Total Members Voted: 32
Voting closed: 08/25/2020 07:14 pm
Did something go wrong with Raptor SN5? Why is Elon’s latest tweet saying they are waiting for engine “repair?”
Quote from: M.E.T. on 06/17/2019 03:44 amDid something go wrong with Raptor SN5? Why is Elon’s latest tweet saying they are waiting for engine “repair?”We don't know any details- we assume it's SN 5 which was reportedly undergoing testing at McGreggor but beyond that there's no official info beyond Elon's latest tweet... repaired and not a new build seems like they over did it and damaged something - perhaps with extended firing or trying to ramp up to a higher chamber pressure or something... Hopefully we'll get more details in the coming days and weeks... especially with the presentation (now NET early next month from that tweet it seems like)
Quote from: Inoeth on 06/17/2019 04:31 amQuote from: M.E.T. on 06/17/2019 03:44 amDid something go wrong with Raptor SN5? Why is Elon’s latest tweet saying they are waiting for engine “repair?”We don't know any details- we assume it's SN 5 which was reportedly undergoing testing at McGreggor but beyond that there's no official info beyond Elon's latest tweet... repaired and not a new build seems like they over did it and damaged something - perhaps with extended firing or trying to ramp up to a higher chamber pressure or something... Hopefully we'll get more details in the coming days and weeks... especially with the presentation (now NET early next month from that tweet it seems like)Has anyone checked in L2?
Quote from: Robotbeat on 06/17/2019 10:40 amQuote from: Inoeth on 06/17/2019 04:31 amQuote from: M.E.T. on 06/17/2019 03:44 amDid something go wrong with Raptor SN5? Why is Elon’s latest tweet saying they are waiting for engine “repair?”We don't know any details- we assume it's SN 5 which was reportedly undergoing testing at McGreggor but beyond that there's no official info beyond Elon's latest tweet... repaired and not a new build seems like they over did it and damaged something - perhaps with extended firing or trying to ramp up to a higher chamber pressure or something... Hopefully we'll get more details in the coming days and weeks... especially with the presentation (now NET early next month from that tweet it seems like)Has anyone checked in L2?Given that ChrisB himself pondered this issue on Twitter today, I am guessing there is no info yet in L2 either.
Quote from: M.E.T. on 06/17/2019 10:51 amQuote from: Robotbeat on 06/17/2019 10:40 amQuote from: Inoeth on 06/17/2019 04:31 amQuote from: M.E.T. on 06/17/2019 03:44 amDid something go wrong with Raptor SN5? Why is Elon’s latest tweet saying they are waiting for engine “repair?”We don't know any details- we assume it's SN 5 which was reportedly undergoing testing at McGreggor but beyond that there's no official info beyond Elon's latest tweet... repaired and not a new build seems like they over did it and damaged something - perhaps with extended firing or trying to ramp up to a higher chamber pressure or something... Hopefully we'll get more details in the coming days and weeks... especially with the presentation (now NET early next month from that tweet it seems like)Has anyone checked in L2?Given that ChrisB himself pondered this issue on Twitter today, I am guessing there is no info yet in L2 either.And what would the point be being as L2 info isn’t generally posted on the public side unless made public by those concerned.
I'm guessing SN5 had a problem that caused it to shutdown(abort) but it wasn't physical damage to the fuel path. Maybe control stuff. Valves, electronics, etc.
Why is there so little coverage of these Raptor engine tests on the space internet? There are multiple live webcams pointed at Boca Chica facilities and daily dump of photos and videos, but I see almost nothing from McGregor, despite the town being 5km from test site. Shouldnt loud and spectacular engine tests attract much more attention?
Does anyone know the maximum amount of time that a Raptor can be run at full thrust at McGregor before the storage tanks are depleted?
Quote from: OxCartMark on 06/21/2019 09:19 pmDoes anyone know the maximum amount of time that a Raptor can be run at full thrust at McGregor before the storage tanks are depleted?I dont recall hearing of development subscale raptor tests lasting more than 60 seconds or less. They would surely have to upgrade fuel (and oxidizer?) storage to run a full size raptor much more than 20 seconds. But absolutely no news on any actual raptor runs in terms of length, thrust, or video for months now.
I'm not sure I'd say its negativity. More like mild disappointment that, for whatever the reason, they apparently haven't been able to meet Elon's 'aspirational' schedule. I try to keep in mind that, though they were ahead in many ways with the original subscale raptor, the final version is, as Elon described, radically redesigned. Taking a while to test and tune and fine tune is not unsurprising.
It seems like the increasing level of negativity I’ve noticed online about this whole enterprise is probably partly fuelled by how long Starhopper has been without a Raptor now because of all the delays with their testing and changing from intending to use one engine to another.