Artemis launch

I thought SpaceX would be zooming into space once they got FAA approval.
Seems like they should be doing more than playing with the chopsticks.
Rapid iteration of nothing launch-able so far.
Stainless ain't cheap and I wonder how many sections have been scrapped (lots).

The thermal tiles application looks sketchy. How many times has the skylift bumped into the rocket?
Just those huge shackles for lifting the upper stage should have a thick rubberized finish. I don't get it.
COTS as much as possible for spacecraft equipment.
Quite the opposite of Artemis
 
Take the $20B writedown and contract out the work.
Lead or step aside.
I don't feel like launching a disposable rocket this day and age should be acceptable.
SpaceX has prevented how much space and ocean trash?
It has been replaced by a large number of satellites they are launching. That is a future problem.
 
Word goes that SpaceX shall drag their feet untill Artemis gut off. Might be true, a lot of well connected PHBs are loosing face should SpaceX be so much faster and cheaper.
 
Phishfry said:
I don't feel like launching a disposable rocket this day and age should be acceptable.
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A lot of parts of this rocket already flew before and have been sitting in warehouses for a while. This rocket is basically an engineering result of "let's use what we already have".
Also, lets not forget that rockets/booster recovery has been done before SpaceX. What changed over the decades is the fact that we now have the engineering tools, capabilities & know-how to produce parts that can safely fly again. Recovery is not necessarily the hard part. But ensuring that after recovery you can safely light the candle again is a whole different story.
 
Crivens said:
Might be true, a lot of well connected PHBs are loosing face should SpaceX be so much faster and cheaper.
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That ship has sailed. There are many writeups of how much cheaper and faster you could do what the SLS is supposedly going to do with Falcon Heavies.
 
I must say that SpaceX launch website is very detailed. The exact trajectory and times overhead.

I still can't find that for Artemis. One graphic has it heading straight east from the Cape.
Usually Falcon9 heads up the coast enough for nite viewing.

jbodenmann said:
A lot of parts of this rocket already flew before and have been sitting in warehouses for a while. This rocket is basically an engineering result of "let's use what we already have".
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Yes the Solid Rocket Boosters from the Shuttle program.
How unimpressive when SpaceX is using cryo chilled gases.

SpaceX has two turbo pumps per engine(Methane and LOX).
That must be a challenging rotating assembly to build.
They have to pre-chill the engine before light off. Think of the temperature differences that must produce.
From 60Kelvin to 1000c in mere seconds. That is some good engineering.

I am impressed with how well SpaceX's Starship 304L tanks handle Super Chilled Fluids.
Multiple cycles must be hard on the seems. Looked like they use sub-arc robot welders.

One thing that flummoxes me is why don't they have a recovery system for cryo gasses that bleed off.
You know they are going to vent in Texas heat, why don't they trap it instead of letting it blow off.
 
I think I read somewhere that they do recirculate the majority of the cryo fluids. Some venting is apparently unavoidable. Musk had plans to build a liquid Oxygen distillation plant at Boca Chica, but they got shelved during the environmental review.
 
I have the live feed from BC on my workstation open. The Boss gehts irritated :)
Esp. when some F22 jokys think they need to pose around :D
 
Scrubbed again. Just tow it off the pad and put it in storage. The space industrial complex won't allow that.
They have Artemis2 in the wings. Must...keep...pork...flowing.

All that crap in the media about Florida traffic jams due to visitors for launch... Over 100000 to visit..
Hah.
 
Pretty good article on the Hydrogen problems.
gizmodo.com

Why Hydrogen Leaks Continue to Be a Major Headache for NASA Launches

A hydrogen leak prevented the launch of NASA’s SLS rocket this Saturday, in what is a troubling yet highly predictable development.
gizmodo.com gizmodo.com
8" quick disconnect line of liquid hydrogen. I wonder what the boot seal is made of.

The fact that the rocket shrinks 6" in height is amazing to me. I would have expected it to grow with tank filling.

That NASA has yet to fully fuel the first and second stages and get deep into the countdown is a genuine cause for concern.
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That is the 50 billion dollar understatement.
 
Just look at the boiling point of hydrogen at sea level. These tanks either need to be very robust or very well insulated. And when they reach some height, the boiling point drops. There is a reason SpaceX went with methane and roscosmos with kerosine. Using hydrogene is tricky.
 
The latest news of .2" Thick RTV Silicone fell off really had me laughing.
Was just a gap filler....

I would suggest some 5200 Marine Adhesive. This stuff holds like gorilla snot.
I don't know if it would hold up to all that of shrinkage though.

Just the fact that the fit was so poor that they needed to fill an indentation is telling.
That is stuff we do at shipyards. Not on rockets.
 
Aaand the thing has sprung a leak - again! ?

Edit: OMG, they're sending some dudes with wrenches to tighten some nuts on the thing while it's fully fueled! I hope this doesn't end badly.
 
This whole Carly Foxtrot is so bad the earth repelled it... thats why it flies.
 
I just hope they have special equipment and tools for this, like bronze hammers and wrenches which do not create sparks when dropped or hitting steel. And I'd be more concerned with freeze damage. Having liquid hydrogen splash on your boots will ruin your day.
 
TIL an awful lot about new ways to play with cow pies. Not only are cow pies mostly hydrogen and nitrogen, those components are useful in such a starry capacity! ⭐
 
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