CodeRedR51
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I love this. So much hard work and they're seeing it pay off with each Starship that they assemble. It must be crazy to watch something you helped build with your own two hands do such things.
Space In General
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CodeRedR51
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Explanation for slightly quick landing.
CodeRedR51
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CodeRedR51
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SN11 in position and ready to roll on Monday morning.
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Here's what I don't understand about this leg thing.
You don't like the design and are actively working on a redesign.
But then go ahead with a launch with the old legs.
Sure, you learned some things but at the cost of a quarter of a billion dollars, waiting for the new legs seems like a pretty good idea to me.
I guess that's what happens when you have more money than sense.
You don't like the design and are actively working on a redesign.
But then go ahead with a launch with the old legs.
Sure, you learned some things but at the cost of a quarter of a billion dollars, waiting for the new legs seems like a pretty good idea to me.
I guess that's what happens when you have more money than sense.
CodeRedR51
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Live stream for SN11 rollout if you're interested in watching it crawl to the launch pad at walking speed.
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They are still clearing away some of the wreckage from the previous launch while this one is being wheeled to the launchpad 
CodeRedR51
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Shake N' Bake!They are still clearing away some of the wreckage from the previous launch while this one is being wheeled to the launchpad
CodeRedR51
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CodeRedR51
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CodeRedR51
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There's actually no definitive proof, but estimates are in the ~$20 million dollar range. The #1 search result on Google is far from accurate. Costs are effected by many things but the raw materials are nowhere near that. The most expensive parts are the engines, which are around a couple million each.
SN11 underwent a successful ambient pressure test on Tuesday night (pressurized with ambient temp Nitrogen) and after a failed Cryo test on Wednesday night for unknown reasons, had what looked like a successful Cryo test tonight. An over pressure notice was given to the local residents for testing on Friday. Maybe static fire? Static fire result, weather and FAA approval pending, could see a flight as early as mid to late next week.
Tonight's Cryo test was followed by some RCS testing:
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CodeRedR51
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Video of the cryo test and more RCS testing, which is fascinating to watch and listen to.
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From today's edition of spaceweather.com:
GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH: A minor G1-class geomagnetic storm is possible on March 13th when a fast-moving stream of solar wind hits Earth's magnetic field. The gaseous material is flowing from a southern hole in the sun's atmosphere. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
THE GREAT QUEBEC BLACKOUT: They call it "the day the sun brought darkness." On March 13, 1989, a powerful coronal mass ejection (CME) hit Earth's magnetic field. Ninety seconds later, the Hydro-Québec power grid failed. During the 9 hour blackout that followed, millions of Quebecois found themselves with no light or heat, wondering what was going on?
"It was the biggest geomagnetic storm of the Space Age," says Dr. David Boteler, head of the Space Weather Group at Natural Resources Canada. "March 1989 has become the archetypal disturbance for understanding how solar activity can cause blackouts."
Above: Sunspot 5395, source of the March 1989 solar storms. From "A 21st Century View of the March 1989 Magnetic Storm" by D. Boteler.
It seems hard to believe now, but in 1989 few people realized solar storms could bring down power grids. The warning bells had been ringing for more than a century, though. In Sept. 1859, a similar CME hit Earth's magnetic field--the infamous "Carrington Event"--sparking a storm twice as strong as March 1989. Electrical currents surged through Victorian-era telegraph wires, in some cases causing sparks and setting telegraph offices on fire. These were the same kind of currents that would bring down Hydro-Québec.
"The March 1989 blackout was a wake-up call for our industry," says Dr. Emanuel Bernabeu of PJM, a regional utility that coordinates the flow of electricity in 13 US states. "Now we take geomagnetically induced currents (GICs) very seriously."
What are GICs? Freshman physics 101: When a magnetic field swings back and forth, electricity flows through conductors in the area. It's called "magnetic induction." Geomagnetic storms do this to Earth itself. The rock and soil of our planet can conduct electricity. So when a CME rattles Earth's magnetic field, currents flow through the soil beneath our feet.
Québec is especially vulnerable. The province sits on an expanse of Precambrian igneous rock that does a poor job conducting electricity. When the March 13th CME arrived, storm currents found a more attractive path in the high-voltage transmission lines of Hydro-Québec. Unusual frequencies (harmonics) began to flow through the lines, transformers overheated and circuit breakers tripped.
Right: Grey areas indicate regions of igneous rock where power grids are most vulnerable. [full caption]
After darkness engulfed Quebec, bright auroras spread as far south as Florida, Texas, and Cuba. Reportedly, some onlookers thought they were witnessing a nuclear exchange. Others thought it had something to do with the space shuttle (STS-29), which remarkably launched on the same day. The astronauts were okay, although the shuttle did experience a mysterious problem with a fuel cell sensor that threatened to cut the mission short. NASA has never officially linked the sensor anomaly to the solar storm.
Much is still unknown about the March 1989 event. It occurred long before modern satellites were monitoring the sun 24/7. To piece together what happened, Boteler has sifted through old records of radio emissions, magnetograms, and other 80s-era data sources. He recently published a paperin the research journal Space Weather summarizing his findings -- including a surprise:
"There were not one, but two CMEs," he says.
The sunspot that hurled the CMEs toward Earth, region 5395, was one of the most active sunspot groups ever observed. In the days around the Quebec blackout it produced more than a dozen M- and X-class solar flares. Two of the explosions (an X4.5 on March 10th and an M7.3 on March 12th) targeted Earth with CMEs.
"The first CME cleared a path for the second CME, allowing it to strike with unusual force," says Boteler. "The lights went out in Quebec just minutes after it arrived."
Among space weather researchers, there has been a dawning awareness in recent years that great geomagnetic storms such as the Carrington Event of 1859 and The Great Railroad Storm of May 1921 are associated with double (or multiple) CMEs, one clearing the path for another. Boteler's detective work shows that this is the case for March 1989 as well.
Right: Auroras over Pershore, England, during the March 13, 1989, geomagnetic storm. Credit: Geoffrey Morley.
The March 1989 event kicked off a flurry of conferences and engineering studies designed to fortify grids. Emanuel Bernabeu's job at PJM is largely a result of that "Québec epiphany." He works to protect power grids from space weather -- and he has some good news.
"We have made lots of progress," he says. "In fact, if the 1989 storm happened again today, I believe Québec would not lose power. The modern grid is designed to withstand an extreme 1-in-100 year geomagnetic event. To put that in perspective, March 1989 was only a 1-in-40 or 50 year event--well within our design specs."
Some of the improvements have come about by hardening equipment. For instance, Bernabeu says, "Utilities have upgraded their protection and control devices making them immune to type of harmonics that brought down Hydro-Québec. Some utilities have also installed series capacitor compensation, which blocks the flow of GICs."
Other improvements involve operational awareness. "We receive NOAA's space weather forecast in our control room, so we know when a storm is coming," he says. "For severe storms, we declare 'conservative operations.' In a nutshell, this is a way for us to posture the system to better handle the effects of geomagnetic activity. For instance, operators can limit large power transfers across critical corridors, cancel outages of critical equipment and so on."
The next Québec-level storm is just a matter of time. In fact, we could be overdue. But, if Bernabeu is correct, the sun won't bring darkness, only light.
GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH: A minor G1-class geomagnetic storm is possible on March 13th when a fast-moving stream of solar wind hits Earth's magnetic field. The gaseous material is flowing from a southern hole in the sun's atmosphere. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
THE GREAT QUEBEC BLACKOUT: They call it "the day the sun brought darkness." On March 13, 1989, a powerful coronal mass ejection (CME) hit Earth's magnetic field. Ninety seconds later, the Hydro-Québec power grid failed. During the 9 hour blackout that followed, millions of Quebecois found themselves with no light or heat, wondering what was going on?
"It was the biggest geomagnetic storm of the Space Age," says Dr. David Boteler, head of the Space Weather Group at Natural Resources Canada. "March 1989 has become the archetypal disturbance for understanding how solar activity can cause blackouts."
Above: Sunspot 5395, source of the March 1989 solar storms. From "A 21st Century View of the March 1989 Magnetic Storm" by D. Boteler.
It seems hard to believe now, but in 1989 few people realized solar storms could bring down power grids. The warning bells had been ringing for more than a century, though. In Sept. 1859, a similar CME hit Earth's magnetic field--the infamous "Carrington Event"--sparking a storm twice as strong as March 1989. Electrical currents surged through Victorian-era telegraph wires, in some cases causing sparks and setting telegraph offices on fire. These were the same kind of currents that would bring down Hydro-Québec.
"The March 1989 blackout was a wake-up call for our industry," says Dr. Emanuel Bernabeu of PJM, a regional utility that coordinates the flow of electricity in 13 US states. "Now we take geomagnetically induced currents (GICs) very seriously."
What are GICs? Freshman physics 101: When a magnetic field swings back and forth, electricity flows through conductors in the area. It's called "magnetic induction." Geomagnetic storms do this to Earth itself. The rock and soil of our planet can conduct electricity. So when a CME rattles Earth's magnetic field, currents flow through the soil beneath our feet.
Right: Grey areas indicate regions of igneous rock where power grids are most vulnerable. [full caption]
After darkness engulfed Quebec, bright auroras spread as far south as Florida, Texas, and Cuba. Reportedly, some onlookers thought they were witnessing a nuclear exchange. Others thought it had something to do with the space shuttle (STS-29), which remarkably launched on the same day. The astronauts were okay, although the shuttle did experience a mysterious problem with a fuel cell sensor that threatened to cut the mission short. NASA has never officially linked the sensor anomaly to the solar storm.
Much is still unknown about the March 1989 event. It occurred long before modern satellites were monitoring the sun 24/7. To piece together what happened, Boteler has sifted through old records of radio emissions, magnetograms, and other 80s-era data sources. He recently published a paperin the research journal Space Weather summarizing his findings -- including a surprise:
"There were not one, but two CMEs," he says.
The sunspot that hurled the CMEs toward Earth, region 5395, was one of the most active sunspot groups ever observed. In the days around the Quebec blackout it produced more than a dozen M- and X-class solar flares. Two of the explosions (an X4.5 on March 10th and an M7.3 on March 12th) targeted Earth with CMEs.
"The first CME cleared a path for the second CME, allowing it to strike with unusual force," says Boteler. "The lights went out in Quebec just minutes after it arrived."
Right: Auroras over Pershore, England, during the March 13, 1989, geomagnetic storm. Credit: Geoffrey Morley.
The March 1989 event kicked off a flurry of conferences and engineering studies designed to fortify grids. Emanuel Bernabeu's job at PJM is largely a result of that "Québec epiphany." He works to protect power grids from space weather -- and he has some good news.
"We have made lots of progress," he says. "In fact, if the 1989 storm happened again today, I believe Québec would not lose power. The modern grid is designed to withstand an extreme 1-in-100 year geomagnetic event. To put that in perspective, March 1989 was only a 1-in-40 or 50 year event--well within our design specs."
Some of the improvements have come about by hardening equipment. For instance, Bernabeu says, "Utilities have upgraded their protection and control devices making them immune to type of harmonics that brought down Hydro-Québec. Some utilities have also installed series capacitor compensation, which blocks the flow of GICs."
Other improvements involve operational awareness. "We receive NOAA's space weather forecast in our control room, so we know when a storm is coming," he says. "For severe storms, we declare 'conservative operations.' In a nutshell, this is a way for us to posture the system to better handle the effects of geomagnetic activity. For instance, operators can limit large power transfers across critical corridors, cancel outages of critical equipment and so on."
The next Québec-level storm is just a matter of time. In fact, we could be overdue. But, if Bernabeu is correct, the sun won't bring darkness, only light.
CodeRedR51
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Yet another Starlink launch early Sunday morning. Booster 1051.8 has now become booster 1051.9 as it landed for the 9th time successfully. This is the team leader in launches, and we may see it go for #10 in April.
CodeRedR51
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CodeRedR51
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Storms from radio lasers in Jupiter's magnetosphere picked up on Earth, from today's edition of space weather.com:
A RADIO STORM ON JUPITER: On March 11th, the loudspeaker of a radio telescope in New Mexico suddenly began to hiss and crackle. The sounds grew louder as Jupiter rose in the blue morning sky. "It was a shortwave radio storm on Jupiter -- in broad daylight," says Thomas Ashcraft, who operates the telescope. Click to listen to the sounds he recorded:
Click to listen or take a closer look at the dynamic spectrum
Discovered in 1955, Jupiter's radio storms are caused by natural radio lasers in the gas giant's magnetosphere. Electrical currents flowing between Jupiter's upper atmosphere and the volcanic moon Io can boost these emissions to power levels easily detected by ham radio antennas on Earth. Each swoosh and crackle in Ashcraft's recording is caused by a narrow radio laser beam sweeping past Earth.
"The storm happened around 10 am local mountain time," says Ashcraft. " I was lucky to have quiet solar conditions and minimal interference at the time of the storm. Daylight reception of Jovian radio emissions can be challenging due to daytime density of the ionosphere."
Anyone can build a radio telescope for Jupiter listening. Find out how from NASA's RadioJOVE project.
A RADIO STORM ON JUPITER: On March 11th, the loudspeaker of a radio telescope in New Mexico suddenly began to hiss and crackle. The sounds grew louder as Jupiter rose in the blue morning sky. "It was a shortwave radio storm on Jupiter -- in broad daylight," says Thomas Ashcraft, who operates the telescope. Click to listen to the sounds he recorded:
Click to listen or take a closer look at the dynamic spectrum
Discovered in 1955, Jupiter's radio storms are caused by natural radio lasers in the gas giant's magnetosphere. Electrical currents flowing between Jupiter's upper atmosphere and the volcanic moon Io can boost these emissions to power levels easily detected by ham radio antennas on Earth. Each swoosh and crackle in Ashcraft's recording is caused by a narrow radio laser beam sweeping past Earth.
"The storm happened around 10 am local mountain time," says Ashcraft. " I was lucky to have quiet solar conditions and minimal interference at the time of the storm. Daylight reception of Jovian radio emissions can be challenging due to daytime density of the ionosphere."
Anyone can build a radio telescope for Jupiter listening. Find out how from NASA's RadioJOVE project.
CodeRedR51
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SuperHeavy BN1 is being stacked as I type this.
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Danoff
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Based on what I'm seeing it still looks like November for the first launch. I was just brushing up on the facts on this thing, it's only slightly bigger than the Saturn V (which of course is saying a lot). But it's supposed to grow from there... quite a lot. It looks like the payload figures are set to almost double by the end.
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Dotini
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NASA vet George Abbey says SLS rocket should be reconsidered.
https://www.bakerinstitute.org/media/files/files/1dca7677/bi-brief-021721-space-launch-system.pdf
Recent 60 Minutes segment - includes criticism of SLS which begins at 7:04:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/moon-nasa-efforts-return-60-minutes-2021-03-07/
https://www.bakerinstitute.org/media/files/files/1dca7677/bi-brief-021721-space-launch-system.pdf
Recent 60 Minutes segment - includes criticism of SLS which begins at 7:04:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/moon-nasa-efforts-return-60-minutes-2021-03-07/
CodeRedR51
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CodeRedR51
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CodeRedR51
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Dotini
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Some possibly rough geomagnetic space weather may be on the way. There may be a statistical association between geomagnetic disturbances and instances of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, IMO.
From today's edition of Spaceweather.com:
A CME IS COMING: On March 20th, the sun launched a coronal mass ejection (CME) into space: movie. It wasn't aimed directly at Earth. Nevertheless, we might feel its effect on March 23rd when the storm cloud is expected to deliver a glancing blow to Earth's magnetic field. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
A WILD WEEKEND IN THE MAGNETOSPHERE: The first hours of northern Spring were eventful. First, a solar wind stream hit Earth's magnetic field. Next, a crack opened. Then, "an amazing display of auroras rocked our world," says Todd Salat, who watched the light show from Trapper Creek, Alaska:
"As we entered the equinox on March 20th, the auroras spiraled out control!" he says.
During the G2-class geomagnetic storm, auroras were sighted across Canadaand Alaska, in multiple northern-tier US states, and 35,000 feet above the Southern Ocean. STEVE made an appearance, too.
What caused the outburst? It's simple: Auroras love equinoxes. Around the beginning of spring and fall, cracks open in Earth's magnetic field--a phenomenon called "the Russell-McPherron effect." Solar wind pours in to fuel geomagnetic storms. An unusually large crack opened on March 20th, supercharging the display.
The same phenomenon could multiply the effect of the CME expected on March 23rd, turning a glancing blow into a nice show. Stay tuned. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
From today's edition of Spaceweather.com:
A CME IS COMING: On March 20th, the sun launched a coronal mass ejection (CME) into space: movie. It wasn't aimed directly at Earth. Nevertheless, we might feel its effect on March 23rd when the storm cloud is expected to deliver a glancing blow to Earth's magnetic field. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
A WILD WEEKEND IN THE MAGNETOSPHERE: The first hours of northern Spring were eventful. First, a solar wind stream hit Earth's magnetic field. Next, a crack opened. Then, "an amazing display of auroras rocked our world," says Todd Salat, who watched the light show from Trapper Creek, Alaska:
"As we entered the equinox on March 20th, the auroras spiraled out control!" he says.
During the G2-class geomagnetic storm, auroras were sighted across Canadaand Alaska, in multiple northern-tier US states, and 35,000 feet above the Southern Ocean. STEVE made an appearance, too.
What caused the outburst? It's simple: Auroras love equinoxes. Around the beginning of spring and fall, cracks open in Earth's magnetic field--a phenomenon called "the Russell-McPherron effect." Solar wind pours in to fuel geomagnetic storms. An unusually large crack opened on March 20th, supercharging the display.
The same phenomenon could multiply the effect of the CME expected on March 23rd, turning a glancing blow into a nice show. Stay tuned. Aurora alerts: SMS Text
