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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

#51

Post by sitkack »

chasd00 wrote: post #21
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!

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 Home…

This whole thread should review Clarke's Three Laws[0]

1. When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, they are almost certainly right. When they state that something is impossible, they are very probably wrong.

2. The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.

3. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarke%27s_three_laws

Re: Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

#52

Post by TeMPOraL »

pensivemood wrote: post #49
TeMPOraL wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He really is an alien. Human PR usually involves making a slick show, and having skilled communicators express vague messages full of bullshit. Musk is an exact opposite of that.

I think hyperloop pretty well fit the "full of shit" category and I can only consider it as a PR stunt...

For a "full of shit" idea it had a better technical document than most of the specifications I've seen in software industry; so no, I don't agree.

Re: Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

#53

Post by sitkack »

ohitsdom wrote: post #26
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. 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 VT…

Every revolutionary idea gets laughed at in the beginning precisely because it is so far out of the mainstream, if it wasn't ...

Re: Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

#54

Post by emilecantin »

chasd00 wrote: post #46
Robotbeat wrote: post #37

Falcon Heavy is just a toe in the door of super heavy launch. BFR will have 31 engines at liftoff compared to Falcon Heavy's 27. BFR will be about twice the thrust of Falcon Heavy, and most importantly BFR is not just a launch vehicle (which gives SpaceX a big edge in deploying megaconstellations of low-latency internet satellites), but the upper stage part will be a spacecraft capable of reentering the Earth's atmos…

yeah i think BFR and the upgraded Falcon 9 pretty much obsoletes Falcon Heavy almost immediately. The Heavy just took so long to put together, it was suppose to fly 4 or 5 years ago right? I've heard it reported that the Falcon Heavy engineering was much harder than anticipated. Does anyone know what some of the major obstacles were? The concept seems straightforward but where did they start getting into trouble?

I remember reading a quote from Elon where he says that at some point, they realised it's less "strapping three cores together" than "flying three cores in very close formation"

The stresses involved are truly enormous, and the whole thing must be very well balanced to avoid putting even more stresses on the frame.

Something as stupid as fueling the rocket needs to be done with care, as they're dealing with super-chilled liquid oxygen: The cold temperatures make the rocket contract a little bit, you have to make sure all three boosters contract exactly the same otherwise you can break the attachment points.

Re: Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

#55

Post by Zaak »

chasd00 wrote: post #46
Robotbeat wrote: post #37

Falcon Heavy is just a toe in the door of super heavy launch. BFR will have 31 engines at liftoff compared to Falcon Heavy's 27. BFR will be about twice the thrust of Falcon Heavy, and most importantly BFR is not just a launch vehicle (which gives SpaceX a big edge in deploying megaconstellations of low-latency internet satellites), but the upper stage part will be a spacecraft capable of reentering the Earth's atmos…

yeah i think BFR and the upgraded Falcon 9 pretty much obsoletes Falcon Heavy almost immediately. The Heavy just took so long to put together, it was suppose to fly 4 or 5 years ago right? I've heard it reported that the Falcon Heavy engineering was much harder than anticipated. Does anyone know what some of the major obstacles were? The concept seems straightforward but where did they start getting into trouble?

My understanding is that the center core was nearly a complete redesign because of the greatly increased load from the side boosters.

Re: Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

#56

Post by digdugdirk »

imron wrote: post #33
TeMPOraL wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

For the curious, it's Musk's midnight-cherry red Tesla roadster, with a dummy in a spacesuit in the drivers seat, David Bowie playing on the stereo, and a towel in the glove box along with a copy of hitchhikers guide to the galaxy and a sign that says Don't Panic.

That's great. Where did you find this info on the payload?

Re: Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

#57

Post by verytrivial »

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.

Where to start‽ (These are my recollections, perhaps wrong of course):

- The wafer thin margin of actual payload that the booster put up now being shared with landing fuel

- Engine restart after launch

- Re-entry forces on the engines

- The fact (perhaps since addressed) that a single Merlin puts out more thrust at near minimum throttle than the dry mass of the booster itself.

Think about that last one. If you start the burn too early you'll miss the ground .. for a while. The lesson here is trust calculus!

Re: Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

#58

Post by Robotbeat »

Zaak wrote: post #55
chasd00 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yeah i think BFR and the upgraded Falcon 9 pretty much obsoletes Falcon Heavy almost immediately. The Heavy just took so long to put together, it was suppose to fly 4 or 5 years ago right? I've heard it reported that the Falcon Heavy engineering was much harder than anticipated. Does anyone know what some of the major obstacles were? The concept seems straightforward but where did they start getting into trouble?

My understanding is that the center core was nearly a complete redesign because of the greatly increased load from the side boosters.

The structure in the core is beefed up a lot, but I wouldn't call it nearly a complete redesign as the other functions remain basically the same. Nearly complete structural redesign, I agree.

Re: Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

#59

Post by SubiculumCode »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #29
pensivemood wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>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…

I was sure for a while that they'd have to revert to using nets to catch the rocket at the final moments of landing.

Re: Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

#60

Post by overcast »

imron wrote: post #33
TeMPOraL wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

For the curious, it's Musk's midnight-cherry red Tesla roadster, with a dummy in a spacesuit in the drivers seat, David Bowie playing on the stereo, and a towel in the glove box along with a copy of hitchhikers guide to the galaxy and a sign that says Don't Panic.

Not only that, it's being set into orbit around the sun.
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