Daily Archives: July 9, 2024

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, has a long history of being weird about reproduction. Perhaps its related to his long history of allegedly harassing and exposing himself to women, which a new report from Bloomberg says has been codified in the culture of SpaceX a culture that now has the company facing lawsuits from eight ex-workers.

According to Bob: Public Transit Is a Car Enthusiast's Best Friend

Bloomberg spoke with the fired employees, who claim theres a massive gap between how SpaceX says workers should act and how they actually do and how the company encourages immature behavior from those it employs. From Bloomberg:

At SpaceX, sexual harassment became a joke a long time ago. Some years back, employees at the company holiday party were treated to a 10-minute parody video, one of those eye-rolling exercises where your bosses awkwardly try to land a few punch lines. Believe it or not, this particular video has its moments. Astronauts whose lives are riding on a SpaceX rocket might not be thrilled with the gags about the companys engineers being young or stupidat one point, little kids arrive to lecture the staff, who are depicted trying to solve every engineering problem by hitting things with hammersbut some bits land on the right side of dad joke.

The videos sourest note plays a few minutes in, when a narrator chides a staffer whos just grabbed her colleague Brian Bjeldes butt. We have a very strict sexual-harassment policy, the voiceover intones, and youve got to get it right. Cut to the same woman practicing her harassment technique on Bjelde, whos now SpaceXs vice president for human resources. While he faces an office wall, hands over his head, she spanks him several more times, and another woman helps her refine her form, like a golfer. The eventual punch line is a freeze-frame of her hand on Bjeldes bum accompanied by a chime and a green check mark, indicating that her harassment now meets with company approval.

Ive worked at some HR-risk companies in my time, but a video like that containing people in positions of power at the company, no less is a new level of encouraging bad behavior. SpaceXs reaction, however, is the nuclear option: Trying to gut the entire enforcing body, the National Labor Relations Board. SpaceX is suing to have the entire organization ruled unconstitutional, in a complicated constitutional case:

13. To prevent SpaceX from undergoing protracted administrative proceedings before an unconstitutionally structured agencyafter which SpaceX is unlikely to have a chance to secure meaningful retrospective reliefthe Court should stay or enjoin the current agency proceedings, declare that the NLRBs structure violates the separation of powers under Article II of the Constitution, and permanently enjoin the NLRB and its General Counsel from pursuing unfair labor practice charges against SpaceX before agency officials that are unconstitutionally insulated from presidential oversight.

Space Exploration Technologies Corp v. National Labor Relations Board is a wildly in-depth case, citing articles of the Constitution in seemingly every sentence, but its one thats geared towards the current Supreme Court. The case focuses plenty of its attention on the Presidents inability to easily fire NLRB workers as a constitutional issue, which is targeted right at the Courts declaration that the Presidents management of the Executive Branch requires him to have unrestricted power to remove the most important of his subordinatessuch as the Attorney Generalin their most important duties from the recent Trump v. United States opinion. SpaceXs retaliatory strike against its workers may be nuclear, but its also very possible the Court will like how its written.

SpaceXs culture appears fratty, debaucherous, and altogether unprofessional not to mention aggressive towards people outside of positions of power. Yet, the lengths the company will go to in order to protect that culture reach the highest court in the land. And, if were all unlucky, Musks defenses of sexual harassment will end worker protections for all of us.

More:

SpaceX's Sexual Harassment Case Could End Worker Protections For All Of Us - Jalopnik

SpaceX sent Trkiye's first domestically produced communications satellite to orbit today (July 8).

A Falcon 9 rocket launched the Turksat 6A spacecraft from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today at 7:30 p.m. EDT (2330 GMT).

The Falcon 9's first stage came back to Earth shortly thereafter as planned. It touched down about 8.5 minutes after liftoff on SpaceX's Just Read the Instructions droneship, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

It was the 15th launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description.

The rocket's upper stage, meanwhile, continued hauling Turksat 6A toward geosynchronous transfer orbit, deploying the spacecraft there 35.5 minutes after liftoff as planned.

Turksat 6A will then make its own way to its final orbit, where it will undergo a roughly month-long series of checkouts before entering service, Abdulkadir Uralolu, Trkiye's transport and infrastructure minister, told the Hrriyet Daily News.

Turksat 6A is Trkiye's first fully homegrown communications satellite, the English-language Turkish newspaper reported.

Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!

"Turksat 6A will widen the country's satellite coverage and meet the television broadcasting needs," the Hrriyet Daily News wrote, citing Uralolu.

"India, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, which were not served by currently operating satellites, will be covered with Turksat 6A, reaching 5 billion people," the minister added.

Editor's note: This story was updated at 8:15 p.m. ET on July 8, with news of successful launch, rocket landing and satellite deployment.

More:

SpaceX launches Trkiye's 1st homegrown communications satellite to orbit (video) - Space.com

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Monday evening after several weather-related delays.The Turksat 6A mission is set to send a Turkish communication satellite to geosynchronous transfer orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at 7:30 p.m. Monday. The launch was originally scheduled for 5:20 p.m., but inclement weather in the launch area caused the company to delay liftoff several times.The company was able to stave off a complete scrub and launched the rocket at 7:30 p.m. from the Space Coast.The Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting the mission has previously flown 14 other missions. The booster supported the Eutelsat 36D, CRS-26, OneWeb Launch 16, Ovzon 3 missions among others.

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Monday evening after several weather-related delays.

The Turksat 6A mission is set to send a Turkish communication satellite to geosynchronous transfer orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at 7:30 p.m. Monday. The launch was originally scheduled for 5:20 p.m., but inclement weather in the launch area caused the company to delay liftoff several times.

The company was able to stave off a complete scrub and launched the rocket at 7:30 p.m. from the Space Coast.

The Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting the mission has previously flown 14 other missions. The booster supported the Eutelsat 36D, CRS-26, OneWeb Launch 16, Ovzon 3 missions among others.

Read more:

SpaceX dodges weather, launches Falcon 9 rocket Monday evening - WESH 2 Orlando

When Elon Musk first eyed South Texas for a new base of space operations, he promised that SpaceX would have a small, eco-friendly footprint and that the surrounding area would be left untouched.

A decade later, the reality is far different. An investigation by The New York Times shows how SpaceXs ferocious growth in the area has dramatically changed the fragile landscape and has threatened the habitat that the U.S. government is charged with protecting there.

More repercussions are likely coming, in South Texas and in other places where SpaceX is expanding. Mr. Musk has said he hopes to one day launch his Starships the largest rocket ever manufactured a thousand times a year.

Executives from SpaceX declined repeated requests to comment. But Gary Henry, who until this year served as a SpaceX adviser on Pentagon launch programs, said the company was aware of concerns about SpaceXs environmental impact and was committed to addressing them.

Here are four takeaways from our investigation:

Rocket launch sites in the U.S., such as Vandenberg Space Force Base in California and Kennedy Space Center in Florida, typically are enormous, secure facilities with tens of thousands of acres within their confines.

Mr. Musk didnt intend to buy up anything like that amount of land when he was looking at the area near Brownsville, Texas. Instead, he wanted to buy a tiny piece of property in the middle of public lands what the team involved referred to as a doughnut hole. He figured the surrounding state parks and federal wildlife preserves would serve as natural buffers.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit andlog intoyour Times account, orsubscribefor all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber?Log in.

Want all of The Times?Subscribe.

Visit link:

SpaceXs Assault on a Fragile Habitat: Four Takeaways From Our Investigation - The New York Times

The next flight test of SpaceX's Starship could include a new milestone, according to a teaser included on a video of highlights from the rocket's fourth flight test.

SpaceX posted the video on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday (July 4), which contains a montage of milestones from Starship's fourth flight test that took place on June 6. The video shows clips from ignition, lift off, booster separation and the reentries of both the Starship upper stage and its Super Heavy booster.

At the end of the video, an animation depicts a 400-foot-tall (122-meter-tall) Super Heavy coming back in for a landing at Starship's launch tower, known as "Mechazilla," beside the words "Next up" and "Flight 5," suggesting the company plans to attempt to catch the booster on its upcoming flight test. SpaceX plans to catch Super Heavy on its launch tower so the rocket can be refurbished and relaunched more efficiently and on shorter timeframes, the company has said.

SpaceX CEO and founder Elon Musk has suggested as much on social media as well. "Aiming to try this in late July!" Musk wrote on X last month, following Starship's fourth flight test.

The company previously posted a 60-second animation of the "chopstick" arms on the huge Mechazilla launch tower catching a Super Heavy booster as it comes in for a landing at Starbase, SpaceX's site in South Texas.

Prior to that, on June 27, the companyposted a short video on X of Mechzilla's chopstick arms grasping a stationary Super Heavy as it sat upright on its launch mount. "Starbase team testing the tower chopsticks for the upcoming catch of a Super Heavy booster," SpaceX wrote in the video's description.

Starship has launched four times to date: In April and November 2023, and on March 14 and June 6, 2024. Each test was more successful than the previous one, ticking off additional milestones every time.

Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!

On its first flight, Starship's two stages failed to separate and the vehicle was detonated in fewer than five minutes. On its most recent mission, both Starship and Super Heavy reentered Earth's atmosphere intact, both making ocean splashdowns.

The massive vehicle is designed with off-world destinations in mind. SpaceX wants Starship to reach Mars, and potentially help settle humans there, while NASA is planning to use the rocket to land crews on the moon during the Artemis program.

View post:

SpaceX teases catching Super Heavy booster with 'chopsticks' on upcoming Starship test flight (video) - Space.com

Enlarge / SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rockets from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center and from Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The company plans to develop Starship launch infrastructure at Pad 39A and Pad 37. United Launch Alliance flies Vulcan and Atlas V rockets from Pad 41, and Blue Origin will base its New Glenn rocket at Pad 36.

NASA (labels by Ars Technica)

United Launch Alliance and Blue Origin are worried about SpaceX's plans to launch its enormous Starship rocket from Florida.

In documents submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration last month, ULA and Blue Origin raised concerns about the impact of Starship launch operations on their own activities on Florida's Space Coast. Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos' space company, urged the federal government to consider capping the number of Starship launches and landings, test-firings, and other operations, and limiting SpaceX's activities to particular times.

Elon Musk, founder and CEO of SpaceX, called Blue Origin's filing with the FAA "an obviously disingenuous response. Not cool of them to try (for the third time) to impede SpaceXs progress by lawfare." We'll get to that in a moment.

The FAA and SpaceX are preparing an environmental impact statement for launches and landings of the Super Heavy booster and Starship rocket at Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC), while the US Space Force is working with SpaceX on a similar environmental review for Starship flights from Space Launch Complex 37 at nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS).

These reviews likely won't be complete until late 2025, at the earliest, and only then will SpaceX be cleared to launch Starship from Florida. SpaceX also must construct launch infrastructure at both sites, which could take a couple of years. This is already underway at Launch Complex 39A.

During the environmental review process, the FAA should weigh how regular flights of the reusable Starshipas many as 120 launches per year, according to TechCrunchwill affect other launch providers operating at Cape Canaveral, ULA and Blue Origin said. SpaceX's final proposed launch cadence from each site will be part of draft environmental assessments released for public comment as soon as the end of this year.

SpaceX plans to launch Starlink satellites, customer payloads, and missions to support NASA's Artemis lunar landings from the launch pads in Florida. Getting a launch pad up and running in Florida is one of several schedule hurdles facing SpaceX's program to develop a human-rated lunar lander version of Starship, alongside demonstrating orbital refueling.

Starship-Super Heavy launches and landings "are expected to have a greater environmental impact than any other launch system currently operating at KSC or CCSFS," Blue Origin wrote. In its current configuration, Starship is the most powerful rocket in history, and SpaceX is developing a larger version standing 492 feet (150 meters) tall with nearly 15 million pounds (6,700 metric tons) of propellant. This larger variant is the one that will fly from Cape Canaveral.

"Its a very, very large rocket, and getting bigger," wrote Tory Bruno, ULA's CEO, in a post on X. "That quantity of propellant requires an evacuation zone whenever fueled that includes other peoples facilities. A (weekly) launch has injurious sound levels all the way into town. The Cape isnt meant for a monopoly."

At SpaceX's privately owned Starbase launch site in South Texas, the evacuation zone is set at 1.5 miles (2.5 kilometers) when Starship and Super Heavy are filled with methane and liquid oxygen propellants. During an actual launch, the checkpoint is farther back at more than 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the pad.

"The total launch capacity of the Cape will go down if other providers are forced to evacuate their facilities whenever a vehicle is fueled," Bruno wrote.

We don't yet know the radius of the keep-out zones for Starship operations in Florida, but Blue Origin wrote that the impact of Starship activities in Florida "may be even greater than at Starbase," presumably due to the larger rocket SpaceX plans to launch from Cape Canaveral. If this is the case, neighboring launch pads would need to be evacuated during Starship operations.

Purely based on the geography of Cape Canaveral, ULA seems to have the bigger worry. Its launch pad for the Vulcan and Atlas V rocket is located less than 2.2 miles (3.5 kilometers) from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A). SpaceX's proposal for up to 44 launches from LC-39A "will result in significant airspace and ground closures, result in acoustic impacts felt at nearby operations, and potentially produce debris, particulates, and property damage," ULA said.

ULA said these hazards could prevent it from fulfilling its contracts to launch critical national security satellites for the US military.

"As the largest rocket in existence, an accident would inflict serious or even catastrophic damage, while normal launch operations would have a cumulative impact on structures, launch vehicle hardware, and other critical launch support equipment," ULA said.

Read the original:

Heres why SpaceXs competitors are crying foul over Starship launch plans - Ars Technica

On Monday, July 8 at 7:30 p.m. ET, SpaceX launched the Turksat 6A mission to geosynchronous transfer orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. SpaceX succeeded in launching Turkeys first home grown communications satellite despite a delay due to weather. The Sunday weather report report from the 45th Weather Squadron forecast only a 30 percent chance of favorable weather at liftoff for both the primary and backup dates and thunderstorms that could bring with them winds of 40 miles per hour or greater.

Convective activity should taper off after sunset, but steering winds are expected to be weak, possibly extending any weather violations that occur. Conditions are expected to be similar for the backup day, the weather report stated. The Cumulus Cloud, both Anvil Cloud, and Surface Electric Fields are the most likely rules to violate on both the primary and backup days.

Prior to the missions launch, Turkeys Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uralolu called the Trksat 6A geostationary satellite the symbol of our independence.

This was the ninth flight of the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched CRS-26, OneWeb Launch 16, Intelsat IS-40e, O3b mPOWER, Ovzon 3, Eutelsat 36D, and eight Starlink missions.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoan expressed his gratitude to SpaceX founder Elon Musk on X (formerly Twitter) saying that his country is pleased to strengthen our cooperation with Mr. Elon Musk and SpaceX in various fields.

SpaceX Trksat 6A comsat planned for Monday

Convective activity should taper off after sunset, but steering winds are expected to be weak, possibly extending any weather violations that occur. Conditions are expected to be similar for the backup day, the weather report stated. The Cumulus Cloud, both Anvil Cloud, and Surface Electric Fields are the most likely rules to violate on both the primary and backup days.

If on schedule Falcon 9 will launch Trksat 6A communications satellite for the Turkish operator Trksat first from SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, from 5:20-9:43 p.m. EDT.

Trksat 6A is the first geostationary communications satellite to be built in Turkey, with development led by TBTAK Space Technologies Research Institute and Turkish Aerospace Industries. It will operate at the 42 East orbital position providing services to customers in Turkey, as well as in Europe, Northern coast of Africa, Middle East, India and Indonesia. Delayed from 2nd Quarter 2023 and March 2024, and launch moved up from July 9.

The forecast calls for a temperature of 88F, light rain, 100% cloud cover, a wind speed of 13mph and 0.29in of rain.

See original here:

SpaceX sends Turkeys first home grown communications satellite despite threatening weather - SatNews

SpaceXs ambitious plans to launch Starship rockets up to 44 times a year from Kennedy Space Center are causing concern among competitors. Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance have called on regulators to pay attention to the fact that Elon Musks company is effectively taking all the free windows for future private rocket launches. Blue Origin even proposed to limit the launch of Starship for a certain period of time and give other suppliers the right to book launches in case of a conflict with launches.

SpaceX has even more ambitious plans for the SLC-37 launch pad at Cape Canaveral. The historic SLC-37 launch pad, which launched the Saturn V rocket in the 1960s and more recently the Delta IV rocket series, is currently inactive. However, Elon Musks private space company plans to restore the site and use it to increase launches to 76 per year.

But SpaceXs plan has also worried environmentalists, as such a number could have a major impact on the local environment. The US Space Force is preparing a draft environmental assessment that will take into account how the launches will affect the local flora and fauna.

The Federal Aviation Administration is also preparing a separate environmental assessment for Starship launches from Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center. Both studies will evaluate the environmental impact of Starship launches and landing operations, which involve the return of super-heavy boosters to the launch pad.

The environmental impact statement for SLC-37 also considers the alternative of building a new launch pad, SLC-50. Significant construction work is likely to be required, including the construction of water drainage ponds, fuel tanks, and a recovery tower. If both sites become operational, it will help SpaceX to make up to 120 launches a year.

The two launch pads in Florida will join the existing Starship launch tower at the SpaceX Starbase launch complex in Texas and the second tower under construction at the same location. In total, SpaceX may have four operational launch sites for Starship launches. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk plans to use his mega rockets to colonize Mars and other parts of the solar system. The goal is to launch Starships several times a day, delivering hundreds of tons of cargo into orbit.

Blue Origin and ULA have expressed concerns about the impact of SpaceXs frequent launches on other launch operations in the region. ULA says that even a single Starship launch could disrupt other launch operations and cause significant environmental impact. Blue Origin, which plans to launch the New Glenn rocket from LC-36, is proposing a number of measures to reduce the launches of its main competitor.

Earlier, we reported how Starlink is destroying the ozone layer, which was supposed to be restored by 2066.

Based on materials from techcrunch.com

Originally posted here:

Competitors are outraged by the number of SpaceX launches - The Universe. Space. Tech

SpaceXs early morning July 3 Starlink launch included 13 direct-to-cell satellites. Photo: SpaceX

SpaceX now has more than 100 direct-to-cell satellites in orbit after a July 3 Starlink launch.

SpaceX launched the first Starlink sats equipped with direct-to-cell capabilities in January of this year and has quickly ramped up to more than 100. These satellites are designed to communicate directly with unmodified cell phones to provide service outside of cellular networks.

The early morning launch lifted off at 4:55 a.m. ET on July 3 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The mission carried 20 Starlink satellites, including 13 direct-to-cell satellites.

SpaceX Senior Director Sara Spangelo said on X that commercial service with partner T-Mobile will start in the U.S. this fall. SpaceX has been working with T-Mobile since August 2022 and the satellites use a portion of T-Mobiles mid-band nationwide spectrum to communicate with cell phones.

With over 100 Direct to Cell satellites now launched, and hundreds more planned to be launched this year, excited to provide ubiquitous connectivity to our customers starting withT-Mobile in the U.S. this year, Spangelo said.

A number of satellite operators, telcos, and device manufacturers are pursuing satellite-to-cell connectivity through a number of different partnerships and methods of sharing spectrum. Apple, which uses Globalstars satellites, recently announced it is expanding satellite messaging on the iPhone with iOS 18 beyond just emergency situations, and satellite messaging will be an option when cellular and Wi-Fi connections are not available.

Read the original here:

SpaceX Now Has More Than 100 Direct-to-Cell Satellites in Orbit - Via Satellite

NOAA expects to see the first images from GOES-19 in September. After completing post-launch check out, NASA will hand GOES-19 over to NOAA, which will validate the satellites data products and drift GOES-19 to its operational position at 75.2 degrees west longitude. NOAA plans for GOES-19 to take over as the operational GOES-East satellite in April 2025, replacing GOES-16. GOES-16 will become the on-orbit standby satellite.

GOES-19 will track severe storms, hurricanes, wildfires, lightning, fog and other hazards that threaten most of North America, including the contiguous United States, Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean. The satellite will also monitor solar activity and space weather to provide early warnings of disruptions to power grids, communications, and navigation systems. Onboard GOES-19 is a new instrument, the Compact Coronagraph-1 (CCOR), which will support NOAAs Space Weather Follow On (SWFO) mission.

CCOR-1 will image the solar corona (the outer layer of the suns atmosphere) and help detect and characterize coronal mass ejections (CMEs), large expulsions of plasma and accompanying magnetic field from the corona, which are the primary cause of geomagnetic storms. CCOR-1 will be the nations first operational coronagraph and will serve as the primary source for information about impending geomagnetic storm conditions, allowing the Space Weather Prediction Center to issue warnings one to four days in advance.

View video of the GOES-U launch.

See the original post here:

NOAAs GOES-U Reaches Geostationary Orbit, Now Designated GOES-19 - nesdis