Author Topic: SpaceX Hawthorne Facilities  (Read 84811 times)

Online Robotbeat

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Re: SpaceX Hawthorne Facilities
« Reply #60 on: 09/14/2018 08:13 pm »
Thanks everyone!  I'll try to take a few pics.

 - Ed Kyle
Go down to the Port of LA to check out the BFS. I missed my opportunity to do that a couple days ago and regret it.

Also, you can see the Boring Company sort of from the Starbucks there. You can also check out the prototype hyperloop track.
Chris  Whoever loves correction loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.

To the maximum extent practicable, the Federal Government shall plan missions to accommodate the space transportation services capabilities of United States commercial providers. US law http://goo.gl/YZYNt0

Offline edkyle99

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Re: SpaceX Hawthorne Facilities
« Reply #61 on: 09/19/2018 03:52 pm »
B1019, the first landed orbital booster, stands at the corner of Crenshaw and Northrop in Hawthorne, California, two years and nine months after that landing.  They've landed 20 more stages since then, six of those twice.  It is hard for a space enthusiast to stand calmly at this intersection. 

I couldn't visit the Port, but I saw it from my window on my return flight.  If you know where to look, I think you can see JRTI, the BFR site, the Sea Launch fleet, and maybe even SpaceX Hawthorne in the distance.  And downtown LA, etc..

 - Ed Kyle

Offline oiorionsbelt

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Re: SpaceX Hawthorne Facilities
« Reply #62 on: 09/19/2018 03:55 pm »
  It is hard for a space enthusiast to stand calmly at this intersection. 

 - Ed Kyle
I like this quote. :)

Offline gongora

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Re: SpaceX Hawthorne Facilities
« Reply #63 on: 09/19/2018 04:01 pm »
  It is hard for a space enthusiast to stand calmly at this intersection. 

 - Ed Kyle

And this is a good reminder that just because one of your fellow space enthusiasts occasionally voices doubts about the SpaceX schedule announcements or is cautious about believing SpaceX has licked a problem before actually seeing proof that's true, it doesn't mean they hate SpaceX.
« Last Edit: 09/19/2018 04:02 pm by gongora »

Offline kevinof

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Re: SpaceX Hawthorne Facilities
« Reply #64 on: 09/19/2018 04:19 pm »
yeah I had to read the post twice to make sure it was from Ed.

  It is hard for a space enthusiast to stand calmly at this intersection. 

 - Ed Kyle

And this is a good reminder that just because one of your fellow space enthusiasts occasionally voices doubts about the SpaceX schedule announcements or is cautious about believing SpaceX has licked a problem before actually seeing proof that's true, it doesn't mean they hate SpaceX.

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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Re: SpaceX Hawthorne Facilities
« Reply #65 on: 08/20/2019 05:28 pm »
Three years ago today:



Quote
First landed SpaceX Falcon 9 placed on display - August 20, 2016
Pauline Acalin

Published on 20 Aug 2019

The Falcon 9 B1019 launched on Dec 21, 2015 from Cape Canaveral’s Launch Complex 40 in Florida, successfully delivering 11 ORBCOMM communications satellites to low-earth orbit. The first stage booster returned about 9 minutes 45 seconds after liftoff, landing triumphantly at SpaceX’s Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) about 6 miles from the launch site, making it the world’s first orbital rocket to land back on Earth. On August 20, 2016, the booster was placed on permanent display at the company’s headquarters in Hawthorne, CA.

This is a compilation of footage I captured that day.

Offline lonestriker

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Re: SpaceX Hawthorne Facilities
« Reply #66 on: 08/26/2019 01:21 pm »
In the future, they'll have to make room to display the first SS that returns from the Moon or Mars  :)

Offline Zed_Noir

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Re: SpaceX Hawthorne Facilities
« Reply #67 on: 08/26/2019 06:04 pm »
In the future, they'll have to make room to display the first SS that returns from the Moon or Mars  :)

After the fight to see who get to display SS and it's tourist dollars. Smithsonian, Kennedy visitor center, LAX, etc.

note - LAX display option since Hawthorne is a few kilometers from there.



Slightly OT. But don't want to start a new thread.

Wonder where they going to display the #dearmoon flyby SS? Guessing somewhere in the Greater Tokyo area.

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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Re: SpaceX Hawthorne Facilities
« Reply #68 on: 11/20/2019 06:03 am »
https://twitter.com/astrobehnken/status/1197027233501609984

Quote
Not the best picture, but still pretty cool to capture a double rainbow over the walkway to @SpaceX's parking garage (which looks suspiciously like the crew access arm on 39A at @NASAKennedy...)

Offline enbandi

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Re: SpaceX Hawthorne Facilities
« Reply #69 on: 01/06/2020 08:19 am »
Mary's latest video clips!



An interesting cover picture in this vid from Boca Chica. The crate labeled HT17 which is the Hawthorne Cerise facility, we can assume now that is the Starship manufacturing site in Hawthorne.
Or one of the sites. The Jack Northrop 3301 (XBox) have some interesting equipment, (wax burnoff and iconel related furnaces) based on what I think Raptor production located there.
And If you chech the map, these two are quite close (opposite sides of Jack Northrop).

Edit: Regarding equipment, search here for "Space Exploration": https://xappprod.aqmd.gov/find//facility
« Last Edit: 01/06/2020 08:35 am by enbandi »

Offline RedLineTrain

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Re: SpaceX Hawthorne Facilities
« Reply #70 on: 01/30/2020 08:31 pm »
Following up on this, on December 6, Triumph ceased operations in their Hawthorne facility.

On November 20, they held an auction of machinery from the plant, that included a lot of basic manufacturing items.  Wouldn't be surprised to learn that these were purchased by SpaceX.  For instance, seems possible that the Cincinnati press brake being delivered this month to Boca Chica was part of the auction.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/equipment--machinery-from-boeing-747-fuselage-manufacturing-facility-to-be-sold-in-auction-300950290.html

I assume that SpaceX is moving in shortly, if it has not already done so.  This is about 1 million square feet of additional factory space for SpaceX (the company already occupied about 350,000 square feet from this 1.4 million square foot property).  An enormous addition.
« Last Edit: 01/30/2020 08:36 pm by RedLineTrain »

Offline RedLineTrain

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Re: SpaceX Hawthorne Facilities
« Reply #71 on: 01/30/2020 08:53 pm »
Here's an article from November that details the Boeing angle.  Bloomberg didn't mention the bigger news, that this was an underused facility by a Boeing supplier and that SpaceX was taking over the facility and presumably will use it fully.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-11-20/boeing-747-nears-end-of-line-as-triumph-shutters-storied-factory

And here's some background from 2018 on the sale of the property with the SpaceX 10-year lease.

https://therealdeal.com/la/2018/05/08/spacex-leased-industrial-complex-in-hawthorne-hitting-the-market-sources/
« Last Edit: 01/30/2020 08:55 pm by RedLineTrain »

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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Re: SpaceX Hawthorne Facilities
« Reply #72 on: 02/06/2020 06:59 am »
These were posted on Flickr years ago (2012) but just found them. Don’t recall seeing them on NSF before?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/49494866357/

Caption for first image attached:

Quote
The Apollo Astronauts Tribute to SpaceX and a Mars Mission
I gathered personalized tributes and signatures from the Apollo astronauts for a birthday gift to Elon back in 2012, just after SpaceX’s first successful mission to the ISS. But I worked on two posters in parallel — this smaller one faces me in my office (a highlight of the space collection at Future Ventures).
 
I just noticed that the original messages of congratulations from each astronaut differ across the posters, in a meaningful way!
 
Most presciently, David Scott — Commander of Apollo 15, and first to drive an EV on the moon — riffs on Neil Armstrong’s One Giant Leap with an eye to SpaceX leading us to Mars:
 
“The first leap of many giant steps to Mars!!! Onward!!!
— Dave Scott, Apollo 9 CMP, Apollo 15 Cmdr”
 
“CONGRATULATIONS
— Buzz Aldrin, Apollo XI”
 
“The beginning of an entirely new era.
— Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 LMP”
 
“A big first step and much luck on many more ahead!
— Fred Haise, Apollo 13 LMP”
 
“Congratulations on your success!
— Al Worden, Apollo 15”
 
“A big dream completed! Way to go!
— Charlie Duke, Apollo 16 LMP”
 
“We are excited to see your great success.
— Alan Bean, Apollo 12 LMP”
 
“Congratulations on a job well done…
— Gene Cernan, Apollo 17 & Apollo X
 
Charlie Duke and Al Bean, were effusive in their praise of SpaceX and the next generation of space explorers. Charlie Duke and Dave Scott were excited about a future mission to Mars.
 
Here is the larger one I gave to Elon for his birthday, and the backstory as to why.

Caption for second image attached:

Quote
The Apollo Astronauts Tribute to SpaceX
When I saw Elon Musk tear up on 60 Minutes facing the verbal assault from one of his heroes — Apollo astronaut Gene Cernan — I knew what I had to do.
 
It has taken a bit of effort over the past months, but today I gave this to Elon and all of the SpaceX team, and it was very well received. =)
 
This is the last photo, with my colleague Mohanjit Jolly, just before we gift-wrapped it.
 
The Apollo astronauts composed and signed the following tributes:
 
“And now, a giant leap for commercial space! Buzz Aldrin, Apollo XI”
 
“A real breakthrtough – much success on many flights to come! Fred Haise, Apollo 13 LMP”
 
“Congratulations! A big dream fulfilled! Charlie Duke, Apollo 16 LMP”
 
“We are so excited to see your great success in an endeavor that demands the very best from each member of the SpaceX team ☆ Alan Bean, Apollo 12 LMP”
 
“Congratuatlons on a job well done – now the challenge begins. Gene Cernan, Apollo 17 & Apollo X
 
“The first of the next giant leap… Dave Scott, Apollo 9 CMP”
 
“The beginning of an entirely new era! Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 LMP”
 
“Keep up the good work – Walt Cunningham, Apollo 7”
 
“Congratulations on your success! Al Worden, Apollo 15”
 
When I saw 60 Minutes, my first thought was to get Gene Cernan (the last man to walk on the moon) to visit SpaceX as Elon had implored. I have been buying space artifacts from Gene over the past year and knew how to reach him. I tried to encourage him to visit SpaceX, but to no avail. So I flew out to talk to him face to face. I waited until SpaceX became the first private company to bring a spacecraft back from orbit, and the first to bring cargo to the space station, and the first to bring science experiments back. I also gathered signatures and congratulatory sentiments from the other Apollo heroes first.
 
Some, like Charlie Duke and Al Bean, were effusive in their praise of SpaceX and the next generation of space explorers. Charlie Duke was excited about a future mission to Mars. Al Bean spent 20 minutes writing rough drafts and crafting each word of his message with the SpaceX team in mind.
 
Then I approached Gene Cernan, and held my breath. I figured it would be a bit more difficult to break from the social proof of his esteemed colleagues. And so he listened. As with every Apollo astronaut who signed this photo, I was able to talk about SpaceX and answer his questions. Gene was interested in who financed SpaceX — what big money interests got it going. I told him that Elon Musk personally financed the company for all of its first $100 million, when no one else would bet on the venture, and he saw it through thick and thin, including the first three launches of the Falcon 1, all of which failed spectacularly. As I told him these stories of heroic entrepreneurship, I could see his mind turning. He found a reconciliation: “I never read any of this in the news. Why doesn’t the press report on this?”
 
Cernan was the last hold out. Neil Armstrong wrote a strongly worded letter to 60 Minutes saying that he was taken out of context. The program editor agreed: "Armstrong wrote us to say we had not been complete in our description of his testimony. He's right.
 
Armstrong is, arguably, the greatest explorer of the 20th Century. I suspect he has admiration for anyone in science or business who sees new possibilities. He may not be confident in a particular federal policy, but I imagine Neil Armstrong stands squarely on the side of those who dare to dream."
— from the CBS Editors Blog
 
Well, it’s Nikola Tesla’s birthday today, and Elon Musk’s was a few days ago. It seems like a good time to raise a glass to those who think different.

Caption for third image attached:

Quote
and here it is near the entrance at SpaceX HQ

Offline enbandi

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Re: SpaceX Hawthorne Facilities
« Reply #73 on: 05/21/2020 10:52 am »
Cross post from the Raptor production discussion: some new equipment in the X--Box for Raptor casting.

Who are intetested in, can found a similar equipment list for each HT facilities on the same page. And also a solid collection of the SpaceX Hawthorne facilities. (Search for facility, "Space Exploration")

Finally, I found what I waited for: they startrd to fill new registrations and apply for permits related to Raptor production equipment.

Based on that it seems like they started production scale up this march (building the equipment part, so actual Raptors from those are yet to come).

Source is this: https://xappprod.aqmd.gov/find//facility/AQMDsearch?facilityID=184509

Under the equipment, there is one new electric furnace and 3 wax burn off ovens. Those are for Raptor iconel casting. They started with one furnace and one oven in 2017, and gathered a new oven in 2018. This 1+3 are the only new units since than. (So no interim capacity enhancements, based on equipment)

Based on the adress the facility is the X-Box in Hawthorne. Minor details about equipment (type an manufacturer) should be in the documents, but those are a bit more tricky to obtain (not from mobile, I will add later if somebody interested in).

Edit to add: the Public Document search page for this agency is this. The F.I.N.D interface have an option to view permits also, but do not shows everything. Search for "permits to construct", "permits to operate" where facility name is "Space Exploration*".
« Last Edit: 05/21/2020 01:56 pm by enbandi »

Offline enbandi

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Re: SpaceX Hawthorne Facilities
« Reply #74 on: 09/22/2020 03:40 pm »
The Cerise facility have been expanded to the South, with 2 more buildings (source: California SMARTS).
« Last Edit: 09/22/2020 03:52 pm by enbandi »

Offline su27k

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Re: SpaceX Hawthorne Facilities
« Reply #75 on: 11/20/2020 04:46 am »
Some insider comments about SpaceX mission control room from reddit user kring44

Quote from: kring44
OK, I'm sure no one cares, but since you mentioned the control room...

* Elon didn't want to see computers, so we had to use mini desktops that are mounted on the underside of the table. Watch your knees.
* Wired keyboard and mice since you don't want to deal with dead batteries during a launch.
* We needed to use half-height PNY video cards to drive three monitors. Required weird breakout cables. (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/625342-REG/PNY_Technologies_030_0230_000_VHDCI_to_4x_DVI_D.html)
* Elon picked those monitors based on about 5 different ones I ordered. He picked the one with a weird resolution (I don't remember exactly). That resolution was different from just about every other monitor at SpaceX that ran the same software. Since the software doesn't resize with resolution we occasionally had to change the GUI to work in that room.
* The ceiling of this room is the floor of the 3rd floor. The 3rd floor used to be the garage, so every time someone drove their car the projectors would wobble.

Quote from: kring44
Quote from: NighthawkCP
AV/IT guy here. What projector(s) did ya'll use? One enormous one or several with edge blending? Are you using a commercial switching system to route video signals to it?

I don't know the models, I wasn't that involved.

I do know that the first projector setup was a single huge projector. It did not fill up the whole wall. See the first picture on this page. If I remember correctly, that projector was just a monitor connected to a machine in the closet somewhere. One of the operators would RDP into it and set up the windows before launch.

After that it was a set of four projectors with edge blending. I think they came with a PC as part of the package. I'm not sure how that one was controlled. I remember it has a video camera and would project patterns from the 4 projectors and then automatically adjust them to get a good image. As someone who isn't involved with video projectors, that seemed pretty cool.

edit: Just realized that you can see all 5 projectors in one of the images on that same page. The big one in the middle is still there, but not used. You can see the other four turned on.

Quote from: kring44
Quote from: yellekc
Quote from: kring44
That resolution was different from just about every other monitor at SpaceX that ran the same software. Since the software doesn't resize with resolution we occasionally had to change the GUI to work in that room.

Seems to follow some of the ISA 101 guidelines, using muted color pallets to prevent sensory overload.

Just curious, does SpsceX use an off the shelf commerical HMI system for the control room graphical displays or was that all custom software?

Look at some of the displays on this page and you might change your mind about following ISA 101 :)

Personally I wanted blacks & greys with dark greens/blues for nominal values. Yellow/orange/red for alerts. Basically, I wanted to be across the room and glance at a display and know that everything was OK if I didn't see yellow/orange/red. But we deferred a lot of decisions to the users who sometimes wanted a rainbow of colors.

We had standard display widgets, but I don't think anyone spent a lot of time looking at industrial standards. It was more a back and forth with the users. The developers of that software (Ground Software, GSW) were actually part of the launch/mission group and not the software group (Flight Software, FSW) for a long time. GSW was also one of the positions in the launch room and was manned by one of the GSW developers on launch day. They were heavy users of their own software so any bad GUI decisions affected them directly. Eat your own dogfood.

When I left there were over 100 instances of GSW running at SpaceX. Everything from small systems controlling an air conditioner from a single laptop to huge systems with dozens of redundant servers in multiple locations to control 39A. There was a lot of use and feedback, not just on launch days.

The majority of the displays in the control room were custom made by the GSW group in LabVIEW. There is a little bit on info in the old SpaceX Software AMA.

Quote from: kring44
Quote from: Astroteuthis
I can also guarantee you those desks are not cheap. Designing a control room and coming out with something that looks as clean as SpaceX’s is neither cheap nor easy.

I'm going to disagree. The legs were IKEA Galant T-Legs. The tabletops were custom built, but they were just particle board with a fiberboard white top. As cheap as you could get. If you look at the first picture from OP you can see a bunch of chips taken out of the front of the table by the chair arms. I think all the money for the control room was for the glass walls and the projectors.

Online gsa

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Re: SpaceX Hawthorne Facilities
« Reply #76 on: 11/25/2020 08:22 pm »
Hi. See attached images, red lines. What's that, just outside control room? Apparently, it's the same thing in motion.
Footage from Sentinel 6a launch.

Offline Kang54

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Re: SpaceX Hawthorne Facilities
« Reply #77 on: 11/25/2020 08:35 pm »
It's a leg from a Falcon 9. There are a couple images of it here and here.
« Last Edit: 11/25/2020 08:38 pm by Kang54 »

Online gsa

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Re: SpaceX Hawthorne Facilities
« Reply #78 on: 11/25/2020 08:43 pm »
It's a leg from a Falcon 9. There are a couple images of it here and here.
Yes, I understand it's a leg. You imply, it's not attached to anything? Just a free-hanging leg?

Re: SpaceX Hawthorne Facilities
« Reply #79 on: 11/25/2020 08:49 pm »
It's a leg from a Falcon 9. There are a couple images of it here and here.
Yes, I understand it's a leg. You imply, it's not attached to anything? Just a free-hanging leg?
That's the big question, a self closing leg would reduce a lot of time in processing. Odd place to test it though.

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