Author Topic: SpaceX Texas launch site Discussion and Updates - Thread 6  (Read 720988 times)

Offline meberbs

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Re: SpaceX Texas launch site Discussion and Updates - Thread 6
« Reply #220 on: 10/26/2017 11:47 pm »
...
That said. McGregor has also been used for:

1. Testing with structural test articles (Falcon 1, Falcon 9, Dragon and Crew Dragon)
2. All-engine static test firings (Falcon 1, Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon)
3. Short hops (Grasshopper, F9R Dev1 and Crew Dragon)
4. Many other things such as COPV testing, stage separation testing, RCS testing and many others.

Integrated, all-up, vehicles are usually tested on the launchpad. That's about the only use of BC, other than launching from there. All other stuff can be done at McGregor. Even at 9 meter size.

A structural test, short hop, or all-up static test fire would require getting a 9-meter diameter vehicle to McGregor. I don't see any realistic way to do that.

Engines and other smaller articles can be tested at McGregor, but full vehicle tests will have to be done at Boca Chica, Stennis, the Cape, or somewhere else with barge access.
Actually, there is a simple way to get at least the ship between Boca Chica and McGregor, Musk has been spending too much time looking an interplanetary distances and apparently now defines "short hop" as "few hundred kilometers" it is 600 km as a bird flies from Boca Chica to McGregor.*

* I sincerely doubt they would use this route for that test, for so many reasons (they can't do any kind of free powered flight at McGregor anymore) Not sure where they can do it, other than catching it on a barge, in which case Boca Chica is an option.

I am glad to see at least one SpaceX specific building is going up, even if we have no idea what it is to be used for other than crane storage.

Offline Azular

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Re: SpaceX Texas launch site Discussion and Updates - Thread 6
« Reply #221 on: 10/27/2017 04:45 am »

 Not sure where they can do it, other than catching it on a barge, in which case Boca Chica is an option.


As they would probably (possibly) need the BFS back at site again would it be possible/likely for hop tests that they would launch from Boca Chica (or platform), travel 'out' for half of the hop, back for the other half of the hop and land back at the launch site/pad?
Be careful what you wish for.  You may get it

Offline SPITexas

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Re: SpaceX Texas launch site Discussion and Updates - Thread 6
« Reply #222 on: 10/27/2017 02:45 pm »
https://www.facebook.com/LikeNews13/posts/10155760221680890

Good news For SpaceX and for Boca Chica.

NASA announced that SpaceX will launch a resupply mission to the International Space Station from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Air Force station.
Since then, SpaceX has been launching its rockets from Kennedy Space Center. However, KSC will need to be prepared for the maiden flight of the company's Falcon 9 Heavy rocket, also scheduled to launch in December.
« Last Edit: 10/27/2017 03:53 pm by SPITexas »

Offline SPITexas

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Re: SpaceX Texas launch site Discussion and Updates - Thread 6
« Reply #223 on: 10/29/2017 09:16 pm »
introducibg the STARGATE windows!!!!   Ohhh and Somebody surveyed and cleared a large lot between the antennas and the crane.   Sorry about the pictures looking like that, but here you go. What do you think there gonna put in between the antennas and crane.  Parking lot maybe?

Offline Dave G

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Re: SpaceX Texas launch site Discussion and Updates - Thread 6
« Reply #224 on: 10/29/2017 09:37 pm »
introducibg the STARGATE windows!!!!   Ohhh and Somebody surveyed and cleared a large lot between the antennas and the crane.   Sorry about the pictures looking like that, but here you go. What do you think there gonna put in between the antennas and crane.  Parking lot maybe?

cropped, enlarged, and level adjusted to show more detail

Offline Dave G

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Re: SpaceX Texas launch site Discussion and Updates - Thread 6
« Reply #225 on: 10/30/2017 06:03 am »
By the way, the university that will be running the Stargate tracking center has posted around 40 pictures here.
https://utrgv-umc.photoshelter.com/galleries/C00004Wy4yGzDBMw/G0000e7FR9ioIZQw/STARGATE-Boca-Chica

I've also copied a few of those below.
« Last Edit: 10/30/2017 06:36 am by Dave G »

Offline Dave G

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Re: SpaceX Texas launch site Discussion and Updates - Thread 6
« Reply #226 on: 10/30/2017 06:24 am »
Ohhh and Somebody surveyed and cleared a large lot between the antennas and the crane... What do you think they're gonna put in between the antennas and crane.  Parking lot maybe?

In this article:
http://www.valleymorningstar.com/premium/article_55d1b2b6-f782-11e4-bcb4-536546669d18.html
Cameron County Judge Pete Sepulveda said:
Quote
...the county earlier this year transferred ownership of 25 lots to the Cameron County Spaceport Development Corp.  Sepulveda said that these lots are in the vicinity of the launch area, and that his understanding is that the properties would be used to develop parking.

Of course, that was before they brought in the 2 NASA dishes to support commercial crew launches from the cape.

So maybe they'll only use some of the 25 lots for parking.  Or maybe not.  Plans change.
« Last Edit: 10/30/2017 06:37 am by Dave G »

Offline Nomadd

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Re: SpaceX Texas launch site Discussion and Updates - Thread 6
« Reply #227 on: 10/30/2017 07:56 am »
introducibg the STARGATE windows!!!!   Ohhh and Somebody surveyed and cleared a large lot between the antennas and the crane.   Sorry about the pictures looking like that, but here you go. What do you think there gonna put in between the antennas and crane.  Parking lot maybe?
The 7 lots between the dishes and the crane were part of Frank Kawalski's sale to Dogleg last year.
Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who couldn't hear the music.

Offline jebbo

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Re: SpaceX Texas launch site Discussion and Updates - Thread 6
« Reply #228 on: 10/30/2017 08:07 am »
By the way, the university that will be running the Stargate tracking center has posted around 40 pictures here.
https://utrgv-umc.photoshelter.com/galleries/C00004Wy4yGzDBMw/G0000e7FR9ioIZQw/STARGATE-Boca-Chica

Assuming the date stamps are accurate, the windows were being installed in June, and they were starting to fit out the interior in August.  So, it would be interesting to see the interior now ...

--- Tony

Offline Dave G

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Re: SpaceX Texas launch site Discussion and Updates - Thread 6
« Reply #229 on: 10/30/2017 11:34 am »
So, it would be interesting to see the interior now ...
Yes.

But again, the university that will be running the Stargate tracking center has posted around 40 pictures here.
https://utrgv-umc.photoshelter.com/galleries/C00004Wy4yGzDBMw/G0000e7FR9ioIZQw/STARGATE-Boca-Chica

Here's another one of the 40:

Offline woods170

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Re: SpaceX Texas launch site Discussion and Updates - Thread 6
« Reply #230 on: 10/31/2017 07:00 am »
Just to remind you all. This is not a party thread.

Offline StuffOfInterest

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Re: SpaceX Texas launch site Discussion and Updates - Thread 6
« Reply #231 on: 10/31/2017 09:32 am »
Is this a common construction technique in that part of the country, put up essentially a hangar and then build an office building inside of it?  Seems a bit inefficient as they are basically creating two structures, unless this makes it easier to control heating and cooling somehow.

Offline Dave G

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Re: SpaceX Texas launch site Discussion and Updates - Thread 6
« Reply #232 on: 10/31/2017 10:41 am »
SpaceX: Progress ongoing at Boca Chica site, second antenna added
http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/local/spacex-progress-ongoing-at-boca-chica-site-second-antenna-added/article_c8f0717c-bde3-11e7-a016-9792b5eb6dd4.html

Quote
SpaceX has finished installing a second ground station antenna at its future Boca Chica spaceport for the purpose of tracking Crew Dragon missions to the International Space Station beginning in 2018.

Crew Dragon is the Hawthorne, Calif.-based company’s seven-seat spacecraft designed to carry humans to the ISS and other destinations. A SpaceX spokesman said the antennas will also be used to track flights from Boca Chica once they’re underway.

The company acquired the 86-ton antennas from NASA’s KennedySpaceCenter at Cape Canaveral and transported them to Boca Chica via semitrailer. The first antenna was installed this summer...

The Boca Chica site broke ground in September 2014. Later, 310,000 cubic yards of soil were trucked in over a period of months to stabilize the area. No concrete has been poured other than the antenna bases and no structures have been erected, though the STARGATE Technology Park, a public-private partnership between the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and SpaceX, is under construction across State Hwy. 4. No date has been set for the first launch from Boca Chica.

The company said it has completed 16 launches so far in 2017, including Monday’s launch of a Korean commercial communications satellite from KennedySpaceCenter.

“While SpaceX’s launch cadence has never been higher, and even as our teams have worked to modernize and improve our other launch complexes, we have continued to make progress on building the first-ever orbital commercial spaceport in South Texas,” said the spokesman.

Meanwhile, the company is at work developing its Interplanetary Transportation System, nicknamed “BFR,” which SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk plans to use to transport humans to Mars for the purposes of colonization. BFR, which stands for “Big F— Rocket,” would feature 31 main engines propelling a spacecraft capable of carrying about 100 people.

Musk gave an update of his Mars plans at a meeting of the International Astronautical Congress on Sept. 29 in Australia, during which he said the company plans to launch its first non-crewed flights to Mars by 2022. If all goes well, the first crewed flights to Mars would take place in 2024, he said.

Note: This is the first time SpaceX has said the dishes will also be used for launches from Boca Chica.

In the previous press release 15 months ago, they said the dishes were "for the purpose of tracking manned space flights, though not flights from Boca Chica, at least not yet."

Also note that NASA is helping to pay for these 2 antennas as part of their $2.6 billion commercial crew contract with SpaceX.  Apparently, NASA was OK with SpaceX using the antenna dishes for other purposes as well.

But this brings up an interesting issue: Who gets priority?  I'm assuming NASA.  In other words, for the ~2 days Dragon2 en route to the ISS, and the ~2 days it's en route back to earth, I'm assuming SpaceX won't be able to launch from Boca Chica. That's for each commercial crew mission.

As the NASA commercial crew arrangement matures, if they start allowing previously flown first stages and Dragon2 capsules, commercial crew costs could drop significantly.  In this case, there may be many commercial crew missions a year.  So if each commercial crew mission blocks launching from Boca Chica for ~4 days, that could be somewhat limiting in the future.

In any case, it's an interesting development.  It's the first time we've been told the dishes will be used for Boca Chica.
« Last Edit: 10/31/2017 11:33 am by Dave G »

Offline LouScheffer

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Re: SpaceX Texas launch site Discussion and Updates - Thread 6
« Reply #233 on: 10/31/2017 10:55 am »
Is this a common construction technique in that part of the country, put up essentially a hangar and then build an office building inside of it?  Seems a bit inefficient as they are basically creating two structures, unless this makes it easier to control heating and cooling somehow.
This is quite common, at least in all parts of the country where I've lived.  The advantage is that you can change the interior configuration of the building at any time.  Conference rooms, cubicles, offices, etc., can all be decided later, or changed as a result of experience.  For commercial buildings, it lets them appeal to a wider variety of customers, some of whom may not be known when the building is built.

Offline woods170

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Re: SpaceX Texas launch site Discussion and Updates - Thread 6
« Reply #234 on: 10/31/2017 11:49 am »
Also note that NASA is helping to pay for these 2 antennas as part of their $2.6 billion commercial crew contract with SpaceX.  Apparently, NASA was OK with SpaceX using the antenna dishes for other purposes as well.
No different from SpaceX using Crew Dragon for a private (non-NASA) circumlunar mission.

But this brings up an interesting issue: Who gets priority?  I'm assuming NASA.  In other words, for the ~2 days Dragon2 en route to the ISS, and the ~2 days it's en route back to earth, I'm assuming SpaceX won't be able to launch from Boca Chica. That's for each commercial crew mission.
These antennas are mainly for ascent tracking only. They are basically available for other purposes 20 minutes after launch of a CCP mission, not 2 days.
« Last Edit: 10/31/2017 05:53 pm by woods170 »

Offline Lar

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Re: SpaceX Texas launch site Discussion and Updates - Thread 6
« Reply #235 on: 10/31/2017 12:56 pm »
Just to remind you all. This is not a party thread.
Indeed it isn't, although we do give this thread a certain amount of latitude... some trimming.
"I think it would be great to be born on Earth and to die on Mars. Just hopefully not at the point of impact." -Elon Musk
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Offline Dave G

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Re: SpaceX Texas launch site Discussion and Updates - Thread 6
« Reply #236 on: 10/31/2017 01:40 pm »
But this brings up an interesting issue: Who gets priority?  I'm assuming NASA.  In other words, for the ~2 days Dragon2 en route to the ISS, and the ~2 days it's en route back to earth, I'm assuming SpaceX won't be able to launch from Boca Chica. That's for each commercial crew mission.
These antenna's are mainly for ascent tracking only. They are basically available for other purposes 20 minutes after launch of a CCP mission, not 2 days.

Not quite sure what you mean here.

If you're saying that the 2 antenna dishes at Boca Chica will somehow be used for ascent tracking of commercial crew launches from the cape, that's not correct.  They'll use dishes at the cape for that.

The 2 antenna dishes at Boca Chica will be used to track Crew Dragon in orbit to/from the ISS.  SpaceX made this clear in both press releases, here and here.  NASA's commercial crew contract requires SpaceX to locate tracking stations at locations other than the cape for this purpose.

And today we just found out that SpaceX will also use these 2 antenna dishes for launches from Boca Chica.
« Last Edit: 10/31/2017 01:48 pm by Dave G »

Offline cscott

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Re: SpaceX Texas launch site Discussion and Updates - Thread 6
« Reply #237 on: 10/31/2017 04:32 pm »
Is this a common construction technique in that part of the country, put up essentially a hangar and then build an office building inside of it?  Seems a bit inefficient as they are basically creating two structures, unless this makes it easier to control heating and cooling somehow.
This is quite common, at least in all parts of the country where I've lived.  The advantage is that you can change the interior configuration of the building at any time.  Conference rooms, cubicles, offices, etc., can all be decided later, or changed as a result of experience.  For commercial buildings, it lets them appeal to a wider variety of customers, some of whom may not be known when the building is built.
I spent a summer as a young man working for a commercial property management company --- mostly using a sledgehammer to knock down sheet-metal studded walls like this after a tenant left. My understanding is that each tenant got a bare canvas to reconfigure with walls however they liked.  After they left, the flimsy sheet metal studs and sheetrock, with no internal load-bearing elements, were very easy for low-paid labor (ie, me at the time) to take down.
« Last Edit: 10/31/2017 04:33 pm by cscott »

Offline launchwatcher

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Re: SpaceX Texas launch site Discussion and Updates - Thread 6
« Reply #238 on: 10/31/2017 04:59 pm »
Is this a common construction technique in that part of the country, put up essentially a hangar and then build an office building inside of it?  Seems a bit inefficient as they are basically creating two structures, unless this makes it easier to control heating and cooling somehow.
This is quite common, at least in all parts of the country where I've lived.  The advantage is that you can change the interior configuration of the building at any time.  Conference rooms, cubicles, offices, etc., can all be decided later, or changed as a result of experience.  For commercial buildings, it lets them appeal to a wider variety of customers, some of whom may not be known when the building is built.
Also allows for some amount of schedule compression as you don't have to commit to an internal layout early on.

When you don't have the big open floorplans, some people can end up sharing their office/cube with a structural column.   This was parodied in The Incredibles but I've seen it happen for real.

Offline woods170

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Re: SpaceX Texas launch site Discussion and Updates - Thread 6
« Reply #239 on: 10/31/2017 05:58 pm »
But this brings up an interesting issue: Who gets priority?  I'm assuming NASA.  In other words, for the ~2 days Dragon2 en route to the ISS, and the ~2 days it's en route back to earth, I'm assuming SpaceX won't be able to launch from Boca Chica. That's for each commercial crew mission.
These antenna's are mainly for ascent tracking only. They are basically available for other purposes 20 minutes after launch of a CCP mission, not 2 days.

Not quite sure what you mean here.

If you're saying that the 2 antenna dishes at Boca Chica will somehow be used for ascent tracking of commercial crew launches from the cape, that's not correct.  They'll use dishes at the cape for that.

The 2 antenna dishes at Boca Chica will be used to track Crew Dragon in orbit to/from the ISS.  SpaceX made this clear in both press releases, here and here.  NASA's commercial crew contract requires SpaceX to locate tracking stations at locations other than the cape for this purpose.

And today we just found out that SpaceX will also use these 2 antenna dishes for launches from Boca Chica.
No difference whatsoever. These antenna's can only track Crew Dragon (from horizon to horizon) for roughly 15 minutes per orbit. And Crew Dragon will be within "sight" of these antenna's for only 4 orbits per day. That is a total of dedicated service, for Crew Dragon, of - at most - two hours per day. That leaves plenty of time for using them for other purposes as well.

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