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SpaceX to fly mini-BFS prototype as Falcon 9 upper stage
Elon Musk tweeted yesterday that SpaceX plans to build and fly a mini-
BFS prototype as a Falcon 9 upper stage. This is to test the lightweight thermal protection system as well as the aerodynamics of their "belly flop" reentry and flight down to subsonic speeds. The flight tests will not include vertical landing because Musk says they already know how to do that (duh). I am speculating it may, however, test the transition from the "belly flop" attitude to vertical as that would seem to be a critical part of the BFS flight profile to prove out. I'm also speculating recovery might be by parachute. You know, because you might want to fly the thing more than once. Plus, if they fly a mini-BFS prototype more than once, they'll be in the record books for flying the first fully reusable TSTO. You know, because you've actually got to reuse it to call it reusable. Elon Musk also tweeted that the first flight of this prototype is expected by June. But, of course, that's Elon Musk time, so I'd expect a delay of at least a few months. Expect articles on space news sites in the coming days since even a handful of Elon Musk tweets are often turned into articles. I'm sure SpaceX is doing this mostly for testing, but one could imagine the utility of a reusable upper stage which integrates the payload fairing into the design. This is especially true on the Falcon Heavy since for some missions it's got the extra payload margin to handle the increased mass of the upper stage. My cite is the Elon Musk Twitter account. It's easy enough to find and scroll down to yesterday's tweets. Jeff -- All opinions posted by me on Usenet News are mine, and mine alone. These posts do not reflect the opinions of my family, friends, employer, or any organization that I am a member of. |
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