SpaceX Falcon Heavy (updates & maiden flight)

[+John. Subscriber¹]

@DocM will they be doing a WDR today?

[DocM]

Dunno, this one has most people guessing.

[Blue-Vision]

Likely DDR, then they'll do WDR to make sure there aren't any issues going into tomorrow. Procedures finalization and such, from rollout on down the line. Giving themselves more experience at getting FH out to the Pad from Step XXX.XX and so on.

 

No reason not to, after all. They're SpaceX and they don't want anything biting them in the ass. Not with all eyes on them Tuesday.

[Skiver Veteran]

Can someone explain DDR and WDR for the uninformed? 

[+John. Subscriber¹]

1 hour ago, Skiver said:

Can someone explain DDR and WDR for the uninformed? 

DDR = Dry Dress Rehearsal 

WDR = Wet Dress Rehearsal

 

Basically simulating launch from the rollout to the moment of takeoff, without actually doing so. Only difference with the Wet one is that propellant is loaded in. 

[Skiver Veteran]

2 hours ago, John. said:

DDR = Dry Dress Rehearsal 

WDR = Wet Dress Rehearsal

 

Basically simulating launch from the rollout to the moment of takeoff, without actually doing so. Only difference with the Wet one is that propellant is loaded in. 

Ah, cheers

[DocM]

 

[DocM]

 

 

 

Edited February 5, 2018 by DocM

[DocM]

 

[+John. Subscriber¹]

12 minutes ago, DocM said:

 

oh *that's* what he meant by Life on Mars. I was thinking there'd be a rehearsal with some seriously loud music!

[DocM]

YouTube caption

 

Uploaded on 5 Feb 2018 When Falcon Heavy lifts off, it will be the most powerful operational rocket in the world by a factor of two.  With the ability to lift into orbit nearly 64 metric tons (141,000 lb)---a mass greater than a 737 jetliner loaded with passengers, crew, luggage and fuel--Falcon Heavy can lift more than twice the payload of the next closest operational vehicle, the Delta IV Heavy, at one-third the cost.

Falcon Heavy's first stage is composed of three Falcon 9 nine-engine cores whose 27 Merlin engines together generate more than 5 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, equal to approximately eighteen 747 aircraft. 

Following liftoff, the two side boosters separate from the center core and return to landing sites for future reuse.  The center core, traveling further and faster than the side boosters, also returns for reuse, but lands on a drone ship located in the Atlantic Ocean.

At max velocity the Roadster will travel 11 km/s (7mi/s) and travel 400 million km (250 million mi) from Earth.  

Falcon Heavy was designed from the outset to carry humans into space and restores the possibility of flying missions with crew to the Moon or Mars.

 

400m km is just shy of Ceres orbit. A slap to SLS's chops.

[DocM]

Getting quotes from the pre-flight presser

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[DocM]

 

 

 

[DocM]

!!!!!

 

Sounds like Grey Dragon just turned into Grey BFS....

 

 

 

[DocM]

OMG is right....

 

 

[flyingskippy]

What are the chances that the S2 doesn't turn into a block of ice with a 6 hour cruise? 

[DocM]

They've done Long coasts, 30-120+ minutes, and the main risks are the batteries dying and LOX boiloff. They can roll the stage while in sunlight to warm the RP-1.

[Blue-Vision]

Yeah to all of the above. That's gonna be the real chore. LOX/LHe boiloff and the batteries dying out will be the things to watch out for. If the S2 blows, we'll know that LOX/LHe boiloff (and the resulting expansion) occurred and ruptured the tank.

 

If absolutely nothing happens, and the S2 simply "stops responding" but is intact, we'll know that the batteries croaked.

 

Pretty easy to post-mortem it ahead of time when you already know what can go wrong.  Here's hoping that it doesn't.

[DocM]

There are pressure relief and vent valves but if they stick yeah , S2 could pop. But it wouldn't be a single point failure.

[Blue-Vision]

Right, I was speaking generally. There'd be no way to triage it.

[DocM]

Patch and timeline from the press kit, which contains the pre- and post- launch event timelines.

 

 

Mission Timeline (all times approximate)

COUNTDOWN 

Hour/Min/Sec Events

- 01:28:00 SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for propellant load
- 01:25:00 RP-1 (rocket grade kerosene) loading underway 
- 00:45:00 LOX (liquid oxygen) loading underway 
- 00:07:00 Falcon Heavy begins engine chill prior to launch 
- 00:01:00 Flight computer commanded to begin final prelaunch checks 
- 00:01:00 Propellant tank pressurization to flight pressure begins
- 00:00:45 SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for launch
- 00:00:05 Engine controller commands side booster engine ignition sequence to start
- 00:00:03 Engine controller commands center core engine ignition sequence to start 
- 00:00:00 Falcon Heavy liftoff

LAUNCH, LANDINGS AND ORBITAL INSERTION

Hour/Min/Sec Events

00:01:06 Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)
00:02:29 Booster engine cutoff (BECO)
00:02:33 Side cores separate from center core
00:02:50 Side cores begin boostback burn
00:03:04 Center core engine shutdown/main engine cutoff (MECO)
00:03:07 Center core and 2nd stage separate
00:03:15 2nd stage engine starts
00:03:24 Center core begins boostback burn
00:03:49 Fairing deployment
00:06:41 Side cores begin entry burn
00:06:47 Center core begins entry burn
00:07:58 Side core landings
00:08:19 Center core landing
00:08:31 2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-1)
00:28:22 2nd stage engine restarts
00:28:52 2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-2)
Mission continues on an experimental long coast and third stage two burn to 
target a precessing Earth-Mars elliptical orbit around the sun

[Skiver Veteran]

I've been struggling to find an answer to this, can anyone explain the orbit that the Tesla is going to make?

 

My understanding in the most basic terms is that it will enter a Heliocentric Orbit and only pass "near" Mars and will basically continue to orbit around Earth/Mars for billions of years, Sort of an apogee of Mars and perigee around Earth? The part I struggle to understand is that I'm under the belief that a Mars orbit around the sun is not far from being twice that of Earth so surely there will be times where the distance between is a lot greater so a "stable" orbit would not be possible without constant corrections?

 

Also, is there an estimate around how long it will take for the Tesla to get to its apogee around Mars?

 

Sorry for the extreme lack of understanding but I find all of this incredibly interesting but don't have the knowledge to understand half of it.

[DocM]

The orbit will be an elliptical path around the Sun, with an apogee beyond Mars orbit and a perigee near Earth's orbit. At intervals it'll come near each planet. This would be similar to, but not the same as, an Aldrin Cycler orbit. Just a different form of Mars Cycler.

 

An Aldrin Cycler orbit is stable and was designed by Buzz Aldrin as a logistical orbit for supplying a Mars base, or one on a Martian moon. What varies with planetary positions is the transit time.

 

Its first pass by Mars orbit should take several months.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 6, 2018 by DocM

[Blue-Vision]

Yep, it'll be out near Ceres' orbit at its' apogee.  Over time, the characteristics of the orbit will modify somewhat due to gravitational influences, but not a lot. Pretty stable orbit actually.

[Blue-Vision]

Something that just occurred to me -- the tires. Those are going to be put to the test, I think. Not in the usual way, though ... 

 

Hope they remembered to let the air out of 'em. Otherwise there's gonna be lots and lots of debris if they let go.