Author Topic: SpaceX McGregor Testing Updates and Discussion (Thread 4)  (Read 531520 times)

Online mlindner

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Re: SpaceX McGregor Testing Updates and Discussion (Thread 4)
« Reply #620 on: 05/28/2018 09:33 pm »
Facebook group, will get the picture.

EDIT: here is the link to the post and pic. (Link is long)

Link

Facebook is not a primary source for confirmation.
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Offline RocketLover0119

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Re: SpaceX McGregor Testing Updates and Discussion (Thread 4)
« Reply #621 on: 05/28/2018 11:20 pm »


Facebook group, will get the picture.

EDIT: here is the link to the post and pic. (Link is long)

Link

Facebook is not a primary source for confirmation.

It is, and has been in the past.
« Last Edit: 05/28/2018 11:21 pm by RocketLover0119 »
"The Starship has landed"

Offline Jakusb

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Re: SpaceX McGregor Testing Updates and Discussion (Thread 4)
« Reply #622 on: 05/29/2018 05:58 am »


Facebook group, will get the picture.

EDIT: here is the link to the post and pic. (Link is long)

Link

Facebook is not a primary source for confirmation.

It is, and has been in the past.

None of the comment there confirm it is 1048...
How do you get to your bold statement?!

As far as we currently know it still is 1047.
No reports about a new core leaving Hawthorne (they almost always get spotted there). Also no reports of 1047 leaving McGregor, or it arriving anywhere!
And with the now much smaller CoreNr it is almost impossible to determine which core is actually on the test stand, unless some really good photographer can make a serious close-up photo of the part where the grid fins will go.

Offline Beittil

On the Facebook group there are some members which live in viewing range of the McGregor facilities. They some times post photo's of a test fire happening or a core being on the test stand, but they never mention (because they do not know) which core number it might be.

Offline Jakusb

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Re: SpaceX McGregor Testing Updates and Discussion (Thread 4)
« Reply #624 on: 05/29/2018 01:11 pm »
On the Facebook group there are some members which live in viewing range of the McGregor facilities. They some times post photo's of a test fire happening or a core being on the test stand, but they never mention (because they do not know) which core number it might be.
If only one of them would be able to use some zoom lens to get a photo of the CoreNr...

Offline RocketLover0119

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Re: SpaceX McGregor Testing Updates and Discussion (Thread 4)
« Reply #625 on: 05/30/2018 03:52 pm »


Facebook group, will get the picture.

EDIT: here is the link to the post and pic. (Link is long)

Link

Facebook is not a primary source for confirmation.

It is, and has been in the past.

None of the comment there confirm it is 1048...
How do you get to your bold statement?!

As far as we currently know it still is 1047.
No reports about a new core leaving Hawthorne (they almost always get spotted there). Also no reports of 1047 leaving McGregor, or it arriving anywhere!
And with the now much smaller CoreNr it is almost impossible to determine which core is actually on the test stand, unless some really good photographer can make a serious close-up photo of the part where the grid fins will go.

B1047 just arrived at the cape, so this HAS to be B1048.

(And btw I'm sorry if I'm getting people angry, I never meant for any anger to come out of it).
« Last Edit: 05/30/2018 06:26 pm by RocketLover0119 »
"The Starship has landed"

Offline smndk

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Re: SpaceX McGregor Testing Updates and Discussion (Thread 4)
« Reply #626 on: 10/22/2018 10:12 am »
Hi

I haven't seen a link to this video, of a test at McGregor on October the 19th 2018, being posted here at NSF, please delete post if I missed it.

https://www.facebook.com/keith.wallace.75/videos/2113076892044013/

What is being tested here? Merlin or Raptor?
« Last Edit: 10/22/2018 08:41 pm by smndk »

Offline kevinof

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Re: SpaceX McGregor Testing Updates and Discussion (Thread 4)
« Reply #627 on: 10/22/2018 10:22 am »
To my untrained and amateur eye, that looks like Merlin. It's smokey and very bright. But then again, I have been know to be wrong many, many times.

Offline The Vorlon

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Re: SpaceX McGregor Testing Updates and Discussion (Thread 4)
« Reply #628 on: 10/22/2018 11:16 am »
Going by the exhaust color, I would lean to RP-1 being involved.  CH4 tends to burn clear/blue.  One thing that makes me wonder however, is the tower over the test site flaring off something--that tends to be used for light gasses, like CH4.

Offline Alexphysics

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Re: SpaceX McGregor Testing Updates and Discussion (Thread 4)
« Reply #629 on: 10/22/2018 11:28 am »
That's no Raptor. Definitely a Merlin, its flame is red, the test is vertical and that part of the test site is the part where individual merlin engines are tested, this one is a sea level one, the Merlin Vacuum test stand is a little bit more to the left. From the two test stands for SL Merlin engines I think this is the one that suffered a mishap about a year ago and they were testing Block 5 qualification engines there, this might well be a firing of one of them too, but that's purely speculation on my part.

Offline JoerTex

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Re: SpaceX McGregor Testing Updates and Discussion (Thread 4)
« Reply #630 on: 12/26/2018 08:57 pm »
Drove by McGregor facility today.  Didn't see any boosters vertical.  Rain, low ceiling, but surface vis was OK to see the cranes, test area, etc.

Offline AC in NC

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Re: SpaceX McGregor Testing Updates and Discussion (Thread 4)
« Reply #631 on: 12/26/2018 09:17 pm »
One thing that makes me wonder however, is the tower over the test site flaring off something--that tends to be used for light gasses, like CH4.

Thinking out loud:  Those flares are suspiciously regular for the first portion of the test only.  Given recent announcements, would they (back in October) have been testing active cooling with CH4 for the 1st portion of the test and the performance of their alloy when cooling was removed?

Online gongora

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Re: SpaceX McGregor Testing Updates and Discussion (Thread 4)
« Reply #632 on: 12/26/2018 09:38 pm »
One thing that makes me wonder however, is the tower over the test site flaring off something--that tends to be used for light gasses, like CH4.

Thinking out loud:  Those flares are suspiciously regular for the first portion of the test only.  Given recent announcements, would they (back in October) have been testing active cooling with CH4 for the 1st portion of the test and the performance of their alloy when cooling was removed?

Is that even flaring, or just overexposed vapor?  That isn't the Raptor test stand, so no they aren't playing with CH4 cooling on the engine being fired. 

They've probably been using the alloys since the beginning of Raptor testing.  You don't just stop cooling your rocket engines unless you want them to blow up.  If you're thinking of the recent tweets that was not talking about CH4 cooling of the engines (which have probably been doing that all along), it was talking about cooling of the tanks.  There were also two different kinds of metals talked about in the tweets, one type used in the engines and another type for the tanks.  You can't just mash all of those concepts together.

Offline AC in NC

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Re: SpaceX McGregor Testing Updates and Discussion (Thread 4)
« Reply #633 on: 12/26/2018 09:49 pm »
Might be stupid but I was thinking they might be firing a Merlin into a test article w.r.t. the SS windward tanks alloy/active cooling.  The cooling would be the convective type with the high temp/pressure Methane cause the flare periodically.  Could've been as simple as a section of the SS Windward Tanks stuck in the Merlin flame trench at the appropriate place to experience the desired heat load.  Probably a million things wrong with that SWAG but that's what I was thinking.
« Last Edit: 12/26/2018 09:56 pm by AC in NC »

Offline rsdavis9

Might be stupid but I was thinking they might be firing a Merlin into a test article w.r.t. the SS windward tanks alloy/active cooling.  The cooling would be the convective type with the high temp/pressure Methane cause the flare periodically.  Could've been as simple as a section of the SS Windward Tanks stuck in the Merlin flame trench at the appropriate place to experience the desired heat load.  Probably a million things wrong with that SWAG but that's what I was thinking.

Given the side entry and the role that g's play in keeping the fuel to the "bottom" of the tank. I would think that the SS windward tank would need to placed horizontal so fuel goes down to the midline of the tank. So you would need a rocket blast upwards to fully test the system. If they are just spraying LCH4 and not testing pooling of coolant then this could be done horizontally in a flame trench.
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Offline Ionmars

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Re: SpaceX McGregor Testing Updates and Discussion (Thread 4)
« Reply #635 on: 01/03/2019 11:10 am »
Might be stupid but I was thinking they might be firing a Merlin into a test article w.r.t. the SS windward tanks alloy/active cooling.  The cooling would be the convective type with the high temp/pressure Methane cause the flare periodically.  Could've been as simple as a section of the SS Windward Tanks stuck in the Merlin flame trench at the appropriate place to experience the desired heat load.  Probably a million things wrong with that SWAG but that's what I was thinking.
Given the side entry and the role that g's play in keeping the fuel to the "bottom" of the tank. I would think that the SS windward tank would need to placed horizontal so fuel goes down to the midline of the tank. So you would need a rocket blast upwards to fully test the system. If they are just spraying LCH4 and not testing pooling of coolant then this could be done horizontally in a flame trench.
According to 2017 SpX slideshow, the SS assumes different positions during reentry, so probably need multiple intake pipes placed wherever fuel will pool within the tank. Hard to simulate in a test without some expense to build a large simulator. 

When liquid CH4 enters the heathield cooling layer it would quickly vaporize, so then the flow is towards the outlet, regardless of SS position. (IANARE just visualizing)

Online gongora

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Re: SpaceX McGregor Testing Updates and Discussion (Thread 4)
« Reply #636 on: 01/03/2019 02:46 pm »
This thread really isn't for speculating about Starship testing.  There is already an entire forum section for that.

Online FutureSpaceTourist

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Re: SpaceX McGregor Testing Updates and Discussion (Thread 4)
« Reply #637 on: 04/28/2019 07:14 am »
twitter.com/bluemoondance74/status/1122271933796634626?s=21

Quote
Boca Chica... Are you ready??! For, @ 5:10:16 pm CDT, a roar was heard from @SpaceX McGregor possessing such captivating strength it could only be the mighty Raptor SN3! The deep, earth-rattling rumble lasted a full 40 sec!! 5:10:56 hard stop. 🦅✨🔥🚀🌴#spacextests #starhopper

https://twitter.com/bluemoondance74/status/1122281303095877633

Quote
Ok... the excitement of the moment got the best of me ;) I strongly believe it is SN3. But... perhaps this is the newest SN4? ...Or a refreshed and reinvigorated SN2? ...Or a highly miracle-touched SN1?? -But it was definitely a Raptor! 🦅✨🚀#Starhopper #TeamRaptor

Online FutureSpaceTourist

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Re: SpaceX McGregor Testing Updates and Discussion (Thread 4)
« Reply #638 on: 04/29/2019 01:20 am »
Elon confirms it was Raptor (SN3):

twitter.com/bluemoondance74/status/1122628690381348865?s=21

Quote
Please forgive my [over]eagerness... but was that indeed the Raptor SN3 heard from SpaceX McGregor yesterday? (For an incredible 40 sec) ;)

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1122659764029153282

Quote
Yes

Offline Norm38

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Re: SpaceX McGregor Testing Updates and Discussion (Thread 4)
« Reply #639 on: 08/28/2019 02:20 am »
Is there a route to get Hopper from BC to McGregor?  Or will raptors only be tested in BC? (Texas)

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