ChiefsPlanet - Science Space Exploration megathread

ChiefsPlanet (https://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/index.php)

- Nzoner's Game Room (https://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/forumdisplay.php?f=1)

- -

Space Exploration megathread (https://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=284057)

At this point I expect the FAA to **** the Starship development program. SpaceX likely already knows the problem and could probably launch SN10 this week. Instead, I'm guessing launch operations will be halted for 6 months. Sounds to me like the FAA did expect SpaceX to guarantee a safe landing and that is how they "exceeded" they're launch parameters prior. Ugh.

https://thehill.com/policy/transport...-investigation

Quote:

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will take over the investigation into an explosion that destroyed a SpaceX rocket during a test flight on Tuesday, the agency said.
CNN reported that an FAA spokesperson confirmed the investigation and said it would identify the "root cause" of what caused the craft to explode upon landing in Texas.
"The FAA's top priority in regulating commercial space transportation is ensuring that operations are safe, even if there is an anomaly," the agency spokesperson said, according to CNN.
"The FAA will oversee the investigation of today's landing mishap involving the SpaceX Starship SN9 prototype in Boca Chica, Texas. Although this was an uncrewed test flight, the investigation will identify the root cause of today's mishap and possible opportunities to further enhance safety as the program develops," the spokesperson added.
Representatives for SpaceX and the FAA did not immediately return a request for comment. The company has not commented publicly on the explosion but said in a tweet that it was planning future launches.

Now targeting two Falcon 9 launches of Starlink satellites on Thursday, February 4, pending range acceptance and recovery weather conditions. First Falcon 9 launch at 1:19 a.m. EST from SLC-40, followed by another Falcon 9 launch ~4 hours later at 5:36 a.m. EST from LC-39A

Georgia secretary of state opens investigation into Lin Wood over...

Two FBI agents fatally shot while serving warrant in Florida

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 3, 2021

SpaceX owner Elon Musk announced a Twitter break on Tuesday following the crash, and has not commented publicly on the incident.
Last month, he made headlines when he publicly accused competitor Amazon of using federal regulations to hamstring SpaceX in the interest of pursuing its own satellite program.

Quote:

Originally Posted by unlurking (Post 15524475)

UGHHH, ****ing FAA.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This is a slow motion view tracking the skirt, and you can see after the first piece of debris comes off, the second is bouncing around inside the skirt. <a href="https://t.co/1clOe9j9p1">pic.twitter.com/1clOe9j9p1</a></p>— Scott Manley (@DJSnM) <a href="https://twitter.com/DJSnM/status/1356723874365276160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Quote:

Originally Posted by unlurking (Post 15524475)

Was the FAA this involved with Falcon development? It seems to me that failures should be expected when developing and testing new technology.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MagicHef (Post 15524549)

Was the FAA this involved with Falcon development? It seems to me that failures should be expected when developing and testing new technology.

I was wondering that, too. You'd think the answer would be "yes," but maybe they didn't fly as high? Or maybe they didn't care as much since the F9 testing site was much more remote?

:shrug:

Quote:

Originally Posted by MagicHef (Post 15524549)

Was the FAA this involved with Falcon development? It seems to me that failures should be expected when developing and testing new technology.

Was the Falcon every designed to carry people? That could be a big difference from the FAA perspective.

This could be a good training opportunity for the FAA inspectors. There will come a day that a spaceship crashes with passengers on board and they will need to investigate. Think of this as a training exercise to better understand this new type of vehicle.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MagicHef (Post 15524549)

Was the FAA this involved with Falcon development? It seems to me that failures should be expected when developing and testing new technology.

I remember that the FAA investigated when a Falcon 9 exploded on the pad in Florida (Iridium?), but they ended up accepting SpaceX's explanation for the bang.

No idea about early testing though. Wasn't that carried out in McGregor, Texas?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hydrae (Post 15524576)

Yes, it was designed to carry people. In fact, it already has.

I believe (but this is many years ago so my memory may be faulty) that they never had land based crashes. Grasshopper had abort explosions mid-air, but never actually crashed. Falcon 9 never actually crashed over land, but crashed many times into the ocean or on a barge.

I'm assuming they would have deferred to NASA in those instances, and NASA probably said "dev program".

I thought NASA led the investigation into the Falcon 9 pre-launch pad explosion?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donger (Post 15524597)

Yes, it was. It looks like the McGregor-Oglesby area is much more populated than Boca Chica.

Launch in an hour for any night owls. The second one got bumped back a day, sadly.

Everything went as planned for Falcon 9 Starlink launch #1. Launch 2 is roughly 24 hrs from now.

As for the FAA sticking their nose into the Starship tests, it sounds like they just want to remind people, "hey we're still here." It's not like this is the equivalent of making tweaks to a car engine and throwing the ignition to test fixes.

I have no problem with FAA being involved (and actually believe they're insight and recommendations would be valuable input to SpaceX), as long they don't start forcing unreasonable new requirements or introducing overly long delays. :fingerscrossed:

Quote:

Originally Posted by unlurking (Post 15526153)

Just curious, what FAA recommendations and insight do you think could be valuable on a completely unique prototype spacecraft design?

One of the cooler shots I've seen.

https://i.redd.it/89etnc5mvef61.jpg