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259
  • SpaceX on track to double their 2017 launch rate. Source

  • Arguably version 6 of Falcon 9. There will be minor changes here and there but no major block changes going forward. Source 1 | Source 2

  • Falcon 9 Block V will be the mainstay of SpaceX's business and is expected to fly 300 or more times total. Source

  • Block V designed to fly 10 or more times with no refurbishment at all between flights. Scheduled maintenance after the 10th flight. Source

  • SpaceX intends to demonstrate flying the same booster twice within 24 hours as soon as next year. Recover booster -> retract legs -> go to hangar -> attach second stage -> attach payload -> go to pad -> fuel -> launch. Source

  • Hardest part of making Block V was human-rating it. Literally thousands of requirements to do so. Met or exceeded all requirements. Designed to be the most reliable rocket ever built. Source 1 | Source 2 | Source 3

  • Block V Merlin engines see an 8% thrust increase over Block IV. Thrust is now 190,000 lbf. SpaceX believes there is still more room to improve the Merlin engines - perhaps up to 10% more thrust and an improvement in ISP. Source 1 | Source 2

  • Block V has a lot of new added thermal protection. Black interstage, raceways, and landing legs don't need paint. Thermal protection composed of a material that is hydrophobic and therefore doesn't attract water. Source

  • Octaweb for Block V is much stronger. Better thermal protection on the inside. Each engine contained within a bay which should allow for an engine to have a "bad day" and not affect the other 8 engines. Thermal protection on the inside is to protect against an engine fire. Source 1 | Source 2 | Source 3

  • Landing legs are much easier to stow. Internal latch mechanism can be closed and opened with ease. New landing gear can be retracted via an actuator. Old landing gear took hours to retract. Source 1 | Source 2

  • Titanium grid fins are now standard on Block V and will be used going forward. Can withstand temperatures of 2000 degrees F. Source

  • There is active cooling on the titanium heat-shields at the base of the Block V. Source

  • Confidence in fairing recovery in future flights. Source

  • SpaceX will be gathering data about the re-entry experience of the second stage. They will try to transmit data to the Iridium constellation during re-entry. Source

  • SpaceX will be adding heat shields to the second stage until they can recover it. Question is payload penalty. Elon is confident that full reusability of the second stage is achievable. Source 1 | Source 2

  • Falcon 9 cost breakdown is roughly 60% booster, 20% second stage, 10% fairing, 10% for launch. Propellant is only $300,000 to $400,000. Source

  • Re-use of the entire vehicle could bring down launch cost by an order of magnitude. Source

  • Ironically B1046, this first Block V, needs to be taken apart after its first launch to confirm that Block V doesn't need to be taken apart after a launch. Won't fly again for a couple of months. Source

  • 3rd and 4th flights of a given Block V booster should occur in late 2018. By late 2019 they should have cores reaching their 10th flight. Source

  • Elon is stressed about the first Block V launch. Getting a rocket that can re-fly 100 times is "crazy hard". Source

  • Boca Chica, Texas launch site will be dedicated to BFR launches. Source

  • SpaceX's inventory of Block V boosters expected to eventually reach 30 to 50 boosters, depending on the demand for brand new cores. Source

  • SpaceX has acted as a "forcing function" to drive down launch costs - China looking at reusable rockets. Source

  • Block IV flights probably could have been pushed to a 10 day increment but with Block V coming it was unnecessary. Source

  • Gigantic amount of research and testing went into creating the new COPVs for Block V. Most advanced pressure vessel ever developed by humanity. Source

  • Falcon 9 pricing is now $50 million for a flight-proven booster. $60 million for a brand new booster. Source 1 | Source 2

  • Elon loves NASA. Source

7

I know there are a bunch of cool SpaceX fans making apps to track launches. This app or feature of a current app could be like the app "Sleep Cycle" that tries to wake you up at the optimum time over a 1/2 hour period rather than a set time. The push notifications on current apps are cool but this would be taking it to the next level. Maybe it could be an ad-hoc in-app purchase to help fund it. I wouldn't mind chucking in a buck or two per launch that's at an awkward time for my timezone.

(I set my alarm an extra hour early this morning to witness the first Block V launch only to find out that the launch had been delayed around an hour to what would normally be the time I woke up. It was obviously eventually scrubbed and now I'm super tired haha).

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