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SpaceX Starship Program / Re: SpaceX/Elon Making 10,000 Starships a Year?

« Last post by Vultur on Today at 03:16 am »

SSO is not your average LEO, it doesn't look like starship will be able to launch any useful payload to SSO any time soon, 200t payload definitely never, that's just not physically possible with this architecture. Orbital refueling doesn't help here much, probably something like launch smallish payload to very low not exactly SSO then refuel, raise and dogleg to target SSO, very inefficient.

If you start in a "not exactly SSO" can the data center satellites use electric propulsion to reach the final SSO?

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Blue Origin / Re: New Glenn : Blue Moon MK1 Pathfinder : NET 2026

« Last post by Vultur on Today at 03:10 am »

https://twitter.com/blueorigin/status/2013686788167000239

Blue Moon MK1 left for the port today ahead of shipment to Houston.
 
Introducing Endurance. Named for Ernest Shackleton’s legendary ship that journeyed to Earth’s South Pole, MK1 honors resilience under pressure. That same spirit of perseverance guides our mission to the lunar South Pole.

I love the name.

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Indian Launchers / Re: PSLV-XL C63 : TDS-01 : FLP : NET Q1 2026

« Last post by AndrewM on Today at 02:47 am »

This mission will likely be delayed due to the EOS-N1 failure.

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Chinese Launchers / Re: Hong Kong / Macau astronauts - Shenzhou 22/23?

« Last post by AndrewM on Today at 02:36 am »

Wasn't on SZ-22.

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Chinese Launchers / Re: Xiangyun - ? - ? - 2024 (?)

« Last post by AndrewM on Today at 02:28 am »

Did this satellite ever launch?

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Japanese Launchers / Re: Lapyuta - possible new UV mission - 2030s

« Last post by AndrewM on Today at 02:20 am »

Still appears to be in a proposed state.

LAPYUTA Key Technology：Development of High-Reflectivity Ultraviolet Mirrors [Jan. 15]

LAPYUTA (Life-environmentology, Astronomy, and PlanetarY Ultraviolet Telescope Assembly) is a proposed Japanese high-precision ultraviolet space telescope that aims to understand the “habitability of environments in space” and the “origins of structures and materials.” LAPYUTA will be the successor to the Extreme ultraviolet spectroscope for Exospheric Dynamics (HISAKI, SPRINT-A (2013–2023)) which is the world’s first space telescope dedicated to planetary observations equipped with an extreme ultraviolet spectroscope. The development for LAPYUTA began around 2018 with the goal of launching in the 2030s (Figure 1).

This coating technology, developed to increase LAPYUTA’s sensitivity, will also contribute to NASA’s Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) project, which aims to launch in the 2040s.

Both LAPYUTA and HWO are planned for launch after the 2030s.

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ESA Launchers - Ariane/Vega / Re: CNES ESA Prometheus / Callisto proposal

« Last post by AndrewM on Today at 02:11 am »

Callisto Ground Support Robot Ready for Shipment [Dec. 16]

French engineering group Technip Energies (T.EN) is in the process of completing Factory Acceptance Tests for a robot that will be used to connect and disconnect umbilicals from the Callisto reusable rocket demonstrator before and after liftoff.

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SpaceX Facilities and Fleets / Re: SpaceX Texas launch site Discussion and Updates - Thread 12

« Last post by catdlr on Today at 02:07 am »

The substantial pile of geotextile in the final photograph is purportedly intended for use in establishing the foundation for the launch and GSE expansion into the reserve.

https://twitter.com/INiallAnderson/status/2013802815991255170

Niall-Ian Anderson
@INiallAnderson
That's a lot of Geotextile and much more than Pad 1 could ever need... are SpaceX close to getting their Launch Site Expansion approval? 🪏
📸:
@RGVaerialphotos

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SpaceX Facilities and Fleets / Re: SpaceX Texas launch site Discussion and Updates - Thread 12

« Last post by catdlr on Today at 02:04 am »

https://twitter.com/lifeatstagezero/status/2013801434890854894

Shaun Gisler
@lifeatstagezero
found the tank they brought in last night next to a big pile of geotextile

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SpaceX Starship Program / Re: SpaceX/Elon Making 10,000 Starships a Year?

« Last post by Twark_Main on Today at 02:01 am »

SpaceX Leadership Map Out the Future of the Starship Program [Nov 20, 2024]

The company plans to accelerate its flight cadence next year.
 • Kathy Lueders said that the team is targeting 25 Starship launches in 2025.
 • Gwynne Shotwell followed those comments last week at the Baron Investment Conference, saying SpaceX could hit 400 Starship launches over the next four years.

Quite an acceleration.

And all the residents at StarBase still have to evacuate each time there is a launch?

So Starbase is being set up to build 1,000 Starships per year, where are the other 9,000 going to be built? KSC Florida (Roberts Road) could probably do another 1,000, but beyond that I'm not sure there is anywhere else in the U.S. that they can both build Starships and launch them in the same place - for equatorial launches (Vandenberg Space Force Base (SFB) is for polar launches).

Will the other 8,000 Starships be built in other countries, and if so, where? ITAR is an issue, so that immediately puts limits on where, and there must be some limit as to the latitude Starship can launch from and still carry a full load of propellant (the majority of payloads from Earth).

Or is there a way to do this 100% in the U.S.?

Boring but correct answer? Expanded and accelerated facilities at Starbase and Roberts Road.

Maybe also a new West-coast build site that gets barged over to Vandy, avoiding the canal.