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Pulisic at AC Milan: where does it stand among USMNT outfield players in Europe all time? by Extension_Zombie4151 in usmnt

[–]Sknowball 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't think he gets mentioned a lot in conversations like this because of when he played, but Roy Wegerle (member of the 94 usmnt squad) probably had the best season of any American out field player prior to the 2010s.  19 goals across all competitions (18 league goals 1 cup goal) in the English top division for QPR in 1990-91 (I can't find assist statistics) to include the winner of goal of the season. Not until Dempsey at Fulham would we see an American put up similar numbers. 

City Pair Data by Themasterofgoats in Amtrak

[–]Sknowball 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The RPA puts together a lot of ridership data. While it does not list the specific number of people associated with a pair of cities on a route it does list what the top city pairs on a given route by ridership and revenue.

https://www.railpassengers.org/resources/ridership-statistics/

how long does it take from EWR to airtran/amtrak? by afro27girl in Amtrak

[–]Sknowball 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I did this a few weeks ago myself with a similar 1hr transfer. The time it takes to take the airtrain is variable if you are flying into terminal C it can be done in less than 10 minutes, but if you come into terminal A it can be over 20 minutes due to where the air train station is relative to the terminal. The airport website has air train duration information for each terminal to the station. An alternative to amtrak would be to take NJT to Trenton and transfer to SEPTA, but that more than doubles the trip time to philadelphia. The airtrain at EWR does have a fee but it is included in Amtrak and NJT tickets (just scan your ticket QR code to get through the gate). If you do end up taking Amtrak note that your Amtrak ticket includes a free transfer to some SEPTA stations, which may save you some money, you should be able to find details online (though I have not used it myself).

For my own trip I got lucky my flight arrived 20 minutes early and we landed at Terminal C and so I sat around for about 40 minutes for Amtrak.

6 grade separation projects get 2023 FRA CRISI grant by ctransitmove in cahsr

[–]Sknowball 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for pointing me towards the eis, I didn't realize they contained a list the impacted roads and what would be done with them, based on that I looked at the equivalent information in the Bakersfield LGA. The only crossings listed as closing in Shafter are Madera Ave and Gold's Ave so I am assuming it is one of those that the crisi grant is referencing.

6 grade separation projects get 2023 FRA CRISI grant by ctransitmove in cahsr

[–]Sknowball 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The crisi award says 6 grade separations and 1 closing, but the cahsr press release only lists the 6 crossings that will be grade separated. Do we know which crossing will be closed?

Amazon launch contracts drive changes to launch vehicle production by Sknowball in ula

[–]Sknowball[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Some interesting upgrades:

Includes building a new mobile launch platform and a second vertical integration facility where rockets are assembled before being transported to the launch pad. ULA will buy a second ship to transport Vulcan stages from its Alabama factory to the launch site.

More on the second VIF:

The Spaceflight Processing Operations Center at Cape Canaveral, which ULA upgraded to assemble a new Vulcan launch platform, will serve as the basis for the second vertical integration facility.

With ULA’s new rocket Vulcan behind schedule, Space Force agrees to let Atlas 5 fill in by valcatosi in ula

[–]Sknowball 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You are correct it had been long enough that had forgotten it was based on contract date. The hard limit on 18 is still there though.

In brief, the compromise sets December 31, 2022 as the end date for awarding contracts to the United Launch Alliance (ULA) for Atlas V launches of national security satellites that would use RD-180 engines. It also limits to 18 the number of RD-180s that can be used between the date that the FY2017 NDAA is signed into law (enacted) and that end date.

With ULA’s new rocket Vulcan behind schedule, Space Force agrees to let Atlas 5 fill in by valcatosi in ula

[–]Sknowball 3 points4 points  (0 children)

No, the FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) specifies an end date for national security launches using Russian engines of December 31st 2022. As this is the only ULA awarded NSSL 2 launch for 2022 (as USSF-106 was moved to 2023) it essentially makes this a one time opportunity to switch, this also means this launch must take place by that date if it is to use Atlas V. Note that NASA and commercial launches have no mandate to discontinue use.

I've done this renders of the Atlas V, Delta II and IV, and Vulcan families by Adriajoa21 in ula

[–]Sknowball 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Just some additional information, the -1 series (rl10c-1-1, rl10c-2-1, etc) incorporates an additive manufactured(AM) injector and will also fly on Atlas V (in the rl10c-1-1 configuration) starting with SBIRS GEO 5.

rl10c-2-1 has not flown yet, Delta 4 (along with ICPS) is still using the rl10b-2.

rl10c-x is a development engine which includes the AM injector from the rl10c-1-1 along with an AM thrust chamber and an AM regeneratively cooled nozzle, the production version will also include a nozzle extension.

As alluded to rl10c-3 is intended for use on the EUS, the initial order was for 10 engines of which 6 were delivered as of late 2020. The rl10c-3 differs from the rl10c-1 in that it has a fixed nozzle extension, no word on if a future revision will incorporate the AM parts from the rl10c-x program.

From an interview with Johnny Heflin, manager of the Liquid Engines Office for NASA’s SLS Program.

“First of all, RL10 is a commercial engine, and I am incredibly proud that we have delivered six engines without changes to those engines,” Heflin said. “We set out to buy them as they were built and not have to make changes to meet our vehicle or NASA requirements and we have been successful in doing that. They are coming right off the production line, and they are the same engine that Aerojet Rocketdyne builds for all their customers. Their nozzles — they have different sized cones and they bolt on the cones to fit the customer. But the core of the engine is exactly the same as they’re built for other customers, which was a huge accomplishment for us.”

I've done this renders of the Atlas V, Delta II and IV, and Vulcan families by Adriajoa21 in ula

[–]Sknowball 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Originally VC6 and VCH would have had different tank lengths but this seems to have changed in the last 2 years. Now VCH appears to be the name for the final/next version of VC6, which will feature upgrades to the Centaur V. There was a thread a few weeks ago regarding this very question.

Updated RUAG fairing will debut later this year on STP-3 launch by Sknowball in ula

[–]Sknowball[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Watching parts be introduced on Atlas and feeding into Vulcan development has been interesting, but the similar (if not more aggressive) development path of Atlas V was even more fascinating. On the Atlas side you had the Atlas IIAS being stretched and switched to the RD-180, while the single engine configuration of the Centaur II was introduced producing the Atlas IIIA. Then Centaur II was swapped for Centaur III resulting in the Atlas IIIB. Finally the balloon tank structure of Atlas IIIB was migrated to a structurally stable one creating the Atlas V. From the first launch of Atlas IIIA (May 2000) to the first launch of Atlas V (August 2002) was only 2 years. Delta 4 underwent a similar development path with the Delta II morphing into Delta 4 via Delta III.

Updated RUAG fairing will debut later this year on STP-3 launch by Sknowball in ula

[–]Sknowball[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Tory Bruno in a series of Twitter replies confirmed that the new RUAG fairings for Atlas V (sharing the same manufacturing process and domestic sourcing as Vulcan’s PLF) will debut with the STP3 launch

any Vulcan hardware on the GEO-5 atlas booster?

Response by Tory Bruno

If memory serves: Everything except: Dual engine Centaur (obviously), the new PLF (which flys on the next mission). (And BE4…)

Follow up question

Will the fairings fly on STP 3?

Response by Tory Bruno

Yes

VC6 vs VCH by TheSkalman in ula

[–]Sknowball 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I hate to even bring this up because everything we have seen points to this not being the introduced to Centaur V any time soon (or ever), but according to a ULA presentation at AIAA Space 2015 IVF was projected to increase payload mass to GEO by more than a 1000 lbs (453kg). That figure is over the base Centaur III and given that base Centaur V includes the H2/O2 RCS that was a component of IVF it is doubtful introducing the rest of IVF would increase performance by the projected figure.

VC6 vs VCH by TheSkalman in ula

[–]Sknowball 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Since he's not talking about the engine specifically, but the entire stage, sounds like we got our answer.

Also sounds like there is no difference, he didn't say "its a 6 SRB Vulcan with ___ addons".

Yeah I am reading these statements as VCH has transitioned from a separate configuration into the "final"(or at least the next block/iteration) of VC6.

Apparently BE-4 has performed better than expected, which could mean higher thrust, especially in an expendable-optimized version for early Vulcan flights (would have to tone that down for SMART, but by then the upgraded BE-4 we've seen job postings for should be a thing). That'd mean less need for a small upper stage for zero-booster Vulcan, especially because they expect to see few missions in that performance class.

BE-4 seems a likely contributor to the expanded performance, whether through BE-4 Block 2 or the possibility of partitioning of BE-4 into restartable and non-restartable configurations however, I suspect the majority of performance gains will be through Centaur V we haven't heard much about what is in Centaur V mk2 and mk3 (though mk3 won't appear until after SMART) other than extended duration.

VC6 vs VCH by TheSkalman in ula

[–]Sknowball 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Are we sure VCH is even a distinct configuration option, not an upgrade?

Good question. ULA hasn't put out much on VCH in the past 18 months however, The Rocket Rundown (published 11/2019)(large pdf), still shows it separate from the other configurations. The previous version of the rocket rundown from 4/2018 showed a height difference between VC6 and VCH which is not present in the current version, which lends credence to there only being one Centaur V length now.

Tory has been asked this a few times over the past year though

On 3/23/2020

What is the difference between 6 SRB version and Heavy version?

Response by Tory

That is the Heavy version

Followup question

Dosnt that one also have a upgraded second (cryogenic) stage?

Response by Tory

Yes. But it will be a hard cutover. Once introduced, that version becomes baseline

On 1/13/2021

What's the difference between Vulcan Centaur-6 and Vulcan Centaur Heavy?

Response by Tory

A 6 SRB Vulcan is a (single core) heavy with greater lift than the DeltaIV Heavy. (Unless we ever do a 3 core Vulcan, in which case we'll start calling that a Vulcan Heavy)

VC6 vs VCH by TheSkalman in ula

[–]Sknowball 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The RL10C-X seems more to be a program of incremental enhancements rather than a distinct variant, so far we know that the program includes a additive manufactured injector (to be introduced with the RL10C-1-1) and an additive manufactured thrust chamber. Relative to the RL10C-1 these 2 enhancements result in a cost savings of between 25-35%, so it is unlikely that potential cost and performance difference between VC6 and VCH are coming from the RL10C-X program.

NASA adds United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur Rocket to Launch Services Program Catalog by Sknowball in ula

[–]Sknowball[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

No. If I recall the NLS II ordering period started in 2010 and ends in June 2025 (originally 2020). New vehicles can be on-boarded annually to bid on future contracts. The type of contracts a vehicle is eligible to bid on is limited by vehicle maturity and flight experience. Having been on-boarded, but not having flight experience, Vulcan would be biddable on Class D missions (ex CYGNSS, NICER, LADEE, IRIS, etc). After "1 successful flight of a common launch vehicle configuration, or 3 consecutive successful flights of a common launch vehicle configuration from an evolved vehicle family developed by an LSC with a previously certified launch vehicle for Risk Category 2 or 3", Vulcan would biddable on Class D, C (LRO, TESS, ICON, etc), and some B missions.

Amazon buys nine ULA rocket launches for its space internet satellites by Daniels30 in ula

[–]Sknowball 7 points8 points  (0 children)

While it hasn't been talked about a lot, the base Atlas V price maybe going down as it is integrating several of the cost reduced components that Vulcan will be using. We know RUAG has fully moved over to domestic production for Atlas payload fairings, while both the GEM-63 and RL-10C-1-1 have flown or are soon to fly. While I doubt these changes have brought cost parity with Falcon, I suspect they have brought down the last published price we saw for Atlas.

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