UKC

Possible 15km test soon .

So exciting .

https://nextspaceflight.com/starship/

Static Fire #5

Starship SN8 will conduct its fifth static fire test. The objectives of this test have not been officially confirmed.

Pad A, Boca Chica, Texas, USA

Mon Nov 30, 2020

15 Kilometer Test Flight

Starship SN8 will attempt to hop to 15 kilometers.

Pad A, Boca Chica, Texas, USA

NET Dec 02, 2020

TWS

Needs bigger wings and a good paint scheme

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/uncl-models-unfb5-fireball-xl5--1239454

Incidentally i found a childhood picture of an Ex Senior Government Advisor!

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055673/mediaviewer/rm3684352000/

like it

The canards on XL-5 make absolutely no sense.

With nos 9 through to 15 in various stages of construction on site!  The scale of production, iteration and testing is even more impressive than the scale of the rocket itself.

Errmmmmm.... that's your objection to a cartoon rocket plane...?

Thats pretty good. I thought he was the Mekon

http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/m/mekon.htm

ps. Hmmm.....

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0803300/?ref_=tt_mv

Absolutely.  What with the presumed weight of the nutomic reactor towards the rear, that thing is going to be a pig to keep in coordinated horizontal flight, and whatever those canards do, it doesn't help.

Thanks for the giggle

Yes, but they look cool. Which is the main thing. That 'Starship' jobbie looks about as cool as my thermos flask. Seriously under- finned.

Were they not to stabilise Fireball Junior during atmospheric entry and back to orbit?

For anyone who hasn't experienced the full joy of those days here is a full colour episode:

youtube.com/watch?v=FQEIQT4F56A&

If you get bored with the story skip to the end for the wonderful 1960s pop rendering of "I wish I was a Spaceman" for the closing titles.

The opening sequence where they launch at a steep angle from the ground and see the sky darken and stars appear as they leave the atmosphere is a deep and enduring childhood memory.

It caused a recurring fantastic dream of being in a mercury capsule and seeing the earth from space with a real sense of grief for space after becoming earthbound again during the dream.

  The same effect was used pretty well in the Zero X takeoff for Mars in Thunderbirds are Go, which had to be seen on the big screen to appreciate.

I think Apollo 13 borrowed the idea during the launch to Orbit sequence.

apologies for make nostalgia trip

No need to apologise! Those sixties Anderson creations were great. Fireball XL-5 and Stingray in particular. 'Anything can happen in the next half hour!' is one of my favourite quotes. Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet led on to 'real' stuff like UFO and Space 1999. Great days.

I defer to the expert, mi'lud.  

It's very exciting that SpaceX are starting to deliver on the non-nuclear parts of Gerry Anderson's vision of the future.  I think they'd be only too keen to engage in the nuclear parts if they could...

Road closure notice in place, sat on the pad.  NOTAM not gone out yet...

youtube.com/watch?v=Ky5l9ZxsG9M&

Thanks for that, my boss said the road closures had been cancelled today. 

However it's still showing scheduled online.

who knows whats going on ,  I'll keep my eyes peeled

The chap who runs LabPadre must get some budget from the fans; he's installed a reasonable resolution thermal camera looking at the site; the YouTube compression is doing horrible things to it though.

youtube.com/watch?v=Ss_XUaLEp1Y&

Oh yes , they get a fair amount of patreon funding from what I understand .   Themselves and the drone operators that do the footage of the site .

Looks like it is the 15 Km from tomorrow onwards from what I've just read.

I reckon the thermal camera is a 320 x 160 pixel device; one of those with video out and a decent zoom lens is probably £10k.  I've got serious envy compared to my little Seek Thermal now.