17
votes
Accepted
Where are all those blocks of steel and concrete now?
I have collected a list of orbital mass simulator launches and their fates:
Antares A-ONE, mass simulator
Orbit: approximately 150 by 160 miles (240 km x 260 km) with an inclination of 51.6 degrees
...
- 5,271
15
votes
Rocket engine test bed structure
It had a heavy concrete foundation to which the metal structure of the stand was attached.
Shown is test stand 1-C at Edwards Air Force Base.
And in use with an F-1 running.
There was an F-1 stand ...
- 178k
8
votes
Longest static fire?
Longest Static Fire of a rocket engine:
With you showing interest in the SSME firing (which was probably not attached to a full stage), the Glen Research Center operated a xenon gas engine (0.236 N ...
- 975
6
votes
Will there be no other test flights of Falcon Heavy?
You can get a pretty good idea by looking at SpaceFlightNow. Upcoming flights, along with their estimated days, are:
First Half of the year- Arabsat
NET June- STP2
In addition, for the really long ...
- 121k
5
votes
Can cubesats be used to qualify parts for spaceflight more cheaply than ground testing?
In qualification testing, you want to be able to examine the parts after the test. If you can learn why a part failed, you can improve the design.
It also becomes harder to identify the cause of ...
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4
votes
Accepted
Longest static fire?
The success rate of the Saturn V is attributed, among other factors, to the extensive testing, in particular testing beyond the design parameters. The three stages of the Saturn V had the nominal ...
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4
votes
Where are all those blocks of steel and concrete now?
I only have a partial answer, but here is what I was able to dig up:
That same Wikipedia page you link contains this:
Tommy Sanford, director of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, opined that ...
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4
votes
Will there be no other test flights of Falcon Heavy?
What is interesting is that the first launch of the Falcon Heavy is not really representative of the Falcon Heavy.
The side boosters were previously flown Block 3 Falcon 9 boosters. (Thaicomm-8 and ...
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4
votes
Can you become an astronaut with Strabismus?
Best bet is to contact NASA and ask them. Here is some info I got from NASA astronaut hiring procedures concerning PHYSICAL requirements:
Your height has to be between 62 to 75 inches (between 1,58m ...
- 169
4
votes
Accepted
software quality in space systems
The normal stuff - code reviews, unit tests, black box tests, load tests etc, etc. The biggest difference is the vigour.
You have to go through detailed design review, a code review, there is often ...
- 1,496
4
votes
What is it about parachutes that makes people always want to "re-invent the wheel"?
When you need to slow down and soft-land a spacecraft, you need to consider
How heavy is the craft?
How fast will it be going when you try to stop?
Will anything else be supplying stopping power? (i....
- 7,780
4
votes
Which CI/CD system do/would space companies like SpaceX use for continuous integration in their devops practice?
The question assumes there is a concept of "Continuous Delivery" in space flight software. There is not. The required product assurance processes do not allow it.
I'll consider ECSS standards here, ...
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3
votes
Which CI/CD system do/would space companies like SpaceX use for continuous integration in their devops practice?
You are using web site development terms. While some of those concepts do indeed apply to the development flight software, some do not, and some are so far off as to make "completely off base&...
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3
votes
Accepted
Why are spacecraft qualification tests expensive and time consuming?
This answer addresses the last part of the question: "why can't qualification testing be automated". You have a good point, but we need to clarify some terminology.
As an aside, the earlier parts of ...
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3
votes
Accepted
Can cubesats be used to qualify parts for spaceflight more cheaply than ground testing?
You have clearly already come up against the dilemma of "its expensive because its expensive". Your question is reasonable, notwithstanding the first answer about learning from hands-on post-test ...
- 9,414
2
votes
How many of these six military "orbital threat" techniques have been demonstrated in a (more or less) publicly recognized way?
robotic mechanisms
Further to NG's MEV-1 and MEV-2 projects already mentioned, China joined this club in 2021-22.
Although termed "space debris mitigation" by the PRC, its uses otherwise, ...
- 9,542
2
votes
Accepted
Why wasn't there a 2nd attempt for the Viking-DS (VDS) test payload before the real Viking 1 and 2 were launched?
When you are testing a brand new rocket, particularly in that era, you didn't put a valuable payload on top. Typically mass simulators were used. There actually was a primary mission, as is indicated ...
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1
vote
Accepted
What are the differences between Skyroot Aerospace's Vikram-S and Vikram-1?
From this news article (emphasis mine)
The Vikram-S rocket is a single-stage sub-orbital launch vehicle which would carry ...
Key takeaways are single stage and sub orbital.
From this tweet it ...
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