- Aug 28, 2014
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Okay, not actually a water tower. Its the bottom half of a Starliner. They are testing their new methane raptor engines by doing a 200 meter hop test.
Joe bob says check it out.
Crazy Elon Musk Launching Water Tower Watch Live
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Okay, not actually a water tower. Its the bottom half of a Starliner. They are testing their new methane raptor engines by doing a 200 meter hop test.
Joe bob says check it out.
- Aug 28, 2014
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Looks like the launch is delayed until 4 est.
So both Blue Origin (BE-4) and SpaceX (Raptor) are developing new methane powered engines. Currently engines are typically powered with either kerosene or hydrogen. Methane power isn't exotic, in fact it's less efficient than hydrogen. But it benefits from not having to be kept as cool as Hydrogen and Methane and Oxygen can share the same bulkhead, which I guess means more payload. And Methane can be manufactured on Mars.
1) Kerosene (RP1) and Liquid Oxygen = Kerolox
2) Hydrogen and Liquid Oxygen - Hydrolox
3) Methane and Liquid Oxygen - Methalox
So both Blue Origin (BE-4) and SpaceX (Raptor) are developing new methane powered engines. Currently engines are typically powered with either kerosene or hydrogen. Methane power isn't exotic, in fact it's less efficient than hydrogen. But it benefits from not having to be kept as cool as Hydrogen and Methane and Oxygen can share the same bulkhead, which I guess means more payload. And Methane can be manufactured on Mars.
1) Kerosene (RP1) and Liquid Oxygen = Kerolox
2) Hydrogen and Liquid Oxygen - Hydrolox
3) Methane and Liquid Oxygen - Methalox
- Aug 28, 2014
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Apparently it's hot 110 heat index and windy there. Not sure when it's gonna launch.
Here's another feed. The first guy is having trouble with his equipment.
Here's another feed. The first guy is having trouble with his equipment.
- Aug 28, 2014
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Now moved to 6pm EST according to Elon.
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Trying to find the most recent Super Heavy/StarShip concept art.
So On the left is a Saturn V and on the right is SpaceX's Falcon 9.
In the middle is the rocket formally known as BFR.
The bottom half is the booster which will land propulsively.
The top half is StarShip. It's YUGE. But this is how Elon plans to get to Mars (not happening anytime soon). Instead he's realized he should help NASA out and go to the moon with it instead. It will land on the moon vertically, take off, come back to earth, land vertically. I think it will need to refuel which is a new technology to be tested.
So On the left is a Saturn V and on the right is SpaceX's Falcon 9.
In the middle is the rocket formally known as BFR.
The bottom half is the booster which will land propulsively.
The top half is StarShip. It's YUGE. But this is how Elon plans to get to Mars (not happening anytime soon). Instead he's realized he should help NASA out and go to the moon with it instead. It will land on the moon vertically, take off, come back to earth, land vertically. I think it will need to refuel which is a new technology to be tested.
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Test was scrubbed yesterday (@ t-0.8s) and rescheduled for 6pm today. According to Elon they had trouble with their new igniters. So as is everything Elon he can't do anything the tried and true way. The fuel obviously has to be ignited and that is typically done with a pyrophoric chemical mix. This has worked well for years but is limited in how many times they can be used which limits how many times you can restart an engine. In developing these new Raptor engines SpaceX has also decided to invent a new ignition system that can be used repeatedly.
It's a great idea if it can be made to work reliably. However I don't know of any applications today that require unlimited engine starts. Conceivably this would allow Starship to land on the moon (or Mars) and hop to different locations.
Note that Blue Origin has also successfully tested a methane engine but no word on the use of an exotic ignition system.
It's a great idea if it can be made to work reliably. However I don't know of any applications today that require unlimited engine starts. Conceivably this would allow Starship to land on the moon (or Mars) and hop to different locations.
Note that Blue Origin has also successfully tested a methane engine but no word on the use of an exotic ignition system.
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Speaking of hoping around on the moon. When the Apollo missions landed on the Moon they kicked up a lot of moon soil (regolith). Because of the moons low gravity that regolith just flew up and went in a low orbit around the moon potentially causing a hazard. The Starship's engines are orders of magnitude more thrusty than the Apollo lander's engines. There are concerns that this may just be a problem so NASA is studying with SpaceX how to solve the problem. Interestingly it may require that a landing pad be built on the surface for Starship to land.
It's interesting how Elon operates in contrast to NASA and even other rocket companies. Blue Origin's motto is "Step by Step, Ferociously". They carefully plan everything in secret and then tend to release the information when they have it perfected. NASA, of course, doesn't do anything without a concrete plan in place. Elon, on the other hand, changes direction seemingly weekly. The BFR (now called SuperHeavy/StarShip) was originally only going to Mars. Never mind that we have no clue how to keep humans safe for the trip. NASA now wants to put humans back on the moon so Elon is now thinking about how he can serve that market. There's a fine line between genius and insane.
It's interesting how Elon operates in contrast to NASA and even other rocket companies. Blue Origin's motto is "Step by Step, Ferociously". They carefully plan everything in secret and then tend to release the information when they have it perfected. NASA, of course, doesn't do anything without a concrete plan in place. Elon, on the other hand, changes direction seemingly weekly. The BFR (now called SuperHeavy/StarShip) was originally only going to Mars. Never mind that we have no clue how to keep humans safe for the trip. NASA now wants to put humans back on the moon so Elon is now thinking about how he can serve that market. There's a fine line between genius and insane.
- Aug 28, 2014
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If you want to see something cool go to the end of the video. One of the pressurized gas tanks broke off and went flying. Also if you watch closely towards the end you'll see a quick burst of orange flame (methane flame is clear/blue) something else might have broke. Apparently it landed a little harder than expected. So the water tower will be converted to a test bed and and I believe they will be testing a more realistic Starship (2x tall, 3 engines) in 2-3 months.
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