I rode my motorcycle out to McGregor yesterday. There was a booster on the test stand, nothing on the launch pad except a couple of guys wandering around.I did notice that new white tank of something has been installed near the launch pad.No sign of the big red crane.More images here.
Quote from: MP99 on 10/18/2014 10:28 amQuote from: docmordrid on 10/18/2014 09:45 amOTOH, using a TEL is what they know and they've built at least three already (original F9 and two FH capable for Vandy and KSC). Maybe four if McGregor has one. Test like you fly.I was assuming a TE (can you call it TEL if no "Launch"? :-) ) >ISTM the difference is more a distinction. You still need the T and E, plus many things for L are needed for tests anyhow: umbilicals, data lines, platform + hold-downs, stage clamp etc. Perhaps relocated, but still.
Quote from: docmordrid on 10/18/2014 09:45 amOTOH, using a TEL is what they know and they've built at least three already (original F9 and two FH capable for Vandy and KSC). Maybe four if McGregor has one. Test like you fly.I was assuming a TE (can you call it TEL if no "Launch"? :-) ) >
OTOH, using a TEL is what they know and they've built at least three already (original F9 and two FH capable for Vandy and KSC). Maybe four if McGregor has one. Test like you fly.
Is that a pile of debris of some sort in front of the water tower?
Quote from: llanitedave on 10/20/2014 03:34 amIs that a pile of debris of some sort in front of the water tower?Yes, looks like pieces of the F9R-Dev1. Do you have any closeups of that pad area, Jim?
Quote from: llanitedave on 10/20/2014 03:34 amIs that a pile of debris of some sort in front of the water tower?It looks that way, doesn't it. There is a literal junkyard between the launch pad and the main facility buildings that has a lot of what appears to be old tankage, sheet metal, and miscellaneous junk.
Quote from: JimNtexas on 10/20/2014 05:22 pmQuote from: llanitedave on 10/20/2014 03:34 amIs that a pile of debris of some sort in front of the water tower?It looks that way, doesn't it. There is a literal junkyard between the launch pad and the main facility buildings that has a lot of what appears to be old tankage, sheet metal, and miscellaneous junk. There it is, an aerial photo from this summer:http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=32202.msg1218016#msg1218016
That's not the junk I was referring to, and that area is not visible from JimNTexas' photo. I'm referring to the pieces on the Grasshopper pad itself. Just right of the F9R-Dev1 launch mount:
Looks like SpaceX is planning to massively expand their McGregor operation. They plan to add 300 new full time jobs (pending an almost-certain approval of incentives from local government), more than doubling the size of their Texas workforce.http://www.wacotrib.com/news/business/spacex-expansion-could-add-jobs-locally/article_a805e495-09ed-5fb0-9b9d-95b038d4cbfc.htmlMaybe this means an expansion in the rate of testing due to more heavies in the pipeline? Or maybe anticipating rehab and checkout for used stages?
recently expanded its lease from 922 acres to 4,280 acres
Maybe this means an expansion in the rate of testing due to more heavies in the pipeline? Or maybe anticipating rehab and checkout for used stages?
Quote from: guckyfan on 10/17/2014 08:29 pmQuote from: Lars-J on 10/17/2014 08:21 pmIt would make sense. It looks like they'll just be able to use a simplified strong-back to drive a F9/FH up to the new stand, erect it, tank it up and start the test. (no crane needed to life a stage high)I have thought of a kind of strong-back or TE too. But I am not sure that a crane will not be cheaper to operate. Maybe a Heavy will need one though. That would make the operation even more launch pad like. They would need the full hydraulics to erect it.Is that necessarily true re the hydraulics? It would seem to be simpler to have a winch from somewhere up on the test stand to pull the TE vertical. ISTM they avoid this on the launch pad because they don't have a fixed structure which could house the winch. (Or the winch could be in a protected place on the ground, with the cable trained through a pulley up on the stand.) It's not like the launch pad, where the hydraulics are required to retract the TEL shortly before launch. Think of it as a crane integrated into the stand. Cheers, Martin
Quote from: Lars-J on 10/17/2014 08:21 pmIt would make sense. It looks like they'll just be able to use a simplified strong-back to drive a F9/FH up to the new stand, erect it, tank it up and start the test. (no crane needed to life a stage high)I have thought of a kind of strong-back or TE too. But I am not sure that a crane will not be cheaper to operate. Maybe a Heavy will need one though. That would make the operation even more launch pad like. They would need the full hydraulics to erect it.
It would make sense. It looks like they'll just be able to use a simplified strong-back to drive a F9/FH up to the new stand, erect it, tank it up and start the test. (no crane needed to life a stage high)