SpaceX Updates (Thread 8)

[+John. Subscriber¹]

1 hour ago, SarK0Y said:

planned i'd like to share you some inside -- this rocket will go nowhere or will have RD yet again well, mid-12.16?

Unbelievable. 

[Beittil]

Seriously, just stop responding to and/or quoting this guy...

[Draggendrop Veteran]

Not sure if this was reported yet, but it looks like a "go" for landings out at Vandenberg

 

Boost-back and Landing of the Falcon 9 Full Thrust First Stage at SLC-4
West at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California and Offshore Landing
Contingency Option

22 page pdf

 

image link

 

Launch from 4E, land on ASDS and/or 4W

 

[Unobscured Vision]

Wow ... just ... never seen LC-4 in total changed up (& upgraded!) so much. Amazing work SpaceX has done to get it fitted to their needs.  Thanks DD ... you've made my night.

 

[EDIT] I read part of the .pdf ... awesome.  

Edited November 11, 2016 by Unobscured Vision

[DocM]

As expected, SpaceX has moved Dragon production into the new "Dragon Hatchery" located in the old Triumph Aerostructures plant at 3901 Jack Northrop Ave, Hawthorne, CA. There are four Dragon 2's on the production line at the moment. The Triumph plant made 747 parts before that production was moved to Macon, GA.

 

[DocM]

@flatoday_jdean
SpaceX had planned to install Crew Access Arm at KSC's pad 39A this month; deferred to Spring to accommodate upcoming Falcon launches.

[+John. Subscriber¹]

 

[+John. Subscriber¹]

Also:

 

Full link for those that don't like clicking shortened links: http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/ib/forms/reports/swr031b.hts?q_set=V_SITE_ANTENNA_FREQ.file_numberC/File+Number/%3D/SATLOA2016111500118&prepare=&column=V_SITE_ANTENNA_FREQ.file_numberC/File+Number&utm_content=bufferda647&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

[Unobscured Vision]

A video of that huge tank being moved. Boggles the mind how big it really is.

 

 

[DocM]

13 hours ago, Unobscured Vision said:

Zombie window

 

Sounds like they blew up another second stage as part of the AMOS-6 investigation. 

 

Waco Tribune....

 

Quote

 

A blast Wednesday at the SpaceX rocket testing facility in McGregor was part of a test by accident investigators and caused no damage or injuries, according to a SpaceX spokesman. The noise emanating from the facility southwest of Waco had people posting inquiries on Facebook early in the day.

 

The city of McGregor confirmed the communitys volunteer fire department responded to the explosion but took no action at the site.

"The sound heard by residents was actually the result of a pressurization test at the McGregor Rocket R&D facility. These tests take place periodically at the site, and this particular test was part of the ongoing testing being conducted by our Accident Investigation Team," SpaceX spokesman Phil Larson said in an email response to questions. "The volunteer fire department responded as a matter of procedure, but there was no damage to the site or injuries to any personnel."

 

SpaceX reportedly is continuing to pursue the cause of the Falcon 9 explosion on Sept. 1 that destroyed an unmanned rocket at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida before launch.
>

 

 

[DocM]

The "CommX" ITU filings are being made on SpaceX's behalf by the US under the name USASAT NGSO-3 and by Norway as STEAM.

[Unobscured Vision]

Zombie window?  My account isn't "ghost posting", is it?

[+John. Subscriber¹]

8 minutes ago, Unobscured Vision said:

Zombie window?  My account isn't "ghost posting", is it?

I couldn't see any Zombie window,  I saw you post the original. Maybe DocM's post auto-corrected? 

[DocM]

Android 5-6/Chrome is wonky on this board. I get previous posts in a new post edit box, and if it has a quote in it I can't delete the quote box. Text within, yes. Box, nope. Drag icon on the top left is useless - I get its menu but it won't drag. Zombie. Very irritating, and on several devices.

 

IMO, this software blows chunks.

[Unobscured Vision]

Ahh ok. I understand now. Yeah, Android Chrome is wonky on my devices too, so much so that I've stopped using it altogether. Train wreck.

[Jim K Global Moderator]

2 hours ago, DocM said:

Android 5-6/Chrome is wonky on this board. I get previous posts in a new post edit box, and if it has a quote in it I can't delete the quote box. Text within, yes. Box, nope. Drag icon on the top left is useless - I get its menu but it won't drag. Zombie. Very irritating, and on several devices.

 

IMO, this software blows chunks.

To delete the quote box in Android/Chrome ....

 

Press and hold the upper left corner of the quote box (not any of the text in the quote box though).  Tap the cut button (you'll have to tap twice to close the menu that first appears).  

 

 

[DocM]

 

That would be peachy if I got the edit bar. I don't.  AWOL.

 

3 LG phones, a 3 brands of tablet.

 

38 minutes ago, jjkusaf said:

To delete the quote box in Android/Chrome ....

 

Press and hold the upper left corner of the quote box (not any of the text in the quote box though).  Tap the cut button (you'll have to tap twice to close the menu that first appears).  

 

[Beittil]

The way this entire page loads on any device is hell anyway, whenever you open a topic (especially if it contains embedded tweets) you might as well put your phone down for a while first and wait for the screen to stop jumping up and down all the time before you can do anything

[FloatingFatMan]

4 minutes ago, Beittil said:

The way this entire page loads on any device is hell anyway, whenever you open a topic (especially if it contains embedded tweets) you might as well put your phone down for a while first and wait for the screen to stop jumping up and down all the time before you can do anything

That's because of all the pics folks post.

[DocM]

48 minutes ago, FloatingFatMan said:

That's because of all the pics folks post.

It's also because if, for example, the page is set to display 20 posts for mobiles and each post has 5-10 content stories mashed together it's the same as trying to load 100-200 posts.

 

Most mobiles only have 1-2 gigs of system ram, so between the OS, apps and trying to load the equivalent of 100-200 posts the device seriously bogs down or freezes. Not to mention the Neowin software is a bit of a mobile memory hog anyhow.

 

Cure: not so many stories/post so the browser will page. 

[FloatingFatMan]

20 minutes ago, DocM said:

Cure: not so many stories/post so the browser will page. 

Also, post small thumbnails or links instead of multi-megabyte pics.

[Jim K Global Moderator]

Haven't seen this anywhere ... anyway ... 

Quote

Private rocket launch service SpaceX is requesting government approval to operate a massive satellite network that would provide high-speed, global internet coverage, according to newly filed documents with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

 

The California-based company, owned and operated by technology entrepreneur Elon Musk, has proposed an orbiting digital communications array that would eventually consist of 4,425 satellites , the documents filed on Tuesday show.

 

The project, which Musk previously said would cost at least $10 billion, was first announced in January 2015.

 

The latest documents, which include technical details of the proposed network, did not mention cost estimates or financing plans. 

 

/snip

 

More at Reuters 

 

Bonus:

 

The FCC filing is below  (pdf file).  Lots of technical data which is above my head ... though I'm sure some here can make sense of it.

http://licensing.fcc.gov/myibfs/download.do?attachment_key=1158350

 

Though some selected tidbits from the above filing.

Quote

A.2 OVERALL DESCRIPTION The SpaceX non-geostationary orbit (“NGSO”) satellite system (the “SpaceX System”) consists of a constellation of 4,425 satellites (plus in-orbit spares) operating in 83 orbital planes (at altitudes ranging from 1,110 km to 1,325 km), as well as associated ground control facilities, gateway earth stations and end user earth stations.

 

The overall constellation will be configured as follows:

 

SPACEX SYSTEM CONSTELLATION

 

-Parameters for Initial Deployment (1,600 satellites)

Orbital Plane - 32

Satellites per Plane - 50

Altitude - 1,150km

Inclination - 53 degrees

 

-Parameters for Final Deployment (2,825 satellites)

Orbital Planes -                      32       |        8          |           5     |      6

Satellites per Plane -             50       |       50         |         75     |     75

Altitude -                           1,110 km |  1,130 km  | 1,275 km | 1,325 km

Inclination (in degrees) -      53.8    |       74         |         81     |     70 

 

This constellation will enable SpaceX to provide full and continuous global coverage, utilizing a minimum elevation angle of 40 degrees.

 

SpaceX will provision to launch up to two extra spacecraft per plane to replenish the constellation in the event of on-orbit failures. If a case arises wherein a spare is not immediately needed, it will remain dormant in the same orbit and will perform station-keeping and debris avoidance maneuvers along with the rest of the active constellation. Because these spare satellites will not operate their communications payloads, and the TT&C facilities communicate in turn with a fixed number of satellites at all times, the addition of spare satellites will not affect the interference analyses for TT&C operations presented in this application.

 

The system is designed to provide a wide range of broadband and communications services for residential, commercial, institutional, governmental and professional users worldwide. Advanced phased array beam-forming and digital processing technologies within the satellite payload give the system the ability to make highly efficient use of Ku- and Ka-band spectrum resources and the flexibility to share that spectrum with other licensed users. User terminals operating with the SpaceX System will use similar phased array technologies to allow for highly directive, steered antenna beams that track the system’s low-Earth orbit satellites. Gateway earth stations also apply advanced phased array technologies to generate high-gain steered beams to communicate with multiple NGSO satellites from a single gateway site. The system will also employ optical inter-satellite links for seamless network management and continuity of service, which will also aid in complying with emissions constraints designed to facilitate spectrum sharing with other systems.

 

Post-Mission Disposal Each satellite in the SpaceX System is designed for a useful lifetime of five to seven years. SpaceX intends to dispose of satellites through atmospheric reentry at end of life. As suggested by the Commission,50 SpaceX intends to comply with Section 4.6 and 4.7 of NASA Technical Standard 8719.14A with respect to this reentry process. In particular, SpaceX anticipates that its satellites will reenter the Earth’s atmosphere within approximately one year after completion of their mission – much sooner than the international standard of 25 years.

 

....that is a lot of satellites.  

[DocM]

Been discussing it a while

 

 

The birds will be 386 kg, and will be equipped with several silicon carbide mirrors for inter-satellite laser comms. This will be an in-space routing and data storage system so slower land and microwave relay links can be avoided. The first 2 test birds will likely go up soon on an Iridium NEXT launch, but which one is unknown. 

 

They are building their own satellites, and they'll have SpaceX-built, advanced Hall-effect plasma thrusters for propulsion.

 

SpaceX is designing them at facilities in Seattle, WA and Palo Alto, CA and will enlarge their footprint in Seattle with a larger production facility. The Palo Alto facility houses the comms development team, and 10 of those are former top engineers for Broadcom.

[Jim K Global Moderator]

46 minutes ago, DocM said:

Been discussing it a while

 

 

hmmm...missed the FCC filing and the details in the thread from last year.  Oh...wait ... it is something new since last Tuesday.  Figured it would have already been posted ... but alas I couldn't find it.

[DocM]

No prob. There's been a lot going in fast with this since last week, and some of the coolest stuff can't be talked about yet. They'll also be using phased array antennas on the birds and home/office receivers.

 

This tech has very broad implications and uses.