Rockets, Space transport roundup

Space transport roundup – June.16.2020

A sampling of recent articles, videos, and images dealing with space transport (find previous roundups here):

** SpaceX launches Starlink and Planet SkyNet satellites. Early Saturday morning, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral for the second time in June with a batch of satellites for the Starlink broadband Internet constellation. Rather than the usual 60 satellites, however, this flight carried 58 Starlinks, leaving out two to provide room for three SkyNet earth observation satellites from Planet Labs and their deployment mechanism. Not long after the upper stage reached orbit, the three SkySats could be seen drifting away during the live webcast. The subsequent deployment of the Starlinks took place during a communications gap. The Starlinks will use  their onboard propulsion systems to reach their final operating orbits.

A view of the Starlink and SkySat satellites before being enclosed in the nosecone fairings:

Three Planet SkySats at the top of the stack of Starlink satellite for the Starlink mission. Credits: SpaceX

A view of the launch from outside of the Cape: SpaceX-Starlink 8 Launch-Landing Burn 06-13-2020 – USLaunchReport:

The booster returned to Port Canveral this morning:

The nosecone fairings on this launch had flown previously. They were recovered intact from the ocean and could conceivably fly on third launch: SpaceX’s next rocket fairing reuse milestone within reach after latest recovery – Telsarati.

[ Update: Elon Musk comments on the fairings:


]

Find more about  other SpaceX activities below.

** Rocket Lab sent five smallsats to orbit on the 12th Electron launch from New Zealand just past midnight on Saturday morning US Eastern time. The payload included three test smallsats for NRO, the auroral plasma science ANDESITE 6U CubeSat built by students at Boston University , and the M2 Pathfinder communications test satellite from University of New South Wales campus at Canberra in Australia.

** Rocket Lab sets July 3rd for next Electron launch, three weeks after the mission described above:  Rocket Lab to Demonstrate Fastest Launch Turnaround to Date | Rocket Lab

The mission, ‘Pics Or It Didn’t Happen,’ is scheduled to launch from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 Pad A on New Zealand’s Māhia Peninsula no earlier than 3 July, 2020 UTC— just days after the successful launch of Rocket Lab’s most recent mission, ‘Don’t Stop Me Now,’ on 13 June, 2020 UTC. The back-to-back missions will represent Rocket Lab’s fastest turnaround between missions to date.

‘Pics Or It Didn’t Happen’ will deploy seven small satellites to a 500km circular low Earth orbit for a range of customers, including Spaceflight Inc.’s customer Canon Electronics, as well as Planet and In-Space Missions.

The primary payload aboard this mission, Canon Electronics Inc.’s CE-SAT-IB, was procured by satellite rideshare and mission management provider Spaceflight Inc. The mission objective for the CE-SAT-IB satellite is to demonstrate Canon Electronics Inc.’s Earth-imaging technology with high-resolution and wide-angle cameras, as well as test the microsatellite for mass production.

The next five spacecrafts manifested for this mission are the latest generation of SuperDove satellites manufactured by Planet, operator of the world’s largest constellation of Earth-observation satellites. Planet’s satellites are capable of imaging the Earth’s entire landmass on a near-daily basis. This unprecedented dataset helps researchers, students, businesses and governments discover patterns, detect early signals of change, and make timely, informed decisions. These five SuperDoves, Flock 4v, are equipped with new sensors to enable higher image quality with sharper, more vibrant colors and accurate surface reflectance values for advanced algorithms and time-series analysis.

The final spacecraft aboard Electron for this mission has been supplied by British small mission prime, In-Space Missions. The Faraday-1 6U CubeSat is a hosted payload mission providing a low-cost route to orbit for start-ups, institutions, and large corporate R&D groups.  In addition, it provides a first flight demonstration of In-Space’s own software-defined payload that will enable uploadable payload capabilities on future missions.  Faraday-1 is the first flight of the Faraday service with four future satellites already under contract.

See also Spaceflight Inc. Coordinates Rideshare Launch of Canon Electronics’ Second Earth Observation Satellite – Spaceflight.

** China sends an ocean observation satellite into orbit on a Long March 2C rocket:  China successfully launches new ocean observation satellite – Xinhua

China successfully sent an ocean observation satellite into orbit from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China’s Shanxi Province on Thursday.

A Long March-2C rocket, carrying the satellite HY-1D, lifted off at 2:31 a.m. (Beijing Time), according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

The new satellite will form China’s first satellite constellation for marine civil service together with HY-1C, which was launched in September 2018, and double the current ocean observation data, according to CNSA and the Ministry of Natural Resources.

See also Long March 2C lofts Haiyang-1D – NASASpaceFlight.com.

** Interstellar Technologies of Japan tried to reach suborbital space (100km) last Saturday with a MOMO sounding rocket. The MOMO-5 rocket lifted off and for 30 seconds or so the flight appeared to go well but then there was then a flash and spark-like debris was seen in the plume. The nozzle came apart. Nevertheless, the vehicle  continued upward for another 40 seconds and then began to tumble. The engine was shut off remotely and the vehicle fell into the sea about 4 miles offshore from the launch pad.

The rocket reached an altitude of about 11.5 kilometers. Surprisingly low considering how long the engine fired before the fault occurred. Other than the nozzle failure, all the other systems performed well. According to posts on the company’s Twitter account, another vehicle is already under construction.

More info at:

As its name suggests, Momo-F5 is the fifth sounding rocket built by Interstellar Technologies, which aims to build affordable rockets to “make space more accessible,” according to a statement. It stands 32 feet (10 meters) tall and weighs about 1 metric ton. The company has launched one successful mission, the Momo-F3 rocket flight of May 2019, out of its five to date.

Interstellar Technologies used the Campfire crowdfunding site to raise $391,000 (42 million yen) for the Momo-F5 launch, well above the mission’s goal of nearly $84,000 (9 million yen). The mission was named for the book “Poupelle of Chimney Town” by Akihiro Nishino.

** Astra will try again this July to launch a rocket to orbit from the Alaskan launch facility on Kodiak Island. San Francisco startup Astra is going for its first orbital rocket launch in July – CNBC.

** Briefs:

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Check out the
The Lurio Report
for news and analysis of key developments in NewSpace

The latest issue:
Riding a Dragon, Rockets Rising, Space Resource Policy
Vol. 15, No. 4, June 14, 2020

Space Frontier Foundation Award for NewSpace Journalism

==================

** SpaceX:

**** The Director General of Roscosmos not thrilled with SpaceX success in launching crew to the ISS and taking commercial satellites to GEO:

Responses to Rogozin plus comments on the Raptor engine:

  • Elon Musk: “Quite a piece! I should credit Soviet/Russian engine work in the 80’s as being a factor in deciding to switch from H2 to CH4. They demonstrated excellent performance on test stands, with Isp up to 380 secs.”
    • Elon Musk “Combined with SpaceX deep subcooling of propellants to near liquefaction temp of N2, use of common dome (CH4 & O2 liquid at similar temps) & higher T/W of engines enables de facto higher delta-V than an H2/O2 stage”.
    • Just a Tinker: “Folks don’t realize the mass penalty using hydrogen as rocket fuel. The Space Shuttle’s External Tank carried about four time the volume of liquid hydrogen than its liquid oxygen. Hydrogen is light but takes room that equates to larger tanks. Liquid methane takes much less room.“
    • Elon Musk: “Also, insulation of a deep cryogen ( which I’d call anything that liquifies nitrogen aka 78% of air) is heavy & prone to heat leaks. H2 is hell.“
  • Everyday Astronaut: “I know you’d never add unecessary complexity in the manufacturing line, but I’m still surprised you never made a closed cycle Merlin Vacuum to get closer to that 380 mark. Especially with SpaceX’s experience with ox rich preburners now with Raptor Rocket“.
  • Elon Musk: “We could never reach 380 Isp with RP/kerosene. CH4 has higher Isp potential on paper, but even better in practice. With CH4, you can reach >99% of max theoretical combustion efficiency, but RP is ~97% on a good day & requires desooting of turbines between flights.”
  • Elon Musk: “Important technical note: due to higher O/F of CH4 vs RP1 (oxygen is dense) & significant density increase of subcooled CH4 (plus no common dome insulation needed), plus cryo strength bump of CH4, tank mass of CH4/O2 stage is almost same as RP1/O2.“
  • Everyday Astronaut: “So now that Raptor’s been pushed through its paces and more and more in actual production, how’s it looking? Manage any full duration tests yet? Re-firing / re-using looking better than Merlin yet?“
  • Nick Wijngaards: “I’m curious to see new test footage or specs improvements of the raptor engine. SN1 vs SN20 Rocket“
  • Elon Musk: “Hundreds of improvements in manufacturability primarily (this is by far the hardest problem), mass down, thrust up, Isp up. Current improvement list continues past SN50. As the saying goes, it’s 1% inspiration & 99% perspiration …”
    • James Tyrrell: “We’re on SN5/6/7 and there are plans continuing past SN50!! well.. holy shit.“
    • Elon Musk: “Actually, we’re on SN30 for Raptor.“
  • Everyday Astronaut: “Some day can we get a video compilation, “How not to run a full flow staged combustion engine” like the booster landing montage. Face with tears of joy I’ll bet there’s some speculat failures when pushing Raptor, that would be an amazing video“
  • Elon Musk: “Sure. That’s long montage.“

**** Amazing Camera Views From Inside SpaceX Rocket Fairings – Scott Manley

On Tuesday a great video was posted from the fairing of a SpaceX rocket carrying a payload of Starlink Satellites. It was one of the best looks at the interior of the fairings which are practically independent spacecraft able to control their entry & descent to steer their way to a rendezvous with the recovery vessels.

**** Major upgrades planned for the McGregor test facility: SpaceX pursues local funding for $10 million upgrade to McGregor plant – wacotrib.com

The rocket company launched by billionaire Elon Musk will spend $10 million on infrastructure improvements at its rocket-testing facility in McGregor. The upgrades will include “noise suppressors,” which should prove welcome to those within earshot of SpaceX’s rumbling, window-rattling rehearsals.

Waco City Council and McLennan County Commissioners Court will vote Tuesday on sending SpaceX $2 million from the Waco-McLennan County Economic Development Corp. fund, with each entity allocating $1 million.

**A cool view of the separation of the booster from the upper stage and of the booster using its thrusters to reorient itself for its return for landing:

**** Starship

****** Labeled SN7 by observers, a shortened version of a Starship tank was moved to the launch area at Boca Chica Beach last week. (A similar shortened tank named SN2 was pressure tested back in March to check wielding techniques.) On Monday the tank was pressured tested until it failed. A rupture was much less dramatic than previous failures in which parts and metal were hurled about.

Elon said the test results were positive:

****** The full scale Starship prototype SN5 is expected to roll out to the pad area in a few days. It will mount on a new stand that’s nearly complete. The previous stand was destroyed by a fiery explosion when methane fuel ignited after leaking from a failed disconnect mechanism at the base of the SN4 vehicle. A ram mechanism has been installed in the stand for pushing on the bottom of the tank. This presumably simulates the stresses on the tanks during a launch to orbit. Arocket’s tank must deal not only with the internal pressure of the propellant but also the increase in the propellant’s effective “weight” as the rocket accelerates.

The original plan was for SN4 to do a low altitude hop powered by its single Raptor engine. SN5 would then do higher altitude flights using 3 Raptors. The presumption of observers is that SN5 will still get 3 Raptors despite SN4’s destruction before it had a chance to fly.

Assembly of prototype Starships SN6 is also nearly complete. See videos below for views of the construction of the Starship prototypes.

****** Elon Musk has indicated that launches of the huge Starship/Super Heavy booster combo will most likely require an offshore facility due to safety issues and loudness. It appears the preparations for development of such a facility are underway:

****** June 11: SpaceX Boca Chica – 304L Starship Sections Appear as Roll Lift Rides In – NASASpaceflight – YouTube

Lots of pre-rollout preps ongoing at SpaceX Boca Chica for SN5 and SN7 test tank as more Starship Sections – made from the new 304L Steel rings – appear at the production facility. Video and Pictures from the awesome Mary (@bocachicagal).

June 12: Starship SN7 Tank Rollout – SPadre – YouTube

June 14: SpaceX Boca Chica – Starship SN6 Stacking as SN5 heads outside. – NASASpaceflight – YouTube

With SN7 Test Tank at the launch site, Two “Grown Up” Starships – SN5 (now outside of the High Bay) and SN6 – (into final stacking) are preparing for the test campaigns. Video and Photos from Mary (@BocaChicaGal) – Edited by Jack Beyer (@thejackbeyer)

June 16: SpaceX Boca Chica – SN7 test tank reaches 7.6 bar during pressure test. – NASASpaceflight – YouTube

The SN7 test tank reached 7.6 bar during pressure testing to failure, per SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. With some improvements, Musk expects the next test tank to be able to achieve even higher pressures. Video and Pictures from Mary (@bocachicagal). Edited by (@thejackbeyer)

** Webcast rocket reports:

**** SpaceX Starship is now the top priority, Crew Dragon updates, Starlink launch with Planet rideshare – Marcus House

** SpaceX Starship Updates – Super Heavy Preparations – What about it!?

Today we will take a first look at SpaceX’s preparations for the largest booster Rocket ever built. Super Heavy. We will recap everything, that’s happened since the last Episode, look at the latest Starship Prototype progress, look into what Elon Musk had to say and last but not least, take a look at possibly the first efforts of getting infrastructure in place to support Super Heavy.

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Sweatshirt imprinted with “SpaceX Delivers the Goods” by C Sergent Lindsey.
Activism, Space Policy, SpaceCasts

The Space Show this week – June.15.2020

The guests and topics of discussion on The Space Show this week:

1. Monday, June 15, 2020; 7 pm PDT (9 pm CDT, 10 pm EDT: No special programming.

2. SPECIAL TIME: Tuesday, June 16, 2020, 5 pm PDT (7 pm CDT,  8 pm EDT) : We welcome back for the first segment, Dr. Harold Sonny White regarding advanced propulsion and physics. The balance of this program will fold over to Open Lines on any topic. Dr. White is with us for a limited amount of time so if you have a question or want to talk to him, be prompt in calling.

3. Wednesday, June 17, 2020: Hotel Mars TBA pre-recorded. See upcoming show menu on the home page for program details.

4. Thursday, June 18, 2020; 7-8:30 pm PDT (9-10:30 pm CDT, 10-11:30 pm EDT):

5. Friday, June 19, 2020; 9:30-11 am PDT (11:30 am-1 pm CDT, 12:30-2 pm EDT): We welcome back Andrew Chanin of ProcureAM for commercial updates.

6. Sunday, June 21, 2020; 12-1:30 pm PDT (3-4:30 pm EDT, 2-3:30 pm CDT): No show today due to Fathers Day in the U.S.

Some recent shows:

** Sun. June.14.2020 –  Adam Hibberd discussed “orbital trajectories, intercept, rendezvous missions with fast traveling interstellar visitors”.

** Fri. June12.2020 – Robert Jacobson discussed his new book, “Space Is Open For Business”:

** Thurs. June.11.2020 – Dr. Namrata Goswami on space policy, China space policy and plans, the virus and China, space law, why the Moon, commercial space,  Artemis Accords and much much more.

** Weds. June.10.2020 – Hotel Mars – John Batchelor and Dr. David Livingston spoke with William “Bruce” Banerdt, PI of the NASA InSight Mission “about the Mole instrument or heat probe that needs to drill down to about 16 feet through the Martian surface to take the “Martian temperature.” Our guest described the drilling problems, challenges and methods used to get the drilling back on track. We talked about drilling on Mars, Martian soil surprises, the actual temperature probe and much more.”

** Tues. June 9, 2020 – Dr. Eligar Sadeh discussed the Astropolitics Institute, The Journal of Astropolitics, and various space policy related topics.

** Hotel Mars – Wed. June 3, 2020 – John Batchelor and David Livingston spoke with Eric Berger spoke about “Boeing problems and culture, CST 100 Starliner, Phantom Express cancellation and more”.

** See also:
* The Space Show Archives
* The Space Show Newsletter
* The Space Show Shop

The Space Show is a project of the One Giant Leap Foundation.

The Space Show - David Livingston
The Space Show – David Livingston

 

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Activism, Roundup

Space policy roundup – June.15.2020

A sampling of links to recent space policy, politics, and government (US and international) related space news and resource items that I found of interest (find previous space policy roundups here):

International space

Webcasts:

** Space Café Podcast Episode 004 Featuring Roxy Guellmeister Is Now Available – SpaceWatch.Global

Episode 004 features special guest Roxy Guellmeister, Associate at Foster + Partners in London. Roxy sees our society in a state of massive change and expects numerous fundamental shifts to our familiar lives. She also sees the nascent race for space as a gigantic opportunity for many of our earthly challenges.

** Origins: Jim Bridenstine | Off-Nominal

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine joins Jake and Anthony for the first episode of Off-Nominal Origins. We talk about how he got interested in space and aviation, his time at Rice University, his years as a Navy pilot, his continuing fascination with the Rocket Racing League, and a whole lot more.

And yes, obviously, we talk about the time Jake and Anthony started a weird little sideshow at IAC 2019 with The Jim Bridenstine Fan Club.

** The Space Show – Fri. June12.2020 – Robert Jacobson discussed his new book, “Space Is Open For Business”:

** The Space Show – Thurs. June.11.2020 – Dr. Namrata Goswami on space policy, China space policy and plans, the virus and China, space law, why the Moon, commercial space,  Artemis Accords and much much more.

** The Space Show – Tues. June 9, 2020 – Dr. Eligar Sadeh discussed the Astropolitics Institute, The Journal of Astropolitics, and various space policy related topics.

** Hotel Mars – Wed. June 3, 2020 – John Batchelor and David Livingston spoke with Eric Berger spoke about “Boeing problems and culture, CST 100 Starliner, Phantom Express cancellation and more”.

** June 12, 2020 Zimmerman/Batchelor podcast | Behind The Black

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Videos: “Space to Ground” ISS report – June.12.2020

Here is the latest episode in NASA’s Space to Ground weekly report on activities related to the International Space Station:

** Expedition 63 InFlight Event with ABC and NBC – June 8, 2020

Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 63 Flight Engineers Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken of NASA discussed their groundbreaking flight to the orbital outpost on the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft during a pair of interviews June 8 with ABC News and NBC News. Hurley and Behnken launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket May 30 to the orbital outpost, arriving the next day to join station commander Chris Cassidy of NASA and Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner. It was the first launch of American astronauts on a U.S. rocket from U.S. soil since the retirement of the space shuttle in July 2011.

** SpaceX CRS-20 Research Overview: Delta Faucet Company – ISS National Lab

SpaceX CRS-20 will support a variety of research investigations, including a water droplet formation payload of Delta Faucet’s current H2Okinetic® shower head technology versus the industry-standard use of jet nozzles. H2Okinetic® technology allows better control of droplet size and increases the speed of the drops (fewer water drops are used, but the droplets are larger and are moving faster), which creates a feeling of increased pressure for the end user. The study will evaluate how best to control the output of water droplets to create a better performing shower device that provides an improved experience for the end user while also conserving water and energy. This research overview highlights the future investigation.

** SpaceX CRS-20 Research Overview: adidas Boost in Space – ISS National Lab

On SpaceX CRS-20, adidas, the global apparel company will launch its proprietary Boost shoe technology to investigate the flow of nonuniform foam particles to study the mixing and packing behavior in the absence of gravity. Results will help inform the manufacturing process of adidas Boost shoe soles, which contain polymer particles fused together. This overview video provides background on the investigation.

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Rockets, Space transport roundup

Space transport roundup – June.10.2020

A sampling of recent articles, videos, and images dealing with space transport (find previous roundups here):

** SpaceX to launch another batch of Starlink satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket this week, the second such launch in June. Liftoff at Cape Canaveral is set for 5:42 am EDT (0942 GMT). Here is a video from SpaceX showing the fairings separating from the Falcon 9 on the recent Starlink launch:

Find more about other SpaceX activities below

** Rocket Lab Electron set to launch on Thursday June 11:. The liftoff is set for a window between 12:43-2:32 a.m. EDT ( 0443-0632 GMT)

See also:

** Update on development of ULA Vulcan launch system: Vulcan on track as ULA eyes early-2021 test flight to the Moon – NASASpaceFlight.com

United Launch Alliance has announced their Vulcan rocket is progressing towards its maiden launch as soon as early-2021. While an exact launch target isn’t known yet, the mission will use a newly-built Launch Umbilical Tower while sharing Atlas V’s Vertical Integration Facility and SLC-41 launch pad in Florida.

** Update on ESA’s reusable Prometheus engine: ESA moves ahead on low-cost reusable rocket engine – ESA

ESA’s Prometheus is the precursor of ultra-low-cost rocket propulsion that is flexible enough to fit a fleet of new launch vehicles for any mission and will be potentially reusable.

At the Space19+ Council meeting in Seville, Spain last November, ESA received full funding to bring the current Prometheus engine design to a technical maturity suitable for industry. Developed by ArianeGroup, Prometheus is now seen as key in the effort to prepare competitive future European access to space.

By applying a design-to-cost approach to manufacturing Prometheus, ESA aims to lower the cost of production by a factor of ten of the current main stage Ariane 5 Vulcain 2 engine.

Rendering of the reusable methane fueled Promethus engine.

** Sierra Nevada posts snapshots from Dream Chaser assembly:

** Briefs:

==================

Check out the
The Lurio Report
for news and analysis of key developments in NewSpace

The latest issue:
Masten Goes Lunar, Rocket Lab, New Space and a Virus
Vol. 15, No. 3, May 2, 2020

Space Frontier Foundation Award for NewSpace Journalism

==================

** SpaceX:

**** SpaceX aiming for four launches in June:

  • June 3:  Successful launch of Starlink 7
  • June 12 – Starlink 8 + Planet Labs SkySats 16-18
  • June 24 – Starlink 9 + Two Blacksky/LeoStella satellites
  • June 30 – USAF GPS-III-SV03

Acceleration of the Starlink deployments is very important for the company and two or more Starlink flights per month are likely to become the norm: Evaluating SpaceX’s Starlink Push – NASASpaceFlight.com.

**** A Falcon 9 booster landed after a 5th flight following the Spacelink 8 launch on June 3rd. A previous booster flew five times but its 5th landing failed due to a mistake during refurbishment. The boosters for the Falcon 9 Block 5 vehicles, considered the final major variant of the F9 system, were designed to fly 10 times before undergoing either major refurbishment or retirement. So this booster will no doubt be used for a 6th flight. Turn around times were predicted by Elon Musk to go as low as 24 hours but so far have not been less than a couple of months. With the pressure on to launch Spacelink satellites as quickly as possible, it will be interesting to see if the turnaround times decrease substantially.

**** Booster from June 3rd Starlink launch has already gone horizontal at Port Canaveral. Leg retractions now happen quite soon after the boosters are lifted from the landing platforms onto the dock.

A video of the booster returning to Port Canaveral on June 7th:

**** Starlink and Dragon spacecraft share some hardware and software technology: SpaceX engineers flash some facts about Starlink satellites – Geekwire

    • The technology used for the display screens on the Crew Dragon also provided the basis for the user interface on the first two prototype Starlink satellites, launched in 2018. “It’s grown a ton since then, but it was awesome to see Bob and Doug using something that somehow felt familiar to us too,” Monson wrote.
    • SpaceX relies on the Linux operating system in its satellites as well as its rockets. “Each launch of 60 satellites contains more than 4,000 Linux computers,” Monson said. “The constellation has more than 30,000 Linux nodes (and more than 6,000 microcontrollers) in space right now. And because we share a lot of our Linux platform infrastructure with Falcon and Dragon, they get the benefit of our more than 180 vehicle-years of on-orbit test time.”

**** NASA agrees to allow crew missions to fly with previously flown Dragon spacecraft and first stage boosters. This is similar to what happened with cargo missions. After initial flights with all new systems are performed successfully, NASA will allow to the utilization of previously flown Dragon 2 vehicles and F9 boosters. There will be certification procedures to insure the systems are as ready for flights as  new unused systems would be.

**** Astronauts launched on first crewed Dragon mission will stay at the ISS till August. : NASA anticipates August return for Hurley and Behnken – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft will likely return to Earth in August to wrap up a test flight to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, a senior space agency official said Tuesday.

The exact schedule for Hurley and Behnken’s return to Earth will hinge on several factors, such as the performance of their Crew Dragon spaceship, the progress of their work on the space station, and weather conditions in the capsule’s landing zones in the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, according to Ken Bowersox, the acting associate administrator for NASA’s human exploration and operations mission directorate.

Bowersox said Tuesday that the Crew Dragon’s Demo-2 mission — the first SpaceX mission to carry astronauts — is proceeding as planned, and the crew capsule is performing well since its launch on a Falcon 9 rocket May 30 from the Kennedy Space Center and docking with the space station one day later.

The first operational crew mission with four astronauts aboard a Dragon is expected to lift off in late August or early September:

NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker, and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi are training for the Crew-1 mission. The Crew-1 flight will only launch after the return of the Demo-2 mission, and a subsequent review of data from the Crew Dragon test flight.

While the spacecraft for the Demo-2 mission came with a four-month certified mission lifetime, the Dragon for the Crew-1 flight will be certified for a full-duration 210-day mission, according to NASA.

Stich said there are several modifications to the capsule SpaceX is building for the Crew-1 mission, although major components such as the capsule’s life support system and guidance, navigation and control systems are largely unchanged.

“The Crew-1 vehicle can land in a little bit higher wind state,” Stich said. SpaceX has changed some of the outer composite panels to make that a little stronger.”

“It also has the capability not only dock to the forward port of the space station, but it can go to the zenith (space-facing) port as well, so it has that capability, and it has a couple other features,” Stich said.

**** 10 years since the launch of the first Falcon 9. Here’s an article about the history of the F9 highlighted by a couple of interesting stories about improvisations that got the early F9s into orbit on time: Forget Dragon, the Falcon 9 rocket is the secret sauce of SpaceX’s success | Ars Technica

Musk hated to substantially delay the mission. With this first launch of the Cargo Dragon spacecraft, he knew full well SpaceX stood to make history. No private company had ever launched a spacecraft into orbit before and then safely retrieved it. So he took out his phone and rang up Marty Anderson, one of the company’s ace technicians.

“Hey Marty, do you think you can just go and climb in the interstage and cut the bottom six inches off the skirt?” Musk asked.

No joke—Musk wanted Anderson to go into the rocket with a pair of metal shears and trim the bottom of the skirt. This was the solution to a tear in an engine nozzle.

Anderson was game. Hours later, he flew on Musk’s private jet from the company’s factory in California to Florida, got into a lift, and rode a crane up to the interstage. This happened with the rocket standing upright, out on the launch pad. Soon, Anderson had snipped away the skirt at the bottom of the engine.

**** Starship

****** The cleanup following the SN4 explosion proceeded rapidly and another launch platform will be ready soon. According to road closure schedules and FAA notices, the SN5 prototype is expected to roll out to the launch site this week and engine tests restarted soon thereafter.

More at SpaceX set for a swift return to testing following Starship SN4 anomaly – NASASpaceFlight.com.

** Elon makes Starship the primary focus for SpaceX. With the successful launch of the Crew Dragon spacecraft to the ISS with two astronauts on board, the development of the Falcon vehicle Crew systems is essentially complete. The company will need to insure that Crew and Cargo operations are carried out efficiently and safely, but the hardware development segments of the company can now move on to other projects. These will now be centered on development of the Starship and its Super Heavy Booster systems: Elon Musk email to SpaceX employees: Starship is the top priority – CNBC

SpaceX launched astronauts for the first time barely a week ago but CEO Elon Musk does not want the company resting on its laurels.

Instead, Musk urged SpaceX employees to accelerate progress on its next-generation Starship rocket “dramatically and immediately,” writing Saturday in a company-wide email seen by CNBC.

“Please consider the top SpaceX priority (apart from anything that could reduce Dragon return risk) to be Starship,” Musk wrote in the email.

See also

****** SpaceX drops plans to restart Starship activities at a facility at Port of L.A. While some design and component manufacture will be carried out at the Hawthorne, California headquarters, it appears that Texas will be the primary site for most all Starship  development, assembly, and testing activities.

****** View of the Boca Chica facilities:

The next major structure for Boca Chica is a building to assemble the huge Super Heavy booster: SpaceX’s Starship Super Heavy booster needs a custom assembly tower – Teslarati

**** Selections of videos showing activity at Boca Chica during the past week:

****** June 5: SpaceX Boca Chica – Starship SN7 taking shape as launch site is prepared for SN5 – NASASpaceflight – YouTube

With Starship SN5 days from rolling to the launch site Starship SN7 sections (inc. “mystery dome”) are being prepared for stacking next to Starship SN6 in the High Bay! Video and Photos from Mary (@bocachicagal). Edited by Jack Beyer (@thejackbeyer)

****** June 6:  SpaceX Boca Chica – New Starship Nosecone Peeking – NASASpaceflight – YouTube

While preparations continue at the launch site for the arrival of Starship SN5, future Starships are lining up for their turn. Another new nosecone was spotted peeking out of one of the big tents. Video and Photos from Mary (@bocachicagal). Edited by Jack Beyer (@thejackbeyer)

****** June 8:  SpaceX Boca Chica – Launch Pad prepares to receive Starship SN5 – NASASpaceflight – YouTube

Lots of work on the newly installed launch mount at the Boca Chica launch site was ongoing on Sunday as Starship SN5 prepares for this coming week’s rollout for testing. Video and Photos from Mary (@bocachicagal). Edited by Jack Beyer (@thejackbeyer)

****** June 8:  SpaceX Boca Chica – SN6 prepares as launch site work continues – NASASpaceflight – YouTube

While work continues at the SpaceX Boca Chica launch site ahead of Starship SN5’s arrival later this week, Starship SN6 is almost ready to become a complete stack via work on the thrust section. Video and Pictures from Mary (@bocachicagal)

****** June 9: SpaceX Boca Chica – SN7 dome goes for a flip – NASASpaceflight – YouTube

Three Starships in work at SpaceX Boca Chica, highlighted by a flip of a SN7 dome, that is either a common or top dome, but is certainly looks different to previous domes. Video and Photos from Mary (@bocachicagal). Edited by Jack Beyer (@thejackbeyer).

** Webcast rocket reports:

**** SpaceX Starship News with SN5, SN6 and SN7, Crew Dragon to be reused for Crew flights, Starlink – Marcus House

**** Scott Manley reviews rocket designs that SpaceX proposed but later dropped:

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=== Space Art from C. Sergent Lindsey ===

Sweatshirt imprinted with Space Art from C. Sergent Lindsey.

Everyone can participate in space