronauts to use minimal amounts of fuel while making the journey.

Musk, an entrepreneur and philanthropist, has long promoted the initiative of a self-sustaining colony on Mars, though he conceded during the virtual discussion that it will "probably not happen in [his] lifetime."
SpaceX itself is not seeking to spearhead any Martian colony but rather act as a ferry service for personnel and supplies to and from the base.
ccatag
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Supposed to be a Falcon 9 with Starlink satellites today 10.23.2020.

I think I read launch time to be 12:33 pm eastern.
Ag_of_08
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Meanwhile NASA has released two videos of the SLS launch tower being rolled to and from the pad.

They're really making themselves look pathetic with some of these.
TexAgs91
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bthotugigem05
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Went down to Boca Chica this morning, got a good shot of Starship and got the full Elon family portrait


TexAgs91
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bthotugigem05 said:

Went down to Boca Chica this morning, got a good shot of Starship and got the full Elon family portrait
Can you tell us about Boca Chica? Looks like you got pretty close. Is it really accessible? How big is the area?
hph6203
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bthotugigem05 said:

Went down to Boca Chica this morning, got a good shot of Starship and got the full Elon family portrait



Where's the tunnel and the brain implant!?
Mowdy Ag
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Goose61 said:

Everything old is new again:


Saturday morning in the '60's...


...take me back....


Damn I liked that show.
double aught
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Lots of interesting stuff on this thread. Thanks to the contributors.
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