Comments on: The beat goes on: SpaceX launches twice today https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/the-beat-goes-on-spacex-launches-twice-todaythe-beat-goes-on-spacex-launches-another-23-starlink-satellites/ Sat, 09 Mar 2024 00:08:27 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 By: Dick Eagleson https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/the-beat-goes-on-spacex-launches-twice-todaythe-beat-goes-on-spacex-launches-another-23-starlink-satellites/#comment-1450966 Sat, 09 Mar 2024 00:08:27 +0000 https://behindtheblack.com/?p=103283#comment-1450966 Richard M,

With SLC-6 at Vandy getting into SpaceX service next year I’d say the company needs at least one more drone ship on each coast.

]]> By: Dick Eagleson https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/the-beat-goes-on-spacex-launches-twice-todaythe-beat-goes-on-spacex-launches-another-23-starlink-satellites/#comment-1450964 Sat, 09 Mar 2024 00:05:37 +0000 https://behindtheblack.com/?p=103283#comment-1450964 pzatchok,

I’d like to know all of those things as well. Perhaps one of Eric Berger’s future books will take a deep dive into the evolving details of F9 operations.

]]> By: Richard M https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/the-beat-goes-on-spacex-launches-twice-todaythe-beat-goes-on-spacex-launches-another-23-starlink-satellites/#comment-1450310 Wed, 06 Mar 2024 04:27:35 +0000 https://behindtheblack.com/?p=103283#comment-1450310 If this keeps up, they are gonna need another recovery barge.

]]> By: pzatchok https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/the-beat-goes-on-spacex-launches-twice-todaythe-beat-goes-on-spacex-launches-another-23-starlink-satellites/#comment-1450300 Wed, 06 Mar 2024 02:52:59 +0000 https://behindtheblack.com/?p=103283#comment-1450300 That is pretty much what its turning into.

]]> By: Rockribbed1 https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/the-beat-goes-on-spacex-launches-twice-todaythe-beat-goes-on-spacex-launches-another-23-starlink-satellites/#comment-1450278 Wed, 06 Mar 2024 00:59:03 +0000 https://behindtheblack.com/?p=103283#comment-1450278 Oil change, new air filter, rotate the tires. Fill er up.

]]> By: pzatchok https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/the-beat-goes-on-spacex-launches-twice-todaythe-beat-goes-on-spacex-launches-another-23-starlink-satellites/#comment-1450256 Tue, 05 Mar 2024 23:46:00 +0000 https://behindtheblack.com/?p=103283#comment-1450256 It is great that the Merlin’s are making multiple launches without more than a “filter” change. But it would be nice to know how often a full take down and rebuild of an engine does cost and how often it happens.

It would also be nice to know what they do to refly one of the capsules.

]]> By: Dick Eagleson https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/the-beat-goes-on-spacex-launches-twice-todaythe-beat-goes-on-spacex-launches-another-23-starlink-satellites/#comment-1450228 Tue, 05 Mar 2024 22:41:36 +0000 https://behindtheblack.com/?p=103283#comment-1450228 pzatchok,

I don’t think Merlins get swapped out all that often. SpaceX recently announced that, while its most-flown 1st stages have racked up 19 launches, there was one particular Merlin that has flown 22 times. Any Merlins that are swapped out probably just go through a repair process and enter the pool of spares again. They might even be installed on “new” Falcon 9 booster stages and sent through the usual certification tests at McGregor.

]]> By: Dick Eagleson https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/the-beat-goes-on-spacex-launches-twice-todaythe-beat-goes-on-spacex-launches-another-23-starlink-satellites/#comment-1450223 Tue, 05 Mar 2024 22:33:37 +0000 https://behindtheblack.com/?p=103283#comment-1450223 Mr. Zimmerman: As SpaceX continues to ramp up its Falcon launch cadence, keeping up will only get harder. And when Starship hits its stride it’s really going to be “Katie, bar the door” when it comes to keeping up. That should be about the same time a number of other reusable American launch vehicles start adding materially to the totals. I suspect that, within two or three years, you will be forced to cease making separate posts for each launch and just do a single daily update with a list of the day’s launches and the same updated totals you now publish. As Moon and Mars expeditions ramp up it may become impractical to even allow each launch a separate line in the daily summary and you’ll have to go to a system of just providing subtotal line items for certain types of launches – Starship tankers and Starlink deployments, for example.

]]> By: pzatchok https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/the-beat-goes-on-spacex-launches-twice-todaythe-beat-goes-on-spacex-launches-another-23-starlink-satellites/#comment-1449958 Tue, 05 Mar 2024 02:49:57 +0000 https://behindtheblack.com/?p=103283#comment-1449958 I wonder if Space X is publishing the engine numbers?

How many flights between overhauls, How many flights on each engine and so on.

At this point that might be the largest cost for Space X.

]]> By: Robert Zimmerman https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/the-beat-goes-on-spacex-launches-twice-todaythe-beat-goes-on-spacex-launches-another-23-starlink-satellites/#comment-1449948 Tue, 05 Mar 2024 01:56:08 +0000 https://behindtheblack.com/?p=103283#comment-1449948 In reply to Dick Eagleson.

Dick Eagleson: Gosh, I missed that Vandenberg launch entirely. I will post. Thanks.

]]> By: Dick Eagleson https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/the-beat-goes-on-spacex-launches-twice-todaythe-beat-goes-on-spacex-launches-another-23-starlink-satellites/#comment-1449947 Tue, 05 Mar 2024 01:38:41 +0000 https://behindtheblack.com/?p=103283#comment-1449947 About two hours before it launched those Starlinks from Canaveral, SpaceX also launched its 10th Transporter rideshare mission from Vandenberg. So the SpaceX launch total for 2024 now stands at 22, not 21.

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