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28 Oct, 4 tweets, 1 min read
SpaceX VP Hans Koenigsmann confirms it was the GPS-III SV-04 launch that auto-aborted during the final seconds of countdown, due to "two [Merlin] engines attempting to start early."
Koenigsmann: SpaceX was "actually able to replicate" the behavior on its test stand in Texas. Additional inspections revealed a substance was blocking a release valve.
Koenigsmann: SpaceX was "able to fix something that was very subtle but can obviously have some negative impact on launch operations."
Koenigsmann: During the time SpaceX was diagnosing the Falcon 9 issue, "the team continued to make progress on the Dragon [spacecraft in] processing."

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Michael Sheetz Profile picture
28 Oct
Q: What material did SpaceX find in the engine release valve? Are the engines for Crew-1 from the same production line as the problematic ones?

Koenigsmann: "It was described to me as a lacquer, basically a nail polish I think is a good analogy. In this case it had a red color."
Koenigsmann further breaks down the sequence that caused the auto-abort for GPS-III SV04: "It's not necessarily bad in most cases for the engine but, in extreme cases, it may cause damage to the engine."
NASA's Stich adds that use of this lacquer "is very standard in aerospace."
Read 4 tweets
Michael Sheetz Profile picture
28 Oct
Crew-1, walking the halls of SpaceX HQ
.@Astro_Soichi is ready
@Astro_Soichi .@VicGlover too
Read 5 tweets
Michael Sheetz Profile picture
27 Oct
NEWS: SpaceX last night rolled out the "Better Than Nothing Beta" test, revealing Starlink satellite internet service is priced at $99 a month – plus $499 upfront for the user terminal, mounting tripod and wifi router, according to emails seen by CNBC. cnbc.com/2020/10/27/spa…
“Expect to see data speeds vary from 50Mb/s to 150Mb/s and latency from 20ms to 40ms over the next several months as we enhance the Starlink system. There will also be brief periods of no connectivity at all,” the emails said, signed Starlink Team. cnbc.com/2020/10/27/spa…
There is also a free Starlink mobile app now available for iPhone and Android.

Apple app store: apps.apple.com/us/app/starlin…
Google Play store: play.google.com/store/apps/det…
cnbc.com/2020/10/27/spa…
Read 6 tweets
Michael Sheetz Profile picture
22 Oct
Morgan Stanley doubled its long-term valuation for SpaceX to $101 billion:

"SpaceX continues to solidify its place as 'mission control' for the emerging space economy" with Starlink and Starship.

Here's how the firm values Elon Musk's company: cnbc.com/2020/10/22/mor…
Morgan Stanley's base case SpaceX valuation:

– Rockets: $11.7 billion
– Starlink: $80.9 billion
– Point-to-point travel: $8.7 billion
cnbc.com/2020/10/22/mor…
While the company is currently launching rockets at a rate of about one every two and half weeks, Morgan Stanley’s base case assumes “SpaceX achieves a launch cadence of 1 launch per day by 2040.”
cnbc.com/2020/10/22/mor…
Read 5 tweets
Michael Sheetz Profile picture
22 Oct
SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell, speaking from the company's HQ at the #TIME100Talks, says she believes in the next 10 years "people will be able to travel into space who are not billionaires" and that "people will be able to travel to Mars."
@SpaceX @elonmusk Shotwell told @patbits: "I remember when I was interviewing with Elon in 2002 and he had such a ambitious goal, it sounded absolutely insane at the time. And now almost 20 years later, it doesn't actually sound that insane - at least not to the insiders, maybe to the public."
@SpaceX @elonmusk @patbits Shotwell: "We are not giving up on Earth, when we talk about building capability to move humanity to other planet ... it's actually just giving humanity another shot in case there would be some horrible event on Earth ... a second planet to live."
Read 11 tweets
Michael Sheetz Profile picture
22 Oct
Firefly Aerospace is targeting no earlier than Dec. 22 for the maiden launch of its Alpha rocket, CEO Tom Markusic tells me – and he's feeling confident:

"I think it's very reasonable for us to expect complete success on the first launch." cnbc.com/2020/10/21/fir…
Only a handful of tests remain until Alpha’s first launch. Firefly conducted a final engine test with the rocket’s first stage two weeks ago, with a second stage engine test up next.
cnbc.com/2020/10/21/fir…
Then Firefly will conduct the activation of SLC-2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, essentially confirming that the ground systems are ready to go. Here's the TEL (Transporter Erector Launcher) up for the first time this week: cnbc.com/2020/10/21/fir…
Read 6 tweets

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