Author Topic: SpaceX Falcon 9 : CRS-12 : Aug 14, 2017 : DISCUSSION  (Read 122624 times)

Offline OnWithTheShow

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Static fire still on for tomorrow?

Offline Ben the Space Brit

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Moved to 1000-1600 local time on Thursday 8/10.
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Offline mn

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Issue resolved. Pushing for rollout soon. [Static fire] Window opens 8am local.

Anyone willing to share info on the 'issue', or is this a subtle advertisement for L2 ;)

Offline First Mate Rummey

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Is this a block 4 F9? If so what are the improvements vs B3?

Offline macpacheco

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Is this a block 4 F9? If so what are the improvements vs B3?
From the best that I can gather, the term Block III/IV/V is a bad way to name it.
SpaceX isn't rolling all Block IV or Block V features in a single step. Its a gradual process. And I doubt SpaceX will want to tells us exactly what's in or not, except maybe as L2 type off the record discussions (yes there are some, if you really want to know everything you can, you need L2 access).
At some point Elon is likely to say all Block IV features to booster and US have been rolled in, but at that point the first Block V features will be in too, should we call that a Block IV or a Block V ? In my view the real Block V is when all planned features are in, not when just a few are.
That's all you'll get from me, as I don't want to loose L2 access !
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Offline Star One

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Station-bound instrument to open new chapter in the story of cosmic rays

Quote
Physicists are gearing up to send a re-engineered science instrument originally designed for lofty balloon flights high in Earth’s atmosphere to the International Space Station next week to broaden their knowledge of cosmic rays, subatomic particles traveling on intergalactic routes that could hold the key to unlocking mysteries about supernovas, black holes, pulsars and dark matter.

Fastened in the cargo bay of a SpaceX Dragon capsule, the cosmic ray observatory will be robotically connected to a port outside the space station’s Japanese Kibo laboratory for a three-year science campaign sampling cosmic rays, particles accelerated to nearly the speed of light by violent and mysterious forces in the distant universe.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/08/09/station-bound-instrument-to-open-new-chapter-in-the-story-of-cosmic-rays/

Offline old_sellsword

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Is this a block 4 F9? If so what are the improvements vs B3?

This is the first Block 4 first stage. Block 4 second stages have been flying for some time now.

We’ve heard about thrust upgrades and things like bolted octawebs, but nothing super concrete.

It’s basically just a bunch of small hardware upgrades they threw together on their way up to Block 5. We probably wouldn’t even notice the upgrade, especially considering we didn’t notice the Block 2 and 3 upgrades.
« Last Edit: 08/10/2017 07:06 pm by old_sellsword »

Offline whitelancer64

Is this a block 4 F9? If so what are the improvements vs B3?

This is the first Block 4 first stage. Block 4 second stages have been flying for some time now.

We’ve heard about thrust upgrades and things like bolted octawebs, but nothing super concrete.

It’s basically just a bunch of small hardware upgrades they threw together on their way up to Block 5. We probably wouldn’t even notice the upgrade, especially considering we didn’t notice the Block 2 and 3 upgrades.

I've been assuming that block 2 was the v1.1 and block 3 was the v1.2. I'm going to be interested to see if the launch permits call the block 4 the v1.3.
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Offline old_sellsword

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Is this a block 4 F9? If so what are the improvements vs B3?

This is the first Block 4 first stage. Block 4 second stages have been flying for some time now.

We’ve heard about thrust upgrades and things like bolted octawebs, but nothing super concrete.

It’s basically just a bunch of small hardware upgrades they threw together on their way up to Block 5. We probably wouldn’t even notice the upgrade, especially considering we didn’t notice the Block 2 and 3 upgrades.

I've been assuming that block 2 was the v1.1 and block 3 was the v1.2. I'm going to be interested to see if the launch permits call the block 4 the v1.3.

They won’t.

They’ve flown v1.2 Block 1, v1.2 Block 2, v1.2 Block 3, and v1.2 Block 4 all under the same permit for “Falcon 9 v1.2”

Offline russianhalo117

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Is this a block 4 F9? If so what are the improvements vs B3?

This is the first Block 4 first stage. Block 4 second stages have been flying for some time now.

We’ve heard about thrust upgrades and things like bolted octawebs, but nothing super concrete.

It’s basically just a bunch of small hardware upgrades they threw together on their way up to Block 5. We probably wouldn’t even notice the upgrade, especially considering we didn’t notice the Block 2 and 3 upgrades.
you will notice some of the block 4 differences if you have a good eye and watch the flight footage and not all are small differences but most are. I'll leave you with that until launch day.

Online FutureSpaceTourist

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Interesting comment in the launch weather forecast:

Quote
After landing Monday, storm chances will increase, potentially impacting first stage securing.

Offline flyright

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Not sure if this a concern or not: loss of redundancy for ISS S-band transponder string.
From ISS Expedition-52 thread.
Added bold.


ISS Daily Summary Report – 8/09/2017

Posted on August 9, 2017 at 4:00 pm by HQ.
 

...

Remote Power Controller Module (RPCM) P12B_B Trip: This RPC powers the S-Band transponder for String 2. There were no impacts to voice or telemetry as S-Band String 1 was and continues to be prime. String 2 was in hot backup for ACS/UHF Audio Interface (AUAI) troubleshooting. The trip signature indicates a Field Effect Transistor (FET) Hybrid failure which would be the first occurrence for this RPC.  Multiple closure attempts of RPC 10 were performed with no success. Two fully functional strings of ISS S-band are required per the SpaceX Launch Commit Criteria (LCC) Flight Rule. Teams met this morning to discuss and recommend a forward plan. This is an external RPCM that can be Removed and Replaced (R&R) by the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM).
...


Online gongora

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Not sure if this a concern or not: loss of redundancy for ISS S-band transponder string.
From ISS Expedition-52 thread.
...

This is in the August 10 report:
Quote
Ku Band Contingency Command and Telemetry (CCT) Checkout: In response to the loss of S-Band redundancy due to the loss of power to the S-Band-2 transponder, ground teams completed a checkout of the Ku-Band CCT command and voice capability.  During the test all control centers, including Sp-X Mission Control, successfully sent test commands to ISS via Ku-Band.  Additionally, Ku-Band voice between ISS and MCC-Moscow was verified in the event this is needed during the upcoming Russian Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA).   

Offline Joffan

Interesting comment in the launch weather forecast:

Quote
After landing Monday, storm chances will increase, potentially impacting first stage securing.

Bring on the land-based octocrab!
Getting through max-Q for humanity becoming fully spacefaring

Online FutureSpaceTourist

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L-3 Launch Weather Forecast.
70% go for launch day
80% go for 24 hours scrub

I see 70% for both days.

Very curious. I see 20% POV in forecast on-line at:
http://www.patrick.af.mil/Portals/14/documents/Weather/L-3%20Forecast%2014%20Aug%20Launch.pdf?ver=2017-08-11-090016-473

Online gongora

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« Last Edit: 08/11/2017 06:51 pm by gongora »

Online FutureSpaceTourist

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Thanks. Yes they updated & appear to have forgotten to update time of issue.

When I did my previous post the 45th's weather page pointed to the old (20%) version but as you say it's now showing the new (30%) version.

Offline Star One

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SpaceX is launching a supercomputer to the International Space Station

Quote
For the year-long experiment, astronauts will install the computer inside a rack in the Destiny module of the space station. It is about the size of two pizza boxes stuck together. And while the device is not exactly a state-of-the-art supercomputer—it has a computing speed of about 1 teraflop—it is the most powerful computer sent into space. Unlike most computers, it has not been hardened for the radiation environment aboard the space station. The goal is to better understand how the space environment will degrade the performance of an off-the-shelf computer.
During the next year, the spaceborne computer will continuously run through a set of computing benchmarks to determine its performance over time. Meanwhile, on the ground, an identical copy of the computer will run in a lab as a control.
If the test is successful, it will open the door to the use of even more powerful computers aboard the space station and other spacecraft NASA is developing to send humans farther into space. Fernandez said HPE also envisions that scientists could eventually use an on-board supercomputer for data processing of their experiments on the station, rather than clogging the limited bandwidth between space and ground with raw data.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/08/spacex-is-launching-a-supercomputer-to-the-international-space-station/

Offline Zed_Noir

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SpaceX is launching a supercomputer to the International Space Station

Quote
For the year-long experiment, astronauts will install the computer inside a rack in the Destiny module of the space station. It is about the size of two pizza boxes stuck together. And while the device is not exactly a state-of-the-art supercomputer—it has a computing speed of about 1 teraflop—it is the most powerful computer sent into space. Unlike most computers, it has not been hardened for the radiation environment aboard the space station. The goal is to better understand how the space environment will degrade the performance of an off-the-shelf computer.
During the next year, the spaceborne computer will continuously run through a set of computing benchmarks to determine its performance over time. Meanwhile, on the ground, an identical copy of the computer will run in a lab as a control.
If the test is successful, it will open the door to the use of even more powerful computers aboard the space station and other spacecraft NASA is developing to send humans farther into space. Fernandez said HPE also envisions that scientists could eventually use an on-board supercomputer for data processing of their experiments on the station, rather than clogging the limited bandwidth between space and ground with raw data.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/08/spacex-is-launching-a-supercomputer-to-the-international-space-station/

A not so "Supercomputer" several generations behind the current state of the art  IMO. Maybe this experiment could be follow up with a Nvidia Tegra SoC (system on a chip) architecture computer. Which can be modified from a current automotive central processor.


Offline JamesH65

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There are already a couple of Raspberry Pi's on the Iss using off the shelf Soc's. Not sure whether they have had any radiation issues. I'll find out!

Edit. Ok, so the Pi's on the Iss have had no detections or unexpected reboots on the six months they have been in use. The laptops onboard reboot about once a week. The Pi's are in thick Ali case s though, which could explain it.
« Last Edit: 08/12/2017 01:07 pm by JamesH65 »

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