SpaceX advances drive for Mars rocket via Raptor power article on NSF Alejandro, a slightly off-topic note: black & white photo does not show Korolev and Glushko. It is a snapshot from a Soviet fiction movie "Taming of the Fire" (1972) It also has an amazing SOUNDTRACK imdb linkwikipedia
I'll remove it, but if anyone has a good image that would be a good replacement, please add it to the thread and Pm me....
Not a happy looking group!
Quote from: llanitedave on 05/21/2014 01:35 amNot a happy looking group!They're not unhappy, they're Russian.
Not the best quality picture, but this is one of very small number I found where both Valentin Glushko (second from left) and Sergey Korolyev (third from left) are visible together.For more pics of them google : Сергей Павлович Королев and Валентин Глушко
After the legal actions, Raptor's designer suspended all presentations. My guess is that we won't see any news nor press release for a while.
IMO, they don't want the SLS crowd getting their feathers ruffled while the USAF suit is going on too.
What does Space Launch System have to do with any of this?
Quote from: docmordrid on 07/06/2014 05:06 pmIMO, they don't want the SLS crowd getting their feathers ruffled while the USAF suit is going on too.What does Space Launch System have to do with any of this? - Ed Kyle
Quote from: edkyle99 on 07/06/2014 05:53 pmWhat does Space Launch System have to do with any of this?Presumably, the BFR implied by the currently projected performance numbers for Raptor would put it into direct competition with SLS. In fact, it would massively outperform SLS, at what is assumed would be a much lower cost per kg to LEO, especially if reusability is considered. Spacex might not wish to draw attention to this embarrassing (to Congress) potential issue by publicly disclosing the Raptor numbers at this time.
Quote from: Mongo62 on 07/06/2014 06:32 pmQuote from: edkyle99 on 07/06/2014 05:53 pmWhat does Space Launch System have to do with any of this?Presumably, the BFR implied by the currently projected performance numbers for Raptor would put it into direct competition with SLS. In fact, it would massively outperform SLS, at what is assumed would be a much lower cost per kg to LEO, especially if reusability is considered. Spacex might not wish to draw attention to this embarrassing (to Congress) potential issue by publicly disclosing the Raptor numbers at this time.I think the rollback in public exposure for Raptor is more due to the recent RD-180 turmoil than anything else. If there is a competition for a new American hydrocrabon boost engine, I'm sure SpaceX would at least consider submitting Raptor or a Raptor derivative engine in order to get funding for development instead of having to foot the bill themselves. Anything they put out publicly gives their competition an advantage. SLS may be a tiny secondary concern, but I can't see it being the driving factor in keeping Raptor private.