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SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches

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Re: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches

#91

Post by madamelic »

kawfey wrote: post #76
djaychela wrote: post #16

That was like watching a sci fi film when the two cores landed.... I watched it with my mother (who is 80!), and she said it was as significant as the moon landing. Do we know the fate of the centre core yet?

I'll bet it blew up on the droneship. It was weird they didn't have an immediate confirmation; I thought they have a boat or heli within visual range for the photo.

Yeah, that's sort of how I feel as well. It seems odd that they didn't immediately know or say, then they cut it off immediately.

Re: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches

#92

Post by alangibson »

DonaldPShimoda wrote: post #39

I'm just an amateur following along, but this seems likely to be one of the most important launches in modern rocketry history. This sets the stage for deep-space missions with reusable launch materials, which can greatly reduce the cost of future space exploration. Absolutely incredible achievement by the SpaceX team.

This definitely feels incredibly significant. The Soviet Union tried and failed 4 or 5 times to launch a rocket with this many engines, but now we're able to nail it on the first try aaaand land the boosters.

Re: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches

#94

Post by ghostDancer »

djaychela wrote: post #16

That was like watching a sci fi film when the two cores landed.... I watched it with my mother (who is 80!), and she said it was as significant as the moon landing. Do we know the fate of the centre core yet?

Where i live it was 21:45 and i couldn't help but told my son that was on bed to come and see it, cause IMHO it's a significant moment for space exploration. He went to bed later than usual but has a nice story to tell tomorrow at school.

Re: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches

#95

Post by post_break »

pikchurn wrote: post #69
alangibson wrote: post #38

Yet another incredible show from SpaceX. At this point, if they said they were going to build a football stadium on Europa, my only question would be when does it open. But I couldn't help but laugh at the fact that they can launch a massive rocket on the first try and land (at least) 2 cores, but the camera STILL cuts out on the drone ship.

I don't find that surprising. The communication link back is presumably by satellite since it is in the middle of the ocean, and probably a directional antenna because of the high bandwidth. You have any good suggestions for having a reliable connection via directional antenna on a flimsy barge that a rocket is landing on in this middle of the choppy north Atlantic?

Keep the camera and antennas on the boat instead of the platform with a zoom lens?

Re: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches

#99

Post by dgritsko »

djaychela wrote: post #16

That was like watching a sci fi film when the two cores landed.... I watched it with my mother (who is 80!), and she said it was as significant as the moon landing. Do we know the fate of the centre core yet?

It sounds like it was lost: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B_tWbjFIGI&feature=youtu.be...

Although there hasn't been an official statement by SpaceX yet, and whoever said "we lost the center core" could have just been referring to the video feed from the drone ship.

Re: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches

#100

Post by niftich »

pikchurn wrote: post #69
alangibson wrote: post #38

Yet another incredible show from SpaceX. At this point, if they said they were going to build a football stadium on Europa, my only question would be when does it open. But I couldn't help but laugh at the fact that they can launch a massive rocket on the first try and land (at least) 2 cores, but the camera STILL cuts out on the drone ship.

I don't find that surprising. The communication link back is presumably by satellite since it is in the middle of the ocean, and probably a directional antenna because of the high bandwidth. You have any good suggestions for having a reliable connection via directional antenna on a flimsy barge that a rocket is landing on in this middle of the choppy north Atlantic?

Tow a cable from the barge to a nearby ship, buoy, or platform on which the antenna sits, that's out of range of the vibrations and faces a different direction?
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