WEBVTT - TechStuff In Spaaace(X) - Part Two 0:00:04.200 --> 0:00:07.200 Get in touch with technology with text Stuff from how 0:00:07.240 --> 0:00:14.120 Stuff Works dot com. Payson and welcome to text Stuff. 0:00:14.240 --> 0:00:18.000 I'm Jonathan Strickland and I'm Lauren. And when laugh we left, 0:00:18.840 --> 0:00:21.599 we were talking about SpaceX and we had gotten up 0:00:21.640 --> 0:00:24.800 to the year two thousand and nine, at which point 0:00:25.040 --> 0:00:28.440 SpaceX had successfully launched the Falcon one once in a 0:00:28.520 --> 0:00:32.319 test and wants to take a Malaysian satellite up. And 0:00:32.800 --> 0:00:36.599 with these resounding successes said, you know, let's retire that one. 0:00:36.880 --> 0:00:39.199 I spilled something bigger, bigger and better. Yes, we can 0:00:39.240 --> 0:00:42.400 make it bigger, faster, stronger. So two thousand and ten 0:00:42.760 --> 0:00:46.440 they launched a successful test of a Falcon nine rocket. 0:00:46.960 --> 0:00:50.599 It's eight better than the Falcon one. You might ask, well, 0:00:50.600 --> 0:00:52.559 why did they go from one to nine like what 0:00:52.640 --> 0:00:55.640 happened to Falcons two through eight. Well, the nine doesn't 0:00:55.720 --> 0:00:59.640 refer to the version, No, it refers to how many 0:01:00.200 --> 0:01:02.600 engines are in the first stage of the rocket. Yes, 0:01:02.640 --> 0:01:05.399 it has nine Merlin engines in that first stage. It 0:01:05.480 --> 0:01:07.679 is also a two stage rocket. Yes, so like the 0:01:07.680 --> 0:01:09.920 Falcon one, it's a two stage rocket, but unlike the 0:01:09.920 --> 0:01:13.440 Falcon one, it had nine engines instead of just one engine. Uh, 0:01:13.520 --> 0:01:16.720 still was a liquid liquid fuel engine liquid oxygen and 0:01:16.800 --> 0:01:22.760 kerosene specifically, and used aluminum aluminum lithium alloy tanks. Now, 0:01:22.760 --> 0:01:25.920 according to SpaceX, the nine engines provide more thrust than 0:01:26.080 --> 0:01:28.839 five seven forty seven's at full power. Now I should 0:01:28.840 --> 0:01:32.560 stress that's the current Falcon nine because over the course 0:01:32.640 --> 0:01:35.160 of the last few years. Yeah, the Falcon nine has 0:01:35.200 --> 0:01:39.400 gotten pardon the pun, a bit of a boost over 0:01:39.440 --> 0:01:44.120 the last Okay, I'm sorry, I regret everything I've said, 0:01:44.520 --> 0:01:48.280 I know, but but it is, it has improved over 0:01:48.320 --> 0:01:51.280 the years as they've worked on it. So the the 0:01:51.320 --> 0:01:54.120 figures we have for the Falcon nine really reflect the 0:01:54.120 --> 0:01:57.040 most recent version of the rocket, not the original, not 0:01:57.080 --> 0:01:59.920 this original one from yes Um. And the reason I 0:02:00.040 --> 0:02:02.920 has those nine engines in there is to provide redundancy, 0:02:03.600 --> 0:02:06.680 that way of the that the rocket can continue even 0:02:06.720 --> 0:02:10.000 if two of its engines shut down entirely during the process. Right. 0:02:10.040 --> 0:02:12.440 So they've had issues where they I mean they've actually 0:02:12.440 --> 0:02:14.640 tested it where they would shut down an engine on 0:02:14.720 --> 0:02:17.800 purpose and then fire it back up to make sure 0:02:17.880 --> 0:02:20.320 that in fact the rocket would be able to continue 0:02:20.440 --> 0:02:24.160 and deliver its payload into orbits. So this was definitely 0:02:24.240 --> 0:02:28.760 something that was built into the design. Also, what's really 0:02:28.919 --> 0:02:32.919 kind of cool is that, uh, the the stages stage 0:02:32.919 --> 0:02:36.079 one and stage two, they are separated by a different 0:02:36.160 --> 0:02:39.520 method than the way you would find in um in 0:02:39.520 --> 0:02:43.760 in previous versions of launch vehicles. Now, normally a launch 0:02:43.880 --> 0:02:47.320 vehicle the two stages would be connected with explosive bolts 0:02:47.639 --> 0:02:50.640 and you would blow the bolts and then stage one 0:02:50.680 --> 0:02:53.160 would fall away, in stage two would ignite and continue 0:02:53.200 --> 0:02:55.760 to go up into orbit. But since they were hoping 0:02:55.960 --> 0:02:59.839 to create a rocket system that can be used multiple time, 0:03:00.160 --> 0:03:03.000 like the whole shebang, not just the shuttle bit, yeah, 0:03:03.200 --> 0:03:04.800 they decided to go with something else. They went with 0:03:04.919 --> 0:03:09.920 using air pressure. They essentially had like pneumatic bolts that 0:03:09.960 --> 0:03:14.320 would blast off with a little little blast of compressed air. 0:03:14.680 --> 0:03:17.640 So it wasn't explosive in the sense of like an 0:03:17.680 --> 0:03:24.680 actual explosive device. It would separate more um less violently. 0:03:24.720 --> 0:03:28.560 Let's say, yeah, gently is good because this soothing easing 0:03:29.120 --> 0:03:35.680 blast from high in earth. Yeah. Really, it was mostly 0:03:35.720 --> 0:03:38.240 to to make sure that things would remain safe for 0:03:38.400 --> 0:03:41.800 once the falcon would start to carry people, not just 0:03:41.960 --> 0:03:45.680 not just stuff. Stuff is replaceable. People are not to know. 0:03:46.280 --> 0:03:51.800 So anyway, the if everything is working properly when the 0:03:51.840 --> 0:03:55.360 engines a night, Uh, they will burn for three minutes 0:03:55.360 --> 0:03:58.760 in that first stage and uh interesting facts. So at 0:03:58.800 --> 0:04:02.160 sea level, the Falcon engines engines provide and again this 0:04:02.200 --> 0:04:07.920 is current. Falcon nines provide one point three million pounds 0:04:07.920 --> 0:04:12.080 of thrust, which is five thousand, eight hundred five kilo newtonts. 0:04:12.680 --> 0:04:17.440 But rocket thrust increases as altitude increases, so they just 0:04:17.560 --> 0:04:20.560 get more powerful as they go further up in the air. 0:04:20.640 --> 0:04:23.680 So once they get to space, the engines are putting 0:04:23.720 --> 0:04:27.240 out one point five million pounds of thrust or six thousand, 0:04:27.320 --> 0:04:32.920 six d seventy two kilo mutants, So that's pretty awesome. Now, 0:04:32.960 --> 0:04:37.920 earlier rockets were slightly less powerful, but still significantly stronger 0:04:38.000 --> 0:04:40.760 than the Falcon one, not a big surprise with all 0:04:40.800 --> 0:04:43.440 the extra engines thrown in there. I'm just waiting for 0:04:43.440 --> 0:04:46.120 them to have the Falcon eleven so turn it all 0:04:46.120 --> 0:04:48.440 the way up to eleven um, which would make sense 0:04:48.440 --> 0:04:53.320 because I'm pretty sure Tesla's vehicles have dials that go 0:04:53.440 --> 0:04:55.120 all the way up to eleven I think I think 0:04:55.200 --> 0:04:59.400 Musk is a fan of spinal test. So uh, Now, 0:04:59.720 --> 0:05:02.640 as the rockets mass decreases, which you would expect to 0:05:02.680 --> 0:05:05.919 have happened. It's got fuel, it's burning fuel, so therefore 0:05:06.200 --> 0:05:09.120 it's going to lose mass in the process of actually 0:05:09.640 --> 0:05:14.160 launching into space. The Falcon nine engines gradually get throttled 0:05:14.160 --> 0:05:18.240 back to compensate so that it keeps acceleration within the 0:05:18.320 --> 0:05:21.440 right parameters, because obviously, if you have the engines blasting 0:05:21.480 --> 0:05:25.040 at the same amount of thrust and the mass of 0:05:25.080 --> 0:05:28.120 the thing it's thrusting up into space is decreasing, then 0:05:28.240 --> 0:05:30.840 it would accelerate beyond what they had it they need. 0:05:32.680 --> 0:05:36.040 So interesting that you have to actually think about throttling 0:05:36.080 --> 0:05:38.760 back the engines as opposed to because you know, getting 0:05:38.760 --> 0:05:41.080 stuff into space is hard. We talked about that. It's 0:05:41.440 --> 0:05:43.000 it's hard to think you would think that it would 0:05:43.000 --> 0:05:45.840 be full, right, that's not the way it works. It's 0:05:45.880 --> 0:05:48.280 kind of cool. Uh. Now, the second stage of the 0:05:48.400 --> 0:05:52.400 rocket has a single Merlin vacuum engine, not a vacuum 0:05:52.440 --> 0:05:56.040 cleaner engine. It's an engine that works in the vacuum 0:05:56.040 --> 0:05:59.800 of space. So for being in space. Yes, yeah, you've 0:05:59.800 --> 0:06:03.480 got this pneumatic stage separation that separates once. Once that happens, 0:06:03.520 --> 0:06:06.200 the stage one starts to fall away. Stage two kicks 0:06:06.240 --> 0:06:08.880 in that one Merlin engine kicks in and provides a 0:06:09.000 --> 0:06:12.160 hundred eight thousand pounds of force or a hundred one 0:06:12.200 --> 0:06:16.000 killing Newton's so, you know, relatively modest compared to the 0:06:16.000 --> 0:06:19.080 actual stage one rocket, which makes sense because that was 0:06:19.120 --> 0:06:22.760 again nine engines versus one. Uh. And that one burns 0:06:22.760 --> 0:06:25.799 for three hundred seventy five seconds, which is six minutes 0:06:25.800 --> 0:06:27.880 fifteen seconds for those who want to break it down 0:06:27.880 --> 0:06:30.839 like that. Uh, and then it will get into its orbit, 0:06:31.240 --> 0:06:33.600 so the second stage engine can actually stop and start 0:06:33.680 --> 0:06:36.480 multiple times, which allows the Falcon nine to place different 0:06:36.480 --> 0:06:40.120 payloads into different orbits. You group the payloads together so 0:06:40.160 --> 0:06:41.800 if you have satellites that need to go into a 0:06:41.839 --> 0:06:44.200 certain orbit, you can release them and then continue the 0:06:44.240 --> 0:06:49.320 spacecraft further out to deliver more payloads and higher orbits. Yeah. Yeah, 0:06:49.360 --> 0:06:51.960 this this allows you know, everyone involved to save a 0:06:51.960 --> 0:06:54.320 lot of money because the actual launch is what's expensive. 0:06:54.360 --> 0:06:56.680 You know. Once once you're up there, it's kind of like, yeah, 0:06:56.800 --> 0:07:00.279 just just toss everything around wherever it needs to get right, Okay, 0:07:00.320 --> 0:07:03.840 who's here for lower th orbit? All right out you go. Yeah. 0:07:03.880 --> 0:07:06.520 It's one of those things where, uh, it makes it 0:07:07.520 --> 0:07:10.440 a viable business to work with these other companies we 0:07:10.480 --> 0:07:13.200 talked about in our first episode where we were talking 0:07:13.240 --> 0:07:15.320 about how you know, a company might have a satellite 0:07:15.320 --> 0:07:17.760 that needs to put into orbit, and another company may 0:07:17.800 --> 0:07:20.160 have a similar satellite that also needs to go in orbit, 0:07:20.240 --> 0:07:23.280 it's maybe a slightly different elevation. This would allow SpaceX 0:07:23.280 --> 0:07:26.480 to have the opportunity to launch both in the same 0:07:26.840 --> 0:07:30.640 mission and thus you you can serve and you end 0:07:30.680 --> 0:07:34.480 up making the whole endeavor less expensive for all individual parties. 0:07:34.920 --> 0:07:39.320 So pretty pretty savvy move on the business side. Uh, 0:07:39.440 --> 0:07:43.680 pretty cool stuff. Now beyond all that, also in two, 0:07:44.240 --> 0:07:47.080 SpaceX would land a contract with a satellite operator called 0:07:47.080 --> 0:07:51.320 a Ridium for four hundred ninety two million dollars, as 0:07:51.360 --> 0:07:54.520 was the largest commercial space launch deal ever up to 0:07:54.560 --> 0:07:57.800 that time. And in the second test of the Falcon nine, 0:07:57.840 --> 0:08:00.880 SpaceX becomes the first private company to launch of spacecraft 0:08:00.920 --> 0:08:04.040 into orbit and then recover it after it orbits the Earth. 0:08:04.720 --> 0:08:08.960 So this is again pretty it's it's a pretty big yeah. 0:08:09.080 --> 0:08:12.560 Another step on that on that plan. On the back 0:08:12.600 --> 0:08:15.640 of all of this this wonder and amazement, Musk would 0:08:15.680 --> 0:08:19.000 make the only a little bit far reaching claim that 0:08:19.040 --> 0:08:22.280 he would be sending astronauts into space within three years 0:08:22.320 --> 0:08:25.440 at only twenty million dollars a piece. Yeah, that's um, 0:08:25.520 --> 0:08:32.240 that's that's compared to uh previous missions. Sure, and spoiler alert, 0:08:32.320 --> 0:08:35.520 that did not happen. No, it would take a little 0:08:35.559 --> 0:08:38.319 longer than three years because we still haven't sent anyone 0:08:38.400 --> 0:08:41.240 up into space. No humans have gone into space on 0:08:41.280 --> 0:08:45.160 a SpaceX vehicle yet. So if you're waiting to hear 0:08:45.200 --> 0:08:48.520 that magical fairy tale story, we don't have that. If 0:08:48.520 --> 0:08:52.200 it happened while we were recording, that's different, but as 0:08:52.240 --> 0:08:55.559 of the recording, it has not yet happened. Now, moving 0:08:55.559 --> 0:08:59.600 on to two thousand eleven, we have a groundbreaking ceremony 0:09:00.040 --> 0:09:04.199 for the Vandenburg Air Force Base space launch complex that 0:09:04.320 --> 0:09:07.840 SpaceX would use. Uh. Now, at that point, SpaceX was 0:09:07.920 --> 0:09:13.400 valued at about one point three billion dollars, pretty impressive 0:09:13.440 --> 0:09:16.280 considering that it only had had started back in two 0:09:16.320 --> 0:09:18.920 thousand two. Yeah. Yeah, And and this Air Force space 0:09:19.000 --> 0:09:23.199 that they were celebrating was not for them alone, right, 0:09:23.240 --> 0:09:26.760 it's a government facility exactly. It's it's essentially they're saying, hey, 0:09:26.920 --> 0:09:29.120 do you mind if we use your your playground to 0:09:29.200 --> 0:09:32.400 launch our our our rockets and air forces. You know, 0:09:32.440 --> 0:09:34.520 we can work up a deal, and that's exactly we 0:09:34.559 --> 0:09:37.040 can work that out. Um. Meanwhile, over at NASA, the 0:09:37.040 --> 0:09:41.120 Shuttle program was officially shut down in eleven after the 0:09:41.160 --> 0:09:44.200 Atlantis Is final flight, which returned to the Kennedy Space 0:09:44.200 --> 0:09:48.200 Center on July one. This means, among other things, that 0:09:48.320 --> 0:09:51.880 the amazing infrastructure that is the Kennedy Space Center and 0:09:51.960 --> 0:09:55.280 its launch pads would be rendered idle um at a 0:09:55.320 --> 0:09:59.079 cost of like some a hundred thousand dollars per month 0:09:59.440 --> 0:10:02.760 in maintenance. I don't think that's offset by tourists like 0:10:02.880 --> 0:10:05.520 me going to look around at the Kennedy Space Center. 0:10:05.720 --> 0:10:09.200 Not quite no, um. So you know, in turn, that 0:10:09.320 --> 0:10:12.480 means that you can bet NASA was pretty eager to 0:10:13.640 --> 0:10:17.040 start looking at at ways to recoup that and start 0:10:17.120 --> 0:10:20.720 renting out those launch pads to private companies. Yes, so 0:10:20.800 --> 0:10:23.280 that will become more important a little later on. Yes. 0:10:23.760 --> 0:10:27.480 In two thousand twelve, in May, SpaceX would launch a 0:10:27.480 --> 0:10:30.960 successful mission to have its Dragon spaceship dock with the 0:10:31.040 --> 0:10:34.240 International Space Station. So the Dragon spaceship is like a capsule. 0:10:34.720 --> 0:10:37.239 If you look at it, it kind of is reminiscent 0:10:37.240 --> 0:10:39.560 of something like one of the Apollo capsules. It looks 0:10:39.600 --> 0:10:42.120 kind of in that same sort of general shape. Um, 0:10:42.120 --> 0:10:45.800 and it's not carrying any cargo on this first test. Uh. 0:10:45.880 --> 0:10:48.920 And there it doesn't have any people aborted on the 0:10:48.920 --> 0:10:51.400 first test, but it was successful in docking with the 0:10:51.400 --> 0:10:54.120 I s sh yeah. Yeah, and the astronauts who are 0:10:54.120 --> 0:10:58.080 already up there could open the docked capsule and go 0:10:58.240 --> 0:11:02.120 right on inside, which is any brave. Yeah, I mean 0:11:02.120 --> 0:11:04.000 you said there thinking. I mean, I'm sure they had 0:11:04.040 --> 0:11:06.520 all the instrumentation to prove that in fact, it was 0:11:06.600 --> 0:11:11.000 perfectly safe. But just think of this, This unmanned capsule 0:11:11.160 --> 0:11:14.000 docks with the space station and it's you know, docks 0:11:14.040 --> 0:11:17.600 to an airlock, and I can't imagine the amount of 0:11:17.640 --> 0:11:19.840 tension I would feel opening the airlock for the first 0:11:19.840 --> 0:11:21.760 time and not knowing for sure that everything on the 0:11:21.760 --> 0:11:24.400 other side was still okay. I'm sure that they were 0:11:24.440 --> 0:11:27.400 like tethered in, and I'm sure there are many safety 0:11:27.400 --> 0:11:31.160 precautions taken. It's just interesting to be like, as are 0:11:31.200 --> 0:11:34.000 a world apart from me. I'm too nervous to be 0:11:34.080 --> 0:11:35.840 able to do. Yeah, I get anxious, like going to 0:11:35.880 --> 0:11:40.320 the grocery store. So let's talk about this Dragon spacecraft. 0:11:40.360 --> 0:11:43.120 It's pretty cool. So it's designed to deliver people and 0:11:43.160 --> 0:11:45.840 cargo to space, although again no people so far have 0:11:45.960 --> 0:11:50.800 gone anywhere. Specifically, is designed to go to orbiting destinations 0:11:50.840 --> 0:11:53.199 like the I S S or satellites, as opposed to 0:11:53.360 --> 0:11:56.920 some longer mission to say the Moon or Mars. It's 0:11:56.960 --> 0:11:59.520 not meant for that. About how much stuff can it hold? 0:12:00.240 --> 0:12:03.120 It can hold eighty three cube feet of cargo, which 0:12:03.160 --> 0:12:06.240 is twenty five cube meters on at least on the 0:12:06.240 --> 0:12:09.440 way up. And it has a mass of six thousand kilograms, 0:12:09.480 --> 0:12:13.000 which means it weighs thirteen thousand, two hundred twenty eight pounds. Now, 0:12:13.040 --> 0:12:15.560 the return payload when it comes back to Earth is 0:12:15.640 --> 0:12:19.400 three thousand krams or six thousand, six d fourteen pounds, 0:12:19.760 --> 0:12:22.719 and the return payload volume for the Dragon spacecraft is 0:12:22.760 --> 0:12:26.000 three eight cube feet or eleven cube meters. And you 0:12:26.040 --> 0:12:28.439 might say, well, why why is the difference? Where where's 0:12:28.440 --> 0:12:32.120 the difference with the volume when it goes up versus 0:12:32.120 --> 0:12:34.199 the volume when it comes down. And so part of 0:12:34.240 --> 0:12:37.480 the capsule when it's going up is a connector that 0:12:37.559 --> 0:12:41.120 connects the capsule to the launch vehicle right and in 0:12:41.160 --> 0:12:45.240 that in that area you have an unpressurized chamber, and 0:12:45.520 --> 0:12:48.120 inside the unpressurized chamber. You can have certain types of 0:12:48.160 --> 0:12:51.120 cargo stuff that does not need to be protected in 0:12:51.120 --> 0:12:53.240 that way. So let's say that you have some extra 0:12:53.280 --> 0:12:55.080 satellites that you can just you know, throw in the back. 0:12:55.200 --> 0:12:57.360 It's in the back of your truck. Essentially you go 0:12:57.520 --> 0:12:59.520 up into space. Well, when you get up into space, 0:12:59.760 --> 0:13:03.559 the capsule, when it's going into re entry, will disconnect 0:13:04.120 --> 0:13:07.400 from that connector that originally had it next to the 0:13:07.640 --> 0:13:10.880 launch vehicle, and so the capsule itself will come down, 0:13:10.880 --> 0:13:13.960 which means that you can't carry as much back down 0:13:14.160 --> 0:13:17.120 as you could carry back up. Now, why would you 0:13:17.120 --> 0:13:18.839 want to carry stuff down in the first place, But, 0:13:19.000 --> 0:13:22.560 like we mentioned in the first episode, occasionally stuff aboard 0:13:22.559 --> 0:13:24.880 the I s S needs to be repaired or maintained, 0:13:24.880 --> 0:13:26.960 and they can't necessarily do all of that on the 0:13:27.000 --> 0:13:30.319 station itself. Or maybe they want to send little bits 0:13:30.320 --> 0:13:32.880 of scientific experiments back down to Earth, right, and in 0:13:32.920 --> 0:13:36.400 that case you would need to have exactly so that's 0:13:36.400 --> 0:13:40.480 what that would be used for. So the pressure I section, 0:13:40.760 --> 0:13:42.679 which would be the one that would carry humans if 0:13:42.720 --> 0:13:45.600 we ever sent any up in a Dragon Space capsule UH, 0:13:45.760 --> 0:13:50.880 can also carry cargo and it has something called draco thrusters. 0:13:50.880 --> 0:13:53.959 So these are these are thrusters. They're meant to provide uh, 0:13:54.320 --> 0:13:59.760 propulsion and some maneuverability in space, developed by SpaceX. So 0:14:01.240 --> 0:14:05.359 since it's the Dragon Capsule, of course it's the Draco thrusters. 0:14:06.360 --> 0:14:09.480 There are eighteen of them spread across four pods, So 0:14:09.559 --> 0:14:11.720 two of the pods have four thrusters, two of the 0:14:11.720 --> 0:14:15.160 pods have five thrusters. Now, the thrusters provide all this 0:14:15.280 --> 0:14:18.480 maneuverability whenever they're needing to to dock with the I 0:14:18.720 --> 0:14:22.280 S S or whenever they're they're trying to reposition themselves 0:14:22.280 --> 0:14:25.720 for re entry um and each individual thruster is capable 0:14:25.760 --> 0:14:29.120 of creating nine pounds of thrust. Now, the Dragon also 0:14:29.200 --> 0:14:32.040 has this unpressurized trunk that was talking about. That's the 0:14:32.080 --> 0:14:34.760 part where it'll disconnect just as you start to go 0:14:34.920 --> 0:14:39.680 into re entry. And uh that's also why you're able 0:14:39.720 --> 0:14:42.320 to carry more stuff up than down. As I said before, 0:14:43.160 --> 0:14:47.120 on May thirty one, the Dragon Capsule returned to Earth safely, 0:14:47.280 --> 0:14:50.240 completing that first test mission of the capsule. And it's 0:14:50.280 --> 0:14:53.760 the first private spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station. 0:14:54.240 --> 0:14:57.400 So in August of two thousand eleven, SpaceX would send 0:14:57.400 --> 0:15:00.320 a Dragon spacecraft up again to pick up return earned 0:15:00.320 --> 0:15:03.920 cargo to bring back to Earth, and Elon must champion 0:15:04.000 --> 0:15:06.880 the mission as a demonstration of America being able to 0:15:06.920 --> 0:15:09.640 deliver cargo and to take cargo from the I S 0:15:09.640 --> 0:15:12.080 S for the first time since the space Shuttle program 0:15:12.120 --> 0:15:15.440 was shuttered. Now keep in mind that particular capsule had 0:15:15.480 --> 0:15:18.920 not actually carried anything up to the station, It just 0:15:18.960 --> 0:15:23.200 brought stuff back down. But in October the Dragon capsule 0:15:23.200 --> 0:15:27.320 would be the first private spacecraft to complete a resupply 0:15:27.400 --> 0:15:29.520 mission to the I S S. So by the end 0:15:29.560 --> 0:15:31.640 of two thousand eleven, it had done it all. They 0:15:31.640 --> 0:15:35.160 had done a successful test stalking, they had returned cargo 0:15:35.200 --> 0:15:38.080 safely to Earth, and they brought stuff up supplies back 0:15:38.120 --> 0:15:39.960 up to the I S S in order to support 0:15:40.000 --> 0:15:44.200 all of this. Meanwhile, that McGregor, Texas testing facility that 0:15:44.240 --> 0:15:47.320 I mentioned in the first episode was running at eighteen 0:15:47.320 --> 0:15:51.120 hours a day, six days a week. Wow, And you 0:15:51.120 --> 0:15:53.440 know I have actually heard I didn't include this in 0:15:53.480 --> 0:15:57.200 the notes, but recently we're recording this in in August 0:15:57.240 --> 0:15:59.800 of two thousand fourteen, and very recently there have been 0:15:59.800 --> 0:16:03.400 some news reports of former employees who are laid off. Uh. 0:16:04.000 --> 0:16:08.680 This happened very recently at SpaceX, who have also laid 0:16:08.720 --> 0:16:12.880 allegations that they were not allowed to take breaks that 0:16:12.960 --> 0:16:16.760 they would have legally been um allowed to do, uh, 0:16:16.800 --> 0:16:19.520 and that they were not being paid sufficiently for overtime. 0:16:19.960 --> 0:16:22.240 So whether or not any of that is true, I 0:16:22.280 --> 0:16:24.880 don't know, but that that that is an ongoing thing. 0:16:24.960 --> 0:16:28.120 But when you hear something like this about these facilities 0:16:28.200 --> 0:16:30.800 running these crazy amount of hours per day, oh yeah, 0:16:30.920 --> 0:16:35.840 especially when I think McGregor only employs some two fifty 0:16:35.840 --> 0:16:38.440 people today. I'm not sure what the employment rate was 0:16:38.520 --> 0:16:41.040 back then, although I think that that's the that's just 0:16:41.120 --> 0:16:43.560 about the working team that they that they hire out. 0:16:43.840 --> 0:16:48.480 So SpaceX, Yeah, exactly, space X as a as a 0:16:48.520 --> 0:16:52.760 full company as like three thousand employees. So it's you know, 0:16:52.800 --> 0:16:54.880 it's one of those things that that's an ongoing situation. 0:16:54.920 --> 0:16:56.880 So we don't have a lot to report about that 0:16:56.920 --> 0:16:59.280 particular issue. But you can imagine that there are people 0:16:59.280 --> 0:17:03.560 who are working really, really hard and I hope it 0:17:03.600 --> 0:17:07.679 turns out that they're being compensation. Okay, But also in 0:17:07.720 --> 0:17:11.960 two thousand twelve, SpaceX would test something else called the grasshopper. 0:17:12.560 --> 0:17:15.800 This is a vertical takeoff and landing vehicle. Yeah, so 0:17:15.840 --> 0:17:18.240 it's a rocket that can take off and land vertically. 0:17:18.320 --> 0:17:21.159 So here's the reason why they want to test this 0:17:21.240 --> 0:17:23.320 other thing while the Falcon nine is working. It's really 0:17:23.400 --> 0:17:26.080 kind of testing a proof of concept that they could 0:17:26.080 --> 0:17:29.560 build a rocket that they could launch up into wherever, 0:17:30.040 --> 0:17:31.880 and then when it starts coming back down, they could 0:17:31.920 --> 0:17:35.000 maneuver it so it could land safely upright exactly the 0:17:35.040 --> 0:17:37.600 way it had taken off. It's got landing you know, 0:17:37.600 --> 0:17:40.440 it's it's got struts essentially that act like landing gear. 0:17:40.920 --> 0:17:42.320 And the reason you would want that is if you 0:17:42.320 --> 0:17:44.760 sent any one to someplace like Mars, it would allow 0:17:44.800 --> 0:17:49.280 them to, you know, come back would be nice. We've 0:17:49.520 --> 0:17:51.680 talked about a lot about Mars, both on this show 0:17:51.720 --> 0:17:54.800 and on Our Sisters show Forward Thinking, and some plans 0:17:54.800 --> 0:17:58.040 don't involve the return ticket. I I prefer the plans 0:17:58.080 --> 0:18:02.679 that involved the return ticket. Everyone collective sanity. Yeah, you know, 0:18:02.920 --> 0:18:04.960 even people who think it's exciting to go to Mars, 0:18:05.000 --> 0:18:06.960 even if there's no way back. I'm not sure that 0:18:07.000 --> 0:18:09.040 you're going to feel the same way. It's a five 0:18:09.119 --> 0:18:12.840 years on Mars or ten years or forty years or 0:18:13.520 --> 0:18:16.080 forty minutes. Who knows. I mean, it might be like, wow, 0:18:16.280 --> 0:18:20.120 I really underestimated how boring it is up here and 0:18:20.160 --> 0:18:24.240 how deadly. So yeah, this would be a way of 0:18:24.520 --> 0:18:29.280 creating a vehicle that could potentially visit a distant surface 0:18:29.760 --> 0:18:32.479 and then take off again from it. Um. Now, this 0:18:32.520 --> 0:18:36.480 particular one is too, is just designed to be a test, 0:18:36.560 --> 0:18:39.520 but it would hopefully be built into the Stage one 0:18:39.960 --> 0:18:44.000 Falcon nine rockets, which would also make them reusable, uh 0:18:44.080 --> 0:18:46.320 in the sense of being able to actually land them 0:18:46.520 --> 0:18:50.280 so that you could recover them, and the actual reprocessing 0:18:50.880 --> 0:18:54.080 phase would be much shorter than if it were you know, 0:18:54.119 --> 0:18:55.439 if you had to go out into the ocean and 0:18:55.440 --> 0:19:00.240 retrieve it from you know, crashing in there. So now 0:19:00.240 --> 0:19:03.359 we move up to two thousand thirteen, SpaceX announced a 0:19:03.400 --> 0:19:06.880 plan to launch a satellite into geo stationary orbit, which 0:19:06.920 --> 0:19:10.600 is different from low Earth orbit. Geo stationary orbit is 0:19:10.640 --> 0:19:13.640 one in which an orbiting body holds the same position 0:19:13.680 --> 0:19:16.439 in the sky relative to an observer on the ground, 0:19:16.800 --> 0:19:19.240 which means that if you're standing on the ground for 0:19:19.280 --> 0:19:21.560 a week, I mean, you know, I guess you're having 0:19:21.560 --> 0:19:24.600 people bring you snacks, but and look up the the 0:19:24.640 --> 0:19:27.080 satellite would be there the entire time and maintain its 0:19:27.080 --> 0:19:30.520 relative position to you that whole time. Uh. And in 0:19:30.640 --> 0:19:32.840 order to do that, you have to actually put that 0:19:32.920 --> 0:19:35.840 out a little further than your low Earth orbit. Also, 0:19:36.040 --> 0:19:40.800 I should all clarify that geostationary orbits are a subset 0:19:40.840 --> 0:19:44.680 of geosynchronous orbits. A geosynchronous orbit is one in which 0:19:44.680 --> 0:19:47.359 an orbiting body will return to a given position along 0:19:47.359 --> 0:19:49.720 its path after a given amount of time. So you 0:19:49.800 --> 0:19:52.640 might say that you have a satellite that has kind 0:19:52.640 --> 0:19:56.760 of a figure eight type orbit over the southeastern United States, 0:19:56.800 --> 0:20:00.760 and then every three days the satellite is over the 0:20:00.800 --> 0:20:04.159 same point of reference along that pathway. That's a that 0:20:04.200 --> 0:20:07.680 one is a geosynchronous orbit. Geostationary is very specific and 0:20:07.720 --> 0:20:12.200 that it maintains that's that particular location. So we would 0:20:12.200 --> 0:20:15.640 have like a geostationary satellite directly above Atlanta, that would 0:20:15.640 --> 0:20:18.680 be an example. Um. But yeah, in order to get 0:20:18.720 --> 0:20:21.600 it out there, you gotta get it pretty far out 0:20:21.640 --> 0:20:24.680 into the orbit. It's it's your your your local ones 0:20:24.720 --> 0:20:28.840 are much closer in uh. Yeah, lower orbit satellites might 0:20:28.880 --> 0:20:32.119 be some one thousand, two hundred miles that's one thousand 0:20:32.240 --> 0:20:36.520 nine kilometers out from Earth's surface. Uh, GEO stationary satellites 0:20:36.680 --> 0:20:40.160 are something like twenty two thousand miles or thirty five 0:20:40.200 --> 0:20:43.480 thousand kilometers out. And just for perspective, because I don't 0:20:43.480 --> 0:20:46.520 know about you guys, but but those ranges of numbers, 0:20:46.560 --> 0:20:48.680 my brain starts to go, I don't have no idea 0:20:48.720 --> 0:20:50.800 what that means. I can't compare that to things that 0:20:50.880 --> 0:20:54.159 means stuff to me. A thousand, two hundred miles is 0:20:54.200 --> 0:20:57.320 something like driving from New York City to Miami. Great 0:20:57.400 --> 0:21:01.720 road trip, Uh, it can be, it can pleasant through 0:21:01.760 --> 0:21:06.679 certain parts shirt um and uh, two thousand miles, by contrast, 0:21:06.800 --> 0:21:10.000 is like eighty percent of the circumference of the entire planet. 0:21:10.280 --> 0:21:12.400 So a longer road trip is what you're saying, A 0:21:12.520 --> 0:21:15.600 very much longer road trip than trip. Yes, you would 0:21:15.640 --> 0:21:20.560 have to have a submarine or jet skis. Well, I'll 0:21:20.640 --> 0:21:23.480 hold off on planning that trip. But yeah, So that 0:21:23.480 --> 0:21:25.720 that same year, SpaceX would put in a bid to 0:21:25.840 --> 0:21:28.119 lease one of the Katy Space Center's launch pads, right, 0:21:28.119 --> 0:21:31.040 you were talking about this earlier. Yeah, they the Kennedy 0:21:31.080 --> 0:21:34.679 Space Center finally opened up one of their launch pads 0:21:34.720 --> 0:21:37.600 thirty nine A to be specific, which is like the 0:21:37.960 --> 0:21:42.960 historic Apollo Mission launch pad out to a private company, 0:21:43.000 --> 0:21:45.840 and SpaceX put in one of the bids. The other 0:21:45.920 --> 0:21:51.240 bidder was Blue Origin, which is Amazon founder. Jeff Bezos 0:21:51.320 --> 0:21:56.240 is space Company. In this corner, we have Elon Musk 0:21:56.320 --> 0:21:59.399 and in this corna Jeff Bezos. I love the thought. 0:21:59.680 --> 0:22:02.440 I mean, we've done episodes on both of these people, right, 0:22:02.440 --> 0:22:04.480 We've done We've done a Bezos episode, We've done a 0:22:04.560 --> 0:22:07.480 Musk episode, and they're both these very dynamic, wonderful personalities 0:22:07.520 --> 0:22:09.879 that have these big dreams and all of this stuff. 0:22:09.960 --> 0:22:13.160 So you know, will come out the winner either way. 0:22:13.280 --> 0:22:16.280 But as it turns out, the story ends ends up 0:22:16.280 --> 0:22:19.680 with with a single entity winning that bid, right. Well, 0:22:19.720 --> 0:22:22.600 that was actually part of the bidding war here. Well, 0:22:22.640 --> 0:22:24.399 it wasn't really a bidding war as much as it 0:22:24.480 --> 0:22:28.560 was just a general political and legal kerfuffle because Blue 0:22:28.560 --> 0:22:31.960