Author Topic: SpaceX Roadmap building on its rocket business revolution  (Read 213074 times)

Offline Chris Bergin

OK folks. Spent more time on this than my day jobs usually afford me to actually sit down and write, but during drafting I really started to get super excited about the bigger picture SpaceX is going for, so decided I'd build a large article, covering near term flow and long term ambitions.

Sure, I didn't want to get too wordy, so I could have covered more, but beefed it up with a good amount of L2 info and super L2 graphics from the "data crunching to renderings" envisioning process we're working on in L2 SpaceX.....and well, I'll shut up now and hope you enjoy it! ;D

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2014/07/spacex-roadmap-rocket-business-revolution/
« Last Edit: 07/28/2014 02:16 pm by Chris Bergin »
Support NSF via L2 -- Help improve NSF -- Site Rules/Feedback/Updates
**Not a L2 member? Whitelist this forum in your adblocker to support the site and ensure full functionality.**

Offline AndyX

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 602
  • Liked: 375
  • Likes Given: 594
Re: SpaceX Roadmap building on its rocket business revolution
« Reply #1 on: 07/28/2014 01:46 pm »
Info overload!! ;D I'm gonna print that out and take it to bed with me. Damn that was an exciting read.

SpaceX rules, NSF rules, L2 rules, Rocket Cows rule!

Offline JBF

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1459
  • Liked: 472
  • Likes Given: 914
Re: SpaceX Roadmap building on its rocket business revolution
« Reply #2 on: 07/28/2014 02:00 pm »
Chris is that an actual picture of the installation at Stennis?  If so are there any more?
"In principle, rocket engines are simple, but that’s the last place rocket engines are ever simple." Jeff Bezos

Offline dante2308

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 529
  • Liked: 191
  • Likes Given: 45
Re: SpaceX Roadmap building on its rocket business revolution
« Reply #3 on: 07/28/2014 02:01 pm »
Nice article. A lot of exciting new information. I found myself wishing the article would never end.

Offline Chris Bergin

Thanks guys!

Chris is that an actual picture of the installation at Stennis?  If so are there any more?

No. It was an image of the test stand they will be using.
Support NSF via L2 -- Help improve NSF -- Site Rules/Feedback/Updates
**Not a L2 member? Whitelist this forum in your adblocker to support the site and ensure full functionality.**

Offline PreferToLurk

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 416
  • Liked: 388
  • Likes Given: 189
Re: SpaceX Roadmap building on its rocket business revolution
« Reply #5 on: 07/28/2014 02:28 pm »
Chris,

Thanks for including the L2 tidbit about downrange FH core landing sites.  There has been speculation that SpaceX would simply stage all 3 cores at nearly the same time in order to allow for full RTLS.  Besides the obvious performance penalty, it was difficult to directly refute without pointing to L2 info. 

Offline llanitedave

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2286
  • Nevada Desert
  • Liked: 1545
  • Likes Given: 2052
Re: SpaceX Roadmap building on its rocket business revolution
« Reply #6 on: 07/28/2014 02:32 pm »
This photo:



Is the rocket on the right carrying Dragon v2?  It seems to be encased in an unusual fairing.
"I've just abducted an alien -- now what?"

Offline GalacticIntruder

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 512
  • Pet Peeve:I hate the word Downcomer. Ban it.
  • Huntsville, AL
  • Liked: 247
  • Likes Given: 70
Re: SpaceX Roadmap building on its rocket business revolution
« Reply #7 on: 07/28/2014 02:34 pm »
Never short of ambition.

I wonder if SpaceX can cut a deal with the USN for something like San Clemente Island?
« Last Edit: 07/28/2014 02:39 pm by GalacticIntruder »
"And now the Sun will fade, All we are is all we made." Breaking Benjamin

Offline Chris Bergin

This photo:



Is the rocket on the right carrying Dragon v2?  It seems to be encased in an unusual fairing.

I was really hoping someone wouldn't ask too many questions about that one! ;D

It's a L2 rendering (not a SpaceX rendering) from the BFR work, actually. There's skinny BFRs and Fat Lady BFRs, and that was during the skinny phase. ;D But we also thought it looked like a sexy current range per the deceptive angle. It's also downsized from hi res, but that's per the CMS I work with for article publication.

Don't get hung on up those, as there's an absolute ton of BFR renderings in L2 as they work all the data (from which it all started with this article): http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2014/03/spacex-advances-drive-mars-rocket-raptor-power/
« Last Edit: 07/28/2014 02:40 pm by Chris Bergin »
Support NSF via L2 -- Help improve NSF -- Site Rules/Feedback/Updates
**Not a L2 member? Whitelist this forum in your adblocker to support the site and ensure full functionality.**

Offline clongton

  • Expert
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12053
  • Connecticut
    • Direct Launcher
  • Liked: 7347
  • Likes Given: 3749
Re: SpaceX Roadmap building on its rocket business revolution
« Reply #9 on: 07/28/2014 02:37 pm »
Great article Chris. Awesome ambitions for SpaceX.
I was personally pleased to note the now confirmed very real possibility of a SpaceX base on the moon (link in the article).
« Last Edit: 07/28/2014 02:38 pm by clongton »
Chuck - DIRECT co-founder
I started my career on the Saturn-V F-1A engine

Offline docmordrid

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 6334
  • Michigan
  • Liked: 4207
  • Likes Given: 2
Re: SpaceX Roadmap building on its rocket business revolution
« Reply #10 on: 07/28/2014 02:42 pm »
How does,

Quote
We will attempt our next water landing on flight 13 of Falcon 9, but with a low probability of success,” SpaceX continued. “Flights 14 and 15 will attempt to land on a solid surface with an improved probability of success.”

from a few days ago fit with this,

Quote
@Rand_Simberg
@FLspacereport Talked to Gwynne yesterday and she confirmed that they're working permission on flyback, but next landing will be on a barge.
>
@Rand_Simberg
@JustIncidentals
No more water landings. And Spaceport America has cost more and taken longer than expected. @flspacereport @spacecom
« Last Edit: 07/28/2014 02:46 pm by docmordrid »
DM

Offline Far Reach

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 362
  • Liked: 1
  • Likes Given: 10
Re: SpaceX Roadmap building on its rocket business revolution
« Reply #11 on: 07/28/2014 02:49 pm »
I think Chris works on actual information, not twitter rumors that could be badly misworded.

http://www.spacex.com/news/2014/07/22/spacex-soft-lands-falcon-9-rocket-first-stage

"We will attempt our next water landing on flight 13 of Falcon 9, but with a low probability of success. Flights 14 and 15 will attempt to land on a solid surface with an improved probability of success."

Offline Borklund

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 560
  • Sweden
  • Liked: 397
  • Likes Given: 140
Re: SpaceX Roadmap building on its rocket business revolution
« Reply #12 on: 07/28/2014 02:54 pm »
Except those aren't twitter rumors but direct quotes from Gwynne Shotwell reported by many different people independently of one another, plus Gwynne made those comments four days after Chris' article went out, at the New Space 2014 conference. The two statements appear to fit together perfectly fine. The first stage is going to land on a barge out to sea,  so it's a water landing. By analogy, a fighter jet landing on a carrier is not a land landing.

Offline cscott

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3471
  • Liked: 2867
  • Likes Given: 726
Re: SpaceX Roadmap building on its rocket business revolution
« Reply #13 on: 07/28/2014 02:56 pm »
I think Chris works on actual information, not twitter rumors that could be badly misworded.

If it's an actual quote, then Chris should be able to follow up and get confirmation from SpaceX PAO.

I personally would rather trust the explicit statement SpaceX published.  Twitter quotes, in particular, tend to get shortened/paraphrased in a way which reinforces the listener's preconceptions.  Gwynne says 'solid surface', the listener hears 'barge', then Borklund hears "CRS-4 water landing on a barge".

I will stay tuned for clarification from SpaceX, via Chris, if it comes.
« Last Edit: 07/28/2014 02:57 pm by cscott »

Offline Elmar Moelzer

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3661
  • Liked: 849
  • Likes Given: 1062
Re: SpaceX Roadmap building on its rocket business revolution
« Reply #14 on: 07/28/2014 02:56 pm »
Excellent article, Chris! Lots of new information there! Is any of that new information related to the mysterious rumor that we were supposed to get more information about a few months ago? I am still totally curious about that one.
Love the look of the "fat BFR" a lot better than the "skinny" BFR.

Offline ThereIWas3

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 948
  • Liked: 500
  • Likes Given: 338
Re: SpaceX Roadmap building on its rocket business revolution
« Reply #15 on: 07/28/2014 03:21 pm »
Quote
The Pad could also be “upgraded” – by building additional FSS levels – potentially hosting the initial version of the monster rocket SpaceX has planned for the push towards the human colonization of Mars.

I read (or heard in an interview) that Gwynne Shotwell said that the BFR is too big to launch from any existing facility,  I was under the impression that this was more than just a height difference.

Offline CT Space Guy

  • Member
  • Posts: 74
  • Liked: 45
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: SpaceX Roadmap building on its rocket business revolution
« Reply #16 on: 07/28/2014 03:24 pm »
I found the image of the barge to be very interesting. I wonder is that the actual barge they plan on using, at least initially?

Also seeing it parked in a basin or a river gave me the idea that they might try to land the stage with the barge in a basin or river. It would most likely be much more stable that way. I would bet there might be a lot of fairly isolated rivers up the coast.

Offline Chris Bergin

I found the image of the barge to be very interesting. I wonder is that the actual barge they plan on using, at least initially?

Also seeing it parked in a basin or a river gave me the idea that they might try to land the stage with the barge in a basin or river. It would most likely be much more stable that way. I would bet there might be a lot of fairly isolated rivers up the coast.


Not the actual barge, just one I was told may be a half decent example. It's probably much bigger.
Support NSF via L2 -- Help improve NSF -- Site Rules/Feedback/Updates
**Not a L2 member? Whitelist this forum in your adblocker to support the site and ensure full functionality.**

Offline Chris Bergin

How does,

SpaceX needs to change their official documentation if that is an accurate reflection of what Ms. Shotwell said. I'll be checking it out! :)
Support NSF via L2 -- Help improve NSF -- Site Rules/Feedback/Updates
**Not a L2 member? Whitelist this forum in your adblocker to support the site and ensure full functionality.**

Offline Port

  • Full Member
  • *
  • Posts: 111
  • Germany
  • Liked: 13
  • Likes Given: 8
Re: SpaceX Roadmap building on its rocket business revolution
« Reply #19 on: 07/28/2014 03:32 pm »


jeez.. from what video is THAT one? :D

Tags:
 

Advertisement NovaTech
Advertisement Northrop Grumman
Advertisement
Advertisement Margaritaville Beach Resort South Padre Island
Advertisement Brady Kenniston
Advertisement NextSpaceflight
Advertisement Nathan Barker Photography
0