It’s been a little while since any major space related news, but then again it’s been a rather quiet front on the side of launches of note – or at least, ones I feel it good to write about. In this case, we have another SpaceX Falcon 9 launch, this one of a communications satellite […]
Tag: spacex
A SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches Echostar 105 / SES-11
A SpaceX Falcon 9 booster successfully launched from Launch Complex 39A yesterday (October 11th) carrying the Echostar 105 / SES-11 satellite. This is an interesting “Dual Mission” type of satellite, carrying two independent communications relay systems dedicated to two separate tasks which both cover the same general range over the Earth. This launch was delayed […]
A SpaceX Falcon 9 Successfully Launches A New Set of Iridium NEXT Satellites
Early this morning a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, carrying 10 new satellites for the Iridium NEXT communications network. They were released about an hour after launch once they were in their proper positions to function in the “constellation” of satellites that will make up the Iridium NEXT […]
Re: The Downsizing Of The SpaceX “BFR”
While I plan on eventually addressing the entiretiy of the points made by Elon Musk at the International Astronautical Congress this past Friday, I did want to, at current, focus on one thing that has really gotten under my skin; the fact that SpaceX has, as I’ve heard others say, down-scaled and in some ways […]
Can SpaceX Actually Accomplish It’s Incredible Goals?
Something that I don’t think has actually come up in my commentary on SpaceX and its fan base is the question of capability. With all the criticisms I (naturally) have for the far off, science-fiction sounding goals of the company, you have to wonder: Do I actually think SpaceX can do all the things they […]
Let’s Look At The Comments On A SpaceX Facebook Post
In keeping with my desire to be “that guy” addressing the cult like nature of SpaceX fans, I thought today would be a good day to look at comments on a SpaceX post on Facebook today regarding (as of the time of this writing) an update Elon Musk will provide regarding the Interplanetary Transport System; […]
One Year Ago I Discovered The Cult Of SpaceX
SpaceX Successfully Launches The X-37B For Its OTV-5 Mission
Yesterday SpaceX successfully launched the military’s X-37B space-plane into orbit for another mission to do… well, we really don’t know. It’s somewhat a mystery what it does – we know it “hosts experiments” and is built for long duration flight (literally over a year in orbit on its last mission) as well as high maneuverability, […]
SpaceX Isn’t Perfect
A key theme that seems to exist in the mind of every member of the “Cult of SpaceX” is this presumption that SpaceX is somehow perfect – that nothing ever goes wrong when SpaceX is involved! Even if this isn’t literally what is thought, the attitude presented exudes such an idea. SpaceX isn’t perfect. No […]
Formosat-5 Successfully Launches On A Falcon 9 Rocket
Another SpaceX launch, this time of the Taiwanese Earth-Observation satellite Formosat-5. This was one of the lightest payloads ever launched on a Falcon 9 at only about 475 kilograms, are just over 1000 lbs. Most Falcon 9 payloads tend to be in the 3,000-7,000 kilogram weight range, with one going so far as 9,000 kilograms […]
SpaceX CRS-12 Successfully Launches To The International Space Station
Today marked another Falcon 9 launch, carrying a Dragon cargo spacecraft on a resupply mission to the International, Space Station. As usual, it was a nominal launch with a successful first stage landing, and successful insertion into orbit of the Dragon spacecraft which should be getting to the Space Station about the time I publish […]
A Reminder: I Don’t Hate SpaceX, I Just Hate How Some Fans Behave About It
SpaceX Builds The Final Dragon V1 Capsule
It looks like SpaceX has, as the title states, built the final Dragon V1 capsule, in preparations to get to production of the Dragon V2 capsule going – this is the vehicle that will be crew-capable. So, this means that SpaceX wil be re-flying their Dragon capsules for the foreseeable future, as their role as […]
The Problem With Trendy Science
Yesterday I did my best at trying to explain the concept I call “Trendy Science” – that is, the idea of proposals which sound amazing and pick up interest from the media and the populace, but when examined in detail the proposal just doesn’t hold up. Rather than researching something and figuring out practical applications […]
What Is “Trendy Science”?
The news right now is filled with reports of different companies, in all kinds of fields, announcing new technical marvels that will change the way we live! Hyperloops, Solar Roadways, self filling water bottles and more get thrown in our faces in much the same way that the next big weight loss cure is pushed […]