SpaceX Updates (Thread 9)

[DocM]

5 hours ago, anthdci said:

that looks huge!!

 

It's ginormous, but the booms are retractable and springy. 

 

[Unobscured Vision]

Absolutely massive! I saw that this morning on my Twitter feed and couldn't believe just how large it was.

[DocM]

I can just imagine every other ship's Captain in the harbor going "W-T-F !?!" in unison.

[Unobscured Vision]

Yup ... and the rest of us who know would be like "ahhhh .... thing of beauty."

[Beittil]

I imagine this to be something outlandish like that entire boom and sail deployment sequence from the movie Waterworld

 

Mr. Steven seemingly doing nothing at sea, suddenly somebody flips some lever and the whole thing starts whizzing and whirring and WHOOMP... net's up  

[DocM]

 

 

 

[Unobscured Vision]

Ohhhh, that's a thing of beauty right there ...

[Beittil]

That just looks insane, haha. Frigging awesome. 

[bguy_1986]

I probably missed something somewhere, but will they need 2 of these to catch both fairing halves? 

[Unobscured Vision]

That's ... actually not a bad question?

 

Hmm! Never thought of that! Two fairing halves = two Catcher ships required ... makes sense.

 

They're probably waiting to actually capture one, see if it's actually worth doing, then go ahead with Mr. Steven's counterpart vessel. Plus they need to get the gear and procedures down pat.

[Skiver Veteran]

43 minutes ago, Unobscured Vision said:

That's ... actually not a bad question?

 

Hmm! Never thought of that! Two fairing halves = two Catcher ships required ... makes sense.

 

They're probably waiting to actually capture one, see if it's actually worth doing, then go ahead with Mr. Steven's counterpart vessel. Plus they need to get the gear and procedures down pat.

Yep, I'm pretty sure I remember reading that they wanted to get capturing one down before they started worrying about capturing both. 

[DocM]

 

[anthdci]

excuse my naivety, but would it it be possible for the two fairing halves to pivot as the release so they stay attached to each other like a book opening. That way there would only need to be one ship to catch them.

[DocM]

Nope. At the least, and ignoring other things, you'd need to rigidify the hinge and that adds mass.

 

More pics

 

 

 

[Skiver Veteran]

On 7/13/2018 at 7:58 PM, anthdci said:

excuse my naivety, but would it it be possible for the two fairing halves to pivot as the release so they stay attached to each other like a book opening. That way there would only need to be one ship to catch them.

Maybe some form of tether? If they could put maybe some form of elasticity in there it could keep them close together enough for one ship?

[Unobscured Vision]

Then there's a very high probability of the two fairing halves colliding with one another on the way down, both during reentry and when under chute. They're rather heavy and the combined masses will cause damage if they collide. I don't see any way to prevent that if tethered to one another.

[DocM]

Check out the wake showing previous zig-zags, and she's pretty quick in reverse.

 

 

 

[Unobscured Vision]

Whoa ... very nice.

[DocM]

Check the net

 

Via FB SpaceX group

 

[Unobscured Vision]

Hey, what's that?

[DocM]

They're using recovered fairings for adjusting the net and drop tests.

 

About ASDS A Shortfall of Gravitas

 

 

 

New Dragon Processing Facility going up at KSC LZ-1

 

 

Edited July 28, 2018 by DocM

[DocM]

Landing leg retraction, new to F9 Block 5

 

 

[DocM]

SpaceX's Paul Wooster, Principal Mars Development Engineer, speaking to the NASA JPL Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG) in Feb. 2018.

 

MPAG Summary...(PDF)

 

Quote

SpaceX and Mars Exploration

 

A walk-on presentation was given by Paul Wooster of SpaceX which highlighted the recent successful test of the Falcon Heavy launch vehicle with its potentially very large payload capacity (100 metric tons). Using the Falcon Heavy and development of an even larger Big Falcon Rocket (BFR) launcher are the basis of their ambitious plans for the future exploration and colonization of Mars, potentially launching missions to Mars within the early 2020s. SpaceXs current landing site candidates for Mars were shown, having been chosen to provide access to near-surface ice, few landing site hazards (such as large rocks), and enough space for potentially growing a sizeable outpost. The ice sites are in high mid-latitudes and the search for lower latitude candidates, which are preferred, continues. Previously, MEPAG had been told that SpaceX could transport for-fee payloads to the Mars surface. In response to questions, Paul iterated that there is likely to be  capacity for secondary payloads on either the Falcon Heavy or BFR launchers, although details remain to be negotiated once the launcher capabilities are firmly established.

 

 

FH = up to 100 tonnes? ? ?

[Unobscured Vision]

 ... it allows for 120. If they need that level performance there are ways of getting it with relatively minor upgrades. Don't forget that some of the tricks available to the BFR are available to FH also if the need arises; though at this point the BFR is the better way to go.

[DocM]

Yes, but that involves the upgrade we must not speak of ?