SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches • Hacker News Board

Re: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches

#411

Post by dfox » Tue, Feb 06, 2018, 11:03 PM UTC

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?

On the pictures of the droneship the quite distinctive Inmarsat BGAN (which is in essence 3G bounced of geostationary satellite) antenna pod is plainly visible.

Edit: inside the pod is fairly high-gain directional antenna mounted on motorized positioner, but it is designed to track the satellite from slow (ie. ship) or predictably moving (ie. truck) platforms and certainly cannot cope with vibrations from the landing reliably. Man-portable BGAN terminals usually have fixed antenna and officially require quite lengthly positioning process (on the other hand it will work for some value of "work" when you just throw it into car trunk and park with trunk vaguely pointing to south, but you will be lucky to get reliable phone connection, not to mention video stream, in that case).

Re: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches

#412

Post by DavidHm » Tue, Feb 06, 2018, 11:03 PM UTC

narrator wrote: post #389

aphextron wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can confirm this was the greatest thing I've ever witnessed in my life. https://youtu.be/AGPH_i0ZlyM?t=56

I get a headache watching Star Wars like sci-fi where everything is manually controlled by the pilot. How did sci-fi get so disconnected from the actual future?

Star Wars is not sci-fi, it's a cross between space fantasy and space opera. The list of better sci-fi movies is long.

Re: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches

#413

Post by marvin » Tue, Feb 06, 2018, 11:03 PM UTC

dudus wrote: post #395

Can someone explain to me why are we sending a Tesla to Mars? I mean other than shits and giggles, is there any value in having it there? I assume putting stuff in the space is expensive and I wonder if that effort couldn't have gone to something more useful like a robot to look for water or whatever.

This was a demonstration launch, so no paying customer. The alternatives are (1) sending a rock or (2) spending months and millions of dollars designing a spacecraft capable of doing something useful. Option 2 is out of the question, option 1 is boring :)

Re: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches

#414

Post by voodooranger » Tue, Feb 06, 2018, 11:04 PM UTC

bendavis381 wrote: post #243

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?

https://youtu.be/wbSwFU6tY1c?t=34m8s You can hear "Centre core defect on shutdown". Definitely didn't make it.

I heard center core boostback burn shutdown

Re: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches

#415

Post by hanbura » Tue, Feb 06, 2018, 11:04 PM UTC

nightski wrote: post #373

rplst8 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It feels like the human race is starting to master space travel. It's probably just an illusion, but I feel like we're entering a new era.

Wouldn't landing rockets vertically show that we have mastered in-atmosphere conditions rather than space? I'm not trying to be negative, just trying to understand how you came to the conclusion you did.

Most of our space travel challenges are caused by the size restrictions and cost associated with putting spacecraft into space. Currently spaceflight is still very much an aerospace (literally translated as airspace) problem.

In a theoretical world where we could just beam anything into earth orbit, unmanned interplanetary spaceflight would likely be an expensive hobby instead of something only governments attempt.

Re: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches

#416

Post by icc97 » Tue, Feb 06, 2018, 11:04 PM UTC

gervase wrote: post #371

icc97 wrote: post #344

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That was the new Tesla that just was announced. I assume he hasn't been driving it for years.

You're mistaken; it's one of the original-style Tesla roadsters, not the newly announced model. You can see an image of the payload here [0], and of the new model here [1]. [0]: http://www.arabnews.com/sites/default/files/styles/ph3_660_4... [1]: http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/dam/assets/171117032715-tesla...

Ah fair enough, the colour confused me.

Re: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches

#417

Post by heathn » Tue, Feb 06, 2018, 11:04 PM UTC

dudus wrote: post #395

Can someone explain to me why are we sending a Tesla to Mars? I mean other than shits and giggles, is there any value in having it there? I assume putting stuff in the space is expensive and I wonder if that effort couldn't have gone to something more useful like a robot to look for water or whatever.

It's not going to mars. It is in an orbit that could go to mars if that was the desire, this is just a test. A silly, awesome test.

Re: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches

#418

Post by scrumper » Tue, Feb 06, 2018, 11:04 PM UTC

dudus wrote: post #395

Can someone explain to me why are we sending a Tesla to Mars? I mean other than shits and giggles, is there any value in having it there? I assume putting stuff in the space is expensive and I wonder if that effort couldn't have gone to something more useful like a robot to look for water or whatever.

You’d have to pay - a lot - to develop the robot (and control its mission). There was a car already lying around.

Re: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches

#419

Post by pilsetnieks » Tue, Feb 06, 2018, 11:04 PM UTC

zrail wrote: post #313

PinguTS wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Still don't understand this waste of ressources. Waste of ressources to build this Tesla Roadster. And then the waste to kick it into space. It is not that we are littering our earth itself. We now do it in space as well.

It's a test flight. Can't put paying cargo on a test flight, so you might as well put something on there that's going to give you press. Also, space is big once you leave low earth orbit. It's really hard to actually understand how big it is. Putting a roadster out there isn't exactly junking up the place.

> Also, space is big once you leave low earth orbit. It's really hard to actually understand how big it is.

In fact, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.

Re: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy successfully launches

#420

Post by larkeith » Tue, Feb 06, 2018, 11:05 PM UTC

gervase wrote: post #365

niftich wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

I believe they are required as part of FAA regulations to ensure that no manned craft are within 15 miles of the landing zone? Something like that, at least, which would complicate a tether-based approach.

I think the suggestion was a separate but tethered unmanned platform, which would presumably have less vibrations. I would imagine it's just not cost-efficient for SpaceX, as they'll be able to recover the footage later regardless.