News Changes to the SpaceX BFR rocket.

Hello, little offtopic maybe but we Firefox/Librewolf users cannot see Twitter embeds anymore. Could a screenshot be posted instead? I would like to still see this kind of content.

View attachment 43596
Does this image...
GrBlTLVWQAAJRF4

...show?
 
I am on Firefox and can see @STS 's and other Xitter links fine, but they are blocked by default by Firefox and one needs to right click to allow them.

I only see text from @GLS. I think it is something on GLS's end on how they are posting the links, not a Firefox thing.

EDIT: I get this from one of GLS's posts this morning that shows how blocked X links are treated:

Screenshot at 2025-05-16 14-37-44.png

But GLS's posts later in the day come across as just text:

Screenshot at 2025-05-16 14-40-20.png

I am on Firefox 138.0.1 on Linux Mint.

Screenshot at 2025-05-16 14-44-12.png
 
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"The FAA has given the go for flight 9 of Starship"
1747939121310.png

If I'm not lost, current NET should be 27th, but with S35 sitting waiting for yet another static fire either overnight or tomorrow, after which it will need final checkouts and "satellite" loading, no booster rollout yet, and the long weekend over there, I'm guessing it slips later in the week.
 
I'm guessing it slips later in the week
So far seems on track, booster's in place and ship is loaded and expected to roll out today.

Anyway, "details" on what happened with Flight 8 (details is a very strong word here):

Stating the issue with F8 was distinct from F7 (and that the F7 fixes worked), but the wording is also curious (until it failed they worked? lol). And feels like there's a lot of missing info anyway, not really describing root causes.

And Flight 9 plans:

TL;DR booster to be expended due to higher risk from reuse, using it to test more aggressive angle of attack during descent, intentionally disabling a centre engine for landing to test a middle ring compensating for it, and then going down to two engines for the "catch". Ship plan unchanged.

Interesting tidbit on the booster flip:

"Following stage separation, the booster will flip in a controlled direction before initiating its boostback burn. This will be achieved by blocking several of the vents on the vehicle’s hotstage adapter, causing the thrust from Starship’s engines to push the booster in a known direction. Previous booster flips went in a randomized direction based on a directional push from small differences in thrust from Starship’s upper stage engines at ignition. Flipping in a known direction will require less propellant to be held in reserve, enabling the use of more propellant during ascent to enable additional payload mass to orbit."

I'd think they have the ability to know the ignition stagger on the ship and thus where torque would show up first, instead of requiring the booster to react in real time, not that it's a bad capability to have.
 
Stating the issue with F8 was distinct from F7 (and that the F7 fixes worked), but the wording is also curious (until it failed they worked? lol
Since it didn't make it to orbit, it's impossible to know if the fixes for F7 really worked or they would have failed later in the flight if the F8 issue hadn't happened
 
T-2 minutes, but a hold at T-40s is coming up...
 
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