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Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

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Re: Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

#21

Post by chasd00 »

verytrivial wrote: post #16
Klathmon wrote: post #8

I can't put into words how excited I am for this launch today. I remember back in 2012 where spacex was still a laughingstock. The idea of landing a rocket from a private company was a joke. But SpaceX always did one thing right, they made many care about space again. They broadcast their launches, made a bit of a show of it, and they weren't ashamed of their failures. Then they started breaking milestones. They incr…

I remember clearly thinking the whole idea of landing the booster as being completely unrealistic, verging on not possible. I'm really pleased to have been utterly wrong. And 2/3rds of the boosters in today's test have already been into space. Mind blowing. Congratulations to all the hard working engineers at SpaceX!

hah i felt the same way. I remember when the Sky Crane was used to put Curiosity down on Mars, I thought there's just no freaking way that's going to work but they pulled it off. When SpaceX started talking about landing boosters I shook my head again but then they did it. The older I get the more blown away (and humbled) I am at what people are capable of achieving.

On a lighter note there's a Simpons line when Homer has to land a plane and is talking to someone on the ground

Colby: Okay Homer, I don't know anything about planes, but I know about you. You have what made America great: no understanding of the limits of your power and a complete lack of concern for what anyone thinks of you. So you'll land that plane. And do you know why? Because I heard some guy say you couldn't.

Homer: What! I'll show him. I'll show that guy!

The best way to get something great done is to tell someone it's impossible for them to achieve.

Re: Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

#22

Post by jacquesm »

alex_duf wrote: post #7
jacquesm wrote: post #2

4 hours to go... I'm on the wrong continent :( I would have definitely gone there to view the launch, it's a real milestone and I so hope that it will work.

I think the day we send people to Mars, never mind the fact I'm living in Europe, I'll take a holiday and flight to see that rocket take off... I already missed the Saturn V going to the moon (wasn't born), there aren't that many positive, predictable historical moments like that in a life time

> I already missed the Saturn V going to the moon (wasn't born), there aren't that many positive, predictable historical moments like that in a life time

I was 4 years old when that happened and it is as far as I can tell my earliest memory. We had this incredibly small black-and-white TV and watching that really impressed me, the moon never looked the same afterwards.

Incidentally, that live broadcast was quite a thing to pull off:

https://www.popsci.com/how-nasa-broadcast-neil-armstrong-liv...

Re: Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

#23

Post by pensivemood »

verytrivial wrote: post #16
Klathmon wrote: post #8

I can't put into words how excited I am for this launch today. I remember back in 2012 where spacex was still a laughingstock. The idea of landing a rocket from a private company was a joke. But SpaceX always did one thing right, they made many care about space again. They broadcast their launches, made a bit of a show of it, and they weren't ashamed of their failures. Then they started breaking milestones. They incr…

I remember clearly thinking the whole idea of landing the booster as being completely unrealistic, verging on not possible. I'm really pleased to have been utterly wrong. And 2/3rds of the boosters in today's test have already been into space. Mind blowing. Congratulations to all the hard working engineers at SpaceX!

>I remember clearly thinking the whole idea of landing the booster as being completely unrealistic, verging on not possible

Please share why you thought it was not possible. Just curious.

Re: Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

#24

Post by VikingCoder »

A thought I've had about SpaceX, Crazy Horse Memorial, and 9/11...

They were all once the kind of things that only nation-states could accomplish... Putting up massive payloads into space, building huge monuments, and killing thousands of people.

We've made all kinds of things easier to do - some good, some bad.

I hope we continue to grow into our capabilities a bit more smoothly than we seem to be, right now...

Re: Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

#25

Post by pensivemood »

chasd00 wrote: post #14
pmcollins wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I remember back in 2012 where spacex was still a laughingstock I can't help but draw a parallel to how Tesla is considered by the old guard to be a laughingstock today. See https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16305520

an exgf of mine describes Musk as an alien stuck on earth and needs humans to help him develop the technology to get back home. It fits haha

An alien won't be this good at human PR.

Re: Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

#26

Post by ohitsdom »

verytrivial wrote: post #16
Klathmon wrote: post #8

I can't put into words how excited I am for this launch today. I remember back in 2012 where spacex was still a laughingstock. The idea of landing a rocket from a private company was a joke. But SpaceX always did one thing right, they made many care about space again. They broadcast their launches, made a bit of a show of it, and they weren't ashamed of their failures. Then they started breaking milestones. They incr…

I remember clearly thinking the whole idea of landing the booster as being completely unrealistic, verging on not possible. I'm really pleased to have been utterly wrong. And 2/3rds of the boosters in today's test have already been into space. Mind blowing. Congratulations to all the hard working engineers at SpaceX!

> I remember clearly thinking the whole idea of landing the booster as being completely unrealistic, verging on not possible.

SpaceX also had that same opinion originally. I believe their first concept was to use parachutes for the first stage (and maybe splash down in the ocean for recovery).

They interviewed an engineer from Masten Space Systems (who have really cool test platforms). He was talking to them about VTVL (vertical takeoff, vertical landing) systems, and SpaceX basically just laughed at him.

Re: Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

#27

Post by justin66 »

pmcollins wrote: post #10
Klathmon wrote: post #8

I can't put into words how excited I am for this launch today. I remember back in 2012 where spacex was still a laughingstock. The idea of landing a rocket from a private company was a joke. But SpaceX always did one thing right, they made many care about space again. They broadcast their launches, made a bit of a show of it, and they weren't ashamed of their failures. Then they started breaking milestones. They incr…

> I remember back in 2012 where spacex was still a laughingstock I can't help but draw a parallel to how Tesla is considered by the old guard to be a laughingstock today. See https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16305520

People skeptical regarding that video won't view Tesla as a laughing stock, they'll view them as not living up to the previous standard of quality they set with their higher-priced cars. That is bad enough, really.

Re: Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

#28

Post by swarnie_ »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #20
pavel_lishin wrote: post #18

Oh man, I didn't realize this was going to go into a solar orbit! I thought it was just going to stay in LEO and then eventually burn up on re-entry.

If you missed that, then wait until you learn what's the test payload...

I wonder if this event will get a mention in marketing classes in the future...

Re: Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

#29

Post by TeMPOraL »

pensivemood wrote: post #23
verytrivial wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember clearly thinking the whole idea of landing the booster as being completely unrealistic, verging on not possible. I'm really pleased to have been utterly wrong. And 2/3rds of the boosters in today's test have already been into space. Mind blowing. Congratulations to all the hard working engineers at SpaceX!

>I remember clearly thinking the whole idea of landing the booster as being completely unrealistic, verging on not possible Please share why you thought it was not possible. Just curious.

Not parent, but I was surprised when I first heard of it. I thought it must be infeasible - in retrospect, for no reason other than vertical-standing rockets are associated with kitschy cover arts of old sci-fi stories. It didn't fit the more modern sci-fi aesthetics I grew in.

Since realizing that I became more wary of unconscious biases picked up from environment, and how they affect what I think is technologically possible.

Re: Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

#30

Post by Robotbeat »

MichaelMoser123 wrote: post #6
robinp wrote: post #4

Elon leaving... Stock markets crash...

i was just thinking if a possible downturn would have any effects on his plans of settling the solar system. (for me as a lowly grunt a downturn always means switching to work with a different industry, but who cares except for me.) If this launch of Falcon Heavy becomes its last one then it would be so similar to the Buran shuttle.

This is more like a Proton launch. Proton and R7/Soyuz survived the fall of the Soviet Union because they were cheap.

BFR might be more like Buran/Energia.

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