Kind of a side-related question but will this technology afford the ability to expand the ISS massively? It's always seemed odd to me that the station hasn't grown exponentially as rocket tech progresses.
Thank you mods for the title update.
It would be great if more billionaires started investing their fortunes in projects like these. Hopefully Musk starts some kind of high tech arms race between the worlds elites.
http://www.nasa.gov/feature/dragon-and-cygnus-to-meet-for-first-time-in-spaceWith the arrival of Dragon, the space station will tie the record for most vehicles on station at one time six which hasnt happened since 2011. Cygnus, two Soyuz and two Progress vehicles station are currently docked to the orbiting laboratory.
When Dragon and Cygnus are docked next to each other on station for the first time, it will be a significant milestone for our partnerships with American companies to deliver cargo to the International Space Station, said Kirk Shireman, NASA ISS Program manager. Commercial resupply missions enable NASA, private industry and other government agencies to continue the extensive scientific research taking place aboard the space station.
Any news about BEAM?
Any news about BEAM?
As these are both GTO (Geostationary transfer orbit) it'll likely mean another ballistic (no boostback) high energy return for Falcon 9 (like SES-9) so they will attempt to land on a drone ship but the likelihood of success is small.
The 1st stage has returned to land and is currently being prepped for recovery by crane. Some fantastic photos here: http://johnkrausphotos.com/crs-8-first-stage-in-port-canaveral-april-12-2016/
It's so easy to forget how huge this thing is.
The 1st stage has returned to land and is currently being prepped for recovery by crane. Some fantastic photos here: http://johnkrausphotos.com/crs-8-first-stage-in-port-canaveral-april-12-2016/
New sign...
Can't even call a bargey looking thing a barge without these science (aka the art of flip flopping) fanboys shoving Muskianism down my gullet. Anyways great job landing yer noodle on whatever that boat thinger is called.
God damn I love boats.
Good afternoon all.
SPACEX LAUNCH AGAIN TOMORROW
They have an 80% weather chance to launch JCSAT-14 tomorrow morning for SKY Perfect JSAT Corp. Site will once again be CC LC40.
The launch window is May 5, 2016, 05:22–07:22 UTC and it will be going to GTO (Geostationary Transfer Orbit). This means a ballistic re-entry (no boostback) for our Falcon 9FT in an attempt to land the first stage on ASDS "Of Course I Still Love You".
It's a high speed, high energy re-entry for F9, much like the SES9 mission that ended up punching a hole in the deck of OCISLY.
If they nail the landing it will be IMMENSE.
I predict another crash landing.
Looks like it's been delayed to May 6th, same time.
Except it actually matters.Looking forward to the stream. The people at SpaceX make it sound like they're watching their favourite team win the Superbowl.
Goddam,these guysElon launching rockets every other week now?!
In the future, possibly. They have two launches scheduled for May, and three for June, at the moment... We'll see how many actually hit that schedule, but things are looking bright for SpaceX.
Between upcoming launches and the returned cores from Orbcomm and CRS-8, SpaceX have something like 6 Falcon 9FTs in Florida right now.
I'm really looking forward to this happening. In my mind, it's the ultimate test of this process.They haven't officially announced when a first stage will be re-used for the first time, have they? I think they had mentioned the CRS-8 first stage might be re-used in June, but I haven't heard more specifics since...