Science General Discussion

[DD_Bwest]

SpaceX propulsion just achieved first firing of the Raptor interplanetary transport engine pic.twitter.com/vRleyJvBkx

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 26, 2016

[Legend]

SpaceX propulsion just achieved first firing of the Raptor interplanetary transport engine pic.twitter.com/vRleyJvBkx

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 26, 2016

What a wonderful tease for tomorrow!

Raptor is highly needed for SpaceX. Current second stage on Falcon 9 gets isp 348 in space while this one is 382 in space. Now I don't actually know what these numbers mean, but Kerbal Space Program tells me the second is a lot more efficient. A falcon 9 with a raptor second stage could significantly increase its load. Same with a Falcon Heavy.

Plus this is the engine that will send us to Mars.

[DD_Bwest]

What a wonderful tease for tomorrow!

Raptor is highly needed for SpaceX. Current second stage on Falcon 9 gets isp 348 in space while this one is 382 in space. Now I don't actually know what these numbers mean, but Kerbal Space Program tells me the second is a lot more efficient. A falcon 9 with a raptor second stage could significantly increase its load. Same with a Falcon Heavy.

Plus this is the engine that will send us to Mars.

isnt Isp a measure of how much momentum change can be done for a given fuel unit?   so the higher it is, the more efficient lol or thats atleast how i understand it lol

[Legend]

isnt Isp a measure of how much momentum change can be done for a given fuel unit?   so the higher it is, the more efficient lol or thats atleast how i understand it lol

Yeah I think so. I just know higher isp is all that matters once my rockets reach space.

[DD_Bwest]

Yeah I think so. I just know higher isp is all that matters once my rockets reach space.

haha ya that was my working definition.  but ive been trying to understand the math behind it more lately.   when i saw him say 382 i was impressed. 

and i thought the merlin D had a isp lower than 350.  i heard around 312.   either way 382 is a much needed upgrade.   

edit:  nvm i think the 312 i heard was for the non vac varient

[Legend]

haha ya that was my working definition.  but ive been trying to understand the math behind it more lately.   when i saw him say 382 i was impressed.  

and i thought the merlin D had a isp lower than 350.  i heard around 312.   either way 382 is a much needed upgrade.  

edit:  nvm i think the 312 i heard was for the non vac varient

I just went off wikipedia.

[DD_Bwest]

SO hubble captured more water plumes from europa.   we need a mission to try and sample some!!!

[Legend]

SO hubble captured more water plumes from europa.   we need a mission to try and sample some!!!

I thought Cassini flew through one?

[DD_Bwest]

I thought Cassini flew through one?

cassini went to saturn, so you must be thinking of enceladus?

[Legend]

cassini went to saturn, so you must be thinking of enceladus?

Apparently  

[nnodley]

Is Europa the moon they think could be the most plausible to have alien life(microscopic obviously)?

[Legend]

Is Europa the moon they think could be the most plausible to have alien life(microscopic obviously)?

Yeah,
but to be fair,
alien life probably exists on most planets and moons,
or just Earth.

[Legend]

Blue Origin does hint at even larger 'New Armstrong' rocket. But "it's still on the drawing board" #IAC2016

— NOW SPACE (@now__space) September 27, 2016

New Armstrong details to come Q1 2017.

[the-pi-guy]

$100-Million Plan Will Send Probes to the Nearest Star - Scientific American
Not sure if this was posted, but my Physics teacher has been talking about this a little bit.  

[Legend]

Mission complete #CometLanding pic.twitter.com/m3oxRNPzPI

— ESA Rosetta Mission (@ESA_Rosetta) September 30, 2016