SpaceX Dragon flies British science into orbit, while stubby 'watertower' hops around Texas

SpaceX dodged Florida storms to launch its 18th resupply mission to the International Space Station last night while the company's stumpy Starhopper vehicle accomplished its first big hop. CRS-18 launches After a delay from 24 July due to weather, the 18th of 20 contracted missions to the International Space Station (ISS) got …

[STOP_FORTH]

You dun good

Excellent choice of picture!

[Dan 55]

Re: You dun good

"I'm the Meatsafe Murderer, only I never done it but I said I did. I had to, otherwise they'd have put me head back down the toilet."

[STOP_FORTH]

Re: You dun good

Considered him, but I thought the reference would be too obscure. So, there were at least two of us watching Monkey Dust?

[Dan 55]

Re: You dun good

Yes, those were probably the official viewing figures on BBC3 at God-forsaken o'clock.

Sounds like the kind of thing you could find on the Internet...

[AIBailey]

Re: You dun good

Ooooh yes. My first thought was "Mister Hoppy".

[Anonymous Coward]

SpaceX, next Falcon 9 in a 1960's Saturn 5 Black and Red Paint Job, Red USA / Flag?

It would be great to see a 1960's Saturn 5 Black and Red paint job for the next SpaceX Launch, paying homage to the Apollo Era.

That would be pretty cool + fantastic marketing.

[Gene Cash]

Re: SpaceX, next Falcon 9 in a 1960's Saturn 5 Black and Red Paint Job, Red USA / Flag?

Sure, but it'd have to be a new booster. Those used ones are pretty charred, and you'll notice SpaceX doesn't waste time/money cleaning them up and painting them.

[Anonymous Coward]

fire swamp mission?

But what about the RRSHes?

The Rodent Research Support Hardware? I don't think they exist.

[stuartnz]

Re: Always too late, dammit!

I literally spent several minutes trying to come up with a rewording that would fit this reference, only just now did "Rat Observation Unit, Space Station" come to me.

[LeahroyNake]

Flash

'Starhopper has scaled things up just a tiny bit.'

In that it looks like something from Flash Gordon, or a Jules Verne novel. fekkin awesome as far as I'm concerned.

Musk Ohoooo he will save everyone of us... Maybe, maybe not but at least he is trying, the ego is probably a requirement for these achievements in the timescale that they are happening.

[Dvon of Edzore]

Marketing is probably right but...

From all evidence the successor to "Grasshopper" should be called "Grassburner" as any vegetation in the vicinity will be rendered luminous during testing. Experience from further north in McGregor, Texas, has not equipped SpaceX for how fast things grow down south after a little rain falls or someone uses a big hose to put out the previous fire.

Icon because it's a hot topic and I can't have two. (Exits abruptly through trapdoor.)

[MachDiamond]

Landing rockets has been going on for awhile

Here's one of the flights that got Elon thinking about it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2ZtfqXu_aM

[Dvon of Edzore]

Re: Landing rockets has been going on for awhile

Yeah, it was on TV about 50 years ago, I think.

[John Smith 19]

Wasn't he going to make an announcement once it flew?

Quite a big announcement of some kind.

Not sure quite what about.

Personally I don't think they have a cat in hell's chance of the 2022 Mars launch window (although they will give it there very best shot) but I think they might put something on its way to the red planet in 2024.

[takyon]

Re: Wasn't he going to make an announcement once it flew?

A new Starship presentation should be coming within the next few weeks, as well as a 200 meter hop.

[phuzz]

"space rock mining devices that use bacteria to recover minerals and metals from rocks [...] led by scientists at the University of Edinburgh."

This is a spin-off from the process used to make Iron-Bru out of girders.

[Brangdon]

First FFSC flight

The untethered hop was the first time a full flow staged combustion engine has ever flown. There have been two attempts to build such engines before, neither of which got beyond the test stand. So the hop is truly historic, and a tremendous achievement.