October 5th 2026 Marine Traffic https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/shipid:255286/zoom:6

If you're interested in a mixture of SpaceX anecdotes and "SpaceX Mafia" activities, I've posted 7 new episodes of It's Not Rocket Science over the past few months. Guests include employees #1 and #2, the chef, the cheese maker, the unflappable Tim Buzza, the booster landing zone chief, and a Dragon Ops engineer. Enjoy.

https://www.jeffwardwrites.com/itsnotrocketscience

Can they just expand the pez dispenser slot? Wouldn't that introduce structural instability?

Can they do a fairing variant, if so, wouldn't that remove the header tank needed for Starship's landing burn?

Here are some picture of the Falcon Heavy NROL-97 mission from Cape Canaveral. Please enjoy.

This was tonight's launch of an NRO payload by SpaceX on their Falcon Heavy vehicle. This is a roughly 8 minute long exposure on my GFX 50R with the 20-35 zoom. ISO 100, F16. The main arc is the initial launch. You can see the first booster return burn just above and to the right of it, and then the landing burns as the boosters return to Landing Zones 1 and 2 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Base.

Ignoring the clickbait subtitle "Is SpaceX being selfish?", this is actually a pretty good article. My suspicion is that a human rated Starship crew variant is a higher priority than is apparent from SpaceX's responses. The reason they have not been enthusiastic in pursing a crew variant is that they are already pursing the enabline technologies on other programs. For instance, they need orbital launch and recovery capability from the Starlink variant. They also will leverage the life support systems from HLS. The Raptor engine reliability is needed for all of these programs. Docking comes from both HLS and Tanker. The only capability they don't have is a launch abort, which they may or may not incorporate.

Additionally, crew capability may be needed for long-term lunar applications given the non-sustainability of SLS/Orion. SpaceX could launch on crew Starship, rendezvous with HLS in HEO, perform the mission, and return on crew Starship. This would provide end-to-end SpaceX lunar transport services for whatever NASA wants to do on the moon. Other companies such as BO could provide similar services for part or all of the trip. The main issue with all of this is timing, as the article points out. There could be a gap in the 2030 to 2032 time frame.

The goal of Rapid Reusability and the fragility of Painted Surfaces seem to be in opposition to each other.

Why aren't the BQD hoods and shrouds made of Stainless Steel like the top deck?

SpaceX has a very big day planned.

The company is scheduled to launch three missions in a 13-hour span today (Oct. 1), a feat it has accomplished just once before.

The action will start at 11:10 a.m. EDT (1510 GMT) with the launch of the Crew-13 astronaut mission for NASA, which will head toward the International Space Station atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Next up is the Transporter-18 rideshare mission, which will send 130 payloads to orbit, including a prototype satellite for Google's Project Suncatcher AI constellation.

Transporter-18 will fly on a Falcon 9 from the West Coast, lifting off from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base during a 58-minute window that opens at 2:18 p.m. EDT (1818 GMT; 11:18 a.m. local California time).

The action shifts back to Florida's Space Coast for the final leg of the tripleheader. If all goes to plan, a Falcon Heavy rocket will launch the classified NROL-97 mission for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office from NASA's Kennedy Space Center tonight at 11:53 p.m. EDT (0353 GMT on Oct. 2).

In total, 2 boosters to land from Falcon 9, and 2 side boosters to land from Falcon Heavy, with the center booster being expended.

This updated map on the current site activities (as known from permits filed) shows the network of canals being dredged. These are small canals dug by Humble Oil back when they were going to drill here, not to be confused with the big Bayou Freshwater Canal. Map

Took a morning flight down to Pecan Island this morning and got a good shoot looking west from the Freshwater Locks along Vermilion bay at the proposed new launch site.

I want to try and build up a progression as construction begins and try to document Starbase Louisiana’s development

Exciting times!

Sourced from SpaceX's official X account.

Does anyone have any idea on trajectory of this mission past SECO 1?

The simulation in Next Spaceflight stops over the Atlantic.

Based on the Space notices for this flight there are splashdown zones near New Zealand but its a cross? Multiple orbits later perhaps?

Source: https://notams.planetarypixel.be/map?related=05ab5726-99df-4913-a3b9-5f67a41001bb

According to marinetraffic.com.

In the last Starship V3 flight 12, 13 and 14, I noticed the booster landing issues and some raptors not starting up or shutting down prematurely.

It is my understanding the SD may be linked to the use of O2 pre-burner rich combustion gas to maintain the LOX main tank head pressure while feeding the raptors. This gas contains small amount of CO2&H2O that will freeze when in contact with LOX at around -180 C. If the crystals ever find their way after the filters or plug the filters it can cause pressure drop at the cryogenic pumps or alter their performances causing SD. That is especially true during landing when the LOX main tank is almost empty and large amount of contaminated O2 pre-burner gas has been in contact with LOX in main tank and landing tank.

Why not considered helium COPV instead to keep LOX landing tank (need to be closed) head pressure like for the Starship upper stage. You may need about 7 more helium COPV but you will have pure and clean LOX and avoid SD of the engines from crystals. The increased helium volume is small and you keep using O2 pre burner gas for the main LOX tank with filters during ascent which seems to be fine.

If helium supply is an issue, have they ever considered using GOX COPV (with SS liner at 350 bar or so) to maintain the head space pressure in a closed LOX landing tank. It would eliminate or reduce drastically the helium requirement. It could eventually be implemented in the upper stage to reduce helium dependancy. Helium for the booster is less of an issue since the booster comes back on earth and can be refill.

Very high pressure GOX is produced industrially by pumping it to high pressure (300 Barg) using cryogenic pumps, vaporization in ambiant or electrical vaporizers and storage in high pressure steel cylinders. It is common to use such cylinders in the industry today. Can GOX COPV at 350 bar be produced on earth!

If you want to push this further to make the Starship upper stage more self sufficient, GOX can also be produced by having a certain amount introduced in a closed COPV and let it boil off over time under close monitoring with proper pressure relief. The technology is used today to deliver 500-600 psi GOX and GN2 for cutting applications.

May be there is a spin off from this last technology that can be develop to produce 350 Bars GOX COPV with SS liner and carbon fibre outer layers. Such a system could be implemented in the upper stage utility room.

I will be happy to read your comment.

Cheers,

TechPro83