#Tag · 𑐴𑐶𑐟𑐶

📆 2019 A senior #NASA official had opened the door to NASA flying its first crewed 👩‍🚀 missions to the #Moon 🌙 on a #FalconHeavy rocket 🚀 built by #SpaceX https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/04/nasa-chief-says-a-falcon-heavy-rocket-could-fly-humans-to-the-moon/

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When Mr Bridenstine suggested in 2019 that America could return to the Moon 🌙 using #SpaceX’s #FalconHeavy, he provoked a row with Richard #Shelby, a senator from #Alabama who was then chairman of the Senate appropriations committee. Welcoming the #SLS in 2011, Mr Shelby said that #NASA’s exploration of space, “has always been and always will be through Marshall Space Flight Centre [in #Alabama].” https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2022/08/24/nasas-space-launch-system-is-yesterdays-rocket

"Political and #aerospace interests were more than reluctant to embrace any changes which they viewed as a threat to their own hegemony."
The mainstream media doesn’t cover #SpaceExploration and #SpaceScience with the same questioning 🔍 rigor that they reserve for #politics. People writing about space exploration are mostly cheerleaders 🥳 for the cause, rather than independent observers keeping a watchful eye on how our national monies 💰 are spent. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/06/23/new-book-paints-bleak-picture-of-nasas-human-spaceflight-program/

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Besides the request for up to 25 launches per year from #Starbase, #SpaceX is also planning for up to 44 Starship launches per year from #LC39A at the Kennedy Space Center as well as up to 76 launches per year from #SLC37B. This will total up to 145 launches of #Starship per year https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2024/07/booster-12-static-fires-pad-a-b-tower-stacking/

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🇺🇸 ➡️ 🇦🇺 ⏱️ "the delivery time for rocket 🚀 based cargo 📦 around the planet - taking advantage of orbital velocity of 27,350 kph and a hypersonic reentry through Earth's atmosphere - would be a fraction of the roughly 12 to 24 hours typically needed for traditional aircraft ✈️ " https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/spacex-talks-land-recover-starship-rocket-off-australias-coast-2024-07-29/

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“#SpaceX would modify, reuse, or demolish the existing #SLC37* infrastructure to support #Starship-Super Heavy launch and landing operations” https://spaceforcestarshipeis.com/proposed-action/

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On the next #Starship flight, #SpaceX plans to attempt to recover the #booster using catch arms 🦾. "We want to be really confident that the ship #HeatShield 🔥🛡️ is super robust and lands at the exact right location 🎯. So before we try to bring the #ship back to the launch site, we probably want to have at least three successful landings of the ship 🚀 [at sea 🌊]." https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/08/rocket-report-falcon-9-is-back-starship-could-be-recovered-off-australia/