Questions tagged [spacex]
Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, or SpaceX, is a private space exploration company. It was the world's first privately held company to successfully launch a cargo mission into space , cargo to the ISS (International Space Station), land and reuse a booster, and a crewed mission into orbit. See the wiki for related tags.
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Starman/Roadster in a=1.795 AU orbit, now what's the method to this madness?
The question SpaceX's 4,425 satellite constellation - what's the method to the madness? received an excellent answer explaining the rationality behind the madness plan.
Elon Musk's tweet (spotted ...
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SpaceX's 4,425 satellite constellation - what's the method to the madness?
The BBC article SpaceX aims to launch internet from space discusses the SpaceX proposal for a dense array of over 4,000 LEO satellites for global internet coverage, and links to SpaceX non-...
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How strong and "hot" is the wind on the payload after the fairing is deployed at ~110km?
In the question What makes 21st century fairings so valuable that they'd potentially be recovered and re-used? I said:
21st century fairings are much more than passive rooftop boxes to "keep the ...
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Delta-V of Starlink Satellites
The recently launched Starlink satellites are designed to use their HAL Ion thrusters to seek their own independent orbits, evade collisions, and de-orbit at the end of their lives. That's a lot of ...
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If not constrained by underpasses, etc., would Falcon 9 have been less of a flying noodle?
This excellent answer to the question Why is Falcon 9's shape so tall and skinny? mentions California, Florida, Texas and Alabama, within and between-which there must be at least a few limiting ...
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Is it possible to track an object as small as the Tesla Roadster around the Solar System
I have heard that we will soon lose track of the Tesla Roadster launched with the Falcon Heavy test launch. Yet, we know where Voyager is out beyond the Solar System and we followed other satellites ...
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What is the cause of the blue light from LH2/LOX rocket engines?
Below are some screen shots from circa June 2016 launch (or re-launch) videos by Blue Origin (video link) and SpaceX (video link). The New Shepard burns $\text{H}_2$/$\text{O}_2$, while the Falcon 9 ...
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Why would SpaceX not use parachutes for the final descent of the first stage?
According to what I've read, SpaceX tried to use parachutes to recover the first stage of the Falcon 9, but it did not survive reentry.
Now they plan to use 2 separate rocket burns to land:
Reentry ...
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What is it that SpaceX is editing out of their videos after posting them on YouTube?
Here are two cases where links to a specific time code in SpaceX YouTube videos stop showing the intended moment because apparently SpaceX has gone in within hours or perhaps a day and shortened the ...
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Is it normal for thrusters to "ice up"?
Towards the end of the JSSAT-14 webcast (around T+32:58), we see a thruster firing. Over the space of around 20 seconds, you can see it "icing up":
What is this that's forming? Is this a normal ...
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Merlin engine stoichiometry
As evidenced by the bright exhaust plume at launch, the billowing black smoke rolling out of the flame trench during static tests, the wispy grey effluent from the Merlin Vacuum engine, and the layer ...
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Final conclusion/description of the cause of the SpaceX Sept. 1, 2016 anomaly? What's a "buckle"?
I've just read the phys.org new item which summarizes the conclusions by SpaceX about the cause of the September 1st 2016 anomaly.
I'm citing quotes in the news item which come from a SpaceX ...
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Can I drive Elon Musk's Tesla after it's been in space for 100 Years?
We know that the the payload of the maiden Falcon Heavy flight will be... Elon Musks's Tesla Which will be placed in "Mars Orbit"
Assuming it is serviced and road ready when launched with the keys in ...
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Cause of apparent plume deflection on SES-10?
While watching the SES-10 flight, starting a little after T+1:30, I noticed that the direction of the first-stage exhaust plume started to diverge from the alignment of the rocket body.
The ...
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Why would a mission to Sun-Earth L1 have an instantaneous launch window?
I was watching the webcast for Falcon 9 Flight 15 (launching DSCOVR) when they scrubbed their first launch attempt due to some issues during the terminal countdown. Before the scrub, the narrator ...
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What performance specification would be lower for Krypton than for Xenon in Hall effect thrusters?
The Ars Technica article SpaceX scrubs first attempt to launch 60 Internet satellites [Updated] (found here) discusses the use of Krypton rather than Xenon in the Starlink Hall effect ion thrusters:
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Is it possible to calculate Max-Q without having to input an altitude
Is it possible to calculate max-q based on just upwards velocity instead of specially inputting a given altitude/air density? Based on this graph of Falcon 9 launches till MECO below "Air Pressure vs. ...
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How does the Falcon 9 first stage avoid burning up on re-entry?
Now that a Falcon 9 first stage has successfully landed after a launch mission, I want to know how the first stage can avoid burning up when coming back down to earth.
There doesn't appear to be any ...
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SpaceX and propulsive landing on Mars -- what just happened? (and why?)
There is some news that I've just read about in the Pod Bay SE chat room:
Wired: SpaceX's Mars Plan Hits a Pothole. Up Next: The Moon?
Ars Technica: Elon Musk’s Mars rocket may be about to lose half ...
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What are the differences between a standard Merlin engine and the Merlin Vacuum engine?
I know that there's a difference between SpaceX's Falcon 9 1st stage engines and the 2nd stage engine, since that stage is specifically tuned for vacuum. Wikipedia also says that the Merlin Vacuum ...
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Rocket Engine Plumbing: Still don't understand the Full Flow Staged Combustion Cycle
I just found this incredible video KSP Doesn't Teach: Rocket Engine Plumbing and ran through it a few times. It's very helpful in the way it outlines the various issues first, and then designs the ...
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Can five refillings of the BFR second stage be useful to get to the Moon? To Mars? All five in Earth orbit?
EDIT: Here are some BF numbers from the video:
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Does anyone know how the Flight Club website simulates Falcon 9 launches?
Does anyone know how the Flight Club website is able to provide falcon 9 launch simulations? Given the estimated weight, fuel mass, thrust, ect, how are they able to provide a graph of how it could ...
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Falcon 9 Merlin 1d thrust calculated through every moment of flight
I am currently trying to recreate the launch of falcon 9 in unity. For the calculations I need the thrust of the first stage (only doing it for one stage for now).
How to calculate it depending on the ...
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What happens to the Falcon 9 second stage after payload separation?
In a Falcon 9 launch, the second stage looks like it achieves orbit along with the payload. But is that impression accurate? Does SpaceX need to do anything to deorbit the stage?
I can see a few ...
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Is the SpaceX Falcon Heavy payload (a Tesla car) space junk?
Yesterday SpaceX succeeded in the first Falcon Heavy launch, but the payload, a Tesla car has no real useful purpose (except for company prestige).
Thus, can it be considered as space junk ? How long ...
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What are the towers around the SpaceX launch pad used for?
I noticed four(?) towers around the SpaceX launch pad during yesterday's aborted launch
Image credit NBC News
What are the towers used for? Tracking? Radio communications?
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What holds SpaceX’s rocket in place in this launch?
On a recent launch video, the gantry is at an angle and only loose tethers are attached as the rocket is prepared for launch. What is keeping it upright and in place at this point?
The engines haven'...
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How does a simple construction keep a firing rocket on the ground?
Today I have seen this report of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket test firing. The force of a burning rocket is tremendous, and in the video we see an apparently simple construction keeping the rocket (or ...
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Why is Falcon 9's shape so tall and skinny?
Compared to most rockets I know of, Space X's Falcon 9 seems unusually tall and skinny. The v1.1 version is nearly 70m tall, yet only 3.6m thick.
For comparison, Atlas V is 58m tall and 3.8m thick, ...
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How stable would a Falcon 9 first stage be after it has landed on a drone ship?
Presumably, the booster would be a very light, very tall tube (Most of the fuel spent) standing on 4 fairly small legs on a ship in the middle of the ocean. It would also still contain some LOX and ...
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Why does the video feed always fail during Falcon 9 landings?
I'm in love with SpaceX and Falcon 9, I watch every live stream and the most special, most amazing, most thrilling part of each launch is the 1st stage landing. Seeing the smoke (or vapor) clear and ...
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Will the Tesla Roadster return any telemetry?
Is there any equipment fitted to the Tesla Roadster to send signals back to Earth, even for a short time after launch?
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Current speed of Tesla Roadster which is moving toward the Asteroid Belt?
I am just wondering at what speed does Tesla Roadster is currently travelling toward the Asteroid Belt (Relative to Earth)?
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How vulnerable could space launch vehicles be to a "lone gunman"?
As the saying goes - space is hard. Rockets are a collection of extremes in temperature, pressure, and energy packed as closely as possible and driven to their limits. Even in 2016 they still ...
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Is this explanation for the SpaceX 1-Sept-2016 anomaly plausible?
Question: Is this explanation for the SpaceX 1-Sept-2016 anomaly plausible? Or most of it at least (sans LHe)?
In the recent New Atlas article SpaceX fingers helium as cause of Falcon 9 rocket ...
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What computer and software is used by the Falcon 9?
I don't know if this would be public, but what CPU / Microcontrollers are used and what software do they run on the Falcon 9? Do they use an OS or is it just bare metal programming?
I found some ...
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What makes 21st century fairings so valuable that they'd potentially be recovered and re-used?
I've read in @geoff's answer that SpaceX is doing some experimentation that may lead to fairing recovery capability. In fact I remember hearing Elon Musk mentioning a few years ago that it was being ...
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SpaceX CRS-5 Launch: What is the footage that appears to contain bubbles?
I'm currently watching the live stream of the CRS-5 launch.
They've been cycling through several different camera angles including one which looks a lot like bubbles in water, or perhaps blobs of ...
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Why will Starlink satellites use krypton instead of xenon for electric propulsion?
The press kit for the first Falcon 9 Starlink launch and deployment of the first 60 satllites scheduled for May 15, 2019 says:
With a flat-panel design featuring multiple high-throughput antennas ...
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What would the challenges be in developing a Falcon Heavy with three or four strap-on boosters?
Falcon Heavy has a standard Falcon 9 Full Thrust (FT) rocket core with two strap-on boosters derived from the Falcon 9 FT first stage. What about a heavier Falcon Heavy with four strap-on boosters (or ...
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Do 'size of a bus' sized F9 fairings ever float after impact? Are they navigation hazards?
This and this answer describe the Falcon 9 fairings as being quite large, with the payload volume being roughly "the size of a bus" or simply
REALLY REALLY big. 13 meters by 4.6 meters
and being ...
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Why were three engines used for the F9 1st stage landing burn (BulgariaSat-1)?
As pointed out in the question What is the “emergency crush core”?, an Elon Musk tweet about the Falcon 9 1st stage landing following the BulgariaSat-1 launch says:
Rocket is extra toasty and hit ...
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Ballpark comparison of a hypothetical Falcon 'Quad' Heavy with cross feeds
This engineering question got me wondering. If cross feed technology were sufficiently developed, and stresses could be managed (these are big if's, and there are more I'm sure), how would these ...
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Falcon 9 2nd stage pusher; how far does it continue to extend as it accelerates separation?
I've just watched Scott Manley's video SpaceX's Water Landing Reveals Rocket "Secrets" (or, What We Learned from CRS-16) (again) and he mentions the second stage "pusher" in the center of the view (...
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Does launching a device into orbit change earth's orbit?
Does launching a space shuttle or rocket change the earth's orbit?
After all, to get momentum in space you need to throw something out.
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What is the cost breakdown for a Falcon 9 launch?
I don't know if this was already asked, but I'm very curious about the cost breakdown of a Falcon 9 launch.
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How are the SpaceX Falcon 9 Mod 3 and Mod 4 grid fins different?
Elon Musk tweeted "Flying with larger & significantly upgraded hypersonic grid fins. Single piece cast & cut titanium. Can take reentry heat with no shielding."
These have been commonly known ...
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On the Falcon Heavy, why are the side boosters using Ti Grid fins, but not the center core?
Elon Musk showed a picture of the almost ready to fly Falcon Heavy in the HIF (Horizontal Integration Facility, aka rocket barn).
You can see the darker, larger grid fins on the side cores, and the ...
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What is the heat shield refurbishment procedure for a crew Dragon capsule?
How, specifically, is the heat shield replaced or refurbished? More precisely... How do they know it will work for the next mission? :-P
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