Wow. All this new information (there will be a BFS Grasshopper! They're well on the way with ISRU tech! Tanker version is going to look totally different!) and all we can talk about is the number of legs??
Really disappointed that we didn't learn if they plan to use 39A for BFR. That was my question, of course it ended up way down at the bottom under the stack of __Rockot__'s questions.Unbelievable that they allowed unlimited questions per person.
Quote from: Next Spaceflight on 10/14/2017 11:12 pmReally disappointed that we didn't learn if they plan to use 39A for BFR. That was my question, of course it ended up way down at the bottom under the stack of __Rockot__'s questions.Unbelievable that they allowed unlimited questions per person.I don't know how that happened. I tried to post a 2nd question and got a message saying I needed to wait 8 minutes.
I think the most interesting comment from Musk was the part about them working on ISRU.People in this forum like to focus on flight technology and comments like the number of landing legs or how to fit cargo containers, which are rather mundane engineering problems. However, ISRU and ECLSS are the two major long poles in SpaceX's Mars plan with low TRLs. They are not easy to solve, there is very little prior art, and until now, we had no evidence that SpaceX was actually working on them.
Isn't it true that for the first crew return from mars you could just fly extra ships with enough fuel so one could return. In that way you wouldn't need ISRU setup by robots. You could have humans/robots assembling and operating the mining etc stuff.
Well given the hints so far it's going to be solar powered and need to arrive on two BFS. Over the course of 18 months it will need to produce enough LOX and CH4 to refuel at least two BFS.Have I missed anything?
Quote from: rsdavis9 on 10/15/2017 08:44 pmIsn't it true that for the first crew return from mars you could just fly extra ships with enough fuel so one could return. In that way you wouldn't need ISRU setup by robots. You could have humans/robots assembling and operating the mining etc stuff.Well you should know before the manned launch whether the initial robotic ISRU has produced enough propellent for return. Then you have the options of either taking all the fuel needed to return, just what is needed to land or some mix in between.
Q: Have any candidate landing sites for the Mars base been identified?A (Elon): Landing site needs to be low altitude to maximize aero braking, be close to ice for propellant production and not have giant boulders. Closer to the equator is better too for solar power production and not freezing your ass off.---------------------Whether that means they plan to not bring hydrogen on the first trip I don't know!
Quote from: nacnud on 10/15/2017 08:45 pmWell given the hints so far it's going to be solar powered and need to arrive on two BFS. Over the course of 18 months it will need to produce enough LOX and CH4 to refuel at least two BFS.Have I missed anything?Do we actually know whether they are bringing H2, in whatever form, on the first flights? Or are they going straight for water extraction on Mars, and if so how will they do that?Also, how will they transfer propellants between vehicles on Mars- and fundamental to this is another question, how close to each other can they land? Or will the whole ISRU plant be mobile itself, and load directly into the BFS?
Quote from: Kaputnik on 10/15/2017 09:37 pmDo we actually know whether they are bringing H2, in whatever form, on the first flights? Or are they going straight for water extraction on Mars, and if so how will they do that?Also, how will they transfer propellants between vehicles on Mars- and fundamental to this is another question, how close to each other can they land? Or will the whole ISRU plant be mobile itself, and load directly into the BFS?We KNOW they aren't bringing hydrogen. We KNOW they're going straight to ISRU. This has been the clear plan since the beginning.
Do we actually know whether they are bringing H2, in whatever form, on the first flights? Or are they going straight for water extraction on Mars, and if so how will they do that?Also, how will they transfer propellants between vehicles on Mars- and fundamental to this is another question, how close to each other can they land? Or will the whole ISRU plant be mobile itself, and load directly into the BFS?
Quote from: vaporcobra on 10/15/2017 09:43 pmQ: Will the BFS tanker's payload section be empty, or include extra propellant tanks?A (Elon): At first, the tanker will just be a ship with no payload. Down the road, we will build a dedicated tanker that will have an extremely high full to empty mass ratio (warning: it will look kinda weird).
Q: Will the BFS tanker's payload section be empty, or include extra propellant tanks?A (Elon): At first, the tanker will just be a ship with no payload. Down the road, we will build a dedicated tanker that will have an extremely high full to empty mass ratio (warning: it will look kinda weird).
I think they plan to leave some of the first BFS's to mars on the surface as part of the station.
Quote from: rsdavis9 on 10/15/2017 08:47 pmI think they plan to leave some of the first BFS's to mars on the surface as part of the station.That seems a waste. It's a pretty expensive piece of kit - why not refuel it and have it return to Earth for reuse?