It seems more likely that Elon just misspoke. Forging that shape seems extremely unrealistic, unless he is just talking about machining it from a forged billet (which would certainly be possible but would result in a lot of wasted material).
Don't count your chickens before they hatch. Although [10 reflights without refurb] is the design goal; they may not hit it with the first iteration [of Block 5].
For now, we only use those on super hot reentry missions. Will go to all Ti with Falcon 9 V5, which is a few months away.
Quote from: @elonmuskFor now, we only use those on super hot reentry missions. Will go to all Ti with Falcon 9 V5, which is a few months away.https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/942526513731260417
Quote from: pstephens on 12/17/2017 11:09 pmQuote from: @elonmuskFor now, we only use those on super hot reentry missions. Will go to all Ti with Falcon 9 V5, which is a few months away.https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/942526513731260417And, is V5 just a typo? Or do we have yet another Falcon versioning scheme?
Quote from: pstephens on 12/17/2017 11:13 pmQuote from: pstephens on 12/17/2017 11:09 pmQuote from: @elonmuskFor now, we only use those on super hot reentry missions. Will go to all Ti with Falcon 9 V5, which is a few months away.https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/942526513731260417And, is V5 just a typo? Or do we have yet another Falcon versioning scheme? It’s not a typo, he’s just not rigorous when it comes to naming things consistently.
It’s not a typo, he’s just not rigorous when it comes to naming things consistently.
Quote from: old_sellsword on 12/17/2017 11:34 pmIt’s not a typo, he’s just not rigorous when it comes to naming things consistently.Yup. Falcon 9Falcon 9 v1.1Falcon 9 Full Thrust (or Falcon 9 v1.2 according to the paperwork)...um, did "Block 4" ever get a name from Elon?Falcon 9 Block 5, er Falcon 9 Version 5Anyway, Block / Version 5 is going to be the final incarnation of F9 so we won't have to worry about the naming strategy shortly... Well, until Elon changes his mind and we're onto F9 v6, Block 6, F9 v2.0 or whatever.
Yup. Falcon 9Falcon 9 v1.1Falcon 9 Full Thrust (or Falcon 9 v1.2 according to the paperwork)...um, did "Block 4" ever get a name from Elon?Falcon 9 Block 5, er Falcon 9 Version 5Anyway, Block / Version 5 is going to be the final incarnation of F9 so we won't have to worry about the naming strategy shortly... Well, until Elon changes his mind and we're onto F9 v6, Block 6, F9 v2.0 or whatever.
Quote from: vanoord on 12/18/2017 08:28 amYup. Falcon 9Falcon 9 v1.1Falcon 9 Full Thrust (or Falcon 9 v1.2 according to the paperwork)...um, did "Block 4" ever get a name from Elon?Falcon 9 Block 5, er Falcon 9 Version 5Anyway, Block / Version 5 is going to be the final incarnation of F9 so we won't have to worry about the naming strategy shortly... Well, until Elon changes his mind and we're onto F9 v6, Block 6, F9 v2.0 or whatever.AFAIK the plan is F9 V 5 --> BFS for everything.However there might need to be some "transitional arrangement" if BFS IOC is delayed. Now what are the chances of that happening?
Quote from: vanoord on 12/18/2017 08:28 amQuote from: old_sellsword on 12/17/2017 11:34 pmIt’s not a typo, he’s just not rigorous when it comes to naming things consistently.Yup. Falcon 9Falcon 9 v1.1Falcon 9 Full Thrust (or Falcon 9 v1.2 according to the paperwork)...um, did "Block 4" ever get a name from Elon?Falcon 9 Block 5, er Falcon 9 Version 5Anyway, Block / Version 5 is going to be the final incarnation of F9 so we won't have to worry about the naming strategy shortly... Well, until Elon changes his mind and we're onto F9 v6, Block 6, F9 v2.0 or whatever. Block 4 was assigned an unofficial name right here at NSF: "Fuller Thrust".(Note: link goes to L2).
I may be missing something, but are you sure that there are 5 'blocks' of F9 v1.2?
That gives a total of 7 F9 variants:...
My understanding was that the most recent 4 flown new cores were 'Block 4', which was the fourth in a sequence that ran F9 1.0 / F9 1.1 / F9 1.2 / F9 Block 4 - and will continue with F9 Block 5?
Honestly it doesn't even matter that much because without people obsessively tracking this stuff, it's unlikely anyone would've noticed the differences between any of the F9 v1.2 Blocks.
The only one that really matters is Block 5, and we'll definitely be able to tell when it shows up in McGregor.
Pretty much -- with the minor exception of the Block 4 second stage which had a few noticeable visual differences around the raceway(s) if I am remembering it correctly.
Quote from: stcks on 12/18/2017 01:03 pmPretty much -- with the minor exception of the Block 4 second stage which had a few noticeable visual differences around the raceway(s) if I am remembering it correctly.It's way off topic, but didn't that version of the upper stage debut on the final 'new' flight of the version prior to Block 4 (Formosat)?I know, I should get out more...
Recently, I've created an online spreadsheet matching flights of F9 v1.2 boosters to blocks. I cannot assure it's all correct, you can find links to all the sources I've found directly in the spreadsheet.https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1N8AaRRaPyVZZ2Rxpe9lWEFXWIyRqAJqXJ--TqHuhBYw/edit?usp=sharing