上位 200 件のコメント全て表示する 234

[–]blongmire 105 ポイント106 ポイント  (35子コメント)

This is basically a privately funded version of EM-2, right? SLS's second mission was to take Orion on an exploratory cruise around the moon and back. SpaceX would be 4 years ahead of the current timeline, and I'm sure a few billion less. Is this SpaceX directly challenging SLS?

[–]Creshal 42 ポイント43 ポイント  (14子コメント)

Kinda sorta ish. Falcon Heavy can't compete with the planned later blocks of SLS, "only" with the early, limited capability test versions.

[–]CapMSFC 5 ポイント6 ポイント  (0子コメント)

That is under the assumption later blocks even happen and do so in a reasonable time frame.

Block 2 is certainly a class beyond but when? Will it get funding long enough if FH and New Glenn are undercutting block 1 by being close enough in capacity for a fraction of the price?

[–]blongmire 7 ポイント8 ポイント  (1子コメント)

Falcon Heavy can go head to head with the first few blocks of SLS, and SpaceX has ITS on the drawing board to address any future capacity concerns someone may have. If you're working on SLS or Orion, this can't give you a good feeling about your job security.

[–]softeregret 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (10子コメント)

Why can't it compete?

[–]avboden 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (5子コメント)

later planned revisions "blocks" of SLS are supposed to be much more powerful than the FH

[–]PigletCNC 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (4子コメント)

how about the ITS booster?

[–]ttk2 3 ポイント4 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Right now that's more a paper rocket than SLS is.

Not saying it won't happen but it is further out than SLS for sure.

[–]ABCaleb_ 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

That's a long way off from now.

[–]Gtexx[🍰] 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

The ITS booster would/will be a monster, way more powerful than the SLS

[–]avboden 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

The ITS booster will be the most powerful thing in history by a lot

however at this point the SLS is further in development than the ITS. Just assuming the ITS will even work at this point is premature. SpaceX still hasn't figured out the composite tech needed for it to be possible, but they're actively working on it.

[–]EchusChasma 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

It's payload capacity just isn't as high. The SLS is gonna be a big rocket.

[–]trimeta 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

The later SLS blocks are supposed to have 2-3 times the Falcon Heavy's lift capacity. Even the earliest version is a little under 1.5x the Falcon Heavy, but that's close enough that the Falcon Heavy can compete (and if there were significant demand here, SpaceX could in principle create a new second stage which would better position the Falcon Heavy against the first block of the SLS).

[–]snirpie 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

SLS will have more than double the payload capacity.

[–]jamille4 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

It can't lift as much mass as the fully upgraded SLS.

[–]Immabed 24 ポイント25 ポイント  (8子コメント)

This appears to be SpaceX being willing to use Crew Dragon for private customers, not a SpaceX initiative, but the customers initiative. Still, I think this will mark the first time a private customer will fully fund a manned mission to space (excluding suborbital missions), and to the Moon no less.

[–]TraveltoMarsSoon 5 ポイント6 ポイント  (2子コメント)

I don't think NASA is a challenger to SpaceX's ambitions – financial or otherwise – in any way, so I wouldn't call it a challenge based on that alone. It's something that likely would have happened regardless of SLS/Orion development.

If anything, it's a "challenge" to BO.

[–]john_atx 9 ポイント10 ポイント  (1子コメント)

Would you rather go up really high and fall back down, or do you want to circumnavigate the moon? I know what I would choose....

[–]corpsmoderne 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Definitely not the same pricetag though...

[–]Tiinpa 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (0子コメント)

That's the only way this makes sense.

[–]ItTookTime 8 ポイント9 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Suddenly Trump pushing for NASA to return to the moon earlier makes a lot of sense.

[–]oomdydoo 3 ポイント4 ポイント  (1子コメント)

SpaceAdventures (the guys who flew tourists to the ISS) also has a plan for sending people around the moon in a Soyuz but it never materialized. It's fantastic to see SpaceX finally pay some attention to the idea of space tourism.

[–]h0tblack 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Absolutely. Other companies are talking about allowing private citizens the chance to experience zero g/low g environments. SpaceX are outlining a clear and near term plan to allow them to orbit the moon. Not a one off, but a charter service.

It fits so cleanly into the narrative laid out for Mars I'm almost surprised we're all so surprised.

[–]jaytar42 7 ポイント8 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Possibly NASA sees some advangates of SLS, even with FH and ITC. So they continue with the development of SLS while supporting SpaceX to do their stuff... Competition is great!

[–]RootDeliver 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

No. This is SpaceX destroying SLS. If SpaceX accomplishes this, SLS is in serious danger.

[–]littldo 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

So a 'substantial deposit'. How much do you think it will cost. $100m for FH launch. $10m for Dragon2 Rent. $10m for training and a suit? $1 for food and beverages?

$120M for 2. What a deal!!!

[–]rocxjo 51 ポイント52 ポイント  (5子コメント)

These two private astronauts will join a very select club of just 24 people who have been around the Moon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Apollo_astronauts#Apollo_astronauts_who_flew_to_the_Moon_without_landing.

Wow, just wow. Glad to be alive in these exciting times.

[–]wxhemiao -1 ポイント0 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Exciting but I kinda wished they would be landing on it too, considering how powerful SuperDraco would be. That case those two brave men will be the only guys landing on the moon in a monolithic spaceship (i.e. without an independent lander)

[–]snirpie 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

There will still be people telling you that you faked the selfies in lunar orbit.

[–]so_long_and_thanks 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Any chance of this mission breaking the record for farthest human from Earth?

[–]MiniBrownie 48 ポイント49 ポイント  (11子コメント)

I wonder who this might be. Many people say it could be the Camerons, but I'm not sure. There are about 1440 people with a net worth of more than 1 billion USD, so the number of people who can afford it is not small.

On a less serious note: Whoever the two citizens are, they must be LUNAtics.

[–]OompaOrangeFace 13 ポイント14 ポイント  (1子コメント)

As in director James Cameron? I could see that being true! He's a major adventurer.

[–]Malky_10 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Yeah, I read some rumors he booked trip around Moon on Soyuz. I could imagine him switching to company which will deliver.

[–]Yodas_Butthole 5 ポイント6 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I don't know that you would even need to be a billionaire to do this. The cost of a falcon heavy launch is listed at 90 million. If the price tag is double that then you're looking at an even larger set of individuals. I was wondering if it might be a husband wife team.

[–]qurun 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (0子コメント)

There were 2,473 billionaires in the world, as of Wealth-X’s last count through 2015. That was a 6.4 percent increase in billionaires from the year before.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/19/your-money/who-are-the-richest-of-the-rich.html

[–]DPC128 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (5子コメント)

Do you think they paid for the whole cost of the vehicle, or do you suppose SpaceX is paying a significant portion?

[–]MiniBrownie 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

This mission might be good for SpaceX from a PR point of view, but it'll also cost them a lot of money. They'll have to human rate FH (3-4 launches?) and Dragon 2 will also have to prove itself by that time. If I had to guess I think they are paying about 500 million USD and the mission cost is also close to that figure. EDIT: It's worth noting that the first manned Dragon flight is scheduled for May 2018 and first commercial crew mission for September, so this might be D2's 3rd mission.

[–]avboden 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

They've paid a deposit, that's all that's known at this time

[–]unpluggedcord 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I think SpaceX is covering some of the cost considering they are going to get substantial data out of this.

Can we speculate if one of them is Elon?

[–]mfb- 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

While it will certainly give nice press coverage for SpaceX, I don't see why they should do that if the price is significantly below their launch costs.

[–]FoxtrotAlpha000 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I doubt SpaceX would take an FH out of their schedule just to take some billionaires on a joyride. I'm thinking they paid for the rocket, plus a premium. So like at least 150 mn? Though if they fly on a previously flown one it'll be much less.

[–]johnkphotosAmericaSpace.com Photographer[S] 54 ポイント55 ポイント  (7子コメント)

How exciting -- space tourism! This is huge.

[–]jmerc83 23 ポイント24 ポイント  (1子コメント)

It gives me hope .. I now have a very very small chance of actually getting into space or going to the moon. It used to be zero chance.

[–]Dunkindoughnuts44 13 ポイント14 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Better start scratching those lottery tickets now

[–]mildlycuri0us 9 ポイント10 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Speaking on behalf of those born after 1969, this moon flyby is as close as we can get to witnessing a moon landing...for now!

[–]FHayek 5 ポイント6 ポイント  (2子コメント)

Now I don't want to sound wrong here but... is that something like a mile high club?

[–]andygates2323 6 ポイント7 ポイント  (1子コメント)

That would be the Dark Side Club, surely?

[–]mildlycuri0us 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

You should probably trademark that and sell it to some space tourism club in 10 years

[–]Lontar47 7 ポイント8 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Really clever. Same concept as Tesla-- fund the main mission with ultra-luxury purchases that the ultra-rich can't refuse. Elon really is a bit of a Robin Hood...

[–]Dr_God 29 ポイント30 ポイント  (8子コメント)

I wonder if this has anything to do with the rumors about NASA thinking about sending astronauts on the first SLS mission?

[–]borski88 16 ポイント17 ポイント  (6子コメント)

My understanding is NASA wants the first mission of the SLS to be unmanned, Trump wants it to be manned and he is telling them to consider it.

[–]OttoVonBismarck99 5 ポイント6 ポイント  (2子コメント)

I believe the NASA response was a "no"

[–]DrFegelein 6 ポイント7 ポイント  (1子コメント)

It's still under study.

[–]larsmaehlum 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

The study will probably be done by late January 2021.

[–]frogamazog 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I think it was proposed by the transition team (whether direct from Trump or not, who knows).

[–]mfb- 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

The news sounds like SpaceX was in contact with the customers for more than just 2 weeks.

[–]missed_a_T 20 ポイント21 ポイント  (7子コメント)

There's a great question over at /r/spacexlounge about whether or not it will be a propulsive landing on earth. Any speculation? Or do you guys think they'll just use parachutes to splash down in water like has been done historically?

[–]ElkeKerman 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Bear in mind that propulsive landings do have a parachute as backup, afaik.

[–]frogamazog 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Propulsive landing allows faster turn around and reuse for the capsule, but there may be issues with finding a sufficiently safe and precise overland trajectory if they are coming in at cislunar speeds.

This one is going to be fun to watch.

[–]Tiinpa 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Given the valuable cargo (in the form of two billionaires) I'd hazard a guess they'll use the parachutes to splashdown just like Apollo. Much lower risk and simplifies the engineering challenges for 2018.

[–]preloom 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Most likely a parachute splashdown. Doing a (still experimental) landing with people on board will be very risky. Also, could the dragon even perform such a landing?

[–]hasslehawk 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

The design of the Dragon 2 was always meant to use propulsive landings, once they were fully validated. I think it's just going to be a bit of a race as to whether that functionality is validated by then.

[–]Bobalogy 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I think this will be pending Crew Dragon experience prior to the mission. Should propulsive landings be proven, I think SpaceX will opt for it -- otherwise, why risk any more in this mission that could be a huge gamble by SpaceX?

[–]Eipifi 15 ポイント16 ポイント  (10子コメント)

Let the speculation commence: who is flying?

My bet is on Mark Shuttleworth. The second person - no clue. Larry or Sergey, maybe?

[–]mvacchill 42 ポイント43 ポイント  (5子コメント)

I'd put my 2 cents on James Cameron.

[–]JerWah 17 ポイント18 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Cameron could film it and write off most of the expense.

[–]8andahalfby11 6 ポイント7 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Moon Orbit in IMAX would be incredible.

It's profitable too. The top selling IMAX documentary is about the early days of ISS. A moon mission would fill every theater.

[–]Clawz114 5 ポイント6 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Yeah, that wouldn't surprise me. He has been to the bottom of the ocean so I imagine he would be all for going around the moon.

[–]ahalekelly 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

That's who I thought of.

[–]watermakesyoufat 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

will the live stream be in 3D?

[–]BLACK_TIN_IBIS 9 ポイント10 ポイント  (1子コメント)

Clarkson and Hammond. May couldn't be bothered.

[–]dvandyk 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

That's where they put all of Amazon's money!

[–]BoredPudding 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I'm not sure if Mark Shuttleworth would have enough money for this. His net worth is 160 million pounds.

[–]johnkphotosAmericaSpace.com Photographer[S] 31 ポイント32 ポイント  (2子コメント)

[–]sabasaba19 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Insert an "um" in the middle and I can totally imagine this being the entirety of the conversation.

[–]Hugo0o0 19 ポイント20 ポイント  (9子コメント)

Any thoughts on who the customers are? Here's what I'm thinking:

  • 2 private citizens in a week long trip around the moon, furthest away from any other Human. In a small confined space. Therefore I think it may be female/male, a kind of romantic trip, or a literal Honeymoon :)

  • Extremely rich, definitely billionaire(s), since the price they paid is probably around the 100 million 300million mark I'd say.

Anything else? Anyone on the top 100 Forbes list who seems interested in an exotic honeymoon trip?

[–]porkbellybourbon 9 ポイント10 ポイント  (0子コメント)

2 people willing to take a huge chance. They definitely won't be able to get life insurance to cover them if something goes wrong. Very ballsy.

[–]TheYang 7 ポイント8 ポイント  (1子コメント)

around the 100 million mark

wait what?

from memory NASA pays ~160 million for an individual CRS mission.

I'd expect ~300 million

[–]Hugo0o0 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Yeah you're right, somehow I thought it'd be launched with F9, but obviously it has to be FH, and a Crew Dragon. 100 million is way too little for that.

[–]mildlycuri0us 6 ポイント7 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Literal honeymoon... I wonder how often that will be used in future space tourism!

[–]TidalSky 9 ポイント10 ポイント  (1子コメント)

Jeff Bezos? Yeah, it's gotta be Jeff.

[–]ElkeKerman 5 ポイント6 ポイント  (0子コメント)

That would really suck for Blue Origin though, morally :c

[–]wcalvert 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Maybe Larry Ellison? He is eccentric and likes ships. This seems like a natural progression.

[–]karstux 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

100 Million seems too small a number. Even if all three cores and the Dragon are recovered for re-use, this is still a pioneering mission with many "firsts" (in this century, at least). Not out of reach for billionaires, though. Moon mission instead of Yacht - why not...

[–]newcantonrunner5#IAC2016 Attendee 9 ポイント10 ポイント  (4子コメント)

Excellent news. Space tourism long last! One more revenue stream for ITS.

[–]redspacex 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (3子コメント)

More like a revenue-once -- I doubt SpaceX will do this a lot. Does anyone have rough figures for how much this actually benefits SpaceX?

[–]frogamazog 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

The announcement states that there are additional requests after this first flight. I think most importantly this creates a platform to operate deep space missions and learn from them. No way would I pay to be their guinea pig, but some people live for thrills. Everest doesn't have a great survival rate either, when you look at it.

[–]AWildDragon 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Apparently multiple groups have expressed interest. From the SpaceX press release:

Other flight teams have also expressed strong interest and we expect more to follow.

[–]newcantonrunner5#IAC2016 Attendee 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

therw will be a queue going around the block and then some once (even before) SpaxeX prove the flight. the booked list for Virgin Galactic Not insignificant!

[–]Furi25 16 ポイント17 ポイント  (1子コメント)

I'm thinking Trump and Putin

[–]SealTheJohnathan 5 ポイント6 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Perfect for their honeymoon.

/s

[–]TidalSky 5 ポイント6 ポイント  (2子コメント)

Just imagine - two private citizens will be among the first handful of people ever in history to fly to and see the dark side of the Moon with their own eyes. What a trip, I don't think I could be more jealous.

[–]Orkeren 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Except that it isn't dark. It just isn't ever visible from earth.

[–]guspaz 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

They won't be the first to do that, but they will be the first in two other areas: first to go that fast, and first to go that far. They'll have gone farther and faster than any NASA astronaut ever did.

[–]slingxshot 14 ポイント15 ポイント  (7子コメント)

That's it? I wanted to see the new suits!

[–]cybercuzco 40 ポイント41 ポイント  (6子コメント)

This is bigger than new suits. You get new suits plus a trip to the moon.

[–]slingxshot 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (5子コメント)

I don't like this announcement thought. If something happens the crew... it is going to set everything back like 100 years...

[–]Bobalogy 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

This reminds me of the Apollo missions -- pushing even though everything is not 100%. Of course, this mission is going to be exceedingly dangerous, primarily because of the backlash that would hit SpaceX should a problem occur.

Needless to say, it's a little inspiring to see this mission plan come through.

[–]PelonMusk 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

When it comes to space, you can pretty much say that at any time.

[–]msureda 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

If everyone though like that we wouldn't have airplanes yet

[–]s4g4n 9 ポイント10 ポイント  (2子コメント)

Late 2018? More like mid 2019

[–]Soarinace 5 ポイント6 ポイント  (1子コメント)

Was thinking the same. They're planning to send 2 people on a rocket that doesn't exist yet around the moon in a years time.

[–]ItTookTime 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

From rumours it seems the rocket does exist it's just not flight proven yet

[–]blacx 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (1子コメント)

That's another nail for the SLS.

[–]Creshal 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Not really, Falcon 9/Heavy are very much at the limits of their development possibilities, and barely compete with SLS Block 1. Block 2 and its 130 tons payload capacity to LEO can't be beaten by SpaceX without developing a whole new rocket (either ITS or a bigger "normal" design.)

[–]Lontar47 3 ポイント4 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Escalating nuclear capabilities... trying to fly to the moon... WHY DOES THIS SOUND SO FAMILIAR?

[–]7sidedcube 3 ポイント4 ポイント  (0子コメント)

This equation has been true for a lot of things:

Mad money + mad science = Advancement of Humanity.

[–]travelton 3 ポイント4 ポイント  (2子コメント)

Just imagine all the HD footage we'll get from deep space! Exciting.

[–]mildlycuri0us 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Makes me wonder if a good amount of the ticket price could be offset by a documentary or film of some sort.

[–]deadshot462 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Would be great if the entire trip was livestreamed.

[–]hms11 3 ポイント4 ポイント  (1子コメント)

So, speculation time.

What modifications are needed to be done to S2 to allow for a circumlunar mission?

We know the second stage only has enough on board electrical power to put satellites into a GEO-transfer orbit, and not enough to circularize the orbit when the time comes.

How exactly does one throw a Dragon around the moon? Direct injection? Or orbit first followed by a lunar burn? KSP tells me the latter, S2 limitations tell me the former.

[–]StetsonG 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

A free return trajectory wouldn't require any burns at the moon. Could do direct burn or first go to a parking orbit and then do a burn to start the free return.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_return_trajectory

[–]TheSnappiestjack 19 ポイント20 ポイント  (6子コメント)

why do we have two threads mods! come on

[–]johnkphotosAmericaSpace.com Photographer[S] 6 ポイント7 ポイント  (2子コメント)

I submitted the tweet when it was all we had -- then this one when it was released. First one is gone now.

Edit: typo; forgot a letter. Fixed.

[–]TMahlmanLaunch Photographer 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

but the Megathread is still locked. Makes sense.

[–]TheSnappiestjack 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

mate I making fun of the mods, not at you! I couldn't give a shit if we have one thread or five

[–]medigerati 6 ポイント7 ポイント  (0子コメント)

You think a guy in a $5000 suit is going to read two threads for a mod who doesn’t make that in three months?! Come on!

[–]rocxjo 5 ポイント6 ポイント  (3子コメント)

By the way, I thought Dragon 2 does not have a toilet. I really hope the two-man version of Dragon 2 will have a toilet.

[–]d-r-t 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (1子コメント)

I'm sure they'll just crap into bags like Apollo.

[–]rocxjo 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I'm kind of hoping Dragon 2 will be a bit more advanced than that. I wouldn't want to pay a few hundred million for a ticket and then crap in a bag for a week.

[–]maxpowers83 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

apollo didn't have toilets.

[–]parkerLS 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (1子コメント)

"This presents an opportunity for humans to return to deep space for the first time in 45 years and they will travel faster and further into the Solar System than any before them."

The "further" part of that interests me. I haven't heard much if anything about SpaceX running a mission mission like this. I guess it goes hand-in-hand with the "faster" portion. Anybody have any insight on the reasoning behind such a trajectory (besides the the superlatives).

[–]alien97 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (1子コメント)

if these are space tourists, will the whole thing be automated?

[–]FalconHeavyHead 9 ポイント10 ポイント  (9子コメント)

I still don't see why NASA wants the multi billion dollar SLS when they could have spacex do it for them. NO HATE ON NASA THOUGH!!! They have done GREAT things!!

[–]Creshal 19 ポイント20 ポイント  (1子コメント)

NASA can't just bet everything on a single company with a single rocket. FH might not pan out, BO's rockets might not pan out, what then? NASA still needs a heavy lifter.

[–]mrstickball 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

So why not bother funding ULA's Atlas V Heavy which would have already been flying if it had been funded for 1/10th the price of the SLS project?

[–]kennyj2369 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (0子コメント)

It's nice to have an alternative solution I guess.

[–]not_my_delorean 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Congress has mandated they build it. It uses old Shuttle parts, so it'll keep the factories making those parts open and (more importantly) keep the Congresspeople supporting it's constituents employed and happy.

Besides, the planned later versions of the SLS are much more powerful than the Falcon Heavy (although it remains to be seen if anyone actually needs that much lifting power).

[–]How_Do_You_Crash 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

PR op and validation. Few things replace actually testing the hardware in conditions.

[–]ExcitedAboutSpace 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

It's NOT NASA's decision:

  1. NASA outlines a buget they think would be good
  2. Congress looks at it, overhauls it and funds what they want. The amount of money can vary, even whole points from NASA's proposal can get thrown out
  3. NASA has to live with what they get, the funds are tied to the projects (almost always in goverment agencies) so it's not like they can just shuffle it around.

Since Congressmen and Congresswomen want to be reelected, they care about jobs. Good paying jobs. And that's what SLS gives you.

[–]Boomer-Australia 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

You have to remember the Falcon Heavy isn't parking itself in lunar orbit nor is it carrying a Lunar Lander. The SLS is capable of carrying both the Orion MPCV (Including SM) and a potential Lunar Lander. Of course NASA is very hesitant about returning to the Moon.

[–]ahalekelly 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

NASA has done great things. Believe me, the best things.

[–]mrstickball 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

This goes to show you what a governmental boondoggle really looks like. The SLS is costing tens of billions of dollar for a result that may only be marginally better than what the Falcon Heavy can yield. Even worse, SpaceX is very likely to reach its milestones much quicker, but at <1/10th the budget of the SLS.

This is why people say private business is more efficient than government.

[–]Jetemple 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I'm so excited for this!!

Let's hope it doesn't turn out like Virgin Galactic.

[–]wxmeddler 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (1子コメント)

FYI, it seems that there will be no livestream. USA Today set one up thinking that their would be one, but just a telecon and a press release. https://twitter.com/jasonrdavis/status/836329026549489664

[–]TweetsInCommentsBot 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

@jasonrdavis

2017-02-27 21:35 UTC

I rescind my earlier comment about the livestream. SpaceX did not promise one; that was some kind of USA Today thing that didn't happen.


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[–]rafty4 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

SpaceX is currently contracted to perform an average of four Dragon 2 missions to the ISS per year, three carrying cargo and one carrying crew

Well, I guess that confirms CRS-2 will be using Dragon 2's if there were any remaining doubts!

[–]Immabed 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

So, this is a falcon heavy launch. Does anyone know what sort of delta-v will be left in the lower stages? I'm wondering about FH capability. I assume that a circumlunar mission is not that different from a mars trajectory, but would the extra dv mean all three boosters could be landed? Could they be landed all on land?

[–]UghImRegistered 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (1子コメント)

I missed the announcement--but in the spirit of record setting, are they planning on doing a free-return that would be further out than Apollo 13 was? i.e. Will those two citizens be able to say they have traveled further from Earth than any other human?

[–]Enemiend 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

This will be an interesting mission. Several things are needed, that we do not have right now.

Falcon Heavy needs to be "completed" before it can fly the Dragon (2) capsule.

Also - assuming Crew Dragon (commercial crew specs) is ready soon enough; it would need some modifications, I think. The need for a lavatory would need to be satisfied, for example.

[–]still-at-work 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (3子コメント)

So Apollo 8 is a little more then 6 days and if this one is traveling 'faster then ever before' it may be a bit shorter then that.

Dragon 2: Endurance 1 week to 2 years according to Wikipedia I assume the 1 week is the human occupied version

[–]UghImRegistered 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (1子コメント)

I think Apollo 13 is more comparable (5 days 23 hours). Apollo 8 dropped into lunar orbit; it sounds like SpaceX is planning a free return (no lunar orbit) which is what Apollo 13 ended up being.

[–]still-at-work 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Good point, This seems very doable with the what we know about the Dragon 2, probably could even do propulsive landing (don't think they will do that this early in Dragon 2 development but should be technically possible)

[–]millijuna 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Also, Apollo 8 entered orbit around the moon, which this mission isn't going to do. This sounds to be much more like Apollo 13, but hopefully with significantly less drama.

[–]SeverHail 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (1子コメント)

I'm very curious to know who the two people are, and what their costs were

[–]waveney 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

It doesn't actually say they are funding it. It just says that it is privately funded. It could be funded by a third party.

[–]deadshot462 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

So would SpaceX send an uncrewed D2 around the Moon as a test flight earlier than that date?

[–]ideaash1 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (2子コメント)

Isn't that extremely aggressive timeline?

*SpaceX has not put humans into space yet.

*Spacex has not put unmanned Dragon to around Moon yet.

They are going to do all this before this couple of times before they can safely put humans to around or orbit moon. They need to do all this by next year..

[–]kylerove 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Go big or go home. Elon never shies away from a challenge. Nor does Elon time respect the boundaries of the spacetime continuum. Even with fast-paced development at SpaceX, I would not be surprised if this did not happen until 2019.

[–]Henry_Yopp 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Hey, it is just like the Orbiter Mod I created 9 years ago. :)

http://orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=3690

[–]phatboy5289 5 ポイント6 ポイント  (7子コメント)

Awesome. Is this going to be their first manned mission at all? I assume this means they've essentially finished Dragon 2, interior and all.

[–]_rocketboy 10 ポイント11 ポイント  (0子コメント)

No, Dragon 2 will for sure make at least one flight to the ISS first before taking people so far away from earth.

[–]Creshal 5 ポイント6 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Going by the wording ("late next year"), it will likely be after the Q2 commercial crew manned flight.

[–]Mrpeanutateyou 3 ポイント4 ポイント  (0子コメント)

not first manned mission, that will be to the ISS. This looks like it will be the second though

[–]ahalekelly 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

This will be several months after they start flying astronauts to the ISS.

[–]factoid_ 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I doubt it's finished and there's no way this will be the first. First crew mission will be low earth orbit. Even if it happens before the Nasa crewed demo.

[–]Jetemple 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (0子コメント)

It's going to be commercial. These people will be paying for this trip.

[–]Snoz_Lombardo 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

No, from the article:

Once operational Crew Dragon missions are underway for NASA, SpaceX will launch the private mission on a journey to circumnavigate the moon and return to Earth.

[–]CtG526 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (13子コメント)

I will finally get to see a live moon landing! Hope it helps them prepare for Mars. :D
­
[EDIT] Apparently it says AROUND the Moon, so not necessarily a moon landing. But still, yay!

[–]larryblt 34 ポイント35 ポイント  (5子コメント)

This isn't a landing, just a flyby.

[–]CtG526 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I apologize; it's literally 5am here so I may not necessarily catch things on the first reading.

[–]halfcamelhalfman 17 ポイント18 ポイント  (2子コメント)

They're only going around the moon - not landing.

[–]redspacex 12 ポイント13 ポイント  (1子コメント)

Yeah but what if we have a 1080p Youtube stream? Good enough!

[–]redandgold45 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (0子コメント)

If it's James Cameron then hopefully we get an IMAX movie out of it

[–]xTheMaster99x 5 ポイント6 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Doesn't sound like a landing, just a free return trajectory.

[–]causeofb 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (2子コメント)

lets hope they can maintain the quality of their livestreams far from earth

[–]factoid_ 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (1子コメント)

I wouldn't expect 1080p, but I'm sure they will have a decent stream, with better footage downloaded after the flight for posterity

[–]mrstickball 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Do we have a good relay system for video from the dark side of the moon?

[–]Senray 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I didn't see that coming

[–]linknewtab 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Would Falcon Heavy need to fly expendable for such a mission?

[–]Doddley 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Isn't China planning on doing something like this too?

[–]thisisnotmyuseridlol 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I was just waiting for them to announce what type of material the new o-ring will be made of... but this??? meow

[–]victory_screech 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

In other words, please be true.

[–]AscendingNike 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Does anybody know what this entails as far as man-rating the Falcon Heavy? Does the FAA or NASA (or both) need to sign off on this flight? Since this launch is privately funded, will SpaceX even be required to certify FH for manned missions?

[–]DecronymAcronyms Explained 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:

Fewer Letters More Letters
CRS Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA
EVA Extra-Vehicular Activity
FAA Federal Aviation Administration
GEO Geostationary Earth Orbit (35786km)
ITS Interplanetary Transport System (see MCT)
Integrated Truss Structure
KSP Kerbal Space Program, the rocketry simulator
LEO Low Earth Orbit (180-2000km)
MCT Mars Colonial Transporter (see ITS)
SLS Space Launch System heavy-lift
ULA United Launch Alliance (Lockheed/Boeing joint venture)

Decronym is a community product of r/SpaceX, implemented by request
I first saw this thread at 27th Feb 2017, 21:44 UTC; this is thread #2531 I've ever seen around here.
I've seen 9 acronyms in this thread; the most compressed thread commented on today has 147 acronyms.
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[–]edflyerssn007 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

So this is what the 1960's felt like. Now I'm curious as to whether the test launch later this year of the heavy will be a test run and throw a dragon around the moon and back.

[–]SkywayCheerios 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Crazy exciting, I was just expecting to see some spacesuit prototypes today.

Jeff Foust said the price they paid was undisclosed, and probably will remain so, but I'm wondering if SpaceX would ever add the prices for private Dragon flights as a service in the future.

[–]jjlew080 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

who is the billionaire with Elon on speed dial?

[–]Fizrock 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Because they have no intent to land, they likely won't go as close to the surface of the moon as Apollo, and they could easily break the distance record from earth. That would be cool.

[–]Senray 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (1子コメント)

Will their be any actual astronauts on this flight, or will the piloting be entirely autonomous?

[–]oliversl 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

There will be two astronauts on board

[–]Londonmonkey 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (2子コメント)

Is there anything interesting to see on the dark side of the moon? Or is it .... too dark?

[–]harmonic- 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Is this a big leap in terms of technical difficulty? So far we've only seen SpaceX send rockets to LEO and GTO (I think); is sending a craft around the moon and back as simple as flipping a switch at this point?

[–]MapleBear_ 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Hey guys, i'm not to technical here, but i've seen some things that say "further than man has ever traveled before" How far beyond the moon actually is this trip? Is it just for the experience or is anything else being done? If they answers aren't out yet it's all good.

[–]Beyonder456 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Trump to NASA: Send astronauts to Moon! Musk: Hold my beer!