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It seems this is a closely guarded secret and nobody is talking.

SpaceX’s Private Inspirational 4 Astronauts 3 day trip went well except the Dragon’s toilet suction fans stopped working,

This made for a “stinky “ situation.

The company and astronauts will not talk about this floating poop.
 
Surly a bucket or two of Imodium would have bunged things up for 3 days.
 
NASA already use diapers for the spacewalks I believe.
 
This is their number 1 problem.

SpaceX is taming some toilet troubles in its capsules before it launches four more astronauts.

The company and Nasa want to make sure the toilet leaks will not compromise the capsule launching early on Sunday from Kennedy Space Centre or another one that has been parked at the International Space Station since April.

During SpaceX’s first private flight last month, a tube came unglued, spilling urine on to fans and beneath the floor, said William Gerstenmaier, a SpaceX vice president who used to work for Nasa. The same problem was recently discovered inside the Dragon capsule at the space station, he told reporters on Monday night.

As a permanent fix, SpaceX has welded on the urine-flushing tube that is inside the company’s newest capsule, named Endurance by its US-German crew. Nasa is not quite finished reviewing the last-minute fix.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/world/arid-40730121.html
 
So the poop hit the fan.

Since humans have many bodily functions, it makes it hard to go into space.

So you sit on a small toilet in front of your crew members in the Dragon, and you pull a plastic sheet around you hoping most of you will be covered.

So much for being discreet.
 
This is their number 1 problem.

SpaceX is taming some toilet troubles in its capsules before it launches four more astronauts.

The company and Nasa want to make sure the toilet leaks will not compromise the capsule launching early on Sunday from Kennedy Space Centre or another one that has been parked at the International Space Station since April.

During SpaceX’s first private flight last month, a tube came unglued, spilling urine on to fans and beneath the floor, said William Gerstenmaier, a SpaceX vice president who used to work for Nasa. The same problem was recently discovered inside the Dragon capsule at the space station, he told reporters on Monday night.

As a permanent fix, SpaceX has welded on the urine-flushing tube that is inside the company’s newest capsule, named Endurance by its US-German crew. Nasa is not quite finished reviewing the last-minute fix.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/world/arid-40730121.html
They need to send Howard Wolowitz up there.
 
Elon Musk has advised SpaceX employees there's a real risk of bankruptcy owing to problems in developing and deploying a reliable rocket engine for its Starship vehicle.
Elon Musk: SpaceX faces possible bankruptcy because of engine woes

SpaceX founder Elon Musk told his employees the space company faces a "genuine risk of bankruptcy" because of its struggles in developing its engine for its Starship flights.

In an email obtained by the website Space Explored, Musk called the company's struggle with its Raptor engine production at its base in Boca Chica, Texas, a "crisis." The Starship is a hulking space vehicle created to deliver goods and people to the moon and eventually Mars. ...

"What it comes down to, is that we face a genuine risk of bankruptcy if we can't achieve a Starship flight rate of at least once every two weeks next year," Musk said in the email. ...

"Unfortunately, the Raptor production crisis is much worse than it had seemed a few weeks ago," Musk said. ...

Musk recently said that a "complete design overall" of the engine was necessary." ...
SOURCE: https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2021/11/30/SpaceX-Elon-Musk-Raptor-engine-bankruptcy/6501638291466/
 
Elon Musk has advised SpaceX employees there's a real risk of bankruptcy owing to problems in developing and deploying a reliable rocket engine for its Starship vehicle.

SOURCE: https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2021/11/30/SpaceX-Elon-Musk-Raptor-engine-bankruptcy/6501638291466/
There are speculations the email is fake.
---------

Is The Leaked Elon Musk Bankruptcy Email A Hoax?​

By Ramish Zafar
Nov 30, 2021 11:48 EST
SHARE TWEET SUBMIT

Space Exploration Technologies Corporation's (SpaceX) chief executive officer Mr. Elon Musk has apparently shared concerns about his company's engine production in an email sent out to employees last week. SpaceX is currently developing its Starship next generation launch vehicle system in Boca Chica. This rocket uses different engines than the company's in-service Falcon lineup, and these are the heart of the company's plans for interplanetary exploration as well as its Starlink satellite internet constellation. In the email, Musk concludes by highlighting that his company faces the risk of bankruptcy should it be unable to establish a rapid Starship launch cadence next year.

Elon Musk Wants To Conduct 26 Starship Flights Next Year Suggests Alleged Leaked Email​

The email was first reported on by Spaceexplored, and it talks about the difficulties SpaceX is facing with its new Raptor engine. This engine is vastly more complicated than the company's Merlin engines for its Falcon rockets since it reuses all of its pre-burner by-products in the main combustion chamber. In a rocket engine, the pre-burner is the component in which both of the engine's fuel and oxidizer, or one of them, are initially ignited for powering the pumps to drive fuel into the chamber where combustion takes place to generate thrust.

https://wccftech.com/is-the-leaked-elon-musk-bankruptcy-email-a-hoax/
 
They haven't launched one yet. They're not launching 26 next year.

In any case, bankruptcy doesnt mean the company just closes. It means they continue operations and work with their creditors to figure out financing.
 
I wonder if Branson or Bezos were behind the storm?

SpaceX has lost dozens of satellites after they were hit by a geomagnetic storm a day after launch, causing them to fall from orbit and burn up.

Such solar "storms" are caused by powerful explosions on the sun's surface, which spit out plasma and magnetic fields that can hit the Earth.
The company, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, said up to 40 of 49 satellites from last week's launch were hit. They had been due to join its Starlink satellite internet project.

Starlink is Mr Musk's bid to provide high-speed internet using thousands of orbiting satellites. The system is relatively expensive, but can be used in places where wired connections cannot. For example, in Tonga, where January's earthquake severed the island's nation's undersea data cable, a Starlink station is being built in nearby Fiji to help restore access.

The latest 49 satellites were deployed about 210km (130 miles) above the Earth's surface. SpaceX said "each satellite achieved controlled flight" after being sent up on 3 February. However, a day later, the geomagnetic storm hit the Earth. It is the same kind of mechanism that creates aurorae like the Northern Lights, but it can have dangerous effects too.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60317806
 
Isaacman plans spacewalking suits test.

The tech billionaire who launched on his own SpaceX flight last year is heading back up, aiming for an even higher orbit and the chance to take part in a spacewalk.

Jared Isaacman announced he will make another private spaceflight launching from Nasa’s Kennedy Space Centre, alongside two SpaceX engineers and a former air force fighter pilot.

It is the first of three planned flights to try out new tech — including spacewalking suits — culminating in the first flight with people of SpaceX’s new Starship, which is intended for moon and Mars travel.

Mr Isaacman paid undisclosed millions for last September’s three-day spaceflight for himself and three others, the first space tourism flight for Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

On Monday, Mr Isaacman told reporters he and SpaceX are sharing costs for the upcoming flight.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/world/arid-40808397.html
 
Baad News.

Pictures show huge pieces of space junk, suspected to be from a SpaceX rocket, that crashed to Earth and landed on sheep farms in Australia.

Sheep farmer Mick Miners first came across a strange, charred object on his ranch, south of Jindabyne, in the Snowy Mountains, New South Wales on July 25.

"I didn't know what to think, I had no idea what it was," Miners told ABC Australia at the time.

Another piece was also discovered by his neighbor, Jock Wallace.

Now, somebody else has come forward to ABC Australia, having found another piece of junk on July 14, in Moonbah. The space junk is thought to be linked to a sonic boom heard across the area on July 9. People also saw a streak of bright light across the sky at the same time.

When a rocket is launched, parts of the craft break away from the main payload and fall back down to Earth. Most of these pieces burn up when the hit the atmosphere, however some large pieces may remain intact. These pieces usually land in the ocean, which makes up two thirds of the Earth's surface. But on occasion, they can hit land.

Space junk

A picture shows the space junk found in the snowy mountains. A loud bang was heard a few days before the first piece was discovered.BRAD TUCKER ...

https://www.newsweek.com/photos-show-big-chunks-suspected-spacex-rocket-landed-sheep-farm-1729625
 
Baad News.

Pictures show huge pieces of space junk, suspected to be from a SpaceX rocket, that crashed to Earth and landed on sheep farms in Australia.

Sheep farmer Mick Miners first came across a strange, charred object on his ranch, south of Jindabyne, in the Snowy Mountains, New South Wales on July 25.

"I didn't know what to think, I had no idea what it was," Miners told ABC Australia at the time.

Another piece was also discovered by his neighbor, Jock Wallace.

Now, somebody else has come forward to ABC Australia, having found another piece of junk on July 14, in Moonbah. The space junk is thought to be linked to a sonic boom heard across the area on July 9. People also saw a streak of bright light across the sky at the same time.

When a rocket is launched, parts of the craft break away from the main payload and fall back down to Earth. Most of these pieces burn up when the hit the atmosphere, however some large pieces may remain intact. These pieces usually land in the ocean, which makes up two thirds of the Earth's surface. But on occasion, they can hit land.

Space junk

A picture shows the space junk found in the snowy mountains. A loud bang was heard a few days before the first piece was discovered.BRAD TUCKER ...

https://www.newsweek.com/photos-show-big-chunks-suspected-spacex-rocket-landed-sheep-farm-1729625
Chinese? They had some space junk hitting Earth a week or two ago.

Most SpaceX launches uses rockets which returns to Earth for reuse.
 
I wonder if Branson or Bezos were behind the storm?

SpaceX has lost dozens of satellites after they were hit by a geomagnetic storm a day after launch, causing them to fall from orbit and burn up.

Such solar "storms" are caused by powerful explosions on the sun's surface, which spit out plasma and magnetic fields that can hit the Earth.
The company, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, said up to 40 of 49 satellites from last week's launch were hit. They had been due to join its Starlink satellite internet project.

Starlink is Mr Musk's bid to provide high-speed internet using thousands of orbiting satellites. The system is relatively expensive, but can be used in places where wired connections cannot. For example, in Tonga, where January's earthquake severed the island's nation's undersea data cable, a Starlink station is being built in nearby Fiji to help restore access.

The latest 49 satellites were deployed about 210km (130 miles) above the Earth's surface. SpaceX said "each satellite achieved controlled flight" after being sent up on 3 February. However, a day later, the geomagnetic storm hit the Earth. It is the same kind of mechanism that creates aurorae like the Northern Lights, but it can have dangerous effects too.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60317806
What I don't understand it why send up satellites that are prone to damage by geomagnetic storms as they happen from time to time?
 
Marcus House gives a weekly update/roundup of the activity of SpaceX at it's various sites, plus info on launches of their missions and those of competing companies.
Each Saturday he produces a film of about 20 minutes in length which gives a lot of info without getting silly technical, and occasionally, if there is something of remark to report upon, he might do a short live show during the week.
Lots of good pictures and clear graphics etc.
If you haven't seen his stuff before, and have an interest in the Space X stuff (and Blue Origin and other launch providers) it's well worth bookmarking.
Here is this weeks update.
 
Grounded!

SpaceX's Starship has been grounded by the U.S. government following claims that the rocket's explosive first launch spread plumes of potentially hazardous debris over homes and the habitats of endangered animals.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) — the U.S. civil aviation regulator — has stopped SpaceX from conducting any further launches until it has concluded a "mishap investigation" into Starship's April 20 test launch. The massive rocket’s dramatic flight began by punching a crater into the concrete beneath the launchpad and ended when the giant rocket exploded in mid-air around 4 minutes later.

Dust and debris from the test reportedly rained down on residents in Port Isabel, Texas — a town roughly 6 miles (10 kilometers) from the launchpad — and across Boca Chica's beaches, which are nesting grounds for endangered animals, including birds and sea turtles.

https://www.livescience.com/space/s...ntially-hazardous-debris-on-homes-and-beaches
 
Which is probably why Elon decided to build duplicate facilities over at Roberts Road on the NASA 'Kennedy' site in Florida.
 
Grounded!

SpaceX's Starship has been grounded by the U.S. government following claims that the rocket's explosive first launch spread plumes of potentially hazardous debris over homes and the habitats of endangered animals.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) — the U.S. civil aviation regulator — has stopped SpaceX from conducting any further launches until it has concluded a "mishap investigation" into Starship's April 20 test launch. The massive rocket’s dramatic flight began by punching a crater into the concrete beneath the launchpad and ended when the giant rocket exploded in mid-air around 4 minutes later.

Dust and debris from the test reportedly rained down on residents in Port Isabel, Texas — a town roughly 6 miles (10 kilometers) from the launchpad — and across Boca Chica's beaches, which are nesting grounds for endangered animals, including birds and sea turtles.

https://www.livescience.com/space/s...ntially-hazardous-debris-on-homes-and-beaches
I'd be very concerned about serious damage to the spacecraft or even the whole lauch pad structure collapsing during a launch.
 
Well that's entirely unfair.
Maybe Elon should come to the UK and take over the facilities in Cornwall.

Er, the spacecraft launch showered residential areas 6 miles away with debris. It also put endangered species at risk. When something like that happens there's naturally going to be investigations before more launches are allowed.
 
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