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Spacex launches SN15 and sticks the landing
Space.com ^ | 05/05/2021 | mike Wall

Posted on 05/05/2021 4:12:07 PM PDT by markman46

paceX launches Starship SN15 rocket and sticks the landing in high-altitude test flight By Mike Wall 8 minutes ago

"Landing nominal," Elon Musk says.

Click here for more Space.com videos... SpaceX's SN15 stuck the landing.

The private spaceflight company's latest Starship prototype aced a high-altitude test flight today (May 5), checking every box from takeoff to touchdown for the first time.

"We are down! The Starship has landed," John Insprucker, SpaceX's principal integration engineer, said during live commentary.

Today's uncrewed test came on the 60th anniversary of the United States' first-ever crewed spaceflight, the suborbital jaunt of NASA astronaut Alan Shepard. The historical parallel is coincidental but appropriate, for SN15's success marks a big step forward in SpaceX's plans to help extend humanity's footprint out into the final frontier.

(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...


TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: 60thanniversary; alanshepard; astronomy; atthehop; blueorigin; elonmusk; jeffbezos; johninsprucker; mars; nasa; nominallanding; science; sn15; spacex; spacexploration; starlink; starship; tesla
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To: Truth29

I think that your comments show why Elon is really wanting to leave the Earth. :)


21 posted on 05/05/2021 5:47:39 PM PDT by Shark24 ( )
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To: Truth29

When Worlds Collide?


22 posted on 05/05/2021 5:49:58 PM PDT by wastedyears (The left would kill every single one of us and our families if they knew they could get away with it)
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To: gundog

I’ve seen Elon sweat each manned launch. I don’t think he will get complacent. My opinion.


23 posted on 05/05/2021 5:50:07 PM PDT by Shark24 ( )
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To: markman46
just a nice landing on two raptors, small fire put out will(sic..with) water cannons. at this moment still venting, robo doggies out looking sn15 over.

Just a few years ago these sentences would have made no sense what-so-ever!

24 posted on 05/05/2021 5:50:59 PM PDT by Politically Correct (A member of the rabble in good standing)
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To: Shark24

Elon said early on ‘I was born on Earth, but I don’t want to die on it’. I think that sums it up. His life wish is to go to Mars and die there. To me, that’s one of the greatest ideals you can have.


25 posted on 05/05/2021 5:54:30 PM PDT by Shadylake
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To: Shark24

No. Probably few people actually involved become complacent. Let’s hope no one puts scheduling ahead of lives, as in the case of the Challenger launch when someone had concerns about the O rings in the cold.


26 posted on 05/05/2021 5:54:35 PM PDT by gundog (It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. )
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To: Shark24

The only reason Elon wasn’t there physically today was that he was in New York, rehearsing for this weekend’s ‘Saturday Night Live’.

I had just ended my work shift for the day and watched the whole thing on my smartphone while driving home from work. I finally pulled over into a parking lot and watched the finish. I was screaming like a banshee when it came down and didn’t explode.


27 posted on 05/05/2021 6:03:28 PM PDT by hoagy62 (DTCM&OTTH)
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To: absalom01

I’ll take it! Beautiful landing, none the less!

And without the Government!!

Even better!


28 posted on 05/05/2021 6:04:28 PM PDT by Howie66 (God Bless TEXAS! #Texit)
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To: hoagy62

I think I’ll watch SNL with him. Last time was when Trump was on, and it was real bad. I hate to see my heroes do themselves in like this. Elon has a few built-in Dogecoin jokes though.

SNL is a bit like twitter, suicide-bait for those doing well.


29 posted on 05/05/2021 6:28:24 PM PDT by Shadylake
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To: markman46

Yeah, they almost stuck the landing in the dirt off of the edge of the pad!

Check out SN 15’s position relative to the landing pad edge in the video of the rocket once the exhaust smoke clears and they turn on the remote control firehoses to deal with the post-landing methane fuel fire.

BTW, I am a big SpaceX fan. So this is embarrassing and, as Jürgen Prochnow (Das Boot, Dune (1984)) has said: “Damn Sloppy!”


30 posted on 05/05/2021 6:36:23 PM PDT by Captain Rhino (Determined effort today forges tomorrow.)
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To: Captain Rhino

They’ll fix it, they land Falcon boosters dead center every time now. I was mostly concerned about the fire, but apparently that might be something they might have to fix later. Lots of methane leakage apparently.

No matter what, this was a huge achievement. SN16 is rolling out and they’ll probably have software updates to make it more centered.


31 posted on 05/05/2021 6:42:36 PM PDT by Shadylake
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To: plain talk

IIRC, I first heard the phrase “Stick the landing” while watching gymnastics events. It is used to refer to a landing at the finish of some aerial routine where the gymnast lands precisely and cleanly without the hop that can happen when you are off balance and not dealing effectively with momentum and rebound.


32 posted on 05/05/2021 6:46:03 PM PDT by Captain Rhino (Determined effort today forges tomorrow.)
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To: Shadylake
The repeated precise Falcon 9 landing performances are made being so far off center concerning.

They have got a long, long way to go before this ship can be certified for human space flight. I'm confident they will get there.

33 posted on 05/05/2021 6:53:46 PM PDT by Captain Rhino (Determined effort today forges tomorrow.)
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To: Captain Rhino

I’m confident too. Give it another few years and they’ll have Super Heavy and Starship man rated. I don’t know if they’ll do it by 2024, but that’s not their goal now. They just need the lunar lander by 2024 (I’m sure that’ll be delayed a few years). If the platform can work in 2021, I think Musk can reach most of his goals.


34 posted on 05/05/2021 7:02:16 PM PDT by Shadylake
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To: Captain Rhino

I saw it it hopped a bit.


35 posted on 05/05/2021 7:14:56 PM PDT by markman46 (engage brain before using keyboard!!!)
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To: TChad

Just wait till the booster is ready, the oribital launch mount will be massive


36 posted on 05/05/2021 7:18:58 PM PDT by markman46 (engage brain before using keyboard!!!)
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To: Captain Rhino

Thanks. I was not familiar with the expression which seems foreign and clumsy to me.


37 posted on 05/05/2021 7:20:13 PM PDT by plain talk
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To: Truth29

SpaceX and musk are developing starship on their own dime


38 posted on 05/05/2021 7:20:22 PM PDT by markman46 (engage brain before using keyboard!!!)
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To: Politically Correct

Yep that is very true, sci-fi becoming reality in front of your eyes


39 posted on 05/05/2021 7:22:02 PM PDT by markman46 (engage brain before using keyboard!!!)
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To: Shadylake

Agree. The long game here runs well into the next century. We’ll be long gone. The important thing now is not to let the profit-driven engineering mentality suck all the youthful energy and enthusiasm out of our efforts. Because the Chinese will gladly replace the West if it can catch up with and pass us. The CCP knows exactly what it wants.

And all it will take is us losing our focus now.

Even worse, the legacy aerospace companies will ...no, I should not even think or write down what just flashed through my thoughts. After all, they are not Hollywood or the NBA. Right?


40 posted on 05/05/2021 7:23:19 PM PDT by Captain Rhino (Determined effort today forges tomorrow.)
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