A Falcon 9 launcher has lifted the Sentinel 6 Michael Freilich satellite to orbit from Vanderberg USAF Base in California, The satellite, built by ESA, will monitor the height of oceans. The first stage has landed successfully on the same Base.
Tullio

. . And now my favourite 1940's stories are coming true :)

Stephen ...

:)

A SpaceX Dragon cargo ship has launched to the ISS.

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SpaceX Starship SN8 explodes on landing after test flight.

The test flight had been intended to reach an altitude of 41,000 feet (12,500 metres), propelled by three of SpaceX’s newly developed Raptor engines for the first time. SpaceX did not make clear whether the rocket had flown that high.
Musk said immediately following the landing mishap that the rocket’s “fuel header tank pressure was low” during descent, “causing touchdown velocity to be high”.He added that SpaceX had obtained “all the data we needed” from the test and hailed the rocket’s ascent phase a success.

Cheers.

I observed the video of the landing. Even just before touching down, it appeared that the rocket was not fully vertical. This may have contributed to the explosion. If the engines were malfunctioning, as Mr. Musk's remarks suggest, they may not have been able to fully right the rocket after the spin maneuver, or keep it oriented vertically.

A bit of an analysis of the whole flight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egHxiX40eJY

Some interesting comments about the final few moments of the decent, and thoughts on what went wrong.


As for success or failure, well, if the telemetry was rubbish but the thing landed in one bit the flight could be described as a failure due to lack of data. Or, as in this case, the thing crashed and burned, but the telemetry showed was extremely good and so should enable them to establish exactly what went wrong could be described as a success due to the vast amount of "good" data available.

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

A Dragon spacecraft made by SpaceX has just detached from the ISS loaded with a mixed cargo of junk, obsolete material and scientific material. It should splash in the Atlantic facing Florida, so to be found and retrieved in a short time.
Tullio

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Dragon has splashed in the Atlantic and is being recovered. According to theregister.co.uk it carried also Merlot, Cabernet and Sauvignon grapevines and wines. Cheers!
Tullio

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A Falcon9 launcher by SpaceX has put in a polar orbit 143 small satellites, all by private firms like SpaceX Starlink and Planet. A Virgin Orbit rocket launched by a BOEING 747 named Cosmic Girl by Richard Branson has put in low orbit other 10 satellites. It's been crowded up there, there are about 3000 satellites orbiting Earth and the danger of collisions is rising.
Tullio

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A Falcon9 launcher by SpaceX has put in a polar orbit 143 small satellites, all by private firms like SpaceX Starlink and Planet.

Yes, spectacular, and a logistics nightmare!

See the report from a very enthusiastic Scott Manley:

SpaceX's Record Breaking* Rideshare Mission Launches 143 Satellites

A Virgin Orbit rocket launched by a BOEING 747 named Cosmic Girl by Richard Branson has put in low orbit other 10 satellites.

Spectacular in a different way and a brilliant first success.

Just two thoughts for launch performance for that:

1: Why use just a plain old Jumbo 747 rather than the higher flying higher performance 747SP?

2: Do they fly towards the top of a "vomit comet" curve to give the launcher the greatest height and best possible vertical-most attitude for that type of launch?

It's been crowded up there, there are about 3000 satellites orbiting Earth and the danger of collisions is rising.

There is still lots of space up there yet.

More of a problem is for what showers of small bits and pieces are whizzing around still, such as discarded nuts and bolts and pyrotechnics fragments from the launch vehicles themselves... And whatever other unintended/careless rubbish!


Fly safe!
Martin

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See new freedom: Mageia Linux
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The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Also a Blue Origin rocket was tested and came back like a Falcon9. But it is not intended to go to orbit, only to lift space tourists.
Tullio

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Well another Falcon 9 rocket has failed to land safely (it was another big bang and more spectacularly than the 1st), but I did notice that a 3rd 1 was already on the launch pad.

Cheers.

Well another Falcon 9 rocket has failed to land safely (it was another big bang and more spectacularly than the 1st), but I did notice that a 3rd 1 was already on the launch pad.

I'm guessing you actually mean Starship SN9, Testtank SN7.2, and Starship SN10, all watched over by Starhopper.

Yep, SN9 made for a perfect bulls-eye landing pad crunch after a beautiful flight. Fantastic stuff!!!


Aside: The SpaceX Starships use the world's first ever successfully developed ultimate in rocket engine design using "Full Flow" rocket engines. SpaceX call them Raptors.

The Falcons are on their almost weekly launches of their Falcon9 rockets.


Way to go!!!


Fly safe!
Martin

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See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Yep mine and the news channel I was watching it on mistake, it was the SN9.

It did perform a great belly flop though after an engine failed to fire to correct it attitude.

Cheers.

... It did perform a great belly flop though after an engine failed to fire to correct it attitude.

Yep, quite a show and quite a test!

Our BBC news gives a surprisingly good write-up:

SpaceX: Starship prototype flies again but crashes again
wrote:

... The uncrewed vehicle, codenamed SN9, climbed to 10km (6 miles) above the Texas Gulf coast, and then descended to try to put down under control a short distance from where it had lifted off.

When the company tried this last month with its SN8 model, the flight ended in an explosive impact with the ground.

SN9 didn't fare much better, slamming into the landing pad in flames.

Nonetheless, SpaceX said a huge amount of data would be gained, and its engineers would press on with the programme. "Remember, this was a test flight, (only) the second time we've flown Starship in this configuration," said regular SpaceX webcast commentator John Insprucker. "We've just got to work on that landing a little bit...

Fantastic stuff!!

Fly safe!
Martin

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See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

SNP 10 landed, took fire, and exploded again.
Tullio

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Hey! That was a fantastic turn-around time of about 8 minutes to launching again!!

OK, so it didn't get very far on the rapid relaunch but that second launch sent it surprisingly high...

Spectacular stuff and a very good demonstration test. They're quickly improving.


Meanwhile, we're yet a year away from seeing the earliest possible launch of the super-expensive old disposable tech SLS...


Keep searchin',
Martin

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See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

SpaceX is sending up more satellites for Starlink. Aside from astronomers, will China allow it?
Tullio

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SpaceX is sending up more satellites for Starlink. Aside from astronomers, will China allow it?
Tullio

And spectacularly at 60 new satellites per week at the moment!


For Musk, there's the most unholy of balancing acts between Tesla's exposure for making cars in China vs China's expected attacks to block Chinese citizens from enjoying the freedom of Starlink.

Is that another reason why Musk has bought into cryptocurrency?...


And then also there is the renewed race to the moon.


Interesting times as the Chinese never said.

Keep searchin',
Martin

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See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

To me recently this new SpaceX space ship looks a little too Buck Rogers'ish and makes it look like Elon Musk is just out there in Texas playing with his new toys. Of course it's his money and he can spend it any way he sees fit but I'm afraid that too many big fails may undermine confidence in what's being attempted.

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Bob DeWoody

My motto: Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow as it may not be required. This no longer applies in light of current events.

SpaceX Starship SN11 has successfully landed but in pieces in the mist.
Tullio

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