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Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

nytimes.com

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Re: Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

#61

Post by arnaud12 »

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 find the first stage recovery very impressive too, but did they manage to reduce the launch cost since they started reusing the rockets?

Re: Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

#62

Post by kunkurus »

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.

I understand now. Is because of vogons that we need to colonize Mars.

Re: Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

#63

Post by Faaak »

VikingCoder wrote: post #24

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...

I think there's a little difference between thousands of engineers building a rocket and 4 idiots crashing a plane down…

Re: Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

#64

Post by [deleted] »

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…

[deleted]

Re: Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

#66

Post by [deleted] »

digdugdirk wrote: post #56
imron wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

[deleted]

Re: Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

#67

Post by icc97 »

jacquesm wrote: post #22
alex_duf wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 th…

My daughter is 5yo for this launch, here's hoping this can have a similar impact.

Re: Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

#68

Post by TeMPOraL »

verytrivial wrote: post #57
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.

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

It's addressed in the sense that they live with it. The rocket still does a suicide burn.

Re: Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

#69

Post by imron »

digdugdirk wrote: post #56
imron wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

Initially from Musk's Twitter feed, but there's now also a Wikipedia entry about the car: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk's_Tesla_Roadster

There's also an artists rendition of the launch and payload on spacex's YouTube channel (titled: Falcon Heavy Animation)

Re: Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

#70

Post by the8472 »

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…

It might be a "build it and they will come" thing, but what is the current market for super-heavy payloads?
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