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Show threadpigeonberryNov 15, 2023
The licence has been approved, the NOTAM and marine warnings published, closure announced.
Show threadpigeonberryNov 15, 2023
Fish and Wildlife’s comments were published yesterday. I gather that the document was deleted from the original location, but as I recall, it was pretty much copied and pasted into the body of the final FAA determination WRITTEN RE-EVALUATION OF THE 2022 FINAL PROGRAMMATIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE SPACEX STARSHIP/SUPER HEAVY LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAM AT THE BOCA CHICA LAUNCH SITE IN CAMERON COUNTY, TEXAS. I remember the bit about “Per the table above, an average summertime thunderstorm at Boca Chica would deposit more water over the landscape than any single or all combined activations of the deluge system”.
pigeonberryOct 26, 2023

(ArsTechnica) CEO of rocket-maker ULA makes a sales pitch—for the whole company

https://lemmy.world/post/7371794

(ArsTechnica) CEO of rocket-maker ULA makes a sales pitch—for the whole company - Lemmy.World

Tory Bruno spoke. >“If I were buying a space business, I’d go look at ULA,” Bruno said. “It’s already had all the hard work done through the transformation. You’re not buying a Victorian with bad plumbing. It’s all been done. You’re coming in at the end of the remodel, so you can focus on your future." I have some skepticism.

pigeonberryOct 10, 2023

(SpaceNews) SpaceX slams FAA report on falling space debris danger

https://lemmy.world/post/6579862

(SpaceNews) SpaceX slams FAA report on falling space debris danger - Lemmy.world

>In an Oct. 9 letter to the FAA and Congress seen by SpaceNews, SpaceX principal engineer David Goldstein said the report relied on “deeply flawed analysis” based on assumptions, guesswork, and outdated studies. The article contains details. >In 2021, the FAA commissioned the Aerospace Corp., a federally funded nonprofit focused on space, to provide a technical assessment of the rise of LEO constellations and the risks posed to aviation and people on the ground by unplanned and controlled reentries of these satellites and the upper stages that launch them. Someone from Aerospace mentioned the difficulties in such an estimate, and Goldstein’s letter points out more problems.

pigeonberryOct 9, 2023

Russian Nauka module (MLM) on ISS appears to be leaking

https://lemmy.world/post/6569181

Russian Nauka module (MLM) on ISS appears to be leaking - Lemmy.world

At about 1 p.m. Central, >ISS: In the last few minutes, MCC-Houston asked the ISS crew to go to the cupola and look for any signs of “flakes” toward the aft of station; Jasmin Moghbeli reported “yeah, there’s a leak coming from the radiator on MLM;” the MLM is the Russian Nauka multi-purpose lab module

pigeonberryOct 6, 2023

(ArsTechnica) World’s largest space conference succeeds in making a Starship update boring

https://lemmy.world/post/6375430

(ArsTechnica) World’s largest space conference succeeds in making a Starship update boring - Lemmy.world

Good analysis, from all I’ve heard. >Anyone who keeps track of Elon Musk knows the world’s richest man has a penchant for setting aspirational schedules for his companies…So, if you have an opportunity to interview him, why spend time asking Musk to prognosticate when one of his companies will do something years in the future? and >SpaceX’s brilliant engineers certainly have creative ideas and novel plans to get Starship to the Red Planet, so why not ask Musk about them when you have him for a rare hourlong one-on-one conversation? It’s the how that is most interesting now, not the when or why, especially for an audience interested enough to tune in at the IAC. and >But Mowry’s questions missed the mark at a time when the Starship program is at a critical point, and he didn’t probe with follow-up questions to tease out more insightful answers. The whole article is worth a read, really.

pigeonberrySep 24, 2023

Starlink ... connecting 2M+ active customers

https://lemmy.world/post/5669132

Starlink ... connecting 2M+ active customers - Lemmy.world

Starlink @starlink Sep 23, 2023 · 9:29 PM UTC: >Starlink is available on all 7 continents, in over 60 countries and many more markets, connecting 2M+ active customers and counting with high-speed internet! >Thank you to all of our customers around the world 🛰️🌎❤️ → stories.starlink.com [http://stories.starlink.com] The significance is as u/Obvious_Parsley3238 pointed out: “250k last march, 1 mil last december, 1.5 mil in may, 2 mil now”.

pigeonberrySep 24, 2023

(Jerry Pike, video) Drone view of B1058 coming back into port after 17 launches

https://lemmy.world/post/5618652

(Jerry Pike, video) Drone view of B1058 coming back into port after 17 launches - Lemmy.world

I love this video.

pigeonberrySep 21, 2023

Did you know that the FAA has re-entry licences? Neither did Varda

https://lemmy.world/post/5445693

Did you know that the FAA has re-entry licences? Neither did Varda - Lemmy.world

I’d seen the story about a spacecraft making a drug in microgravity and planning to land it in the US. >However, the recovery of Varda’s capsule is on hold after the Federal Aviation Administration and the US Air Force recently declined to give Varda approval to land its spacecraft in a remote part of Utah. TechCrunch first reported the FAA turned down Varda’s application for a commercial reentry license. >“Varda Space Industries launched its vehicle into space without a reentry license,” an FAA spokesperson told Ars on Wednesday. “The FAA denied the Varda reentry license application on September 6 because the company did not demonstrate compliance with the regulatory requirements.”

Show threadpigeonberrySep 19, 2023

The FAA has repeated multiple times: there is no launch licence yet for a second launch. Since the FAA asked the Fish and Wildlife Service to look into the matter, I think it’s highly unlikely that the FAA would issue the licence before FWS says it’s O.K.

I don’t know that there has been a definitive statement of the exact ending date. The Xeet summary provided included “The FWS has up to 135 days to submit the final biological opinion to the FAA (Started in August).” If it’s 4 months including weekends and holidays, it could be up to December 1 to December 31ish. But it could be handled before then, or if the FAA agrees, the deadline could be extended, or maybe it’s working days only. Also, the FAA would likely need time to digest it and issue its own ruling.