For those who are new to who SpaceX is, they are a privately owned Company that builds reusable rockets. As well as they just Recently launching some of the first Krypton powered satellites, and are hoping to hopefully bring humans to Mars.
https://www.spacex.com/
I love watching SpaceX's https://www.spacex.com/news! They just recently launched 60 Starlink satellites for the Starlink mission.
Talk about fast progress! They are making some historical moments happen in a very short time.
There is a Crew Dragon launch Escape demonstration today in about 5 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhrkdHshb3E
Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test has been a success! Splashing down in the Atlantic ocean nearly 32 Km offshore.
Photo provided by https://www.spacex.com/dragon
Has not been very long since i last posted an update here, but it seems things move pretty fast. On the night of March 4th, (last night when i'm posting this) Me and my mom Watched some Starlink satellites fly over our house. Very Exiting to finely see them for myself.
Although i could not get a picture due to my camera not picking up low light very well, Somebody else did. and i found this picture from David Blanchard of Flagstaff, Arizona
On https://www.spaceweather.com/, Where he is quoted saying "I was photo-bombed by Starlink!" As he was trying to take photographs of the loose conjunction of Venus and Uranus Happening soon on the 9th of march.
SpaceX is about to attempt a High-Altitude Flight Test anywhere from 10 min from now till the end of the day.
Here is the https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf83yzzme2I
Goodluck to the SpaceX team!
Thanks for the link Tim!
Wow, that was an AMAZING flight test to watch live! Good job SpaceX team!!
I could not agree more! Very huge Milestone for the SpaceX Team, and with many more definitely yet to come!
At some point soon I will have to make a Milestone post to keep this thread up-to-date with the Developmental Prosses of Starship.
Great job to the SpaceX Team! keep up the cutting edge innovation, and GoodLuck with future Tests!
It has been a busy year so far in 2021.
so much is happening in the development of things at SpaceX
having 8+ months of progress to update will take a bit, but trust me, it's well worth it.
So much progress in fact that I'm posting this an estimated 2 weeks before a huge milestone.
The worlds Biggest & first fully reusable Rocket has been under development. out in the desert in south Texas for about 2 - 3 years in total, & in the planning Stages since at least 2010.
It may take a bit of time, but let me explain.
A little over 2 years ago, some cameras set up and watched by local SpaceX enthusiasts, started noticing a small Metal Silo Being built a few miles from where SpaceX had some tents set up.
Further Research showed that a water tower company was hired to make a silo.
Over time, more and more parts came in, some strange legs where put on the sides. they started thinking, "this is a pretty strange looking water tower"
Suspicions where rising & ideas about what it was where being thrown around . . .
Then SpaceX Put a Rocket Engine on it . . . and we kinda knew then what we where watching.
And then they flew it. . .
We soon Learned this was the very first prototype of a new Rocket, A Fully Reusable Rocket System that used to be known in early Development as BFR - Or Big Falcon Rocket.
Nowadays its known by a different name, sounds alot like something from Sci-Fi. . .
Simply Called: STARSHIP
Over the Next 2 years leading up to today when i make this post, Development still continues. Slowing Stepping up the pace from the last Piece of Development that came before it. The first Prototype we saw was only the start.
The first Prototype would come to be known as Starhopper or Hoppy by the community.
Further models where built in the coming months, so many in fact that a naming system was needed.
Prototypes of the main Rocket where built in such a way as to test parts slowly, not adding extra complexity to the program, sometimes missing main parts altogether if not needed for said test Vehicles current Tests.
The chosen naming system was Serial Number # (# being the current number for the prototype)
Shortened to SN#
After Starhopper, 4 test vehicles where built, testing things such as:
tank pressure needed for higher stress loads . . .
increased Structural Integrity on the underside of the Rocket where engines where installed, later to be known as the thrust Puck . . .
& many smaller things tested, such as welding techniques or the build process for the Rocket in general needing improvement for further production.
SN5 was the next SN to fly at all
(Other then SN4 Which was pushed to failure during a cryo-Test, Where Cryogenic Fuel is pressure tested inside. After Being pushed to failure the Tank ruptured and sent the Vehicle upwards. so technically It flew before SN5)
(SN5 150 Meter Hop Liftoff)
(SN5 150 Meter Hop)
SN5 had a mass simulator installed atop the Rocket in the form of Sheet metal (metal brick on top)
This Simulated mass would later be the nosecone for the rocket.
One more Vehicle would fly using a mass Simulator, SN6 was the last Nosecone-less SN to Fly.
Which brings The Update back to when I last posted.
In December of 2020, SN8 Became the first Full Starship
(Starship SN8 High Altitude Test Flight Liftoff)
I've been watching some of the rocket stuff but I dont get it.
Who the hell would want to go to Mars?
Seems dreamy and like rich dudes just blowing cash to me haha.
Whoever has the biggest rocket wins?
Why not try to colonize the top of Mt Everest or the bottom of the ocean? Seems much cheaper and no rockets needed.
This is what happens sometimes when people are too smart to be useful haha.
Most people have never noticed that the instruments we use to detect intelligent life are always pointed away from Earth!
Agreed,
Would be awesome if more instruments where exploring the Planet we are on.
we have deffinetly already mapped more things in space then we have in our oceans.
As well, a lot more research needs to be done on the life cycle that expands underground for thousands of miles, a network of bacteria roots and whole species we are un-aware of.
(probably great movie inspirations)
All the while if you look back at it all its a big system, it kinda has to be.
Because its all contained on 1 planet, floating in the Mostly empty void, equivalating a grain of sand in a desert the size of our Solar system.
All that chaos seems slow and peaceful, At least by our lifetimes, but things still happen so fast that its hard to understand using science.
Evolution is a slow process, at least as far as we know, as we are the only examples of it. Here on Earth
Keeping our planet Alive may not only mean at the very least keeping our unique evolution Process & story alive with it, but . . If we are indeed the only life in this universe . .
It would mean keeping alive not just our planet, but the sole observer this universe has in it.
Earth is the only place other then LEO, (Low Earth Orbit) that we can call home right now, meaning if something where to happen to it . . . you get my point, and now you have the main reason that Elon Musk is building such a massive rocket, after all, multiplanetary & Deep Space infrastructure will mean distances MUCH further then the moon, (avg. distance from earth 300k miles)
Versions of this rocket will be launched with the payload bay Converted into an extra large fuel tank, allowing for something SpaceX has yet to do on this scale, Orbital refueling,
The rocket spends its fuel getting out of Earths atmosphere, with whatever you wanna send further then LEO
docks with another Tanker Starship, and refuels.
This allows for our Species to go from inhabiting a single planet to being Multiplanetary.
The sustained part is important, meaning the rocket you are reading about in here, its this big Because its a workhorse, Capable of taking 100 people to mars or rlly anywhere they can go, even on earth.
The rocket engines and location are important though.
Mars may seems inhospitable, but compared to all planets in our solar system, its still our best choice for the Second planet we colonize.
The moon is also a great candidate, being 300k miles rather then 20 + million miles away.
but other then these 2 body's & earth, the only thing you can stand on without getting crushed on its surface is Mercury, which is a bit to close to the sun for us, and moons of the gas giants, (of which there is hundreds)
But those are like, 5x further then Mars, so that's kinda the appeal.
As for Normal everyday people & why they would wanna go to Mars,
I Assume same reason they wanna go anywhere else they wanna go.
in the next 1000 years, people could be just as likely to take a road trip as a Star Trip
Great info Stargazer!! Inspiration 4 Launch in less than 2 hours.
Here is the link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pv01sSq44w
First all civilian crew space flight. Good luck to our 4 astronauts!!
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