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Elon Musk is working on a Martian colony
On Nov 28, 9:10*am, Jeff Findley wrote:
... What they're working on now (mostly) is the flight control software needed to land a Falcon 9 first stage on a single engine. *Doing this sort of basic development work using a test vehicle likeGrasshopper makes a lot of sense. Jeff -- "the perennial claim that hypersonic airbreathing propulsion would magically make space launch cheaper is nonsense -- LOX is much cheaper than advanced airbreathing engines, and so are the tanks to put it in and the extra thrust to carry it." - Henry Spencer Experimental Private Rocket Makes Highest Test Hop Yet. by Miriam Kramer, SPACE.com Staff WriterDate: 26 December 2012 Time: 11:04 AM ET "In the latest test at SpaceX's proving grounds in MacGregor, Texas, the Grasshopper rocket flew for 29 seconds and reached a height of more than 130 feet (40 meters). A video of the Grasshopper test flight shows the rocket soaring up into the Texas sky, then smoothly descending to land on four spindly legs." http://www.space.com/19039-spacex-pr...cket-test.html With reduced weight of the Merlin 1D engine while at increased efficiency, the Falcon 9 v1.1 first stage will have SSTO capability. Then ironically Elon is emulating the original purpose of the DC-X program in testing the Grasshopper VTVL stage without realizing it. Bob Clark * Bob Clark |
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Elon Musk is working on a Martian colony
"Jeff Findley" wrote in message
... Also, one should not underestimate the improvement to reliability which comes with reusing hardware. Eliminating the "infant mortality" problem inherent in expendables is going to be a good thing. Recovering hardware intact, even if it's not initially reused very many times, will be a big help when it comes to increasing reliability. Having actual flown hardware to examine dramatically increases the ability of engineers to find faults and weaknesses *before* they cause a flight to fail to reach orbit. Forget "also" I think right now, this is one of the primary benefits, especially of the first stage. It's one of the saddest parts of Challenger was that thanks to the ability to recover the SRBs that NASA knew there was a problem (and did little in time) as opposed to having quite likely not known at all. Jeff -- Greg D. Moore http://greenmountainsoftware.wordpress.com/ CEO QuiCR: Quick, Crowdsourced Responses. http://www.quicr.net |
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Elon Musk is working on a Martian colony
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Elon Musk is working on a Martian colony
It's one of the saddest parts of Challenger was that thanks to the ability to recover the SRBs that NASA knew there was a problem (and did little in time) as opposed to having quite likely not known at all. True. *The orbiter thermal protection damage problem was also well documented. Jeff Just like returning shutles with severe burned thru wings from foam loss |
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Elon Musk is working on a Martian colony
On Thursday, December 27, 2012 6:44:31 AM UTC-8, Greg (Strider) Moore wrote:
"Jeff Findley" wrote in message ... Also, one should not underestimate the improvement to reliability which comes with reusing hardware. Eliminating the "infant mortality" problem inherent in expendables is going to be a good thing. Recovering hardware intact, even if it's not initially reused very many times, will be a big help when it comes to increasing reliability. Having actual flown hardware to examine dramatically increases the ability of engineers to find faults and weaknesses *before* they cause a flight to fail to reach orbit. Forget "also" I think right now, this is one of the primary benefits, especially of the first stage. It's one of the saddest parts of Challenger was that thanks to the ability to recover the SRBs that NASA knew there was a problem (and did little in time) as opposed to having quite likely not known at all. Jeff -- Greg D. Moore http://greenmountainsoftware.wordpress.com/ CEO QuiCR: Quick, Crowdsourced Responses. http://www.quicr.net I recall an earlier camera shots of a lift-offs prior to the first failed mission and burn thru was visible in at least a couple of them. People should have been jailed because of the Challenger disaster. |
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Elon Musk is working on a Martian colony
On Dec 27 2012, 2:29*am, Robert Clark wrote:
On Nov 28, 9:10*am, Jeff Findley wrote: ... What they're working on now (mostly) is the flight control software needed to land a Falcon 9 first stage on a single engine. *Doing this sort of basic development work using a test vehicle likeGrasshopper makes a lot of sense. Jeff -- "the perennial claim that hypersonic airbreathing propulsion would magically make space launch cheaper is nonsense -- LOX is much cheaper than advanced airbreathing engines, and so are the tanks to put it in and the extra thrust to carry it." - Henry Spencer Experimental Private Rocket Makes Highest Test Hop Yet. by Miriam Kramer, SPACE.com Staff WriterDate: 26 December 2012 Time: 11:04 AM ET "In the latest test at SpaceX's proving grounds in MacGregor, Texas, the Grasshopper rocket flew for 29 seconds and reached a height of more than 130 feet (40 meters). A video of the Grasshopper test flight shows the rocket soaring up into the Texas sky, then smoothly descending to land on four spindly legs."http://www.space.com/19039-spacex-private-reusable-rocket-test.html With reduced weight of the Merlin 1D engine while at increased efficiency, the Falcon 9 v1.1 first stage will have SSTO capability. Then ironically Elon is emulating the original purpose of the DC-X program in testing the Grasshopper VTVL stage without realizing it. Nice article he New Mexico space museum volunteers restoring DC-X for exhibit. by TopSpacer on February 13, 2013 at 3:01 am http://hobbyspace.com/Blog/?p=591#comment-7550 Bob Clark |
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Elon Musk is working on a Martian colony
In article b8aaf82e-d334-41f1-8638-105bd69457e2
@i15g2000vbv.googlegroups.com, says... Nice article he New Mexico space museum volunteers restoring DC-X for exhibit. by TopSpacer on February 13, 2013 at 3:01 am http://hobbyspace.com/Blog/?p=591#comment-7550 I thought DC-X was completely destroyed on its last flight due to one of its landing legs not deploying (ground processing error which left a pneumatic line disconnected, or something like that)? What exactly do they think they're "restoring"? Jeff -- "the perennial claim that hypersonic airbreathing propulsion would magically make space launch cheaper is nonsense -- LOX is much cheaper than advanced airbreathing engines, and so are the tanks to put it in and the extra thrust to carry it." - Henry Spencer |
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Elon Musk is working on a Martian colony
Jeff Findley wrote:
In article b8aaf82e-d334-41f1-8638-105bd69457e2 , says... Nice article he New Mexico space museum volunteers restoring DC-X for exhibit. by TopSpacer on February 13, 2013 at 3:01 am http://hobbyspace.com/Blog/?p=591#comment-7550 I thought DC-X was completely destroyed on its last flight due to one of its landing legs not deploying (ground processing error which left a pneumatic line disconnected, or something like that)? What exactly do they think they're "restoring"? It was very badly damaged, but not completely destroyed. Notably the the thrust structure (very hard to 'completely destroy') remains mostly intact. D. -- Touch-twice life. Eat. Drink. Laugh. http://derekl1963.livejournal.com/ -Resolved: To be more temperate in my postings. Oct 5th, 2004 JDL |
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