SpaceX Falcon 9

[m-s Gelezniak]

Зомби. Просто Зомби пишет:
По-моему, надо пойти навстречу и помочь американским частникам.
Ведь мы их так любим

Стaрому всё тaки съесть тортик?

[Искандер]

ВВК пишет:

Искандер пишет:
 ))) Ракета уже летает. Он может менять количество топлива и режимы движков - по сути всё.
Исходя из логики оптимизация должна быть под многоразовость.

Извинияюсь поздно реагирую, я имел в виду что Маск не опредилился куда оптимизировать или на максимальные нагрузки или в сторону многоразовости, а сразу две оптимизации наверно кредитов не дают.

Для того чтобы ответить на этот вопрос наверное нужно хотя бы просчитать характеристики РН в этих двух вариантах использования и хотя бы элементарно проанализировать. Я этого не делал. Но тут где-то "ходют-бродют" спецы, которые наверняка хотя бы в Ратмане F9 1.1 вертели. Это вопрос к ним. Хотя на сколько я знаю достоверной информации по носителю нет. Маск постоянно называет разные циферы, вплоть до того что оказывается что двигатели имеют солидный резерв мощности, который РН может использовать при выходе из строя одного из двигателей... И т.д. По второй ступени вроде бы как вообще точных данных нет. Возможно потому, что в случае ее многоразовости ТТХ изменятся кардинально.
Можете попробовать сами посчитать.
Но, ещё раз, по логике ракета создавалась как многоразовая. Значит и оптимизация должна была быть под этот основной режим использования.
И ещё - это первая реально летающая РН, которая будет использовать такого рода схему возвращения первой ступени. Вполне возможно что результаты реальных "возвратов" внесут значительные коррективы в оптимальные ТТХ ступени.
Будем посмотреть...

[Salo]

SpaceX Aims To Boost Rocket Production to Two Per Month by Year's End  
 By Mike Gruss | Jun. 4, 2014  

"Can we fly the missions we say we can fly?" SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said. "I think we'll prove that over the coming months." Credit: NASA photo

WASHINGTON — The president of Space Exploration Technologies Corp. responded June 4 to nagging questions about the company's ability to keep pace with its growing launch manifest, saying the proof will come this summer.

"Can we fly the missions we say we can fly?" Gwynne Shotwell said in a speech to the Atlantic Council here.  "I think we'll prove that over the coming months."

SpaceX currently has up to a dozen launches on its manifest for the remainder of 2014, according to its website. Shotwell said the company has a backlog of 46 missions worth $4.2 billion.

SpaceX launched three missions in 2013, its most to date. For comparison, SpaceX's chief U.S. competitor, United Launch Alliance, launched 11 times during the year.  

Michael Gass, ULA's president and chief executive, recently pointed out that SpaceX has encountered "significant" launch delays and said the company had an "overcommitted manifest."

"It's time for the other company to prove its technology," he said.

Shotwell seemed to agree with the last statement. "Certainly we need to meet our cadence this year," she said.

SpaceX has been producing about one Falcon 9 rocket per month, Shotwell said. By the end of the year, she said, the company hopes to boost that rate to two per month.

Among the Falcon 9 launches scheduled for this year is the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Deep Space Climate Observatory space weather monitoring satellite. Gass noted that launch, which cost $97 million, was awarded to SpaceX without competition but that ULA was not allowed to compete for the mission.  

Hawthorne, California-based SpaceX has filed suit in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims seeking to block the U.S. Air Force from buying 22 first-stage rocket cores on a sole-source basis from ULA.

Meanwhile, Shotwell said an environmental assessment of a prospective SpaceX commercial launch site in Boca Chica Beach, Texas, about 37 kilometers east of Brownsville and 5 kilometers north of the Mexican border, is wrapping up.

"I think we're close," she said. "But we're still keeping our options open. And by the way, we're going to need lots of launch sites."

SpaceX currently launches from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

In response to a question from a congressional staffer, Shotwell also addressed tentative plans to begin work on a new U.S. liquid-fueled rocket engine, an idea  that has gathered steam amid questions about the future availability of the Russian made RD-180 engine that powers ULA's Atlas 5 rocket.

"Building a replacement for the RD-180 — I don't know whether that's exactly the right choice," Shotwell said. "Investing in liquid propulsion-related technologies is a great choice for sure, certainly on components that can be used to build whatever engine the propulsion community finds a market for. Investing in the community is a great idea. I'd like to see it more on the component-development side, technology development-side."

The Senate Armed Services Committee's proposed 2015 defense authorization bill includes $100 million to develop a new U.S. rocket engine; counterpart legislation passed by the House recommends $220 million.  

Follow Mike on Twitter: @Gruss_SN

[Salo]

Как такой темп выпуска согласуется с декларируемой многоразовостью?

[Veganin]

Salo пишет:
Как такой темп выпуска согласуется с декларируемой многоразовостью?  

Очень хорошо согласуется: Маск намерен запускать F9 много раз в год - до 24 раз

[Salo]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1406/06spacexmanifest/#.U5NOQnb-5eI

SpaceX to balance business realities, rocket innovation
BY STEPHEN CLARK
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: June 6, 2014

Striving to be ready for an onslaught of launches under contract over the next few years, SpaceX plans to double the launcher production rate in its Southern California factory before the end of the year without compromising its commitments to develop a human-rated commercial spaceship, demonstrate rocket reusability, and further cut the cost of space transportation.


A view of the Falcon 9 first stage's nine Merlin 1D engines. Credit: SpaceX
 
"We need to meet our cadence of launch," said Gwynne Shotwell, president of SpaceX, at a discussion Wednesday at the Atlantic Council in Washington. "It's about one a month this year, and it's almost two a month next year."

While SpaceX tries to manage a manifest packed with launches for NASA, commercial satellite operators, and perhaps soon the U.S. military, Shotwell said SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk is committed to keeping the company at the forefront of space transportation innovation.

"Elements in SpaceX clearly are focusing on operability and production," Shotwell said. "It's a transition that we're meeting the challenges of as we speak, but SpaceX will never be a company that is just operations and production focused. We'll always have a team of [research and development] engineers and technicians to ensure that we are constantly innovating. Elon's job is to make sure we are constantly innovating and pushing boundaries."

In the next few years, SpaceX wants to develop a human-rated commercial spaceship and a reusable version of its Falcon 9 rocket. NASA is helping fund a crewed configuration of SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, a project Musk estimates will cost about $1 billion, and SpaceX is using private capital to develop and demonstrate the Falcon 9 rocket's reusability.

SpaceX has not disclosed how much the reusable rocket program will cost.

"We are focused on production and operability for part of the company, and the other part is the innovation piece, and we will continue that forever," Shotwell said.

SpaceX had planned 10 or more Falcon 9 rocket launches this year, but delays caused by both internal technical issues and external forces have conspired to keep the commercial launchers fr om meeting the company's manifest.

After a quick start to the year with the successful launch of the Thaicom 6 telecommunications satellite Jan. 6, SpaceX had to wait until April 18 for its second mission of the year, which faced delays as engineers completed upgrades to the company's Dragon cargo resupply capsule for the International Space Station.

Engineers also discovered contamination in the Dragon's cargo bay, and then an electrical fire knocked a U.S. Air Force tracking radar offline at Cape Canaveral, triggering more delays.

Throw in the difficulties of scheduling a mission to the International Space Station -- a process likened to air traffic control at an airport amid the comings and goings of international crew and cargo ships -- and SpaceX's resupply flights can only launch when the space station is ready to receive them.

A helium leak in the Falcon 9 rocket's first stage liquid oxygen pressurization system was the culprit for SpaceX's most recent delay. Engineers discovered the anomaly on the launch pad on the eve of a planned liftoff with six Orbcomm data relay satellites, triggering a month-long launch slip.

"We had a helium leak," Musk said. "Helium is a pernicious little molecule, I've got to say."

The Orbcomm mission is set for liftoff June 12 from Cape Canaveral in a 54-minute launch window opening at 9:07 p.m. EDT (0107 GMT on June 13).


A view inside the SpaceX rocket factory in Hawthorne, Calif. Credit: SpaceX
 
Two communications satellites owned by AsiaSat of Hong Kong are next in SpaceX's launch queue. AsiaSat officials have said the spacecraft are complete and being stored at their Space Systems/Loral manufacturing plant in Palo Alto, Calif.

The satellite processing clean room inside SpaceX's launch pad hangar at Cape Canaveral can only accommodate one payload at a time, so the shipment of the AsiaSat 8 satellite -- the next payload on SpaceX's manifest for launch this summer -- is on hold until the Orbcomm mission is launched.

"We have to execute on our manifest," Shotwell said. "I think the most recent criticism of SpaceX is can't we fly the missions that we say we're going to fly. I think we'll prove that [we can] over the coming months."

SpaceX will not consider a public stock offering before achieving a predictable launch rate, Shotwell said.

"We have had delays as any development program does, but now we're starting to see wh ere we're going to be waiting on our customers, which frankly is a relief to me," Shotwell said. "We're going to have to be good about predicting when we'll launch and what we'll launch before we change our [capitalization] strategy."

Speaking to reporters via a conference call in April, Musk identified one manufacturing glitch, saying a primary constraint driving SpaceX's schedule "all boils down to this one particular part -- an injector casting."

"We think we've resolved that particular issue, which should unlock quite a high rate of increased production," Musk said.

SpaceX has 42 missions on its manifest at a value of $4.2 billion, according to Shotwell, who claimed the company captured "100 percent" of commercial Falcon 9-class launch business in 2011 and 2012. Many of the missions contracted in 2011 and 2012 are on SpaceX's launch schedule over the next 12 months.

Shotwell said SpaceX will not hesitate to add new capabilities, upgraded components or other systems to its Falcon 9 rockets, as long as their customers are comfortable with it.

SpaceX officials have said they will not use a Falcon 9 rocket as a reusability testbed unless the customer gives permission. Engineers are now trying to guide a Falcon 9 first stage to a precision ocean splashdown a few hundred miles downrange from the launch site, then recover the rocket for inspections.

Some time soon -- Musk says as soon as next year -- SpaceX could be ready to fly a Falcon 9 rocket with a first stage with a flight already in its logbook.

"I believe we have to get out of this mindset that the best rocket and the best technology is the one that has stayed the same for decades," Shotwell said. "In no other industry is that the case. You can imagine the chip industry, Intel and Qualcomm, if their chips remained the same year after year. It would be a disaster. I do want to push the concept of innovating to make better, and we'll have to work through processes to make that OK.

"Just to be clear, customers can fly the certified configuration if that's what they want. I think we'll demonstrate that we can innovate and spin our design successfully. We've done it successfully to date ... We need to get our customers comfortable with the design process."


SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell. Credit: NASA/Jay Westcott
 
By the end of 2014, SpaceX will producing two rockets every month, Shotwell said. That is up from one per month at the current rate inside SpaceX's factory in Hawthorne, Calif.

"We're really screaming on production," Shotwell said.

Each Falcon 9 rocket has 10 Merlin 1D engines, so building two rockets per month will demand SpaceX's engine shop produce at least 240 engines per year. The introduction of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket, made of three Falcon 9 first stage cores with nine engines each, will make the propulsion team churn out even more engines.

Each Falcon Heavy rocket flies with 28 Merlin engines on the first stage, strap-on boosters and the upper stage.

The assembly line could get a reprieve if SpaceX can demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of recovering and reusing the first stages of Falcon rockets.

"We anticipate probably 50 percent market capture as we build out the Falcon family of launch vehicles, if not more," Shotwell said.

Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.

[Димитър]

 Иэвиняюсь за тупой вопрос, а с Фалькон-1 уже все? Больше лететь не будет?

[Искандер]

Я планов наших люблю громадьё...

Короче... если они смогут сделать 6 пусков в этом году - меня это безумно удивит и ... порадует.

Ну, а на счёт "копирования" или "повторения" РД-180, она права - ну, очень сомнительная затея.С одной стороны, это путь в прошлое. С другой... Это ж попробуй рекордный двигатель, на который потрачено столько мозгов... Нет, это пустая затея.
Лучше бы на базе РД и НК попробовали соорудить что-то на метане. Будет новая ступень и не нарвутся на позорище при сравнении ТТХ.
Только вряд ли в пять лет уложатся.

Развивают производство, но если две РН в месяц, то что они будут делать если ступени научатся возвращать?! Похоже не надеются на большую кратность использования и эффективность от многоразовости в ближайшие годы. 

[Искандер]

Димитър пишет:
Иэвиняюсь за тупой вопрос, а с Фалькон-1 уже все? Больше лететь не будет?

При таких проблемах с длинючим и баблоносным манифестом на F-9, разработкой марсианской РН, неужели Вы думаете они будут возиться с F-1???

[vissarion]

Запись с видеорегистратора на F9R - 1000m

[Александр Ч.]

Air Force Certifies Falcon 9 Flights

The Air Force has certified SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch system as having conducted three successful flights, a prerequisite for companies seeking to win business from the Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) Program.

Under Air Force standards, SpaceX is already qualified to compete for EELV missions, but SpaceX must also be certified by the Air Force before any contract can be awarded to the company. Meeting the criteria for successful flights is a key milestone in the certification process.

SpaceX expects to satisfy the remaining certification requirements later this year.

[avmich]

Искандер пишет:
Ну, а на счёт "копирования" или "повторения" РД-180, она права - ну, очень сомнительная затея.С одной стороны, это путь в прошлое. С другой... Это ж попробуй рекордный двигатель, на который потрачено столько мозгов... Нет, это пустая затея.

С другой стороны - РД-107 тоже делался долго, и тоже мозгов было потрачено изрядно. А Мерлин-Д вполне ему конкуренцию по ТТХ составляет? Может, и с РД-180 так может получиться? Нельзя же считать, что какие-то достижения не могут быть превзойдены.

[Salo]

http://spacenews.com/article/launch-report/41279house-members-press-nasa-for-information-on-%E2%80%9Cepidemic-of-anomalies%E2%80%9D-with

House Members Press NASA for Information on "Epidemic of Anomalies" with SpaceX Missions  
By Jeff Foust | Jul. 16, 2014
 
 
"Recent news reports have shown that an epidemic of anomalies have occurred during SpaceX launches or launch attempts," write Reps. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.; above), Mike Coffman (R-Colo.), and Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) in a letter to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. Credit: U.S. House of Representatives photo

WASHINGTON — Three members of Congress from Alabama and Colorado have asked NASA to provide information on what they perceive to be an "epidemic of anomalies" on missions performed by Space Exploration Technologies Corp.
"Recent news reports have shown that an epidemic of anomalies have occurred during SpaceX launches or launch attempts," write Reps. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), Mike Coffman (R-Colo.), and Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) in a July 15 letter to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. Those anomalies cited in the letter include issues with both SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft, ranging from "multiple" helium leaks to seawater intrusions into the Dragon spacecraft after splashdown.
The congressmen are seeking information from NASA about those incidents because of the role the agency has played in supporting the development of Falcon 9 and Dragon, and as a customer of the cargo resupply services they provide the international space station. "In the interest of full disclosure and accountability to the American taxpayer, we request that NASA publicly release all anomalies and mishap information, un-redacted, so that Congress can gain a better understanding of what has occurred and ensure full transparency," they write. They also ask for information "on the various aspects of risk and reliability with these programs" and the agency's "understanding of the specific technical issues, failures and resulting consequences for ISS."
The members' argument for providing this information is NASA's support for the development of Falcon 9 and Dragon. "Again, because the vehicles in question were funded by American taxpayer dollars, there should be no issue in making this report publicly available," they write. However, development of Falcon 9 and Dragon was supported, but not exclusively funded, by NASA through the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, using Space Act Agreements versus conventional contracts. SpaceX supplemented the NASA funding with its own; SpaceX Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has said on a number of occasions that the company used no NASA funding for development of the Falcon 9.
SpaceX does have a contract with NASA for ISS resupply, but that contract is for cargo services: that is, NASA is buying transport of cargo to and from the station, and not the launch vehicle and spacecraft itself, and thus the agency may not have the technical insight that the congressmen expect. In addition, providing "un-redacted" technical information publicly, even if it is available to NASA, could run afoul of export control restrictions.
The timing of the letter coincides with a July 16 hearing by subcommittees of the Senate Commerce Committee and Senate Armed Services Committee on space access. The Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee is chaired by Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.), who is running for re-election this fall; Gardner is the Republican challenger to Udall.
In their letter, the congressmen say they support competition for national security launches under the Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program, but worry that "the process may be weakened due to recent attacks on the Air Force regarding oversight and the need to certify providers launching national security payloads. We strongly support the Air Force certification process and object to any effort to bypass it or loosen its standards."
The congressmen issued their letter the same day as the Air Force confirmed that it had certified as successful the second and third Falcon 9 v1.1 launches, a major milestone toward the overall certification of the launch vehicle for national security payloads. "I applaud SpaceX on achieving the three flights," said Lt. Gen. Sam Greaves, commander of the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, in the statement. "With this significant part of the agreed-to path in certifying the Falcon 9 v1.1 launch system complete, we look forward to working with SpaceX to complete the remaining certification activities and providing SpaceX with the opportunity to compete for EELV missions."
The Air Force launches most national security payloads on Atlas 5 or Delta 4 rockets built by Denver-based United Launch Alliance in Decatur, Alabama. SpaceX is suing the Air Force in federal court to overturn a block-buy of 36 Atlas 5 and Delta 5 cores for national security missions.  Both the Air Force and United Launch Alliance have petitioned the court to dismiss the suit. 

A version of this story originally appeared on spacepolitics.com. Used with permission.

[us2-star]

vlad7308 пишет: 

Nilk пишет: 

Александр Ч. пишет: 
Новая "отмазка": линза льдом покрылась, но лапки видно и чего-то там попыхивает

Да вроде всё что надо видно, я бы сказал, посадка вполне успешная

вроде бы да
начиная с миссии 14 собираются переходить к посадке на землю (последний запуск Орбкомм считается десятым полетом F9)

We will attempt our next water landing on flight 13 of Falcon 9, but with a low probability of success. Flights 14 and 15 will attempt to land on a solid surface with an improved probability of success.

Получается, что миссии 11 и 12 будут без лапок? Надо поправить Википедию ? 

[frigate]

Aviation Week & Space Technology Magazine, 21 July 2014 , page 52

 

[vlad7308]

us2-star пишет:

We will attempt our next water landing on flight 13 of Falcon 9, but with a low probability of success. Flights 14 and 15 will attempt to land on a solid surface with an improved probability of success.

Получается, что миссии 11 и 12 будут без лапок?

про это ничего не сказано
сказано, что миссии 11 и 12 будут высокоэнергетическими, и на посадку не хватит топлива.

[ZOOR]

http://itbusinessweek.com/israel-1h-2014/

.....
5. NASA установит на новые ракеты-носители Falcon 9 израильскую разработку Aitech
 
 Национальное аэрокосмическое агентство США (NASA) выбрало израильскую компанию Aitech в качестве поставщика компьютерных систем для новой ракеты-носителя Falcon 9. Как сообщает NEWSru со ссылкой на портал Israel Defense, компания Aitech, специализирующаяся на производстве защищенных компьютеров, была создана более 30 лет назад и на текущий момент принадлежит нидерландскому инвестиционному фонду. Компания располагает офисами в Герцлии и в США. Разработанные компанией Aitech компьютерные системы активно используют Армия обороны Израиля, армия США, а также NASA, Boeing и другие крупные организации. В частности, компьютеры Aitech используются Boeing на разрабатываем корпорацией сверхзвуковом беспилотном самолете Super Sonic. Решения Aitech функционируют в диапазоне от -55°C до +85°C. Проект Falcon 9, осуществляемый для NASA компанией SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corporation), призван вернуть США способность самостоятельного запуска космических кораблей, утерянную после прекращения использования космических челноков.

На NEWSru что-то поиск по "Aitech" что-то ничего не выдает   :oops:

[Плейшнер]

цитата:
Национальное аэрокосмическое агентство США (NASA) выбрало израильскую компанию Aitech в качестве поставщика компьютерных систем для новой ракеты-носителя Falcon 9.

А почему компанию выбрало НАСА а не СпейсХ ?

[avmich]

Плейшнер пишет:

цитата :
Национальное аэрокосмическое агентство США (NASA) выбрало израильскую компанию Aitech в качестве поставщика компьютерных систем для новой ракеты-носителя Falcon 9.

А почему компанию выбрало НАСА а не СпейсХ ?

Меня тоже это заинтересовало . Так и хочется спросить - а мужики-то в СпейсЭкс об этом знают?

Думаю, журналисты напутали...

[cavia]

Странное заявление.В силу того, что  бортовые компьютеры  не представляют собой ничего особо сложного. А микросхемы для них всё равно какие нибудь AD Ti или St поставляют. Видимо для этого есть какие то аргументы, отличные от технологических. Например в силу сертификации ракет для военных, это было их (военных) требование по дооснащению например каким либо оборудованием.