From: sylvia@email.invalid   
      
   On 24-Jan-21 11:15 am, JF Mezei wrote:   
   > SN8 was tested to 12.5km and highly succesfull from launch right up   
   > until landing legs touch ground.   
   >   
   > I am curious on why SN9's test flight would be an indetical repeat   
   > instead of pushing the limits in the areas whene SN8 aced its test.   
   >   
   > Would it be correct to state that whether you drop from 12 or say 50km,   
   > you reach terminal velocity and you have the same vertical speed at the   
   > time you do the final manouver to turn ship and land?   
   >   
   > If SN8 aced the climb to 12.5, why now push SN9 to say 50km?   
   >   
   > Say SN8 started with a tank that was 1/4 full and climbing to 50 would   
   > require a tank that is half full.  Would the longer burn duration and   
   > the portion of time where the tank is more than 1/4 full intreoduce   
   > significantly different conditions in terms of pressurizing the tanks   
   > and feeding fuel/O2 into the engines ?   
   >   
   > I am just trying to understand why SpaceX would be so hesitant in   
   > raising test flight altitude.   
   >   
   > I know they really want a succesfull landing ASAP because NASA is   
   > evaluating moon landing hardsware contracts in Febvriary. And getting   
   > SN9 do a succesful landing would give SpaceX a pretty big "we already   
   > have hardware that can land" stamp of approval.   But if testing to   
   > higher altitude changes nothing to the landing, why not make this   
   > "iterative design" coincide with iterative testing?   
   >   
   >   
   More height would require more fuel which would require more engines   
   that are not needed for the landing. If SN-9 fails to manage the landing   
   then all the engines that are on board are trashed, and I doubt engines   
   come cheap. So until they've established that they can land safely, I   
   don't see them wanting to risk more hardware than they have to.   
      
   Sylvia.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
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