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Chinese Launchers / Re: Landspace - ZhuQue-3 (ZQ-3) launcher

« Last post by FutureSpaceTourist on Today at 07:56 am »

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Advanced Concepts / Re: We Can’t Rebuild Saturn V, But…

« Last post by Skye on Today at 07:54 am »

1.  no, you are mixing fuels and complicating things.
2.  not really feasible.
3.  no savings using tanks, fairings and computers (woefully out dated).
4. nobody in their right mind would do this.
5.  why not Boeing?
6. Rockets aren't legos
7.  NASA has never built their own rockets.  Shuttle was reusable.

1. RS-25 class being in the thrust range, but not necessarily using same propellant. It would also be MLox. Though a single Raptor (or Raptor-esque) engine would likely work better. Sorry for the confusion 

2. Oh, ok

3. Not reusing old tanks, computers, etc. I mean using new ones.

4. Honestly, I agree, unless some new tech comes along which magically makes it possible (no), not a super serious proposal, just a “What If?”

5. I know starliner and airliners don’t necessarily represent Boeing’s entire engineering capability, but, if I were NASA or someone else similar, I’d rather the company that built my spacecraft could keep a plane door on.

6. I agree, though that’s not to say SH/S-II & S-IVB is impossible.

7. Yeah, always been contractors, but in this sense, “NASA-Built” means NASA-Designed. Again, sorry for confusion 

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SpaceX Facilities and Fleets / Re: Starship Manufacturing Facility in Boca Chica

« Last post by catdlr on Today at 07:54 am »

https://twitter.com/StarshipGazer/status/1904257261830365549

Bridge crane removed from the high bay today as part of the ongoing demolition to make way for the massive new Starbase Gigabay.

3/24/25

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SpaceX Falcon Missions Section / Re: SpaceX F9/Crew Dragon : Fram2 : KSC LC-39A : March 31/April 1 2025 (03:20 UTC)

« Last post by JSz on Today at 06:50 am »

Only one week until launch. People ask me, “Are you excited?”

No, not at all. I slept through the entire weekend.

Nerves like those of Yuri Gagarin !

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SpaceX Starship Program / Re: What Needs to Be Done to Starship Before Uncrewed Mars EDL Tests Begin?

« Last post by BN on Today at 06:46 am »

Is this work reasonable in 18 months?

I'm sorry to say it but, given the context of the statement, 18 months sounds like more political posturing rather than a real goal. As demonstrated by the last two missions, Starship is still far away from its final form. I would be surprised if they achieve rapid reusability of the upper stage in 18 months. There are going to be a lot of lessons to be learned from the first recovered stages.

it's possible the starships will still require refurbishment, hurting the launch rate but it doesn't stop a mars mission.

they should test orbital refilling, raptor 3 restarts and resolve the resonance problem and after that I think a mars mission is more or less feasible. the main lagging piece of the mars mission is the actual equipment they will send.

comms, solar, legs, tanks, center of mass, these are well understood.

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SpaceX Falcon Missions Section / Re: SpaceX F9 : NROL-69 : CCSFS SLC-40 : 24 March 2025 (17:48 UTC)

« Last post by FutureSpaceTourist on Today at 06:45 am »

https://twitter.com/spacex/status/1904312195707478054

Falcon 9 lifts off from pad 40 and returns to LZ-1 in Florida

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Rocket Lab / Re: Neutron vs F9R and SS etc

« Last post by Steven Pietrobon on Today at 06:40 am »

My guess south Australia.

Whaler's Way in South Australia is limited to inclinations of 60° and above, while Mahia in New Zealand can reach inclinations of 30° and above, which suits a much greater range of orbits (including GTO and ISS). They are both good for polar launches, but I think Mahia is the better choice.

https://www.southernlaunch.space/whalers-way-orbital-launch-complex

https://www.rocketlabusa.com/launch/launch-with-us/

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Missions To Mars (HSF) / Re: Human Exploration of Mars Design Reference Architecture 5.0

« Last post by Eric Hedman on Today at 06:38 am »

Tyvek breaks down under typical UV light for outdoor applications on Earth if coated properly in 4 to 6 months of continuous exposure.  Does anyone know how UV intensity on the surface of Mars compares with Earth?  It would be interesting to see what its life would be given how often astronauts would be going out on the surface.  Tyvek is also extremely light in the range of 1 to 3 ounces per square meter depending upon thickness.  So even if disposable, it might not be too big a deal if astronauts could get 20 r 30 uses out of each one.

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ISS Section / Re: Schedule of ISS flight events (part 2) [Updates Only]

« Last post by Salo on Today at 06:34 am »

https://www.launchphotography.com/Launch_Viewing_Guide.html

UPDATED MARCH 24, 2025
...
A Falcon 9 will launch the CRS-32 resupply mission to the ISS from pad 39A on April 21 at 4:15 a.m. EDT. The first stage will land back at the Cape about eight minutes after launch. Upcoming launches include more Starlink batches. A Falcon 9 will launch the Axiom-4 spaceflight participant mission to the International Space Station on late May, around noon EDT. The first stage will land back at the Cape about eight minutes after launch.

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Boeing Starliner (CST-100) Section / Re: Should Starliner be given another chance?

« Last post by pilottim on Today at 06:33 am »

There is no "should". It doesn't matter what this thread/forum thinks and Stich already made his intentions clear. If NASA wants another cargo option with emergency crew return capability as a political offramp, then that is what they're going to get. No one is being cheated out here.