Imagine the number of amazing space telescopes that we are going to get! When it's cheep to launch a 10m diameter object into space, so many possibilites open up.
Starship Flight 5: Launch and booster catch [video]
411–420 of 1001 posts
Re: Starship Flight 5: Launch and booster catch [video]
#412"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." and what we have witnessed is magic.
Re: Starship Flight 5: Launch and booster catch [video]
#413[flagged]
Re: Starship Flight 5: Launch and booster catch [video]
#414Speaking as a non-American. SpaceX just made one of the most significant technological leaps in the last decade. This is obviously hugely significant in many ways, including retaining the US military edge.
Yet the US administration hasn't congratulated SpaceX. Incredible.
Re: Starship Flight 5: Launch and booster catch [video]
#415Nothing could have prepared me for how that catch looked. I was sure the rocket was careening into the tower at the last second before it straightened out. The control algorithms must be incredible for the landing system to work within those small tolerances.
That was one of the greatest things I've ever seen.
Literally brought me to tears, watching that happen.
Re: Starship Flight 5: Launch and booster catch [video]
#416Earlier quoted context omitted.
MIMO and nonlinear control theories are probably some of the hardest topics in all of engineering. SpaceX control system also has to compensate for the fuel moving inside their rockets so the control algorithms probably involve some kind of fast numerical fluid simulation. Another interesting thing SpaceX is doing is to use consumer-grade chips in triple redundancy configurations instead of using $100,000+ radiation-…
Just as a note, Space Engineers has a mod that accounts for fuel in the tanks and also various orbital mods. If one feels inclined to try it for themselves ;)
as someone who absolutely loves SE -- please don't.
the orbital and planetary mechanics kind of suck. They're meant to provide a decent 'arcade realism' for the sake of player/player interactions and pvp/pve.
if you want to experience fuel slosh/weight during a vertical ascent/descent go with kerbal. It models a lot of that stuff without mods -- and mods can make the model even more accurate.
Re: Starship Flight 5: Launch and booster catch [video]
#417Re: Starship Flight 5: Launch and booster catch [video]
#418Earlier quoted context omitted.
The FAA needs more funding at this point. They're not staffed for the rate of launch requests which commercial space has grown too.
More money would make the situation worse. They need competent leadership. Everyone like to just say “add more money” because it means no actual operational change to the status quo.
You are right they are already trying to slow SpaceX as much as possible. More people in their hands more people finding ways to decelerate SpaceX
Re: Starship Flight 5: Launch and booster catch [video]
#419Speaking as a non-American. SpaceX just made one of the most significant technological leaps in the last decade. This is obviously hugely significant in many ways, including retaining the US military edge. Yet the US administration hasn't congratulated SpaceX. Incredible.
Re: Starship Flight 5: Launch and booster catch [video]
#420Awesome achievement. Watched it with my sister at home and brought back memories from the 60s in front of the B&W TV watching some of the early amazing flights and landings.
Question for hackers: How does this reorient space programs world-wide? If I were a politician or technocrat in China, Russia, or the EU this would feel like an inverse and intense Sputnik moment — “holy sh—- we have to up our game!”