DarkFruitsRam7 Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 For my work (completely unrelated to the subject matter of this thread), I recently did a location report on the new spaceport that's about to be built in Sutherland (north coast of Scotland), which I believe will be the UK's first spaceport. I'd be interested to know your thoughts on this if you have any, @Carl Sagan. Carl Sagan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TigerTedd Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 5 hours ago, DarkFruitsRam7 said: For my work (completely unrelated to the subject matter of this thread), I recently did a location report on the new spaceport that's about to be built in Sutherland (north coast of Scotland), which I believe will be the UK's first spaceport. I'd be interested to know your thoughts on this if you have any, @Carl Sagan. So aliens land and are directed to their parking spot. The ones contacting the Americans get to go to Florida. The ones that contact us get to go to the north coast of Scotland. Someone picked the short straw. Ghost of Clough, Carl Sagan and DarkFruitsRam7 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Sagan Posted January 7, 2021 Author Share Posted January 7, 2021 5 hours ago, DarkFruitsRam7 said: For my work (completely unrelated to the subject matter of this thread), I recently did a location report on the new spaceport that's about to be built in Sutherland (north coast of Scotland), which I believe will be the UK's first spaceport. I'd be interested to know your thoughts on this if you have any, @Carl Sagan. Fantastic! Space is one of the world's massive growth industries yet the UK is the only nation ever to have developed its own independent satellite launch capability, only to abandon it. At the time (early 1970s) the Americans promised if we stopped developing our own rockets they'd let us use theirs for free - honest guv. And our stupid politicians believed them. Sutherland probably will be first and will definitely be the first vertical launch. Cornwall is also developing site but that will be for horizontal (runway-based) space launches. Of course Sutherland is incredibly remote but launch sites are often in such places to avoid accidents with population centres. But relevant to this thread, only a very few years ago Boca Chica, Texas, was a field in the middle of nowhere yet it is rapidly expanding into a massive complex. With plans to also turn it into a tourist attraction! There is a UK risk by locating the main spaceport in the far north of Scotland, but it also demonstrates commitment to the Union in Westminster. The Westminster government is massively committed to making us a strong player in space. And the secret twinkle in my eye has always been that the proposed airport in the Thames estuary on "Boris Island" should be built as a spaceport in future. Very convenient for Starships to land and take off for the half hour flight to New York. For certain launch trajectories it helps to be as close to the equator as possible as you get a boost because Earth's rotation is fastest there, giving you a bit of a headstart, but Sutherland wouldn't be used for those types of launches. There are other orbits for which its location is fine. Basically, thrilled for Sutherland and Scotland and the UK that this is finally happening (long overdue) but it mustn't end there. I want spaceports all over the place. Uptherams and DarkFruitsRam7 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Mash Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 This piece of genius appeared in Bearwood during lockdown number one. Carl Sagan and GboroRam 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Sagan Posted January 8, 2021 Author Share Posted January 8, 2021 2 hours ago, Bearwood Ram said: This piece of genius appeared in Bearwood during lockdown number one. "A new life awaits you in the Off-world colonies. A chance to begin again in a golden land of opportunity and adventure." Absolutely fantastic, thanks. GboroRam 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Sagan Posted January 8, 2021 Author Share Posted January 8, 2021 The moveable feast that is Starship launch dates has shifted. Friday and Saturday's airspace clearances have now been cancelled. Now we have NOTAMs (notice to airmen) running from Sunday 10 January all the way through until Wednesday 20 January. There's some thought that this will allow for test flights of both SN9 and SN10, which would be exceedingly cool. TigerTedd 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GboroRam Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 6 hours ago, Carl Sagan said: "A new life awaits you in the Off-world colonies. A chance to begin again in a golden land of opportunity and adventure." Absolutely fantastic, thanks. My favourite film of all time. Eddie and Carl Sagan 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comrade 86 Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 On 17/12/2020 at 17:20, Carl Sagan said: Bit of a tangent and I know these are absolutely bleeding edge in tech terms, but I do rather like the somewhat art deco styling of these rockets. TimRam, TigerTedd and Carl Sagan 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TigerTedd Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 1 hour ago, 86 Hair Islands said: Bit of a tangent and I know these are absolutely bleeding edge in tech terms, but I do rather like the somewhat art deco styling of these rockets. They do look very retro, for saying they are super modern. Fully expect the female on board staff to be wearing mini skirts. Comrade 86 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Sagan Posted January 8, 2021 Author Share Posted January 8, 2021 9 hours ago, 86 Hair Islands said: Bit of a tangent and I know these are absolutely bleeding edge in tech terms, but I do rather like the somewhat art deco styling of these rockets. Retro yet futuristic at the same time. This is a great side-by-side comparison, which is all the more striking when you remember Starship is just the top portion (fully reusable second stage) of a fully reusable rocket. As for the mighty fully reusable first stage, the Super Heavy booster, Elon has announced a new landing plan. The enemy of every rocket is mass, so he's decided they'll try to get rid of the landing legs and reduce the mass. At the top of these boosters will be gigantic titanium grid fins, which act to steer the rocket to the landing pad. Now the Super Heavy booster will descend through some sort of gigantic ring structure which these grid fins will rest on top of, so it stops above the ground. Crazy, audacious and utterly brilliant! Wolfie, TimRam, Uptherams and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Sagan Posted January 13, 2021 Author Share Posted January 13, 2021 Tonight SpaceX really went for it in Boca Chica, with three successive static fires of the engines through the afternoon, while holding the rocket down on the pad. There's only ever been one every few days before. Given the hugely experimental nature of the rocket, it was a tremendous achievement it held together in one piece, leaving the way open for the high-altitude test flight. I suspect they will want to study the engine fires first, but clearance is there to do this any time from tomorrow (Thursday). Here's a thread with footage of all three engine fires: Wolfie, Uptherams and TigerTedd 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Sagan Posted January 14, 2021 Author Share Posted January 14, 2021 Road closures at the Boca Chica launch site now cancelled for Thursday, with the test flight now scheduled for between 2pm and midnight (UK time) on Friday and with a backup of the same launch window on Saturday. Bring it on! ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Sagan Posted January 19, 2021 Author Share Posted January 19, 2021 Yesterday I suggested to Amanda Solloway (in her role as Science Minister) that the UK look at repurposing oil rigs and take advantage of our shipbuilding manufacturing expertise to turn them into floating spaceports. Today a story broke that SpaceX acquired two oil rigs last year and is doing exactly that! They have been renamed Phobos and Deimos after the two Martian moons. Uptherams and TigerTedd 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Sagan Posted January 28, 2021 Author Share Posted January 28, 2021 Today (Thurs 28 January 2021) we're currently go for launch of the SN9 Starship prototype. It's predecessor SN8 achieved most of the flight goals including the controlled "bellyflop" fall and only exploded on landing when not enough fuel came from the header tank in the nosecone to power the engines sufficiently. SpaceX have made alterations, including putting nitrogen into the header tank to pressurize it and ensure a stronger flow. They're not convinced this is the best solution but it'll do for now, especially as SN10 is fully formed and now queuing waiting its own flight. My personal question would be if the stubby legs can support the weight of the vehicle at the end of its descent. I like the leg design (relying on gravity to deploy rather than hydraulics - the design philosophy is as simple as possible but no simpler) but I simply don't think they look long enough. I do know the Head of Rocket Landing at SpaceX (cool job title) so I will ask him some time! He should know better than me. I confess I've been daydreaming of buying a place on South Padre Island in Texas so I can watch these launches live from the balcony. I'm guessing no earlier than 16:30 today, but the livestream is up already (with commentary) at: TigerTedd 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Sagan Posted January 28, 2021 Author Share Posted January 28, 2021 A little uncertain but it seems the FAA (Federal Aviation Authority) won't approve today's flight. It's unclear if they'll let the Starship fly tomorrow. Odd when SN8 conducted such a controlled test flight. There are rumours it's to do with SpaceX replacing two if the engines on the vehicle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Sagan Posted January 28, 2021 Author Share Posted January 28, 2021 1 hour ago, Carl Sagan said: A little uncertain but it seems the FAA (Federal Aviation Authority) won't approve today's flight. It's unclear if they'll let the Starship fly tomorrow. Odd when SN8 conducted such a controlled test flight. There are rumours it's to do with SpaceX replacing two if the engines on the vehicle. Unconfirmed rumours the FAA have given last-minute approval and a launch attempt is expected within 10 minutes. TigerTedd 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Sagan Posted February 2, 2021 Author Share Posted February 2, 2021 Today, it was confirmed the FAA finally gave approval, though there's lots more to come out about what's been going on. Elon Musk announced he's going off Twitter for a while, probably so he doesn't publicly lambast the FAA and get into trouble. The FAA claim that SpaceX launched SN8 (the first high-altitude prototype flight) without full permission, but the space launch community is highly sceptical of that claim given SpaceX launches more rockets than anyone else in the world by miles, and then some, so it doesn't seem credible that a launch happened without permission. Anyway, the first attempt at a launch of SN9 is today, probably in around an hour or so. Well worth watching, with a supercool beginning given there are currently two Starships on neighbouring pads right now. What a sight. Lots of other Starships, each better than the last, being built in the spaceship-yard up the road. There are lots of different live streams, but currently I'm watching this one: Uptherams and MuespachRam 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Sagan Posted February 2, 2021 Author Share Posted February 2, 2021 Launch attempt right now. Tune in if you want to see history being made! Uptherams 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uptherams Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 33 minutes ago, Carl Sagan said: Launch attempt right now. Tune in if you want to see history being made! This decade is going to be so amazing. Carl Sagan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GB SPORTS Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 47 minutes ago, Carl Sagan said: Launch attempt right now. Tune in if you want to see history being made! That may be a bit of a set back, landing control on seems a bit difficult to achieve. Do you know when SN10 will be kitted and ready to go? If that doesn't work as well i can see them needing a format for a conventional wheeled landing. What they are trying to do is immense though, straight outta a Sci Fi movie. Carl Sagan and TimRam 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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