Astro Hawk (Ian Kluft) πŸš€πŸ›°οΈ
Astro Hawk (Ian Kluft) πŸš€πŸ›°οΈ  Β·  4 months ago

Content Warning

"#NASA Nearly Bet It All on Boeing’s Troubled #Starlinerβ€”Here’s Why That Changed" by @Gizmodo / @RabiePassant - #CommercialCrew contract was almost awarded solely to #Boeing, if not for #SpaceX's willingness to test crew escape system in flight https://gizmodo.com/nasa-nearly-bet-it-all-on-boeings-troubled-starliner-heres-why-that-changed-2000504311 #StarlinerCFT
Spaceflight πŸš€
Spaceflight πŸš€  Β·  8 months ago
Launch costs have fallen 95% πŸ“‰ (with another massive reduction expected in the coming years) thanks to reuse, improved engineering, and increased volumes.
β€œIn economics, we assume that resources are limited; land is limited; natural resources are limited. With #space 🌌, it allows us to change that.” https://www.theguardian.com/science/article/2024/may/03/were-in-a-new-era-the-21st-century-space-race-takes-off

#LaunchCost#SpaceMining

Spaceflight πŸš€
Spaceflight πŸš€  Β·  5 months ago

Content Warning

πŸ“Š #ESA πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡Ί and its member states forked over $4.4B πŸ’°πŸ’°πŸ’°πŸ’° to develop #Ariane6. Customer launches are unlikely to pay back development costs any time soon.

#SpaceX has invested over $5B πŸ’°πŸ’°πŸ’°πŸ’°πŸ’° in #Starship πŸš€ R&D to date. Starship has proven its expendable capability, and the company is focusing on achieving full #reusability ♻️.

#NASA spent a dizzying $24B πŸ’°πŸ’°πŸ’°πŸ’°πŸ’°πŸ’°πŸ’°πŸ’°πŸ’°πŸ’°πŸ’°πŸ’°πŸ’°πŸ’°πŸ’°πŸ’°πŸ’°πŸ’°πŸ’°πŸ’°πŸ’°πŸ’°πŸ’°πŸ’° developing #SLS
https://payloadspace.com/rocket-development-costs-by-vehicle-payload-research

#DevelopmentCost#LaunchCost

Spaceflight πŸš€
Spaceflight πŸš€  Β·  10 months ago

Content Warning

When Mr Bridenstine suggested in 2019 that America could return to the Moon πŸŒ™ 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, β€œhas 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

#SpacePolitics#PorkBarrel

Spaceflight πŸš€
Spaceflight πŸš€  Β·  10 months ago
"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 πŸ” rigor that they reserve for #politics. People writing about space exploration are mostly cheerleaders πŸ₯³ for the cause, rather than independent observers keeping a watchful eye on how our national monies πŸ’° are spent. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/06/23/new-book-paints-bleak-picture-of-nasas-human-spaceflight-program/

#NASA #SLS#Artemis

Spaceflight πŸš€
Spaceflight πŸš€  Β·  10 months ago

Content Warning

πŸ“† 2019 A senior #NASA official had opened the door to NASA flying its first crewed πŸ‘©β€πŸš€ missions to the #Moon πŸŒ™ on a #FalconHeavy rocket πŸš€ built by #SpaceXhttps://arstechnica.com/science/2019/04/nasa-chief-says-a-falcon-heavy-rocket-could-fly-humans-to-the-moon/
Spaceflight πŸš€
Spaceflight πŸš€  Β·  6 months ago
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/

Starbase’s second launch tower πŸ—ΊοΈ https://graphhopper.com/maps/?point=Starbase+Integration+Tower+B&layer=OpenStreetMap

Spaceflight πŸš€
Spaceflight πŸš€  Β·  6 months ago

Content Warning

πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ ➑️ πŸ‡¦πŸ‡Ί ⏱️ "the delivery time for rocket πŸš€ based cargo πŸ“¦ 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/

#SpaceX#Starship#US#Australia

Spaceflight πŸš€
Spaceflight πŸš€  Β·  6 months ago

Content Warning

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/

Starbase’s second launch tower πŸ—ΊοΈ https://graphhopper.com/maps/?point=Starbase+Integration+Tower+B&layer=OpenStreetMap

Spaceflight πŸš€
Spaceflight πŸš€  Β·  6 months ago

Content Warning

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 πŸ”₯πŸ›‘οΈ 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 πŸš€ [at sea 🌊]." https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/08/rocket-report-falcon-9-is-back-starship-could-be-recovered-off-australia/
Spaceflight πŸš€
Spaceflight πŸš€  Β·  6 months ago

Content Warning

β€’ #SpaceX plans to increase the size πŸ“ of the #Starship from 50 m to 70 m, and #SuperHeavy from 71 m to 80 m. The upgraded Starship will stand 150 m tall.
β€’ More power πŸ’ͺ : To get the larger spacecraft into #orbit, SpaceX will more than double πŸ“ˆ the amount of thrust for Starship, and increase Super Heavy’s thrust by nearly 40%
https://payloadspace.com/spacex-inches-closer-to-increasing-starship-launches/
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