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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

#111

Post by timkpaine »

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 have this thought a lot. Elon Musk is in charge of a rocket ship company. "Rocket Ship Company". And now he has competition! Soon we'll be able to go to the moon or mars and it'll all seem completely normal.

Re: Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

#112

Post by TeMPOraL »

somesayso wrote: post #44
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.

Well, hyperloop was kind of bullshit that now appears only made up for cheap publicity aka PR stunt. Then there is the promise of taking humanity to "mars", which quite honestly, sounds a bullshit claim at this point . It wold have held more water, if they said it after making real tech breakthroughs (Ie not stunts like landing a rockets, which only guillable people finds magical because they were not tech savvy to k…

I addressed Hyperloop elsewhere, but RE Mars:

> It wold have held more water, if they said it after making real tech breakthroughs

Going to Mars is literally the only reason they're in the rocket business. Like everything behind their breakthroughs, which they had a few - including landing and turnaround times - is meant to enable the Mars mission. They've been explicit about this since day one.

> stunts like landing a rockets

This is not a stunt. It's the real, practical, working, cost-effective rocket reusability. For the first time ever. Not sure what do you expect; em-drive? Because SpaceX booster landing is exactly how a technological breakthrough looks like (as opposed to fundamental science breakthrough).

Re: Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

#114

Post by dingaling »

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…

> The idea of landing a rocket from a private company was a joke.

McDonnell Douglas was a private company when they demonstrated the VTOL DC-X launcher in the 1990s. They just had DoD money to help.

DC-X didn't make it to orbit before the money ran out, sadly. The DC-Y was planned for that.

Re: Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

#115

Post by Klathmon »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #89
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.

I know that many aerospace engineers were skeptical it would be possible to achieve ignition when facing "backwards" during hypersonic flight. No way to get the right mixture in exhaust chamber.

Even engines that "startup" more than once were pretty "out there". Over the years watching along, I've gotten the feeling that getting the engines to restart at all, and then restart in the right order and with enough consistency was one of the major breakthroughs.

Re: Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

#117

Post by jacquesm »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #108
greenhouse_gas wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The (counter) corollary to rule #1: They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown.

AFAIK Columbus should be grouped together with Bozo the Clown - his plan was rightfully laughed at; he only survived because he lucked into discovering a new continent halfway through the trip...

The Forrest Gump of the 1400's?

Re: Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

#118

Post by jacquesm »

gaius wrote: post #102
TeMPOraL wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

The Space Shuttle was perfectly capable of carrying its main fuel tank into orbit... I always wondered why they didn’t do that as standard, then later connect up all the now empty tanks, pressurise them and hey presto, instant space station, far bigger than the ISS. Such a waste to just drop them.

Nasa offered to take the tanks into orbit if a private company would step up to do something useful with them but nobody ever did.

Re: Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

#119

Post by snrplfth »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #112
somesayso wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, hyperloop was kind of bullshit that now appears only made up for cheap publicity aka PR stunt. Then there is the promise of taking humanity to "mars", which quite honestly, sounds a bullshit claim at this point . It wold have held more water, if they said it after making real tech breakthroughs (Ie not stunts like landing a rockets, which only guillable people finds magical because they were not tech savvy to k…

I addressed Hyperloop elsewhere, but RE Mars: > It wold have held more water, if they said it after making real tech breakthroughs Going to Mars is literally the only reason they're in the rocket business . Like everything behind their breakthroughs, which they had a few - including landing and turnaround times - is meant to enable the Mars mission. They've been explicit about this since day one. > stunts like landin…

> Like everything behind their breakthroughs, which they had a few - including landing and turnaround times - is meant to enable the Mars mission. They've been explicit about this since day one.

It's not so much a rocket company with a Mars objective, it's a Mars cult with a rocketry front operation.

Somehow, people get the idea that they're "not really serious" about the one driving goal that they've never deviated from.

Re: Watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch Today

#120

Post by emilecantin »

MLR wrote: post #91
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?

One of the things that slowed it down a lot was the continual development of the Falcon 9. With the Block 3/4/5 series of the Falcon 9 (5 is the final design and mostly focused on reusability upgrades, 4 is interim) they have a relatively stable base rocket to develop the Heavy variant against.

Yeah, the regular Falcon 9 is so much stronger nowadays, it can basically do what was planned for Heavy back in ~2015. Just at the thrust difference between Merlin engine iterations (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merlin_(rocket_engine_family) ), and add the fact that the stage is longer than before, and you have a pretty capable base rocket.
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