SpaceX Updates

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docm

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It was part of their original concept, so..... <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>
 
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docm

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<p><strong class="blue smallText">SWEET!!</strong></p><p><strong class="blue smallText">Saturday, January 10th, 2009</strong></p><p>Falcon 9 is now vertical at the Cape!</p><p>After a very smooth vehicle mating operation yesterday, we began the process of raising Falcon 9 at 12:45pm EST and approximately 30 minutes later, Falcon 9 was vertical at the Cape.</p><p>The process of taking Falcon 9 vertical was a critical step in preparation for our first Falcon 9 launch later this year. This accomplishment culminates several months of rapid progress, made possible only through the hard work and dedication of the entire SpaceX team. We will continue to post more photos as available but in the meantime, click the image below for some great time lapse video of the operation:</p><br /><p align="center"><img src="http://www.spacex.com/assets/img/20090110_vertical001.jpg" border="0" alt="" width="480" height="640" /> <br />The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket standing vertical on its launch pad at Cape Canaveral, FL. <br />Click any photo for time lapse video of the operation.</p><br /><p align="center"><img src="http://www.spacex.com/assets/img/20090110_vertical002.jpg" border="0" alt="" width="480" height="640" /> </p><br /><p align="center"><img src="http://www.spacex.com/assets/img/20090110_vertical003.jpg" border="0" alt="" width="640" height="480" /> </p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>
 
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Boris_Badenov

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<p><font size="2">What time do you get up to beat me to these updates?<img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-laughing.gif" border="0" alt="Laughing" title="Laughing" /></font></p><p><font size="2">Progress sure has been fast these last two months. I just hope this is all according to plan & they aren't rushing things. I want to see a successful first launch, even if it's delayed.</font></p><p><font size="2">I noticed in the video that F9 was already on the strong back when they lifted it. I wonder how they got it there? Does it grapple it in the horizontal & then rotate 180 degrees, then lift it? Or do they put it on the strong back with a crane?</font></p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#993300"><span class="body"><font size="2" color="#3366ff"><div align="center">. </div><div align="center">Never roll in the mud with a pig. You'll both get dirty & the pig likes it.</div></font></span></font> </div>
 
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docm

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<p>I'm betting on a crane. KISS plus&nbsp;they could build one into their hangar.</p><p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>
 
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ThereIWas2

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<p>What I wonder about is the big supports under the F9 in the horizontal position.&nbsp; They are always wrapped in huge blue tarps.&nbsp;&nbsp; Is this to keep salt spray off?&nbsp; Make them more photogenic?&nbsp; Hide proprietary designs?</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>As for getting it onto the strongback, I'd agree they used one of those huge cranes they have there.&nbsp; When the hangar is built is will probably incorporate a travelling overhead lift system.&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><span class="postbody"><span style="font-style:italic"><br /></span></span></p> </div>
 
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docm

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<p>Yes another update - this time&nbsp;11 pretty rocket pictures <img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-cool.gif" border="0" alt="Cool" title="Cool" /></p><p>http://www.spacex.com/updates.php#</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>
 
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docm

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<p>Full stage reusability, flyback boosters and land landings for Dragon.&nbsp; </p><p>Pretty big ambitions.</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>
 
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mr_mark

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as far as fly back capability of the first stage could he be thinking along these lines? C-2 wasserfall from WW2 An interesting idea. and already partially demonstrated as far as flight.<br /> <img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/Content/images/store/7/15/7798d401-1ebf-4376-9f84-4ca73deeb360.Medium.jpg" alt="" />
 
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docm

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More likely using small&nbsp;thrusters to turn 180 degrees, &nbsp;the mains to retro-fire and guide it slowly back&nbsp;near the launch area where it could arc in then come down on&nbsp;parachutes - not unlike the SS1 reentry.. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>
 
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Boris_Badenov

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<p><font size="2"><font size="2">Falcon 9 Up, Then Down, at LC 40</font> </font></p><p><font size="2">After only a few days on the launch pad, the first Falcon 9 will leave Launch Complex 40 in pieces.<br /><br />Having tested and proven the technique for raising the rocket to vertical, SpaceX workers will disassemble the 188-foot rocket and ship it back to California and Texas for testing.<br /><br />"Now it's more execution than design," Tim Buzza, vice president of launch operations for Space Exploration Technologies Corp. said Monday. "We're well-positioned to see the entire site come together in the next couple of months."<br /><br />SpaceX plans to reassemble the rocket for a wet dress rehearsal in March, when the rocket will be fueled. Also, an engine test firing is possible. The first launch from Cape Canaveral is scheduled for the summer, with a NASA demonstration launch to follow two months later.<br /><br />When launch operations begin after successful test flights, SpaceX will increase its 35-member workforce to about 150 at the Cape, Brian Mosdell, SpaceX's director of Florida launch operations, said. If a program to recover and recycle rocket stages works out, SpaceX could hire up to 1,000 workers, he added.<br /><br /></font><span class="fullpost"><br /><br /><font size="2">By the time the rocket parts return to the Cape, a hangar for the rocket will be complete. In the final launch plan, the rocket will be assembled in the hangar and rolled to the launch pad via a railroad track. SpaceX officials plan for rollout to take only several hours.<br /><br />The Falcon 9 can be raised and lowered quickly, so the company&acirc;&euro;&trade;s hurricane plan is to lower the rocket and roll it into the hangar if a storm approaches. The hangar is built to withstand winds up to 135 mph.<br /><br />Last month, SpaceX won a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to carry 20 tons of cargo to the International Space Station on a dozen Falcon 9 flights. SpaceX plans to launch its first NASA demonstration flight in the fall, some two months after the initial test flight.<br /><br />In September, the company successfully demonstrated the single-engine Falcon I, after three failed launch attempts. SpaceX officials believe the lessons learned on the smaller rocket will transfer to the larger spacecraft, which has nine engines and carries nine time more fuel.<br /><br />"We try to take all the things that have been successful and use them on the Falcon 9," said Buzza. "It's just bigger tanks, bigger pumps, bigger pipes."<br /></font><br /></span></p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#993300"><span class="body"><font size="2" color="#3366ff"><div align="center">. </div><div align="center">Never roll in the mud with a pig. You'll both get dirty & the pig likes it.</div></font></span></font> </div>
 
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Boris_Badenov

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<p><font size="2" color="#000033"><font size="2" color="#000033">This is a very long, very informative Spaceflight Now article.</font></font></p><p><font size="2"><font size="2"><font size="2"><font size="2"><font size="2"><font size="2"><font size="2"><font size="2" color="#0000ff">New SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket tests its Cape Canaveral pad</font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></p><p><font size="2" color="#000033"><font size="2" color="#000033"><font size="2" color="#000033"><a title="New SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket tests its Cape Canaveral pad"></a></font></font></font></p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#993300"><span class="body"><font size="2" color="#3366ff"><div align="center">. </div><div align="center">Never roll in the mud with a pig. You'll both get dirty & the pig likes it.</div></font></span></font> </div>
 
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shuttle_guy

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<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>I'm betting on a crane. KISS plus&nbsp;they could build one into their hangar.&nbsp; <br />Posted by docm</DIV></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Yes, they used a&nbsp;crane, or cranes&nbsp;this time. The hanger will have cranes built into the structure.<br /></p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>
 
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shuttle_guy

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<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>as far as fly back capability of the first stage could he be thinking along these lines? C-2 wasserfall from WW2 An interesting idea. and already partially demonstrated as far as flight. <br />Posted by mr_mark</DIV></p><p>I expect not a fly back....that cuts into the payload way too much. For every 1 pound added to the first stage you loose 5 pounds of payload capability.</p><p><br /><br />&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>
 
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mr_mark

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Spacex needs to make a bold statement. Lunar orbital mission by 2015. America needs to get the conversation back on the moon to start with and then eventually mars. We need to learn how to fly beyond LEO all over again.&nbsp; A lunar orbital mission by a private firm would do just that.
 
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Boris_Badenov

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<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Spacex needs to make a bold statement. Lunar orbital mission by 2015. America needs to get the conversation back on the moon to start with and then eventually mars. We need to learn how to fly beyond LEO all over again.&nbsp; A lunar orbital mission by a private firm would do just that. <br />Posted by mr_mark</DIV></p><p><font size="2">My preference would be for an asteroid rendezvous.</font><br /></p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#993300"><span class="body"><font size="2" color="#3366ff"><div align="center">. </div><div align="center">Never roll in the mud with a pig. You'll both get dirty & the pig likes it.</div></font></span></font> </div>
 
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tanstaafl76

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<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Spacex needs to make a bold statement. Lunar orbital mission by 2015. America needs to get the conversation back on the moon to start with and then eventually mars. We need to learn how to fly beyond LEO all over again.&nbsp; A lunar orbital mission by a private firm would do just that. <br /> Posted by mr_mark</DIV></p><p>Heh, maybe after they have more than one successful orbital flight, perhaps. </p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>
 
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Boris_Badenov

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<p><font size="2"><font size="2">The new X-38/CRV: SpaceX's Dragon?</font></font></p><p><font size="2">SpaceX is also studying, at NASA's request, using a Dragon as a "life boat" replacement for, or supplement to, Russia's Energia-built Soyuz capsules for station egress. Davis says the Dragon life boat, built in a year and to cost $2-3 million more than the basic pressurised version, would be delivered in a Space Shuttle's cargo bay before the fleet is decommissioned</font></p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#993300"><span class="body"><font size="2" color="#3366ff"><div align="center">. </div><div align="center">Never roll in the mud with a pig. You'll both get dirty & the pig likes it.</div></font></span></font> </div>
 
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tanstaafl76

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<p>Why launch it on the shuttle? &nbsp;Wouldn't the lifeboat version get there just fine on a Falcon 9 per the design, at a much reduced cost compared to the shuttle?</p><p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>
 
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ThereIWas2

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<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Why launch it on the shuttle? &nbsp;Wouldn't the lifeboat version get there just fine on a Falcon 9 per the design, at a much reduced cost compared to the shuttle?&nbsp; <br /> Posted by tanstaafl76</DIV></p><p>They probably would like to have it up there sooner rather than later, and the shuttle is ready to do it as soon as they can design a mounting fixture..&nbsp; F9 may or may not be ready by then, so having this option improves chances of it getting up there before they really really wish they had it.</p><p>I wonder what the extra millions are for?&nbsp; Adapting to NASA suits perhaps, TDRS-compatible comm, ...&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><span class="postbody"><span style="font-style:italic"><br /></span></span></p> </div>
 
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Boris_Badenov

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<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Why launch it on the shuttle? &nbsp;Wouldn't the lifeboat version get there just fine on a Falcon 9 per the design, at a much reduced cost compared to the shuttle?&nbsp; <br />Posted by tanstaafl76</DIV></p><p><font size="2">I doubt it will ever happen. It's almost certainly contingency planning. Kind of like the Nuclear Shuttle Engine.<br /></font></p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#993300"><span class="body"><font size="2" color="#3366ff"><div align="center">. </div><div align="center">Never roll in the mud with a pig. You'll both get dirty & the pig likes it.</div></font></span></font> </div>
 
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Boris_Badenov

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<p><font size="2"><font size="2">SpaceX to NASA: Don't 'Fly Russian'</font></font></p><p><font size="2"><strong>Dec. 30, 2008</strong> -- NASA has committed nearly $2 billion to a California start-up intent on breaking the status quo for launching cargo into space. Come January, </font><font size="2">SpaceX</font><font size="2"> will see if the U.S. government is prepared to take the next step and buy into a plan for launching people into orbit as well. </font></p><p><font size="2">Once the </font><font size="2">shuttles are retired</font><font size="2"> in 2010, NASA plans to buy rides for astronauts traveling to the space station from Russia, which sells a three-person craft called Soyuz. </font></p><p><font size="2">NASA's most recent contract with Russian space officials covers transportation and training for three astronauts to and from the space station, as well as a small amount of cargo delivery and return, for $141 million. </font></p><p><font size="2">SpaceX founder Elon Musk says he expects to be able to fly seven astronauts to the station for about $100 million -- and have a ship that can stay behind to serve as an emergency escape vehicle to boot. </font></p><p><font size="2">"It just seems insane to be sending cumulatively billions of dollars to the Russians at a time when we desperately need those dollars in the United States," Musk said in an interview with Discovery News.</font> </p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#993300"><span class="body"><font size="2" color="#3366ff"><div align="center">. </div><div align="center">Never roll in the mud with a pig. You'll both get dirty & the pig likes it.</div></font></span></font> </div>
 
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Boris_Badenov

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<p><font size="2">SpaceX has updated their Launch Manifest.</font></p><p>&nbsp;</p><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="dataTbl" align="center"><tbody><tr><td valign="top"><p><font size="1">Falcon 9 Maiden Flight </font></p>
 
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docm

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Jeezzz....quite a schedule <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>
 
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