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Mars 2020 required vertical integration of the payload which SpaceX still doesn't do. EDIT: Also another thing I thought of is that SpaceX may not be certified
by khuey 6y ago
Mars 2020 required vertical integration of the payload which SpaceX still doesn't do.
EDIT: Also another thing I thought of is that SpaceX may not be certified to launch nuclear payloads (given their infrequency it probably doesn't make sense for them to bother).
- dwiel 6y agoWhat do you mean vertical integration?
- krisoft 6y agoIn this case "vertical integration" means that the rocket is standing upright while you are bolting the payload on to it. The alternative is "horizontal integration" where you bolt the payload on the rocket while the rocket is laying on its side. You transport the rocket to the launch pad on it's side, and only there do you tip the rocket+payload together to be upright. This sounds like a very small detail, but many payloads turns out to be highly optimized to only receive forces in one direction, and their structure is not certified to be cantilevered in such a way to "hang" from the tip of the rocket body.
- barney54 6y agoHere’s what I found: https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/43840/why-did-spacex-choose-vertical-integration-for-starship https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/43840/why-did-spac... It appears that it means the assembly of the rocket—whether it is assembled horizontally or vertically. SpaceX rockets and payload are apparently assembled horizontally and then lifted upright.
- khuey 6y agoYes, you can see a pretty cool video of it in the first 20 seconds of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbSwFU6tY1c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbSwFU6tY1c
- GoOnThenDoTell 6y agoSpaceX don’t have vertical integration just now, but they will soon due to this contract. Nuclear payload certs sounds like paperwork after they’ve put already put humans up
- coronadisaster 6y agoI don't think that it is only paper work. The nuclear payload probably need to be protected in the event of a rocket failure.
- culturestate 6y agoI think you're right that there's more to this than a little paperwork, but my (novice) understanding is that nuclear payloads are designed to withstand explosive aborts on their own. Given the design constraints in a rocket I don't know how much you could really do to "harden" it otherwise.
- Rebelgecko 6y agoThey still aren't certified to do nuclear payloads like RTGs, and when the Mars 2020 contract went out they were only certified to launch the smaller NASA missions