SpaceX is tracking to launch over 80% of all Earth payload to orbit this year pic.twitter.com/DMf5tpG0kI

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 6, 2023

If starship gets going, this will be over 90 percent by the end of 2025 (monthly).

China space authorities name Elon Musk's SpaceX an 'unprecedented challenge' | South China Morning Post https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3244086/china-space-authorities-name-elon-musks-spacex-unprecedented-challenge

China isn't happy.

".....nuts!"

They are working on their copy of Starship, but I am skeptical about the full flow staged combustion methelox engine they are trying to test, akin to a Raptor in some respects. They also probably need/want to have SpaceX work out the kinks/problems in the starship design before advancing with their own models.

PJYoung said:

---

China space authorities name Elon Musk's SpaceX an 'unprecedented challenge' | South China Morning Post https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3244086/china-space-authorities-name-elon-musks-spacex-unprecedented-challenge

China isn't happy.

---

Has there been much discussion about how SpaceX protects itself from IP theft?

Probably helps a great deal that the keep most of their production in house.

A great many companies have had to learn the lesson the hard way that providing your technical data and drawings to factories known for stealing IP...is going to get your ip stolen

rynning said:

---

PJYoung said:

---

China space authorities name Elon Musk's SpaceX an 'unprecedented challenge' | South China Morning Post https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3244086/china-space-authorities-name-elon-musks-spacex-unprecedented-challenge

China isn't happy.

---

Has there been much discussion about how SpaceX protects itself from IP theft?

---

We know that our President doesn't like them protecting themselves:

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-66610725

Quote:

---

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has said it is suing Elon Musk's SpaceX, alleging the rocket firm discriminates against refugees and asylum seekers in its hiring practices.
The DoJ says SpaceX falsely claimed that it was not allowed to hire non-US citizens.
The investigation into SpaceX by the DoJ was prompted after allegations of discrimination from a foreign worker.
The BBC has contacted SpaceX for comment.
The DoJ alleged that SpaceX "routinely discouraged asylees and refugees from applying and refused to hire or consider them, because of their citizenship status" from September 2018 to May 2022.

---

It's amazing how much a few $million given to the right politicians has helped China

Oh man there was a local story here last week about a Chinese dude getting arrested for snooping around...

Quote:

---

MAN ARRESTED FOR TRESPASSING AT SPACEX: On Thursday, November 16, 2023, Cameron County Sheriff Deputies made contact with SpaceX Security Personnel at the SpaceX Boca Chica facilities regarding a person trespassing. Sheriff Deputies made contact with Mr. Zhaoning Jiang who was found trespassing on SpaceX grounds taking pictures. Mr. Jiang informed Sheriff Deputies he was taking pictures to show his friends later. Mr. Jiang acknowledged to Sheriff Deputies he entered and remained on the property without authorization.

Sheriff Deputies arrested Mr. Zhaoning Jiang and transported him to the Carrizales Rucker Detention Center pending arraignment. Mr. Zhaoning Jiang is charged with Criminal Trespass, TPC 30.05, a Class B Misdemeanor.

---

I'm reminded of the 70s when the SST arms race was going on. Boeing dropped out and that left the Concorde and the TU-144. Of course the TU-144 wasn't so much a Russian invention as a copy of Concorde from stolen plans. Except they didn't get everything.

Concorde could fly supersonic without afterburner. That was only for take off and climbing. The 144 needed afterburner to fly supersonic. And the engines themselves were in the wrong place under the wings and they needed canards. It was such a poor copy it went down at the Paris Air Show and effectively ended any chance of it being marketable to anyone but Aeroflot.

But make no mistake. It was a copy from stolen plans.

Legit the first thing I thought of, and for a second misread the name to be the same as well.

At dawn from the gateway to Mars, the launch of Starship’s second flight test pic.twitter.com/ffKnsVKwG4

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 7, 2023

Love it.

So funny I left my house after 5:30a and pulled up to my viewing spot 7 minutes before it lifted off.

Pretty, pretty good.

I was about to post that as well. There's some onboard footage in there. Hope we get more

TexAgs91 said:

---

I was about to post that as well. There's some onboard footage in there. Hope we get more

---

I really love the control room stuff as well.

China is apparently afraid of SpaceX and driving their engineers to work harder and avoid complacency in order to catch-up.

https://amp.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3244086/china-space-authorities-name-elon-musks-spacex-unprecedented-challenge

Mathguy64 said:

---

I'm reminded of the 70s when the SST arms race was going on. Boeing dropped out and that left the Concorde and the TU-144. Of course the TU-144 wasn't so much a Russian invention as a copy of Concorde from stolen plans. Except they didn't get everything.

Concorde could fly supersonic without afterburner. That was only for take off and climbing. The 144 needed afterburner to fly supersonic. And the engines themselves were in the wrong place under the wings and they needed canards. It was such a poor copy it went down at the Paris Air Show and effectively ended any chance of it being marketable to anyone but Aeroflot.

But make no mistake. It was a copy from stolen plans.

---

Same with the Space Shuttle, amazing how the Soviet version just happened to look just like ours.

Yeah, pretty uncanny that the Soviets happened to independently arrive at the same configuration as the Space Shuttle whose design was set by an obscure use-case particular to the geography of North America. "Wow, you guys also needed 1,000 nm of re-entry cross range to land on terra firma on single-orbit polar missions? What are the odds!"

As of just after separation, looks like Starship already has a leak (see the bottom video)

On-board views 🔥🔥pic.twitter.com/At5UEXyXpx

— Space Sudoer (@spacesudoer) December 7, 2023

or is that an RCS jet?

TexAgs91 said:

---

As of just after separation, looks like Starship already has a leak (see the bottom video)

On-board views 🔥🔥pic.twitter.com/At5UEXyXpx

— Space Sudoer (@spacesudoer) December 7, 2023

or is that an RCS jet?

---

That's possible but unlikely. Since the ship separated using hot staging, the ship's engines were burning at that moment. I have not seen them use RCS thrusters during a burn. It is more likely the ship's autogenous pressurization system vent.

Both stages use ullage gas pressure to feed the engine turbo pump inlets. Basically using its own cryogenic boil off to pressurize the tanks. Once the engines light up they burn a literal ton of propellant a second. So the pressure in the tanks will begin to drop if not replaced with more ullage gas. So the autogenous pressurization system uses a pump cycle that uses heat from the engines to vaporize the liquid propellant and flow it back to the tank to maintain the ullage pressure as the propellant is consumed during burns. Since the system will surge pressures right after engine start, there is a venting that happens to release the surging pressure to help it reach a stable pressure quickly. That looks like that vent. You can see a similar vent on the booster right as it start lifting off.

I mean... why not?

TXAG 05 said:

---

Mathguy64 said:

---

I'm reminded of the 70s when the SST arms race was going on. Boeing dropped out and that left the Concorde and the TU-144. Of course the TU-144 wasn't so much a Russian invention as a copy of Concorde from stolen plans. Except they didn't get everything.

Concorde could fly supersonic without afterburner. That was only for take off and climbing. The 144 needed afterburner to fly supersonic. And the engines themselves were in the wrong place under the wings and they needed canards. It was such a poor copy it went down at the Paris Air Show and effectively ended any chance of it being marketable to anyone but Aeroflot.

But make no mistake. It was a copy from stolen plans.

---

Same with the Space Shuttle, amazing how the Soviet version just happened to look just like ours.

---

Also amazing how different it was. The energia was a standalone launch system that strapped Buran to the side of it. There is a very valid argument to be made that it's the superior system.

And yes "but the buran had damage on landing"....and STS1 damaged itself so badly on lift off Young said he would have aborted had he known the extent.

I now feel inspired to listen to some Steely Dan

Hoping this passes soon.

I say early February!

It looks like the build-up to the third flight of Starship will ramp up soon, with a rollout (assuming Ship 28, but it could be Booster 10) on Sunday.

Remember, both vehicles have been cryo-tested at Masseys already. They could do another at the launch site, but they could also… pic.twitter.com/26gAJHfvf4

— Chris Bergin - NSF (@NASASpaceflight) December 8, 2023

Quote:

---

I reckon there's a fair chance both vehicles could be Static Fired before the end of the year. Launch is probably end of Jan through Feb at the earliest, but that's guessing.

Point in case is there's going to be a big improvement in the timeline that we saw between IFT-1 and -2 thanks to the pad mods and how well the second flight performed.

I do think Masseys was a great addition given they can get a number of things done with the future vehicles before they get to the pad.

---

I've heard internally, SpaceX's launch date for IFT-3 is Dec 25th

TexAgs91 said:

---

I've heard internally, SpaceX's launch date for IFT-3 is Dec 25th

---

That would be cool if it WAS the date. I'll be down on the south end of Padre that week for a mini-vacation staying in Margaritaville. We'd get a good view of it.

Sooooo... Remember that asteroid sample return capsule that slammed in a month or so ago, that seemed to land early and fast with no drogue parachute deployment?

NSF says NASA is saying the drogue chutes were mis-wired. The command to deploy the drogues was wired instead to the system to cut the drogues. When the command to cut the drogues was given that wiring deployed them, of course at that time they had already been cut free so they simply fell off.

TexAgs91 said:

---

---

I wonder why the storage depot doesn't land itself. Seems like that would save a crap-ton of money rather than build 8-15 expenables.

Edit: oh my bad. I was thinking of the tanker.

Niiice