SpaceX Falcon Heavy (updates & maiden flight)

[Blue-Vision]

Aww yeah.  

[+John. Subscriber¹]

30 minutes ago, DocM said:

On I-10, one hour east of Tuscon.

 

https://imgur.com/a/Vbxrx#zPdInH5

 

It's *actually* happening

[Blue-Vision]

Well it's out of the bag now, so it can be discussed.  

 

Falcon Heavy Demo Mission -- May 2017 !!

 

-- Final approval for the two new pads at LC-13 (aka LZ-1) has been issued (citation), so expect some rapid construction to take place there quite soon to allow FH to RTLS all three cores if necessary. The "North Pad" has already begun ground clearing. OCISLY will likely catch the center core on the first flight, and it'll be quite a bit farther out to sea than the usual Falcon-9 positioning (in all likelihood).

 

-- Also of interest is a Red Dragon flight using FH that will test out the technology in circumlunar space sometime next year; but the RD Mars Missions scheduled for the 2018 synod are "off the table" as of now and most likely will happen during the 2020 synod. There's still talk that nothing has changed, however, and that 2018 is still the target date. I'm personally inclined to believe the 2020 date has more credibility, myself.

 

More information as it's made available.  

[Draggendrop Veteran]

 

 

[Blue-Vision]

Yep.  And it's already on its' way to (likely) Texas for Static Fire Testing. That's my best guess. If Processing holds true, +2~3 months or so to test it out then on to the Cape for Integration. And we can bet that the Core Stage is gonna get worked during those SFT's. I'm sure they'll do a half-dozen or more by the time they're done.  

[DocM]

 

[Blue-Vision]

 Let the testing begin.

[DocM]

From NSF/russianhalo117: there are 4 boosters in the flow, 2 for demo and 2 for backups, and if not used the USAF STP-2 mission.

[Blue-Vision]

And TWO completed Core stages exist, iirc. Red (which rolled out with the latest two boosters) and Aqua which we saw last summer. Don't know if Aqua was actually meant to be used for flight or if it's a Test Article for reference. We never really got where it ended up at, did we @DocM? All we saw was the single image, but it was most certainly a Heavy Core's business end. Ugh. Too much Algebra now. And talking to Insiders. Sshhhh. 

Edited February 11, 2017 by Unobscured Vision
Rephrasing ...

[Blue-Vision]

Never mind me, I dug a page back (to DocM's post from September) and Aqua was at McGregor then, so Aqua has been sitting out there.  

[IsItPluggedIn]

Just doing a bit a reading. When the Falcon Heavy launches, in reusable configuration, it will be the highest capacity rocket currently flying (LEO: 32,640 kg) surpassing the delta IV heavy (LEO: 28,790 kg). In fully expendable configuration it will be classified as a super heavy lift vehicle, (LEO: 54,400 kg).

This will make it the 2-5th highest capacity rocket every depending on how you look at it. (Depending if you include the shuttle/Braun as payload and N1 as successful).

Which is pretty impressive for a private company that has only existed for 14 years.

[DocM]

And the ITS will put 300 tonnes (660,000 lb) into LEO in reusable-mode, 550 tonnes (1,210,000 lb) in expendable-mode, or 380 tonnes (840,000 lb) of propellant in an ITS tanker.

[DocM]

Oh, Good Lord.....

 

First Musk tweets that the Falcon Heavy expendable payload to GTO, currently listed at 22,800 kg, can be boosted by 20% if the customer wants it 

 

@elonmusk
Looks like it could do 20% more with some structural upgrades to handle higher loads. But that's in fully expendable mode.

which calcs to 27,760 kg. That should have been a clue....

 

Now we discover that the disposable mass to LEO of 54.4 tonnes to LEO isn't up to date - it's now 64,000 kg 

 

http://www.spacex.com/about/capabilities

 

 

[DocM]

Space News caught up....

 

 

 

[IsItPluggedIn]

So Falcon heavy is burgeoning on SLS block 1 territory to LEO. 

[DocM]

It also impacts mass to GEO, which was 22,200 kg

 

Elon Musk ✔ @elonmusk
@jasonlamb Looks like it could do 20% more with some structural upgrades to handle higher loads. But that's in fully expendable mode.

 

22,200 * 1.2 = 26,640 kg 

[Blue-Vision]

47 minutes ago, IsItPluggedIn said:

So Falcon heavy is burgeoning on SLS block 1 territory to LEO. 

Just wait until ...  .... [REDACTED] ...  ...  ... *that*. Falcon Heavy is likely to have several upgrades over its' lifetime.

 

[EDIT] And the structural upgrades are only the beginning. 

[Blue-Vision]

Grossly overpowered for its' size is a word I'd use to characterize what Falcon Heavy will be capable of in its' final iteration ... just about equivalent to SLS. Think Defiant Class and you'll have a good idea. Punching way above it's weight, and knocking 'em out too.  

[DocM]

When I checked that page after thinking about Musk's GEO mass tweet not much was expected, then it was W-T-F?!?!

 

The simulation guys on the space sites have a ton of recalculating to do.

[Blue-Vision]

Interesting how Falcon Heavy will actually need to restrain itself in LEO/GTO missions causes such spirited ... erm ... "discussion" ... amongst the learned. Especially since they're trying to make arguments using really, really old numbers. 

[DocM]

They tweaked it again

 

http://www.spacex.com/falcon-heavy

 

LEO: 63.8 tonnes (-200 kg for Musk's GTO structural upgrades?)
GTO: 26.7 tonnes
Mars: 16.8 tonnes
Pluto: 3.5 tonnes

Edited April 8, 2017 by DocM

[Blue-Vision]

As predicted, @DocM ... good call. "4+ tonnes to friggin' Pluto" (I assume in fully expendable mode).  

 

And it's juuuust able to get a B-2200 uphill, as I predicted. No need to strip the 2200 down, now. 

 

Now all we gotta do is wait for [static] and [static][incomprehensible][more static], then the [static][solar flare interference] and then we'll see who's getting what *where* ...  

[DocM]

Hold onto your shorts and check the SpaceX Updates thread.

[SALSN]

All these impressive numbers are before any Raptor implementation, correct? Whit a Raptor second stage, this is going to be even crazier! (Perhaps that is what all the static is Unobscured Vision's posts are about? but as far as I know that is not really a secret?)

[flyingskippy]

With these new numbers and the structural reinforcement needed, maybe this is what Elon meant as being extremely hard with the center core. Could the reinforcements include both S1 and S2 for FH?