[20200818_144907 UTC: Update 1: Launch successful, Booster landing successful, Deployment of all 3 of Planet's SkySats successful. Starlink deployment due in about 10 minutes at approximately T+26:00.]
[20200818_150438 UTC: Starlink satellites deployment due shortly (had bad info on deployment time).]
[20200818_151940 UTC: Starlink satellite deployment successful at T+46:00. One fairing was successfully caught by "Ms Tree"; the other fairing made a soft landing in the water and is being retrieved by "Ms Chief".]
[Note: this story is in addition to our usually-scheduled stories; ignore it if you are not interested. --martyb]
Tuesday's SpaceX Starlink satellite ride share will set a new record:
"Some big milestones coming up," Musk said on Twitter, referring to the sixth flight of the booster (serial number B-1049) and the 100th mission for SpaceX over the company's history.
Obviously, the Falcon 9 first stage could actually set two new records on the same day, by first launching for the sixth time and then landing for the sixth time, which it will attempt on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You in the Atlantic Ocean.
The launch is set for Tuesday morning at 7:31 a.m. PT [10:31 a.m. EDT; 14:31 UTC] from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. As of Monday morning, the weather forecast had an 80 percent chance of being favorable for launch.
In addition to attempting a historic launch and landing, SpaceX will try to catch both halves of the nose cone that will protect 58 Starlink satellites and three belonging to Earth-imagery company Planet as they blast through the atmosphere. SpaceX has just recently perfected its method for retrieving these components, and we'll see if it can make a habit of it and continue to expand its recycling program.
Also at Ars Technica.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday August 18 2020, @06:29PM
If they can get the turnaround time to be less than a month, they could keep launching the same booster until it gets the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th reuse milestones or explodes.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 18 2020, @07:24PM (4 children)
the niche is 're'.
They have REuse working. Competitors are relearning use.
They are working on REfueling. Competitors haven't figured out why it is important, much less worked it out.
So, what's next on the RE list?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by takyon on Tuesday August 18 2020, @09:03PM (3 children)
REaping the REwards.
They aRE aggREssively launching Starlink satellites using Falcon 9, even though it would have been cheaper to wait for a working fully REusable Starship. If Starlink is successful, they will have a huge influx of cash. But they alREady have all of the funding [archive.is] they need for Starship development, and the plan is for Starship to be dirt cheap to build despite being fully REusable. So they will attempt to REcover them all even though they would still make plenty of profit expending them, and they will build hundREds of Starships assembly line style even though they could get by with using the same one over and over again.
What can they do with the pile of money other than try to colonize Mars? They could incREase the diameter from 9 meters to 12 or 18 meters, as Musk hinted, giving companies and space agencies access to an unpREcedented new capability. Nuclear rocket engines have been proposed as a way to outperform chemical rockets and undercut Starship's cost-to-launch, so maybe they could move in that diREction.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Wednesday August 19 2020, @12:47AM (2 children)
Even if they get the reliability way up there, the fallout from a failure would be bad enough to likely make nuclear rockets unattractive for launch services - just as nuclear airplanes are unlikely to become attractive for passenger liners. (Though on the other hand it could be a heck of a deterrent for shooting down a military plane)
Where nuclear rockets could really shine is interplanetary travel, where there's basically no risk of contamination in an accident. Particularly for passenger liners and other perishable payloads for which ion drives are too slow. And then of course there are nuclear powered ion drives - just have to figure out how to radiate all the waste heat. Perhaps that's an application where p-B fusion could really shine - by converting the He4 kinetic energy directly to electricity you can generate enormous amounts of power while only having to dissipate incidental waste heat.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday August 19 2020, @01:46AM (1 child)
Well, I'm thinking 2040 or beyond for SpaceX *possibly* thinking about nuclear rocket engines. It's just my speculation, and nothing they should be concerned about for a long time.
2030 for wider, larger Starships, because there could be some challenges with scaling up the thrust and they might want to stick to their 9-meter-focused assembly line for the foreseeable future. Also, it should be a sufficient size for most customers, although there is an "if you build it" aspect to it.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Wednesday August 19 2020, @02:42AM
I would actually be surprised if there were much if any demand for a "Jumbo Starship" by 2030. Quite likely by 2040, but 2030 is a paltry 10 years away, and the projects that will really take advantage of Starship v1's capacity will probably take 5-10 years to get off the drawing board, and won't even get on it until the proven capacity exists.
Of course, assuming they nail the reusability, and can bring launch costs _way_ down, it'll open the door for a lot of new enterprising startups to start getting into space technologies. And having the mass and volume capacity to burn will allow for a much cruder "brute force" approach which could advance much faster. So once the Starship starts seeing frequent payloads that _need_ its capacity, it probably won't be long before a market starts opening for something larger.
I'm sure it'd be more comfortable for Mars colonists at least - but heady dreams aside, I suspect we're actually several decades away from any sort of mass immigration. Colonization will be _expensive_, and so far there's no promise of any economic return - which is what has always driven colonization in the past. It's likely to be a long time before Mars promises anything other than a bleak, dangerous, and expensive existence that you'll have to pay for up front. No doubt plenty of demand for a research outpost or ten, but an outpost is a very different beast from a colony. On the other hand, with a bit of radiation shielding that could be made locally, gutted Starships could make extremely convenient habitats, in which case the extra space would no doubt be even more appreciated than during the voyage there.
(Score: -1, Spam) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 18 2020, @09:46PM
Marissa Van Eck FAKENAME NIGGER CUNT Azuma Hazuki: So "that was NOT me posting" https://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=37033&page=1&cid=985641#commentwrap [soylentnews.org] which YES, you said when you LIBELED me publicly BEFORE it with YOU saying "So that's a "yes" to schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder and a "no" to "am taking meds for said disorder" LIBELING ME then...?" per YOUR https://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=37033&page=1&cid=982854#commentwrap [soylentnews.org] you stupid pitiful FAKENAME fuck online LIAR piece of fucking SHIT NIGGER?
OR
Was it when I GOT YOUR REAL NAME & found you are a satanist/anti-god HERE https://redeeminggod.com/sermons/luke/luke_7_36-50/#comment-269796 [redeeminggod.com] also which most ALL you "LEFTIST" LOSER weirdos usually are (which YES, in THIS other exchange "Why do you assume that you finding discussion threads on other sites with me in them will scare me?" quoted from https://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=38720&page=1&cid=1028402#commentwrap [soylentnews.org] you DID admit FINALLY to saying it was you - ESPECIALLY AFTER dozens of doctors RECENTLY seconded me on Hydroxychloroquin + Zinc (& Vitamin D3 imo along w/ other things I noted that are anti-viral + antibacterial like RAW GARLIC too)).
Do me a favor - DENY ANY OF THOSE, please & I will continue PROVING YOU ARE A NIGGER SHITBAG LOSER, devil... as I already DID here https://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=38720&page=1&cid=1028211#commentwrap [soylentnews.org]
The TRUE BEAUTY of SATANIST FUCKS like YOU (antigod assholes)? TRUTH & FACT DESTROYS LIBELOUS DEVILS LIKE YOU - just like I did you & OTHER AHOLES who doubted what I wrote on what is NOW PROVEN TRUE by DOCTORS, admitted in mainstream media etc. (as I showed in those links' exchanges above easily) & especially LATELY by DOZENS of doctors (I have proof from pros - NOT LIBEL like you did to me PUBLICLY & I can still FRY YOU FOR IT FUCKER, live in fear fuck) MINUS any psych pros backing you.
SAY 1 THING, YOU STINKING LIBELOUS NIGGER FUCK & I will CONTINUE LEVELLING YOU PUBLICLY with facts - not libel as you tried on me, stupid "Marissa von DUMBO", lol - please, say 1 thing & the BEATING on you, PUBLICLY will continue in this thread where you will have a HELL of a TIME "downmod burying it" via downmod brigades doubtless ONLY yourself via multiple sockpuppet accounts etc. (downodding to HIDE it? FORGET IT vs. me - everyone sees you @ it now, lol - thanks, just as I SAID "your kind", demonic SWINE/antigod LOSERS, always do).
WHY SHOULD YOU FEAR LIBELING ME PROJECTING IT NOW, TRYING TO HIDE IT TOO?
TOUGH HIDING YOU LIED about LIBELING ME, especially via INHERENTLY DAMAGING STATEMENTS libeling me as you did see GOLDWATER RULE below too fuckface CUNT you are (wikipedia proof https://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=37033&page=1&cid=985366#commentwrap [soylentnews.org] & you said "No jury or judge would back it" here https://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=37033&page=1&cid=985353#commentwrap? [soylentnews.org] Ok - like I said earlier here which you TRIED TO DOWNMOD HIDE as I knew you HAVE to (everyone sees it anyhow) - TRY ME FUCKER - say 1 thing you COWARDLY STUPID LITTLE FUCK & we'll SEE what happens to you, fuckface CUNT you are).
As I said "DO YOU WANT TO BE SUED" for breaking the GOLDWATER RULE? See here again https://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=37033&page=1&cid=985329#commentwrap [soylentnews.org] for YOUR (& everyone else's) reference of YOUR LIBEL of myself
APK
P.S.=> Oh, I am going to have a FIELDDAY on YOUR ASS fucker - catching you not ONLY IN LIES above, but also in the fact you are a GODLESS fucking LOSER - come on, say something, question the above where you LIED fucker ("it was not me saying it" but it WAS in those links calling me a nutcase essentially when YOU SAID YOU DID NOT (because it IS grounds for SUING THE LIFE OUT OF YOUR WORTHLESS ASS because your statements are NOT BACKED BY actual psychiatric pros in professional psychiatric grounds LIBELING ME)) - oh, you are NEVER going to LIVE THIS DOWN & believe you me - I am going to MAKE SURE you don't - live with your HUMILIATION loser... apk
(Score: -1, Spam) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 18 2020, @10:34PM (1 child)
Marissa Van Eck FAKENAME NIGGER CUNT Azuma Hazuki: So "that was NOT me posting" https://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=37033&page=1&cid=985641#commentwrap [soylentnews.org] which YES, you said when you LIBELED me publicly BEFORE it with YOU saying "So that's a "yes" to schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder and a "no" to "am taking meds for said disorder" LIBELING ME then...?" per YOUR https://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=37033&page=1&cid=982854#commentwrap [soylentnews.org] you stupid pitiful FAKENAME fuck online LIAR piece of fucking SHIT NIGGER?
OR
Was it when I GOT YOUR REAL NAME & found you are a satanist/anti-god HERE https://redeeminggod.com/sermons/luke/luke_7_36-50/#comment-269796 [redeeminggod.com] also which most ALL you "LEFTIST" LOSER weirdos usually are (which YES, in THIS other exchange "Why do you assume that you finding discussion threads on other sites with me in them will scare me?" quoted from https://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=38720&page=1&cid=1028402#commentwrap [soylentnews.org] you DID admit FINALLY to saying it was you - ESPECIALLY AFTER dozens of doctors RECENTLY seconded me on Hydroxychloroquin + Zinc (& Vitamin D3 imo along w/ other things I noted that are anti-viral + antibacterial like RAW GARLIC too)).
Do me a favor - DENY ANY OF THOSE, please & I will continue PROVING YOU ARE A NIGGER SHITBAG LOSER, devil... as I already DID here https://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=38720&page=1&cid=1028211#commentwrap [soylentnews.org]
The TRUE BEAUTY of SATANIST FUCKS like YOU (antigod assholes)? TRUTH & FACT DESTROYS LIBELOUS DEVILS LIKE YOU - just like I did you & OTHER AHOLES who doubted what I wrote on what is NOW PROVEN TRUE by DOCTORS, admitted in mainstream media etc. (as I showed in those links' exchanges above easily) & especially LATELY by DOZENS of doctors (I have proof from pros - NOT LIBEL like you did to me PUBLICLY & I can still FRY YOU FOR IT FUCKER, live in fear fuck) MINUS any psych pros backing you.
SAY 1 THING, YOU STINKING LIBELOUS NIGGER FUCK & I will CONTINUE LEVELLING YOU PUBLICLY with facts - not libel as you tried on me, stupid "Marissa von DUMBO", lol - please, say 1 thing & the BEATING on you, PUBLICLY will continue in this thread where you will have a HELL of a TIME "downmod burying it" via downmod brigades doubtless ONLY yourself via multiple sockpuppet accounts etc. (downodding to HIDE it? FORGET IT vs. me - everyone sees you @ it now, lol - thanks, just as I SAID "your kind", demonic SWINE/antigod LOSERS, always do).
WHY SHOULD YOU FEAR LIBELING ME PROJECTING IT NOW, TRYING TO HIDE IT TOO?
TOUGH HIDING YOU LIED about LIBELING ME, especially via INHERENTLY DAMAGING STATEMENTS libeling me as you did see GOLDWATER RULE below too fuckface CUNT you are (wikipedia proof https://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=37033&page=1&cid=985366#commentwrap [soylentnews.org] & you said "No jury or judge would back it" here https://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=37033&page=1&cid=985353#commentwrap? [soylentnews.org] Ok - like I said earlier here which you TRIED TO DOWNMOD HIDE as I knew you HAVE to (everyone sees it anyhow) - TRY ME FUCKER - say 1 thing you COWARDLY STUPID LITTLE FUCK & we'll SEE what happens to you, fuckface CUNT you are).
As I said "DO YOU WANT TO BE SUED" for breaking the GOLDWATER RULE? See here again https://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=37033&page=1&cid=985329#commentwrap [soylentnews.org] for YOUR (& everyone else's) reference of YOUR LIBEL of myself
APK
P.S.=> Oh, I am going to have a FIELDDAY on YOUR ASS fucker - catching you not ONLY IN LIES above, but also in the fact you are a GODLESS fucking LOSER - come on, say something, question the above where you LIED fucker ("it was not me saying it" but it WAS in those links calling me a nutcase essentially when YOU SAID YOU DID NOT (because it IS grounds for SUING THE LIFE OUT OF YOUR WORTHLESS ASS because your statements are NOT BACKED BY actual psychiatric pros in professional psychiatric grounds LIBELING ME)) - oh, you are NEVER going to LIVE THIS DOWN & believe you me - I am going to MAKE SURE you don't - live with your HUMILIATION loser... apk
(Score: 2) by linkdude64 on Tuesday August 18 2020, @11:11PM
Jesus wouldn't have posted this comment. "I say to you, they have their reward." or perhaps, "Let your words be yea, yea, or nay, nay, for beyond this cometh evil."
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 24 2020, @08:21PM
Skynet, the one true ISP!