SpaceX

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[raklian]

Incredible high-quality footage. It's thanks to the Starlink constellation.

[raklian]

This is the unsung hero or MVP of this Starship demo, I think.

[wjfox]

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SpaceX Reportedly Building Hundreds of US Government Spy Satellites
The Chinese government has taken to social media to complain.
By Ryan Whitwam March 18, 2024

SpaceX has leveraged its reusable Falcon 9 rockets to become the world's largest satellite operator in just a few short years. Its Starlink network provides internet connectivity across a large swath of the globe, and it has plans for a secure government version of the network. A report from Reuters claims that part of that effort is a $1.8 billion contract to build a spy satellite network for the US government, and China is not pleased.

Elon Musk's aerospace firm announced the encrypted Starshield system in 2022, aiming to provide the US government with communication, hosted payloads, and Earth observation. According to Reuters, the contract was signed in 2021, before the public announcement of Starshield. Under the agreement, SpaceX will build hundreds of classified spy satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).

https://www.extremetech.com/aerospace/s ... satellites

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[wjfox]

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honestly, I want the booser stage of star ship to one day be like the falcon 9's booster stage and be completely reusable. elon needs to add legs and do this as he could cut the cost of star ship 20 times or more.

i'd also like to see this with each stage as Losing anything is a waste that is dumb.

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[Time_Traveller]

SpaceX to launch 22 Starlink satellites from California tonight

published 53 minutes ago



SpaceX is set to launch another batch of its Starlink internet satellites to orbit tonight (March 28).

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 22 Starlink spacecraft is scheduled to lift off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California tonight during a four-hour window that opens at 10:30 p.m. EDT (7:30 p.m. local California time; 0230 GMT on March 29).

You can watch it live via SpaceX's account on X. Coverage will begin about five minutes before the window opens.

If all goes according to plan, the Falcon 9's first stage will come back to Earth for a vertical touchdown about 8.5 minutes after liftoff tonight. That landing will occur on the deck of the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You, which will be stationed in the Pacific Ocean.

It will be the 15th launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description.

https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-launch-group-7-18

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SpaceX Reusable Starship Could Become Cheaper than Intercontinental Airplanes for Earth Cargo
April 1, 2024 by Brian Wang

https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2024/04/s ... cargo.html
Elon Musk has targeted an orbital launch cost of $10/kg for Starship, with propellant costs accounting for roughly one-third. Orbital launch cost would be about four times more than the cost of point to point on Earth rocket delivery costs. Point to point rocket delivery would only need the Starship upper stage. There are only six engines in the upper stage instead of 39 engines for the upper stage and the booster stage. The fuel usage would be four times less. This would mean point to point rocket delivery at $2.50 per kilogram.

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