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Archive for the ‘space travel’ category: Page 18

Aug 4, 2024

SpaceX Superdragon and Starship Improvements

Posted by in category: space travel

NASA awarded SpaceX a contract for $843 million to make a giant version of the Dragon Spacecraft to de-orbit the Space Station. It will use 47 Draco engines instead of the 16 on the Crew dragon. It will four times the thrust and six times the propellant. If there was ever a mission to move something as heavy as the space station to a higher orbit from low earth orbit then even more propellant would be needed. Three times the engines for four times the thrust indicates a 33% improvement in thrust for each engine.

SpaceX and NASA could choose to make larger crew Dragons. The Crew Dragon can hold up to seven people but it currently has only moved up to four astronauts. An orbital or Cis-lunar tug with more engines could be built to transport many dozens of people.

The architecture and systems used in Crew Dragon have been designed and tested for higher levels of safety.

Aug 4, 2024

SpaceX launch: Live updates of Falcon 9 launch from Cape Canaveral

Posted by in category: space travel

Follow FLORIDA TODAY Space Team live updates of today’s upcoming SpaceX Falcon 9 launch of NG-21 from SLC-40.

Aug 4, 2024

SpaceX Reveals Raptor 3 Engine and Specifications

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, space travel

SpaceX has unveiled the Raptor 3 engine, marking significant advancements in thrust, specific impulse, and mass efficiency compared to previous versions. The Raptor 3 boasts a thrust of 280 tf, a specific impulse of 350s, and an engine mass of 1,525 kg. The SpaceX Raptor 3 engine has potential to exceed 300 tons of thrust in future iterations, emphasizing ongoing efforts to improve efficiency.

Raptor 3 is 36% lighter than Raptor 1. It has 51% more thrust at sea level versus raptor 1. Raptor 3 is 7% lighter than Raptor 2. It has 21% more thrust at sea level versus raptor 2. Elon Musk indicates that Raptor could get another 8–10% more thrust.

Raptor 3 has 2.75 million newtons of thrust versus 2.26 million newtons for the Raptor 2. 33 Raptor 3 engines would provide 90.75 million newtons of thrust for a 33 engine super heavy booster. 35 Raptor 3 engines would provide 96.3 million newtons of thrust for a 35 engine super heavy booster.

Aug 4, 2024

Chevron announces it’s also leaving California for Texas

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, space travel

Chevron Corp. announced on Friday that it will also move its headquarters from California to Texas, just weeks after Elon Musk announced that SpaceX and X were fleeing for the Lone Star State.

The news came as the company reported its second-quarter earnings on Friday, which fell far short of profit expectations.

According to the company, Chevron’s headquarters will move from San Ramon, California, to Houston, Texas.

Aug 3, 2024

It’s Sounding Like Boeing’s Starliner May Have Completely Failed

Posted by in category: space travel

It looks like NASA officials might be seeing the writing on the wall for the very troubled Boeing Starliner, which has marooned two astronauts up in space for almost two months due to technical issues.

An unnamed “informed” source told Ars Technica that there’s a greater than 50 percent probability that the stranded astronauts will end up leaving the International Space Station on a SpaceX Dragon capsule, with another unnamed person telling the news outlet that the scenario is highly likely.

NASA officials are more cagey about what’s happening on the record, a marked contrast from previous weeks when they expressed confidence in the Starliner’s ability to safely bring back the astronauts.

Aug 3, 2024

SpaceX to launch Cygnus spacecraft today on NASA ISS resupply mission from Cape Canaveral

Posted by in category: space travel

This morning, SpaceX will launch a Falcon 9 rocket on a resupply mission to the International Space Station.

Aug 2, 2024

NASA says it is “evaluating all options” for the safe return of Starliner crew

Posted by in categories: habitats, space travel

It looks like Elon is about to rescue two people Boeing left stranded in outer space. Crew Dragon’s capacity will likely be increased from 4 to 6 people as the solution to this problem.


SpaceX is actively working on a plan to fly Starliner’s crew home.

Aug 2, 2024

‘Thrusters are back’: NASA shares results of successful Boeing Starliner testing as the world waits for Sunita Williams’ return date

Posted by in category: space travel

NASA’s Crew Flight Test astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have been aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, docked at the ISS since June 6.

Aug 2, 2024

Rocket Report: Falcon 9 is back; Starship could be recovered off Australia

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, space travel

Elon Musk doesn’t expect the next Starship test flight to occur before late August.

Aug 2, 2024

SpaceX to resume astronaut launches on Aug. 18 with Crew-9 mission to ISS

Posted by in category: space travel

Crew-9 will be the first crewed launch on a Falcon 9 rocket after one of the vehicles experienced a rare failure in July.

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