SpaceX launch webcast: Orbcomm-2 Mission [video] • Hacker News Board

Re: SpaceX launch webcast: Orbcomm-2 Mission [video]

#171

Post by aerovistae » Tue, Dec 22, 2015, 3:02 AM UTC

jerf wrote: post #170

TeMPOraL wrote: post #127

I join in congratulating SpaceX for this awesome achievement. It's like, holy fuck, they landed the rocket AND deployed 11 satellites, all in a single Pomodoro! I also want to commend them for a few minor things: - a real-time stream from landing (as opposed to holding it and releasing footage few days later, as before) - a real-time stream from satellite deployment, with a camera placed so that we could see everythi…

AIUI from /r/spacex last time, the reason we didn't have live video from the barges is that they simply did not have live video from the barges. They didn't have the bandwidth for it that far out to sea. If they could have provided it, they presumably would have. After all, they released the video of the Falcon Punch afterwards, and had this one blown up it would have done so live. But they really upped the PR game t…

LMAO "falcon punch"

Re: SpaceX launch webcast: Orbcomm-2 Mission [video]

#172

Post by Animats » Tue, Dec 22, 2015, 3:03 AM UTC

JshWright wrote: post #98

Animats wrote: post #82

So now how do they secure the booster they landed? Do they have some kind of truck mounted gantry they move into position? There didn't seem to be anything like that near the landing pad. They may want to let the engines cool and any excess propellant boil off before they move in, but they have to have something to hold it, tilt it down to horizontal, and carry it off.

There is a crane nearby. The first stage is pretty stable though. The engines are by far the heaviest part, and they're at the very bottom. The legs are also a fairly wide base. EDIT: On rewatching the broadcast, "Procedure 11.100, section 3" is what they do (I have no idea what that is, but it's what the LD told the landing pad crew to "proceed with")

Oh, of course; it's empty now. Most of the mass was fuel, and that's gone. Now most of the mass is at the bottom.

Re: SpaceX launch webcast: Orbcomm-2 Mission [video]

#173

Post by JshWright » Tue, Dec 22, 2015, 3:03 AM UTC

[deleted] wrote: post #149

TeMPOraL wrote: post #127

I join in congratulating SpaceX for this awesome achievement. It's like, holy fuck, they landed the rocket AND deployed 11 satellites, all in a single Pomodoro! I also want to commend them for a few minor things: - a real-time stream from landing (as opposed to holding it and releasing footage few days later, as before) - a real-time stream from satellite deployment, with a camera placed so that we could see everythi…

[deleted]

I think the OP was simply saying this webcast was so phenomenal that the others pale in comparison. That's not so much a slight on the previous webcasts as is it a compliment of how great this one was.

Re: SpaceX launch webcast: Orbcomm-2 Mission [video]

#174

Post by swampthinker » Tue, Dec 22, 2015, 3:03 AM UTC

TeMPOraL wrote: post #77

planckscnst wrote: post #58

"Congrats @SpaceX on landing Falcon's suborbital booster stage. Welcome to the club!" Oy... someone needs to tell Bezos it's a whole different scale than what he did. https://twitter.com/JeffBezos/status/679116636310360067

I have a vague feeling he's being snide to pay Elon back for those mildly snarky tweets back when Blue Origin landed their rocket. EDIT: Musk: "Congrats to Jeff Bezos and the BO team for achieving VTOL on their booster" Musk: "It is, however, important to clear up the difference between "space" and "orbit", as described well by https://what-if.xkcd.com/58/" http://money.cnn.com/2015/11/24/news/companies/elon-musk-jef…

Your link has a little extra on it :)

https://what-if.xkcd.com/58/

Re: SpaceX launch webcast: Orbcomm-2 Mission [video]

#175

Post by jerf » Tue, Dec 22, 2015, 3:04 AM UTC

aerovistae wrote: post #171

jerf wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

AIUI from /r/spacex last time, the reason we didn't have live video from the barges is that they simply did not have live video from the barges. They didn't have the bandwidth for it that far out to sea. If they could have provided it, they presumably would have. After all, they released the video of the Falcon Punch afterwards, and had this one blown up it would have done so live. But they really upped the PR game t…

LMAO "falcon punch"

Not mine, but irresistible.

Presumably the sting of the term is now entirely gone. Nothing succeeds like success.

Re: SpaceX launch webcast: Orbcomm-2 Mission [video]

#176

Post by TeMPOraL » Tue, Dec 22, 2015, 3:05 AM UTC

JshWright wrote: post #173

[deleted] wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[deleted]

I think the OP was simply saying this webcast was so phenomenal that the others pale in comparison. That's not so much a slight on the previous webcasts as is it a compliment of how great this one was.

Yes, that's exactly what I meant.

Re: SpaceX launch webcast: Orbcomm-2 Mission [video]

#177

Post by JshWright » Tue, Dec 22, 2015, 3:06 AM UTC

grkvlt wrote: post #132

CamperBob2 wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What, exactly, did Blue Origin do that the X-15 didn't do 50 years ago? Other than the terrestrial launch, that's about all I can think of.

That's pretty much it. As I understand it, the difficult bit was landing your rocket safely after launching it 100km up.

Not really... terminal velocity is terminal velocity. There is a limit to how fast you can fall through the atmosphere, regardless of how far up you start falling from.

Re: SpaceX launch webcast: Orbcomm-2 Mission [video]

#178

Post by TeMPOraL » Tue, Dec 22, 2015, 3:08 AM UTC

jerf wrote: post #175

aerovistae wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

LMAO "falcon punch"

Not mine, but irresistible. Presumably the sting of the term is now entirely gone. Nothing succeeds like success.

Personally, the biggest laugh I had on /r/spacex was when the CRS-7 failure study came up and they had to remove the word "strut" from the list of terms that caused comments to be automatically put to moderation - it was banned because of all the KSP jokes, but suddenly the rocket really found itself in need of moar struts.

Re: SpaceX launch webcast: Orbcomm-2 Mission [video]

#179

Post by calinet6 » Tue, Dec 22, 2015, 3:11 AM UTC

jacquesm wrote: post #112

aggie wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The public that cares about this achievement (or Blue Origin's) likely understands the difference.

As does the public that might decide to host a bunch of stuff with AWS (or not). Really bad move on Bezos' part, not everything is economics.

I guarantee our ops team will not make infrastructure buying decisions based on the quality of their aerospace side-projects.

Re: SpaceX launch webcast: Orbcomm-2 Mission [video]

#180

Post by calinet6 » Tue, Dec 22, 2015, 3:12 AM UTC

aggie wrote: post #116

mavhc wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dear Mr Bezos: people will care about your rocket when you offer free shipping to space for Prime customers

I think his remark was an ugly bit of ego, but I care about any endeavor to develop space travel technology.

I think it was all in good fun, and everyone is making way too big a deal out of it.