JF Mezei wrote on Tue, 13 Nov 2018
05:47:37 -0500:

On 2018-11-08 06:25, Jeff Findley wrote:

The flight tests will not include vertical landing because Musk says
they already know how to do that (duh).


WOuld the Mini-BFS be powered? new methane engines from the BFR/BFS
project, or fitted with Merlin vacuum engines?


I'd assume Raptor for the engine.


After separating from stage 12, would Mini-BFS accelerate to orbit and
then de-orbit ? Or would just just detach from Falcon 9, float for a
while before re-entry? (can that be well planned/conrolled ?


I'd assume it would go to orbit.


aka: how much of a working spaceship does this need to be versus an
empty hull to test the outer skin material?


If the only purpose was to "test the outer skin material", you don't
need to fly it.


It would seem to me that recovering it bcome important to check how the
skin performed. Would they target a landing on ground (no salt water
contamination) or at sea because easier and salt water doesn't matter
much to exa ine how the skin performend?


Why are you fixated on skin?


--
"Some people get lost in thought because it's such unfamiliar
territory."
--G. Behn